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Aptera claims to have raised enough money in a recent crowdfunding campaign to start production of its solar-assisted three-wheeled EV, but the company is still far from assured of success. The company on Friday announced the completion of its Accelerator Program, which allowed those investors contributing $10,000 or more to secure one of the first 2,000 build slots for the vehicle. The yearlong program, which ended January 31, raised $33 million—enough to “fund the initial phases of production,” Aptera claimed in a press release. Aptera is no stranger to crowdfunding. In the same release, the company claimed to have raised…
As I was threading the 2024 Mercedes-Benz eSprinter along the LA region’s ever-congested Interstate 405, among its dozen or more lanes in our direction, passing lots of commercial vans with tailpipes, the thought occurred to me: These could nearly all be electric. And they soon will be. Large vans have always been a sort of open canvas for businesses—allowing them to effectively become anything companies need, from delivery wagons to shuttles or mobile workshops. But up until now, that canvas as it applies to electric vans has seemed overly constrained, either by limitations on the battery size affecting how widely…
The National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) has launched a certification program it claims can turn car salespeople into EV experts in just 90 minutes. Called ElectrifIQ, the program aims to prepare dealers to address common consumer questions, relating to things like charging times and costs, total cost of ownership, and available incentives, according to an NADA press release. All that knowledge comes at a price of $199 per person or $495 per dealership. 2024 Hyundai Ioniq 5 The program was developed with input from the Center for Sustainable Energy (CSE), which has already administered statewide EV incentive programs and worked…
Sign up for daily news updates from CleanTechnica on email. Or follow us on Google News! January saw plugin EVs at 93.9% share in Norway, a new record high. All non-BEV powertrains faced higher taxes from January 1st, and saw a hangover in sales, following December’s pull forward. Overall auto volume was subdued, at 5,122 units, well below seasonal norms. January’s best seller was the Tesla Model Y. January saw combined EVs at 93.9% share in Norway, comprising a record 92.1% full electrics (BEVs), and just 1.8% plugin hybrids (PHEVs). These compare with YoY figures of 76.3%, with 66.5% BEV,…
Since its inception in 2016, Nio Capital has raised five funds, including three US dollar funds and two RMB funds, with a total management scale of RMB 15 billion. (Image credit: CnEVPost) Nio Capital completed the second phase of its RMB fundraising, totaling over RMB 3 billion ($420 million), the firm announced today. The newly raised funds will continue to be utilized for investments in the new energy vehicle (NEV) industry ecosystem, energy technology and energy transition and smart manufacturing, Nio Capital said. The limited partners, or investors, of the second phase RMB fund include local government guidance funds, national…
Nio has an aggressive target for the first model of Alps codenamed DOM, despite the short delivery window available during the year, according to the local media. (Image credit: CnEVPost) The first model of Nio’s sub-brand codenamed Alps is scheduled to begin trial production in July, with launch and deliveries expected to begin in the second half of the year, local media outlet 36kr said in a report today, citing several people familiar with the matter. Trial production is the last stage before mass production to verify that production equipment, supply chain, quality control, manufacturing system and other processes are…
BYD and Raízen Power plan to build 600 new DC charging piles in eight major Brazilian cities. (Image credit: BYD) BYD (OTCMKTS: BYDDF) has entered into a partnership with a Brazilian energy company to build a charging network in the South American country. BYD entered into a strategic partnership with Shell’s Raízen Power on February 2, with plans to build BYD-Shell electric vehicle charging hubs in eight major Brazilian cities over the next three years, according to a company press release yesterday. The eight cities are São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, Brasília, Curitiba, Florianópolis, Salvador and Belém, and…
Sign up for daily news updates from CleanTechnica on email. Or follow us on Google News! A good sustainability conference can be hard to come by. There seems to be conferences for every type of industry and sector. Unfortunately, sustainability professionals are often the black sheep of events that are typically adjacent to their focus. One of the premier events in sustainability is the Sustainable Brands annual conference. This year, I went to SB 23 in San Diego, California. I have been to the Sustainable Brands conference before, so this wasn’t my first rodeo. There was a lot to love…
Consumer Reports is out with its annual owner satisfaction survey, showing Rivian to be far and away the most-loved car brand according to owners. The rating comes soon after Consumer Reports strangely listed the R1S as one of its “least favorite cars we tested in 2023.” Consumer Reports does an annual survey of its readers, with 330,000 responses from owners of all sorts of vehicles in the 2021-2024 model years. In the past, electric vehicles have ranked well in the survey, and this year is no different, with Rivian topping the list by a commanding margin. In this year’s rankings,…
Sign up for daily news updates from CleanTechnica on email. Or follow us on Google News! As you may recall, in mid-2023, Tesla offered something that Tesla owners wanted for years, but it was supposed to be an option for one quarter only. As we presumed at the time, though, the need to stimulate demand in the future may bring it back. Also, frankly, Tesla should be offering this until FSD is actually Full Self Driving. People (like me) who bought FSD four or five years ago with the promise that it would soon be robotaxi-level full self driving should…