Startups
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SparkCharge proposes to fill in charging-infrastructure gaps with portable DC fast charging, via a small modular system that's easy to transport.
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Tesla founder, Chinese company launch SF Motors electric cars
SF Motors revealed its first two electric cars, to be produced next year at the Hummer factory in South Bend Indiana
Eric C. Evarts -
Three Dyson electric cars on the drawing board: report
While Dyson may be best known worldwide for high-tech vacuum cleaners, the company has a strong affinity for what the British call "boffins," which roughly translates to "eccentric genius inventors." With a slight resemblance to Doc Brown of "Back to the Future" (as played by Christopher Lloyd)...
John Voelcker -
Electric pickup truck in 2020 to launch mysterious Rivian's "future mobility"
When a mysterious company called Rivian issued a mysterious video in January 2017, it promised to "reshape mobility." As is often the case, that has turned out to involve electric cars. A year later, the company has released a few more details about its plans and its team. DON'T MISS: Chinese...
John Voelcker -
Faraday Future promised $1.5 billion, says FF 91 will arrive by end of this year
Starting a car company is not only very, very hard—as Tesla, Fisker, and many others testify—but requires breathtaking sums of money. Now struggling Faraday Future, the electric-car startup firm whose entrepreneurial Chinese backer is facing legal action in his home country, appears to...
John Voelcker -
Faraday Future, primary investor crushed by mounting debt, lawsuits
Struggling Faraday Future and its founding investor Jia Yueting are facing financial and legal woes that threaten the company's existence. Jia specifically has been placed on an official list of debt defaulters on a website run by the Chinese government after the LeEco founder failed to follow a...
Mark Stevenson -
Nio, the electric-car maker formerly known as NextEV, has raised a substantial amount of money in its latest round of fundraising. The Chinese startup reportedly received a stunning $1 billion in funding, with Chinese investment powerhouse Tencent leading the charge. Notably, Tencent also holds a stake in Silicon Valley automaker Tesla. DON'T MISS: Nio electric SUV, from Chinese NextEV, to have 'Toyota cost' and 'Tesla range' Nio has emerged as a frontrunner among an ocean of Chinese electric-car startups after it launched its first production car: the EP9 electric supercar. Following the...
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Jaguar Land Rover owner denies stake in electric-car maker Faraday Future: updated report
Most reports on startup electric-car maker Faraday Future tend to describe it as "struggling," and that may be an understatement. It halted work at its Nevada-based production facility in 2016; the startup company's main backer, China's LeEco, acknowledged this past May it was experiencing...
Sean Szymkowski -
Odds for auto startups are incredibly high; can Tesla beat them?
Much of the energy and growth in the U.S. economy comes not from large corporations but from small startup companies, as economic data shows. By now, the model of a young, energetic entrepreneur with a bright idea who turns it into a world-changing business is well established. Think Facebook or...
John Voelcker -
BMW, Mercedes invest in 'flexible car ownership' startup Fair
How would you know that the standard model for individuals buying new cars is dying? Sure, you could point to car sharing services like Car2go or Zipcar. Or you might point to ride hailing companies like Lyft or Uber. Maybe you think the subscription model for the Hyundai Ioniq Electric...
John Voelcker -
Bollinger B1 all-electric utility truck: 10,000 signups since launch
The Bollinger B1 electric utility truck, designed by a small startup company in upstate New York and unveiled in late July, appears to have hit something of a chord. The company said Monday it has now received more than 10,000 "pre-orders," or expressions of interest in the tough, all-electric...
John Voelcker -
Dyson electric car for 2020 draws executives from Aston Martin, Tesla
Dyson, the British appliance company best known for its bagless vacuum cleaners, has cleared up speculation that has persisted for nearly 10 years. Founder and chief engineer James Dyson officially confirmed his company is developing an electric car and is planning for a 2020 launch. Not only has...
Sean Szymkowski -
Over the past decade, advances in battery technology have progressed steadily, but not quite as quickly as impatient electric-car advocates might like. With electric cars and plug-in hybrids fast becoming part of every carmaker's lineup, durable, less expensive, and higher-capacity batteries are more important than ever. Yet despite growing electric-car sales, most battery-startup companies fail in the United States. DON'T MISS: Electric-car battery progress: incremental improvements, not revolutionary leaps Since 2000, just 36 U.S. battery startups have received $500,000 or more in...
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Autonomous electric truck prototype can be controlled remotely
Swedish company Einride has officially unveiled the first full-scale prototype of its futuristic autonomous electric truck. First announced back in April, the T-pod is touted as being more than a simple self-driving electric truck—it’s pitched as an entirely “new transportation...
VentureBeat's GreenBeat -
Elio to sell $100 million in stock; 3-wheeler price raised, production delayed, again (updated)
Entrepreneur Paul Elio's concept for a simple three-wheeled car that would cost only $6,800 has now been with us for eight years. During that time, he has shown the car hundreds of times to diverse groups of people, taken tens of thousands of reservations, sold stock in the company, and suggested...
John Voelcker -
Faraday Future, short on cash, to leave Formula E electric-car race series: report
Faraday Future may abandon its Formula E racing efforts to save precious funds as the electric-car startup company scales back many of its ambitious plans. The FIA Formula E series, which will receive an influx of new competitors in 2019, has become a de facto arena for automakers to test battery...
Sean Szymkowski -
Startup Amber's self-driving cars to hit Dutch streets in 2018?
While Uber, Tesla, and Google are fighting over who will be first to deploy self-driving cars on a large scale, the Dutch underdogs at mobility startup Amber are planning a surprise move to overtake them all. If all goes according to plan, Amber’s self-driving cars will hit the streets of...
VentureBeat's GreenBeat -
Bollinger B1 all-electric utility truck revealed
It's square-edged, with flat body panels, large knobbly tires, and a simple interior that can easily be hosed out when dirty. The Bollinger B1 electric utility truck revealed tonight at the Classic Car Club on New York City's Hudson River was designed out in the country, where trucks have to be...
John Voelcker -
One week from today, in a pricey supercar club in Manhattan, journalists, electric-car advocates, and perhaps a few celebrities will gather for the unveiling of a new electric vehicle. It's not another fast, luxurious sedan or crossover utility vehicle. Instead, it's an electric utility truck called the Bollinger B1. DON'T MISS: All-electric Bollinger heavy truck chassis revealed, July 27 debut to follow It's the brainchild of entrepreneur Robert Bollinger, who lives on a farm near the small, fading town of Hobart, New York. Driving into Hobart, you pass a handful of abandoned buildings and...
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Why Havelaar founder wanted an electric pickup truck: Japan's disaster
A Canadian company by the name of Havelaar has tossed its hat into the electric pickup-truck ring with the reveal of its purpose-built Bison pickup. The launch underscores the potential many companies are trying to tap as the market for electric vehicles of various types continues to grow, slowly...
Sean Szymkowski -
Havelaar Bison all-electric utility truck announced by Canadian company
The electric-vehicle market remains in infancy, but non-traditional automakers are beginning to explore and tap the potential market for multiple types of vehicles powered by batteries. Canadian company Havelaar is the most recent to try its hand at an electric vehicle; like a few other companies...
Sean Szymkowski -
All-electric Bollinger heavy truck chassis revealed, July 27 debut to follow
Upstate New York-based startup Bollinger Motors is moving forward with the development of its very first vehicle. The yet-unnamed model will take the form of an all-electric sport utility truck for off-road use, and it will ride on an aluminum chassis that tips the scale at just 295 pounds. The...
Green Car Reports -
Hybrid Kinetic electric luxury car, with turbine range extender, to be built in China
Several Chinese or Chinese-backed automotive startups are currently trying to replicate the success of Tesla by designing and selling their own luxury electric cars. But Hybrid Kinetic likely predates most of them. Started by the founder of Chinese automaker Brilliance, the company made headlines...
Stephen Edelstein -
Lucid Air luxury electric car: Bloomberg gets brief ride
When it comes to luxury electric-car startups, hype is the name of the game. Lucid Motors unveiled its Air luxury sedan in December, promising a range of up to 400 miles, power of 1,000 horsepower, and cutting-edge technology. But very few people outside the company have gotten more than a glimpse...
Stephen Edelstein