Despite the slump in car sales because of the pandemic, several car companies are still at the helm of innovation. From batteries to flying cars, there is so much to look forward to, which we will be taking a look at today.
Volvo to Improve Car Batteries
Volvo plans to push forward with selling electric batteries. The intent is to ensure that half of their sales by 2025 are from their electric vehicle line-up. By 2030, they plan to only sell electric cars and nothing else. Given this plan, they have to produce better batteries. As such, Volvo strikes a partnership with Northvolt, a battery maker that will make this ambition happen soon.
According to Volvo, its next generation of EV line-up would include bi-directional charging. This means that homeowners could power their house from the car’s battery if they are not using the cars. The intent is to reduce the demand for electricity during peak hours.
The First Flying Car Flew for 35 Minutes
If you think flying cars are things you only see in slot machines in casinos like Vulkan Vegas online, think again. A flying car actually flew for 35 minutes between two cities—coming from the city of Nitra, it landed at the Bratislava Airport.
Called the AirCar, this prototype was made by a Slovakian company called Klein Vision. It landed at the airport at 6:05 in the morning. After landing, the wings and tails were retracted. It is an automated process built into the system, and it only takes three minutes. From there, Professor Stefan Klein drove it to the city.
The AirCar uses a BMW engine with 160 hp. To date, it has completed over 40 hours of test flights. With a total of 142 successful landings, the car needs a runway to take off. It does not use a drone-style take-off. It can fly up to an altitude of 8,000 feet and cruise up in the air for as fast as 190 kilometres per hour. The next model will use an engine with 300 hp. At this rate, the new model must be able to cruise at 299 kilometres per hour.
Sono Motors Has Self-charging Cars
A German car company called Sono Motors has successfully developed a self-charging car. The company can go public soon. The company was founded in 2016, and its flagship model is the Sion.
This car is encased with solar cells that absorb energy from the sun. Overall, the vehicle can self-charge and add 112 kilometres of travel per week. The car uses a 54Kw battery. This does not mean that the battery cannot be charged from a typical socket—it can. The car, which is a five-seater, can be plugged. At full charge, it can travel up to 305 kilometres.
The car is not out yet, but the planned base price is about $30,000. Although it is still at its prototype stage, the market can expect it by 2023. To date, the car manufacturer has 13,000 pre-orders.
Canada to Kill Internal Combustion
Canada is joining the myriad of states and countries that are fighting carbon emission. Canada is stepping away from fossil-fueled vehicles, and this is about to happen in the near future. The announcement was made on June 29, 2021, and Canadian prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that the country would ban the sale of any new fossil-burning cars by 2035.
What this means is that from then on, only electric cars will be available in showrooms. Those who purchase fossil-burning cars can still use them—but nobody can buy brand new stocks anymore.
The plan to go all-electric is not inclusive. The ban is only for cars and light-duty trucks. Big trucks will still use gasoline and diesel. The same thing applies to commercial vehicles—the sale of fossil-fueled models will still continue.
This is not going to be easy legislation to enforce. Though there are many electric vehicles that will come to the Canadian market in the coming years, there is this problem of putting up charging stations. Another issue is how Canadians would welcome this change.
Currently, Canada‘s car sales only have 3.5% accounted for electric vehicles. It would take a lot of marketing and convincing for people to shift to this new model. Canada is not rushing this process. They plan to meet small targets in increments that would start in 2025. By 2050, Canada’s goal is to reach zero emission.
The car industry is all geared to change the way we live, especially so that big companies are now moving forward in addressing global climate change and car security. From electric cars to flying cars and self-driving ones, there are a myriad of things that are under development right now. As we move forward to the future, we can also expect many other companies to follow suit in these initiatives.