battery pack
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The Kia Soul EV may get a range increase as part of an upcoming refresh.
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Why new Tesla 100D battery may be crucial for the Tesla Model 3
Last month, when Tesla Motors announced new, even larger battery packs for its Model S sedan and Model X crossover utility vehicle, reaction was less than ecstatic. While even faster, even longer-range electric cars are nice and all, commentators said, shouldn't Tesla be sticking to its knitting?...
John Voelcker -
Nissan seeks to sell AESC electric-car battery venture: report
Nissan, alone among high-volume electric car makers, owns half of the company that makes the battery cells for its cars. Tesla Motors doesn't own any of Panasonic, which has supplied all cells to date for its three vehicles (though Panasonic owns a small part of Tesla). GM doesn't own any of LG...
John Voelcker -
Tesla talks to LG, Samsung about Model 3 battery cell supplies
Since the start of Tesla Model S electric-car production in 2012, the company's lithium-ion cells have been supplied by its Japanese partner Panasonic. That applies to the more recent Tesla Model X crossover SUV as well—and Panasonic was also an early investor in Tesla Motors shares, owning a...
John Voelcker -
French oil company Total agrees to buy battery maker Saft
Energy storage has never been the subject of more research, capital investment, and business interest than it's experiencing in this decade. With lithium-ion cells at the forefront of both electric cars and stationary batteries used to store renewable energy for later use, batteries are hot. Now...
John Voelcker -
Updated 2016 Tesla Model S also gets new 75-kWh battery option
The Tesla Model S will get the 75-kWh battery option introduced on the Model X.
Stephen Edelstein -
Lithium-ion cells and the battery packs that hold them are the single most costly part of modern electric cars. And how fast their costs will fall remains the defining factor in making those cars affordable for the mass market. GM made waves last fall when product chief Mark Reuss said the company will pay $145 per kilowatt-hour for the cells in the battery pack of the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV that will roll out at the end of this year. DON'T MISS: Now, finally, the Germans are getting scared of Tesla? Now we have a comparable data point of sorts for electric-car startup Tesla Motors as it...
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Reusing electric-car batteries: great idea, lots of practical challenges
In theory, it's a wonderful concept: once their tenure in an electric car is over, lithium-ion battery packs with as much as 70 percent of their energy capacity remaining can be sold and reused. In practice, however—especially at scale—the idea turns out to have some practical...
John Voelcker -
Latest drone footage of Tesla Gigafactory shows progress
Last night's Tesla Model 3 electric car unveiling is getting all the attention today, with at least 135,000 reservations booked for the car. But to get the $35,000 Model 3 out the door with the announced 215-mile range, a generation of lithium-ion cells will be required for its battery. And that's...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Gigafactory tour: local Reno paper gets to go inside
Local media looks inside the Tesla "Gigafactory."
Stephen Edelstein -
Tesla Model S fire in Norway caused by short circuit in car
The topic of electric cars and fires is a fraught one, not helped by the recent spate of videos of cheap Chinese hoverboards in flames. Any fire in an electric car tends to make headlines, regardless of whether the facts have been established. Now we have the results of an investigation into the...
John Voelcker -
Daimler to spend $500 million on electric-car battery factory
As global automakers gear up to produce higher volumes of plug-in electric cars, their battery strategies vary. Some buy in both lithium-ion cells and complete battery packs, some purchase cells but design and assemble them into packs in-house, and some own part of the cell maker. Now Daimler has...
John Voelcker -
LG Chem works to ramp up production at a China battery plant.
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U.K. Plant To Assemble Larger Battery Packs For Next Nissan Leaf
Nissan said yesterday it will invest £26.5 million ($37.9 million) in its battery plant in Sunderland, England, to produce "advanced" battery cells for the next-generation Leaf electric car. The announcement may end rumors that Nissan would outsource production of lithium-ion cells and...
John Voelcker -
Electric-Car Buyers Expect Battery Upgrades To Be Available
With battery-electric cars now on the market for five years, and perhaps 200,000 on U.S. roads, we now know more about how the cars and their drivers behave in the real world than we did when they first arrived. One learning is that an undercurrent among some electric-car buyers that suggests they...
John Voelcker -
Green Car Reports Year In Reverse: 2015's Five Biggest Stories
At the end of every year, we look back to see which Green Car Reports stories proved most popular over the last 365 days. While we often focus on breaking news, certain stories--often guides and lists--get regular traffic for months and even years. Only one of our top five stories this year was...
John Voelcker -
Dead Hybrid Battery: What Should I Do? (Owner Question)
Every once in a while, other media outlets will ask for advice from Green Car Reports on various fuel economy or car technology questions. We recently received one concerning a 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid, which the owner had left unused for several months. The car wouldn't start after that, and when...
John Voelcker -
Volkswagen Will Adopt Flat Batteries For Future Electric Cars
One of the biggest challenges in designing a battery-electric car is how to configure its large battery pack. The BMW i3, Nissan Leaf, and Tesla Model S all have flat battery packs under their cabin floors, but they are purpose-built electric cars without gasoline equivalents. Now Volkswagen says...
John Voelcker -
BMW may boost the range of its i3 electric car, and offer a battery-pack retrofit for older cars.
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Tesla Motors Talking To German Government About Battery Factory: UPDATED
Well, here's one that ought to irk the German automakers. Silicon Valley electric-car maker Tesla Motors is reportedly in talks with the German government to establish a lithium-ion battery plant in that country, which could kickstart slow sales of its Model S and future vehicles. And as is usual...
John Voelcker -
Expect A 500-Mile Electric Car By 2025, Says Tesla's Elon Musk
It was a relatively brief projection of the future from a man who's juggling a lot of balls in the present, but even Elon Musk's quick hits can be newsworthy. The CEO of electric-car maker Tesla Motors told attendees at the Barron's Investment Conference that he expects 500-mile electric cars to be...
John Voelcker -
Nissan's 60-kWh, 200-Mile Battery Pack: What We Know So Far
Will the next-generation 2018 Nissan Leaf offer an option that could provide 200 miles or more of real-world driving range? Based on the concept car and prototype battery pack that officially bowed this past week, coinciding with the Tokyo Motor Show, it’s increasingly likely. Nissan’s...
Bengt Halvorson -
LG Chem Adds Tesla To Customer List, Will Supply Cells For Roadster Upgrade
Of the three largest lithium-ion cell suppliers for electric cars, only one can count almost a dozen automakers among its customers. Now that company, LG Chem, has added another name to its roster: Tesla Motors. The Silicon Valley maker of luxury electric cars confirmed yesterday that it would...
John Voelcker -
Life With Tesla Model S: Battery Degradation Update
Last summer, I wrote in this space about an apparent loss of battery capacity in my 2013 Tesla Model S after a three-month Supercharging binge. I wondered whether, despite assurances from Tesla Motors, the two events might have been related. My doubts had started when I noticed that, after a...
David Noland