Important Innovations

  EV 02 Defines Polestar Design & Engineering 02 Will Be a Production Car Swedish EV maker Polestar has a stunning, new electric roadster concept, the 02, that it hopes to put into production for global consumers to purchase.  The 2-seat EV reflects the brand's mission to "communicate technology through design".  CEO Thomas Ingenlath recently said that he wants to make the 02 a production car but he and his team are continuing to refine and tweak the vehicle for superior performance and handling. New Electric Powertrain 02 may be built on a new electric, dual motor powertrain with an electric motor in the front and back of the vehicle that together pump out 870 hp. That is comparable to some Tesla models.  To best Tesla, Polestar is finetuning the 02's steering and handling for superior performance.  Polestar believes that 02 will be a crown jewel in their EV lineup.  Many automotive experts can't wait for the electric Roadster to go into production. 

  Polestar 5: More Powerful Than Porsche's Taycan Turbo S Source:  Polestar 5 Concept & Prototype Likely to be Polestar's Most Powerful Electric Car Sweden's Polestar EV manufacturer has a new ace of a car up its sleeve.  It's called the Polestar 5 and is designed to be the company's flagship and most powerful vehicle. The EV is a large, grand tourer (GT), 4-door sedan-hatchback with a whopping 884 horsepower.  It is considerably more powerful than a Porsche Taycan Turbo S and that is saying something significant about the power this electric car will deliver. New Technologies The EV will hit the market in 2024.  The company says the powertrain that they are developing for the vehicle will set new performance levels for their high-performance cars.  It combines highly advanced, new electric motors that are coupled with advances in lightweight car technologies to create "stunning cars". It has a new, bonded aluminum chassis.  It's a chassis type tha

  Polestar 5: One Powerful EV                                                                 Source:  Polestar Concept & Prototype Likely to be Polestar's Most Powerful Electric Car Sweden's Polestar EV manufacturer has a new ace of a car up its sleeve.  It's called the Polestar 5 and is designed to be the company's flagship and most powerful vehicle. The EV is a large, grand tourer (GT), 4-door sedan-hatchback with a whopping 884 horsepower.  It is considerably more powerful than a Porsche Taycan Turbo S and that is saying something significant about the power this electric car will deliver. New Technologies The EV will hit the market in 2024.  The company says the powertrain that they are developing for the vehicle will set new performance levels for their high-performance cars.  It combines highly advanced, new electric motors that are coupled with advances in lightweight car technologies to create "stunning cars". It has a new, bonded aluminum chassis

  ROBO-01: Really Smart Robot Car                                                                                Source:  Baidu A Car that Self-Drives, Talks & Tells You How It Feels China's internet technology giant Baidu has just unveiled its first robot car and it is an amazing piece of automotive technology.  The concept car, called ROBO-01, is an AI powered electric vehicle. It is controlled by voice recognition of the human behind its yoke, retractable wheel. Baidu's smart EV group JIDU invented the vehicle with China's automotive technology powerhouse Geely. The 2 companies say ROBO-01 offers industry leading AI technology, futuristic automotive design aesthetics and a spectacular user experience.  Priced at around $29,914, this new robocar is breakthrough innovation.  It is fully electric, fully autonomous and combines interactive robotic intelligence and emotions with self-driving technology. Baidu intends to start producing a few models late this year and to g

  Polestar's Latest Electric Convertible Concept & Drone                                                  Source:  Polestar Car With Flying Drone Launches to Videotape the Drive Sweden-based electric car manufacturer Polestar has a new all-electric convertible sports car concept that comes with its own flying drone.  The EV called O2 is a stunning sports car convertible with 2+2 seating, meaning 2 seats in the front and 2 snug seats in the back.  O2 is a highly advanced piece of automotive engineering with a bonded aluminum body.  It is totally electric, zero emissions with the added advanced technology of a flying, built in "cinematic drone".  The drone is engineered to launch from the rear of the car, while the car is moving, and then videotape the driver's journey along the road for later cinematic viewing. Tech Specs The O2 is Polestar's second concept car and follows Precept which debuted in 2020 and is now being manufactured as Polestar 5.  O2's smoo

  Geely's Vision Starburst                                                                  Source:  Geely Vision Starburst Concept Car Concept Inspired by the Cosmos & the Stars Vision Starburst is China based, global automaker Geely's design inspiration for future electric vehicle models.  The inspiration comes from deep space and the nebulae and other stellar phenomena that come together and burst into new stars.  Geely owns Volvo, Lotus, Terrafugia, Polestar and the London Electric Vehicle Company, plus a slew of brands in China.  Geely's Shanghai design team, in creating the Vision Starburst concept car, worked to "create unity between exterior and interior, color and materials, as well as car and user". Star Quality Exterior The surface of the concept car is curved and inspired by "stellar rays and waves in the folding and crossing of lines and surfaces", according to Geely.  The headlights of the car are the "eyes of the vehicle".  T

   Small Electric Smart SUV                       Source:  Artist Rendering SMART Concept Car                                        Source:  Geeley SEA Platform Designed by Mercedes, Developed & Produced by Geely Mercedes Smart brand, through a joint venture between Mercedes-Benz AG and China's Geely AG, will launched a Smart, electric SUV in 2022.  This will be the first vehicle model from the new joint venture between the two global automakers.  Geely is the owner of Volvo and a top global manufacturer of electric cars.   Brand New Concept Mercedes says the new vehicle will be ultra modern, sophisticated, highly advanced in connectivity and the smartest feature of all - "it will be super compact on the outside and big on the inside."  The new e-SUV will be built on a new platform, Geely's SEA platform (scalable, electric architecture) which is flexible enough to handle many sizes of vehicles. Concept Debut in Fall 2021 The new concept car will debut in the fall

  Terrafugea's Transition                                              Source:  Terrafugea FAA Approves Transition For Flying The FAA has given the Terrafugea Transition flying car permission to fly.  The next step  for Terrafugea is to secure approval from the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for driving of the Transition.  Terrafugea hopes to win street legal designation from the NHTSA by 2022.  The Massachusetts based flying car company, founded by MIT engineers, is now owned by China's Geely, which also owns Volvo.  The company intends to take advantage of the FAA approval by selling flight-only models.  The driving and flying model should be available in 2022. World's 1st Practical Flying Car Terrafugea calls the Transition "the world's first practical flying car".  The vehicles wings can be folded so that it can be parked in a single car garage.  The flight-only model can hit flying speeds of 100 mph.  It has a rear mounted prop

Daimler & China's Geely to Develop Next-G Combustion Engine                                                Source:  2021 Mercedes New Engine for Hybrids German based automotive company Daimler and China's automaker Geely have just announced a partnership to develop a next generation combustion engine for use in hybrid vehicles.  The surprise announcement came as many governments, including the European Union, are tightening regulations on auto emissions.  Daimler says the new engine will be modular and highly efficient.  It will be manufactured in both China and Europe for use in hybrid drivetrains. Daimler Saving Money Daimler sets the bar in global automotive innovation and luxury. Geely is a huge automotive powerhouse.  It owns Volvo, the US based flying car company Terrafugia, Geely Auto, Lotus, Proton and has a 9.69% stake in Daimler.  According to the German business newspaper Handelsblatt, this partnership with Geely will save Daimler $119 million in developing the n

  Sweden Based EV Maker Expanding Globally                                               Source:  Polestar Taking on Tesla Polestar, the premier EV manufacturer based in Sweden and owned by China's Geely, is expanding its market penetration into Asia and the Middle East and doubling the number of showrooms it has in current markets.  It started producing the Polestar 2 EV sedans in China in 2020 and is selling them in the US, Europe and China.  The 5-door, Polestar 2 electric fastback starts at $59,900. Polestar Technology Polestar 2 has two electric motors, front and rear and gets 275 miles on a single charge.  It goes from 0 to 62 mph in 4.7 seconds and has power of 300 kw/408 hp.  This EV adjusts itself to the owner.  It recognizes their voice via their smartphone and adapts by implementing their favorite home screen apps and preferred seating position. Plans Going Forward Polestar is designed to take on Tesla.  CEO Thomas Ingenlath wants to double the number of global markets t

Daimler and Geely Source:  Daimler Global Tie-Ups To Create New EVs German luxury automaker Daimler and China's electric automaker Geely are exploring ways to deepen their cooperation in the research and development of electric vehicles.  The two companies have formed a China based venture to build electric Smart cars.  They've also joined forces to build a premium ride hailing venture.  And, among their projects, each has invested in Volocopter, a state of the art, electric multirotor helicopter/flying taxi service, based in Germany. Geely Operations and Expansions China-based Geely is a global automotive force.  It owns Volvo, Lotus and Terrafugia, the US based flying car company.  It also owns Lynk & Co. based in Sweden. Geely Chairman Li Shufu says he plans to roll out Lynk & Co. cars in Europe sometime in late 2020.  Lynk & Co. says it offers a new kind of mobility: simple pricing, flexible ownership and car sharing.  The vehicles are electric

China's Geely Auto Group Building Network of SATs for Self-Driving Cars Source:  Satellite in space image Your Car in Contact with Space Chinese automaker Geely has a space-based plan for "steering"autonomous cars.  It is in the process of building its own network of satellites to provide advanced geolocation and connected vehicle functions for self-driving cars. This is a first in China and Geely's satellites will be solely used to support its autonomous driving vehicles.  It's a very innovative concept to use satellites to track, communicate with and help guide self-driving cars. Global Operations Geely is a huge automotive player.  It owns Sweden-based Volvo cars, US flying car startup Terrafugia, Malaysia's Proton and has a $9 billion stake in Daimler, the owner of Mercedes Benz. Geely hopes to share and benefit from Daimler automotive technology.  Geely is currently integrating Volvo with Geely operations, which will create a huge,

Mercedes-Benz & China's Geely Group Partner Source:  Mercedes-Benz Intelligent New Electric Vehicles Daimler's Mercedes-Benz just announced that it will build Smart branded cars with China's Zhejlang Geely Holding Group in the Chinese city of Ningbo.  The partners will operate from a facility with the capacity to build about 150,000 cars per year.  In 2019, Smart delivered 116,800 vehicles globally. $780 Million Investment Each company is investing $388.8 million into the Joint Venture. They'll build "premier and intelligent" electrified vehicles under the Smart brand name, which is a Mercedes-Benz brand.  They'll manufacture in China and have sales operations in both Germany and China. Mercedes Building Base in China China is the world's largest market for electric vehicles and the Chinese government is pushing and supporting EVs.  Like other global automakers such as Tesla, Stuttgart-based Mercedes is building a base in Chin

Evijan - Electric Car that Goes  0 to 62 mph in 3 Seconds Source:  Lotus Lotus' 1st Fully EV Under Chinese Ownership This is a fully electric sports car with top speeds up to 200 mph by the British sport car maker Lotus.  They call it the Evijan hypercar, which means top-tier sports car.  And it's being launched with the Chinese automaker Geely that bought Lotus in 2017. The car is elegant, powerful and expensive. It's showcases the future of electric vehicles with speed and energy efficiency.  In three seconds, the car accelerates from zero to 62 mph.  The powertrain is electrified and packs 1,973 in horsepower. New Tech They'll start with manufacturing 130 cars in 2020.  The cars will be built in England.  The cost per car is $2.15 million and the range is over 250 miles on a charge.  With an 800 kw charger, it takes only 9 minutes to fully charge. Lotus executives say this is just the beginning.  They have more visionary models being developed through Geel

Terrafugia's Transition Goes to Market  Source:  Terrafugia Flying & Driving in 2019 Terrafugia's Transition is the world's first FAA and NTSB approved flying car.  The company is taking orders for it.  The driving/flying vehicle is a smart looking 2-seater that will be delivered to customers in 2019.  The US is one of the first markets where it's available. MIT Engineering, Now Chinese Owned Terrafugia was founded in 2006 by a group of MIT engineers.  It's now a wholly owned subsidiary of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group of China, which also owns Volvo. Details on  Hybrid Electric Vehicle The Transition has foldable wings while on the ground and driving.  For driving, a hybrid electric powertrain provides propulsion.  It converts to a flying machine in less than a minute.   Flight is powered by a 4-cylinder petrol engine. Speed and Altitud e According to the company, the vehicle can fly at a cruising speed of 100 mph to an altitude of 10,000 fee

Terrafugia's TF-2 & Future of Travel Plane and Ground Vehicle Terrafugia invented the world's 1st FAA and NTSB approved flying car, The Transition.  The TF-2 is a next generation concept design they're working on now.  It promises door to door service for 4 passengers and their luggage.  There's a detachable pod. It goes from a flight vehicle to a ground vehicle in 2 minutes. Going to Market The TF-2 will enter the market as a hybrid electric aircraft that will be flown by a pilot.  But as the technology they're working on matures, the plan is to go all electric and with autonomous systems.  At the moment the company says the maximum cruising speed is 240 km/hr.  The cost per hour of flight is $400.  No time frame for launch has been announced. China, Sweden & US  US based Terrafugia has a deep pockets parent company Geely of China and its "sister" company Volvo of Sweden is also owned by Geely.  As I blogged yesterday, the 3 are lau

Terrafugea's FAA Approved Flying Car, Volvo and their Chinese Parent Go to Market Terrafugea's TFX Concept Flying Car Changing Your Commute Forever Volvo and Terrafugea have the same parent company, Geely Automotive Group of China.  Thanks to Geely, the intersection of MIT engineering at Terrafugea, Swedish automotive expertise and a lot of cash from China is supercharging production of the world's 1st FAA and NTSB approved flying car.  Volvo hopes to make it available for you to buy in 2019. The Transition and TFX US-based Terrafugea, started by MIT Ph.D engineers, has been developing flying cars for the past decade.  They have The Transition, a flying and driving car/plane and a prototype the TFX with vertical takeoff and landing like a helicopter, that also drives.  The Transition can travel speeds up to 200 mph, has fold out wings, dual electric motors and a range of 400 miles on a charge. The Transition seats 2 and will go to market first at a provisional pr