Author: EVAI

• NADA, NIADA activate relief funds

• Toyota delays EV production in U.S.

• U.S. offers EVgo $1.05 billion loan

• Tesla reports fifth Cybertruck recall

• Nissan Leaf batteries are getting a second life
• Nissan expects to use the battery packs from about 50-60 Leafs
• The project is projected to reduce yearly carbon dioxide emissions by up to 3.7 tons

Used Nissan Leaf batteries will help power the automaker’s U.S. headquarters in Franklin, Tennessee.

The automaker announced Thursday that it is adding two battery systems at its headquarters, located just outside Nashville, which will be charged during off-peak times and will supply power during periods of peak electricity demand, helping to balance the grid by keeping electricity demand from the office building more consistent while reducing emissions.

Peak shaving with Nissan Leaf second life batteries

The installation consists of two assemblies using battery components from an estimated 50-60 Leaf electric vehicles. One contains multiple 40-kwh Leaf battery packs adding up to a total capacity of 500 kwh, while the other uses individual modules.

Nissan expects annual carbon dioxide emissions reductions of up to 3.7 tons per year from the project. Technicians will study the battery installations for at least one year, with a particular focus on how used batteries work together despite different states of health. The automaker will also work with Middle Tennessee Electric to study potential demand response uses, similar to projects already being undertaken by General Motors and Ford, to reduce electricity demand from fossil-fuel power plants.

Nissan U.S. headquarters in Franklin, Tennessee

This isn’t the first second-life battery project Nissan has undertaken. In 2015 the automaker unveiled a plan to provide used Leaf battery packs for stationary energy storage units in the U.S., and it’s experimented with the idea in Europe and Japan as well. Other automakers have done the same. Porsche, for example, is using Taycan batteries to help power one of its factories.

The focus on EV batteries’ second life assumes that many batteries will be left over once the cars they’re installed in reach the end of their usable lives. But it may take some time for the EV fleet to reach a large enough size to supply batteries for anything other than modest projects like this Nissan effort. And with fluctuating raw materials prices and the geopolitical and environmental issues surrounding their sourcing, there’s some debate about whether reuse or recycling is the better option.

The 2025 Alfa Romeo Tonale subcompact crossover loses trim levels and gains a special edition for its second model year. Alfa is compressing the lineup from three trim levels to one, although it is keeping three major option packages. The Veloce Package adds Brembo brakes, dual exhaust, aluminum shift paddles, and dual-mode suspension. The Active…

Caterham is turning to Yamaha to help develop its Project V electric sports car, the company announced Wednesday.

A production version will use a Yamaha-developed powertrain, as well as technology from the Japanese company for “vehicle motion control,” according to Caterham. A prototype is being developed by Tokyo R&D, an engineering company with experience building manufacturer-commissioned prototypes, and is expected to be completed in 2025.

Caterham Project V concept electric sports car

Revealed in concept form in July 2023, the Project V holds true to the light-and-lean formula exemplified by Caterham’s signature Seven. It wouldn’t replace the Seven, Caterham said at the time. But it could be something new in the world of electric vehicles: a truly light, minimalist sports car without the high price of the original Tesla Roadster.

Caterham previously said it was targeting a weight of just over 2,600 pounds for the Project V. That will be made possible in part by a relatively small 55-kwh battery pack. The rear-wheel drive concept version was powered by a single 200-kw (268-hp) electric motor mounted at the rear axle.

Caterham Project V concept electric sports car

Specifications may change for the production version, but Caterham estimated a 0-62 mph time of less than 4.5 seconds and a top speed of 143 mph for the concept version. At the time of the concept’s reveal, Caterham was also targeting 249 miles of WLTP range, which might translate to about 200 miles on the EPA cycle.

Yamaha entered the business of EV motors in 2020, with plans to supply electric powertrains to existing automakers much as it once did with V-8 engines for the Ford Taurus SHO and Volvo S90 and XC90. In 2021, the company followed up its initial announcement with a high-power motor for very fast EVs. Now it’s finally getting a chance to put some of that development work to good use.

Sedan sales may be on the decline, but the situation is even worse when it comes to coupes and convertibles. As a result, most automakers have either scaled back the number of two-door cars they offer or dropped the body styles altogether. Mercedes-Benz has had one of the most diverse lineups of coupes and convertibles in recent years, but it too…

The Sealion 7 will be the brand’s most technologically advanced model in Europe.

Mercedes-Benz is testing prototypes of its next-generation electric vans ahead of their scheduled debut in 2026.

Unlike the current eSprinter and other smaller electric models sold in Europe that are based on existing combustion models, the new vans will debut a dedicated EV platform called Van.EA. Every Mercedes van introduced after 2026 will use this platform, which provides a shared set of components and modules accommodating midsize and large vans.

Mercedes previously confirmed that this modularity will be accomplished with three main blocks, including front and rear blocks designed to house electric motors. In another difference from the rear-wheel-drive eSprinter, the future Van.EA models will have front-wheel drive in single-motor form, and will also offer dual-motor all-wheel drive.

Mercedes-Benz Van.EA prototypes via Mercedes-Benz

Prototypes made a test run from Mercedes’ hometown of Stuttgart, Germany, to Norway’s North Cape in early June of this year, according to the automaker. Next they’ll be sent to Sweden for winter testing.

In addition to typical passenger and cargo vans, Mercedes last year confirmed a U.S.-bound electric luxury van based on the Van.EA platform. Mercedes has also said that its Van.EA plans include electric RVs, although it hasn’t confirmed any for the U.S. as an alternative to the VW ID.Buzz camper van that can so far only be had via aftermarket conversion.

Van.EA is one of several electric architectures being developed by Mercedes, along with the new MMA platform that may support a Tesla Model Y-fighting electric crossover. However Mercedes in February delayed EV sales targets that would have seen it go all-electric by 2030, and still hasn’t confirmed an end date for sales of internal-combustion vans.

Despite heavy financial losses and slumping vehicle sales, Maserati is sustainable but more needs to be done to position it as a pure luxury brand, Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said.

The Ford Expedition has been overhauled for 2025 Ford’s largest SUV has been given a new look and a rugged Tremor model Ordering starts in late October, deliveries start in the spring, pricing hasn’t been announced The Ford Expedition has been overhauled for the 2025 model year, receiving a new look inside and out, plus the availability of a…

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