Tag: vehicles

  • Tesla Sold 33,155 China-Made Vehicles In June

    Tesla Sold 33,155 China-Made Vehicles In June

    U.S. electric vehicle maker Tesla Inc sold 33,155 China-made vehicles, including those for export, in June, China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) said on Thursday.

    Tesla, which is making Model 3 sedans and Model Y sport-utility vehicles in Shanghai, sold 28,138 China-made cars in China and exported 5,017 cars in June.

    In May, Tesla sold 33,463 China-made cars.

    On Thursday, Tesla launched Model Y cars with a standard driving range in China, lowering the starting price for the vehicle to 276,000 yuan ($42,588) in the world’s biggest auto market.

    BYD sold 40,532 so-called new energy vehicles, which include battery-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, last month in China. General Motors Co’s venture with SAIC Motor sold 30,479 such cars.

    CPCA also said China sold 1.6 million passenger cars in June, down 5.3% from a year earlier.

  • Auto sales down in Vietnam

    Auto sales down in Vietnam

    Auto sales rose 53 percent year-on-year in the first five months to 126,894 units.

    Passenger vehicles accounted for 70 percent and commercial and special-purpose vehicles for the rest, according to the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association (VAMA).

    Truong Hai Auto Corporation, which manufactures its own vehicles and assembles foreign brands such as Kia and Mazda, led with nearly 44,000 units, a 67 percent rise.

    It was followed by Toyota with over 24,100 units, up 16 percent.

    Mitsubishi, Honda and Ford made up the top five.

    Last year sales had fallen by 8 percent to 296,634 units as the Covid-19 pandemic badly affected the economy, hitting people’s incomes and discretionary spending.

  • Bosch, Microsoft Join Forces To Develop Vehicle Software Platform

    Bosch, Microsoft Join Forces To Develop Vehicle Software Platform

    Bosch will work with Microsoft on a software platform for vehicles, it said on Thursday, as it strives to get a foot in the door to the fast-growing market for electromobility and automated driving technologies. By using cloud technology, the software platform will ensure that vehicles’ control units and computers can get software throughout their lifetime, the German auto supplier said.

    By using cloud technology, the software platform will ensure that vehicles’ control units and computers can get software throughout their lifetime

    The technology is based on Microsoft Azure and includes software modules from Bosch, it said, adding that they plan to use the software platform in-vehicle prototypes by the end of 2021. “We are thus creating the conditions for wireless updates to work just as smoothly and conveniently on vehicles as they do on smartphones,” said Bosch Managing Director Markus Heyn.

    The companies will also cooperate to adapt existing software tools to let automakers and suppliers to simplify and accelerate their own software updates. Last week, German carmaker Volkswagen AG announced similar cooperation with Microsoft to use its cloud computing services to help it streamline its software development efforts for self-driving cars.

  • Amazon India To Have 10,000 Electric Vehicles In Its Delivery Fleet By 2025

    Amazon India To Have 10,000 Electric Vehicles In Its Delivery Fleet By 2025

    Amazon India said that it will induct about 10,000 electric vehicles in its delivery fleet in the country. The e-commerce giant says that the idea is to reduce its carbon footprint in the country in accordance to the Climate Pledge that Amazon has signed. As part of the pledge, Amazon announced its plans to introduce 10,000 EVs into its delivery fleet globally in 2022 and one lakh vehicles by 2030, saving 4 million metric tonnes of carbon per year by 2030. Amazon had already begun an EV pilot project in a few cities across India and the learnings from the pilot project has helped the company to have a scalable and a long term EV delivery fleet by 2025. Amazon India announced this right after Amazon President and CEO, Jeff Bezos made a trip to India and announced an investment of $ 1 billion and creation of 1 million jobs by 2025.

    “The fleet of 10,000 EVs-including three-wheeler and four-wheeler vehicles-has been designed and manufactured by original equipment manufacturers in India,” the company said in a statement. The company has been working with a few Indian companies in order to ready a fleet of electric vehicles in its delivery fleet to ensure that last mile deliveries are sustainable. The government’s focus to encourage the adoption of electric vehicles in the country, and steps towards setting up of charging infrastructure with the FAME II policy, has helped the company accelerate and chart its vision for EVs in India, it added.

    “At Amazon India, we are committed to building a supply chain that will minimize the environmental impact of our operations,” Akhil Saxena, vice president for customer fulfillment (Asia Pacific and Emerging Markets) at Amazon, said in a statement.

  • Hella Develops Battery Solutions For Mild Hybrid Vehicles

    Hella Develops Battery Solutions For Mild Hybrid Vehicles

    Hella announced that it will develop and manufacture products that support all stages of automotive electrification. With new products like dual voltage battery management system and powerpack 48 Volt, the company is now one of the first on the market to offer innovative battery module solutions for mild hybrid vehicles. The new solutions enable savings of 5 to 6 grams of CO2 per kilometer and thus help to achieve CO2 targets in the short term.

    Starting 2020, newly registered vehicles in the EU will not be allowed to exceed a limit value of 95 grams of CO2 per kilometer. Hella’s dual voltage battery management system for the compact and mid-range class allows vehicles with internal combustion engines to be converted to a mild hybrid. It combines the conventional separate core elements such as 48 V battery, 12 V battery and voltage transformer (DC-DC converter) within a single product in the package space of a conventional lead-acid battery. This makes it easy to integrate the system into the existing vehicle architecture. Another advantage: The Dual Voltage Battery Management System eliminates the need for a lead-acid battery in the car. The innovative system consists of lithium-ion cells that are switched intelligently depending on the application. Thus the capacity can be used specifically in the 12-volt or 48-volt vehicle electrical system.

    Hella has designed the PowerPack 48 Volt for vehicles in higher power rating classes. It combines a 48-volt lithium-ion battery pack including battery management and DC-DC converter. In addition to the 12-volt battery, the PowerPack 48 is also drawn into the vehicle. It enables hybrid functions such as recuperation (ability to recover energy while braking) or active coasting (the internal combustion engine is switched off while driving) as well as other comfort functions for the luxury class. These include ambient lighting, automatic climate control and active chassis control.

  • Kia Partners With Amazon To Sell Charging Stations For Electric Vehicles

    Kia Partners With Amazon To Sell Charging Stations For Electric Vehicles

    Kia Motors America (KMA) in partnership with Amazon Home Services has announced a new program for its plug-in vehicle customers. The program will see Amazon sell and install electric vehicle charging stations at the customers house or office. The tie-up makes Kia, the second automaker after Tesla in America to offer the service online with the electric charging network. The manufacturer says the process of purchasing and installing a charging station will be as easy as buying other products on Amazon.

    Speaking about the new initiative, KMA – Car Planning and Telematics, Executive Director, Orth Hedrick said, “Home-charging can’t get any easier than this. Being able to order a Level 2 charger and installation through Amazon further demystifies and simplifies the experience for new Kia EV and PHEV owners. It’s just another example of how we’re constantly striving to provide the very best vehicles and customer experience.”

    Kia Motors has been actively working on improving its charging infrastructure in the US as it adds more electric cars to its portfolio. The company currently retails the Soul EV, Niro EV1, Niro PHEV and Optima PHEV, among other models in the country. Customers will find recommended Level 2 or 240-volt charging units selected by Kia on Amazon, along with information about home charging installation and customer reviews. The site also gives customers the cost for the installation and will schedule a licensed electrician for the same, if needed. The charging stations are backed by Amazon’s Happiness Guarantee plan. Kia’s vehicles in the US are offered with a 10 year/160,000 km warranty cover and roadside assistance.

    Kia and Amazon have set up a new ‘Charge my Kia’ portal for the sale of the electric charging stations. While buyers can purchase the Bosch 40-amp station that is available in partnership with the manufacturer, there are other charging stations available as well from companies like Chargepoint and Juicebox.

  • Amazon offering deliveries to parked vehicles

    Amazon offering deliveries to parked vehicles

    Expanding on its Amazon Key, which enables access for in-home deliveries, Amazon has started offering deliveries to vehicles.

    With Amazon Key-in-Car, Prime members with compatible vehicles can have packages delivered to the boots and back seats of their cars when parked at home or in public areas.

    Customers need to have a compatible vehicle from Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC or Volvo, reports The Verge.

    Free for Prime members, the service is so far available in 37 US cities following beta tests in California and Washington State for the past six months. Amazon is using multiple layers of verification to secure the in-car deliveries.

    The Amazon Key app also shares notifications with users throughout the four-hour delivery-time window, such as when the delivery is on its way, when the package was delivered and when the car was relocked.

    The service expands on the Amazon Key program, a lock-and-camera service that enables Prime members to receive packages directly inside their homes.

  • China to build more charging points for electric vehicles

    China to build more charging points for electric vehicles

    China plans to build 800,000 charging points, including 100,000 public ones, for electric vehicles this year to meet increasing demand, the National Energy Administration (NEA) said Thursday.

    A total of 100,000 public charging points have been installed nationwide in 2016, bringing the total number of public charging points in China to 150,000, according to the NEA.

    A total of 14,000 kilometers of highway has also been equipped with inter-city fast-charging stations, with an average spacing of 48.6 kilometers.

    Electric vehicles consumed more than 1.2 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity in China last year, saving about 400,000 tons of fuel, according to the NEA.

    In Beijing and Shanghai, a charging facility can now always be found within a radius of less than 5 km, while other major cities such as Guangzhou and Shenzhen are working toward this goal.

    “For the new year, China will work to solve the payment and information-related problems for charging facility operators and implement a unified national standard for charging ports of electric vehicles,” said the NEA.

    According to China’s 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020), the country will build a nationwide charging-station network that will fulfill the power demands of 5 million electric vehicles by 2020.

  • China October vehicle sales rise 20% at 2.2 million

    China October vehicle sales rise 20% at 2.2 million

    Passenger vehicle sales in China to retail customers rose 20 percent in October from a year earlier, the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) said on Tuesday.

    Auto retail sales totalled 2.2 million vehicles in October, CPCA said in a statement on its website. For January-October, passenger car sales rose 15.2 percent versus the same period in 2015, it said.

    The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, whose statistics are generally viewed as the benchmark for the industry, is due to report wholesale data for October on Thursday.

    The CPCA predicted 13 percent growth in passenger car sales for 2016, state media reported earlier on Tuesday.

  • Tata Motors signs MoU with PT Pindad to sell armoured vehicles in Indonesia

    Tata Motors signs MoU with PT Pindad to sell armoured vehicles in Indonesia

    Tata Motors and PT Pindad have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for cooperation to explore market potential of Tata Armoured Vehicles in Indonesia and other regions of ASEAN.

    The MoU also includes a study to check the feasibility of locally assembling Tata Armoured Vehicles at PT Pindad’s facility, in Bandung in West Java province of Indonesia.

    PT Pindad is an Indonesian state-owned enterprise specialising in military and commercial products.

    Commenting on the occasion, Biswadev Sengupta, president director of Tata Motors Indonesia, a subsidiary of Tata Motors – Agent licensee (APM) of Tata Motors brand in Indonesia, said, “This is a very important milestone for Tata Motors operations in Indonesia and is a matter of pride to be able to co-operate with PT Pindad, which is held in high esteem by the Indonesian community. I am sure that through this arrangement, we can create a lot of value in Indonesia, a market which we are committed to in the long term.”

    “This foray into the defense business in Indonesia, is in continuation with the strides made in the logistics business in the country, where more than 3000 Tata vehicles are already on the road, covering pickups, light trucks, buses and heavy trucks,” added Biswadev.

    PT Pindad provides the main weapon systems (Alat Utama Sistem Senjata or Alutsista) required to support independence in defence and security of the Republic of Indonesia. Furthermore, PT Pindad (Persero) also produces several industrial products for other aspects such as transportation and commercial explosives. Its activities cover design, development, engineering and fabrication as well as maintenance.

    Tata Motors has been associated with the country’s off-road defence and security forces, since 1958 and has supplied over 110,000 vehicles to the Indian military and paramilitary forces, so far. The company exports its range of defence vehicles to the SAARC, ASEAN and African regions.

  • BMW recalling 154,472 vehicles over fuel pumps

    BMW recalling 154,472 vehicles over fuel pumps

    BMW is recalling 154,472 vehicles registered in the United States and Canada for a fuel pump problem that could cause stalling, according to a filing with U.S. safety regulators and BMW.

    BMW told regulators that no injuries have been reported. Since 2014, the German-based company has conducted safety recall campaigns in China, Japan and South Korea for the same issue, according to a filing posted on Friday by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

    Of the vehicles recalled in North America, 88 percent are registered in the United States.

    BMW is recalling certain vehicles in the United States and Canada for model years 2007-2012. Among them in the United States are the X5 3.0si, X5 4.8i, X5 M, X5 xDrive30i, X5 xDrive35i, X5 xDrive48i and X5 xDrive50i, 2008-2011 X6 x Drive35i, X6 xDrive50i and X6 M, 2010-2011 X6 ActiveHybrid, according to the filing.

    Also the 535i xDrive Gran Turismo, 535i Gran Turismo, 550i xDrive Gran Turismo and 550i Gran Turismo, 2011-2012 528i, 535i, 535i xDrive, 550i and 550i xDrive and 2012 535i ActiveHybrid, 640i Convertible, 650i Convertible, 650i xDrive Convertible, 650i Coupe and 650i Coupe xDrive vehicles.

    BMW will notify owners and dealers to replace a fuel pump module free of charge beginning in early December. BMW owners can call BMW customer service for details.