automotive industry

Auto Added by WPeMatico

Automakers accelerate their interest in startups

 It’s no secret that automakers have shown more interest in startups lately. Nor is it any secret what’s driving that surge, given the massive shifts the industry faces from the rise of electric cars, autonomous vehicles, ride-hailing services and other emerging technologies and transportation business models. We set out to quantify combined investment by automakers in startups… Read More

Powered by WPeMatico

Sharethebus becomes Bus.com and raises $5M for event shuttle management

 It’s actually a pretty great URL: Bus.com. It’s also a much better brand identity than Sharethebus, which is the old name of the company that just raised a $5 million Series A round from Jackson Square Ventures and BMW’s i Ventures investment arm. Bus.com is the destination you’d expect to head to for what the company does, which is organize charter bus trips for… Read More

Powered by WPeMatico

Ford plug-in hybrid sales rose 38% in 2016

17fusionenergi_01a_hr Ford saw some significant year-over-year growth in its plug-in hybrid sales in 2016, despite gas prices that on average saw historic lows throughout the year. The total number of hybrids sold by Ford numbered 23,895 – which doesn’t seem like a lot, but in relative terms it’s a large jump, and Ford’s hybrid lineup is still relatively modest and focused on only a few… Read More

Powered by WPeMatico

Driving the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV

bolt-ev147a0384 The Bolt is designed to be approachable and at least a little familiar at first, even though it’s actually a very different kind of car under the hood, thanks to its 60 kWh battery and electric motor. Chevrolet knows that a lot of its owners will be first-time EV buyers, and that there’s a learning curve when you’re coming from a long history of driving gas-powered cars. Bolt… Read More

Powered by WPeMatico

Here’s how Chevrolet built a practical electric vehicle with the 2017 Bolt EV

bolt-ev147a0360 Chevrolet said it was going to bring an affordable, long-range electric vehicle to market – and it did, with the 2017 Bolt EV. I visited Palo Alto to find out more about the Bolt EV, and the tech behind it, speaking to the car’s lead engineers and designers.
The Bolt itself was present, too, of course, an impressive car currently shipping to customers that offers an equally… Read More

Powered by WPeMatico

Smart’s entire car lineup will have an electric drive option in 2017

16c710_088-970x647-c At some point, it’ll probably be commonplace, but as of its 2017 model year, Smart will be the only big car brand that can truthfully claim to offer both an electric drive and a gas-powered option across all of its vehicle offerings. The Daimler-owned maker of pint-sized urban cars will offer an EV version of its Fortwo, Fortwo Cabrio and Forfour in 2017, and each one will use a brand… Read More

Powered by WPeMatico