Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV)
-
The tax reform bill likely to be voted on by the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives retained a number of provisions originally slated to be cut from the tax code. Among them was the federal income-tax credit for purchase of a plug-in electric vehicle. Three carmakers—General Motors, Nissan, and Tesla—have now used more than half the 200,000 full credits allowed to each electric-car maker before the credit starts to sunset. DON'T MISS: Electric-car tax credit retained in Congressional tax reform bill: confirmed The federal incentive is a credit taken against U.S. income...
-
Under Paris agreement, electric cars will hurt oil demand well before power supply: report
Electric vehicles have the potential to upend energy markets as their adoption becomes more widespread. But how much of an effect will they have? And on which specific markets? According to a recent report by Wood Mackenzie, the global power grids are likely safe for quite a while, but another...
Mark Stevenson -
Wal-Mart, Anheuser-Busch, DHL to test Tesla Semi; now UPS, Pepsi too (more updates)
An Instagram post by an "outdoor living design and construction firm serving the Chicago Southland" seems to confirm at least several hundred reservations for Tesla's new all-electric truck. Elemental Landscapes of Illinois posted a screenshot of its reservation for three Tesla Semi trucks, showing...
Mark Stevenson -
First all-electric NEVS 9-3 sedans (nee Saab) built in China two weeks ago
The company that bought the remains of Swedish carmaker Saab, known as National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS), finally celebrated the start of car production in China two weeks ago. NEVS first production vehicle is the 9-3 electric, of which it plans to produce 50,000 copies annually during phase...
Mark Stevenson -
Weltmeister EX5: first electric car from $1 billion Chinese company you've never heard of
After numerous positions with BorgWarner, Fiat Group, Volvo, and China's largest automaker Geely, an executive named Freeman Shen has finally rolled out his own creation. That is the Weltmeiser EX5, the product of $1 billion in first-round funding from some of the largest players in Chinese tech...
Mark Stevenson -
Singapore launches electric-car sharing program using Bollore BlueCars
Some of us take for granted the difficulty and cost of owning a car, but more alternatives exist today than did 10 years ago. While many view car ownership as a monthly lease or financing payment, owning a car for others requires finding a place to keep it and perhaps the need to keep moving it...
Mark Stevenson -
The industry trade journal WardsAuto has been giving out "Best Engine" awards for 24 years now, and this year's list includes some interesting choices. For starters, there are no engines from German manufacturers on the list: The sole luxury recipients this year are Infiniti and Jaguar. But more importantly, and for the first time ever, four of the winners are electrified—and two aren't engines at all. DON'T MISS: Three Hybrids On Ward's '10 Best Engines' List For 2016 For 2018, Wards declared two hybrid powertrains worthy of its accolades. The reworked 2.5-liter Atkinson Cycle inline-4...
-
BMW partners with Solid Power to develop solid-state cells for electric cars
While lithium-ion cells have powered all but a handful of plug-in electric cars since 2008, carmakers have looked further down the road toward solid-state battery cells with an eye toward launching them sometime during the 2020s. On Monday, BMW Group and Solid Power announced that the two companies...
John Voelcker -
Tesla motor, Shelby Cobra body, Kia battery: watch electric Cobra stun a race crowd
In 1962, a 39-year-old Carroll Shelby stuffed a Ford V-8 into an AC Ace to create one of the most sought after performance cars ever made, the AC Cobra. Some 50 years later, a group of engineers from British Columbia, Canada has brought Shelby's idea—small two-seat sports car, very big...
Mark Stevenson -
Electric-car tax credit retained in Congressional tax reform bill: confirmed (update)
We'll likely never know whether it was the influence of auto lobbyists, pressure from the actual public, or a letter signed by two dozen mayors. But however the sausage was made, it appears that the U.S. income-tax credit for purchase of a plug-in electric vehicle will not be killed after all...
John Voelcker -
Voltia conversion expands Nissan e-NV200 electric delivery van for London
As the United Kingdom joins other countries in committing to a future ban on fossil-fuel vehicles, commercial fleet operators that rely on diesel vehicles are left in a bit of a pickle. Nissan has an answer in its zero-emission eNV200 electric cargo van, but its small dimensions leave a lot to be...
Mark Stevenson -
Could Tennessee top Michigan in U.S. electric-car production (if not California)?
Today, battery-electric cars are built in volume at only three locations across the entire United States. Tesla builds its three different electric models in Fremont, California; the new 2018 Nissan Leaf has just gone into production in Smyrna, Tennessee; and the Chevrolet Bolt EV is built at the...
John Voelcker -
The automotive business is one that turns raw materials into highly complex finished goods. When the prices of key commodities—especially raw materials—rise, everything downstream in that process becomes more expensive. That's Hyundai's concern over battery prices from 2020 onward, as it envisions a future in which a constrained supply of certain commodities will negate cost reductions realized by economies of scale in battery manufacturing. DON'T MISS: How Much And How Fast Will Electric-Car Battery Costs Fall? If anything, those economies of scale will put upward pressure on key...
-
Toyota, Panasonic agree to study prismatic battery cells for electric cars
For the 20 years since the introduction of the Prius, Toyota has enjoyed the first-mover advantage in hybrid cars, and leveraged those green credentials to boost public perception of its brand as a whole. But Toyota has yet to mass-market a battery-electric vehicle in the U.S., as Nissan has done...
Mark Stevenson -
Why China will beat U.S. in electric-car battle: urgency, regulations
As the electric-vehicle market matures and more global automakers commit to building battery-powered cars, one driving force has emerged to lead the pack. With apologies to the title of a comedy from half a century ago ... The Chinese Are Coming. That's the assertion made by old China hand Michael...
Mark Stevenson -
All-electric Chinese cargo ship will be used to haul coal
A shipyard in China has built what it says is the world's first all-electric cargo ship, capable of hauling 2,000 metric tons of lading some 50 miles on a single charge. The ship, built and operated by CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering (Group) Company Ltd under the China State Shipbuilding...
Mark Stevenson -
Electric car buyers' struggle: practicality vs luxury, Chevy vs Tesla
Competition for the title of most popular electric car has sparked a long and highly charged race between Tesla and Chevrolet. Though these brands offer vastly different versions of electric vehicles, they seem to be the two dominating electric vehicle sales in 2017. Reports show that top monthly...
VentureBeat's GreenBeat -
22 mayors join letter urging electric-car tax credit retention by Congress
Two bills from the Senate and House of Representatives that would radically reform U.S. tax policy for the first time in three decades are now being reconciled by a joint committee from both houses of Congress. No public hearings on those bills have been held in either chamber, and the legislation...
John Voelcker -
The availability of charging stations for electric cars, or lack of it, is often cited as one of the primary reasons holding back widespread adoption. After all, if you're going to spend tens of thousands of dollars on a brand-new automobile, you want to be sure it'll get you where you want to go. Now, an influential figure in the electric-vehicle charging world says the U.S. has enough charging sites—at least in city centers. Highway charging, he says, is the next and final frontier. DON'T MISS: Gas stations aren't a model for electric-car charging: ChargePoint CEO In an interview with...
-
Uniti electric city car debuts, with free charging in Sweden
If you're looking for an electric car that comes with free charging but a Tesla is either undesirable or financially out of reach, freshly launched upstart Uniti is offering five years of free go-go electrons with the purchase of its new, compact "smartphone car." But there's just one catch. You...
Mark Stevenson -
Best deals on hybrid, electric, fuel-efficient cars for December 2017
If you're looking to give the gift of efficient motoring this holiday season, numerous manufacturer incentives are available this month that'll save you from breaking the bank. For December, CarsDirect has uncovered leases as cheap as $159/month and discounts as much as $18,100 on fuel-efficient...
Mark Stevenson -
Musk confirms Tesla is designing its own computer chip for self-driving cars (update)
Early last year, with promises of self-driving cars in owners' hands well before any competitor, development of the Tesla Autopilot system for the maker's electric cars was proceeding nicely. Then, in May 2016, a dedicated Tesla owner was killed in a Florida crash when his Tesla Model S, operating...
John Voelcker -
2017 BMW i3 REx: drive review of range-extended electric car
When the history of modern electric cars is written, the BMW i3 will likely go down as something of an anomaly. Its carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic body shell, aluminum underpinnings, and battery-electric powertrain with an optional range extender are a combination not offered by any other maker...
John Voelcker -
Lithium-ion battery packs now $209 per kwh, will fall to $100 by 2025: Bloomberg analysis
Battery-pack prices are the lowest they've ever been, and like a yoga-obsessed limbo contestant, they're primed to go even lower. A report by Bloomberg New Energy Finance, based on a survey of "more than 50 companies," states the average cost of a electric-car battery pack is now $209 per...
Mark Stevenson