This Week’s top electric vehicle industry news in the EV News Wrap includes: Okinawa Dual, Siemens Sicharge D, Escorts tractor, Ampere Electric, Volkswagen jibe at Elon Musk and more
Okinawa Dual B2B electric two wheeler launched
Okinawa has launched its B2B electric two-wheeler – Okinawa Dual. The new battery-powered scooter has been priced at INR 58,998. The Dual e-scooter has been launched to transform the delivery sector and enhance efficiency for businesses, said the company in a statement. The two-wheeler comes with customisable features for the varied needs of delivery companies.
Nahak Motors launches made in India electric bicycles, starts at INR 27,000
Nahak Motors has launched made-in-India electric bicycles, which are fully manufactured within the country. The prices for these electric bicycles start at INR 27,000. These bicycles are 100 per cent localised to overcome the challenges on supply of key components and labour skill gap, said the company. The Lithium-ion battery of these electric bicycles takes around 2 hours to get fully charged and have a range of up to 25 km on a single charge. According to the company, it can be charged from even a regular power socket. The electric bicycles will come with mixed Iron frame.
Siemens Sicharge D high power charger launched
Siemens Smart Infrastructure has launched all new public fast charger Sicharge D. It is suited for highway and urban fast charging stations, city parking as well as shopping malls. The company claims that it provides the highest peak efficiencies on the market at 96 per cent. It also features scalable, high charging power of up to 300 kW and dynamic power-sharing.
Siemens considers it is a big step forward to support the future of eMobility. The Sicharge D can either provide the 300 kW already or enable it later through plug-and-play upgrades. The charging station also supports voltages between 150 and 1,000 volts and charging currents of up to 1,000 amperes across all DC outlets.
Volkswagen CEO Makes Twitter Debut With A Jibe At Elon Musk
Volkswagen Group CEO Herbert Diess recently joined microblogging site Twitter with a lighthearted jibe at professional rival Elon Musk. In his first tweet on the microblogging platform, Deiss said I’m here to make an impact with Volkswagen Group, especially on political issues. And, of course, to get some of your market shares elon musk – after all, our ID.3 and e-tron have won the first markets in Europe. Looking forward to productive discussions!.
Ola and Siemens partners for electric vehicles manufacturing facility
Ola has partnered with Siemens to leverage the latter’s technology at its upcoming electric vehicle manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu. In December, Ola had announced inking an agreement with the Tamil Nadu government to invest INR 2,400 crore for setting up its first electric scooter factory in the state. Ola’s factory will be built on Industry 4.0 principles and will be the most advanced manufacturing facility in the country, said the company in a statement.
Escorts electric tractor is all set for rollout in the Indian market
Escorts Ltd looks like is all set to launch its electric tractor in the Indian market soon. The company has received certification from the Central Farm Machinery Training and Testing Institute, Budni, for its electric tractor that it complies with the provision of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989. The description given by the company is Escorts Limited, Farmtrac Agriculture Tractor manufactured by Escorts Limited.
Israeli based company StoreDot develops car battery that can be fully charged in just five minutes.
In a landmark achievement in the electric vehicle industry, Israeli based company StoreDot has announced that it has managed to develop world’s first car battery that can be fully charged in just five minutes. According to The Guardian the invention will take time to become commercially available.
Ampere Electric launches its 300th outlet in Panvel, Maharashtra
Ampere Electric strengthens its electric vehicle Dealership Network in the country with the opening of its 300th dealership outlet in Panvel, Maharashtra. With this, Ampere has undertaken rapid retail expansion in the country with 80 dealership outlets added since easing of lockdown.
Rivian, an electric vehicle startup adds $2.65 billion investment led by T. Rowe Price
Electric vehicle startup Rivian, backed by Amazon.com Inc and Ford Motor Co that aims to put an electric pickup and SUV in production this year, has announced a $2.65-billion investment round led by T. Rowe Price. Rivian said it has raised $8 billion since the start of 2019. The California company’s new valuation with this latest investment is $27.6 billion says a report.
Mercedes EQA electric compact SUV introduced
Mercedes-Benz has unveiled the E-Q-A, a new electric compact SUV as part of plans to take on rival Tesla Inc and offer more emission-free vehicles to consumers to meet targets in Europe and China.
The EQA, the first of several electric models Mercedes-Benz plans to launch this year, will initially have a range of 426 kilometres, with a 500km model coming later said the carmaker in a video presentation.