Tag: Electric vehicles

ViaVan Receives Top UITP Award For BerlKönig Service with BVG

Published June 14, 2019 12:47 pm, Via NYC
ViaVan Receives Top UITP Award For BerlKönig Service with BVG
On-demand public mobility in Berlin wins Public and Urban Transit Strategy Service category

13 June 2019 (BERLIN)– ViaVan, the joint venture between on-demand public mobility company Via and Mercedes-Benz Vans in Europe, receives in partnership with Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG) the UITP Award in the category of Public and Urban Transport Strategy Service for its innovative BerlKönig deployment in Berlin. This prestigious prize is awarded every two years by the World Association of Public Transport Companies.

Launched in September 2018, the BerlKönig serves as a complement and extension to existing public transport in Berlin. Operated by ViaVan and powered by Via’s technology, the BerlKönig provides Berliners with an efficient, affordable and convenient on-demand shared public mobility service. The BerlKönig, with a fleet comprised of a majority of electric vehicles, has provided more than 650,000 shared rides while reducing vehicle miles traveled by more than 143,000 km as compared to private vehicle trips.

“ViaVan’s powerful algorithms were developed to provide the efficiency and convenience of a personal vehicle while delivering the congestion and emission reducing properties of public transit,” said Chris Snyder, CEO of ViaVan. “We are honored that UITP has recognized the impact that smart, shared solutions like BerlKönig can have to reduce single-occupancy vehicles on the roads when integrated into the public transport system,” said Chris Snyder, CEO of ViaVan.

“ViaVan’s mission is to work closely with cities to launch innovative new public transport solutions that have the potential to attract a new generation of public transport users,” said Valerie von der Tann, General Manager of ViaVan Berlin. “The UITP Award underscores that on-demand offers such as the BerlKönig are increasingly regarded internationally as a central element of future public transport systems.”

“We think it’s great that our digital service is not only very well received by Berliners, but is now also receiving international recognition in the transport industry,” said Dr. Henrick Haenecke, BVG Chief Financial Officer, Digitization and Sales. “For us, the price is also an incentive to further expand and strengthen our digital offers for our passengers.”

ViaVan’s technology seamlessly matches multiple passengers into a shared vehicle through the BerlKönig mobile app. Through the use of “virtual bus stops” and corner-to-corner pickup, unnecessary vehicle detours are minimized, reducing empty vehicle miles and added carbon emissions.

ViaVan, together with its parent Via, have been tapped by cities and transit authorities over 70 times in more than 15 countries around the world to provide on-demand public mobility solutions. ViaVan’s partnerships include powering a demand-responsive bus pilot with TfL in London, corporate campus mobility with BASF and Mercedes-Benz Vans in Germany, and demand-responsive bus services in the UK with Arriva and Go-Ahead.

About ViaVan:
ViaVan is a leading provider of innovative on-demand shared transit services in Europe. ViaVan was founded in 2017 as a joint venture between Via, the world’s most sophisticated developer of dynamic shared rides technology, and Mercedes-Benz Vans, the leading manufacturer of iconic passenger and cargo vans. Working closely with cities and public transit operators, ViaVan powers dynamic shared mobility services that complement existing transportation infrastructure, and currently operates in London, Amsterdam, Berlin and Milton Keynes. Through their partnership, Mercedes-Benz Vans and Via are also collaborating on the development of advanced mobility solutions, from sensor technology, to electric vehicle fleet management, to autonomous driving.

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Eviation unveils electric airplane and plans flight tests in central Washington state

Eviation’s Alice electric airplane makes its debut at the Paris Air Show. (Eviation Photo) An Israeli startup called Eviation Aircraft unveiled its first prototype electric airplane today at the International Paris Air Show, with flight testing planned at Moses Lake in central Washington state. Eviation CEO Omer Bar-Yohay told reporters that his company hopes to… Continue reading Eviation unveils electric airplane and plans flight tests in central Washington state

Electric dreams in danger as funding dwindles for China’s Tesla challengers

HONG KONG/BEIJING (Reuters) – Last year, Wei Qing and his private equity investment team visited more than 20 Chinese electric vehicle manufacturing startups. An employee works on assembling an electric vehicle (EV) at a factory of Suda Electric Vehicle Technology Co, in Sanmenxia, Henan province, China March 19, 2019. Picture taken March 19, 2019. REUTERS/Stringer… Continue reading Electric dreams in danger as funding dwindles for China’s Tesla challengers

Vietnam enters car market with low-priced VinFast Fadil crossover – autoweek.com

We hear a ton about China’s car market, which has been the biggest in the world for nine consecutive years, selling 28.88 million cars in 2017 to the United States’ 17.24 million. We also hear a lot about India’s burgeoning market, which is growing by leaps and bounds. But another Asian market is making moves… Continue reading Vietnam enters car market with low-priced VinFast Fadil crossover – autoweek.com

Tesla loses another exec: HR vice president and head of diversity Felicia Mayo

Felicia Mayo in 2016, when she worked for Juniper Networks.Marla Aufmuth/Getty ImagesTesla vice president of human resources and head of diversity Felicia Mayo has left the company.
A company spokesperson told CNBC, “We'll miss Felicia and would like to thank her for her hard work over the last two years and wish her all the best in the future. We have a talented HR team in place that will continue to report into our VP of People & Places and will remain focused on advancing our mission and making Tesla a great place to work.”
Tesla is known as a mission-driven and hard-driving workplace with significant pressure to hit ambitious goals and deadlines meted out by CEO Elon Musk. Among other things, these conditions have led to a high level of churn among Tesla executives, in recent years.
Mayo is one of a few black women leaders to break the glass ceiling and rise to executive ranks in a large, Silicon Valley tech firm. Less than 0.5% of Silicon Valley tech leadership positions are held by black women, according to 2018 statistics from the Kapor Center.
She previously served as vice president of global talent acquisition and diversity at Juniper Networks, then held the role of VP of Human Resources at Tesla for less than two years. She reported to Tesla's vice president of people and places, Kevin Kassekert, and CEO Elon Musk.
During her tenure, Tesla expanded its operations internationally, began manufacturing its Model 3 electric sedan in high volumes, and implemented controversial strategies ranging from store closures and other restructuring efforts, to giving employees a discount on Tesla vehicles, if they agreed to use and give feedback on beta versions of the company's Full Self Driving software.
Mayo's departure follows the resignation of other Tesla executives in the last year, including:
Tesla's former chief people officer, Gaby ToledanoGeneral Counsel, Todd MaronVP of Legal, Phil RothenbergCFO Deepak Ahuja (who announced his retirement at the end of a Tesla earnings call in January this year)VP of Engineering, Michael SchwekutschWATCH: Highlights from Elon Musk's speech at the Tesla shareholder meeting
VIDEO2:1602:16Watch the highlights from Elon Musk speaking at Tesla shareholder meetingAutos

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Tesla investors regain confidence in a quieter Elon Musk as all eyes turn to production

SpaceX owner and Tesla CEO Elon Musk gestures during a conversation at the E3 gaming convention in Los Angeles, June 13, 2019.Mike Blake | ReutersTesla investors are regaining confidence in a quieter Elon Musk — even as they question the company's ability to hit its production goals for the second quarter.
The automaker's stock rose by as much as 4.3% Tuesday and is up by more than 7% over the last four trading days, giving investors a short respite from a tough year for Tesla. Its shares have fallen by about a third so far this year, shaving almost $19 billion off its market value since Dec. 31.
Musk has been largely laying low on Twitter after reaching an agreement in April with federal securities regulators governing his social media use. On Monday, he claimed he was deleting his Twitter account before changing his profile picture to black and his Twitter handle to “Daddy DotCom,” presumably in honor of Father's Day on Sunday.
While it stirred some controversy among his followers, it didn't worry shareholders, said analyst Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities. Musk has steered clear of tweeting about the company's financial performance and production numbers, which is what got him into trouble with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
“I think it takes risk out of the equation, I mean not just from the SEC situation but there's just so much more bad that could happen than good. From an investor perspective, the less that he talks on Twitter the better,” Ives said in an interview.
The Securities and Exchange Commission charged Musk with contempt over a February tweet that contained production forecasts — after Musk agreed not to share potentially market-moving information without the company's approval.
Musk has frequently set ambitious production goals, only to repeatedly fall short. He told employees in a May 22 email Tesla was on track to break its production record of 90,700 vehicles set in the fourth quarter.
“In order to achieve this, we need sustained output of 1,000 Model 3′s per day. Almost all parts of the Model 3 production system have exceeded 1,000 units on multiple days (congratulations!) and we've averaged about 900/day this week, so we're only about 10% away from 7,000/week,” Musk said.
The company has produced 1,000 Model 3s on just one day since Musk sent that email, Business Insider reported Tuesday, citing documents describing Tesla's daily output rate for one segment of the Model 3 production.
Ives said he too doubts Tesla will hit that goal.
Tesla's goal of producing 360,000 to 370,000 vehicles for the year is a “herculean task,” he said. However, Ives said he estimates Tesla will be able to produce 345,000 to 350,000 vehicles, which would be the closest Musk has ever come to reaching one of his production targets and gives investors hope.
Tesla is set to release its second-quarter production numbers as soon as July 1 and earnings on July 30.

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Porsche CEO: EVs are the future, but they won’t completely replace combustion engines

The Volkswagen Group has made one of the largest investments in electric-car building, infrastructure, and development for any automaker on the planet. In the next decade, Volkswagen and its subsidiaries including Audi, Porsche, and others, plan on building millions of EVs and will invest billions more into charging infrastructure.

In an Op-Ed published Monday in USA Today, Porsche Cars North America CEO Klaus Zellmer says the future for any automaker will be electrified, but he stopped short of saying that all cars will be electrified. That's a surprising pivot for a Porsche CEO whose future Taycan promises to be one of the most highly anticipated EVs to arrive next year.

DON'T MISS: An electric car can't fully replace a gas-powered car in my world

“Let’s be clear: We believe EVs will quickly become commonplace in the U.S. new car fleet, not that they will fully displace internal combustion engines,” Zellmer wrote. Instead, he says that offering EVs, PHEVs, and ICE will be commonplace and offer consumers the right fit for the right circumstances.

That's not to say that Zellmer sounds bearish about the prospect of performance EVs in his commentary. In fact, the CEO lays down the groundwork for converting enthusiasts from flat-6s— found in the iconic 911 sports car—to EV powertrains in future cars thanks to the immediate response and nearly unlimited power.

“Frankly, EVs are fun to drive,” he wrote. “Electric motors provide instant torque for quick acceleration, and the lower center of gravity from battery packs will reinforce the sporty feeling. So don’t be surprised when all of this truly catches on in the near future.”

READ NEXT: Fully electric Porsche Macan due by 2022 will replace gasoline model entirely

The column contains a nuanced position—that EVs represent a future for performance vehicles, and that internal combustion will live alongside electric performance. It's a pragmatic take, but a surprising one ahead of the Taycan's launch.

Overall, Zellmer lays out a comprehensive argument for Porsche—and Volkswagen's—push into EVs and infrastructure, and he enumerates his logic for demand, adoption, and support of those future vehicles. It's a compelling argument, and worth the read.

To hear the CEO of a major North American sports car maker publicly embrace electrified powertrains is not only encouraging, but perhaps also a harbinger of a larger sea change of attitudes among mainstream automakers—but it's hardly an all-or-nothing “attitude.”

Nissan Leaf batteries are lasting a very long time

Since even before the first market deliveries of its Leaf electric car in late 2010, Nissan has made frequent mention about the need to create second-use demand for the Leaf's battery packs.

It turns out, they may need to see many of those ideas put into place. According to comments made last month by a Nissan-Renault executive, citing charging and battery degradation data from Nissan on the 400,000+ Leafs sold globally, the battery packs are going to easily outlast the life of the vehicles—not just the ones that are in accidents.

“We are going to have to recover those batteries,” said Francisco Carranza, the managing director of Renault-Nissan Energy Services, at the Automotive News Europe Congress.

Nissan Energy Solar

In the UK, the company is currently offering Nissan Energy Solar solutions, combining solar panels with battery storage and an app-based control system. In some other places within Europe the Leaf is allowed to be grid-connected, and globally the 4R Energy Corporation, a company founded by Nissan and Sumitomo, is testing a scheme that would use second-use EV batteries to take street lights completely off the grid. And there have been some novel solutions along the way, such as using them for pop-up travel trailers.

Nissan x Opus camper with reused Leaf batteries in Britain with Nissan Qashqai

Other larger-scale uses include megawatt energy-storage systems good for smoothing peak demand at commercial venues, industrial plants, or smaller buffers used for electric-vehicle charging stations. But some big-picture fundamental questions remain: Like whether recycling existing less-efficient batteries for their raw materials might be better.

Some months ago Nissan in the U.S. said that it’s examining a wide range of uses but hasn’t committed to any on a larger scale. We’ve reached out to Nissan once again for comment to see if that remains a fair characterization—and to see if the company’s experience with degradation and projected life mirrors that in Europe.

Volkswagen last month said that it expects the battery packs in upcoming ID models, built on its mainstream modular electric platform (MEB) to last “the life of the cars.”

VW MEB platform

Specifically, VW says that its batteries will keep 70 percent of their original capacity for 8 years or 100,000 miles.

That’s close to Nissan’s goal at the original rollout of the Leaf—that they then expected its battery to keep 70 percent or more of its original capacity after 10 years—although its original warranty was also for 8 years or 100,000 miles.

But even when their capacity degrades far lower than that, they'll be fine for second uses. Nissan R&D staff, for example, projected that at 20 years the typical cells might store less than 40 percent of their original energy capacity. That would still make them a productive piece of larger-scale energy storage.

With VW planning 22 million electric vehicles in 10 years, all with active thermal conditioning that could give those battery packs an even longer life, let’s hope more companies get together on solutions that can truly scale up.