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Center for Automotive Research report on product mix

Source: http://www.cargroup.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/The-Great-Divide-What-Consumers-Are-Buying-vs-The-Investments-Automake....pdf

The U.S. automotive industry is in a critical period. U.S. light vehicle sales are plateauing at a high level that includes a rich mix of pickup trucks, SUVs, and CUVs. Sales of these high-priced and high-margin vehicles are producing record profits that companies are pouring into new products, processes, and technologies. Some technological developments—including automated driver assist systems (ADAS); connected and automated vehicle technologies (CAV); and advanced powertrains—have the potential to transform not only the vehicle but also the entire automobile industry. Alone or in combination, these technologies can enable new mobility paradigms and business and revenue models that could...

bwilson4web Feb 22, 2018 Read More Replies: 0

Basics of charging systems

Source: EV Success Driven by Battery and Charging Solutions | Electronic Design

Sponsored by: Texas Instruments. New charging methods and intelligent battery management help make electric vehicles practical.

All-electric vehicles (EVs) are available right now. So, what’s keeping you from buying one? Of course, the answer is travel range—the range of even the best of the EVs is around 200 miles on a full charge. That’s roughly half of what the typical internal-combustion-engine (ICE) vehicle can do. That limitation is going to put off potential EV buyers until something better comes along.

Better batteries are the ultimate answer to that problem, but it hasn’t happened, yet. For now, the real solution is more charging stations and faster and easier...

bwilson4web Feb 22, 2018 Read More Replies: 1

New Toyota EV motor needs less rare-earth metal, so costs less to make

TOKYO — Toyota has found a way to reduce the amount of a key rare earth metal used in magnets for electric car motors by around 20 percent, which could tame the cost of producing electric cars and reduce the risk of a supply shortage of materials needed for their production.

The Japanese automaker on Tuesday said it had developed a magnet which replaces some of the neodymium, a rare earth metal used in the world's most powerful permanent batteries, with more abundant and cheaper lanthanum and cerium, adding that it aimed to use the magnets in electric vehicle motors within the next 10 years.

As production of hybrid and other electric cars is expected to ramp up in the coming years, automakers and electronics companies have been developing new high-powered magnets which require less rare earth metals to reduce costs and trim exposure to possible fluctuations in supply.
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Toyota creates new...

Tideland Prius Feb 22, 2018 Read More Replies: 5