NHTSA Opens Evaluation into Autopilot Performance in a Fatal Tesla Model S Crash; VW Likely To Build One of the First Battery Plants in China; NextEV Set to Unveil Its Electric Supercar This Year
NHTSA Opens Evaluation into Autopilot Performance in a Fatal Tesla Model S Crash
According to Tesla Blog, NHTSA is looking into the Autopilot performance in a fatal Model S crash in Florida on May 7, 2016. The regulators are determining if “the system worked according to expectations”.
With Autopilot on, the Model S crashed into a tractor trailer which was making a left turn. The car drove under the trailer and the roof was sheared off. The crash killed the driver and only occupant Joshua Brown of the Model S.
VW Likely To Build One of the First Battery Plants in China
According to Automotive News Europe, a person familiar with VW management said “China is likely one of the first” that VW is building a battery plant in.
VW unveiled 2025 group strategy 2 weeks ago, with an emphasis on vehicle electrification. 150 GWh of batteries are projected to be needed, which is a huge procurement challenge for the carmaker. The source indicated that VW was planning roughly 10 plants with a total investment of 20 billion euros.
NextEV Set to Unveil Its Electric Supercar This Year
According to Autocar, the debut of NextEV’s first electric supercar will be “somewhere in Europe” this year, a comment made by the startup’s president Martin Leach, former president of Ford Europe.
The supercar is in advanced development and has managed to produce more than 1 MW, or 1341 HP. It is targeting the performance comparable to McLaren P1 and LaFerrari. The price tag will be around 1 million euros.
NextEV currently sponsors a Formula E team.