Renault presents entire EV ecosystem in Paris

Renault not only presented the R4 E-Tech for the first time at the Paris Motor Show, but also four transport concepts tailored to the new electric car. The transport concepts were developed together with several French startups and are actually available for purchase. The electric vehicle lineup includes a caravan, a small electric aeroplane, an electric jet ski and an electric motorcycle. All four can be pre-ordered at the trade fair and are to be produced in small series. According to Renault, they will be available from next spring, just like the R4 E-Tech. “For the reveal of Renault 4 E-Tech electric, we are proud to be partnering four French start-ups presenting four all-electric means of mobility. It’s a stylish way to show the general public how e-mobility has developed to encompass all forms of transport, including the 4L, which is now Renault 4 E-Tech electric,” said Arnaud Belloni, Global Chief Marketing Officer, Renault Brand. The electric aircraft was developed together with the Toulouse-based startup Aura Aero and features two seats, a wingspan of 8.78 metres and a flight time of an hour. Charging is stated to be possible in under thirty minutes. Carapate Adventure helped develop the caravan trailer in a retro-design, which contains “bed that doubles as a sofa and an indoor-outdoor kitchen,” and have a weight of 560 kg. Ateliers HeritageBike is the startup responsible for designing the electric motorbike, of which it writes: “Inspired by 1980s design, the Heritage Spirit Scrambler is available with a 7 kW motor (280 Nm of torque) and a battery of up to 4.6 kWh for a standard range of 110 km.” Finally, the electric jet ski is highly reminiscent of a moped, but is technically designed as a water e-bike by Searider. The ‘Seacruiser’ can go as fast as 55 kph on water and runs on two 22 kW electric motors. It has a runtime of 90 minutes, and is described as “a great choice for both sports enthusiasts and novices.” renault.com

Allego installs fast chargers at 45 Ascencio locations in Belgium

According to the company, Ascencio specialises in investments in retail properties on the outskirts of cities, with a focus on supermarkets and shopping centres. It is thus hardly surprising that the high-power chargers, which offer charging capacities of up to 400 kW, are to be installed mainly in car parks at such locations. “Retail outlets on the outskirts of towns and cities are strategic locations both for drivers, who can access charge points along major roads and do their shopping while charging, and for retailers, who benefit from the increased footfall of customers on the retail site,” says Thomas Vandervecken, Business Developer Manager Belux at Allego. However, it is still unclear how the total of 212 planned charging points will be distributed across the 45 locations. It is also not clear from the press release which specific locations will be equipped with charging infrastructure. The only thing that is clear is that construction will begin “once the technical usage analyses have been completed and the necessary permits obtained.” Incidentally, the project itself does not require any investment on the part of Ascencio. “Our partnership with Allego is a great example of a win-win project as part of Ascencio’s ESG strategy: it aims to move towards carbon neutrality for ground transportation, while making our commercial sites more attractive by offering super-fast charging to our customers, local residents and passing motorists – all at no cost to our retailers,” says Bernard Sergeant, Head of Operations and ESG at Ascencio. “As a European charge point operator, we have the largest public charging network in Belgium (with both slow and ultra-fast charging stations). We have been able to achieve this growth thanks to our landowner partners, such as Ascencio, as well as networks of petrol pumps and road network operators,” adds Vandervecken. globenewswire.com

GM invests $10 million in Forge Nano

The investment of USD 10 million is being made by GM Ventures, the venture capital subsidiary of General Motors. Forge Nano is a materials research company that is developing a process for scaling up atomic layer deposition (ALD). Forge Nano wants to use this to increase the energy density of battery cells. The technology is exciting for electric car batteries, which is why Volkswagen also invested USD 10 million in the company in 2019. Specifically, atomic layer deposition is a surface technology in which thin-film coatings are applied to battery materials in order to control chemistry and structure at the atomic level. With its technology called ‘Atomic Armor’, Forge Nano wants to develop thin-film coatings for GM to improve battery performance and reduce costs. Forge Nano also plans to build prototypes of lithium-ion battery cells at its headquarters in Thornton, Colorado, to demonstrate the capabilities of its technology. With the investment, GM aims to improve battery performance and lower the cost of electric vehicles to make them an attractive option for all vehicle buyers: ‘”GM Ventures’ primary goal is to bring disruptive technology into the GM ecosystem to improve products and processes,” said Anirvan Coomer, managing director of GM Ventures. “Forge Nano’s Atomic Armor technology has game-changing potential for our battery materials at significant scale. They have already demonstrated the ability to expand cathode capabilities, which is the most expensive battery cell component. This could unlock benefits for customers and the business.” Paul Lichty, CEO of Forge Nano, added: “Forge Nano’s mission is to make better materials for a better world. General Motors’ investment will allow us to further enhance battery material performance and durability, while allowing us to expand our footprint in other key areas – like semiconductors.We look forward to working closely with GM to enhance battery cell performance for future electric vehicles.” Forge Nano has already received more than 100 million US dollars from investors to date, including Mitsui Kinzoku, LG Technology Ventures, Sumitomo Corporation of Americas, Air Liquide and SBI Investment in addition to General Motors and Volkswagen. globenewswire.com, gm.com

Iveco Bus to electrify its Annonay plant

Domenico Nucera, President of Iveco Bus and currently also President of the ACEA Bus and Coach Division, made the announcement at an event on Europe’s industrial strategy in Strasbourg. He said Iveco Bus would “electrify its French historic plant in Annonay this year.” The production of the two aforementioned battery-electric buses of the Iveco and Heuliez brands has already been decided. However, the production lines will be designed so that the E-Way-H2 hydrogen bus can also be built there. In addition, the site will be equipped with a battery assembly line “allowing Iveco Bus to control its entire value chain to best serve its French and European customers.” Iveco Bus has five plants in Europe, two each in France (Annonay and Rorthais) and Italy (Brescia and Foggia), and one in Vysoké Myto in the Czech Republic. Over 5,000 people are employed at the sites. Since the separation of the Iveco Group from its former main investor CNH Industrial, the company has also increasingly been offering electric buses. “Maintaining competitive production in Europe is a challenge but also an opportunity for reindustrialisation,” said Domenico Nucera. “We are rising to the challenge of the energy transition by investing massively in our manufacturing sites in France, as well as in Italy and the Czech Republic.” Although Iveco emphasised its own projects and plans to invest 600 million euros (including in a new electric bus platform), it also called for the involvement of other players. “Financial support from the States and the European Union will be crucial for this transformation, along with enhanced cooperation with public transport operators,” it said. ivecogroup.com

VW North America boss Pablo Di Si apparently has to go

According to a report from the German Manager Magazin, the carmaker allegedly wants to give Pablo Di Si the boot due to poor sales figures for the ID.4 in North America. The car was supposed to be built and sold 100,000 times a year in the US – VW expanded the factory in Chattanooga for this purpose. However, in the first three quarters of this year, VW only sold 16,400 units. There have been repeated recalls due to technical defects. Most recently, US authorities warned that the doors of the ID.4 could open while driving. Almost 100,000 vehicles are affected by the recall, and even worse, VW is currently not allowed to sell the model in the United States. The current business figures in North America are also not favourable. VW’s earnings programme for the region is said to be 1.3 billion euros short of expectations by 2025. A deficit of 700 million euros alone is estimated for higher discounts, with an additional 900 million euros for lower sales figures and an unfavourable model mix. The few positive effects can only offset this to a small extent. Country manager Pablo Di Si apparently planned far too positively, is now unable to deliver, and will thus probably have to resign soon. Stefan Mecha, currently head of VW in China, and Škoda CEO Klaus Zellmer are rumoured to be candidates to replace him. In any case, the challenges in the US market are considerable. It is not only sales of the ID.4 that urgently need to be boosted, but also expectations for the ID.Buzz, the vehicle of hope, have apparently already dwindled. And the bread-and-butter car for the US market, the SUV called Atlas, which is not available in Europe, is also getting on in years. VW also wants to become more American with the revitalised US brand Scout, which has been added to the portfolio following the takeover of truck manufacturer Navistar. Scout plans to present its first two models as early as next week, namely an SUV and a pickup truck, which will compete against popular models such as the Ford F-150, the Ram 1500 and the Chevrolet Silverado. Scout was actually supposed to be a purely electric brand. However, according to Manager Magazin, VW is now considering also offering plug-in hybrids from Scout. At the same time, the market launch of Scout is likely to be delayed by at least a year, according to the report. So far, Scout has announced a launch for the end of 2026 – but according to the report, this could become 2028. manager-magazin.de (in German)

Confirmed: No financial aid for Lilium from Germany

On Thursday, government representatives confirmed it had not reached a majority in favour of the project. Last week, numerous concerns of parliamentarians in the Budget Committee became known. However, Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) had campaigned in favour of state aid in the form of a guarantee at the time. Later, both Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) “campaigned for the aid to the very end,” as Der Spiegel now writes. It is precisely this intensive campaigning by Scholz that is now causing scepticism. “It is always impressive what this man has time for,” Der Spiegel quotes a member of the Budget Committee. “I’ve never seen anything like it,” adds another committee member. “It would have been so easy to make decisions in the taxpayer’s interests.” While Scholz’s party, the SPD, favoured the state aid, according to its chief budget officer Dennis Rohde, there was no majority in the coalition. Bavaria’s Minister President Markus Söder (CSU) also called the decision on X a “bitter setback for Germany as a centre of technology.” The 50 million euro loan from the federal government would have been flanked by an equally high loan from the Free State of Bavaria. The Munich-based startup has long been struggling to obtain a state guarantee for a loan of at least 100 million euros – and had threatened to leave Germany if this did not work out. This threat caught on with some politicians, who feared the loss of a key technology of the future. The current decision was preceded by a so-called due diligence review, which the German government and the Free State of Bavaria had commissioned the state development bank KfW to carry out. Depending on the outcome, Lilium was to receive a potential state guarantee as collateral for a KfW loan. According to previous statements, Lilium is aiming for a credit volume of at least 100 million euros. Founded by graduates of the Technical University of Munich, the startup is developing a seven-seater electric aeroplane that takes off vertically. Only in the summer did the company announce a major order from Saudi Arabia with a firm order for 50 jets. The development of the electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOL) is costly. The company employs 850 people at its headquarters in Oberpfaffenhofen near Munich, but has never generated any turnover. According to media reports, Lilium has already received 1.5 billion euros from investors and has largely used it up. According to Der Spiegel, the capital requirement until the planned type certification in 2026 should be between 300 and 500 million euros. The first manned flight is scheduled for 2025. spiegel.de (in German)

Will a consortium of investors support Northvolt?

This was reported by the news agency Bloomberg, citing insiders.Goldman Sachs Asset Management is Northvolt’s second-largest shareholder and, according to Bloomberg, is actively involved in finding a solution to the Swedish battery manufacturer’s “liquidity crisis.” There is talk of Northvolt needing 200 million euros to address its short-term needs – around 150 million euros are said to have already been secured through verbal commitments, the news portal reports. A Northvolt spokesperson declined to comment to Bloomberg. On Tuesday, the company announced that it was making progress on the financing package and was continuing to work “intensively” on the proposal. Co-founder Harald Mix had already announced in a Swedish newspaper commentary that he had provided more than 1.5 billion Swedish kronor (144 million dollars) in fresh capital. Northvolt has come under increasing pressure since the summer. At that time, it became known that shareholder BMW had cancelled an order for battery cells worth billions – apparently because the Swedes were behind schedule and BMW would no longer need the ordered prismatic cells at a later date. The Munich-based company is switching to round cells for the upcoming electric cars based on the Neue Klasse. The events surrounding the BMW order led to founder and CEO Peter Carlsson admitting that he had been “a little too aggressive” with his expansion plan. The focus was thus placed on supplying customers from the first Northvolt Gigafactory site in Skellefteå – further expansion was put to the test. However, this was just the start of a whole series of changes. A new CFO, Pia Aaltonen-Forsell, was appointed in July because her predecessor, Alexander Hartman, will revise expansion plans as Chief Transformation Officer. When a top manager is permanently assigned to this task alone, it is clearly no easy task. The newly formed management team has also decided to make its first cuts: In August, the research centre in California, which Northvolt had taken over in 2021 along with Cuberg, was closed down. In September, secondary businesses such as cathode material production and a battery storage plant were deprioritised to strengthen the core business – the production of battery cells. 1,600 jobs will be cut at three Swedish sites, and 20 per cent of jobs will be cut internationally. At the beginning of October, Northvolt announced that the subsidiary Northvolt Ett Expansion AB, responsible for the cancelled factory expansion, had filed for insolvency. The German Manager Magazin now writes, citing people involved, that this subsidiary was responsible for bundling production for Audi and BMW. “Audi, too, as confirmed by high-ranking Group and brand managers, has therefore initially withdrawn its order from Northvolt,” the article states. Bloomberg states that Goldman Sachs’ involvement is intended to give other investors a sense of security and persuade them to also participate in the necessary financing. It is not only pure investors who are involved in Northvolt, but also customers such as the Volkswagen Group and BMW. It means that there are also vastly different interests among the shareholders. While BMW has postponed its plans to purchase battery cells from Northvolt, the VW Group depends on the cells – for example, for Scania’s electric trucks or Porsche’s upcoming two-seater sports cars. Although VW had already hinted at helping Northvolt to scale up cell production in its factory, major financial injections from Wolfsburg seem rather unlikely in view of its own cost-cutting plans and the public censure of German plants. A Scania spokesperson told Bloomberg they are “in close dialogue with Northvolt” but could not comment further. bnnbloomberg.ca, manager-magazin.de (in German)

Porsche Macan driving report: Is the base model enough?

First things first: At this point, we do not know how much Porsche you will get for the entry-level price of 80,700 euros. The test car was equipped with numerous options from the still long list of extras (and extra charges), which pushed the price up into the six-figure range. Those reluctant to tick the boxes for the expensive options can order a Macan for less than 95,000 euros – and would still benefit from the full electric discount for company car taxation. But what is available for those 80,700 euros plus extras? Porsche’s base model also has a 100 kWh battery in the underbody, of which 94.9 kWh can be utilised. As the Macan does not get a suffix, we can rule out the smaller 83 kWh gross/75 kWh net battery that Audi offers in its Q6 e-tron PPE model. The Macan thus offers the same energy content as its all-wheel-drive brothers, even in the most affordable version, and the same charging power of up to 270 kW. The drive system is based on the Macan 4, presented at the world premiere in January – albeit without the second electric motor on the front axle. The permanently excited synchronous electric motor (PSM) has an active length of 200 millimetres and a diameter of 210 millimetres. Together with the pulse inverter designed for 450 amps, the motor has an output of 250 kW (265 kW in overboost) and a torque of 563 Nm. Porsche wanted to develop the sportiest SUV in the segment In times when 400 kW or more is not uncommon for electric cars, it sounds like a relatively manageable performance. However, with a top speed of 220 kph and 5.7 seconds for the sprint to 100 kph, the entry-level Macan is well in line with the competition. Its Audi counterpart, the Q6 e-tron Performance, takes a whole second longer to reach 100 kph and is ten kilometres per hour slower at top speed. And if you look at the bestseller in the segment, the Tesla Model Y, the Macan sits between the rear-wheel drive model with a large battery (5.9s; 217 kph) and the all-wheel drive model (5.0s; 217 kph) – with the difference that the Tesla is almost 30,000 euros cheaper. With a WLTP range of up to 641 kilometres, the Porsche is on par with the Q6 e-tron but ahead of the Model Y (600 km for the rear-wheel drive model). However, the two PPE electric cars need a battery that is around 20 kWh larger to beat the Tesla. The Q6 e-tron with the smaller battery achieves a range of 533 kilometres. However, we don’t want to compare models on paper but want to look at their performance on the road. When developing the new Macan, Porsche aimed to develop the sportiest SUV in the segment. A goal that will become important later on. An improved e-route planner complements the charging technology. When we requested a test route to Berlin in Metzingen, south of Stuttgart, with the battery half full, a fully planned route with three charging stops was provided within a few seconds. Sounds like a lot at first, but at second glance, it makes sense: on the one hand, with a full battery, you would certainly only have needed two charging stops on the way to Berlin – but there are also spontaneous journeys before which you can’t charge to 100 per cent as planned. The Macan knows its charging curve very well: it does not charge rigidly to 80 per cent (which would take 21 minutes), but often only to 60 or 65 per cent. Because the charging power is still very high and continues to decrease as the charge level rises, three short charging stops after Berlin are simply faster than two longer ones. None of the charging stops planned by the system were longer than 13 minutes. However, if you charge for 20 minutes during the first charging stop (because you just needed a longer break), the subsequent planning is adjusted. In terms of charging planning, the Macan software worked extremely well during the first short test. There are also well-thought-out details: for example, the calculated route to Berlin only displayed the utilisation of the first charging park in real-time (6/8 charging points free). Of course, displaying this for the other two charging stops would also be possible, but it would be pointless – the occupancy will change until you reach the charging park 450 kilometres away. The rest of the software made a decent but not outstanding impression. After getting used to it, the operation was possible without any further problems, and the software ran reliably. However, the test period was very short, so this is only of limited significance. From the customer’s point of view, none of the functions really stood out. There is no question that the Macan offers what some customers in this price class demand – such as good smartphone integration and access to services and apps they also use outside the vehicle. Porsche’s own App Centre and opening it up to content from other providers was certainly a big step for the company internally. For customers, however, it is now a matter of course that they can also use their Spotify or Tidal account via the car’s stereo system. Sporty: yes – practical: well… Speaking of stereo system, it can also influence the available space in the car, albeit in theory. As with the Bose system, which is available at extra cost, the subwoofer is installed under the boot floor (as with the Burmester system, which can be ordered later), and the compartment there can thus not be used for luggage. However, it is really only a flat shelf and not a separate sub-trunk, like in the Model Y. Even though the 4.78 metre-long Macan is certainly comparable with the 4.75 metre-long electric bestseller from Grünheide, they are two worlds apart. Anyone expecting similar exterior length and similar interior space will be…

Tesla Cybertruck under criticism in Europe over road safety

In an open letter to Czech Transport Minister Martin Kupka, they argue that the Cybertruck is potentially dangerous for other road users due to its size and design. The signatories include Antonio Avenoso, Executive Director of the European Transport Safety Council, André Sobczak, Secretary General of Eurocities, Barbara Stoll, Senior Director of Clean Cities, William Todts, Executive Director of Transport & Environment, Karen Vancluysen, Secretary General of POLIS – Cities and Regions for Transport Innovation, Geert van Waeg, President of the International Federation of Pedestrians and Jill Warren, Chief Executive Officer of the European Cyclists’ Federation. 🇨🇿Tak a je to, dneškem oficiálně máme registrovaný PRVNÍ CYBERTRUCK v ČR, byla to náročná cesta, ale zvládli jsme to a nyní už můžeme rozdávat radost i v Česku s tímto revolučním vozem 🇺🇸 So that’s it, today we have officially registered the FIRST CYBERTRUCK in the Czech… pic.twitter.com/CSKk0fR8cm — CyberTruck.cz (@CybertruckEU) July 12, 2024 The specific criticism lies in the maximum declared mass of the Cybertruck, which the letter asserts could not have legally passed the approval process: “We submit that the level of manipulation here regarding the declared maximum mass of the Cybertruck is unlawful. We similarly submit that there is no lawful way to approve and register a Cybertruck in the EU as a light duty goods vehicle because it fails the relevant test requiring the goods-carrying capacity of such a vehicle to be equal to, or higher than, its person-carrying capacity.” Crash absorption was also mentioned in the letter as being dangerous for traffic: “The Cybertruck’s non-existent or inadequate crash absorption brings unacceptably high risks to all other road users. Due to the self-certification system which operates in the US, the Cybertruck has never been crash-tested by any public authority.” The listed mass is stated to be 4 tonnes by Tesla, with some differences between model variants, however, in the documentation submitted to Czech authorities, it was listed as a maximum of 3.5 tonnes. Furthermore, the classification as a light goods vehicle is bizarre, as the EU regulation states that “the vehicle’s goods-carrying capacity must be equal to or higher than its person-carrying capacity,measured using a weight-based test.” The letter sets out the exact calculation proving this, as well. Furthermore, an owner of a Cybertruck in the Czech Republic was identified, who also documented having driven to Slovakia, which risks the Czech Republic “becoming a back-door channel to trans-ship such dangerous vehicles to other Member States.” In the letter, the signatories implore the minister to reexamine the registration and explain how the inconsistencies were made. In the meantime, the Cybertruck’s access to public street permit should be suspended. The Cybertruck also recently came under criticism when the Irvine Police Department of California purchased one of the $100,000 vehicles “to spark a conversation between officers and the community.” transportenvironment.org (letter as PDF),

Tesla appoints new head for Europe and USA

As Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal report, Afshar has been “promoted.” Since joining Tesla seven years ago, he has worked in Musk’s office – first as Project Manager, later as Project Director. Since July 2020, his position description on LinkedIn has featured a smiley face with a cowboy hat – he was active around the construction of the Giga Texas. It says a lot that his current role is only clear via the insiders at Bloomberg and the WSJ. He is Vice President and is in charge of production and sales. In this position, Afshar is said to report to managers such as Troy Jones, Vice President of Sales and Service in North America, or Jason Shawhan, Head of Production at Giga Texas. Afshar is not without controversy at Tesla, as he is said to have stepped down from Tesla in 2022 and was also active at Musk’s companies SpaceX and X (formerly Twitter). The alleged background: When he was responsible for the Giga Texas, there is said to have been an order for a special glass at the company’s expense. It was suspected that company resources had been misappropriated. The WSJ reported last year that Tesla employees had been working on a secret project that included plans for a structure with glass walls, which was described internally as a house for Musk. However, Afshar declined to comment when asked by Bloomberg. Afshar to take over some tasks from Tom Zhu Tesla is only represented externally by three executives: In addition to Musk himself as CEO, these are Chief Financial Officer Vaibhav Taneja and Tom Zhu, Senior Vice President for Automotive. According to the Wall Street Journal, Zhu, who was long regarded as an internal beacon of hope, returned to China at the beginning of the year and filled his role from there. According to the WSJ report, Afshar is now to take over some of the tasks that previously fell to Zhu in his new dual role in North America and Europe. Afshar will continue to report directly to Elon Musk. A specific work assignment is not known, but Tesla has not been able to maintain the growth rate of recent years in either region. Depending on the market, registrations are rising more slowly or have even declined slightly. Although company-wide deliveries have increased again, the global price war has become visible in the business figures. In addition, Elon Musk no longer considers Tesla’s car business to be as crucial to the company’s future as it once was. He is investing more resources in robotics and artificial intelligence. According to Bloomberg, there have also been some changes in management positions in these areas: Ashok Elluswamy is now Vice President for Autopilot and AI software and Milan Kovac is Vice President for the humanoid robot Optimus. There has always been a high turnover of personnel at Tesla, including in top management. The last major departure was long-serving CFO Zach Kirkhorn in the summer of 2023. The suspension of Rebecca Tinucci’s entire Supercharger team this spring also made headlines – Tinucci now works for Uber. bnnbloomberg.ca, wsj.com, linkedin.com