Future Cars
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While there have been lots of concept cars and production announcements, the first serious German competitor to the Tesla Model S and Model X won't arrive for at least another year. And what could prove the most potent of them all—the production version of the stunning Porsche Mission E concept car revealed two years ago—won't go into production for another two years. Still, we've learned a bit more about that car, which will go on sale at the end of 2019 as a 2020 model, from comments by Porsche chairman Oliver Blume. DON'T MISS: 2018 Porsche Mission E: 600-HP Electric Sport...
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Mercedes EQC electric SUV reservations open in Norway, for 2019 delivery
The country of Norway has been among the most ardent in urging drivers to buy zero-emission vehicles, offering a friendly market in which automakers can launch new electric cars. In fact, Norway was the first nation to announce a ban on the sale of new vehicles powered by fossil fuels; it's due to...
Sean Szymkowski -
Volkswagen ID electric car to launch in 2020 along with new VW Golf
Volkswagen has a critical year coming in 2020, when the German brand will launch two incredibly important vehicles nearly back-to-back. The next-generation Volkswagen Golf will arrive that year, and then, one month later, the brand will launch its first mass-market electric car, the ID hatchback...
Sean Szymkowski -
Nissan, Mitsubishi, Renault to launch 12 new electric cars by 2022
Some car companies release their business plans and goals publicly, others don't. This morning, the Renault Nissan Alliance (now including Mitsubishi as well) released a new six-year plan laying out its business goal through 2022. Among the most significant: The group said it will launch 12...
John Voelcker -
2020 Mazda electric car to share Toyota underpinnings, technology
Mazda is a tiny carmaker on a global scale, producing just 1.6 million vehicles a year. It competes with four companies (GM, Nissan-Renault, Toyota, and VW Group) that each sell around 10 million a year, as well as numerous other smaller makers still larger than Mazda. In a world where reducing the...
John Voelcker -
Honda Urban EV Concept to go on sale in 2019, but not for North America
If there were a favorite car among journalists and car fans at this week's Frankfurt motor show, it may have been a small, all-electric hatchback city car. Which is pretty remarkable, given the practical, unexciting, utilitarian, slightly nerdy image every non-Tesla electric car seems to carry...
John Voelcker -
If concept cars are meant to grab attention, then the BMW i Vision Dynamics Concept—an all-electric sedan that debuted Tuesday at the Frankfurt motor show—may have fulfilled its mission. With the huge, vertical twin-kidney BMW grille also seen on the BMW X7 SUV concept, the smaller four-door sedan concept grabbed viewers' attention from the very first glance. But a few things have become clear now that the concept is out in the open. CHECK OUT: Electric BMW X3e to come in 2020, but BMW i5 defunct: what happened, and why? First, the BMW i sub-brand will continue to live on, and as...
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Death of engines overstated, fully electric world a 'comic book' fantasy: Japanese test company
Most analysts agree the future of the automobile will slowly but increasingly come to rely on battery power. Electric cars will slowly displace internal combustion engines, many researchers suggest, and peak demand for fossil fuels used in transportation could arrive as soon as the next decade...
Sean Szymkowski -
Green car concepts, production models at Frankfurt auto show
Although a handful of automakers have opted to skip the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show, there are still plenty of new green concept cars and production models confirmed to make their debut. Leading up to the media days of the 2017 Frankfurt show, we will continue to update this running list of what is...
Sean Szymkowski -
Fisker EMotion electric luxury sedan to be shown at CES in January
Henrik Fisker, legendary automotive designer and the man behind the now-defunct Fisker Automotive company, is getting ready for his grand return to the industry. Spearheading the return will be the Fisker EMotion, which will arrive from the designer's new company, Fisker Inc. Although we only have...
Sean Szymkowski -
Volkswagen ID Buzz drive: electric VW bus offers unique EV concept
When you see a concept car drive onto the stage at an auto show, don't be fooled into thinking it's what you'll drive out of the dealer a couple of years later. We got to drive the Volkswagen ID Buzz all-electric Microbus concept car Saturday for a couple of miles along the oceanside road outside...
John Voelcker -
Volkswagen to build ID Buzz electric Microbus, cargo vans too, on sale in 2022
The Volkswagen ID Buzz concept, an all-electric reinterpretation of the iconic VW Microbus, generated huge enthusiasm and public crowds when it debuted in January at the Detroit auto show. Today, the company announced its board had officially approved production of the vehicle, a distinctive entry...
John Voelcker -
Hyundai arrived first to market with the world's first production hydrogen fuel-cell crossover utility in 2013 with the Tucson Fuel Cell, and we have a good idea of what to expect from the brand's follow-up act. The Korean brand unveiled a lightly-disguised concept this week that previews its next fuel-cell SUV to come in 2018, which remains unnamed so far. Hyundai has simply referred to this conceptual fuel-cell SUV as its ... "Next-Generation Fuel Cell SUV." DON'TMISS: Hyundai FE Fuel Cell Concept previews hydrogen-powered SUV coming in 2018 The brand made it clear, however, that the...
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Hyundai-Kia: eight electric cars by 2022, dedicated EV platform
It's long been said in the auto industry that Hyundai-Kia is the only competitor that truly scares industry colossus Toyota. Thirty years ago, the Korean company was a bit player, producing designs adapted from obsolete Mitsubishi technology. Today it's a major global player, reacting fast to...
John Voelcker -
All-electric Mini E for 2019 to appear at Frankfurt show in concept form
The first Mini E, cobbled together by putting a battery pack where the rear seat used to be, was BMW's very first attempt at building a modern electric car. Only a few hundred were built, back in 2009, but the quick project gave the German company real-world experience on how electric-car drivers...
Zach Bowman -
New engine development at German makers to end by 2025, says supplier
Continental, a major supplier for automakers around the world, has come out with a bold prediction: internal-combustion engine development by German automakers will essentially end by the year 2025. The supplier, which makes exhaust-gas-cleaning systems for diesel cars and nitrogen oxide-measuring...
Sean Szymkowski -
Next 2018 Nissan Leaf teaser sketch; electric car debuts Sept. 5
The global debut of the 2018 Nissan Leaf electric car is just a month away, and now another teaser image has been released. This one's a design sketch showing a drawing of the car's side profile, suitably shaded to obscure some of the details. You can compare it to a shot of the actual vehicle...
John Voelcker -
Toyota, Mazda plan joint plant in U.S., electric-car cooperation: updated
Toyota is one of the largest global automakers, while Mazda is one of the smallest. This morning, the two Japanese makers announced a capital-investment deal under which Toyota would take a small shareholding in Mazda, the smaller maker would invest in Toyota as well, and the two would set up a...
John Voelcker -
Small Japanese automaker Mazda is in a tough spot. It's been on its own for most of a decade now, after Ford sold its shares in the company, and now Mazda must fund numerous new models all by itself. With global sales of just 1.5 million vehicles, it's one-seventh the size of Toyota or Volkswagen. DON'T MISS: Mazda to launch homogeneous-charge compression engine next year But as the saying goes, 'You dance with the girl that brought you" (or perhaps "Run what ya brung"?), so Mazda product strategists have doubled down on highly efficient gasoline and diesel engines. While the carmaker will...
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What will happen to diesels for U.S. cars, light trucks by 2025? Poll results
With electric-car battery prices falling faster than predicted even five years ago, carmakers face tough and costly choices in choosing powertrains for the lineups in 2020 and after. Pressed by stiff carbon-emission reduction laws in Europe and heavy regulations to encourage electric cars in China...
John Voelcker -
All-electric Buick small SUV to be based on Bolt EV: report
The Chevrolet Bolt EV, initially intended to be adapted from the next-generation Chevy Sonic subcompact, ended up with unique underpinnings designed solely for use as a battery-electric vehicle. Carmakers virtually never limit dedicated architectures to a single vehicle—they're simply too...
John Voelcker -
Will electric cars take over as quickly as cars displaced horses from 1900 to 1925?
So here's a question for you: when was the last time you traveled by horse to ... well, to anywhere other than the stable you started from? In 1900, horses were the de facto way for Americans to travel, whether riding them or in horse-drawn carts. By 1925, that had changed: 15 years of the Ford...
John Voelcker -
Bollinger B1 all-electric utility truck revealed
It's square-edged, with flat body panels, large knobbly tires, and a simple interior that can easily be hosed out when dirty. The Bollinger B1 electric utility truck revealed tonight at the Classic Car Club on New York City's Hudson River was designed out in the country, where trucks have to be...
John Voelcker -
Electric-car battery progress: incremental improvements, not revolutionary leaps
The report that Toyota is planning an electric car with a solid-state battery for 2022 has led some fans and advocates to suggest huge new leaps in electric cars are imminent. The 2011 Nissan Leaf had an EPA-rated range of 75 miles combined; the comparable figure for a 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV is 238...
John Voelcker