Green Car News
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The French luxury arm of Citroen, DS, released plans for its first electric car last Friday. The DS 3 Crossback is a funky-looking small SUV, something along the lines of the Mini Countryman. It's set to debut at the Paris auto show early next month. While the base version will use a turbocharged 1.2-liter, 3-cylinder gas engine, the company announced it will also offer an electric version, the DS 3 Crossback E-Tense. A 50-kwh battery will sit under the floor, to give the DS 3 E-Tense a range of 186 miles between charges. Fast charging will be available that can deliver 149 miles in 30...
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Out of juice: Infiniti Q50 Hybrid luxury sedan droppedThe long-running Infiniti Q50 Hybrid luxury sedan won't return for 2019 in the U.S., the automaker said Thursday. Infiniti spokesman Kyle Bazemore confirmed the demise of the Q50 Hybrid this year for Green Car Reports. The automaker axed the Q70 Hybrid in July. Although Infiniti didn't report sales...
Aaron Cole -
Electric Volkswagen Microbus concept gets right down to businessThe panel of Volkswagen ID Buzz concepts based on the automaker's all-electric frame has finally reached, well, panel status. In Hannover, Germany, Volkswagen on Thursday showed off its ID Buzz Cargo concept based on its MEB electric-car architecture. According to VW, the panel van shows off the...
Aaron Cole -
Toyota hydrogen trucks, Tesla dashcams, and Model 3 crash testing: Today's Car NewsToyota plans to build 10 more hydrogen fuel-cell powered semi trucks. Tesla CEO Elon Musk says dash cams will become standard in its electric cars. The Tesla Model 3 aces the NHTSA crash tests. And the electric-car charging industry agrees on carbon credit standards. All of this and more on Green...
Sean Szymkowski -
NHTSA gives 2018 Tesla Model 3 perfect marks for crash safetyThe 2018 Tesla Model 3 aced its federal crash-test regimen and earned top, five-star scores on all of its sub-tests, safety officials said this week. The Model 3 follows the Model S and Model X, which have both aced the NHTSA's tests. The insurance industry-funded IIHS has only rated the Model S...
Aaron Cole -
Toyota enters $82 million partnership to roll out hydrogen trucks in Los Angeles portAfter showing its second-generation fuel-cell semi-truck at the Port of Los Angeles in July, Toyota announced last week it will build 10 more fuel-cell trucks for the project. In addition to the trucks, the project will add two new heavy-duty hydrogen filling stations, two new hydrogen forklifts at...
Eric C. Evarts -
Tesla chief executive Elon Musk revealed on Twitter that the company plans to make dash cams standard in its products with a new software update rolling out in the next few weeks. Since most Teslas already have forward cameras for the Autopilot system, it seems it should be simple for Tesla to enable the feature. Many Tesla owners have been asking for a dash cam in their cars. CHECK OUT: Tesla will roll out new Autopilot later this month In response to a question on Twitter from user Richard Ulmer, whose Tesla was vandalized when he wasn't with it, Musk said beta version of the new dash-cam...
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Charging industry agrees on carbon credit standardsDriving on electricity produces less carbon than driving on gas. Yet in most places, no one gets credit for lowering those carbon emissions. That is, until now. In an effort to reduce the cost of installing electric-car charging stations, a new agreement by the Electric Vehicle Charging Carbon...
Eric C. Evarts -
DOJ investigates Tesla, Kia e-Niro, and VW electric car plans: Today's Car NewsThe Department of Justice plans to investigate Tesla and CEO Elon Musk. The Kia e-Niro gets an official range rating. VW shares plans for more than two dozen new electric cars. And the results are in from our latest Twitter poll. All of this and more on Green Car Reports. The DOJ will reportedly...
Sean Szymkowski -
VW plans 27 electric cars by 2022 on new platformVolkswagen is doubling down on its electric car strategy, it announced at a press event in Dresden, Germany on Monday. The company announced plans to build 27 electric cars on its upcoming MEB affordable electric-car architecture by 2022 in an effort it calls "Electric for All." Those include cars...
Eric C. Evarts -
What's the most exciting electric car for 2019?Tons of new electric SUVs are hitting the market for 2019. None, though, can apparently hold a candle to the entry-level Tesla Model 3, in our Twitter followers' estimation. That's the result of our Twitter poll last week, which asked, "What's the most exciting electric car for 2019?" In response...
Eric C. Evarts -
Kia Niro Electric range rated at 301 miles in EuropeWhen it introduced the Kia Niro EV in Korea in June, the company said it would go 236 miles on a charge. It has now been rated at far more than that in Europe. Kia on Tuesday said that the car earned a rating of 301 miles on the new Worldwide Harmonized Light-Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP). The news...
Eric C. Evarts -
The U.S. Department of Justice may be investigating Tesla and its CEO Elon Musk for criminal wrongdoing related to a series of tweets its founder sent this year, Bloomberg reported Tuesday. A spokeswoman for the Justice Department declined to comment on the report. At issue are a series of tweets in August in which Musk said that the automaker had “funding secured” for taking the company private. The initial tweet sent off a flurry of activity, and momentarily halted trading of Tesla’s stock, as regulators and investors scrambled to learn more. Am considering taking Tesla...
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Audi e-tron, Lucid investment, and electric-car sharing programs: Today's Car NewsThe Audi e-tron makes its formal debut as the brand's first mass-market electric car. Lucid Motors secures funding to build a factory for its car. Electric-car car-sharing programs are poised to expand in the U.S. And we ask if readers would sign up for VW's electric-car subscription plan in a new...
Sean Szymkowski -
Would you buy into a Volkswagen electric-car subscription plan? Take our Twitter pollVolkswagen announced in July that it will launch an all-electric car sharing plan in the U.S. in 2020. Called "WE," the program is likely to serve as a marketing program for the company's new line of electric cars, the hatchback ID, and the ID Crozz crossover SUV. The ID is slated to go into...
Eric C. Evarts -
Electric car-sharing programs expanding in U.S.Electric cars and car sharing go naturally together. Both aim to clean up the environment by reducing gasoline consumption. With lower maintenance, electric cars are also easier to maintain for fleets than gas cars. Combined with gas cars, car-sharing fleets can also provide a backup for...
Green Car Reports -
Saudi investment fund takes $1 billion stake in Lucid MotorsLucid Motors announced yesterday that it will receive a $1 billion investment from the Saudi Arabian public investment fund. Lucid is a Silicon Valley-based electric car builder working on a direct competitor to the Tesla Model S. In August, Tesla chief executive Elon Musk suggested that he had...
Eric C. Evarts -
Audi e-tron electric crossover debuts to battle TeslaAnd finally, there is Audi. Late Monday night, the German luxury maker debuted took to the stage in San Francisco with its long-awaited, first volume battery-electric vehicle, a five-seat midsize crossover utility to be known simply as e-tron. It also opened reservations and will allow customers to...
John Voelcker -
The BMW Vision iNext previews a future self-driving luxury electric crossover SUV. Tesla opens its first in-house body shops. A British engineering firm wants to bring lightweight racing platform methods to production cars. And Nissan reveals pricing for the 2019 Leaf. All of this and more on Green Car Reports. The BMW Vision iNext made its global debut and previews a flagship electric crossover SUV, designed for wealthy patrons to ride in comfort—and perhaps occasionally drive. Initial specs peg range from the all-electric luxury car at 370 miles. Tesla has opened its first in-house...
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British engineering firm brings lightweight race car design to production carsBritish race car design company Gordon Murray Design showed off its new lightweight race car body last week at the Low Carbon Vehicle Show in England. The company calls its body-in-white—an industry term for a car body with no components attached—iStream, and it says it's the result of...
Eric C. Evarts -
Tesla opens its first in-house body shops to reduce repair timesFacing reports of long wait times at Tesla-authorized collision repair centers, Tesla is bringing collision repairs in-house. The company has been opening in-house body shops at a Tesla service centers in the past month, and Tesla chief executive Elon Musk tweeted on Sunday that the company plans...
Eric C. Evarts -
2019 Nissan Leaf to cost $30,885, long-range battery still to comeThe 2019 Nissan Leaf doesn't cost any more than it did last year, but it also won't deliver any additional electric range—yet. The Leaf S, Leaf SV, and Leaf SL will cost $30,885, $33,385, and $37,095 including an $895 destination charge. That's before any government tax credits or rebates...
Eric C. Evarts -
BMW Vision iNext electric concept redefines German luxury flagshipFor decades, the flagship of every German luxury maker’s line has been its largest sedan: the Audi A8, BMW 7-Series, and at the pinnacle, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class. But times change. The BMW Vision iNext, previewed for small group of journalists this week before Saturday’s global debut...
John Voelcker -
Tesla updates, Hurricane Florence, and climate commitments: The Week in ReverseWhich car companies may have colluded to commit crimes? What car company stepped up to help Hurricane Florence victims? This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car Reports—for the week ending Sept. 14, 2018. Friday, we learned that Tesla again enabled maximum...
Eric C. Evarts