Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis and Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik inspected the new BKC showroom ahead of its inauguration. Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy stated in June that Tesla is not planning to manufacture vehicles in India currently, focusing solely on sales. "They want to sell their car in India. There is no further development about Tesla," he said.

According to Mathrubhumi, Tesla is prioritizing vehicle imports and showroom sales over local production. The company has been discreet about its long-term plans in India but began recruiting staff earlier this year to support its market launch.

CEO Elon Musk previously highlighted high import duties as a barrier to investment in India. However, India's recent electric vehicle policy, offering lower duties and incentives, has likely eased Tesla's entry, per Mathrubhumi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Musk held discussions in April about collaboration in technology, following a February meeting in the US.

With its Mumbai showroom, Tesla aims to introduce its premium electric vehicles to India's fast-growing auto market, testing the waters for future expansion.

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Shares of Mobileye Global Inc fell by more than 30% on Thursday after the maker of autonomous driving technology lowered its forecast for annual revenue owing to a slowdown in demand for electric vehicles from China.

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Mobileye, which counts auto parts suppliers Aptiv Plc and Magna International among its customers, reduced its forecast for the annual shipment of its driver-assist system SuperVision. The move was in response to the decision by the Chinese government last year to end its subsidies for EV purchases in the country, which has weighed on demand.

Mobileye's shares were trading at $33.17 per share, down about 23%. The company went public in October after Intel Corp spun it off in an initial public offering priced at $21 per share.

Mobileye faces intensifying competition in the assisted driving market from chipmakers Nvidia Corp and Qualcomm Inc which are trying to make inroads into the space. Intel, which reports its first-quarter results after markets close on Thursday, still owns more than 90% of Mobileye.

Jerusalem, Israel-based Mobileye projected annual revenue to come in between $2.07 billion and $2.11 billion, down from an earlier forecast of $2.19 billion and $2.28 billion.

For the first quarter, Mobileye posted revenue of $458 million, slightly above analysts' average estimate of $454.7 million, according to Refinitiv IBES data. Excluding certain items, the company earned 14 cents during the quarter, compared with estimates of 12 cents per share.

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Lebanon is launching its first electric car, but skeptics say subsidized power will count for little in a flat economy reliant on fossil fuels.

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Designed by Lebanon's EV Electra, the coupe-style 'Rise' is the country's first foray into the electric car market, a fast-growing sector that promises to lower planet-warming emissions.

Costing $30,000, the Rise reaches 180 km (around 112 miles) an hour and goes on sale in Lebanon and Europe in late 2021, pending certification.

Lebanon's economy is in crisis, with just 62 new cars sold in the first two months of 2021, against 1,876 in the same period last year, according to local consultancy Information International.

The car's green impact is also set to be diluted in a country reliant on fossil fuels for electricity, while frequent power outages do not bode well for reliability.

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Tesla first fast-charging station for electric vehicles in Tel Aviv opened at the city's Azrieli shopping center on Tuesday, business website Globes reported.

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The company plans to open three more so-called "Supercharger" stations in 2021, for the exclusive use of Tesla customers, in Haifa, Beersheba, and Eilat.

The EV giant has also unveiled its prices for recharging its cars and, like the cars themselves, the prices are lower than expected.

Use of the charging stations will cost only one shekel ($0.30) per kilowatt-hour. This means that the cost of fully recharging a Tesla 3 model will cost around NIS 60-80 ($18-24), roughly half the cost of recharging electric cars at regular charging stations.

Tesla operates more than 6,000 Superchargers across Europe, including over 600 in the UK and Ireland.

This article was first published by i24NEWS.

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Israel's Electreon, based in Beit Yanai, has announced the successful operation of an electric bus charged through its wireless electric road infrastructure while in motion.

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The project is part of the pilot carried out in cooperation with the Tel Aviv-Jaffa Municipality, Dan Bus Company and Ayalon Highways, with funding from the Israel Innovation Authority and the Transportation Ministry.

In January 2020, Electreon announced it had completed paving and electrification a 700-meter section of electric road, part of a two-kilometer route, as well as installing a static wireless charging station at the Tel Aviv University bus terminal, for use while the bus is collecting passengers.

During the initial test period it was found that the system works continuously, the coils transmit energy both at the terminal when the bus is standing and while traveling, and the remote control and monitoring system also functions well.

Over the coming weeks, further trials and tests are expected to take place in order to test the performance of the system under varying operating conditions, including different loads and operating continuity. At the end of the experimental phase, the electric bus is expected to be used as a regular public transportation line to be operated by Dan while being charged solely through Electreon's technology.

The deployment of Electreon's infrastructure in Tel Aviv is intended to demonstrate the advantages of the electric road system, which include an invisible coil infrastructure, as well as buried charging points. This configuration allows installation in any location and provides a complete solution to the Tel Aviv Municipality's vision of efficiently electrifying transportation in the city without adding visual elements taking up valuable space.

Co-founder and CEO of Electreon, Oren Ezer, said, "Operating the bus in Tel Aviv is an extraordinary achievement that comes thanks to the hard work of our staff and the support of our exceptional partners. This is an event that brings a step closer, our vision to electrify the entire Tel Aviv bus fleet as well as other bus fleets throughout Israel and around the world, in a manner which is economical, environmental and innovative."

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Israel's electric vehicle startup REE Automotive will be opening an Engineering Center of Excellence in the UK's MIRA technology park, creating some 200 highly skilled job openings, REE announced Tuesday.

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According to REE, the new center will expedite its strategic plans to meet anticipated global demand for its REEcorner and Electric Vehicle (EV) platform technology, which offers global mobility companies the flexibility to build electric and autonomous cars, vans and trucks of any size or shape, for any application, and any target market.

REE's proprietary REEcorner X-by-wire technology integrates all critical vehicle components (steering, braking, suspension, powertrain and control) into the arch of the wheel.

REE expects the engineering center to spearhead REEcorner and EV platform engineering design, validation, verification and testing, as well as product homologation and access to test facilities and a proving ground for physical testing and validation of the REEcorner and EV platform.

REE's unique CapEx-light manufacturing model will utilize globally located integration centers, creating scalable and agile unit economics. REE intends to assemble components at its integration centers, thus reducing Capex requirements, and expects to establish a network of 15 integration centers with the first one set to open in the US in 2021. REE plans to manufacture via a secured and exclusive global network of Tier 1 partners in over 30 countries, with point-of-sale assembly.

REE co-founder and CEO Daniel Barel said he was excited to announce "another major milestone" in bringing his company's technology and products to market.

"With the recent announcement that we plan to go public via a SPAC through our merger with 10X Capital Venture Acquisition Corp. and funding from long-term strategic investors, REE would have sufficient capital to accelerate mass production of REEcorner technology and modular EV platforms. The first REEcorners are expected to be delivered to customers in 2022, with mass production beginning in 2023," Barel said.

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Israeli startup StoreDot, which develops fast-charging (XFC) battery technology, has unveiled its first-generation five-minute charge battery engineering samples, the company announced Tuesday.

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This represents a significant milestone for the company, which has made it its mission to eliminate the range and charging anxiety of electric vehicles (EVs) by demonstrating the commercial viability of XFC batteries via a small form-factor battery cell.

StoreDot is releasing the first production batch of sample cells, which is targeted at showcasing the technology to potential EV and industry partners. This first-generation battery was used to demonstrate the full charge of a two-wheeled EV in just five minutes for the first time and can offer ultra-fast charging to a number of other industries, such as commercial drones and consumer electronics.

The first-generation engineering samples demonstrate to EV OEMs and battery manufacturers the successful replacement of graphite in the cell's anode using metalloid nano-particles – a key breakthrough in overcoming major issues in safety, battery cycle life and swelling.

StoreDot CEO Dr. Doron Myersdorf said, "StoreDot continues to go from strength to strength as we get one step closer to making our vision of five-minute charging of EVs a commercial reality."

"Our team of top scientists has overcome inherent challenges of XFC such as safety, cycle life and swelling by harnessing innovative materials and cell design. Today's announcement marks an important milestone, moving XFC for the first time beyond innovation in the lab to a commercially-viable product that is scalable for mass production. This paves the way for the launch of our second-generation, silicon-dominant anode prototype battery for electric vehicles later this year," Myersdorf said.

"We founded StoreDot to achieve what many said could never be done – develop batteries capable of delivering a full charge in just five minutes. We have shown that this level of XFC charging is possible – first in 2019 with an electric scooter and again six months ago with a commercial drone. We are proud to make these samples available, but today's milestone is just the beginning. We're on the cusp of achieving a revolution in the EV charging experience that will remove the critical barrier to mass adoption of EVs," Myersdorf declared.

The sample cells were produced by StoreDot's strategic partner in China – EVE Energy Co., Ltd. Crucially, unlike competing technologies which require significant capital expenditure in bespoke manufacturing equipment, StoreDot XFC batteries are designed to be produced on existing Li-ion production lines at EVE Energy. The samples are compliant with UN 38.3, which ensures the safety of Li-ion batteries during shipping.

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