Electric Cars

  • NEVS 9-3 concept, 2017 CES Asia

    Swedish auto brand Saab may never return, but the company NEVS has now officially debuted its production electric cars—which are adapted from Saab assets it acquired following the brand's fall from grace. NEVS (National Electric Vehicle Sweden) is, in fact, a Swedish company, though it's backed by Chinese investors. Its 9-3 series, made up of a four-door sedan and a 9-3X wagon, debuted earlier this week at the 2017 CES Asia trade show. DON'T MISS: Saab Owner NEVS To Launch Five Electric Cars By 2018, For Chinese Market Yes, it's based on the long-gone Saab 9-3 and 9-3X models that date...

  • Teaser for Fisker EMotion debuting on August 17, 2017
    All-electric Fisker EMotion orders open June 30, starting at $129,900

    Henrik Fisker is planning to return to the luxury electric fold with his new company's EMotion sedan, and potential buyers now have a price tag. The brand's first vehicle, the Fisker EMotion sedan, will become available for pre-order on June 30. And when the EMotion eventually goes on sale, it will...

  • 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV
    How much is a replacement Chevy Bolt EV electric-car battery?

    It's one of the most common questions among electric-car buyers: what happens if the battery fails? The answer is that all electric-car batteries are warranted against failure for either 8 years/100,000 miles or 10 years/150,000 miles, depending on which state you live in. The followup is often...

  • 2017 Renault Zoe
    Renault plans huge energy storage plant using old Zoe electric-car battery packs

    With more plug-in electric vehicles on the road today than ever, automakers are working to solve an impending issue: what to do with used lithium-ion batteries. Once the batteries are no longer suitable to power vehicles, automakers must recycle or repurpose them. Now, through a partnership with...

  • Buick Velite 5, for sale in China, at 2017 Shanghai auto show   [photo: Ronan Glon]
    China will have lots of electric cars, but no maker knows what market wants

    China is not only the world's largest single car market, but the market in which the greatest number of plug-in electric cars are sold. But the country's government has plans to increase the number of electric cars on its roads dramatically, to curtail noxious exhaust emissions and move China to...

  • 2017 Ford C-Max
    Best deals on hybrid, electric, fuel-efficient cars for June 2017

    Now that we're into a new month, it's time to check out the best deals on green cars—this time for the month of June. As always, Cars Direct has compiled its monthly list of the most budget friendly options for buyers looking to go green. It should be noted there's now a separate category for...

  • Honda Clarity series with Green Car Reports editor John Voelcker at Honda R&D Center, Tochigi, Japan

    In March, we spent most of a day with the Honda Clarity Fuel Cell, the first of three variants of the Clarity mid-size sedan to go on sale in the U.S. Leases of the hydrogen-powered Clarity will be limited for the foreseeable future to residents of those areas of California near to hydrogen fueling stations, but two more versions are on their way. The 2017 Honda Clarity Electric, a battery-powered sedan with an expected EPA range of 89 miles, will join the U.S. lineup within several weeks—"it's right around the corner," we were told—and a plug-in hybrid version will arrive very...

  • 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV electric car at EVgo fast-charging station, Newport Centre, Jersey City, NJ
    Car buyers have no idea electric-car charging stations even exist

    Electric cars have promised to revolutionize transportation for years now. As more manufacturers offer electrified vehicles and prices continue to drop for battery technology, the easy correlation would be to assume that consumer interest has spiked. Actually, it remains pretty darn low, according...

  • 2017 Toyota Prius Prime
    Toyota sold all its Tesla shares by the end of 2016

    Toyota quietly unloaded the rest of its Tesla shares near the end of last year. In the process, the Japanese automaker confirmed its partnership to develop electric vehicles and related technologies had been canceled. Toyota has by far shown the most restraint in developing battery electric...

  • Teaser for Hyundai Kona
    Hyundai Kona Electric: will new small electric SUV come to North America?

    Hyundai has already taken its first step into the realm of electric cars with the Ioniq Electric. In fact, a plug-in hybrid and dedicated hybrid round out three alternative propulsion choices from Hyundai, but a Hyundai Kona electric car is slated to join the Korean brand's portfolio. The Kona will...

  • 2017 Chevrolet Volt in Vancouver, BC, Canada
    Plug-in electric car sales in Canada, May 2017: what dominance looks like

    As certain as LeBron James reaching the NBA Finals, the Chevy Volt led the Canadian plug-in electric vehicle market in May. Barring a sales collapse in June, it will have led the category for a remarkable two-thirds of the months (48 of 72) in which electric vehicles from major carmakers have been...

  • Electric-car wells-to-wheels emission equivalencies in MPG, May 2017 [Union of Concerned Scientists]
    Electric cars cleaner than any gas-only car for 97 percent of U.S. drivers

    Electric cars have no tailpipe emissions when running. But unless they're charged entirely on renewable energy—still statistically unlikely today—there are emissions associated with generating the electricity used to charge their batteries. For several years now, rigorous...

  • 2017 Tesla Model S

    It's never a good day to learn one's insurance rates are rising, but AAA has decided the Tesla Model S and Model X warrant 30 percent increases. AAA combed through its own data and found Model S and Model X owners had abnormally high claim rates. The claim rates were also much costlier than competing vehicles in the Model S and Model X's respected classes. DON'T MISS: Tesla Model S: Too Many Problems To Recommend, Consumer Reports Says After cross-investigating AAA's data with the Highway Loss Data Institute, AAA announced insurance rates could rise 30 percent for the vehicles. Tesla...

  • 2017 Cadillac CT6 plug-in hybrid, New York City and Westchester County, NY, May 2017
    2017 Cadillac CT6 Plug-In: first drive of hybrid luxury sedan

    The 2017 Cadillac CT6 Plug-In will be a rare beast in the U.S.; fewer than 1,000 are likely to be sold each year. In many ways, that's a shame. This version of the CT6 large sedan is a worthy competitor among plug-in hybrid luxury cars, the rest of which will come from BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and...

  • Audi e-tron Quattro concept - 2016 Consumer Electronics Show
    Audi confirms (again) 3 electric cars on the market by 2020

    German automakers are beginning to play catch-up with electric vehicles, as Tesla continues to corner the market. Audi has once again reconfirmed its plans to bring three battery-powered electric vehicles to production by the year 2020. The German luxury brand reiterated the plan at the annual...

  • 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV added to Maven car- and ride-sharing fleet in Los Angeles, California
    Plug-in electric car sales for May: best Bolt EV, Prime months yet; Leaf, Volt rise too (final update)

    Sales of four high-volume plug-in electric cars rose last month, with new monthly record for the Chevy Bolt EV and the Toyota Prius Prime. The 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV 238-mile battery-electric hatchback logged its highest monthly total since sales began in December. Chevrolet delivered 1,566 Bolt...

  • 2017 Nissan Leaf
    Lots of ways to get $10K off 2017 Nissan Leaf electric car by end of June

    The 2017 Nissan Leaf might well be the hottest electric car deal on the market right now, with a slew of potential discounts. Nissan is working with numerous partners to provide $10,000 off a 2017 Leaf lease, which adds to the $7,500 federal income-tax credit, giving a total of $17,500 in...

  • Latest Popemobile is Opel Ampera-e electric car made in Michigan

    All sorts of vehicles have been pressed into service to carry Popes, from simple Fiats to giant Mercedes-Benz luxury landaulets. Francis, the current Pope, has a preference for small, simple, environmentally friendly cars—and largely does without the bulletproof glass enclosures found in some...

  • Havelaar Bison electric pickup truck

    A Canadian company by the name of Havelaar has tossed its hat into the electric pickup-truck ring with the reveal of its purpose-built Bison pickup. The launch underscores the potential many companies are trying to tap as the market for electric vehicles of various types continues to grow, slowly but surely. Havelaar's founder, 28-year-old Tony Han, had specific motives in mind for the Bison pickup. DON'T MISS: Havelaar Bison all-electric utility truck announced by Canadian company One event heavily influenced his decision: Japan's 2011 earthquake and tsunami, according to CBC, which he...

  • 2017 Hyundai Ioniq Electric battery depleted
    Hyundai Ioniq Electric: what happens when battery is run down to the end?

    One owner has now run his 2017 Hyundai Ioniq Electric's battery down all the way to "empty" so other owners know what to expect. The Ioniq Electric is EPA-rated at 124 miles of range from the 28-kwh battery pack that powers an 88-kilowatt (118-horsepower) electric motor. The driver in the video...

  • 2016 Tesla Model X
    So what happened to Tesla Model X electric SUV sales, anyway?

    A few years ago, before the Tesla Model X electric SUV went into production, company CEO Elon Musk said he thought it could outsell the older Model S hatchback luxury sedan. That hasn't happened. In the first three months of this year, Tesla said it delivered 11,550 Model Xes—but 13,450 Model...

  • Havelaar Bison electric pickup
    Havelaar Bison all-electric utility truck announced by Canadian company

    The electric-vehicle market remains in infancy, but non-traditional automakers are beginning to explore and tap the potential market for multiple types of vehicles powered by batteries. Canadian company Havelaar is the most recent to try its hand at an electric vehicle; like a few other companies...

  • Electric cars dominate U.S. climate-friendly vehicles  [data: U.S. EIA; map: Climate Central]
    Electric cars are cleaner than hybrids in most places: mapped once again for your convenience

    The question is a reasonable one: electric cars may be zero-emission, but what about the electricity to recharge them? While renewable energy is growing globally, burning fossil fuels is still the source of most electric power today. The good news is that in most areas of the U.S., the "wells to...

  • 2017 Volkswagen Beetle 1.8T S Auto Grille
    Will VW Group's electric cars "leapfrog" Tesla by 2025? Poll results

    Looking back from the 2020s or 2030s, it's entirely likely that the unexpected arrival of Tesla Motors was a major force—along with legislation, perhaps the major force—in getting legacy automakers to produce electric cars. Competition has always spurred innovation, and German makers in...

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