Electric

Over the weekend we heard the disturbing news that a BYD e6 electric taxi in Shenzhen China had burst into flames and killed three of its occupants after being hit by a speeding drunk driver. According to eyewitness reports, the BYD e6 taxi, one of around 400 e6 electric taxis being used in the...

Ever since Daimler invested $50 million for 9 percent of Tesla back in May 2009, the two companies have had a close working relationship on electric car technology. Since that investment, Tesla has provided Smart and Mercedes-Benz with drivetrains for various electric cars, including...

It’s official: in one month, Tesla will deliver its first 2012 Model S electric sedan to customers in the U.S., webcasting the whole ceremony live on the Internet. A few weeks ahead of schedule, Tesla’s engineering team have been working hard to ensure that production is up to speed at...

They’re large, hardly pretty, and serve just one function, but Nissan Australia has managed to turn the humble gas pump into art in order to promote its all-electric 2012 Leaf. Unlike its U.S. ad from last year, which asked us to imagine a world where everything was powered by gasoline...

You’ve taken the plunge and shelled out anything from $33,000 upwards for an all-electric 2012 Nissan Leaf. Quiet, efficient and full of gadgets, you’ve discovered that it has quickly relegated your gas car to the garage, carrying out the weekend chores, work commutes and maybe even...

Forty years ago, in the midst of fuel crisis after fuel crisis, automakers large and small around the world came up with concept and limited-run electric cars that would, it was hoped, revolutionize city commuting. They didn’t. Powered by several thousand pounds of lead acid batteries, fitted...

Automakers love to take automotive journalists somewhere exotic for the official launch of a new car, usually somewhere hot and sunny. So when Mazda announced its European launch of the 2013 CX-5 compact crossover SUV would take place in the rugged, rural landscape of Highland Scotland, we assumed...

For years, we’ve covered California’s High-Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lane access perks for drivers of ultra-low or zero-emissions cars. Reasonably simple to understand, with a few exceptions, California’s HOV lane rules allows drivers of qualifying vehicles fitted with official HOV...

Earlier this week, Antony Ingram asked if the open-air Renault Twizy electric car would threaten the new Smart ForTwo. A little larger than most motorcycles, the two-seat French city runabout has found itself a surprising number of fans, thanks in part to its minimalistic, yet funky design. But...

Electric-car infrastructure firm Better Place has spent the past few years creating some serious waves in the electric car world with grandiose claims that it can make electric cars as convenient to use as gasoline ones. Alongside its fully integrated smart-grid network of charging stations...

BMW and Daimler have traditionally been rivals in the automotive world, but last week we learned that engineers from the two rival German companies have been working together on a joint project to design and test a safer, more affordable, more efficient electric car. The Visio.M project, funded to...

For as long as electric cars have existed, enterprising individuals around the U.S. have sought to convert gasoline cars to electric power. Over the years, we’ve seen everything from classic British sportscars through to SUVs and pickup trucks converted to run on electric power, with...

BMW’s 1,000-strong fleet of ActiveE electric cars are stationed around the world, with the largest number of test cars concentrated in the U.S. Earlier this year, we got the chance to step behind the wheel of the very first BMW ActiveE to be delivered in the U.S., but earlier this week, we...

In order to become an official automaker-approved dealer, dealers often undergo a lengthy process to prove they meet with sales and service requirements before the automaker will allow them to sell its cars. For prestige, luxury or specialist cars like high-performance sports cars or plug-in...

Back in January, we told you about IBM’s quest to build a rechargeable lithium-air battery that could theoretically let an electric car travel 500 miles on a single charge. Since then, more firms have joined IBM on its Holy Grail adventure, leading to a flurry of stories heralding the end to...

These days, unless you’re an ardent fan of hybrid or electric cars, it can be pretty hard to tell them apart from their gasoline equivalents. For the average motorist it isn’t an issue, but for first responders attending the scene of an accident, it’s important to know what a...

When Coda Automotive started production and sales of its 2012 Sedan earlier this year, it ended years of doubt and confusion about the firm’s abilities to bring a highway-capable electric car to market. Yesterday, Coda CEO Phil Murtaugh confirmed Coda’s intent to manufacture a second...

Earlier today, German automaker Audi unveiled the latest in its e-tron plug-in concept cars at the 2012 Beijing Auto Show. Based upon the A6 L, a highly-popular Chinese-only variant of the A6 sedan, the A6 L e-tron plug-in hybrid concept combines a 2.0-liter turbocharged, direct injected gasoline...

Today is Friday, which means we, like many other editorial teams around the world, are on the lookout for a fun, lighthearted story to end the week. This week, our chosen light-hearted story comes courtesy of the humble pizza delivery scooter. Hated in cities worldwide for their annoying, buzzing...

There’s an ongoing joke among electric car owners that every new electric car should come with a free wallet. Why? To store the array of cards, tags and access keys that electric car drivers inevitably collect to gain access to an increasingly complicated public charging network. Earlier this...