Category: News Type

CarPlay and Android Auto will soon be available in Jaguar Land Rover vehicles

Just days after it was reported that Toyota would finally add Android Auto support in its cars, Jaguar Land Rover has announced similar plans to add CarPlay and Android Auto to its vehicles, as reported by MacRumors. A spokesperson confirmed that CarPlay and Android Auto will be available in all 2019 Jaguar and Land Rover-branded… Continue reading CarPlay and Android Auto will soon be available in Jaguar Land Rover vehicles

Uber makes $10M bet on bikes and transit

Ride-hailing giant Uber, which helped jumpstart the ongoing revolution in mobile technology and urban transit by popularizing a new way to move about cities, has decided cars aren’t always the best way to get around. In a blog post, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi announced a three-tiered plan to support sustainable mobility by reducing congestion, supporting… Continue reading Uber makes $10M bet on bikes and transit

Renault plans Europe’s largest battery storage network

Renault utility storage network to deploy used electric car batteries in France and Germany
European electric-carmaker Renault plans to build the continent's largest stationary battery storage network next year using old electric-car batteries.

Renault announced on Tuesday that it will install used (and some new) electric car batteries in three locations: two Renault factories in France, and the site of a former coal-fired power plant in Germany.

The company says the battery storage network will be expanded gradually over time.

DON'T MISS: (Reverse) Engineering Explained: What happens to old electric car batteries?

By 2020, Renault says the network will deliver 70 megawatts of power and store at least 60 megawatt-hours of energy storage to smooth out supply from solar and wind power to make them available at peak times when consumers need it.

The stationary battery storage network will use batteries from 2,000 of the company's European electric cars—the Renault Zoe and Twingo and the Nissan Leaf, among others—built into containers.

The network will comprise used batteries from the cars as well as some new electric-car batteries that have been inventoried as replacement packs for older models but never sold.

Renault Zoe and Kangoo ZE electric cars on the Outer Hebrides

Inside the containers, the batteries will be installed on racks. Each container will also include charge controllers and battery monitoring systems.

Once built, the batteries will provide enough power for 5,000 homes.

The system is designed to target a weak spot in the grid, where power consumption exceeding supply has often compromised the stability of the grid.

CHECK OUT: As used electric-car batteries set to flood market, Automakers ramp up reuse efforts

“One of the main challenges when it comes to increasing the share of renewable sources in the energy mix is to manage the discrepancies between electricity consumption and electricity production at a given moment,” Nicolas Schottey, Renault’s director of new energy business, said in a statement.

“Our energy stationary storage system solution helps to compensate for those gaps: it delivers its energy reserves at the exact moment an imbalance occurs in order to mitigate its effects,” he said.

READ MORE: Renault plans huge energy storage plant using old Zoe electric-car battery packs

The system was originally planned to be even bigger, with up to 100 megawatts of storage, but Renault alludes to potential future expansion under the existing plan.

Renault says its goal is to create Europe's largest stationary energy storage system to encourage the growth of renewable energy sources on the grid.

The network will be operated by Renault partner Mobility House.

Tariffs cost Ford $1 billion in profit and hurt sales in China

Luke Sharrett | Bloomberg | Getty Images
An employee works on a Ford Expedition sports utility vehicle on the assembly line at the Ford Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville, Kentucky.

President Donald Trump's tariffs are hitting Ford's finances hard.

The second-largest U.S. automaker has suffered $1 billion in lost profits from tariffs on metals imported to the United States, said Ford CEO Jim Hackett in an interview with Bloomberg TV on Wednesday.

The U.S. has a 25 percent tariff on steel and a 10 percent tariff on aluminum imported from several countries, an early step in an escalating trade war that threatens to raise prices on goods and deal a blow to firms in a wide range of industries, including autos.

The tariffs come at a time when Ford is trying to improve its financial health, raise its share price and sink money into developing new propulsion technologies, such as electric powertrains, autonomous driving technology, cloud computing technology for transportation and other mobility businesses.

Ford shares were down nearly one percent Wednesday morning.

“From Ford's perspective, the metals tariffs took about $1 billion profit from us,” he added. “The irony is, we source most of that in the U.S. today anyways. So we are in a good place right now, but if it goes on longer there will be more damage.”

The trade war is also creating difficulties for Ford's U.S. factories. Ford exports Lincoln vehicles from a plant in Louisville, Kentucky to China, where Hackett said the brand is popular. China's tit-for-tat 25 percent tariff hike, which raises the total duty to 40 percent on U.S. autos, has raised the price of the Lincoln MKC sport utility vehicle in China.

In July, Ford cut its full-year outlook, citing in part heavy losses in China in the second quarter.

“We have had to move people in that factory to other functions because of that trade problem,” he said.

Proscia Closes $8.3M Series A Round of Financing

Proscia, a Philadelphia, PA-based developer of digital pathology software, closed an $8.3m Series A financing. The round was led by Flybridge Capital Partners with participation from Emerald Development Managers, Fusion Fund, Razor’s Edge Ventures, and RobinHood Ventures. As part of the funding, Chip Hazard and Tom Loftus, Chief Technologist at Razor’s Edge Ventures, have joined… Continue reading Proscia Closes $8.3M Series A Round of Financing

Lyft Challenges You to #DitchYourCar

Ridesharing has already challenged the way Americans see car ownership, with 250,000 passengers in 2017 giving up their cars because of Lyft. Now, it’s time to take an even bolder step toward creating a better future for our cities, our planet and future generations. Since day one, we’ve had a vision that cities should be… Continue reading Lyft Challenges You to #DitchYourCar

Designing Lightyear One: Aerodynamics

Annemiek Koers — Exterior Architect

With aerodynamics we study how well the air flows around the car. Our job at the Aerodynamics team is to ensure that the air will move along the curves of the car as smoothly as possible. Because we stop the air from moving in swirls, into holes or into interstices, we reduce friction between the car and the air. We want the car to cut through the air just like a raindrop – the ultimate example of an aerodynamic object.

So now the question is: Why does this matter? Since we do not have an infinite surface for our solar panels there is only a certain amount of energy available to the car, especially if you want to drive on solar energy only. We want to use the energy that is available as efficiently as possible. To do so the car needs to glide through the air: we want low air resistance. We want to give you the longest possible solar range. The less energy the car wastes moving air, the further the car can get on the same energy. For this..

Press Releases – Commercial vehicle registrations: +4.8% eight months into 2018; +2.3% in July and +7.3% in August

Brussels, 26 September 2018 – New commercial vehicle registrations increased both in July and August 2018 (+2.3% and +7.3% respectively), marking the fifth consecutive month of growth. Total new commercial vehicles New commercial vehicle registrations increased both in July and August 2018 (+2.3% and +7.3% respectively), marking the fifth consecutive month of growth. All segments… Continue reading Press Releases – Commercial vehicle registrations: +4.8% eight months into 2018; +2.3% in July and +7.3% in August