Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU) announced intentions to form a new company to manufacture smart EVs. The new company will partner with multinational auto manufacturer Zhejiang Geely Holding Group (0175.HK).

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• Geely will be a strategic investor in the new company, which will be an independent subsidiary of Baidu.
• According to sources, Baidu will acquire a majority stake and majority voting control in the new company. Geely will retain a minority stake.
• The collaboration will use Geely's EV focused platform, Sustainable Experience Architecture (SEA).

Longtime Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) manufacturing engineer Andy Hamilton has departed.

• The ten year Tesla veteran is joining Nevada-based Redwood Materials.
• Redwood Materials, a recycling startup, was formed by a founding member and longtime Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Tesla, JB Straubel, who left Tesla in 2019.
• Redwood Materials has recruited other Tesla members: Andrew Stevenson, Christ Ford, and Kevin Kessekert.

Sony (NYSE:SNE) revealed details of its new Vision-S prototype sedan in a series of new videos during CES 2021. Typically the largest consumer electronics convention in the U.S., this year's CES is 100% virtual due to the pandemic.

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• Sony first revealed its Vision-S prototype sedan at CES 2020.
• This week's details reveal, in a series of three videos presented at CES 2021, the Vision-S prototype's performance on private and public roads in Australia.
• According to Sony's VP Izumi Kawanishi, the company has increased the number of sensors on the vehicle to 40. Sony has also created a system to verify the security of the connected vehicle.
• The Vision-S prototype features 5G connectivity, wireless updating of the car's software, voice assistance, gesture control, and an in-cabin camera for driver monitoring.
• The video also mentions Sony's partners for the new vehicle, including telecommunications giant Vodafone, tire maker Continental, auto parts maker Bosch, software company Elektrobit Automotive, French automotive supplier Valeo, Hungarian automated driving startup AImotive, and Germany's ZF Group.

Lordstown Motors (NASDAQ:RIDE) has received 100,000 pre-orders for its Endurance pickup truck before the start of production later this year.

• Lordstown unveiled its Endurance pickup last year. It had received more than 50,000 pre-orders by Nov. 2019.
• The Endurance pickup truck is priced at $52,500 and will begin production at the Ohio factory by Sept. 2021.
• Lordstown Motors was formed when General Motors (NYSE:GM) and Workhorse (NASDAQ:WKHS) sold their Lordstown factory.

Volvo (VOLV-A.ST) will triple EV production capacity at its plant in Ghent, Belgium. The move comes after the automaker reported strong EV sales during 2020.

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• Volvo Cars will triple EV capacity at the plant by 2022 ⏤ up to 60% of the plant's total capacity.
• Volvo Cars' sales of EVs as a percentage of the company's total sales more than doubled in 2020 versus 2019.
• The manufacturing plant at Ghent already builds Volvo's first fully electric car, the XC40 Recharge, as well as a plug-in hybrid XC40.

Automotive supplier Magna announced a partnership with Fisker (NYSE:FSR) to develop an Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS).

• Magna will apply ADAS technology to the Fisker Ocean SUV, scheduled for 2022 delivery.
• The Fisker Ocean SUV will use a modified European version of Magna's EV platform.
• The ADAS package will feature a single-chip radar solution co-developed with Austin, Texas-based start-up Uhnder.

Electric Nation V2G ("Vehicle to Grid") announced Green Energy U.K. as one of its energy partners.

• CrowdCharge and Western Power Distribution run Electric Nation V2G.
• The project aims to demonstrate how EVs can provide V2G services.
• The trial will offer 25 applicants the opportunity to join the project, supplying "100% green" gas and renewable electricity.
• The pilot aims to showcase how lower electricity consumption during off-peak hours allows them to charge their vehicles daily between midnight and 7 a.m.
• Green Energy U.K. will offer qualifying participants up to 2,600 free miles of electricity per year, calculated at off-peak rates.

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• This company raised $9.3M to help orgs gift employees with glamping trips, Peloton bikes, and virtual sommelier lessons. Check out Blueboard's Experience menu.*
• The Verge scooped Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) "secretive" talks with Canoo (NASDAQ:GOEV) regarding its self-driving EV.
• Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) has opened hiring for a designer chief with experience appealing to the Chinese aesthetic.
• GoFor Industries will build a custom electric delivery van with California-based Royale EV.
• India-based Mahindra Logistics launched an electric last-mile delivery service dubbed "Edel" to serve cities including New Delhi, Mumbai, and Kolkata.
• EV company Ideanomics (NASDAQ:IDEX) announced its acquisition of Wireless Advanced Vehicle Electrification.
• Distributed Power Africa (DPA) is launching EV charging stations in Zimbabwe.
• Smithtown's Department of Environment and Waterways has halted free electric charging from EV stations installed behind its town hall.
• Tesla is rumored to be planning for a factory in India.
• Over 30,000 companies are building their eCommerce apps all without writing a single line of code.*

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