Short Torque

CATL and Daimler strike battery deal

Chinese battery cell producer Contemporary Amperex Technology and Daimler reached an agreement to supply the German automaker with batteries for its electric truck fleet starting in 2021, Daimler said on Wednesday. Under the agreement, CATL will provide Daimler with batteries for the Mercedes-Benz eActros, Freightliner eCascadia and Freightliner eM2 models, Daimler said, adding that the Stuttgart-based firm will develop and install the battery systems itself. Earlier this month, German auto supplier Robert Bosch said it was teaming up with CATL to develop high-performance battery cells.

Automotive expert impressed with China

China will be a key player in designing cars in the coming centuries, a German automotive expert told Xinhua on the sidelines of the 3rd German-Chinese Automobile Congress. "In the future, the Chinese automotive industry will be very important (to the whole industry)," Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer, automotive expert at the German CAR Institute, said on Tuesday. "The power train of the future is the electric vehicle. In China, there are some important battery manufacturers, so the country has a big stake in the future vehicles." Dudenhoeffer added he was impressed to observe what is going on in China in the field of artificial intelligence, which he said will help define the car of tomorrow.

Tata Motors gets ready to go green

Indian automobile manufacturer, Tata Motors, launched its own electric vehicle technology, Ziptron, to power a future range of electric cars, according to a company statement late Thursday. The technology includes an efficient high voltage system, zippy performance, long range, fast charging capability, and a battery with a warranty of eight years, the statement said. The company, which had annual revenue of $45 billion in 2018, is expected to launch an electric car with this technology around January to March next year, the statement said. Speaking at the launch, Guenter Butschek, CEO and managing director of Tata Motors, said, "At the heart of our future EV line-up, this technology will deliver a thrilling driving experience to our customers aspiring to go-green."

Car production in South Korea tumbles

Automobile production in South Korea posted a double-digit decline last month on fewer business days, a government report showed Wednesday. The number of cars manufactured in local factories totaled 249,390 in August, down 15.9 percent from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. It came as the summer vacation for most of workers fell in August. Automotive export diminished 3.4 percent to 164,154 in August on fewer business days that offset solid demand for SUVs and environmentally friendly models.

E-vehicle startup gets Amazon boost

Electric vehicle startup Rivian Automotive LLC got a big boost from one of its investors on Thursday when Amazon announced it was ordering 100,000 electric delivery vans. Before United States-based Rivian started commercial production at its factory in Normal, Illinois, the Amazon order rocketed it to the forefront of electric vehicle makers. Amazon Chief Executive Jeff Bezos said in Washington that as part of the online retailer's plan to be carbon neutral by 2040 it would order the electric vans from Rivian, with deliveries starting in 2021. The goal is to deploy all the vehicles by 2024. Rivian, a potential rival to Silicon Valley's Tesla Inc, unveiled its electric R1T pickup and R1S SUV last November, but had piqued Amazon's interest earlier.

Motoring - Agencies

(China Daily 09/23/2019 page19)