VW, Einride, China, Electric GT

VW accelerates battery research: The carmaker’s plan of a ‘Centre of Excellence’ will become reality already this month, reports Automobil Produktion referring to VW chief strategist Thomas Sedran. The centre will be in charge of development, acquisition and quality control of the group’s battery systems and is to explore solid state batteries, too. First laboratory results are scheduled for 2018 and shall be followed by a pilot production in 2020. Sedran also confirmed advanced discussions with potential partners and is confident to close deals within 2017.
automobil-produktion.de (in German)

Autonomous good transport: Einride’s engineers created an all-electric truck, which is driverless but can be remote controlled. The so-called T-Pod measures seven metres, ranges 200 km and (fully loaded) weighs 20 tonnes. First trials are scheduled for the ongoing year and the Swedish start-up hopes to have a first batch of 200 EVs for freight ready by 2020.
techcrunch.com, mashable.com

Battery production in China: For 400m euros Dynavolt has opened a new assembly facility in Fujian and seeks to produce lithium batteries at an annual capacity of 6 GWh. Until 2020, Dynavolt wants to increase the output, namely up to 25 GWh in Fujian and another plant in the province of Hubei.
pv-magazine.com, wynnertech.com

Electric GT kickoff in November: The very first GT race series is to debut in November with a double race on the Circuit Paul Ricard in France, where 20 drivers will compete in modified Tesla Model S. The premiere will be followed by eight races in different European countries.
electricautosport.com, autoblog.com, electricgt.co