Author: Stephen Edelstein

Racing tech may bring efficient in-wheel motors into more EVs

Elaphe in-wheel electric powertrainElaphe and McLaren are partnering to marry the former's in-wheel motor tech with the latter's racing expertise. At the recent 2023 CES in Las Vegas, the two companies announced an "in-wheel propulsion system" using Elaphe's in-wheel motors and inverters from McLaren Applied Technologies to create "highly efficient and hyper-responsive electric...

Shell buys Volta network and its free EV charging

Volta chargingVolta, a charging company distinguished by its partly free, partly ad-supported EV charging, announced Wednesday that it will be acquired by oil giant Shell. The two companies have signed a "definitive merger agreement" under which Shell will buy Volta in an all-cash transaction that values the charging company at $169 million, according to a...

Tesla cuts prices across the board up to 20%

2022 Tesla lineup  (Courtesy of Tesla, Inc.)Tesla has once again lowered prices. As of Thursday the automaker's online configurator shows price cuts for every model in its lineup. The Model Y received the biggest cut, of about 20% across the lineup. Including the new, higher $1,390 destination fee, the base Model Y Long Range now starts at $54,380, while the Model Y Performance now starts...

Mercedes reportedly plans to drop EQ badging for EVs

2023 Mercedes-Benz EQSMercedes-Benz could drop its EQ badge for electric cars as it moves toward an EV-only lineup, a German business newspaper reported. EQ was launched in 2016 as a sub-brand that would serve as a launch point for EVs, but Mercedes plans to drop the EQ nomenclature from the end of 2024, according to Handelsblatt (via Automotive News Europe). The...

DOE: In 2022 money, EV battery costs have kept falling

Mercedes-Benz Alabama battery factoryMany analyses have shown that EV battery costs stopped decreasing in 2022, putting off affordability goals. But the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently issued a reality check. Based on 2022-constant dollars, battery costs actually continued falling last year at the pack level, despite accelerated inflation, according to DOE estimates. The...