Daimler to offer Mercedes-Benz energy-storage system
By Ben Coxworth. Tesla recently did it to much acclaim, and now Daimler is doing it too – the German automotive corporation is launching its own home/business battery energy storage system. Developed by Daimler subsidiary Deutsche ACCUmotive, the Mercedes-Benz energy storage unit utilizes lithium-ion batteries to store energy generated by solar cells, wind turbines or […]
Electric Vehicles To Become Mainstream In Short Period Of Time
By Henry Hewitt. What would the world look like if electric cars took the lead in market share by 2030? “Couldn’t happen,” you say? Consider the ramping up of some of the most basic items that have conquered the American market over the past century. Refrigerators went from a luxury item to 60 percent household […]
Simon Bridges on drive for electric vehicles
By Ellen Read. The number of businesses using electric vehicles (EVs) for their company fleet will increase if Transport Minister Simon Bridges has his way. “Next month I plan to lead a delegation with interests in intelligent transport systems (ITS) to Japan and California. While in California I plan to promote New Zealand as a […]
Kiwi Tesla co-founder now making trucks electric
A Kiwi who helped found the Tesla motor group is now leading a rapidly-expanding company which converts diesel trucks into electric hybrids. Ian Wright and some fellow engineers launched Tesla Motors twelve years ago which helped jumpstart the market for electric cars. Now, Mr Wright wants to electrify noisy, gas-guzzling trucks that deliver packages, haul […]
Electric push but few incentives
Transport Minister enthusiastic about EVs but big subsidies or tax breaks off the table. By Grant Bradley. The Government wants to speed up the slow uptake of electric vehicles but won’t be offering any large financial incentives. While in some other countries the adoption of plug-in cars has been rapid – with about 750,000 now […]
The Insider: Switch-on time for Minister
Energy and Resources Minister Simon Bridges has been talking the talk about electric cars and how they might not only help the environment, but also use all that renewable energy New Zealand has. One way to increase the supply of new-tech cars is for corporate fleets to buy them, then flick them on a few […]
Electric Vehicles | We had EVs in the 1920s, why aren’t ready for them now?
By Dave Moore. When the Minister of Transport recently uttered that New Zealand was “the most EV-ready country” recently, one wonders what kind of research was involved in making that statement. The fact that other countries have had supportive attitudes, subsidies and infrastructures in place for a decade already, and a lot longer than that […]
Mass-market electric cars will go 200 miles, but are still a long way from being profitable
By Steve LeVine. Several major automobile makers are racing to create electric cars within an upper-mass-market sweet spot—traveling 200 miles or more on a charge, and costing $30,000 to $40,000. But a new report adds to doubts that they will make money, especially at first. Electric cars are currently in a variation of the innovation […]
The auto tech reckoning has arrived
By Lauren Hepler. For all the talk about all the ways technology stands to revolutionize the experience of driving, most cars on the market today actually speak much louder about the challenge of turning the hype around auto tech into reality. Take the futuristic touchscreens now embedded in the dashboards of some car models. The […]