The Conti Urban HA3 is the Continental commercial tyre of choice for city-based usage. The range has now been extended with the introduction of a tyre optimised for the weight requirements and torque delivery of electric city buses.
The Volkswagen Group and further European partners are joining forces to form the European Battery Union (EBU) with a view to forging ahead with battery research throughout Europe. The new consortium is to be led by the Volkswagen Group and the Swedish battery producer Northvolt. The joint research activities of the European Battery Union will cover the entire battery value stream – from raw materials through cell technology to recycling. The prime objective is to accumulate much broader know-how on battery cell production.
All the data shows that in the years to come electrification will rapidly increase battery demand. A new solution by Nordic clean energy company Fortum purportedly makes over 80 per cent of the electric vehicle (EV) battery recyclable, returns the scarce metals back into circulation and resolves the sustainability gap by reducing the need to mine cobalt, nickel etc.
Goodyear Tyres has announced that it is partnering with Zipcar UK, the country’s leading car sharing service, with 24/7 member access to a fleet of 2,600 vehicles. Of these, 325 are electric, making it the largest electric vehicle fleet in the UK. Goodyear is supplying both car and van tyres to the fleet, helping Zipcar UK’s 250,000 members to move around London efficiently.
Fastned, a charging company which is building a European network of fast charging stations, won a second tender in the UK led by the North East Joined Transport Committee. Fastned will build and operate five fast charging stations (hubs) for electric vehicles across the region. Each station will initially house two 50 kW fast chargers (known as “rapid” chargers in the UK) that will deliver 100 per cent renewable electricity.
SK Innovation reports that it is planning to invest just under 1 trillion won (a little less than US$1 billion) in its second car battery plant, this time in Hungary. The company has selected Komaron City in northern Hungary for the investment of 945.2 billion won.
As leading well-known tyre manufacturers transition into automotive suppliers, and mobility providers and as the vehicle parc become increasingly electrified, the value of entering the battery manufacturing space is obvious.
Goodyear has announced a new pilot programme, which sees the tyremaker partner with Envoy Technologies, a provider of shared on-demand, community-based electric vehicles (EVs).
Conflicting and confusing information on the latest generation of battery electric vehicles has created a ‘knowledge gap’ for potential buyers, holding them back from choosing an EV as their next purchase, a new White Paper from the UK’s leading consumer champion and new car buying platform, What Car? has found.
Amnesty International is challenging automotive and specifically electric vehicle battery manufacturers to raise ethical standards and specifically “make the world’s first completely ethical battery within five years.” The challenge was laid down at the Nordic Electric Vehicle (EV) Summit in Oslo on 21 March 2019. For its part Amnesty is seeking to highlight how lithium-ion batteries, which power electric cars and electronics, are reportedly linked to “human rights abuses including child labour in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and environmental risks which could undermine their green potential”.
The government has published its future transport strategy. After highlighting mobility trends towards increased take-up of electric vehicles, increased amounts of vehicle connectivity and increased ecological consciousness, the strategy focuses on four “next steps”: Implementing a flexible regulatory framework, Supporting industry and local leaders, Ensuring government decision-making is robust; and continuing established technology-specific plans. In other words its about electric mobility, data connectivity and better environmental performance.
When Rinspeed presented its microSNAP, a vehicle system with interchangeable chassis and bodies, at this year’s Geneva Motor Show, eagle-eyed visitors may have spotted the display vehicle’s Hankook rubber. It wouldn’t wear anything else: Hankook Tire has been named official tyre partner to the microSNAP project, and the vehicle is kitted out in size 195/40R17 Hankook Ventus S1 evo tyres.
Hella, the global automotive supplier, considers itself well positioned to continue its profitable growth path in the long term, the foundation for which is the consistent positioning of the company along the central automotive market trends of autonomous driving, efficiency and electrification, connectivity and digitalisation, as well as individualisation. At this year’s Capital Markets Day, Hella gave investors and analysts a more detailed overview of its strategic orientation in the field of electromobility.
Seat has chosen Bridgestone as its preferred tyre partner to equip its new Minimó electric concept car, presented at the Geneva Motor Show. Minimó sits on specially designed tyres that apply Bridgestone’s ologic technology. Anticipating the design lines of a tyre oriented towards micro-mobility and CASE (Connected Autonomous Share Electric) vehicles, the tyres were developed for the car brand at Bridgestone’s R&D Centre in Rome.
The leading international event devoted to electro-mobility, EVS32 will be held at Lyon Eurexpo from Sunday 19 May to Friday 22 May 2019. Co-organised by AVERE and Live! By GL Events, the theme of this year’s Symposium is “a world of e-motion”.
If you would like the latest news from the Chinese tyre industry in Chinese, visit our partner site TyrepressChina.com. Or click below to continue on Tyrepress.