Monthly Archive: April 2023

BYD Yangwang begins pre-sale of U8 off-road SUV at $160,000

Yangwang U8 is offered in two versions, both priced at RMB 1,098,000, with deliveries set to begin in September.

BYD Yangwang begins pre-sale of U8 off-road SUV at $160,000-CnEVPost

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Yangwang, BYD's premium brand, began pre-sales of its first model, the U8, at the Shanghai auto show today at a price of RMB 1,098,000 ($160,000).

The car will be available in two versions -- the Premium Edition and the Off-road Master Edition, the difference between the two is that the former is more richly equipped, while the latter has more room for modification.

The Yangwang U8 has a maximum power output of over 1,100 horsepower and takes 3.6 seconds to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h. The vehicle has a pure electric range of 180 km on CLTC standard.

The car supports fast charging, taking 18 minutes to go from 30 percent to 80 percent. It is equipped with an external discharge function with a maximum discharge power of 6 kW.

The vehicle has a wheelbase of 3,050 mm and is equipped with BYD's technologies including e⁴, DiSus-P and blade battery.

The e⁴ technology allows the model to float on the water and in emergency situations and make U-turns on the spot.

The DiSus-P system allows the vehicle to achieve autonomous height adjustment with a total suspension adjustment travel of 150 mm and a maximum wading depth of 1,000 mm.

DiSus-P also supports continuous adaptive adjustment to respond to road conditions through intelligent adjustment, enhancing body stability during aggressive driving such as high-speed cornering.

Deliveries of the Yangwang U8 Premium Edition will begin in September, and deliveries of the Off-road Master Edition will start later.

On January 5 BYD officially launched the Yangwang brand and officially unveiled the Yangwang U8 and Yangwang U9 models, both of which will be equipped with e⁴ technology.

e⁴ is China's first mass-produced quad-motor independent drive technology platform, able to achieve precise control of vehicle four-wheel dynamics by virtue of four-motor independent vector control technology, BYD said at the time.

On April 10, BYD announced a body control system called DiSus, which is divided into three branches, including the Intelligent Damping Body Control System (DiSus-C), the Intelligent Air Body Control System (DiSus-A), and the Intelligent Hydraulic Body Control System (DiSus-P).

DiSus-P is the most advanced of these three branches, and BYD says it is the world's first intelligent hydraulic body control system that allows both synchronized lifting of all four wheels and independent lifting of a single wheel.

($1 = 6.8769 RMB)

BYD officially launches Yangwang brand, debuts hardcore off-road SUV U8 and supercar U9

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CleanTechnica Review: Snapcycle Stinger Fat Tire E-Bike

A couple weeks ago, I was talking with a representative from Snapcycle, the manufacturer of the R1 e-bike we reviewed last year. Aside from an issue that is likely the result of user error, the bike is running strong, so when they asked me if I wanted to review some of their new 2023 models, […]

$25,000 Electric Car Coming To USA? It’s Already Here!

For a couple of days, I saw a CNBC headline being featured on Google News about a coming $25,000 electric car, a potential industry disruptor. Of course, there’s been hype for a few years now about a potential $25,000 electric car from Tesla, but it was in the news more so recently, so this is […]

Alexander Dennis Repurposes Larbert Facility To Increase Zero-Emission Bus Manufacturing Capability

Alexander Dennis, a division of NFI Group Inc., one of the leading independent bus manufacturers in the world, has announced intentions to convert its current Larbert headquarters located in Scotland into a future manufacturing plant. From August 2023, the Larbert site will concentrate on producing the new Enviro400EV zero-emission bus, putting the newest body on […]

Zeekr releases Europe strategy, 2 models to debut in Sweden and Netherlands in Q4

Zeekr's European headquarters will be in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and its first models in Europe will be the flagship Zeekr 001 shooting brake and Zeekr X urban SUV.

Zeekr releases Europe strategy, 2 models to debut in Sweden and Netherlands in Q4-CnEVPost

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Zeekr, the premium electric vehicle brand of Geely Holding Group, today officially unveiled its Europe strategy, marking an important milestone in its ambitious global growth plan.

Zeekr will offer European customers an electric vehicle experience based on a direct-to-customer business model, it announced on the first day of the Shanghai auto show.

Its first models in Europe are the flagship Zeekr 001 shooting brake, which has a range of about 600 kilometers, and the Zeekr X urban SUV, which was launched in China on April 12.

They will begin arriving in Sweden and the Netherlands in the fourth quarter, with other countries to follow quickly, Zeekr said.

"It’s been just two years since we revealed our first state-of-the-art electric vehicle -- the ZEEKR 001. The response from customers to our brand has been incredible with over 93,000 units sold already," said Andy An, Zeekr's global CEO.

Zeekr was valued at $13 billion following its last $750 million Series A funding round, and launching the brand in Europe is a key step in its global strategy, An said.

Zeekr 001 and Zeekr X were developed at Zeekr's global design and R&D center in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Zeekr's European team of more than 1,500 engineers and designers is already in place and has produced several models for the Geely Group. Their long-standing experience is a core strength of Zeekr's successful entry into Europe, the company said.

Zeekr's European headquarters will be in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and will have a leadership team that has held senior positions at other premium and luxury automakers.

Zeekr Europe's CEO is Spiros Fotinos, whose LinkedIn page shows he has worked for Toyota, Lexus and joined Zeekr in September 2022.

European consumers are increasingly ready to move to EVs and are more open than ever to new technology brands, especially those that focus on electric vehicles, Fotinos said.

Zeekr was officially launched as an independent company in 2021, with its first model, the Zeekr 001, launched on April 15, 2021, and deliveries beginning in October 2021.

On November 1, 2022, Zeekr's second model, the Zeekr 009 MPV, was launched, and its deliveries began on January 15.

On April 12, Zeekr launched its third model, the Zeekr X, which it hopes will become the benchmark for luxury compact cars.

Zeekr delivered 6,663 vehicles in March, up 271.20 percent from 1,795 in the same month last year and up 22.14 percent from 5,455 in February, according to data it released on April 1.

By the end of March, Zeekr's cumulative deliveries since its inception stood at 93,182.

Zeekr launches Zeekr X SUV to gain further share from market dominated by German luxury automakers

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Li Auto unveils all-electric solution, 1st BEV model to feature CATL’s 4C Qilin Battery

By 2025, Li Auto's product portfolio will include a super flagship model, five EREVs and five BEVs.  |  Li Auto US Li Auto HK

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Li Auto (NASDAQ: LI) today officially unveiled its all-electric solution, following the success of its extended-range electric vehicles (EREVs) in China.

The company's all-electric solution, based on the 800 V high-voltage platform, enables a battery electric vehicle (BEV) to get 400 kilometers of range on a 10-minute charge, it announced today at an event on the first day of the Shanghai auto show.

With the launch of this solution, Li Auto will officially enter a phase of parallel development of its EREV and BEV product lines.

By 2025, Li Auto's product array will include one super flagship model, five EREVs, and five BEVs, it said.

By then, Li Auto's models for the market priced above RMB 200,000 will fully meet the needs of family users, the company said.

Li Auto's first all-electric model will be the world's first to feature 's 4C Qilin Battery, it said today.

C refers to the battery's charge multiplier, and 4C means that the battery pack can theoretically be fully charged in one-fourth of an hour.

CATL officially launched the Qilin Battery, or CTP (cell to pack) 3.0 battery, on June 23 last year, claiming to bring a new level of battery system integration to a new level.

The 009 is the world's first Qilin Battery-equipped MPV, and deliveries of the MPV equipped with this battery began yesterday. Li Auto previously said that its first BEV will also be an MPV.

The core technology of Li Auto's 800V solution is a high-voltage electric drive system based on third-generation power semiconductors, and the 4C supercharger pile will reach a maximum output of 480 kW.

By the end of May, Li Auto's first 25 supercharging stations will open for trial operation and be available to all electric vehicle owners, it announced today.

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Each station will be equipped with three regular fast-charging piles and one 4C super-fast charging pile, it said.

By the end of this year, Li Auto will have completed the construction of more than 300 supercharging stations located along highways, it said.

By 2025, Li Auto will have 3,000 supercharging stations covering 90 percent of China's highway miles and major cities, the company said.

In addition to announcing the all-electric solution, Li Auto today also unveiled its latest-generation assisted driving system, AD Max 3.0, and said the software will be free for life.

Li Auto's current assisted driving systems include AD Max and AD Pro.

AD Max 2.0 is powered by NVIDIA's Orin X chip and Hesai's LiDAR, while AD Pro 2.0 is powered by Horizon Robotics' Journey 5 chip.

AD Max 3.0's all-scenario Navigation on ADAS (NOA) will kick off internal testing this quarter and will cover more than 100 cities by the end of the year, Li Auto said.

Li Auto delivers 20,823 vehicles in Mar, up 25% from Feb

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