Norway’s WindSpider has designed a lightweight crane system that builds offshore wind turbines virtually on its own once the tower is up.
The Norwegian startup is being taken very seriously – it’s part of the Energy Transition Norway cluster, and it’s been backed by German global energy company RWE since December 2022.
WindSpider announced a deal in early March with Leirvik Group, another Norwegian company that specializes in offshore aluminum structures. The partnership will enable WindSpider to build its “giant aluminum spider” cranes entirely from aluminum. And just because it will be light doesn’t mean it won’t be strong – it will have a lifting capacity of more than 1,500 metric tons for up to 20-megawatt (MW) turbines.
Once an offshore wind turbine’s tower is standing, the WindSpider crane is installed. The crane uses the tower as support to install other turbine components. Having the turbine tower as a support structure eliminates relative motion between the crane and the turbine.
Its Dolly Crane, which slides up and down the cage, will lift and position the nacelle components, and WindSpider has also designed a Blade Tool, which also travels up and down, keeping the blade steady while the root end is connected to the turbine’s hub.
Unlike conventional cranes, WindSpider’s self-erecting design has no weight or height limitations, so WindSpider says it will be robust in the most challenging and windy environments. It’s compatible with both fixed and floating wind turbines.
WindSpider says its crane could revolutionize the industry by reducing offshore wind costs by more than 50%. I’ll watch this space to see what comes next.
What do you think about the WindSpider crane? Let us know in the comments below.
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Starting at under $35,000 with over 315 miles of range, Chevy’s electric SUV is proving to be a hit. The all-electric Equinox helped propel Chevy past Ford to become the fastest-growing EV brand in the US.
Chevy races past Ford in the US with the Equinox EV
With over 37,000 electric vehicles sold through May, GM’s Chevy is outpacing Ford, which has sold 34,000 EVs in the US.
In the first quarter, Chevy became the fastest-growing EV brand in the US, driven by strong demand for the Equinox EV. The electric Equinox accounted for nearly a third (10,329) of the 31,886 total EVs that GM sold in Q1 2025.
GM is now saying it has “solidified its position as the #2 seller of EVs in the US” with over 62,000 electric models sold through May.
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The automaker took a jab at its crosstown rival ahead of second-quarter sales, claiming its Chevy brand alone is outselling Ford.
With 13 EVs to choose from, GM has nearly an electric model for everyone, including entry-level SUVs (Chevy Equinox EV), electric pickups (Chevy Silverado, GMC Sierra, and GMC Hummer EVs), and luxury (Cadillac Lyriq, Optiq, Vistiq, and Escalade IQ).
2025 Chevy Equinox EV LT (Source: GM)
GM is coming off its second-best month ever for EV sales in May. In the first two months of 2025, GM’s share of the US electric vehicle (EV) market was around 15.5%, more than double that of the previous year.
A dealer in California recently reached out to Electrek, claiming Chevy could have sold even more, but they had to wait over 30 days for Equinox EV models.
Chevy Blazer EV (left), Chevy Equinox EV (middle), Chevy Silverado EV (right) (Source: GM)
Last week, GM announced that it had outsold Tesla in Q1 to become the “#1 EV seller” in Canada. Will it continue closing the gap in the US?
It still has a ways to go. According to Cox Automotive, Tesla sold over 128,000 vehicles in the US in the first quarter, which is still more than double the 62,000 GM has sold through May.
Electrek’s Take
Although it remains a substantial lead, GM is narrowing the gap with Tesla not only in the US but also in the North American market.
The Equinox EV has been a hit so far, and with the next-gen Bolt due out later this year, GM’s Chevy will likely see even more growth.
GM’s CEO, Mary Barra, promises the new Chevy Bolt EV offers “an even better driving, charging, and ownership experience. It will be GM’s first Ultium-based EV in North America to use LFP batteries, which will help lower costs.
Although Tesla is likely to maintain its lead for some time, it will be interesting to see which top-selling EVs emerge over the next few years as Chevy ramps up its production.
Chevy is winning over buyers with affordable, long-range electric vehicles. With leases starting as low as $289 per month, the 2025 Chevy Equinox EV remains one of the best deals on the market. Chevy is also offering 0% APR for 60 months on all 2025 EV models. Ready to test one out for yourself? Check out our links below to find deals in your area.
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In Europe, Tesla only briefly opened orders for the third-row option in 2024, but like in the US, it was removed amid the Model Y design changeover in early 2025.
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In China, Tesla originally launched the option in 2021, but it was removed due to a low take-rate. The option was also not popular in the US.
When Tesla launched the new Model Y design in January 2025, it didn’t have the third-row option.
Now, Tesla is teasing the 7-seater option making a comeback in an email to potential buyers:
Ready for anything with long range, seating for up to seven and enough room for everyone’s gear.
Considering this is a marketing email aimed at encouraging people to order the new Model Y, it is reasonable to assume that Tesla will soon add the third-row option.
It is currently still not on the online configurator.
Tesla has previously stated that the Model Y 7-seater option is expected to finally arrive in Europe and China later in 2025 with he new design.
Electrek’s Take
Tesla doesn’t share the take-rate of its options and accessories, but it appears that the Model Y’s third-row option wasn’t particularly popular.
It’s not too surprising considering how small it was. It was suitable for small kids, but that’s about it.
Now, Tesla has significantly redesigned the backseat and trunk inside the new Model Y. Maybe it managed to redesign the third row to be a little more spacious, but even if that’s the case, I doubt it would be significant, as the vehicle is basically the same size.
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While I enjoy covering news and reviews related to new e-bikes and other micromobility vehicles, my favorite part of working in this industry is actually getting to go deeper behind the scenes, often pulling back the curtain to see what lies behind some of the biggest companies in the market. Most only show us their polished front-facing image, but there’s so much more to the story than that. From the people who build and operate these brands to the way new ideas work their way through the design pipeline and into bike boxes headed to our doorsteps, there are countless untold stories just waiting to be revealed. And that’s exactly what I set out to do when I visited the headquarters of EUNORAU, one of the most prolific e-bike makers in the world.
Companies like EUNORAU don’t necessarily have the same flashy marketing or brand awareness as big hitters like Lectric eBikes or Rad Power Bikes, and that’s one of the reasons that their innovations and unique stories often fly under the radar. But when you look a bit deeper, there’s a lot to see!
You may not realize it, but EUNORAU actually makes dozens of models of e-bikes and related micromobility products that are sold all over Europe, North America, and Oceania. They’re one of the biggest recognizable e-bike companies around the world, certainly when measured by the breadth of their catalog. And with operations since 2009, they’ve ridden around the block time and time again, seeing firsthand just about every fad, trend, and update to the e-bike world in the last decade and a half.
I’ve personally reviewed at least half a dozen of their models, from chunky fat tire e-bikes to smaller folders and even electric tricycles. Now I wanted to see where they came from.
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EUNORAU CMO Vic Erdinc (left) helps translate customer desires into real features
I’ve visited e-bike factories before, and to be honest, many of them functionally look the same. So instead of going straight to EUNORAU’s factory, I headed a few hours over and went to their headquarters to meet the team and check out their showroom as well as design/operations center.
There I met Kevin Fang and Vic Erdinc, EUNORAU’s CEO and CMO. The two are like a pair of mad scientists, but for e-bikes, and their skills definitely complement each other. Few in the e-bike industry are better connected than Kevin, who knows just about every bike factory, component maker, supplier, subsupplier, and more. If someone in the e-bike has ever considered making an e-bike part, Kevin has probably had a meal with them.
Combining that network with his in-depth technical knowledge of bicycles and electric drive systems makes for a potent combination that has helped EUNORAU innovate from the early days of the industry.
Vic, as the company’s CMO, should ostensibly be mostly concerned with marketing. But in just the day I was there it was obvious how many hats he wears on a regular basis.
In addition to leading the company’s marketing, Vic is also the main bridge between very divergent groups within the company, facilitating the interdepartmental communication that helps quickly respond to the market.
Vic is constantly the go-between, relaying customer questions and concerns to the product development team, helping to improve designs in real-time and pushing out rolling updates. He interfaces between the technical teams and marketing teams, and has a surprisingly strong influence on the types of bikes that EUNORAU sets out to develop.
With so much focus on customer needs from a marketing perspective, it turns out he’s the perfect guy to inform the designers what needs to come next.
The first part of my tour took me through EUNORAU’s expansive showroom, which is absolutely brimming with e-bike models. Dozens and dozens of e-bikes from every category imaginable are lined up along the walls, with even more on elevated tables and mounted on the walls. And it sounds like Kevin or Vic, or both, had a personal hand in the design of each.
Kevin’s deeper understanding of the componentry and drive systems has resulted in many of these models sporting powerful motors and extremely long all-electric battery ranges.
Vic’s coordination between customers, marketing, and designers has helped further massage the various models into their final forms laid out before us. I was constantly surprised by just how deeply involved in the details he is with these different models.
As we walked past the newest version of EUNORAU’s popular adult e-trike, Vic pointed to the fenders and remarked to me “those are because of you.” Apparently after my otherwise positive review of the trike took a dig or two at the old fenders, he went to the design team and made sure they were updated to improve them.
Vic Erdinc (left) and Kevin Fang (center) share with me new features on a EUNORAU electric bike
But Vic doesn’t only have to think about the bike’s functionality. He also has to consider every other step along the way of producing and delivering the e-bikes. “The only problem with this one is the shipping,” he says as we pour over a slick-looking recumbent electric trike that I want to drop everything and ride immediately.” This one costs a lot to ship.”
I surmised that the bike was also probably pretty expensive too, as recumbent e-trikes seem to be one of the costliest categories. “Not really,” he responds. “It’s not that much more expensive. The other companies just don’t have much competition yet, so they can charge a lot.”
That’s become a hallmark of EUNORAU. The company has an e-bike to match just about any model out there, but at quite competitive prices. They may not have the cachet of the fancy European companies, but they sure do have the connections and team to build competing bikes at much better prices.
Looking around the showroom makes me feel like a kid in a candy store. Or rather, an e-bike fan in an e-bike store full of just about every type of e-bike you can imagine. From gravel bikes to fat tires to kids e-bikes and even trikes. There are cargo bikes and mountain bikes and mopeds and fitness bikes and on and on and on. You wouldn’t think one company could make literally dozens of different models, but they’re all parked here right in front of me. “Designing stuff is what we do best, but sometimes it’s too much. We have too much product, I have to remind myself that I can’t just do everything,” Vic tells me with a smile.
Part of the way they can get away with having so many models is that they don’t market all of them in-house. Instead, EUNORAU and its team have leveraged the huge network they’ve built between parts suppliers and factories to produce numerous models of e-bikes for other brands.
In fact, that network that EUNORAU has built eventually led them to open a new service entirely, one not designed for e-bike companies but rather for individual e-bike riders themselves. We’ve all heard about the many e-bike companies that have gone out of business in the last few years. Unfortunately, that often leaves the riders of those e-bikes without any source for spare parts in the future. If a controller dies or a display breaks, riders may be at a loss to find appropriate spare parts. That’s where BKRE comes in. They can find just about any e-bike part that’s ever been made since they know just about every factory that’s ever made them. They keep many of these parts in stock in their warehouse, but can usually find any part they don’t have in a few days. They simply charge a transparent 30% markup for the part and mail it out to riders in need. Just like that, you’ve got that nearly unobtainable controller or wiring harness that the original long-bankrupt e-bike company isn’t around to sell to you.
As I walked down the long aisles of floor to ceiling shelving, it was like a who’s who of long gone e-bike companies. As I peeked my way through endless blue tubs, my hands landed on a controller for a Zugo Rhino, a bike I had personally enjoyed riding just a couple years ago, but has since become hard to service after the company went bankrupt last year.
This EUNORAU Flash is as fast and powerful as the name implies!
I had a chance to test out several different models, starting with a EUNORAU Meta 20, which looks like an unsuspecting 20″ wheel folding e-bike. But looks can be deceiving, and this little e-bike hides away some big power and interesting technology. First of all, when you put it in the highest power mode, it will throw you back in a way you’d never expect from something that looks like an innocent little commuter bike. And secondly, its got an interesting feature that allows the rider to choose between cadence and torque sensor operation. That lets you leverage the torque sensor for the most intuitive and natural riding experience, where the bike responds instantly to your input and proportionally to your own power. Or you can put it back in cadence sensor mode, where the bike just checks that you’re pedaling and then allows more power to flow without requiring you to actually increase your own power output. That mode is better for folks who still want a powerful ride while pedaling but don’t have the leg strength to push themselves harder. It keeps your own legs active without requiring as much effort.
From there I moved to a hardtail version of the EUNORAU Flash, a moped that could hold its own against a Juiced Scrambler or other popular top-tank-styled moped. Again, the power was palpable as a slight push of the throttle rewarded me with more acceleration than I needed but for which I was more than willing to accept!
The final impressive e-bike I had the chance to test out was a four-wheeled fat tire recumbent electric quad-bike with a mid-drive motor and independent rear suspension. As I climbed into the bike, I felt like I was entering a mech-suit in a sci-fi movie. The massive fat tires surrounded me and the torquey motor was ready, waiting for the press of a pedal to launch me forward. And launch is exactly what it did! As soon as I gave it a little power, I was rolling like a bicycle battle tank, climbing over curbs and basically surmounting anything in my path. With four wheels, the thing was as stable as a car. And with the reclined seating position of the recumbent chair, it felt more like a go-kart than an e-bike. Needless to say, it was absolutely wild!
Screenshot
The chance to visit EUNORAU’s headquarters and meet the dedicated team that brings its designs to life was a truly once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me. Having visited so many e-bike factories around the world by now, I find that there are often even more important stories not just where the bikes are built, but also where they’re dreamt up, maintained, and supported.
With folks like Kevin, Vic, and the entire EUNORAU team laser-focused on providing the widest assortment of high-impact, high-value electric bikes that actually fulfill the real needs of commuters and recreational riders alike, it feels like the sky is truly the only limit. After all, they’ve already conquered the roads!
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