Stellantis and Samsung SDI have chosen the location for their final pre-announced “gigafactory,” or battery-and-cell plant. Scheduled to start production in early 2027, it will be able to produce 34 GWh of batteries per year, and will cost the two companies $3.2 billion.The plant is going to be built in Kokomo, which is also the … Read more
Years ago, Chrysler introduced faux-automatic programming to the CVTs it bought from JATCO and used in the Caliber, Compass, and Patriot, to make the cars more comfortable for people used to automatics.Today, Stellantis has patented a fake transmission feel for battery-electric cars, making vehicles with single-speed transmissions feel like conventional four-or-more-speed automatics. The idea makes … Read more
In recent years, Stellantis has stated its goal of being a significant player in the global market for electric vehicle batteries. Through strategic partnerships and facility development, the company is trying to catapult itself to the forefront of the electric vehicle industry.Stellantis was due to announce the location of another United States battery plant, but … Read more
Stellantis has been sending what some would call mixed signals lately, creating a brand new twin-turbo I-6 engine at the same time as it invests heavily in two North American battery plants (a promised third one was not yet been sited). In point of fact, the company is following its previously announced strategy of selling both internal-combustion and electric vehicles in the US, Canada, and Mexico—a strategy expected to see a 50/50 sales ratio of the two vehicle types in the calendar-year 2030.
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Stellantis, Saft, and the French National Centre for Scientific Research unveiled a new prototype battery today. Unlike many recent unveilings, this battery is not showing off a different battery chemistry; instead, each module has its own charger and inverter through electronic conversion cards. This cuts the system’s cost and reduces the space it needs. Researchers also said it was more reliable than current setups with external chargers and inverters. (Inverters turn direct current, or DC, into alternating current, or AC.) Read more
The federal government is pushing automakers towards an electric future, but the regulations both punish and reward – we just never hear about the rewards – issued as credits – which can actually reduce future and past CAFE fines. As a result, the 2024 Dodge Charger EV could actually help the company save money on fines from the 2021-2023 model years.
CAFE Fines And Credits Explained
When an automaker fails to reach the goals of the CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) program, the automaker is fined. FCA was fined $77 million for failing to meet CAFE requirements for the 2016 model year and $79.4 million for 2017, followed by a fine of $235.5 million for coming up short for the 2018 and 2019 model years. Read more
Lyten’s batteries do not use nickel, cobalt, or manganese, slashing their carbon footprint to 60% of today’s best-in-class vehicle batteries. Raw materials for Lithium-Sulfur batteries can be sourced and produced in North America or Europe, avoiding supply chain disruptions. They also have the potential of doubling the energy density of current lithium-ion systems; and their new sensing modes do not require chips, batteries, or wires. Read more
Ram intends to have a 500-mile EPA-estimated range on its Ram 1500 REV next year; but the 2024 Chevrolet Silverado is set to arrive this year, and its pricing has already been announced (unlike Ram’s).The 2024 Silverado EV work pickup, aimed at fleet buyers, will be able to run 450 miles on a charge, according to Automotive … Read more
Stellantis is keeping its bet on hydrogen even as it builds battery plants with a one-third stake in Symbio, a hydrogen fuel cell company. The other share holders are Faurecia and Michelin, each holding an equal portion.
Peugeot can build the same car with either battery-electric or hydrogen fuel-cell power sources. Symbio plans to start making 50,000 fuel cells per year by 2025 at its Saint Fons plant, which starts production in the second half of this year. Overall, Symbio plans to make 100,000 fuel cell systems per year by 2028, all in France, creating 1,000 jobs in the country. Read more
Excuses for avoiding electric cars are plentiful enough to have bingo cards (see end of story), but one of them—the risk of long, difficult fires—may have a solution now. While electric cars are not as likely to catch fire as gasoline cars, they are far harder to put out. (Cheap electric bikes seem to catch … Read more
For decades, the Department of Energy (DOE) has used the same calculations for the “gas mileage” of electric vehicles. New rules will be coming out in the next year, though, that would slash the CAFE benefits automakers now get from making electric cars and trucks.At issue is the question of how much electricity is needed … Read more
Automotive News recently ran a Reuters story on the problem of repairing electric cars after a crash that impacts the battery. They found a large variety of manufacturer attitudes towards this issue. Tesla has the least environmentally friendly design, integrating the batteries of its latest models into the unibody, so any damage requires scrapping the … Read more
In gasoline-burning cars and trucks, waste heat from burning gasoline is tapped to heat up the cabin. But what about electric cars? They typically have to use electric heaters—or maybe not.
A new FCA US patent, filed three years back (November 2020) by Michigan’s Craig Lindquist and Changchun Li and Italy’s Attilio Crivellari, would re-use waste heat in electric cars, too—a technology which could be handy in PHEVs as well as BEVs. Read more
Stellantis, which includes FCA US, the former Chrysler, has decided to build its electric drive modules (EDM) at Kokomo, Indiana-area plants. The EDM is an all-in-one solution for electric vehicles; making them in Indiana will keep 265 jobs intact at three plants (Indiana Transmission, Kokomo Transmission, and Kokomo Casting).The gearbox cover will be cast at … Read more
The Ram 1500 REV, a battery-electric full-size pickup, was revealed for the first time today on a Super Bowl ad.At the same time, Ram started a contest to win one of 200 early-reservation codes, normally selling for $100. The contest is running in both the US and Canada, from the Ram web site. The early … Read more
Which brings us to the 2023 Ram 1500 Revolution BEV Concept. What exactly are they testing? We have a number of options, including the styling, the design, the technologies, and the powertrain. If you get impatient, just scroll down—we know truck people want to know about towing, hauling, and range, and some people just want to know about tech, and others want to learn about STLA Large. Read more
