When Lectric eBikes first unveiled the Lectric XP folding fat tire electric bike back in the summer of 2019, they rolled out into a crowded market full of new startups. But something about the e-bike struck a chord with consumers and catapulted the company to near-instant success.
The post Meet the electric bike that went from garage startup to 100,000 e-bikes sold in two years appeared first on Electrek.
Source: Charge Forward
We’ve seen electric tractors before, but the Monarch Tractor features autonomous operation and data-gathering features, and the company’s marketing material promises farmers substantial annual cost savings.
Considering the expansive set of features, we were (pleasantly) surprised to see that the company isn’t touting its product as “the Tesla of tractors”—despite (or because of) the fact that co-founder and President Mark Schwager is a former Tesla exec.
The electric Monarch Tractor features a 55 kW (70 hp) peak-rated motor, and claims to deliver twice the torque of a comparable diesel tractor. It can be driven by a human or operate autonomously, on its own or as part of a fleet. Operators can drive the tractor remotely using a smartphone, or program tasks ahead of time. A power-export feature allows the Monarch to be used as a generator in the field. It can also be configured as an ATV.
“It is a tractor. It is not a farm robot,” Schwager told Forbes. “Three-point hitch, software control of the hydraulics. We needed to make sure there were zero compromises for the farmer.”
The battery cells use NMC811 chemistry, which Schwager calls the “most energy-dense chemistry you can buy.” Range depends on the application—the tractor can run for up to 10 hours of light duties such as mowing and spraying, or 5 hours for more energy-intensive tasks such as plowing or disking. Batteries can be swapped in the field.
The e-tractor’s autonomous driving capability relies on 360-degree cameras and other sensors. “No Lidar, no radar,” Schwager explains to Forbes. “One, because it’s very expensive, and two, some of the practices that we want farmers to employ are more sustainable, like cover cropping—if you’re going down a row of vines, a cover crop is something that grows in the middle of that so you can have four feet of grass in the middle of the row shaking in the wind, and that’s going to foul up Lidar pretty heavily.”
Monarch says its tractor can collect and analyze over 240 GB of crop data per day. Using machine learning, it analyzes this data to continuously improve accuracy.
The Monarch Tractor starts at $50,000. Schwager says that’s about 1.5 times the price of a legacy diesel-powered John Deere, but that savings on fuel and labor costs can deliver a return on investment in less than two years.
The company has raised three rounds of funding. Strategic partners include agricultural equipment OEM Case New Holland.
Pilot tractors are now being built, and serial production is to begin next year at the company’s Livermore, California facility.
Source: Electric Vehicles Magazine
A Tesla Semi prototype was seen at the Tesla Giga Nevada plant, stopping for a charge at a Megacharger.
Source: Electric Vehicle News
The E-ONE Vector is the first North American-style electric fire truck.
Source: Electric Vehicle News
NADA will work with Chargeway to educate dealers about charging, EV incentives, and much more.
Source: Electric Vehicle News
Electric two-wheeler and battery swapping company Gogoro and belt-drive power transmission company Gates Carbon Drive have just announced an exclusive partnership to accelerate sustainable urban transportation through the co-developed FLO DRIVE electric vehicle drivetrain.
The post Exclusive: Gogoro and Gates unveil belt-drive partnership to electrify global urban transportation appeared first on Electrek.
Source: Charge Forward
Report estimates the lost production at 5,000 EVs from the Volkswagen, Audi, and Cupra brands.
Source: Electric Vehicle News
Connected vehicle system developer Sibros has added another EV OEM to its list of collaborators by sharing that it will provide Lightyear with its proprietary technology. As the automaker looks to bring its Lightyear One SEV to production in 2022, it will come equipped with over-the-air (OTA) software update capabilities and data management from Sibros.
The post Sibros to provide OTA connected vehicle systems for the Lightyear One SEV appeared first on Electrek.
Source: Charge Forward
New court filings revealed that Tesla is currently fighting a $162 million lawsuit from JPMorgan over some expired warrants that the bank claims were affected by Elon Musk’s “funding secured” tweet in 2018.
The post Tesla (TSLA) is being sued for $162M by JPMorgan as Musk’s ‘funding secured’ tweet still haunts them appeared first on Electrek.
Source: Charge Forward
When automakers retire gasoline engines and go all-electric, what should they do with the extra space in that big engine bay? There are different schools of thought here, and they come to a head in front, at the so-called frunk. Some automakers are seeing it as an opportunity to reconceptualize the vehicle completely, like the Tesla Cybertruck, or…
Source: Hybrid and Electric Car News and Reviews
