electric vehicles

EV fans are probably sick of arguing the case for electric cars whenever someone brings up the old "well to wheels" scenario. "Well, where does the electricity come from?" they ask. Familiar with it? Most of us have pre-prepared figures as to why EVs are cleaner, even considering the fuel burned to...

Here's a view of a car you've probably not seen before, though it may be familiar to you if you've ever been in the hospital. The image above shows the 2012 Mitsubishi i electric vehicle after an X-ray scan, allowing you to see many of the vehicle's key components. X-rays pass cleanly through...

[Since this story was published, we've had a comment from Cindy Knight, Toyota Public Affairs Manager confirming that Toyota will be making the 2012 Toyota RAV4EV available for private purchase. Instead, Autoblog is reporting that it is the Scion iQ EV which will not be available to purchase. We...

While we think Rolls-Royce is unlikely to be selling an all-electric Phantom any time soon, the British luxury car maker has been putting its 102EX Electric Phantom through a whole series of tests ahead of a worldwide tour to ensure it behaves in an appropriate manner at all times. One of the most...

Better Place has moved a bit further down the road in its quest to corner the electric vehicle market. In Denmark, the company has just unveiled Europe's first Battery Switch Station, which will serve as the cornerstone of Better Place's biggest real-world test to date. The grand event was held at...

BMW can’t be accused of rushing into the electric car market. After nearly two years of BMW Mini E testing and countless hours of feedback sessions from test participants, BMW is just about to start its second round of electric car testing with its 1-series based Active-E. But if you want to...

You’d think that General Motors already had a pretty impressive grasp of the electric vehicle market with its 2011 Chevrolet Volt, but the automaker announced today that its investment arm was providing part of the capital in a joint $30 million venture investment in a company that makes...

If you wanted a plug-in hybrid electric car a few years ago the only choices available were a handful of expensive third-party plug-in hybrid conversions or to build your own. By the start of 2011 Chevrolet was offering the first commercial plug-in hybrid in the form of its 2011 Volt. Next year...

Toyota has managed to make its Prius family iconic, instantly identified by its unique silhouettes and body styles, and almost synonymous with 'hybrid'; and this past year, GM's Chevrolet Volt, as well as the Nissan Leaf have gone on sale with distinct shapes calling them as among the greenest...

It may only be two weeks since Germany’s Chancellor Merkel announced that her government would help bring 1 million plug-in vehicles to the roads of Germany by 2020 but her bold goal is already being dismissed as impossible by the very automakers her Government is planning to help. Enter...

The Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Transportation have unveiled their updated fuel economy labels. There's some new information aimed squarely to inform consumers looking to buy a hybrid vehicle, plug-in hybrid, or electric car. First and foremost are the MPG or MPGe ratings...

Think of motor racing in the U.S. and you’re likely to think of NASCAR. But while the race track may still be the ultimate celebration of high-power, high-octane internal combustion engined glory , it turns out that NASCAR isn’t the antithesis of electric cars that you might expect. At...

What makes the perfect city car? Compact dimensions are a good place to start, so you can sneak into small parking spaces on a crowded street and squeeze through gaps that would leave other traffic impatiently waiting. Nippy acceleration is useful too, so you aren't left lagging at the lights...

You may think that China is already on its way to becoming the world’s electric car leader thanks to its extremely large potential consumer market and industrial revolution, but it turns out Germany is also after the same accolade. In a move which aims to develop as many as 1 million plug-in...

Have you ever been on those roads in North Dakota where you pass a sign that says “No gas for next 80 miles"? Or perhaps you’ve traveled through the frozen wastelands of Northern Canada or Alaska and learned that the gas station you just passed was the last one for more than 100 miles...

One of the challenges facing electric car owners wanting to venture further than the range their electric cars can provide on a single charge is where to find either an outlet or a purpose-built electric vehicle charging station to replenish their car’s battery pack. Until recently there was...

The motoring world is gripped with Beetlemania at the moment, and it's got nothing to do with four plucky young musicians from England. Instead, Volkswagen's latest incarnation of the popular Beetle has been wowing the crowds at New York, Berlin and Shanghai, and virtually anyone with access to a...

Ford has identified the 25 most electric vehicle (EV) ready cities in the U.S., based on the company’s latest research. The 25 cities are dotted all over the country from Hartford to Honolulu. A previous Pike research report highlighted 6 cities expected to be early EV adopters: New York, Los...

German electronics company Siemens is set to begin field trials of an inductive charging system, in partnership with BMW. Inductive charging is a popular concept for charging away from home - it allows for charging without trailing cables and plugs around, and without requiring charging posts...

Chinese automaker BYD, or "Build Your Dreams" has big plans. They had a strong presence at the recent 2011 Geneva Motor Show with a lineup of production electric cars both present and future, and the company intends to break into the U.S. market, never an easy task for a maker with little brand...