Electric Cars
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The market share of plug-in electric cars in Canada appears to have topped 1 percent for the first time ever last month. Final sales totals won’t be available until registration data arrives later this month. We estimate that just under 1,900 vehicles with plugs were sold last month, compared to roughly 187,000 sales across the country of all new vehicles. DON'T MISS: U.S. plug-in electric car sales for Sep: Bolt EV hits new monthly high We got that total by adding reported September sales (943) to an approximation of 400 Tesla sales (June's number, since like September it was a...
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Nissan e-NV200 electric van gets longer-range battery; still no U.S. plansWhile U.S. buyers eagerly await the arrival of the 2018 Nissan Leaf electric car at dealerships early next year, the company has updated another of its electric vehicles as well. Unfortunately, it's one that the company has no current plans to sell in North America. That's the new longer-range...
John Voelcker -
Plug-in electric car sales for Sep: Bolt EV hits new monthly high (final update)The world has changed since last month's report on U.S. sales of plug-in electric cars. China has officially said it is considering dates for ending sales of new vehicles with gasoline or diesel engines. Even if that date proves to be 15 or 20 years in the future, the country's government has...
John Voelcker -
Costco members now get GM Supplier Pricing on Chevy Bolt EV, VoltCostco members in the market for a new vehicle now have a new round of incentives to consider as they head into the final car-buying months of 2017. Specifically, shoppers interested in a General Motors vehicle will discover Supplier Pricing on nearly every car—including the Chevrolet Bolt EV...
Sean Szymkowski -
Wireless charging or plugs for electric cars? Take our Twitter pollAsk an electric-car owner how long it takes to charge the car, and you may get an answer you didn't expect. "Oh, five or 10 seconds," is a common response from experienced drivers of plug-in vehicles—meaning the time it takes to plug in. Statistically, that happens most often at night, so the...
John Voelcker -
Which (non-Tesla) maker will sell most electric luxury cars by 2020? Poll resultsYes, yes, yes, we know: our readers and Twitter followers are largely very strong supporters of, and believers in, Tesla and its electric cars. Our challenge for last week's Twitter poll was that we get very, very few characters to post questions and a choice of four responses. So in asking which...
John Voelcker -
In the coming years, the world's auto industry will continue to shift its product mix to electric and electrified vehicles to meet growing concerns over carbon emissions and stringent fuel-economy regulations across the globe. However, the passenger-car segment isn't the only area that will see electric powertrains implemented. A new study suggests the market for electric trucks—light, medium, and heavy-duty commercial trucks—is on the verge of booming. DON'T MISS: Cummins electric semi truck: traditional maker takes on Tesla Released by McKinsey Energy Insights, the study looked...
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New York, New Jersey get serious about electric carsWhile parts of the federal government focus on sustaining fossil-fuel energy, numerous states are enacting new policies and programs to boost electric cars. California tends to steal most headlines about electric vehicles and climate-change policy, but two other U.S. states have started to take...
Sean Szymkowski -
Tesla Q3-2017 deliveries: Model S, Model X strong; Model 3 misses goalThe quarterly delivery and production figures from Silicon Valley electric-car maker Tesla are eagerly followed when they emerge a few days after the end of a quarter. On Monday, Tesla said it had delivered 26,150 electric cars, its best quarterly total yet and 4.5 percent higher than the third...
John Voelcker -
Bollinger B1 all-electric utility truck: 10,000 signups since launchThe Bollinger B1 electric utility truck, designed by a small startup company in upstate New York and unveiled in late July, appears to have hit something of a chord. The company said Monday it has now received more than 10,000 "pre-orders," or expressions of interest in the tough, all-electric...
John Voelcker -
World's 3rd largest battery firm may ally with VW for electric cars in ChinaMany automakers have announced they will electrify entire vehicle portfolios in the years to come. With more electrified cars on the road, battery production will become increasingly more important. Adding to the positive outlook for lithium-ion cell makers is Volkswagen's potential partnership...
Sean Szymkowski -
GM to launch two new electric vehicles within 18 months, 20 by 2023General Motors said on Monday it will unveil two new battery-electric vehicles within the next 18 months, and will offer 20 electric and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles globally by 2023. The news came in a conference call for reporters with Mark Reuss, GM's executive vice president of global product...
John Voelcker -
Electric-car charging network ChargePoint has announced a new feature that allows electric vehicle (EV) owners to begin charging their car using near-field communication (NFC) and their smartphone. This doesn’t mean your phone itself is capable of charging your car, of course, though that would be fantastic. Instead, the company—which operates one of the largest EV charging networks in the world—has lifted the lid on a “tap to charge” feature that lets drivers initiate the charging process at 40,000 spots across North America by simply tapping their Android...
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Electric-car incentives added in, remarkably, oil-rich DubaiDubai, the second largest sheikdom in the United Arab Emirates, has introduced new incentives in an attempt to make electric cars more desirable. Battery-electric and plug-in vehicles often go overlooked in the oil-rich area, but even some of the world's largest crude-oil producers plan to reduce...
Sean Szymkowski -
Will Tesla steamroller German luxury makers? Perhaps notIt has become an article of faith among some Tesla fans and owners that the company will inevitably rise to compete with and ultimately defeat the titans of the global auto industry. This belief is especially prevalent for the luxury sector, where three German carmakers dominate the global market...
John Voelcker -
BMW i3 electric car quirk: no AM radio offered, but why? (update)The BMW i3 electric car is a tour de force of advanced engineering--and it was the most energy-efficient car sold in the U.S. in 2014 and 2015. Its body shell is made of carbon-fiber reinforced plastic, riding on an aluminum platform containing the lithium-ion battery, the electric motor, and the...
John Voelcker -
China electric-car rules to start in 2019; aggressive totals are world's highestYou may not have heard it happen, but the global automotive industry changed forever on Thursday. China released its plan to require substantial sales of plug-in electric cars by all makers who want to sell in the world's largest car market, and they start in little more than a year. The levels far...
John Voelcker -
BMW, Mercedes to offer wireless-charging options for plug-in hybrids next yearEvery one of the modern electric cars on the market for almost seven years requires plugging in a cord to recharge the battery using grid electricity. Inserting the cord into the socket takes just a few seconds, and most cars today are charged overnight. But soon there will be another option...
John Voelcker -
Dyson, the British appliance company best known for its bagless vacuum cleaners, has cleared up speculation that has persisted for nearly 10 years. Founder and chief engineer James Dyson officially confirmed his company is developing an electric car and is planning for a 2020 launch. Not only has Dyson had 400 employees working on an electric car, but the project has drawn some high-profile names. DON'T MISS: Dyson electric car plans revealed by U.K. government filings Executives from both Aston Martin and Tesla have left their positions to join Dyson. Earlier this year, Dyson hired Ricardo...
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Toyota electric-car tech to come from venture with Mazda, DensoVery little is known for sure about the long-range electric car Toyota will launch around 2020. Over the last two years, the company—by far the industry's strongest proponent of hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles—has concluded it must field a battery-electric vehicle to stay competitive...
John Voelcker -
How Tesla Model S alters car ownership: a buyer's one-year notesIn late July, we published an article describing one electric-car driver's experience in adding solar panels to his home to help with charging his family's five electric cars. That reader, who'd like to be known just as Shiva, has now owned a 2016 Tesla Model S for a year. He recently outlined for...
John Voelcker -
Which electric car will sell best in 2018, globally? Poll resultsNext year is shaping up to be a banner year for electric cars globally. The new, longer-range second-generation Nissan Leaf will be in production at three factories around the world, the Tesla Model 3 should hit volume production, and the Chevy Bolt EV will be fully available in North America...
John Voelcker -
Electric cars about to be profitable, says India's MahindraThe market for electric cars continues to grow, but vehicles powered by fossil fuels remain dominant across the globe. Many analysts believe electric cars will reach price parity with vehicles powered by internal-combustion engines sometime within the next decade. Indian maker Mahindra, however...
Sean Szymkowski -
Jaguar I-Pace electric SUV has already accumulated 25,000 orders: CEOIn the rarified but still high-volume world of global luxury auto brands, Jaguar is still a tiny player. The British brand sold fewer than 150,000 cars globally last year, one-third of the number of Land Rover and Range Rover SUVs from its sister brands within Jaguar Land Rover. Audi sold 1.9...
John Voelcker