News

Electric car charging station companies issue warning over VW settlement Electric vehicle charging companies are calling for independent oversight of the $2 billion Volkswagen AG is required to invest in clean car infrastructure, saying   VW   should not have the power to shape the nascent   electric car   charging space. The German automaker agreed to invest the money, which includes $1.2 billion nationally and $800 million in California, as part of its penalties for equipping hundreds of thousands of its diesel vehicles sold in the   United States   with software designed to cheat tailpipe emissions tests. While charging station companies called the money a potential "game changer," they worry that if it is misspent, it could hurt competition. "The agreement shouldn't pick winners and losers, especially given that this emerging market transition will in no small part define 21st century transportation," twenty eight companies, including Char...

Chinese automaker plans self-driving, electric car by 2020 An automotive venture backed by China tech giant Tencent aims to launch an electric   self driving car   before 2020, entering a crowded field dominated by US-based Tesla, the chief executive told Reuters on Tuesday. Future Mobility, backed by Tencent and Hon Hai Precision Industries, is one of an expanding field of China-backed ventures that aim to take on   Tesla   Motors Inc as green energy car sales boom in China. Although the venture sought to produce premium cars like Tesla, it would attempt a different strategy from the US company that began with relatively limited production and focuses on a single model at a time, CEO Carsten Breitfeld said in an interview. "Right from the beginning we define the platform, right from the beginning we define the production process to be mass production and right from the beginning we think of more than one model, a family of models, defined from this platf...