Category: Automotive

Kamaz to deliver knocked down kits to Azerbaijan

EKATERINBURG, July 8. /TASS/. The Russian truck maker Kamaz clinched a deal with Azerbaijan’s Ganja Automotive Plant for supply of knocked down kits worth 400 mln rubles ($6.3 mln), the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade said in its press release on Monday.
“We are successfully implementing the Kamaz vehicles assembly project launched in cooperation with the Ganja Automotive Plant. Kamaz is viewing an opportunity to expand the model line assembled in Azerbaijan over time on account of Kamaz-65117 dropside truck tractors and Kamaz-6520 heavy dump trucks,” Minister Denis Manturov said, cited by the Ministry.
Kamaz is one of leading global manufacturers of heavy trucks and diesel engines. The process chain of the group comprises eleven large automobile and auxiliary plants.

Audi sees record half-year sales in China

CHANGCHUN, July 8 (Xinhua) — The Sino-German auto joint venture FAW-Volkswagen said a record 311,871 Audi vehicles were sold in China in the first half of 2019, up 2.1 percent year-on-year.
Among domestically made models, sales of the A6L registered a total 46,281 units from January to June, while the average monthly sales of the A4L exceeded 14,000 units.
Imported cars also maintained high growth rates. A total of 1,957 units of Audi Sport were sold in June, a month-on-month increase of 116 percent.
The company said Audi will roll out new models such as e-tron and Q8 in the second half of the year, and strengthen cooperation with Baidu, Tencent and Alibaba on fields including automatic driving.

Startups at the speed of light: Lidar CEOs put their industry in perspective

As autonomous cars and robots loom over the landscapes of cities and jobs alike, the technologies that empower them are forming sub-industries of their own. One of those is lidar, which has become an indispensable tool to autonomy, spawning dozens of companies and attracting hundreds of millions in venture funding. But like all industries built… Continue reading Startups at the speed of light: Lidar CEOs put their industry in perspective

Uber rival Bolt has closed another tranche of funding at a $1B+ valuation

Uber and Lyft going public may have put closer public scrutiny on the economics of ridesharing, but it hasn’t had a chilling effect on the level of competition in the space. In the latest development, TechCrunch has learned and confirmed that Bolt, the Estonian ride-sharing, scooter and food delivery company that operates across Europe —… Continue reading Uber rival Bolt has closed another tranche of funding at a $1B+ valuation

Toyota covers Prius Prime with solar panels to test mileage

While Toyota has been skeptical of electric cars, the carmaker is expressing optimism about technology that can supplement plugging in: solar.

Along with its battery partners NIDO and Sharp, Toyota is experimenting with a new Prius Prime in Japan (called the Prius PHV there), equipped with 860 watts of solar panels on the roof, hood, and rear hatch.

The car uses photovoltaic solar cells from Sharp that Toyota says are 34 percent efficient “plus.” Altogether, the company says that on an ideal sunny day, the solar panels could give the Prius PHV up to 27.6 miles of electric power per day.

That's a big jump from the current solar roof that Toyota offers on the Prius PHV in Japan, which delivers 180 watts of power from panels that are 23 percent efficient and maxes out at about 3.8 miles a day. It can only charge the batteries while the car is parked, while the test array will charge even while the car is driving.

The Prius PHV still uses its 9-kilowatt-hour battery which can be charged from the wall to deliver another roughly 25 miles of electric driving a day.

Sono Sion solar assisted electric car

The car follows in the mode of two other solar-assisted plug in hybrids being developed by startup companies in Europe: The Sono Sion, which the company claims will have up to 21 miles of solar range per day, is scheduled to go into production at the former Saab factory in Sweden late next year. The Lightyear One, born out of an effort to compete in the World Solar Challenge, is a Dutch startup effort aiming for limited production in 2021 that will also use onboard solar panels to boost its electric range.

The Toyota project is sponsored by the Japanese New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization, and Toyota plans to begin testing it on roads in Japan this month to gather data on efficiency and driving range. There are currently no production plans for the car.

SEAT breaks records in the first half of 2019

SEAT concluded the first half of 2019 with its highest ever sales figure. Global deliveries of the Spanish carmaker went up by 8.4% to stand at a total volume of 314,300 cars. For the first time, SEAT sold more than 300,000 vehicles in the first six month period of a year and exceeds the record… Continue reading SEAT breaks records in the first half of 2019

European Union aims to be self-sufficient in EV battery manufacturing

The EU has joined hands with manufacturers, development banks and commercial lenders to create an ecosystem to invest $113 billion for the lithium-ion battery pack production to power EVs. New Delhi: European Union is planning to become self-sufficient when it comes to battery production for the electric vehicles. The EU has already joined hands with… Continue reading European Union aims to be self-sufficient in EV battery manufacturing