Plug-In Hybrids

  • 2019 Mercedes-Benz S560e

    Mercedes-Benz announced plans Wednesday improve the range and capability of its plug-in hybrids and to bring the flexible powertrain to more models. It also introduced a new brand name to designate its plug-in hybrid models: EQ Power. The EQ Power designation will appear alongside the company's new EQ line of all-electric cars in Mercedes showrooms. Mercedes's past plug-in hybrid systems have been criticized for offering very little electric range. The current Mercedes-Benz C350e is rated for 9 miles of electric range by the EPA. READ MORE: 2020 Mercedes-Benz EQC 400 makes public debut at...

  • 2019 Jeep Renegade
    FCA announces production Jeep Renegade plug-in hybrid in Italy

    Jeep said Monday that it laid the groundwork to begin production of a plug-in hybrid version of its small Renegade at the factory in southern Italy where it's produced alongside the Fiat 500X. The model is expected to go on sale in early 2020, though it's not clear whether it is intended for the...

  • 2019 Kia Niro EV
    One size won't fit all for future Kia EVs

    For an automaker that’s pitching itself toward the fun side of the Hyundai Motor Group, the tone for the automaker’s sizable electric push soon sounds altogether like pants. “It’s all about what fits,” said Michael Winkler, director of powertrains for Kia in Europe. By...

  • 2019 Volvo XC60
    Charging cord for 2019 Volvo XC60 T8 plug-in hybrid may start fire, will be recalled

    A certain charging cord included in a small number of 2019 Volvo XC60 crossover SUVs may overheat and shock owners, or start a fire, the automaker said this month. Volvo announced a recall for 35 Volvo XC60 T8 crossover SUVs earlier this month to replace the charging cords. The small number of...

  • 2018 Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid
    Best deals on hybrid, electric, fuel-efficient cars for September 2018

    This month's best deals list includes a newcomer among plug-in hybrids. That could be a great thing for buyers who want the best deal along with the latest technologies. Our partners at CarsDirect.com, now focus the list of best deals on models that are widely available, not "compliance cars"...

  • 2018 Chevrolet Bolt EV
    Chevy recalls some Bolt EVs, Volts over supplier brake issues

    Chevrolet this week recalled three to four months worth of production Bolt EVs and Volt plug-in hybrids over a potential brake issue that could increase stopping distances of the small vehicles. The recall affects 2018-2019 Chevrolet Bolt EV and 2018-2019 Volt models sold in the U.S. and Canada...

  • 2021 BMW X5 xDrive45e iPerformance

    UPDATE: BMW has clarified its statement to Green Car Reports in an email. "The final decision as to whether or not the BMW X5 diesel variant will come to the U.S. market has not been made. BMW of North America continues to monitor customer preferences and is prepared to adjust the product portfolio accordingly." BMW is the latest automaker to eliminate diesels from its U.S. lineup, at least, and focus on plug-in hybrids and electric cars. A BMW spokesman told Green Car Reports on Tuesday that it will drop diesels from its lineup for 2019. "We're putting all our eggs in the PHEV basket," said...

  • 2021 BMW X5 xDrive45e iPerformance
    2021 BMW X5 xDrive45e plug-in hybrid will have more range, 6 cylinders

    On Friday, BMW revealed the next-generation X5 plug-in hybrid, with significantly more electric range and a 6-cylinder engine replacing the 4-cylinder in the current X5 plug-in hybrid. Based on the new third-generation X5, BMW says theX5 xDrive45e iPerformance will have up to 50 miles of electric...

  • 2019 Chevrolet Volt
    2019 Chevy Volt gets higher prices with more equipment

    In June, we heard that the 2019 Chevrolet Volt will come with a faster charger and more luxury features. Now, CarsDirect has learned how much those features will add to the price. The price of the base Volt LT model will go up $300 to $34,395, including destination and before any applicable federal...

  • Charging cord for 2012 Ford Focus Electric
    Ford recalls Focus Electric, Fusion Energi, and C-Max Energi charge cords

    Ford announced a recall on Wednesday of the 120-volt charge cords supplied with nearly all of the plug-in hybrid and electric cars it built through 2015. The cars affected include the 2012 to 2015 Focus Electric, the 2013 to 2015 Ford C-Max Energi, and the 2013 to 2015 Ford Fusion Energi. Ford says...

  • 2020 Chevy Equinox
    Best deals on hybrid, plug-in and electric cars for August 2018

    This month, green-car buyers can find some screaming deals. These aren't just local programs or restricted to California buyers, either. As always, our list of deals comes from our partners at CarsDirect. This month, they have focused on deals available nationwide and on cars that are more shoppers...

  • 2019 Land Rover Range Rover P400e
    2019 Land Rover releases pricing for Range Rover P400e plug-in hybrid

    By 2024, Land Rover will have a whole new lineup of hybrid and electric luxury SUVs. As we learned yesterday, that lineup will include plug-in hybrid and electric versions of its small Evoque crossover SUV. Now the company has released pricing for its largest, most luxurious plug-in hybrid, the...

  • 2018 Kia Niro Plug-In Hybrid, Six Flags Magic Mountain, California, Dec 2017

    Today's environmentally conscious students are thinking more about the environment in the choices they make. They still need to get around, but they may be less likely to accept the price of doing so in a car with a tailpipe spewing pollution and greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Many may need to make long trips back and forth to school that will leave them carrying lots of stuff, from clothes and bedding to computers, networking equipment, microwaves, refrigerators, and hot plates. All that calls for a car with plenty of cargo space, as well as one that dramatically reduces emissions and...

  • GM Silver Volt converted by Electric Auto Corporation [Credit: AutoHistorian
    The first Volt from GM was also a plug-in hybrid, but it was built in 1980

    Chevrolet's Volt wasn't the original, or even the first Volt from GM. Electric Auto Corporation receives that distinction for their car built in 1980, at the height of America's second gas crisis. It built the Silver Volt, a plug-in hybrid based on a contemporary Buick station wagon—16 years...

  • Frame from 2018 Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid "Beyond the Battery" ad
    The 2018 Honda Clarity real-world review: enough to challenge the Chevrolet Volt?

    I’ve owned two Chevrolet Volts, an early 2011 model and, currently, a second-generation 2017 version. I have loved them both. They’re sleek, sprightly, and have enough electric range to cover most driving. For longer trips, the gas engine kicks in when the charge runs out. The Volt, to...

  • 2018 Kia Niro Plug-in Hybrid
    2018 Kia Niro PHEV gas mileage review: outrunning expectations

    Competition improves the breed. And that’s exactly what the Kia Niro brings to hybrids like the Toyota Prius and Prius Prime. Compared with the Prius, the Niro is taller and roomier. Likely to its benefit, it looks like a small crossover SUV, though with only front-wheel drive, it's no kind...

  • 2018 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid
    2018 Hyundai Sonata Plug-in Hybrid price drops by $1,350

    The 2018 Hyundai Sonata Plug-in Hybrid may cost car shoppers less, the company announced last week. The price drop on base models will save buyers $1,350 on 2018 models, which should help the car attract more customers. It comes in the same two trim levels as before. Base models will start at...

  • 2019 Volvo S60
    Volvo's electrification push expanding to every corner of the market

    When it launches its 2019 Volvo S60 T8 Polestar Engineered next year, the Swedish automaker will nearly complete a startling turn toward electrification in less than a decade that began with a small-volume wagon in 2011 and will soon incorporate a full battery electric vehicle and every model in...

  • 2018 Kia Niro Plug-In Hybrid

    Tick all the right boxes and the 2018 Kia Niro earns a Top Safety Pick+ award from the IIHS, the crash-testing agency said last week. To get to the highest-rated Niro, buyers need to opt for LED headlights and automatic emergency braking, features that can be paired together only on the Niro EX trim level with the optional Premium Package or the range-topping Niro Touring. Automatic emergency braking comes standard on the Niro Plug-In Hybrid, but LED headlights are relegated only to the EX with the Premium package. Kia does not offer a 2018 Niro Plug-In Hybrid in Touring trim. MORE: Kia Niro...

  • 2019 Hyundai Ioniq
    2019 Hyundai Ioniq preview

    The 2019 Hyundai Ioniq returns this year as an inexpensive alternative for green car shoppers on a budget. Its lineup has fully matured now; the Ioniq is available as an affordable hybrid, a slightly more expensive plug-in hybrid, or a fully electric model available in limited areas. We say: green...

  • 2018 Porsche 911 Carrera T first drive
    So nice, why not twice? Two hybrids planned for next-generation Porsche 911

    Taking a page from its successful Cayenne and Panamera E-Hybrids, which have seen the biggest sales jumps of any plug-in cars in recent monthly sales reports, Porsche is planning to build two new hybrid versions of its defining 911 sports car. The 911 is being redesigned for 2019, code named 992...

  • 2017 Volvo S60 and V60 Polestar
    Volvo ditches diesel, but will half its cars be electric by 2024?

    Volvo says it is going all-in on electric cars in an effort to turn the company into something of a Tesla alternative. To that end, the company has announced that half its cars will be battery electric models by 2024, according to a report in Road & Track earlier this year. It has also...

  • CARB ZEV vehicle game board 2018
    Automakers play high-stakes CARB game to earn zero emissions vehicle credits

    Editor's note: Green Car Reports covers a lot of electric cars—and there are a lot more to cover these days, thanks to California's complex requirements that major automakers produce zero emissions vehicles for sale. For fans of clean cars—as well as opponents—it's difficult to...

  • Chevrolet Bolt EV being charged outside Go Forth electric-car showroom, Portland   [photo: Forth]
    7 things we learned in 9 years, and where green cars are headed

    More than four years ago, this site looked back at its first five years of coverage to assess what had changed—and what we'd learned. Now, we're repeating the exercise. By February 2014, Green Car Reports had published about 9,800 news articles. The number is now up to more than 16,800. Much...

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