Automotive

Europe's ubiquitous camper van base vehicle, the Fiat Ducato took a step toward camping future last year when it got an electric drive. Now it takes the next step as Fusion Processing uses it as a test bed for Level 4/5 autonomous driving.

Nissan began producing the first generation Leaf battery electric car at its Oppama plant in 2010, and has now giving old battery packs from those vehicles a second life in automated guided vehicles at the factory.

The new Loef camper van debuts as a stretched-out MAN TGE that can deliver five-star meals on its slide-out ceramic grill, cocktail-crafting minibar and full indoor range. Dual dining areas allow up to 10 people to enjoy those meals inside the van.

LA-based electric mobility company Canoo has pulled back the curtain on its third vehicle, now joining the likes of Tesla, Bollinger, Rivian and others to add an all-electric pickup truck to its vehicle fleet.

For this model year, GMC added the AT4 package to the midsized Canyon pickup truck, bringing that truck into line with the GMC lineup of trucks and SUVs. We drove both pickups in this package and found them to be very different.

Porsche premiered the Cross Turismo e-wagon concept at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show. There's no show this year, but Porsche is sticking to the time frame by revealing the production car. The Taycan Cross Turismo has up to 617 hp and AWD capability.

Startup Ample has come out of R&D stealth mode to help move EV adoption along with the launch of an automated battery swap solution for electric vehicles, which makes use of modular battery packs that can be retrofitted into existing EVs.

Volvo has launched a new battery-electric crossover, the C40 Recharge, which is the first Volvo ever designed to be electric-only. The automaker has also announced that all EV sales will move to an online platform.

After agreeing to build 10,000 electric delivery vans for UPS last year, UK startup Arrival has today revealed specs and images for its latest all-electric van, ahead of trials on public roads "with key customers" this (northern) summer.

Volkswagen is taking a step toward an idyllic future in which leisure vehicles become even more leisurely. It plans to begin testing autonomous tech in the upcoming ID. Buzz electric van, the spiritual successor to the world's favorite camper vans.

Polaris has sewn up the exclusive rights to the Zero Motorcycles electric powertrain for snowmobile and off-road use, and it's bringing the first fruits of that partnership to the market later this year with a Zero-powered full-size Ranger UTV.

The outright land speed record has stood firm since 1997. Now, with its two main competitors out of the picture, Western Australia's Aussie Invader team has its sights set on a 1,000 mph run next year, using a custom-developed 62,000 lbf rocket.