Arrival (ARVL) pivots business strategy again, moving Van production to US-based microfactory

EV start-up Arrival has announced its second business strategy pivot in the past three months. After recently demonstrating the successful use of its microfactory model in the UK to build its all-electric van, Arrival has decided to refocus its business approach and all resources for the US market with hopes of maximizing federal tax credits.

more…

The post Arrival (ARVL) pivots business strategy again, moving Van production to US-based microfactory appeared first on Electrek.


Source: Charge Forward

Today’s Webinar: Addressing challenges for EV battery technologies

Amid the growing interest in battery electric vehicles, the industry still faces numerous challenges to gain wider adoption in the market. Join this session at our Fall Virtual Conference on EV Engineering, presented by Chroma, where we will address the battery-specific issues manufacturers are encountering today.

This free webinar has been rescheduled for today: Friday, October 21, at 1 PM EDT.

Reserve your spot—it’s free!

Hitachi Astemo to supply Honda with e-axles

Electric powertrain company Hitachi Astemo has received e-axle orders for mid- and large-sized EVs from Honda. (Hitachi Automotive Systems, Keihin, Showa and Nissin Kogyo all merged to form Hitachi Astemo in 2021.)

Hitachi Astemo’s e-axle is composed of its SiC inverter, which has a heat-dissipating insulation mounting system, its square-wire and low-loss motor, and a gearbox manufactured by another company.

“By combining the differentiated technologies with cutting-edge technology from a gearbox manufacturer, Hitachi Astemo will provide cost-competitive e-axles to automakers, with industry-leading efficiency, low vibration, low noise and modular design,” says Hitachi Astemo.

The company plans to expand sales of its e-axles and to supply motors and inverters to carmakers and gearbox manufacturers for e-axle assembly.

Hitachi Astemo plans to increase its electrification business by investing 300 billion yen (about $2.07 billion) between now and fiscal year 2025.

Umicore opens a cathode active material plant in Poland

Umicore has opened a plant in Nysa, Poland to produce cathode active material for EVs.

Construction of the gigafactory started in 2019, and production for car company and battery cell customers in Europe began this July.

“Nysa’s annual production capacity is set to reach 20 GWh by the end of 2023 and 40 GWh in 2024, with the potential to rise to over 200 GWh, or 3 million electric vehicles, in the second half of the decade,” says the company.

The plant receives all its power from an onshore wind farm, according to the company.

“This growth trajectory is part of Umicore’s ambition to reach worldwide capacity of more than 400 GWh by 2030, and overall strategy to establish fully integrated regional battery material value chains on three continents,” says the company. “To this end, Umicore plans to construct a precursor and cathode active materials facility in Canada and expand its existing capacity in Asia.”

Rental agency Sixt to buy 100,000 BYD EVs for European market

After a decade of talking about renting EVs, major car rental companies (including Hertz) are now starting to place serious orders. This is excellent news, because offering EVs to rental car customers could have a multiplier effect—who’d want to go back to their gas-burner after driving electric for a week?

The latest rental giant to get charged is Sixt, a Germany-based company that operates in 100 countries, including the US and Australia. Sixt plans to buy at least 100,000 EVs from China’s BYD between now and 2028. The deal is a big boost for BYD, which recently began selling EVs in Europe.

Under the first stage of the agreement, Sixt will order several thousand EVs, the first of which will be available to customers in Europe, beginning in Germany, France, the Netherlands and the UK, in the fourth quarter of this year. The first model to be offered will be the BYD Atto, a compact SUV.

BYD and Sixt will also explore opportunities for cooperation in other regions of the world.