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In my many years of covering the micromobility industry, I thought I had seen just about every type of electric scooter out there. That was until the eLyly came across my desk and showed me just how far out an electric snow scooter could be.

This new Finnish e-scooter doesn’t look like anything else we’ve seen before, at least not in the standing variety.

The scooter’s inventor Pasi Kauppinen says that the name comes from the traditional wooden ski that Finns once employed to navigate the snow. The lyly fell out of favor as a common means of transportation decades ago, but its wooden design inspired the construction of the eLyly, which uses the same natural material in its base, stem and front ski.

elyly

Unlike the original lyly, which required a second shorter ski to be used on the other foot for kicking, the eLyly houses all of its propulsion in a single unit. Behind the steerable front ski is a tracked drivetrain powered by a 1,000W electric motor. The rubber track, similar to a scaled-down snowmobile drivetrain, allows the eLyly to reach a top speed of 25 km/h (15.5 mph).

The lithium-ion battery is said to offer a range of between 20 to 30 km (12.4 to 18.6 miles), and it takes around two and a half hours to recharge for another journey.

The entire scooter weighs in at 55 kg (121 lb.), which is heavier than most electric scooters but a lot lighter than a snowmobile. It might not be as fast or as powerful as a snowmobile, but it definitely fits better in the trunk of a car thanks to its folding handlebars.

The company hasn’t begun selling the eLyly yet and hasn’t provided any clues regarding expected pricing, but we have to assume it isn’t going to come cheap.

Those that want to try to get in some winter micromobility riding while there’s still some snow on the ground might want to look into some other options. Moonbike, which we’ve covered in the past, offers a few interesting electric snowmobile-like vehicles in small formats.

The French company has an interesting mashup between a seated scooter and a snowmobile, which seems to offer a fun and portable way to shred the snow.

Powered by a 3 kW electric motor, the Moonbike blasts up to a top speed of 42 km/h (26 mph).

That’s not going to compete well with a true electric snowmobile, but much like the eLyly, it’s definitely easier to toss the 82 kg (182 lb.) ride in the back of a truck or SUV. Thus the Moonbike seems better suited for local snow shenanigans than true snowmobiling duty.

For a full-scale electric snowmobile, winter riders might want to check out the Canadian company Taiga.

The company manufacturers electric snowmobiles and electric jet skis, though at this time of year riders in the Northern Hemisphere will probably be more interested in the former. Just keep in mind that higher power levels of between 120-180 hp (90-134 kW) put these electric snowmobiles in a completely different class than the pint-sized snow scooters and snow bikes shown above.

via: NewAtlas

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Tesla (TSLA) brand damage is destroying used car value: ‘People don’t want them anymore’

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Tesla (TSLA) brand damage is destroying used car value: 'People don't want them anymore'

Tesla’s brand damage is eroding the value of used Tesla vehicles at a rapid rate, as owners rush to sell theirs.

It is breaking the used Tesla market as prices are plunging just as the broader used car market is recovering.

After a few tough years for the used car market following the pandemic, it is finally starting to recover over the last month.

Economic uncertainty and a fear of higher inflation due to Trump’s tariffs are prompting some buyers to shift from the new car market to the used car market.

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From March 2024 to March 2025, average used car prices decreased by 2.68% in the US, but the trend has finally reversed.

According to Car Guru‘s used car index, used car prices have risen an impressive 2.17% in the last 30 days alone.

However, there’s an exception: Tesla.

The price of used Tesla vehicles has been falling, like the rest of the used car market, since the pandemic; however, it is not benefiting from the reversal in the current macroeconomic situation.

While average used car prices rose more than 2% in the last 30 days, Tesla’s used car prices decreased by 1.34% in the US.

That’s due to oversupply, as many Tesla owners are selling their vehicles to distance themselves from the Tesla brand, which is associated with CEO Elon Musk and his increasingly divisive political views.

The demand to sell used Tesla vehicles is so high that many used car dealers, who had been fighting to acquire inventory just a year prior, are starting to be reticent about buying Tesla vehicles as the value decreases so rapidly.

In Quebec, Le Journal de Montréal spoke with local used car dealers and attended a car auction where many Tesla vehicles were up for sale, with some selling for half the price they were selling for just over a year ago.

Éric Piuze, owner of a used car dealership on Montreal’s South Shore, said (translated from French):

“People don’t want them anymore. The Elon Musk effect is very real in Quebec.”

The used car dealers at the auction noted that they are not confident they can sell the used Tesla quickly enough to avoid further value decreases.

Furthermore, they note that potential buyers are lowballing on Tesla vehicles because they are aware that inventory is high, creating a buyer’s market.

Dealers are also seeing higher defaults on Tesla car payments, as buyers who took on debt to purchase them just a few years ago struggle to make payments.

Piuze added (translated from French):

People paid a lot of money for Teslas. During the pandemic, we saw many people remortgaging their homes to buy a Tesla. Those days are over.

At its peak, the average used Tesla price was over $60,000 in 2022. Now, the same vehicles are worth a fraction, but their car payments are still high.

Electrek’s Take

Even with the used car market finally getting a breather from crashing prices, Tesla vehicles are not benefiting at all. This highlights a significant issue in the used Tesla market. It’s broken.

The market can’t absorb the surge in people selling their Tesla vehicles.

I wouldn’t want to be a company holding a fleet of Tesla vehicles right now. The value erosion is impressive.

I thought that maybe the Cybertruck was dragging the entire Tesla market down, with a 6.64% decrease in used value over the last 30 days. However, the Model Y alone saw a 1.67% decrease during the same period.

The good news is that the vast majority of people selling their used Tesla vehicles are purchasing other electric vehicles, thereby boosting the EV market. It’s also giving people the chance to get into Tesla vehicles for cheaper, although they should expect the value of those vehicles to decrease rapidly.

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E-quipment highlight: Sandvik QH443E electric cone plant

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E-quipment highlight: Sandvik QH443E electric cone plant

The new flagship Q-Range electric drive cone plant from the quarry experts at Sandvik is engineered to be safe, quiet, and tough enough to operate in the most hostile environments the mining and quarrying industries can put it in.

Cone crushers enhance quarrying efficiency by enabling operators to crush rock, stone, and ore down to a precise size. In ELI5 terms, big rocks go into the top of the plant. Inside, a cone-shaped mantle moves inside a larger cone in an eccentric circle that grinds up the stone and ore between the mantle and the cone’s sides, breaking them up into smaller pieces. Once the pieces are ground to a given size determined by the position of the mantle within the larger cone, they fall out into a cone-shaped pile (but that’s just a coincidence).

Basic mechanisms of cone crusher

The “how it works” version.

The cone crusher is part of a broader “train” of machines on a quarry that work together to turn a massive rock face into a fine sand and/or anything in between. With the launch of the QH443E electric cone plant, Sandvik now offers mine operators a fully electric driven train – one that includes the UJ443E fully electric jaw crusher launched in 2023, the QE342e hybrid scalper, and the QA452e hybrid triple-deck Doublescreen launched in 2022 (if you want to know more about how those work, let us know in the comments).

The new QH443E features a new heavy-duty feeder design equipped with electrically driven components, which can be powered by batteries, or a connection to grid power. An on-board diesel generator capable of running on 100% HVO (hydrogenated vegetable oil), providing a number of more sustainable fuel choices and effectively reducing the mine’s operating costs.

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Sandvik claims the electric delivers a 25% fuel savings on generator (and, obviously, 100% on grid or battery power), as well as a 78% reduction in oil usage compared to previous generations.

The new crusher bridges the gap between tracked mobile, wheeled portable, and stationary cone plants by combining electric drives and track mobility on a single platform. The QH443E uses Optik intuitive automation system and My Fleet remote monitoring software hooked to a suite of sensors that provide 24/7 telematics, geo-fencing, and remote-operator support that’s designed to ensure continuous crushing and optimal performance.

Those sensors also help drive innovations in safety, as well. “Safety is paramount in the design of the QH443E,” said Sandvik, in a statement. “The unit includes remote camera viewing of the crushing chamber, 270 degree access around the crusher for easy maintenance and mandatory audible and visual warnings for safe operation. Our extensive global distributor and sales support network ensures that you receive the best support for your operations.”

The QH443E is available in the EU now through Sandvik Mobile’s global dealer network, and will be available everywhere by Q4 of 2025.

Electrek’s Take

Sandvik QH443E portable cone plant rounds out the company’s electric train offering; via Sandvik.

While there are a lot of people outside the drilling and mining space who may scoff at environmental concerns, the quest for improved efficiency and cost reduction among commercial fleet managers knows no political ideology. Simply put: If it’s better or cheaper, they’ll buy it. If it’s better and cheaper, they’ll buy two — and battery power is proving to be consistently better, in a broader scope of use cases, than diesel.

SOURCE | PHOTOS: Sandvik; via Global Highways, Pit & Quarry.

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Past classic that deserves the electric restomod treatment: Ford Taurus

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Past classic that deserves the electric restomod treatment: Ford Taurus

The current EV era is ripe with revered classic car designs and nameplates that are being reborn as battery-powered rides – and the success of cars the Renault 5 proves it can be a winning formula. Today, I’m suggesting another classic that deserves a modern electric update: the OG Ford Taurus.

It might seem old and dated now, but when the original Ford Taurus made its debut in 1985, it was so fresh, so different, so futuristic that it was included, almost unchanged, in Robocop’s sci-fi vision of a dystopian Detroit. Really.

I’d buy that for a dollar

From the movie poster for Robocop; MGM Studios.

The aerodynamic design of the Ford Taurus wasn’t just futuristic, it was successful – and, from 1992 through 1996, the OG Taurus was not just Ford’s best-selling car, but the best selling car in North America.

The sedan market is very different forty years on – so different, in fact, that Ford doesn’t actually sell any sedans in North America. With the exception of the 2-door ICE Mustang, the Blue Oval brand doesn’t even sell any cars, and operates almost entirely as a truck and SUV brand.

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Now, imagine Ford decides to get back into the sedan game. It’s 2025 now, and the Tesla Model 3 has proven that there’s enough demand for at least one successful electric sedan in the US. And, crucially, it seems like most of those buyers won’t be trading their Tesla back in for another one.

If there was ever a time to do it, that time is now – and Ford is perfectly positioned to fast-track a new-age Taurus.

The VW connection

Chinese-market Volkswagen ID.7 Vizzion; via VW.

Yes, I know that’s a Volkswagen – but hear me out. Ford and VW have a strong, existing relationship when it comes to EVs, having co-developed the MEB electric skateboard platform that underpins both the high-riding Ford Capri (itself a modern take on a classic Ford) and the Volkswagen ID.7 shown, above.

The ID.7 is an interesting piece, because it was always Volkswagen’s original intention to bring the car to the US, but slowing sedan demand and a dealer body that would rather sell Scout-branded SUVs and pickups than near/entry-luxe sedans killed the car’s chances before before the first one made it over. Now, it’s not coming to the US at all.

That might have been a mistake, since the the midsized ID.7 sedan is currently the best-selling EV in Germany, with sales continuing to accelerate throughout Europe in the wake of Tesla’s catastrophic, politically-fueled decline.

So, VW dealers don’t want a perfectly capable, Ford-developed, aerodynamic midsized sedan to sell in the US? No problem. Ramp up the BlueOval SK battery plant, set off a hiring frenzy at BlueOval City, start building an oval-badged ID.7-based Ford Taurus in the US, and slap a Tesla conquest rebate on the thing to help overcome Tesla buyer’s increasingly negative equity.

It even looks good in 90s Ford Taurus green.

Original content from Electrek; featured image by ChatGPT.

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