Green Car News
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The subcompact Renault Zoe hatchback has been Europe's best-selling electric car for several years now. Last year, sales soared after it received a major upgrade to its battery pack, which grew to 41 kilowatt-hours, up from 22 kwh in earlier versions, almost doubling its range to 300 to 400 kilometers (185 to 250 miles) on the European test cycle. This year, the Zoe has received a more powerful motor to accompany the bigger battery. DON'T MISS: Renault Zoe still dominates Europe electric-car sales; longer range boosts sales On Monday, Renault announced the 2018 Zoe would be fitted with a new...
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Germany's hydrogen stations exceed US; California beats Japan on densityAs of today, there are 39 hydrogen fueling stations in the U.S., all but four of them in the state of California. They serve roughly 39 million Californians, whereas 284 million Americans outside the state have no access to hydrogen fuel-cell cars nor stations at which to refill them. Germany, on...
John Voelcker -
Where will we see the most electric-car innovation? Twitter poll resultsInnovation can be a hard concept to define as it relates to electric cars. Sure, there are the powertrains and structural designs of the vehicles themselves—including new proportions for the cabin enabled by the compact running gear and battery packs under the floor. But there are also many...
John Voelcker -
VW Vizzion concept; start-stop surge; Tesla, Nissan at 300K; Porsche diesels dead: Today's Car NewsToday, we've got another electric concept car coming to Geneva in a couple of weeks, a surge in start-stop sales, a look at Nissan and Tesla sales landmark, and Porsche killing off its last diesel model. All this and more on Green Car Reports. Over the weekend, as we do every seven days, we ran...
John Voelcker -
Porsche kills off its diesels, because customers no longer want themOf the three brands caught up in the Volkswagen diesel emission scandal in the U.S., Porsche was by far the least affected. It had sold only one diesel model, a version of its Cayenne performance SUV fitted with a 3.0-liter turbodiesel developed by its VW Group sibling Audi. Regulators approved...
John Voelcker -
Nissan, Tesla surpass 300,000 electric cars; one started later, one did it with a single modelOnly two automakers have built and sold more than 300,000 battery-electric cars to date. One is from Japan, the other from Silicon Valley. And each can claim a specific distinction within those totals. DON'T MISS: 300,000th Nissan Leaf sold as new electric car deliveries start We know that the...
John Voelcker -
Electric cars may be all the rage, but for now, all but a tiny fraction of the 250 million vehicles on U.S. roads burn gasoline or diesel fuel. One of the ways that new vehicles are boosting fuel efficiency is the use of what are called "start-stop" systems, which switch off the engine while the car is stopped. Now, as the Department of Energy pointed out Sunday in its Fact of the Week, the number of those systems nearly doubled last year on light trucks sold in the U.S. DON'T MISS: Don't start-stop systems wear out your car's starter? They were fitted to 10.4 percent of the light trucks sold...
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Volkswagen ID Vizzion large all-electric sedan teased before Geneva debutVolkswagen's first dedicated battery-electric vehicle will roll off the production lines in 21 months, but we won't see the compact hatchback ID model in North America. Instead, the first dedicated VW plug-in electric vehicle will be the production version of the ID Cross compact crossover that's...
John Voelcker -
How much does it matter that top Trump officials deny climate science? Take our Twitter pollThroughout the world, the accepted science of climate change is no longer in dispute. Every nation on earth has now signed the Paris Climate Treaty to develop plans to reduce the carbon emissions that contribute to global warming. Only one plans to withdraw from that treaty: the United States of...
John Voelcker -
Opel to swap Ampera-e (aka Bolt EV) for all-electric Corsa model in 2020It's been six months since General Motors completed the sale of its Opel division in Europe to PSA Group, the French parent of the Citroën, DS, and Peugeot brands. With the sale came licenses to run out the model life of GM-designed vehicles sold as Opels (and Vauxhalls in the U.K.) while PSA...
John Voelcker -
Will Tesla Model S be a "collector car"? Tuckers are, but Kaisers aren't: why?Startup carmaker Tesla is just coming up on the 10th anniversary of its first delivery, the first of the 2,500 Roadster two-seat electric sports cars that launched it into world awareness. The company recently delivered its 300,000th car, putting it well ahead of all but one other startup carmaker...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Model 3 production, California vs EPA, plug-in Subaru plans, Ram diesel fines: The Week in ReverseWhat Tesla Model 3 question seems to preoccupy quite a lot of people right now? How might the Trump Administration plan to justify slashing corporate average fuel-economy rules for future new vehicles? This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car Reports—for the...
John Voelcker -
$10K off BMW i3 in NJ, Trump likes gas taxes, Renault EV showroom, Model 3 numbers: Today's Car NewsJohn VoelckerToday, we've got a pricey plug-in BMW, some numbers on the Tesla Model 3, news on Trump and gas taxes, and Renault's new electric-car-only showroom. All this and more on Green Car Reports. The new Roadster soft-top version of the 2019 BMW i8 plug-in hybrid sports car is now the most expensive car in the BMW lineup. The number of Tesla Model 3 electric cars being built is of huge interest to buyers, fans, and reservation-holders; now Bloomberg has estimated that number with a real-time tracker. California is now testing pre-approval for the state's clean-vehicle rebates, so shoppers can apply...
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Renault opens its first electric-vehicle-only showroom, in SwedenHow to sell electric cars in these early years poses a quandry for all automakers. Tesla chose to avoid existing franchised dealerships and set up its own "stores," where shoppers can learn about plug-in electric vehicles, and their advantages, and have questions answered by Tesla representatives...
John Voelcker -
Trump backs 25-cent gas-tax boost for road repairs and infrastructure (maybe)The federal gas tax, which was supposed to pay for repairs and expansion to roads maintained or funded by the national government, now does nothing of the kind. Congress last raised the U.S. federal gas tax a quarter of a century ago in 1993, to the 18.5-cents-per-gallon level it remains at today...
John Voelcker -
California now testing pre-approved electric-car rebates in San DiegoIt's clear that incentives to buy specific cars work best when they can be applied directly at the time of sale. That's why purchase rebates are widely preferred by electric-car advocates to tax credits, which may take up to 15 months to be usable, depending on the timing of the purchase and tax...
John Voelcker -
Tesla now makes almost 1,000 Model 3s a week, Bloomberg tracker estimatesProduction numbers for Tesla electric cars have always been slightly murky. The company announces deliveries only quarterly and refuses to break them down by country, meaning there are no sales figures that directly compare with those routinely issued by other makers. The Tesla Model 3 has endured...
John Voelcker -
2019 BMW i8: larger battery, more range, plus new Roadster priced from $164,295BMW is breathing some fresh air into its three-year-old alternative flagship to improve performance, increase range, and add some style. Revealed at the 2017 Los Angeles Auto Show, the i8's update (known in the industry as a "mid-cycle refresh") increases its battery capacity from 7.1 to 11.7...
Mark Stevenson -
Today, we've got half a billion dollars reportedly backing Faraday Future, a possible 'war" between California and Trump's EPA over loosening emission rules, and much more electric-car charging last year. All this and more on Green Car Reports. Struggling electric-car startup Faraday Future reportedly has $1.5 billion of new backing, and plans to put its FF 91 into production by the end of the year. With the Trump administration planning to ease future CAFE requirements, California is ready for "war," says a top state official. The annual reports of two electric-car charging networks...
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EVgo, Chargepoint annual reports show growth in electric-car chargingSeven years and almost 800,000 cars after the first modern electric cars went on sale, there's still a lot wrong with the national charging infrastructure in the U.S. There's little central planning, little standardized signage or public signposting, virtually no awareness among non-EV drivers, and...
John Voelcker -
California, allies ready for emission-law war with Trump EPA, CARB head saysWith the release of proposed new and lower fuel-economy rules expected from the NHTSA by March 30, many eyes have turned to the powerful California Air Resources Board. The state's pioneering role in reducing emissions and cutting air pollution predates even the existence of the U.S. Environmental...
John Voelcker -
Faraday Future promised $1.5 billion, says FF 91 will arrive by end of this yearStarting a car company is not only very, very hard—as Tesla, Fisker, and many others testify—but requires breathtaking sums of money. Now struggling Faraday Future, the electric-car startup firm whose entrepreneurial Chinese backer is facing legal action in his home country, appears to...
John Voelcker -
Subaru plug-in hybrid, more electric-car sales, BMW i3 discount, CAFE cuts coming soon: Today's Car NewsToday, $10K off a BMW i3, what it would take to get more electric-car buyers, details on the coming Subaru plug-in hybrid, and the unlikely reason the Trump administration may use to slash fuel-economy requirements. All this and more on Green Car Reports. What would it take to get more shoppers...
John Voelcker -
NHTSA could cite safety of heavier cars in slashing CAFE rules: reportsIt's been clear that under the Trump administration, the NHTSA and EPA plan to roll back linked fuel-economy rules and emission limits on new vehicles. Now a possible justification that will be used has emerged—and it's not the one many advocates had expected. According to a Bloomberg report...
John Voelcker