Carlo Ombello Carlo Ombello is an environmental engineer based in London. He writes about environment, sustainability and green technologies on his blog opportunity:energy.
April 3rd, 2019 | by Carlo Ombello
This year's hotly anticipated Geneva Motor Show offered the best proof of the relentless progress electric mobility continues to make in the auto industry. Electric cars quite literally stole the show. But in all this display of electric goodness, which car surprised the most
August 11th, 2018 | by Carlo Ombello
Tesla shorts may be in for a treat, as Elon Musk has just set the stage for an unprecedented "burn of the century". Tesla's CEO set Twitter and financial media on fire last Tuesday as he revealed his plan to make Tesla private, withdrawing it from the stock market at a guaranteed $420 per share. What if Elon was telling the truth
July 5th, 2018 | by Carlo Ombello
June 2018: methane may not be Fiat’s new technological focus after all. Also, improving traditional Diesel engines is ultimately not feasible, so those will instead be fully scrapped by 2021. The much-derided electrification now lies at the core of the new industrial plan 2018-2022. Fiat’s new agenda announced in Turin means billions will be spent on introducing all kinds of hybrids – from mild to plug-in – and even pure evil, pure battery electric cars. While the hypocrisy of this U-turn is exceptionally striking, perhaps we should appreciate Marchionne’s pragmatic attitude. So what’s in store exactly?
July 5th, 2018 | by Carlo Ombello
Fiat Chrysler's CEO Sergio Marchionne unveiled his last 5-year industrial plan for the Italian-American carmaker a month ago in Turin, Italy. The much anticipated event did not disappoint, as the CEO confirmed the company would be finally rid of its long standing debt. More importantly, in a major U-turn from past statements, Marchionne announced a major investment of 9 billion euros aimed at the electrification of Fiat Chrysler models to the detriment of diesel engines - to be abandoned by 2021. Fiat's financial wizard made it his life mission to close out the company's debts and reach profitability. But can Sergio's financial genius survive the capital-intensive tech race to Car 2.0, also known as the electric car
June 24th, 2018 | by Carlo Ombello
It is make-or-break time for both Tesla and its detractors, as an historical first half of 2018 comes to a wrap in the next few days. A Tesla news overload through the past year has resulted in a wild and passionate debate over the future of the company that is changing the world car industry for good. All of this noise and doubts should now come to an end as forecasts get replaced by real numbers at the end of the second quarter. What to expect
June 18th, 2018 | by Carlo Ombello
Discussions about a possible new epic "short squeeze" on Tesla stock are trending these days. The company is going through the most important transition in its young history, as the electric car and energy company strives to achieve mass market production of its more affordable Model 3 and finally reach profitability after years of massive R&D and infrastructure expenditure. As such, Tesla shares have always caught the attention of investors and speculators alike, including record levels of "short selling". What could the next short squeeze look like
June 15th, 2018 | by Carlo Ombello
The city of Milan is getting set for a progressive ban on diesel cars, due to start as early as January 2019. The bold move was announced a few days ago by Milan's mayor Giuseppe Sala at the annual Energy Festival in Rome. The brave message on the transition to clean transport is a welcome milestone set to cause a ripple effect way beyond its city limits
June 13th, 2018 | by Carlo Ombello
Fully Charged, the popular YouTube channel hosted by British actor and electric cars' advocate Robert Llewellyn, reached the next level last weekend as it turned into a live exhibition at Silverstone, UK's famous F1 track. Thousands - including me - flocked to the brand new EV and renewable energy show, to witness the launch edition of what promises to be a very successful franchise in the years to come
May 24th, 2018 | by Carlo Ombello
After a long, agonizing wait, Elon Musk has finally provided some important details of the upcoming dual-motor/all-wheel-drive and Performance versions of the Tesla Model 3. As usual, the information came via a series of tantalizing updates on Twitter (thoroughly dissected by Zach a few days ago). As Model 3 production increases towards 5,000 units per week, the long touted $35,000 base model is finally looming and promises to disrupt the most popular sub $40,000 EV market by year end. Brace for impact
May 13th, 2018 | by Carlo Ombello
Audi Group held its annual general meeting this week on Wednesday. As expected, the company provided news on its long-term plan for cars' electrification. It was an interesting update and a significant one: four new full electric production models will be introduced by 2020, plus a fully autonomous EV in 2021. A total of 25 "electrified" Audi models will be available on the market by 2025. Will that be enough to challenge Tesla
May 4th, 2018 | by Carlo Ombello
The BMW iX3 electric concept car was finally unveiled at the Beijing Motor Show (Auto China 2018) last week. The long touted prototype of BMW's first electric SUV was accompanied at the show by the BMW i Vision Dynamics four door concept, previously unveiled at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show and precursor of BMW's future mid-size electric saloon (a Tesla Model 3 competitor). We now have an almost production-ready SUV prototype and a sedan concept indicating two new electric models coming to market over the next two to four years. Will this be enough to compete with Tesla's skyrocketing growth and German rivals' electrification plans in an increasingly crowded EV space
April 23rd, 2018 | by Carlo Ombello
The new Nissan Leaf was unveiled last September to great fanfare, as Nissan launched a months-long global marketing offensive to trumpet the arrival of its second generation mass market electric car. A daunting task: replacing the world's best selling EV. Would Nissan once again lead the way? That was the question
April 21st, 2018 | by Carlo Ombello
Tesla's production figures for the first quarter 2018 were released recently and provided great support to the company's mission to accelerate the adoption of electric cars. Elon Musk's company is under intense pressure as it strives to ramp up production of its first affordable car, the Model 3, which is seen as a game changer as it will appeal to a wide variety of customers, particularly with the forthcoming $35,000 base model.
April 18th, 2018 | by Carlo Ombello
Two weeks ago, Tesla revealed production numbers for Q1 2018 on its website. The much awaited news got analysts and media crunching numbers to obtain guidance on the company's near term progress and longer term expectations. Among the most important news is the confirmation that despite difficulties, Model 3 production is finally ramping up quickly with almost 10,000 cars produced this quarter, 2,000 of which were just in the last week of March
