Fuel Cell
-
Mini plans to revive its electric hatchback as a sporty electric model for the 60th anniversary of the original. New charging agreements aim to make charging easier and greener. And Toyota will build 10 more hydrogen fuel-cell powered semi-trucks for Los Angeles. All this and more on Green Car Reports. Nissan plans to introduce the 2019 Nissan Leaf Plus this spring with more power for sportier driving, as well as a longer, 226-mile electric range. Mini revealed details of its upcoming 2020 Mini Cooper S E, which it envisions as a reborn hot-hatchback, powered by electricity. The car is...
-
Toyota and Kenworth to build 10 fuel-cell semis for LA port duty
The word "drayage" isn't commonly used, even among green-car fans, but it's used by the shipping and logistics industries to refer to the transport of goods over short distances. Drayage turns out to be the sweet spot for early efforts to put zero-emission heavy trucks on the road, including a...
John Voelcker -
Hyundai sets lease terms for Nexo fuel-cell vehicle, makes first delivery
Hyundai last week made the first U.S. delivery of its Nexo fuel-cell vehicle—to a customer in Southern California. Although the customer, Todd Hochrad, picked the Nexo up from a dealership in Van Nuys, he lives in Ventura, which could place him about equidistant from hydrogen fueling stations...
Bengt Halvorson -
Hyundai plans to take hydrogen fuel-cell systems beyond vehicles
Hyundai sees a lot of potential in hydrogen fuel-cell technology. And it may find success with it by looking well past cars and SUVs—to other uses that could, as the company puts it, “transcend the transportation sector.” With this week’s opening of a second plant making...
Bengt Halvorson -
2019 Hyundai Nexo hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle pricing: Puzzling economics
Pricing for hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles, like the upcoming 2019 Hyundai Nexo, hasn’t meant all that much up until now. That’s because both of the other fuel-cell vehicles currently offered—and most of them offered to date—emphasize highly subsidized lease programs. But...
Bengt Halvorson -
Chevrolet adds hydrogen-powered Silverado concept to the mix
Hydrogen fuel cells may have a place on the battlefield. That's the conclusion that Chevrolet drew when it introduced the fuel-cell powered Colorado ZH2 for military use in 2016. We even had a chance to ride in it. Now the company is doubling down on the strategy with a full-size fuel-cell pickup...
Eric C. Evarts -
Mercedes-Benz is launching a new trial for fuel-cell cars in Germany, with aims to study real-world use patterns. Mercedes will begin leasing its GLC F-Cell fuel-cell SUVs to fleet customers in Germany for $917 a month, according to a report in Automotive News Europe (Subscription required.) No information was available about how many GLC F-Cells the company plans to lease or for how long. The GLC F-Cell has a 9-kwh battery with a plug-in range of up to 31 miles on a charge (using the generous European driving cycle) for when the driver can't find a hydrogen station. DON'T MISS: Mercedes-Benz...
-
2019 Hyundai Nexo: first drive of 380-mile fuel-cell crossover utility
Pretty much any story on a new vehicle these days notes that new-car buyers are snapping up utility vehicles, while traditional sedans languish on sales lots. That puts Hyundai right on trend with its latest hydrogen-powered entry, the Nexo, which it dubs a crossover utility vehicle. It succeeds...
John Voelcker -
Plug Power develops new hydrogen filling robot
Filling up with hydrogen is not as easy as filling up with gas or plugging in an electric car—at least it's not yet. To make it easier—and importantly, cheaper for businesses—Plug Power, a New York fuel-cell company, has developed a new robotic hydrogen filling station. The system...
Eric C. Evarts -
Toyota introduces second hydrogen fuel-cell powered semi working in Los Angeles
Toyota is going big on fuel cells. Its latest effort expands on the Mirai sedan by converting semitrucks to hydrogen fuel-cell power. The company has been testing a fuel-cell powered semi for more than a year at the Port of Long Beach, California, ferrying goods from the Toyota Logistics facility...
Eric C. Evarts -
Hydrogen supply shortage leaves fuel cell cars gasping in California (Updated)
The biggest challenge to driving a fuel-cell car is finding fuel. Automakers who sell fuel-cell models—Toyota, Honda, and Hyundai for now—have made progress in getting 33 hydrogen fueling stations built around Los Angeles and San Francisco. It's not helping drivers this week though...
Eric C. Evarts -
Nissan Leaf battery tech, hydrogen shortages, and Tesla Twitter wars get real: Today's Car News
We take a deep look into two phenomenon: new technology in the Nissan Leaf's 30-kwh battery, and the war of words online surrounding Tesla and its CEO. A hydrogen shortage strands fuel-cell drivers in Los Angeles, and a new study shows sales of electric cars surge when more models are available...
Eric C. Evarts -
Automakers are teaming up all over the world to prepare for the next big game in clean transportation, fuel cells. The latest partnership is between Audi and Hyundai, which announced yesterday that they will share resources to develop fuel-cell vehicles. The two said that the first fruit of this partnership will be a full-size Audi crossover SUV planned to go into production in small numbers "in the beginning of the next decade," perhaps as early as two years from now. Reading between the lines, it could be a fuel-cell version of the upcoming electric Audi e-tron SUV. Hyundai has been an...
-
South Korean government trims orders for Hyundai Nexo hydrogen-fuel cars
Nine months after announcing its intention to buy 10,000 Hyundai Nexo hydrogen-fueled cars, the South Korean government has halved its order. That's according to Business Korea, which said Tuesday that a report published by the government earlier this month indicated that the government plans to...
Andrew Ganz -
Budweiser-maker taps Nikola for up to 800 hydrogen-powered semi trucks
Anheuser-Busch bet big on hydrogen fuel for its semitrailer trucks Thursday. The Budweiser beermaker announced it would buy up to 800 big rigs from Nikola Motor Company by 2025 and nearly replace its entire dedicated corporate fleet with trucks powered by renewable energy. The agreement is largely...
Aaron Cole -
Earth Day: 10 Questions On Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Cars To Ask Toyota, Honda & Hyundai
Hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles are rolling out to California buyers in small numbers with two models on the market, and hydrogen stations slowly expanding outside a narrow slice of Los Angeles. The Honda Clarity Fuel Cell vehicle first went on sale in California at the end of 2016, and 2018 models...
John Voelcker -
Which Honda Clarity would you buy: electric, plug-in hybrid, or fuel cell? Take our Twitter poll
The Clarity sedan will encompass three models: a battery electric with 114-mile range, a 42-mile plug-in hybrid, and a fuel-cell vehicle
Eric C. Evarts -
Nikola suggests it's no Tesla, refunds deposits on fuel-cell, electric semi trucks
Tesla's most direct competitor announced it would refund all deposits it has taken.
Eric C. Evarts -
Hydrogen fuel first went on sale in California in January 2015, more than three years ago, though it had been dispensed free at a dozen or so prototype locations before that. Five years ago, the state set a goal of 100 hydrogen fueling stations throughout the state by 2020, a deadline that now appears unlikely to be met. On Friday, the state's 33rd hydrogen fueling station opened. DON'T MISS: Why a Fiat 500e driver got a Honda Clarity Fuel Cell as his new car: low cost The new location, operated by First Element Fuel, is in Thousand Oaks, a suburb northwest of Los Angeles in Ventura County...
-
Hyundai Nexo fuel-cell SUV verdicts: classy, zippier, still a "niche vehicle"
The Hyundai Nexo hydrogen fuel-cell SUV that debuted last month at the Consumer Electronics Show won't be seen on California roads for many months yet. It is expected to go on sale in the U.S. in the fourth quarter of this year, but now we have a few reports from outlets that have driven the one...
John Voelcker -
Germany's hydrogen stations exceed US; California beats Japan on density
As of today, there are 39 hydrogen fueling stations in the U.S., all but four of them in the state of California. They serve roughly 39 million Californians, whereas 284 million Americans outside the state have no access to hydrogen fuel-cell cars nor stations at which to refill them. Germany, on...
John Voelcker -
This one 11-year-old chart explains the problem with hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles
Today, there are roughly 750,000 plug-in electric vehicles on U.S. roads and about 3,800 powered by hydrogen fuel cells. Proponents of each type of vehicle argue strenuously that their powertrain is a better way to produce vehicles with zero emissions from the tailpipe. Electric cars can be charged...
John Voelcker -
Budget deal restores tax credits for EV charging stations, electric motorcycles, fuel-cell cars
Fears that Congress would kill the federal tax credit for purchase of a plug-in electric car were laid to rest in December when that incentive survived the $1.5 trillion tax-cut bill. Now Congress has added back a handful of other tax credits related to electric cars and greener transportation in...
John Voelcker -
Why a Fiat 500e driver got a Honda Clarity Fuel Cell as his next green car: low cost
When marketing executive Chris Baccus leased a 2015 Fiat 500e three years ago, he intended to keep his 2007 BMW 335i as a "fun car," and use the electric Fiat just for commuting. Within six months, he'd sold the BMW altogether. Part of his interest in the Fiat, he admitted, came from an article...
John Voelcker