Tesla Motors (NASDAQ: TSLA) unveiled its new Model S 70D Wednesday, an all-wheel drive electric car with a 0-60 time of 5.2 seconds and a 240 mile range at 65 mph.

This marks the removal of the Tesla Motors Model S as the company’s lowest end car, further enticing potential buyers. The car will mark a new chapter for the American car maker, ensuring its solid position as the leader in EV market is kept intact.

The new model comes with independently operational front and rear motors, allowing for superb traction and performance, combined with additional extras like the Autopilot hardware, navigation, blind spot detection and many other features. As with every Model S, the 70D will receive free over-the-air updates that add functionality and improve the driving experience for years to come. The updates received by Tesla Motors, available to current and future owners, may help providing additional range, potential new features and other items.

The new model will start at $75,000. In certain cases the Model S 70D will include additional fuel savings and incentives, which make the actual cost of owning Model S 70D about $55k over five years according to Tesla’s numbers (the average length of new car ownership). This is partly achievable, thanks to the Supercharging option included at no additional cost since the option is available included in the base price of this model shown.

The Tesla Model S 70D is available starting today. It is available in three new colors: Ocean Blue, Obsidian Black, and Warm Silver. The current color finishes are also available for ordering with this vehicle, giving would-be owners a nice selection overall.

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Gogoro, the Taiwan-based electric scooter startup that counts HTC’s (TPE: 2498) Cher Wang as investor, has generated a lot of buzz since its unveiling at CES in January. Now those interested in buying one of Gogoro’s electric scooters will have the chance to demo one at a retail experience zone opening up later this week in Taipei’s Xinyi shopping district.

Gogoro is targeting a summer launch in Metro Taipei, which consists of Taipei and New Taipei City. Gogoro’s scooters differ from traditional electric scooters: you can’t plug them in. Instead, riders take the scooters to a battery swapping center when they need a fresh battery. Gogoro owners need to subscribe to a monthly plan, and the company promises that there will be dozens of stations around the city and each station is said to be roughly the size of an ATM.

Battery swapping plans for electric vehicles are in many ways the ultimate cure for range anxiety, but they have been met with challenges due to the complexity of replacing a battery in most electric vehicles. However, this isn’t the case with Gogoro as the 20-pound battery can be replaced in a matter of seconds.

To ensure that its scooters arrive bug-free, Gogoro is launching a pilot program in April. 100 riders will be given the chance to try out the scooters over the course of two months. The company is hoping that the beta testers will log 100,000 collective hours during the pilot program.

Pricing has yet to be announced.

The problem with electric scooters

The Metro Taipei area has the highest density of scooters in the world, and scooters are the biggest single contributor to air pollution in the city.

But as VR World reported in February a combination of bad public policy and misplaced subsidy programs have stopped the hindered the adoption rate of the electric two-wheeled vehicles.

But all of this can change with Gogoro. While the Taiwanese government might have failed to put in place proper subsidy programs to encourage adoption, the local Taipei city government might fill this vacuum and do it instead. But if Gogoro can launch this scooter at a competitive price, and convince consumer that its battery swapping network is solid, it might not need the help of the government in the first place.  

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On March 23 Pegatron (TPE: 4938) reported its yearly earnings which were double-digit gains over last year.

Pegatron, which shared responsibility for assembling the iPhone 6 with Hon Hai Precision Industry (TPE:2317), reported a 53.4% jump in profit year-over-year to $466.8 million. An earnings guidance recently released by Hon Hai shows that the company also expects a double-digit profit increase (it will report its earnings when the market closes on March 30).

But both Pegatron and Hon Hai (the parent company of Foxconn) — which compete in some sense — have an underlying problem: the double-digit growth that they have become accustomed to is based on the success of Apple (NASDAQ: APPL) products. Both companies have other lucrative contracts with other vendors, but no other vendor orders the sheer volume that Apple does.

Pegatron’s CEO acknowledges this. When Pegatron reported its earnings earlier this week it acknowledged that nearly 60% of its revenue came from Apple.

“It’s definitely not a good thing to be too concentrated on just a few clients. But you can’t avoid the fact that mobile phones have been fast sellers,” Chief Executive Jason Cheng is quoted as saying. “When good business comes your way, how can you not take it?”

Lessons from Hon Hai

Hon Hai was in a similar situation until last year, and has taken some steps to reduce its dependence on Apple. In 2012, 40% of Hon Hai’s revenue came from Apple as it had the sole responsibility to manufacture the iPhone 5 and the iPhone 5s.

Since then Hon Hai has acquired controlling shares in Taiwan’s Asia Pacific Telecom (TPE: 3682) and has made plays to expand into automotive. In late December it had publicly announced it had taken a 10.5% in China Harmony (HKG:3836), a major luxury car dealer in China. Recently it announced that it was partnering with Tencent (HKG:0700) to build electric vehicles that were connected to the Internet of Things. It says it can build electric vehicles for under $15,000 — a significant discount when compared to current models from major manufacturers.

Hon Hai hasn’t publicly stated how much of its overall revenue Apple accounted for, but it’s believed to be in the 25-30% range.

What can Pegatron do?

Hon Hai’s plans to diversify into electric vehicles is very ambitious, and comes at exactly the right time. Choked by smog, China is incentivizing the research and development and production of electric vehicles. Hon Hai already has considerable manufacturing infrastructure in China’s Guangdong province and in Taiwan, and the governments of both countries would be happy to provide subsidies to incentivize scaling up production and creating a supply chain.

But Pegatron lacks the scale of Hon Hai and cannot as easily scale and shift its manufacturing capacity. Instead, Pegatron should adopt just one of Hon Hai’s strategies and invest in allied firms in the same industry. Pegatron could make investments into mobile telecoms, and even finance companies: these are two things that would assist it in becoming a major IoT player. There are also dozens of wearables firms in Taiwan that Pegatron could take a stake in.

Apple will always make up a considerable amount of Hon Hai’s and Pegatron’s revenue. But both companies can become less dependent on Apple through a few smart investments.

The post How Can Taiwan Manufacturers Reduce Their Dependence on Apple? appeared first on VR World.

With the advent of electric vehicles, a rather profound issue has risen along the way:  range anxiety. The fear of loosing your energy while in some god forsaken place, isn’t something one should take lightly. There have been plenty of solutions proposed, but until now, the question hasn’t been answered in a way that warrants freedom, ease of use and safety all in one rather convenient package.

Star Engines is an innovative start-up that revolutionizes the combustion engine. Inspired by the Wankel engine, the engineers of Star Engine completely redesigned the combustion engine basics. This results in a – patented – small size, low weight 3D rotary engine with an unequaled performance. The principle opens a world of applications. Star Engines is open to explore partnership and dealership opportunities.

The solution to range anxiety is a small product that allows you to charge your vehicle with ease. Called the JERR.E it resembles a gas can and it is simple to use: this transportable generator allows you to utilize it’s new technology to generate electricity to power your vehicle.It comes with an internal combustion engine as the source of power, so it can be readily used where ever you find a gas station. Yes, a bit odd to be dependent on that source of power. On the other hand, this is the most elegant solution we’ve encountered thus far.

While the exact specifications (rate of charging, fuel consumption etc.) has remained unknown, we’ll surely be getting that information as we’ve requested that from the company itself. The JERR.E has been debuted thanks to a BMW i8 that is the car they are using to demonstrate the charging aspect of this product. Showcased in a beautiful photoshoot done by Gijs Speirings, this will show you how well the product is designed and how profoundly perfect it fits alongside such a futuristic designed vehicle.

The post This Range Extender In The Shape of a Jerrycan Could End Range Anxiety appeared first on VR World.

The well-known tire company Goodyear Tire (NASDAQ: GT) unveiled a very interesting prototype at the Geneva Motor Show.

The concept behind this prototype — which is far from going into production — could radically change the way we view car tires and car travel in the future. This concept, named “BHO3” – offers the possibility of charging the batteries of electric cars by transforming the heat generated by the rolling tire into electrical energy. This means, that under certain conditions, the car’s tires could actually charge the batteries of the vehicle. While the whole technology is rather new, the concept sounds profoundly promising all together.

The role of the car tires has always been to provide the safety and performance by adding better traction. Tires also allow for a smoother ride and take the hard hits of variable driving conditions the cars may encounter. In a nutshell they are the contact surface that the car has with the road. On the other hand, the technology of the tires remained stagnant in a lot of ways. Now, with Goodyear releasing its concept tires, dedicated to charging electric vehicles, we might see a big shift of focus for this often neglected part of the automotive culture entirely.

“These concept tires re-imagine the role that tires may play in the future,” said Joe Zekoski, Goodyear’s senior vice president and Chief Technical Officer, in a statement. “We envision a future in which our products become more integrated with the vehicle and the consumer, more environmentally friendly and more versatile.”

These tires would generate electricity through the action of materials in the tires themselves, reacting to the driving surfaces it encounters. The energy is created by heat when it flexes as it rolls during normal driving conditions, creating energy that can be transformed from one state to another, providing electricity. The materials used would optimize the tire’s electricity generation capabilities as well as its rolling resistance.

While Goodyear hasn’t released that much information about this potential groundbreaking technology, it is easy to see how such a solution would benefit would be range anxious drivers and help their electric vehicles achieve better range as well. Take a look at the video we’ve added below to find out more about this revolutionary tire concept. We’re sure some high-profile car manufacturers will take a rather compelling interest in this technology as well.

Now the question is, can Goodyear make this 3D rendering a reality? Only time will tell.

The post Goodyear’s Concept Tires Could Charge Electric Vehicles In The Future appeared first on VR World.

In the last few years the Asia-Pacific area has revealed itself to be fertile ground for two-wheeled electric vehicles, with almost 45 million units sold by 2012 and and an expected 50% increase by 2018.

Unlike in the two other world’s biggest markets of Western Europe and North America, where electric vehicles are most seen as an expensive way of life, in Asia electric powered vehicles are seen as a practical and cheap alternative for daily commuting. China alone became has been the world frontrunner since 1995 becoming the largest electric two-wheeler manufacturer and exporter, accounting for 92 % of the global market with four times more e-bikes than cars.

“Chinese people love bicycles and now they’ve become electric‏,” Shenta Tsai, Chief Technology Officer for Mobipus Technology, an electric powertrain company, said to VR World. “A few customers of mine in China, they produce from 1 to 4 million electric scooter per year   99% of electric scooter’s motor are made in China, about 95% of their controllers and ‏ 98% of the frames and plastic are also from there.”

However in neighboring Taiwan, a country with the highest scooter density in the world, adherence to the transition to electric transportation has been far from hasty. Though it has almost 15 million scooters for 23 million inhabitants, only 122,500 scooters are electric.

If there is a good place to check the feasibility of electric scooters that place is Taiwan as two-wheel vehicles are completely omnipresent and an essential part of daily life mostly petrol powered ones.

As with other Eastern Asian metropolis, the city of Taipei is in a basin which traps all the air pollution produced by high levels of petrol motorcycles emissions.  However, this high dependence on scooters can be an advantage and a disadvantage to the inclusion of environment-friendly solutions.

“The traditional gasoline scooter in Taiwan is one of cheapest forms of transportation in the world.” says Azizi Tucker, former region supplier development in Asia for Tesla Motors and currently VP of Engineering at LMD Racing and Owner of Sketch to SKU, an engineering consulting company. “Scooters are typically kept for 10 to 15 years and receive only the most minimal service. They use very little gas. As such electric scooters in many ways are very hard to market in Taiwan since the gas scooters are so cheap to the user”.

As an example, Taiwan’s Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) implemented a program to support e-scooters in 1998, providing a subsidy of $1000 for each vehicle purchased. Although this reduced the price to be roughly on par with low-powered gasoline models, it failed to stimulate interest when battery-charging infrastructure and general e-scooter performance capabilities were still in their infancy.

For the duration of that particular program, which concluded in 2002, only about 26,000 e-scooters were purchased. New subsidies are in place, but rather than increasing the amount, they have decreased.

Although it managed to reduce the price of an electric motorcycle to that of a gasoline-powered model it didn’t really stimulate demand as not many people became interested in a product where battery-charging infrastructure and autonomy was still not good enough. For the duration of the EPA program, which concluded in 2002,  and only about 26,000 electric motorcycles were purchased.

Creating a fertile market

While some might believe that the industry would struggle after the cessation of the program, this is not the case with Gogoro, a small Taiwanese startup founded in 2011 by ex-HTC engineers (TPE: 2498) managed to raise $150 million in venture capital (a good portion came from HTC Chairwoman Cher Wang) and launched the Smartscooter, an innovative electric scooter.

“Gogoro’s vision was inspired by one of the greatest challenges of our time: How to distribute energy in a smarter way to have the greatest impact on our lives and the lives of future generations,” said a company spokesperson.

Tucker believes Taiwan can finally be at the forefront of the electric motion vanguard.

“Gogoro is a huge advancement for electric scooters. The quality of the design and the performance are a huge step forward compared to the electric scooters on the market now,” he says. “The battery swap is a smart solution to the charging problem. It is especially useful in cities where people do not own garages.”

In Tucker’s view the benefit of going with electric is not short-term, as it helps moving young riders toward electric vehicles as a transportation solution and it can significantly decrease tailpipe emissions.

He states that the gas scooter industry in Taiwan is very highly developed with amazing value for the money with good gas mileage and speed. Nowadays while $0.03 of gasoline keeps a small scooter going for between 1 and 1.5 km, the same amount in electricity allows an e-scooter to run for almost triple the distance.

“Also due to the long life of scooters there are many scooters on the street with older more polluting emissions,” he says. “The industry has been forced to raise prices to support better emissions but that has led to decreased sales. There is not much development since the vehicles are so refined. In short they are well adapted to their environment, but at the same time destructive of the environment.”

Government can help and hinder

However, while in China government regulations have helped stimulate the electric scooter industry, in Taiwan government intervention is still not sufficient or has been misguided.

“The most obvious step for more widespread adoption is government intervention in the form of tax credits, subsidies, or increased tax on gas scooters. It can and should offer subsidizes for electric scooters to allow new manufacturers to get through at least three generations of products,” he told VR World.

Mobipus’ Tsai has a more cynical view of the government’s intervention in the electric vehicle industry.

“Taiwan’s electric scooter market has been framed by the business leaders and cheated by ex-government officials,” he told VR World.‏ “The government subsidizes wrong products for the market and tries to kill the electric scooter by setting up unreasonable regulations and subsidize underpowered, unusable products that make the public feel that electric scooters are not good enough for everyday usage‏‏.”

So although Tsai thinks Gogoro’s idea for power stations is smart he believes it won’t work without government support for acquisition of land needed for battery exchange stations and better incentives for electric technology development startups.

“The Singapore government offered me five years of income tax break, and 10 years 300% R&D expense exemption, plus three years 1% interest start up loans, and offered to invest in my company if I moved the HQ and R&D to Singapore‏,” he claims. “While Taiwan’s government would rather subsidize electric scooter manufactured in China (like e-moving), but not give any help to local Taiwan manufacturers for high-end components for EV‏.”

In some cases it’s also a matter different government approaches, since the Chinese government executive powers are simply more powerful allowing it to simply ban gas scooters in some cities, while in Taiwan’s red tape can sometimes make the process harder.

“I think Taiwan’s electric scooter won’t take off anytime soon but the tip-over point is getting closer as people realize the advantages of EV‏.”

Photo credit: Daniel Spiller

The post Why Aren’t Electric Scooters Taking Off in Taiwan? appeared first on VR World.

Electric vehicles are not just about cars. At CES 2015, there are a handful of startups that feature electric-power on a smaller scale, such as in bicycles. One such product launching at the event is the Zboard 2, an electric skateboard that can go up to 20 mph speeds with a 16 to 24 mile range.

Zboard is a business that stemmed from two college students’s goal to simply create an easier way to go around campus. The team actually launched the first version of the Zboard  via crowdfunding in 2012, giving birth to what is now a successful business borne out of necessity. The second iteration of the team’s electric skateboard is lighter and more refined, with a few added features like two handles for easy carrying.

The Zboard 2 comes in two variants: the Blue Edition and Pearl Edition, costing $999 and $1,149 each on pre-order via the Indiegogo crowdfunding page. While the Pearl edition is marginally heavier (18 lbs vs. 16 lbs) than the Blue edition, it also comes with a bigger battery and slightly bigger wheels, which account for its increased range of 24 miles vis-a-vis the 18 mile range of the less expensive skateboard.

Still, both skateboards are quite capable for their weight, delivering speeds up to 20 mph through the personal vehicle’s 500 Watt brushless motor. One advantage of this second-generation Zboard is that the use of a brushless motor, which allows for natural coasting. Also, the brushless design also means the rider can push off with the power turned off or when the Zboard runs out of battery power.

Another advantage of the new design is that the Zboard 2 is waterproof, enabling riders to go through damp or wet surfaces, without worry about damaging the electronics. The skateboard’s LED lights at the front and back also offer added safety whilst boarding in the dark.

The company has showcased the Zboard 2 at CES, and an Indiegogo campaign is currently ongoing, with the team raising 235% of its $50,000 goal in just a couple of days. The early bird prices are sold out, however. But backers can still save at least $250 off of the retail prices once the company starts delivering in June.

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