Charged up and ready to make waves – E1's all-electric powerboat series returns in Dubrovnik, Croatia
Charged up and ready to make waves - E1's all-electric powerboat series returns in Dubrovnik, Croatia
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News.com.au
a day ago
- News.com.au
Charged up and ready to make waves – E1's all-electric powerboat series returns in Dubrovnik, Croatia
Charged up and ready to make waves - E1's all-electric powerboat series returns in Dubrovnik, Croatia
News.com.au
2 days ago
- News.com.au
Expat blown away by wild China detail
For these two cities bustling with almost 24 million people, you would expect the streets to sound chaotic with the honking of horns and revving of engines – but that's not the case. Both Shenzhen in southern China and Suzhou, west of Shanghai, are 'so quiet', it's almost eerie. Social media has become inundated with expats and tourists alike sharing clips of quiet streets across China as electric and hybrid vehicles take over. And not Teslas, they're mostly domestic brands like BYD. 'Most cars in Shenzhen are electric. The streets are remarkably quiet for a city of 20 million!' one person said in a TikTok. US expat Garrett who goes by the handle 'theforeignerlife' took a trip to the city of Suzhou, about an hour from his current residence in Shanghai – and he too was left astounded by the mute streets. He filmed himself standing on what is a busy road showing that, despite cars and motorbikes zooming past, there was virtually no traffic noise. 'There is no road noise in China. The streets are so quiet because there is no gas cars anymore,' he said in the clip. 'OK listen,' he said. 'Do you hear a single car noise? You see all these cars, bikes, all cars moving … so peaceful. 'Look at this, all the cars moving back and forth, no horns, two buses [and] not a single car noise, not a single bit of road noise.' One viewer commented they visited China twice in the early 90s where cities were 'noisy and smoky'. 'When I went back in September last year … silence. So cool,' they added. @nihaolucylv China's streets are quiet because most cars are EVs, domestic brands, not Tesla haha. #ev #tesla #china #chinatiktok #chinese #trend #fyp #foryou #history #renewable #cars ♬ original sound - Lucy Lv Meanwhile, a local from China said now 'all electric cars have the function of intelligently identifying pedestrians'. 'If someone passes in front of the car, the car will automatically slow down or stop.' The rise in EVs in China comes as local brand BYD shook up the smart-EV industry earlier this year by offering its 'God's Eye' driver-assistance package for free, undercutting the technology Tesla sells for nearly $US9,000 ($A13,800) in China. And according to Reuters, it's not just BYD, other Chinese auto and tech companies are offering affordable EVs with FSD-like technology for a relative pittance. China's Leapmotor and Xpeng, for instance, offer systems capable of highway and urban driving in $20,000 vehicles. A slew of Chinese firms are chasing the same technology, an industry push backed by China's government, according to the publication. In 2024, China sold nearly 13 million fully electric and hybrid vehicles, with EVs accounting for 40 per cent of total sales in the Chinese market. In Australia, BYD established its brand with compact and affordable electric cars such as the Atto 3 and the Dolphin before moving into $60,000 territory with the BYD Seal electric sedan and Shark 6 plug-in hybrid ute. It beat the Ford Ranger Stormtrak and GWM Cannon Alpha Ultra PHEVs to market to be named our 2024 Car of the Year. The manufacturer could have the broadest range of any Chinese car company in Australia, mirroring the likes of Toyota with a comprehensive showroom that spans from cheap and cheerful hatchbacks to family cars, luxury off-roaders, utes and performance cars.
News.com.au
2 days ago
- News.com.au
Toyota makes startling comments about EVs
One of the world's biggest automakers has made several startling comments about electric vehicles (EVs). Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda doubled down on his belief that hybrids, not EVs, are the smarter and more sustainable option in many parts of the world. In a recent interview, the grandson of Toyota Motor's founder made a claim: that the brand's 27 million hybrid cars have delivered the same carbon-cutting effect as 9 million battery electric vehicles (BEVs). But in countries like Japan, where electricity largely comes from thermal (fossil fuel) power plants, he said making those same BEVs could have actually increased emissions. 'If we were to have made 9 million BEVs in Japan, it would have actually increased the carbon emissions, not reduced them. That is because Japan relies on thermal power plants for electricity,' Toyoda said. Toyota is one automaker who has been slower to adopt full battery-powered models. Despite selling over 10 million vehicles globally for the past two years, the company has one EV on the market, the bZ4X. Toyota has focused its efforts heavily on hybrids, which made up more than 4.1 million of its sales in 2024 and a mere 139,892 were electric vehicles. In Australia, Toyota sold 115,477 hybrids compared to just 977 EVs, with the RAV4, now available exclusively as a hybrid in Australia, has become the country's best-selling SUV. Toyota's approach to reducing emissions is through a variety of technologies, not just BEVs. 'When the term carbon neutrality became popular, we said as a company the enemy is carbon. We have to focus on what we can do immediately to reduce carbon dioxide. That is the basis of our decision. It has not changed and will not change,' Toyoda said. 'We should look at all options and work in all directions. As a company, we have been very consistent in saying what we're fighting against is carbon dioxide.' Chairman Toyoda also suggested that pivoting too quickly to EVs could endanger jobs, especially in countries like Japan, where engine manufacturing remains a vital part of the economy. While Toyota has begun rolling out EVs across the globe, the pace remains steady. Its EV line-up is limited in comparison to rivals like BYD, Tesla and Hyundai.
