Important Innovations

  Autonomous, Electric, Advanced Technology, Entertaining Cars                                        Source:  Sony and Honda Sony Honda Mobility Japanese automotive and electronics giants Honda and Sony have formed the Sony Honda Mobility company to produce EVs. They expect to start selling what they call less expensive, more affordable electric cars in 2025.  Each company will invest more than $37.5 million in the JV. They are also developing and will produce Sony's Vision-S 02 SUV prototype that pumps out 536 hp from an electric, dual motor system. This is a breakthrough partnership combining the best of the global automotive and new technology worlds. Automotive Inflection Point This JV is likely to serve as an inflection point in the design, purpose and definition of future vehicles. A car's primary purpose will be more than travelling from point A to point B.  The vehicles' appeal will be lifestyle design and highly connected infotainment that the passengers use in th

  Bugatti-Rimac Joint Venture                                                  Source:  Bugatti Chiron                                                  Source:  Rimac Nemera Source: Rimac Nemera Future of Electric Supercars Seismic moves in the global supercar world.  VW has handed over control of its storied supercar brand Bugatti to Porsche, which VW owns.  Porsche, in turn, is creating a new supercar joint venture - Bugatti-Rimac.  Rimac is a Croatian based company that specializes in state of the art, electric supercars that some automotive experts consider magnificent.  The financial structure of the JV is interesting.  Rimac will have a 55% stake in the JV.  Porsche will own 24% of Rimac and own a 45% stake in the JV.  And, the new entity will be headquartered in Croatia with 430 employees.  Also, both Rimac and Bigatti will continue to exist as separate entities. Porsche's Automotive Strategy Porsche's strategy is to combine Rimac's innovation in electric mobility wi

  Porsche Setting Up JV With Germany Battery Maker                                             Source:  Porsche EV's Faster, Less Expensive Batteries for More Affordable Electric Vehicles Porsche, which is VW's luxury sports car division, announced today that it is setting up a JV with German battery company Customcells, that specializes in lithium ion cells, to produce high performance, game changing batteries for electric vehicles.  The batteries will have higher energy density than the prototypes being used in Porsche's current lineup of electric cars.  The new battery will cut charging times and decrease the amount of raw materials needed to attain the same driving range. That will reduce battery production costs and make electric cars less expensive and more affordable for greater numbers of drivers. E-Dynamics European car makers are rolling out more electric vehicles to meet stricter emissions standards in Europe and globally.  Simultaneously they want to reduce thei

One of the World's Largest:  $2.3 Billion EV Battery Plant for Lordstown, Ohio Source:  GM Electric Cadillac GM and South Korea's LG Chem Joint Venture GM and South Korea's LG Chem are investing $2.3 billion to build an electric vehicle battery cell plant in the Lordstown area of Ohio, USA.  The plant will be one of the world's largest EV battery cell producing plants.  GM and LG Chem will break ground for the new facility in mid-2020 and the new plant will create 1100 jobs at the start of operations. The companies say this plant will be flexible enough to respond to rapid changes in EV battery technology needs.  Those needs are accelerating with demand for greater range on less charge times, advancing with electric car technology and they are very expensive. GM CEO Mary Barra's Electric Vehicle Commitment This is a very significant investment.  GM CEO Mary Barra believes that the future of driving is electric.  The lack of lithium-ion bat