
Eric Walz
Originally hailing from New Jersey, Eric is a automotive & technology reporter covering the high-tech industry here in Silicon Valley. He has over 15 years of automotive experience and a bachelors degree in computer science. These skills, combined with technical writing and news reporting, allows him to fully understand and identify new and innovative technologies in the auto industry and beyond. He has worked at Uber on self-driving cars and as a technical writer, helping people to understand and work with technology.
Articles
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EV Startup VinFast Simultaneously Opens Six Retail Stores in California as it Prepares to Enter the U.S. Market
Aug 22, 2022 5:00 AM WSTVietnam-based electric vehicle startup VinFast says its strongly committed to a sustainable future of smart electric mobility and is preparing to enter the U.S. market with its two new electric SUVs. On July 14, the company opened its first six retail showrooms in California, with many more to come. The automaker’s strategy is to expand its network of retail locations in order to build personalized relationships with its customers.
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Qualcomm Ventures Invests in ThunderX, a Company Developing a Domain Controller-based Intelligent Vehicle Compute Platform
Aug 21, 2022 10:30 AM WSTQualcomm Ventures, the venture capital arm of Qualcomm, has made an investment in ThunderX, a subsidiary of Thunder Software Technology Co.,Ltd. (ThunderSoft), which is a China-based company specializing in vehicle computing platforms. The company plans to develop an open intelligent driving platform for automakers that can be mass produced.
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Hyundai Unveils the IONIQ 6 ‘Electric Streamliner’, its Bold Sedan With a 380-Mile Range and 18-Minute Charging Time
Aug 20, 2022 9:30 AM WSTAutomaker Hyundai unveiled its IONIQ 6 electric sedan during an online event on Wednesday evening. The bold sedan, which was teased in a photo last month, is the second electric vehicle launched under Hyundai’s electric sub-brand, following the IONIQ 5 SUV. The unique design makes the IONIQ 6 one of the most of the most energy-efficient EVs in the market.
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EV Startup Fisker Inc. Hires BMW Exec as Senior VP of Manufacturing, Aims to Build One Million EVs a Year by 2027
Aug 19, 2022 1:45 PM WSTElectric vehicle startup Fisker, which is gearing up to launch its first EV the Fisker Ocean this fall, has appointed Alpay Uguz as Senior Vice President of Global Manufacturing. Before joining Fisker, Alpay worked at BMW's production facility in Spartanburg, South Carolina as the general manager of the automaker’s X Series SUVs, all of which are built in the U.S.
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Tesla’s Battery Supplier Panasonic is Working on New EV Battery Technology That Can Boost Range by 20%
Aug 19, 2022 1:10 PM WSTTesla’s battery supplier Panasonic says it's working on new technology that can improve a battery’s energy density and boost EV range by 20 percent. If Panasonic achieves its goal, it could boost the range of the Tesla Model 3 for example, by 100 km (62 miles), without increasing the size of the battery pack.
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Michigan-based May Mobility Closes on $111 Million Funding Round, Begins Development on Toyota’s Next-Gen Commercial Autonomous Vehicle Platform
Aug 18, 2022 10:00 AM WSTMay Mobility, an Ann Arbor Michigan-based autonomous transportation startup, announced it closed on a $111 million Series C round of funding. The latest funding round brings the company's total funding to date to $194 million. Through its collaboration with Toyota, May Mobility aims to begin fully-autonomous commercial robotaxi operations in 2023, as well as expand into new markets.
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Intel’s Self-Driving Car Unit Mobileye Postpones its Planned U.S. IPO That Could Value the Company up to $50 Billion
Aug 17, 2022 9:15 AM WSTIntel's autonomous driving technology unit Mobileye has put its U.S. IPO plans on hold. With the current global market conditions, taking the company public in the upcoming months would not be beneficial, according to Mobileye founder and CEO Amnon Shashua. Intel purchased Mobileye for $15.3 billion in 2017 in its push into the automotive space.
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Volkswagen’s Software Company CARIAD to Use BlackBerry QNX to Support ADAS and Autonomous Driving Functions of Future VW Vehicles
Aug 14, 2022 10:30 AM WSTVolkswagen's software company CARIAD announced that it selected BlackBerry QNX technology for its new VW.OS vehicle operating system. The software platform will be available for Volkswagen Group vehicles from the middle of the decade. Blackberry's QNX technology including its QNX OS for Safety, which is a pre-certified microkernel operating system designed for safety-critical embedded systems.
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EV Startup Fisker Announces ‘Fisker Finance’ a Digital Financing Platform for Purchasing the Electric Ocean SUV
Aug 13, 2022 9:00 AM WSTEV startup Fisker announced a new direct-to-consumer online financing platform digital finance program with JPMorgan Chase Bank in the U.S. that will support its direct-to-consumer digital sales model. Through its retail financing partnership with JPMorgan Chase Bank, U.S. customers can arrange vehicle financing entirely online for the Fisker Ocean electric SUV, the company’s first model.
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Volvo-backed EV Battery Maker Northvolt, Founded by Former Tesla Execs, Raises Another $1.1 Billion to Help Fund its Expansion
Aug 12, 2022 3:00 PM WSTSweden-based electric vehicle battery manufacturer Northvolt, a company backed by automaker Volvo Cars, today announced the signing of a $1.1 billion convertible note to fund its expansion of battery cell and cathode material production in Europe to meet the growing demand for EV batteries from automakers.