Electric Vehicles: How Long Will Japan Wait? The New York Times suggests that Japanese automakers have invested so much money and resources in gasoline-electric hybrids that they are lagging behind in actual battery powered EVs. Writers Ben Dooley and Hisako Ueno ponder why the usually dominant Japanese automakers are ignoring the EV market. They conclude: Automakers in the United States, China, Europe and South Korea are already sprinting past their Japanese competitors. Toyota did not release its first battery-electric vehicle on the consumer market until early 2020, and then only in China ..read more

A few weeks ago I reported on the US Postal Service’s plans to purchase a fleet of ICE vehicles, that would be designed to be converted to EVs when the time is right. According to Reuters, several lawmakers are demanding the Postal Service freeze the NGDV funding for the proposed new vehicles. Three lawmakers, all Democrats, want the funding halted until the contract can be further investigated. There are concerns that political favoritism enabled OshKosh Defense to win approval for their design. In addition, California Congressman Jarad Huffman is troubled that the majority of the Next Genera ..read more

Will Ample’s Modular Battery Swapping scheme succeed? After seven years of development, battery supplier Ample is poised to begin offering their battery swap technology to businesses, with the goal of ultimately expanding the service to individual consumers. The concept behind’s Ample’s battery swapping strategy is elementary. Robots will be trained to remove discharged battery packs from an EV and replace them with fully charged ones. Drivers on a road trip could pull into an Ample Battery station and the robots would immediately go to work replacing the batteries, sort of like a robotic pit ..read more

Tomorrow, March 4, General Motors will host another EV Day for investors and members of the press. At last years EV Day, GM outlined the company’s future electric vehicle plans. For EV Day 2021, it is expected that the automaker will make a number of major announcements regarding future EV intentions. According to CNBC, “The Detroit automaker will give a comprehensive and unprecedented look at its all-electric vehicle plans as well as show attendees roughly a dozen upcoming products…” This sounds like major revelations will be forthcoming at the event. I am looking forward to seeing the promis ..read more

Stephen Edelstein, writing for Green Car Reports, published an article on Ford CEO Jim Farley’s aim to increase EV battery production within the US. The gist of Edelstein piece is that Farley wants to prevent a repeat of the recent computer chip shortage that left automakers struggling to obtain sufficient chips for EV production. Those chips were primarily sourced offshore, meaning US car makers had to wrestle with manufacturers throughout the world to obtain an adequate supply of necessary components. Farley wants to stave off a similar battery shortage as electric vehicle production multipl ..read more

Chevy took a stock 1977 Chevy Blazer and converted it into an EV.Where do you put the battery? EV Conversions are becoming relatively common. Beyond DIY conversions, there is a growth of third-party shops that willing to transform ICE vehicles into full-scale electric transportation. Many small aftermarket companies currently offer basic modification parts and kits. Even major automakers are selling components that can be used to build your own EV. Which leads to a pressing question. When you build an electric vehicle based on a gasoline car or truck, where do you place the batteries? Blazer-E ..read more

The new USPS NGDV will ship as an ICE, but will become an electric vehicle when the time is right. Jay Ramey, writing for Autoweek, reports the US Postal Service has greenlighted a new postal vehicle to replace the current fleet of boxy Grumman LLV postal vans. The distictly odd-looking vehicles will be supplied by defense contractor Oshkosh Defense. Here is the thought-provoking element. The initial run of the Oshkosh-built vans will utilize a conventional gasoline engine. As the electrical infrastructure matures, the new vehicles will dump the ICE for an electric motor and battery pack. Is t ..read more

John Gruber and Christina Warren can be heard discussing rumors of the long awaited Apple Car on Gruber’s The Talk Show podcast. The Talk Show is an offshoot of Gruber’s Daring Fireball website, which usually covers computers, iPhones and the accompanying accessories. Pivoting from his usual fare, Gruber and Warren dissect the rumors of an Apple Car EV. Together they wonder about the motives for Apple’s entrance into the automotive scene. The pair aren’t the most likely candidates to dig into Apple Car technology. Warren doesn’t process a driver’s license and confesses she has no interest in o ..read more

The Maple Majestic is expressly designed for all weather driving. Maple Majestic: an EV designed for Climate Friendly Driving. Canadian company AK Motor International Corporation is teasing motorists with the Maple Majestic EV. Or at least a scale model of the Maple Majestic. It isn’t clear whether the company has created any working prototypes as yet, because the images and video on the Maple Majestic website are models. Very detailed models, to be sure. But still models rendered in an unknown scale. The Maple Majestic is designed for snow The concept behind the Majestic is intriguing. Approp ..read more

According to a February 11, 2021 Press Release Shell Global will increase the number of EV charging points from the current 60,000 to “around” 500,000 by 2005. While the release doesn’t say how many of these new charging points will be located in the US, it seems likely that there is an EV charging point coming to a Shell station near you. Probably several charging points. Abundant Charging Points are On The Way A half a million charging points by 2025. And that is just Shell. Other oil companies, government facilities and car manufacturers are also adding new charging capacity at a tremendous ..read more