Thursday, March 28, 2024

Geely, new brand into premium electric segment

The brand for the Chinese mass market Geely Auto has recently announced the formation of a new company, Zeekr Company Limited, a new electric mobility technology and solutions company based in China that will serve growing global demand for premium electric vehicles.
The first Zeekr vehicles are expected to be delivered in the third quarter of 2021, with production being undertaken by parent company Geely Holding under a light asset strategy.
Zeekr aims at delivering a new electric vehicle to market each year in the coming five years.
Zeekr will create a new ecosystem that is focused on the full integration of the end user into a new super ecosystem focusing on the full service of end user requirements with an innovation as standard approach in terms of sales and servicing.
The Chinese name of Zeekr has been confirmed as Ji Ke.
Zeekr will become the latest electrification initiative within the wider Geely Holding Group, in which other companies such as Volvo have recently announced ambitious zero-emission strategies.
Other electrified vehicle brands within Geely Holding, including Lynk & Co, Polestar, LEVC, Geometry and Lotus Cars are also continuing to expand in different market segments, providing consumers with a wide range of electrified products and unique business offerings.

The new Hypercar Fulminea will have 4 electric motors

Automobili Estrema has recently revealed the details of its fully made in Italy electric hypercar that will be available starting from the second half of 2023: 61 cars in all at the cost of 2 million Euros each.
Its name is absolutely self-explanatory: Fulminea, which will be able to deliver the super-power of 1.5 MW, therefore over 2,000 HP and to sprint from 0 to 320 km/h in less than 10 seconds.
The battery pack has a capacity of 100 kWh and the autonomy expected according to the WLTP cycle is 520 km.
«Automobili Estrema – Gianfranco Pizzuto, founder and Ceo of the brand, explained – is a reality established around one year ago in Modena, where the factory is under construction, and in Turin, where our design and modelling teams work. Our challenge is entering the Italian electric mobility world as absolute protagonists and we start doing that by presenting Fulminea, a vehicle with all the characteristics of a racing car: high performances, forefront technologies and premium materials like carbon, but with a full electric state-of-the-art propulsion, unique in the world. Fulminea is meant as a new made in Italy, made in Modena excellence, where engineering and assembling phases are performed, and made in Turin, city where, thanks to the collaboration with studio Epta Design, Ucif Modelli and Est Mobile the styling and the modelling of our hypercar have been implemented».

The Horse towards the e-mobility: here is Ferrari 296 GTB

When Ferrari automotive company speaks of novelty, the world’s spotlights are cast on the Horse logo. This time, Ferrari 296 GTB is at stake, able to match a new V6 twin-turbo 2.9 with 663 HP with 167 HP electric motor with rechargeable battery.
The great novelty resides in the technological setup: a return to six-cylinder V-shaped architecture given up at the end of 1973 and powertrain with plug-in hybrid system that releases 830 HP.
MGU-K 167 HP electric unit is powered by 7.45 kWh battery positioned in the bottom part of the car. An actuator (TMA-Transition Manager Actuator) allows the management of the powertrain that, therefore, permits to use the entire electric-thermal group to achieve the highest power. Concerning instead the zero-emission performance, the travel autonomy is 25 km.
Regarding performances, the announced ones of Ferrari 296 GTB highlight over 330 km/h for the top speed, 2”9 for the sprint from 0 to 100 km/h and 7”3 for acceleration to 200 km/h from standing start. Record specific power: 221 HP/l.

One thousand engagements in Motor Valley thanks to Faw supercar

After an investment worth one billion, the Chinese Faw, in joint venture with the Americans of Silk EV, will give birth to Hongq S9, the electric supercar designed by Walter de Silva.

Made in Emilia, precisely in Reggio Emilia, this luxury production will enable 1,000 new employments in the Motor Valley.

An outstanding industrial challenge that consistently focuses on the construction of the new manufacturing plant of the electric supercar on an area taking up 300,000 square metres, close to the motorway and the high-speed station.

Everything will be accomplished at the beginning of 2023, but already today the establishment in Emilia of Silk-Faw production pole represents a precious opportunity to attract new talents and new competences.

Supercars’ electric motor…. for all

For over 20 years, the British company Integral Powertrain has been committed to the development of innovative technologies, including also electric motors for cars, especially on high-performance units, like the ones used in supercars and in hyper cars that compete in Formula E.
Recently, its Integral e-Drive division has presented a new series of very interesting electric motors: CTSM242, anyway intended for all vehicles, even if with characteristics for cars featuring much higher performances. It is a motor range based on a particular architecture, the Core Technology, which strategically combines the design of the electromagnetic part with a thermal management system that cools both the stator and the rotor.
This feature allows achieving a compact but extremely performing motor: with a weight of just 30 kg, it can reach a power peak of 400 kW, corresponding to 544 HP, and a maximum torque of 520 Nm, for a peak power exceeding 12.5 kW/kg, and a maximum rotation speed of 15,000 revolutions and efficiency approaching 97%.
This kind of motor is defined off-the-shelf by English people, that is to say produced upon buyer’s demand, and compatible with a large variety of other components, in the specific case transmissions and inverter.

Only electric Fiat from 2030

It is a strong message indeed, which leaves no doubt about the future of electric motors and their hegemony in the automotive field: starting from 2030, the range of Fiat cars will be available in electric version only. This is, in fact, the announcement released by Olivier Francois, CEO of Stellantis Italian brand, on the occasion of the World Environment Day 2021, last June 5th. «Our duty is offering the market, as soon as possible and compatibly with the reduction of batteries’ cost, electric cars that do not cost more than combustion ones. Gradually, from 2025 to 2030, Fiat range will become only electric and this will be a radical change for Fiat».
Only when electric will be accessible for all, it will be possible for Fiat to shift fully to electric, then the symbolic vehicle of this transformation could only be the legendary “500”: «Our icon in the Fifties made mobility accessible to all. Now, in this new scenario, it has the new mission of creating sustainable mobility for all».

Incoming all-electric SUV for Subaru

Every day at least one automotive brand announces good news in the research and development ambit towards a future of real electric mobility. Concerning this, among the news there is Subaru Solterra, the innovative electric SUV developed with Toyota, which will use the shared modular e-Subaru Global/e-TNGA platform.
The SUV name evocates nature: “sol (sun)” and “terra (earth)” and it will be marketed within the half of 2022 in various markets, including Europe, Japan, United States and China.
The e-Subaru Global platform, which has been jointly-developed by Subaru and Toyota, enables to roll out various types of EVs efficiently by combining multiple modules and components, such as the front, center and rear of a vehicle. While the two companies have brought together their knowledge to create a completely new platform, Subaru have aimed to realize superior passive safety and vehicle stability, which Subaru has always been pursuing, also in this BEV dedicated platform.
Not only the platform, the SUV “SOLTERRA” has also been jointly-developed by Subaru and Toyota, and wide range of collaboration includes product planning, design and performance evaluation. In this development, the two companies combine their respective strengths, such as Subaru’s long-accumulated all-wheel-drive technology and Toyota’s outstanding vehicle electrification technology, to create a new SUV with attributes that only an all- electric vehicle can offer.
A brief summary: it seems that for the first time the symmetric integral traction of Subaru might be implemented with a non-mechanical scheme, with two motors, a front and a rear one managed by purposely implemented software and through the e-Subaru Global Platform dedicated to Battery electric vehicles (BEV), specifically designed to assure utmost flexibility.
The capacity of batteries, which will be mounted under the floor, will vary from 50 to 100 kWh for autonomies included between 300 and 600 km.

Gordon Murray Group: investments towards advanced innovative electric vehicles

Professor Gordon Murray, South African engineer, former designer of Formula cars, has recently announced a notable expansion plan for the next five years and relative investment– amounting to £300M – for its future growth.
The last creature born from its Gordon Murray Automotive, founded in 2007, is the supercar T.50 and today his focus addresses electrification more than ever: new division Gordon Murray Electronics being created to help entire Group put sharper focus on designing and engineering advanced innovative electric vehicles. Moreover, the ambitious expansion includes significant investment in Gordon Murray Design; the globally leading design and engineering business is already in the early phases of creating a revolutionary, lightweight, ultra-efficient electric vehicle architecture for future urban passenger vehicles and delivery vans.
Gordon Murray Design is also directing substantial investment towards a “superlight” Research and Development facility to further progress weight and complexity reduction of both vehicle architectures and manufacturing processes. An additional facility at Dunsfold, Surrey is being planned to manufacture “superlight” frames for Gordon Murray Design, and Gordon Murray Automotive vehicle programmes.
A new business unit, Gordon Murray Electronic which is being formed by newly appointed CEO Richie Sibal, will support GMD in developing advanced electrified powertrains for global automotive manufacturers and technology companies.
«While recently – stated Professor Gordon Murray, Chairman Gordon Murray Group – the global spotlight has been on Gordon Murray Automotive and the T.50 models there has been extensive progress and developments made within the wider Group. Today we are taking this to a new level announcing new investments, a strengthening of our leadership team, enhanced R&D, a new Division and a reaffirmation of our philosophy. Core competencies that differentiate us and set us apart in the industry as we build the Group to meet the challenges of the future. “The Gordon Murray Group has a clear mission: pushing automotive and technology boundaries to be the best there is. These new developments are dedicated to pursuing this ambitious agenda. We are building a philosophy and enhancing a team for increased growth and future success, staying true to our vision».
The Gordon Murray Group is set to move its global headquarters to a new site in Windlesham, Surrey, UK where a new technology campus, Heritage and Customer Centre, and bespoke design and engineering facilities are being created. Construction will commence in July 2021 and the first facilities will be ready in 2022, with the entire project completed in 2024.

Incoming the new electric motor for commercial vehicles

Its production will start in 2024 and its mission will be powering a broad variety of hybrid and electric applications in the ambit of commercial vehicles. We are speaking of Hvh 320 electric motor, the newly born in the High voltage hairpin (Hvh) range by BorgWarner, equipped with 800-volt capacity and available in four variants.
«The addition of Hvh 320 to our family of electric motors –Stefan Demmerle, president and general manager of BorgWarner PowerDrive Systems, explained – strengthens the offer and it is an excellent example of our commitment to supplying green forefront propulsion technologies that satisfy the market requirements, significantly shortening the recharge time for a real turning point in the world of electric commercial vehicles».

The new electric 350-kW motor for Hyper-EV

Establishing itself as OEM supplier, Yamaha has presented the prototype of the electric motor for supercars featuring 350 kw, corresponding to about 475 horsepower and 800-V operation voltage. It is a fundamental step for the Japanese player, which can now consolidate its ranking as supplier in the production of vehicles with electric propulsion for Hyper-EV.
Yamaha electric motor is Interior Permanent Magnet Synchronous (IPMSM) and equipped with an oil cooling system and it is compact, able to integrate the gear group and the inverter into the same unit.
The official presentation of the new 350-kW unit and of other electric motor prototypes will take place at the Exhibition of automotive engineering 2021 in Yokohama, scheduled from 26th May to 28th May 2021.