2017 was a strange year, with plenty to celebrate and plenty to ponder about. The wild ups and downs most of us have gone through, both personally and professionally, were reflected in the industries we cover as well. So let’s take a look at what surprised us, what shows the most potential, and what was simply strange.
Things are not looking any better for electric vehicle (EV) maker Faraday Future (FF) now that its CEO and co-founder, also LeEco’s Founder, defied an order from Chinese authorities to come back and explain himself for his lack of financial performance. Jia Yueting was once portrayed as a rising Chinese star (and billionaire) potentially following in the footsteps of Elon Musk.
China is the largest emitter of CO2. It has also firmly cemented itself as a global leader in clean technologies. Sooner or later, we will see Chinese electric cars sold globally, and Chinese solar cells and solar panels already dominate global sales. In early editions of CHINA X Cleantech, we’ll spend some time figuring out who’s who and what does what.
Volvo Cars will launch all-electric versions of the V40 hatchback and the XC40 crossover within just the next few years, company execs have revealed.
Initial pricing for the Jaguar I-Pace in the European market has now been revealed (via Autoblog.nl), showing numbers roughly in line with what most observers were expecting. The model is expensive but “affordable” for those who shop in the luxury SUV segment, in other words.
Volkswagen will begin increasing the production capacity of the e-Golf at its facilities in Europe starting in March 2018, company spokespersons recently revealed. The plan is reportedly for the daily production capacity to be increased from 35 to 70 cars a day. Assuming that’s an average with no days off, that’s 25,550 Volkswagen e-Golfs per year — a bit more than the planned weekly production of the Tesla Model 3.
The city of Shenzen, China has the largest fleet of electric buses in the world –more than 16,000. It has installed 300 bus chargers and 8,000 EV chargers built in to street light poles.
The new, refreshed Nissan LEAF has been selling quite well in Japan since its launch there — with only a few Nissan models eclipsing it (the Note, the X-Trail/Rogue SUV, and the company’s flagship sedan in the market).
The real-world range and energy efficiency of 8 plug-in electric vehicles were tested earlier this month by the German auto industry news source Auto Bild. Unsurprisingly, the comparison confirmed much of what had already been known, but it also provided for some data points.
Is the 2019 Nissan LEAF designed to lure buyers who would otherwise go with conventional vehicles from a premium brand (like BMW, Audi, etc.)?
