News

Chrysler has officially shown off the Airflow concept at CES.This electric crossover likely foretells a production model that will compete with the Ford Mustang Mach-E.We expect to see the Airflow arrive in production form by 2025.After giving a glimpse at the mysterious Airflow a few weeks ago, Chrysler has now provided more details on this concept EV that is likely to reach production within the next few years. Making its debut at CES, the Chrysler Airflow is a crossover that promises up to 400 miles of range and claims to have Level 3 autonomous driving capability.

Powered by front and rear electric motors that make 201 horsepower each (Chrysler has not provided a total output figure), the Airflow has all-wheel drive and a large battery pack mounted under the floor. One image in the press kit suggests that the battery has 118.0 kWh of capacity, and Chrysler estimates between 350 and 400 miles of range. We’re not sure if that estimate corresponds with the EPA cycle or not.
The four-seat interior looks airy and spacious and has several large screens: one for the instrument cluster, one for the central infotainment display, one for the front passenger, and two for the rear passengers. Chrysler says these screens use new software and connectivity systems called STLA Brain and STLA cockpit and that the Airflow is capable of over-the-air updates. The Level 3 autonomous driving system is called STLA AutoDrive but Chrysler has not provided many details on how it operates.
With 22-inch wheels, futuristic lighting components, and a black roof, the Airflow’s design looks remarkably close to production. We wouldn’t expect much to change from this concept car if (or when) the Airflow becomes a reality. Chrysler says it will launch its first EV by 2025, which will likely be closely related to this concept, and that the brand’s lineup will be fully electric by 2028.
This content is imported from {embed-name}. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io More

Imagine an electric car that covers 752 miles on a single charge. You can’t buy it today, but a modified Tesla Model S drove that distance across Michigan last month. It was the work of a two-year-old Michigan startup, Our Next Energy (ONE), which says it is aiming to make safer and more sustainable batteries. ONE retrofitted the car with a battery holding twice the energy of Tesla’s original—while fitting entirely within the same space. It’s a proof of concept for the company’s own future battery design.Faster Charging, or Bigger Batteries?Two ways exist to assuage range anxiety among EV buyers. The first is ubiquitous, reliable, nationwide DC fast charging, like Tesla’s Supercharger network. Unfortunately, only Tesla offers that today. Every other EV relies on a mishmash of private networks of varying reliabilities. The second is to improve the range of EVs by a combination of large-capacity batteries and improving their efficiency. That’s the approach used by the Mercedes-Benz Vision EQXX, an ultra-efficient concept EV that was just unveiled Monday. Its goal is to provide 620 miles of range in a luxury sedan. ONE’s project didn’t mess with anything to alter the Model S’s efficiency, but employed a much higher-capacity battery. “We want to accelerate the adoption of EVs by eliminating range anxiety, which holds back consumers today,” said ONE founder and CEO Mujeeb Ijaz. He’s a battery engineer with more than 30 years’ experience, including stints at Apple, A123 Systems, Ford, and others.

Our Next Energy (ONE)

ONE put its higher-capacity prototype pack into a Tesla Model S Long Range Plus, providing nearly 90 percent more range than its original 402-mile EPA figure. The demonstration car is actually the same vehicle (before ONE modified it) that won our EV 1000 long-range trip last spring. In our own highway range test last May, that car achieved 320 miles at a steady 75 mph, the farthest distance we’ve recorded. (That model has since been supplanted by the Model S Long Range, rated at 405 miles.) The original Tesla battery had a capacity of 103.9 kilowatt-hours, while the prototype ONE battery that replaced it in the same space has 207.3 kWh. CEO Ijaz confirmed to C/D that ONE used “a single pack retrofitted in the same space as the original battery.” So it’s far more energy-dense, but delivered consumption (in miles per kWh) roughly equal to that of the original battery.

Our Next Energy (ONE)

ONE’s drive took place in mid-December in Michigan—with chilly winter temperatures working against range maximization—where the company drove up and down the length of the mitten state for nearly 14 hours, averaging 55 mph, before winding up back at its Novi headquarters in southeastern Michigan with the trip odometer showing 752.2 miles. Later, in a much less taxing test, the company put the Model S on a dynamometer at a steady 55 mph, where it ran for a staggering 882 miles on a charge.The company dubs its prototype a proof of concept. The point is to show that real-world ranges far longer than an average driver’s endurance (pit stops, ahem) can be achieved in the near future. The next step is for it to evolve into a new battery called Gemini, intended to go into production after 2023. ONE says it focuses on battery chemistries that are “safer” and “sustainable,” using a “conflict-free supply chain.” In practice, that means lithium iron-phosphate (LFP) chemistry, which historically has energy density 30 percent lower than cobalt- or nickel-based chemistries (and, unfortunately, reportedly cold-weather issues). Its first product, Aries, will go into production late this year. It’s a battery using prismatic LFP cells in a structural cell-to-pack architecture without separate modules, packing more cells into the pack to lower the energy disadvantage against cobalt cells.One Battery, Two Cell TypesFor Gemini, the company plans to supplement the lower-cost LFP cells with a range-extender portion of the battery for extreme power needs, to reduce stress and deterioration in the bulk of the pack. Range-extender cells will use an anode modified to eliminate graphite, which the company says “makes more volume available for the cathode” to boost the energy density of the range-extender cells. The cathode will be made of a proprietary material rich in manganese that ONE says can be sustainably sourced at low cost. (The company has so far applied for 14 patents related to the Gemini pack.) The LFP cells cover 99 percent of the vehicle’s duty cycle, Ijaz told C/D, and the range extender is used for just 1 percent. As a proof of concept, however, the prototype pack used in the demonstration was powered by different cells. The capacity of more than 200 kilowatt-hours was provided by high-energy cobalt-nickel cells, while those intended for the Gemini line are still under development.The point of this test, then, wasn’t about ONE’s future plans for new cells. Instead, it was to show that it’s possible to pack considerably more energy into a battery the same size as today’s—without, for instance, double-stacking a pair of packs, as GM is doing in its 2022 GMC Hummer EV. Headlines about EVs with 752 miles of range, or the EQXX’s target of 620 miles, or the 520 miles of the 2022 Lucid Air version now being delivered, should go a long way to reassure nervous buyers. People will start to believe that EVs capable of very long ranges are possible—even if they end up opting for a more affordable 300-mile alternative in the end.
This content is imported from {embed-name}. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io More

BMW has revealed a performance version of its iX electric SUV, the iX M60.The M60 can produce up to 610 horsepower and 811 pound-feet of torque, sending it to 60 mph in a claimed 3.6 seconds. Air suspension comes standard on the M60, and the performance trim gains optional 22-inch wheels and blue, M-branded brake calipers.BMW’s M performance brand is preparing for the future. After launching the i4 M50—the first electric BMW to don an M badge—last fall, BMW has turned up the wick on its new electric SUV to create the iX M60. Although there is little to visually distinguish the M60 from the standard iX, the new performance variant receives a dollop of extra power and oodles of standard equipment.
Like the 516-horsepower iX xDrive50, the M60 is all-wheel drive with an electric motor on each axle. With Sport mode activated, these motors now churn out 610 hp, and with Launch Control engaged there is 811 pound-feet of torque on tap. These potent numbers fire the 5769-pound iX M60 to 60 mph in just 3.6 seconds, according to BMW, before topping out at 155 mph.While adaptive air suspension is an option on the xDrive50 model, it comes standard on the iX M60, paired with a double-wishbone setup up front and a multilink suspension at the rear. The air suspension features electronically controlled shock absorbers and can adjust its height depending on speed and load on each individual wheel. The height can also be controlled via a button on the center console, and the drive modes alter the damper mapping to adjust the handling and ride quality.

Design changes are subtle. Blue, M-branded brake calipers peek out behind available unique 22-inch wheels, and there are black M logos on the rear hatch. Lots of interior goodies come standard, including BMW’s speech and gesture control system, a Bowers & Wilkins surround sound system, and a heated steering wheel and seats. On the standard 21-inch wheels, BMW says the iX M60 will travel 280 miles, a slight dip from the xDrive50’s range. (No figure was announced for the 22-inch wheels.) The iX M60 will start at $106.095, about 20 grand more than the xDrive50 model, when it goes on sale in the United States this June.
This content is imported from {embed-name}. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io More

Toyota and General Motors announced their 2021 U.S. sales numbers today, and Toyota’s 2,332,262 in sales beat GM’s 2,218,228, the first time since 1931 that GM had not been on top in full-year sales.GM saw a 13 percent sales decline in 2021, including a 43 percent drop in the fourth quarter alone. Toyota posted a 10 percent sales increase for the full year. A GM spokesperson quoted by Reuters said he does not believe this change in sales leadership will be permanent: “I wouldn’t rush out if I were [Toyota] and get a ‘We’re No. 1′ tattoo,” he said.For the first time in almost a century, a non-domestic automaker has taken the number one sales spot in the U.S. General Motors has been the best-selling company since 1931, but after 90 years at the top, it has been dethroned by Toyota.Toyota announced today it sold a little over 2.3 million vehicles in the U.S. in 2021, which is just over 10 percent more than it sold in 2020. That beats the 2.2 million vehicles GM announced today that it sold in 2021, a drop of 13 percent. Ford hasn’t yet reported its full 2021 sales figures, but as of the end of November, the automaker had sold just over 1.7 million vehicles, leaving it too far behind Toyota to stop the historic change.

Analysts may debate the reasons for Toyota’s ascendancy, but one main factor is the production stoppages due to the COVID-19 pandemic and supply-chain problems in the auto industry, particularly when it comes to semiconductor chips. Toyota was able to keep its production lines running smoother than both Ford and GM, which helped the company produce and sell more vehicles.Toyota’s top seller, the RAV4 crossover, was down 5 percent compared with 2020, but other big-selling models including the Camry, Corolla, Highlander, and Tacoma were all up over last year. GM saw declines for both the Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups, and its own competitor to the RAV4, the Chevy Equinox, was down 39 percent compared with 2020. For reference, GM sold a total of 2.55 million vehicles in 2020, while Toyota sold 2.11 million and Ford sold just over 2 million.”Toyota is grateful to our loyal customers for putting their safety and trust in Toyota and Lexus vehicles,” a Toyota spokesperson said in a statement to Car and Driver. “Being number one is never a focus or priority. The company’s focus has always been—and will continue to be—on being the best brand in terms of safety and quality in customers’ minds.”A GM spokesperson told Reuters that during the chip shortage, the company focused on profitability instead of volume and that 2021 was still a strong sales year in the United States for GM’s full-size SUVs and pickups. “I wouldn’t rush out if I were (Toyota), and get a ‘We’re No. 1’ tattoo,” GM spokesman Jim Cain told Reuters.Toyota is also highlighting its sales of electrified vehicles, claiming to be a leader in this segment for the 22nd consecutive year. Of course, Toyota lumps three powertrain types into this category—hybrids, plug-in-hybrids, and the hydrogen fuel-cell–powered Mirai—and said sales of these vehicles were up 73 percent in 2021, to 583,697 units. Toyota doesn’t currently sell an all-electric vehicle in the U.S., but that will change when the bZ4x goes on sale later this year. For 2021, electrified vehicles made up one quarter of Toyota’s total U.S. sales.
This content is imported from {embed-name}. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io More