Electric Vehicles

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/22758824

Nov 21 (Reuters) - Northvolt, the Swedish maker of battery cells for electric vehicles, said on Thursday it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S., dealing a blow to Europe's hopes that its most developed battery player would reduce Western car makers' reliance on Chinese rivals.

Northvolt said it has only enough cash to support operations for about a week and said it has secured $100 million in new financing for the bankruptcy process. It said operations will continue as normal during the bankruptcy.

"Northvolt's liquidity picture has become dire," the company said in its Chapter 11 petition, filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Houston. The company, which has operations in California, has about $30 million of cash, which can support its operations for only about a week. It has $5.8 billion in debts.

Northvolt, which employs around 6,600 staff across seven countries, said it expects to complete the restructuring by the first quarter of 2025.

Perhaps the biggest headline feature is a larger battery, with 63kWh on the base model and 84kWh on the larger battery – both around 7kWh more than the 2024 model. The 84kWh battery now has an improved 2,700lb towing capacity.

The new battery comes with enhanced vehicle-to-load capabilities. Whereas the previous EV6 was capable of ~1.8kW of power supply, the new EV6 is now capable of a whopping 12kW output – which is more than even the top-spec F-150 Lightning. So, when paired with a Wallbox Quasar charger, you could use your EV6 to power your home.

The EV6 GT model will also get one of the headline features we’ve seen in the popular Ioniq 5 N – a new “Virtual Gear Shift” feature which “enhances driving immersion by simulating gear shifts with visuals, engine sound effects, and a tactile sensation through motor torque adjustment.”

Why would anyone would want this? Why did they think anyone would want this?

Going back to the charging point, charging will now be even easier as the 2025 Kia EV6 will have a native NACS port. This is one of the first non-Tesla vehicles to have a native NACS port, alongside Hyundai’s offerings. Most other vehicles plug in through adapters so far, though in the next year or two we expect to see more native ports show up.

One of the most significant changes is the added NACS port upfront so drivers can charge at Tesla’s extensive Supercharger network. The 2026 Genesis Electrified GV70 will have access to over 36,000 NACS and CCS DC fast chargers, double the number available to current EV drivers.

Powered by a larger 84 kWh battery (up from 77.4 kWh), the updated 2026 model will also offer more range. Although Genesis didn’t provide specific range numbers, it’s expected to add only a few miles, similar to the new Hyundai IONIQ 5.

The 2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5, with an 84 kWh battery, has a range of up to 318 miles, up from 303 previously. The current 2025 Genesis GV70’s range is 236 miles, but the new model is expected to reach close to 250 miles.

Honda says it is accelerating research at its new 27,000 square-meter demo facility set up in Sakura City, Japan, and is shortening the time required to make a single unit. The site has full-scale equipment that is split between three buildings: the first for cathode formation and cell assembly; the second for anode formation; and the third for electrolyte activation and module assembly.

The plan includes using a continuous inline mixer that Honda says is “three times faster” than typical cell batch processing. Honda plans to make batteries on this line in January.

Honda is readying its solid-state tech for mass production in the second half of the 2020s. The company’s CEO Toshihiro Mibe has eluded that solid-state batteries will also be the key to unlocking cheaper EVs.

Now that we have combined the EV groups. It would be nice if we could update the graphics for this community. It is a bit plain right now. Not sure if we have any artist that would like to help out.

Is it over for the American Auto industry?

It would seem that Renault has some of its va-va-voom back, that early investment in EVs with Zoes and the like really paying dividends now people are more interested. The battery-powered Megane and Scenic have been well received, the reborn 4 looks cool, and now it’s been confirmed how much the most interesting car of the Renaulution - the 5 E-Tech - will cost when orders open in January.

£22,995 is the headline figure, or ‘lower than many people imagine’ according to Renault. That buys a 5 with 120hp, the urban range 40kWh battery (provisionally rated at 190 miles), and evolution spec. That means standard kit like 18–inch wheels, the 10.1-inch OpenR Link infotainment screen, rear parking sensors, LED lights all round and wireless smartphone mirroring. Most of the stuff you need, basically. And £23k compares pretty favourably with the £30k asked for an Allure-spec of Peugeot e-208, which boasts 136hp and a 50kWh battery. Probably the Citroen e-C3 will line up as the closest rival to an evolution-spec 5, with prices from £21,900 for a 44kWh, 199 WLTP miles Plus model.

The next step up for the Renault is to £24,995 and the techno model, still with the 40kWh battery and 120hp. That gets Google built into the infotainment (including DC charge preconditioning), a larger digital dash, the funky ‘5’ bonnet charging indicator, a rear-view camera and ambient lighting, plus it opens up the option to have two-tone paint. Easy to imagine a lot of customers skipping straight to techno, however appealing that entry price looks.

That's because the more powerful 150hp motor is only available from techno spec, and exclusively with the 52kWh ‘comfort range’ battery expected to return 248 miles on the WLTP test. That’s £26,995, or the kick-off point for the MG 4 range in fact, for some idea of the current breadth of the sub-£30k EV space.

Top of the 5 E-Tech 100% electric range (good job it doesn’t need a boot badge) are the iconic models. Over techno they get the ‘chrono’ 18-inch wheels, heated wheel, heated seats, then lots of stuff that seems a bit much for a car of the 5’s ilk: hands-free parking, blind-spot warning, active driver assist and so on. The iconic costs £26,995 for a 120hp car with the 40kWh battery, or £28,995 as a 150hp, 52kWh variant. While options are likely to be a big deal when it comes to speccing a 5, what with the jazzy paint colours and two-tone possibilities, no prices for extras have yet been confirmed.

What has been formally announced, however, is availability: orders for the 5 E-Tech will be open from January, with demonstrators expected at Renault dealers from March, and first deliveries ‘expected shortly afterwards’. So don’t go getting that electric Mini just yet.

DETROIT, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Stellantis (STLAM.MI) , opens new tab said on Tuesday it will deploy a new vehicle system that will support assembly of gasoline, hybrid and electric models, but in a sign of how turbulent the electric-vehicle transition is, the automaker also delayed production of Ram electric pickup trucks. The Franco-Italian company revealed details about its STLA Frame platform, which will support full-size trucks and SUVs. Platforms are thought of as a skateboard on which many different types of vehicles can be built, and include important electrical and mechanical components of the car.

"We are very focused on the execution of our plan, despite all the difficult challenges that the industry is facing," said CEO Carlos Tavares on a call with reporters. Tavares said the automaker is delaying production of its electric Ram pickups until the first half of 2025 from this year, citing the need to ensure quality. "We are just facing a very significant amount of workload," he said. Automakers in Detroit and elsewhere rushed into building EV-manufacturing capacity over the last two years, only for demand to grow more slowly than anticipated.

The decision of whether to focus on platforms that support EVs versus those that include flexibility for hybrids or gasoline-powered vehicles has split automakers. Ford Motor (F.N), opens new tab has leaned into selling hybrid vehicles, while General Motors (GM.N), opens new tab has focused on battery-powered models after investing more up front into building its own EV platform. GM will start offering plug-in hybrids in 2027, it said.