America’s first US-built electric mini-truck begins street-legal homologation

Published

2 years ago

May 28, 2023

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The AYRO Vanish has grabbed headlines over the past year as it rolls ever closer to production at AYRO’s Texas factory. Now the electric mini-truck’s final step ahead of manufacturing has begun as the Vanish starts street-legal homologation.

The AYRO Vanish is an electric utility vehicle that is designed to fit into the low-speed vehicle (LSV) federal designation. The mini-truck uses a lightweight architecture to limit the entire vehicle weight and maximize the allowable payload.

The Vanish boasts a payload of up to 1,200 lb (544 kg), which is fairly close to many standard-sized pickup trucks. For comparison, a 2023 Ford F-150’s payload capacity starts at 1,310 lb (594 kg). The company also indicated that it plans to produce a non-street legal variant that will have a higher payload capacity of 1,800 pounds (816 kg). That model would be applicable to work sites, campuses and other areas where use on public roads is not required.

Unlike standard pickup trucks, the Vanish offers highly adaptable configurations. Optional rear cargo configurations including food boxes, flat beds, utility beds with three-sided tailgates, and van boxes for secure storage all point to potential commercial applications for the vehicle.

And those future commercial customers could be getting their hands on the Vanish’s steering wheel sooner rather than later. Heading for homologation testing means that the company is now closer than ever to putting those various designs on the road.

As AYRO CEO Tom Wittenschlaeger explained:

“Now that we’ve completed our internal testing, it’s time to ensure that the award-winning Vanish meets requirements of our national governing bodies. Once we’ve completed this process and receive final approval, we can begin delivering vehicles to our customers and dealers.”

In order for any road-worthy vehicle to be considered for sale, the vehicle must go through homologation to ensure it is safe and complies with government regulations.

LSVs have reduced regulatory hurdles, but there are still many safety requirements and design considerations to be addressed. The vehicles must meet regulations for the construction, design, durability, and performance requirements as outlined by federal governing bodies. In the US, this process is governed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

This complex process of homologation allows for vehicles to be officially classified by date and category as well as have official and certifiable technical information and specifications. The Vanish is completing homologation for both the United States and Canada, for which testing includes the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) 500, Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (CMVSS) 500 and California Air Resources Board (C.A.R.B.).

In parallel with its homologation phase, AYRO is now planning to begin Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) by early June to begin building the first 50 Vanish units that will be used as demo models for signed dealers.

The company plans to enter full-scale production upon the successful completion of its first 50 units.

As AYRO’s senior vice president of programs added:

“Our team has worked diligently to prepare for this day. This is one of the final steps in our product development process. Concurrently with homologation, we plan to begin LRIP and immediately following begin delivering vehicles to our customers and dealers.”

The AYRO Vanish opened for orders earlier this month, launching at a starting price of $33,990. While that price is more expensive than several other imported electric mini-trucks, the Vanish’s modular design (and soon-to-be street legal status) is a key differentiator.

AYRO’s vice president of Dealer Sales, Terry Kahl, previously explained the advantages of a modular platform:

With swappable bed configurations, we believe dealers can find a use case for the Vanish with almost any of their existing clientele. We have indications of interest from a rapidly growing number of dealers and now incoming dealers can find added value in that AYRO is accepting their pre-orders even before they join our dealer network. It should be an absolute win-win for our existing and onboarding dealers as well as future dealers.

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GE Vernova lands repower orders for 1 GW of US wind turbines

Published

2 hours ago

January 24, 2025

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GE Vernova lands repower orders for 1 GW of US wind turbines

GE Vernova repower wind — Photo: GE Vernova

GE Vernova’s onshore wind business announced that it received orders in 2024 to repower over 1 gigawatt (GW) of wind turbines in the US.

Wind energy repowering is all about breathing new life into older turbines. By swapping out aging parts like turbines, blades, and nacelles for the latest tech, wind farms see significant boosts in efficiency, power capacity, and overall lifespan. Other infrastructure and control systems can also get a second life.

Adding new components to existing infrastructure and grid connections means it’s less expensive to extend the life of the wind farm with fewer resources. New components make the turbines less prone to breakdowns which means less maintenance, so there are fewer operational costs.

The repowering projects for which GE Vernova received orders will use nacelles and drive trains that it manufactures in its Pensacola, Florida, factory.

“As the United States works to meet the doubling of projected demand for more energy, repower projects like these help US workers in US factories take advantage of what we already have, where we already have it,” said Matt Lynch, general manager of Repower at GE Vernova.

The orders were booked between the first and fourth quarters of 2024. GE Vernova’s wind repower projects are expected to come online between 2024 and 2027.

GE Vernova’s onshore wind business has a total installed base of approximately 56,000 turbines and nearly 120 GW of installed capacity worldwide.

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Kia’s NACS adapters available now; Supercharger access still pending

Published

3 hours ago

January 24, 2025

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Kia's NACS adapters available now; Supercharger access still pending

Kia’s official first-party NACS adapters are now ready to ship out, but owners will have to wait to use them on Tesla Superchargers until later this quarter.

The rollout of Supercharger access to non-Tesla brands is hitting a fever pitch this year, with several brands added to the “coming soon” list, and even beyond that, VW and Honda have both made their own announcements that access is coming soon.

But for most vehicles, charging on Superchargers will require an adapter for the time being, as most brands aren’t adding native NACS ports to their vehicles until a future date (the current exceptions are the 2025 Kia EV6 and Hyundai Ioniq 5 which have native ports).

Each manufacturer is dealing with adapter rollouts separately, and Kia’s ready to announce that their adapters are ready to go.

Kia told us today that shipments of first-party adapters are currently en route to dealerships, and certain owners will be getting a notification soon to claim their adapter.

In Kia’s previous announcement about adapter availability, it said that any 2024 or 2025 EV6 or EV9 owners who took delivery after September 4 would get a free NACS adapter. Those owners should receive a push notification soon in their Kia Connect app through which they can claim their adapter.

For other owners, adapters will be available from Kia dealers for $249, which is roughly in line with the average cost we’ve been seeing for these adapters. Dealers should be getting the adapters any day now.

However, these adapters will be of limited usefulness for the next several weeks. You’ll be able to use them to charge at Tesla destination chargers, or any home charger with a Tesla/NACS plug on it, but Supercharger access still requires a handshake between the car and the charging network, and that handshake is currently disabled.

Originally, Kias were going to gain access on January 15th, but that was pushed back until the “back end of this quarter.” Some owners found out a loophole to allow for charging on the network, but that loophole was closed just yesterday.

As a result, Kia is also including “definitive instructions” on how to use the adapters along with each shipment. It wants to ensure that everyone is using them properly, especially given the recent back-and-forth about, uh, unsanctioned methods to access the network before official availability.

Kia’s EV6 with the native NACS port has also taken longer to arrive than Hyundai’s 2025 Ioniq 5. Ioniq 5s are already shipping (and can even charge faster than Teslas at a Supercharger, a feat the EV6 should also achieve), but EV6s haven’t yet hit dealerships. They should be on around the same timeline as Supercharger access, and ought to be available in the back half of this quarter.

So… Kia fans will still have to wait a little bit, but at least you’ll have the adapters ready to go for when the floodgates open later this quarter.

If you’re looking to buy one of the fastest-charging EVs on the road today, use our link to check local dealers and get in line for when they get the new 2025 Kia EV6s in stock.

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Kempower and Ziegler partner on EV fast charging for fleets

Published

3 hours ago

January 24, 2025

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Kempower and Ziegler partner on EV fast charging for fleets

EV charger manufacturer Kempower and Ziegler Energy Solutions have paired up to deliver EV fast charging infrastructure for commercial fleets.

To put it simply, Finland and US-based Kempower brings DC fast chargers to the table, and Ziegler Energy Solutions’ (ZES’s) specialty is infrastructure, energy efficiency, and operational flexibility, along with sales and service.

“As businesses and municipalities increasingly transition to electric fleets, reliable and adaptable EV charging infrastructure with the highest uptime is paramount,” said Troy Monson, general manager of Ziegler Energy Solutions. “Partnering with Kempower enables us to deliver scalable, user-friendly solutions that support our customers’ electrification goals and operational needs.”

ZES, which is now a Kempower Certified Partner, helps fleet operators address challenges like high mileage, uptime demands, and energy cost management using its EV fleet planning tools that simulate real-world scenarios like duty cycles, charging schedules, and energy needs. It also has a leasing program, and integrates solar and battery storage into fast charging infrastructure.

This means Kempower can now offer its DC fast chargers to fleet operators with ZES’s support, ensuring uptime and reliability.

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