Tesla has pushed past a million of its larger battery cells. Ford is thinking about a spinoff for its EV business. VW keeps teasing electric Microbus details ahead of the big reveal. Kia and Hyundai have the same parent but very different EV availability in the U.S. And what will the highway charging station of the future look like? This and more, here at Green Car Reports.
Ford is looking at ways to hasten its shift to electric vehicles—and gaining more Tesla appeal to investors—while dealing with its ongoing internal-combustion business. Could spinning off the EV business allow it to go electric quicker?
Tesla has produced a cumulative one million large-format 4680 battery cells last month at its so-called pilot factory for the cells in California, according to an announcement last week. That could be enough for more than 1,000 Model Ys with the new cells; although to ramp up vehicle production at Texas, as Tesla is soon expected to do, will require a far higher production rate.
Volkswagen revealed a few more photos and other details for its ID.Buzz electric Microbus, due to debut in production form March 9. In Euro-spec, the electric van will offer propulsion and battery specs quite close to those of the rear-wheel-drive ID.4—although a longer-wheelbase version with a bigger battery is headed to the U.S.
What will the charging station of the future look like? A recent competition engaged architects and designers, and it’s a refreshing look at how larger road-trip charging stations could be calm, smartly planned travel plazas rather than corners of busy shopping center parking lots.
And if you missed it just before the long weekend: The Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6 are two of this year’s most desirable new EVs, and they’re built on the same new global platform. While Hyundai is offering an electric-vehicle sub-brand, and teasing an entire home-energy ecosystem, it’s the EV6 that’s easier to get in all 50 states. We took a look at how this happened—and simply put, Kia put more into preparedness.
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