Industry

When Tesla opened its U.S. Superchargers to non-Tesla vehicles in late February, electric vehicle owners rushed to join the network. After downloading the Tesla smartphone app and registering a payment method, drivers of Volkswagen ID4s, Rivian pickups, Chevrolet Bolts and other nameplates gained access to the Supercharger network, considered the gold standard for its size,

OWOSSO, Mich. — The public charging infrastructure required to alleviate the consumer range anxiety that’s hindering adoption of electric vehicles doesn’t yet exist in many communities. That’s why General Motors dealer Tony Young was among the first in the nation to install public chargers as part of a program the automaker launched late last year.

In this week’s pages, we explore America’s charging challenge. Constructing public charging infrastructure for what will be hundreds of millions of electric vehicles is a time-consuming, complicated process that requires coordination and investment across sectors. Many players, including automakers, charging companies, retailers, utility companies and other stakeholders, are coming together to develop a convenient, reliable

Simon Property Group’s malls and outlets are stuffed with amenities: hotels, restaurants and even a play fossil pit for young children. Add more than a thousand electric vehicle chargers to the mix. Simon is one of a growing number of companies — including Starbucks, 7-Eleven, Walmart, Target, Sonic Drive-In and Taco Bell — that are

Private equity and other investors funneled $394 million into U.S. transportation technology startups in March, about a 43 percent decline from the previous month, according to data compiled by Automotive News. Investment by venture capitalists, companies and others into burgeoning advanced transportation technology companies has cooled sequentially from $1.16 billion in January to $690.5 million

Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. reported an 83 percent jump in revenue that well outdid market expectations, fueled by climbing demand for cleaner vehicles and falling raw materials costs. Sales at the world’s biggest maker of battery cells for electric vehicles came in at 89 billion yuan ($13 billion) for the three months ended March 31,

The Nissan Leaf — the OG of electric vehicles in the U.S. — has become a casualty of tightening battery sourcing requirements under the Inflation Reduction Act. The Smyrna, Tenn.-built Leaf — among the least expensive EVs on the market — is no longer eligible for a tax credit under new rules that went into

NEW YORK — Lincoln’s new president is working to galvanize the luxury brand’s stalled revival by shrinking its dealer network, refocusing its electrification strategy and updating its products to spark interest from new and returning customers. “We have to get our mojo back,” Dianne Craig told Automotive News this week in New York as Lincoln

BANGKOK — Chinese automaker Changan Auto will invest $285 million in a facility in Thailand to produce 100,000 electric vehicles annually, Thailand’s Board of Investment said on Thursday. The company aims to sell the EVs in Thailand, Southeast Asia, Australia, and South Africa, said the board’s secretary-general, Narit Therdsteerasukdi.  Thailand is Asia’s fourth-largest autos assembly

Telsa is willing to sacrifice profit for higher volume in the short term, said CEO Elon Musk, reaffirming the automaker’s commitment to price cuts after missing first-quarter expectations for total gross margin. “We’ve taken the view that pushing for higher volumes and a larger fleet is the right choice here, versus a lower volume and

GAYDON, England — The Jaguar brand will reinvent itself with the 2025 launch of an all-electric, four-door Grand Tourer model that will have “exuberant and fearless” styling, executives said. The car will be the brand’s fastest model to date and will cost more than 100,000 pounds ($124,200) as Jaguar moves more upscale into the ultraluxury

BMW’s flagship electric sedan is getting more vroom from the M performance subbrand. The 2024 BMW i7 M70 xDrive, which rides on an M-tuned chassis, is being billed as the quickest and most powerful model in the German luxury marque’s battery-powered portfolio. A pair of electric motors deliver a combined 650 hp and propel the

Hesai Group said it will “vigorously defend itself” against allegations of patent infringement by Ouster, a rival company. The Shanghai lidar maker is facing a patent-infringement lawsuit and a U.S. International Trade Commission complaint by Ouster, a San Francisco lidar maker. Ouster says Hesai stole information from five of its lidar patents, while Hesai’s response

NEW YORK — Volkswagen‘s new global flagship BEV sedan, the ID7, promises to be the German brand’s most efficient vehicle ever, with a more competitive range, an extremely aerodynamic shape and an interior packed full of innovative successors to currently popular analog equipment. Due to arrive in Europe and China this year and temporarily known

Chinese battery maker SVolt Energy Technology is set to expand its footprint in Europe to as many as five factories, with talks to supply the region’s carmakers well underway. SVolt, spun out of BMW partner Great Wall Motor, already has two locations in Germany with one facility set to start supplying Stellantis from 2025. The

Cruise, the self-driving technology company owned mostly by General Motors, said it has moved out of R&D and beyond the early stages of commercialization. Now, it’s gearing up for the next phase: rapid growth. In 2023, Cruise aims to expand its commercial operations, currently limited to portions of San Francisco, Phoenix and Austin, Texas. It’s

LONDON – Legacy automakers got off to a late start with their commercial electric vans, opening the door for other electric commercial vehicle (ECV) makers to gain a foothold, as the Maxus brand from China’s SAIC Motor Corp. has done in Europe. Fleet customers complain they simply cannot obtain enough electric vans from the likes

SAN FRANCISCO — My first trip in a driverless vehicle went smoothly — until the car pulled over and ended the ride. I arranged to ride in one of the autonomous, electric Chevrolet Bolts deployed by General Motors-backed Cruise to try out self-driving technology for myself while I was here last month for a GMC

Lidar maker Ouster is suing China’s Hesai Group for patent infringement and wants the U.S. International Trade Commission to investigate the company for illegally importing technology based on five of Ouster’s lidar patents. Ouster filed its complaint with the USITC against rival lidar maker Hesai and its related entities on Wednesday. San Francisco-based Ouster also

Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Global said on Thursday that it is working with Chinese carmakers to develop its own robotaxis, which it aims to put into service by 2025, revealing a concept one with robotic arms it called “Didi Neuron.” The company said that it is collaborating with multiple new energy carmakers in China on

Self-driving tech company Zoox Inc. may have created a robotaxi that looks like nothing else on the road today. But the Amazon-owned company says the process it used to ensure its toaster-shaped vehicles met federal safety standards is a conventional one used by other manufacturers. “People look at it and go, ‘How is this possible?’

The next-generation, two-door hardtop electric Mini Cooper will be shorter and lighter than the current model and built on a dedicated electric vehicle platform. Mini released images previewing the two-door hardtop all-electric Cooper on Tuesday. According to media reports, it will pack 40 kilowatt-hour and 54-kWh batteries. The current 181-hp electric Mini Cooper provides an

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Energy Department is proposing an update to a decades-old calculation that determines the petroleum-equivalent fuel economy of electric vehicles for NHTSA’s fuel economy standards. The proposed rule-making is in response to a 2021 petition submitted by two environmental groups, the Natural Resources Defense Council and Sierra Club, which argued the calculation

What if ordering food in the car didn’t mean contending with a slow-moving drive-thru lane? That’s the premise of a new offering from Domino’s Pizza that can turn cars themselves into ordering devices via Apple CarPlay. Domino’s is the first pizza chain to have integrated an app with CarPlay, which turns a car’s infotainment screen

Three in four vehicles in the U.S. could be electric by 2050 if certain states enact California’s ban on gasoline vehicle sales by 2035. If the 17 states that follow the U.S. Clean Air Act adopt California’s Advanced Clean Cars II rule, which requires all vehicles sold to be zero-emission by 2035, more than 239

Even as it posted losses that topped $400 million last year, lidar maker Luminar Technologies sees a path to profitability by leveraging its relationships with automakers and pursuing partnerships in the Plans include building a new manufacturing facility in Mexico, developing a new line of automotive sensors and hunting for strategic acquisitions. The Orlando company

SHANGHAI — Huawei Technologies is partnering with more legacy automakers to produce Aito-branded electric vehicles, the company’s senior executive said on Saturday, in a move to expand its presence in the auto industry. Huawei will team up with Chery Automobile, BAIC Motor and Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Group in jointly developing and manufacturing Aito-branded vehicles, Richard

WASHINGTON — General Motors’ self-driving unit Cruise LLC recalled 300 robotaxis and updated their software after a March 23 crash with a San Francisco bus. In a document submitted Monday to NHTSA, Cruise said the collision was caused by “an issue related to prediction of the unique movements of articulated vehicles,” such as buses and

Self-driving startup Aurora Innovation Inc. reached a milestone Monday, declaring its autonomous driving system is now “feature complete” and possesses the capabilities needed for commercial service. It’s a notable benchmark in the company’s efforts to launch a self-driving truck business by the end of 2024. But refining the technology comprises only one part of Aurora’s

NEW YORK – Walmart plans to have its own network of electric vehicle charging stations for public use by 2030, to tap into growing adoption of EVs in the United States. The new fast charging stations will be placed at thousands of Walmart and Sam’s Club stores, alongside nearly 1,300 it already operates as part