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Recharge Wrap-up: Tesla hiring new sales executives, A123 focuses on starter batteries

A123 Systems is shifting more of its focus to lithium-ion starter batteries for cars with stop-start systems. The company sees the smaller batteries as a safer, more viable way to bounce back from its recent bankruptcy than by providing battery packs to power EVs. A123 still provides EV batteries to China, and hopes to provide them to Fisker, which is now owned by a mutual parent company, Wanxiang. A123's Detroit facility is currently building starter batteries for Mercedes-Benz, with microhybrid battery production expected in within the next few years. Read more at Automotive News. Tesla Motors Vice President of Worldwide Sales and Service Jerome Guillen is being reassigned to a role in customer satisfaction. After struggling sales in California and China, Tesla is also seeking sales executives for its three major sales regions: North America, Europe and Asia. "Once they are on board, Jerome's focus will be on post- sales activity from delivery to long-term customer care, where he has done an incredible job," says Tesla. For 2014, North America made up about 55 percent of Tesla's sales, while Europe and Asia made up 30 and 15 percent, respectively. Tesla expects those numbers to eventually be distributed evenly, and aims to increase sales by 74 percent this year. Read more at Automotive News. David Noland of Green Car Reports wants Tesla to address a double-pedal problem in the Model S. Noland says that when both the accelerator and brake pedal are pressed at the same time, it can increase the stopping distance, creating unsafe situations. Noland, along with other drivers with large feet, are having problems with this due to the narrow spacing between the pedals. Elon Musk has stated that the Model S limits torque in a double-pedal situation, but Noland's own tests find some inconsistencies. Noland would like to see a change to the firmware to address this problem. Read more at Green Car Reports. Featured Gallery Tesla Model S View 10 Photos Related Gallery 2012 Fisker Karma: Second Drive View 30 Photos News Source: Automotive News, Automotive News, Green Car ReportsImage Credit: Tesla Motors Green Fisker Tesla Green Automakers Safety Electric recharge wrapup

Here are 12 electric pickups in the works

With the unveiling of the GMC Hummer EV, the list of planned electric pickups is expanding. Legacy automakers like Ford and Chevy have theirs coming, as do startups like Tesla, Rivian and Bollinger, as well as some lesser known brands. Here are all the electric pickup trucks we know to be in the works, along with a few that are being discussed or mulled over. GMC Hummer EV The 2022 GMC HUMMER EV is a first-of-its kind supertruck develop View 40 Photos We’ve seen it now, and itÂ’s the business. The GMC Hummer EV comes out swinging with 1,000 horsepower from GMÂ’s new Ultium electric powertrain program, a wealth of off-road features, a removable roof, Super Cruise and the revival of the Hummer name. WeÂ’ll see the first ones on the road next fall. Tesla Cybertruck Tesla Cybertruck at the Petersen Museum View 14 Photos Tesla revealed the Cybertruck last year with, ahem, unique styling, a number of powertrain options and a claimed range of up to 500 miles. It has a compressed paper dash, a ramp for the bed, and “shatterproof” windows. It has already racked up hundreds of thousands of reservations. It will be built in Texas. Rivian R1T 2021 Rivian R1T View 15 Photos EV startup Rivian revealed its R1T electric pickup toward the end of 2018 with a claimed 0-60 time of 3 seconds and a towing capability of 11,000 pounds. Preproduction began in September 2020 at RivianÂ’s factory in Normal, Illinois. Bollinger Motors B2 Bollinger Motors B2 side outdoors View 31 Photos BollingerÂ’s B2 electric pickup is a Class 3 off-roader with retro styling, removable roof panels, and a unique “frunkgate” with a pass-through down the center of the vehicle. It was created with both enthusiasts and workers in mind, with features that can get it to remote places (portal axles, hydro-pneumatic suspension) and to get things done (room for 40 2x4s, equipped with eight 110-volt outlets and one 220-volt outlet). Bollinger also plans to make the B2 Chassis Cab available for fleet customization. Ford F-150 Electric Electric Ford F-150 Towing View 9 Photos WeÂ’ve known this to be in the works since early 2019. Since then, details have trickled out. Back in June, Ford announced its F-150 Electric would be coming within two years. WeÂ’ve seen it pull a million pounds worth of train and trucks, heard it will have more power than any other F-150, and seen its LED-laden front end.

This is what it takes to build a Tesla Supercharger

One construction company has taken a seven-day process and shrunk it down to about seven minutes in a new video that shows a Tesla Supercharger being built. And the video comes with some cool bluegrass music. Only in the USA. Electric Conduit Construction took a time-lapse video of its building out a station next to a Holiday Inn Express in Goodland, KA, which is about 200 miles east of Denver, CO on Interstate 70. All the not-so-gory details are there, including the digging up of four-foot-deep trenches, pouring footings, backfilling with gravel and sand, and installing supercharger cabinets and fencing so that no one gets zapped. Tesla Motors says it has 105 Supercharger stations strung across North America, which is impressive given that its station count was in the single digits as recently as last May. The company has said that there will be enough of such super-fast charging stations to be reachable by 98 percent of the US population via a Tesla Model S (we should all be so lucky to afford one) by next year. The California-automaker estimates that a half-hour plug-in at a Supercharger station can add as many as 170 miles worth of range to a Tesla Model S. See how one gets built in the video below. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.