Global EV car sales surge 63% in 2018 to top 2 million vehicles
Global sales of passenger car electric vehicles (EVs) jumped by 63% last year to top 2 million units for the first time, helped by surging sales of plug-in EVs in the US, according to data provided by EV-Volumes. A total of 2.08 million plug-in EVs were delivered to customers in 2018
Toyota and Panasonic Agree to Establish Joint Venture Related to Automotive Prismatic Batteries
Toyota and Panasonic have confirmed that they are starting a wide-ranging new battery joint venture to manufacture and sell battery cells for electric vehicles. Toyota Executive Vice President Shigeki Terashi said: “Together with Panasonic, we want to hone our competitiveness in batteries,
Toyota, Panasonic setting up EV battery JV amid rising China competition: source
Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) and Panasonic Corp (6752.T) are set to launch a joint venture next year to produce batteries for electric vehicles (EV) in an effort to compete with Chinese rivals, a source familiar with the matter said.
April 12, 2018
The road to China’s autonomous-driving future is paved with solar panels, mapping sensors and electric-battery rechargers as the nation tests an “intelligent highway” that could speed the transformation of the global transportation industry.
The technologies will be embedded underneath transparent concrete used to build a 1,080-meter-long (3,540-foot-long) stretch of road in the eastern city of Jinan. About 45,000 vehicles barrel over the section every day, and the solar panels inside generate enough electricity to power highway lights and 800 homes.
Yet Qilu Transportation wants to do more than supply juice to the grid: it wants the road to be just as smart as the vehicles of the future. The government says 10 percent of all cars should be fully self-driving by 2030, and Qilu considers that an opportunity to deliver better traffic updates, more accurate mapping and on-the-go recharging of electric-vehicle batteries—all from the ground up.
FULL ARTICLE: China’s Built a Road So Smart It Will Be Able to Charge Your Car