plug-in cars

  • 2017 Toyota Prius Prime Premium

    The challenge of reducing the energy used by traditional heating systems in battery-electric and plug-in hybrid cars is one automakers still grapple with today. Reduced battery range in cold temperatures, combined with batteries working overtime to heat the cabin, can produce drastic declines in EPA-estimated range figures. The Toyota Prius Prime plug-in hybrid, however, uses an advanced heat-pump design to minimize the loss of range. DON'T MISS: 2017 Toyota Prius Prime: first drive of new plug-in hybrid Toyota and Denso engineered the heat pump to include components from stationary...

  • Volkswagen e-Golf recharging at curbside Autolib station, Paris, Sep 2016
    UBS study predicts electric-car cost parity in Europe could arrive by 2018

    With the prospect of multiple long-range electric cars hitting the market over the next few years, the prediction market is in full swing. Battery costs have fallen faster than predicted eight years ago, and virtually every carmaker plans to introduce at least one battery-electric vehicle with 200...

  • Nissan IDS concept, 2015 Tokyo Motor Show
    Nissan electric SUV to be shown as concept car this year

    The 2018 Nissan Leaf may be the brand's next electric vehicle to soak up attention, but several reports have indicated that Nissan plans to flesh out its lineup with an electric crossover. That all-electric SUV will likely be previewed with a Vmotion 3.0 concept, which will follow the Vmotion 2.0...

  • Production-ready Jaguar I-Pace spotted in Monaco
    Video shoot shows Jaguar I-Pace electric SUV in production form

    The British luxury brand Jaguar, far smaller than any of its three German competitors, may be looking to steal a march on all of them. While Audi revealed a concept version of its forthcoming e-tron all-electric SUV 18 months ago, and Mercedes-Benz followed with its EQ Concept last September, the...

  • 2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2017 Geneva auto show
    Subaru plans for all-electric versions of existing model lines

    It's now clear that every automaker, no matter how large or small, will have to develop and sell battery-electric vehicles by 2020 to 2025. Companies like GM and Volkswagen, which each make 10 million cars a year, can afford the breathtaking costs of developing expertise and engineering cars with...

  • 2017 Smart Fortwo Electric Drive - first drive, Miami, Nov 2016   [photo: Jeff Jablansky]
    2017 Smart ForTwo electric cars priced from $24,550

    The market for electric vehicles normally comes with a high price of entry, though Smart is proposing that its new two-seat battery-powered minicar is a value proposition. Prices for the 2017 Smart ForTwo electric coupe and cabriolet begin at $24,550 and $28,750 respectively. If you've followed...

  • Mark Fields

    It's all the buzz of the auto industry this morning: Ford has fired its CEO Mark Fields and will replace him with Jim Hackett, former CEO of Michigan furniture maker Steelcase. Hackett presently oversees the Ford unit working on autonomous vehicles. The company is expected to make the announcement this morning, according to numerous media reports from sources briefed on the move. DON'T MISS: Ford plans 300-mile electric SUV, hybrid F-150 and Mustang, more U.S. production Articles confirming the expected firing came last night from both The New York Times and business magazine Forbes. Fields...

  • 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV pre-production vehicles at Orion Township Assembly Plant, March 2016
    Chevy Bolt EV costs $28,700 to build, Tesla Model 3 a bit higher: analysis

    The costs and prices of electric cars are endlessly debated, not only among owners and advocates but within the industry itself. The cost per kilowatt-hour of electric-car batteries is closely held, with a few notable exceptions. One of those was the statement by GM product chief Mark Reuss that...

  • 2017 BMW i3
    Car Dealer 101: electric cars that aren't charged won't sell

    Electric-car owners and advocates have a tenuous relationship with the franchised independent car dealers who are the only legal way to buy a new vehicle in the U.S. Tesla excepted, if you want to buy a new car, you have to go to a dealership over which the carmaker has only limited control. Horror...

  • Mercedes-Benz Energy Battery
    Mercedes launches home energy-storage battery, echoing Tesla

    As Tesla regularly points out, the lithium-ion battery cells used in electric cars can also serve in home energy-storage units. Now, a Daimler company will go up against Tesla in that field under the branding of its most famous luxury-car make. Mercedes-Benz Energy announced yesterday that it is...

  • Tesla factory, Fremont, California
    Tesla moans about media as it fights workers' union efforts

    Tesla's position is clear: the California electric-car maker doesn't feel a union is needed to protect its factory workers from what it claims are only anecdotal stories about worker safety and wage levels. Last weekend, Tesla continued to punch back at United Auto Workers organizating efforts at...

  • Teaser for 2018 Nissan Leaf debuting in 2017
    2018 Nissan Leaf electric car: first teaser photo (headlights!) emerges

    Sometime within the next few months, the 2018 Nissan Leaf electric car will be unveiled to the world's media. The second generation of a pioneering plug-in vehicle that launched affordable all-electric cars on the global market. It's been a long time coming. DON'T MISS: 2018 Nissan Leaf: more spy...

  • 2017 Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid

    Road trips have been a staple of automobile culture for decades, but with the rise of electric vehicles, charging infrastructure has thrown them a curve ball. Unlike gasoline-powered vehicles, which can refuel almost anywhere in a populated area, electric vehicles require a little more planning to ensure things go smoothly. So, how easy is it? The Straight Pipes aimed to find out in a new video installment. DON'T MISS: 2017 Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid video drive review The duo took a 2017 Hyundai Ioniq Electric and an Ioniq Plug-In Hybrid to see how easy it is to take on a spur of the moment road...

  • Toyota Motor Corporation president Akio Toyoda, at Tesla stand, 2011 Detroit Auto Show
    Shift to electric cars will cost money, may lack excitement: Toyota CEO

    Every automaker is now working on one or many electric cars, but some are at the head of the pack and others lag behind. General Motors already sells the 238-mile Chevrolet Bolt EV, and Volkswagen has firm plans for multiple electric cars by 2020 and as many as 30 by 2025. That leaves Toyota, the...

  • Mercedes-Benz EQ electric car concept  [photo: Axel Harries]
    British magazine gets ride in all-electric Mercedes EQ Concept

    Mercedes-Benz has big plans for electric vehicles in the future, but its main nod to what those plans will bring thus far is the EQ Concept. Shown at the Paris Motor Show last year, the vehicle represents a conceptual version of the first of many electric vehicles to come from the Germany luxury...

  • Chargie chargepoint service
    Chargie app connects electric-car drivers, UK homeowners; 'AirBnB' for charging?

    The internet has transformed how many perceive property, allowing the rental of other peoples' personal vehicles, apartments, and other spaces when owners are not using them. Now, the idea is being applied to charging stations across the United Kingdom with the introduction of the Chargie...

  • StoreDot shows fast-charging battery cell, Cube Tech Fair, Berlin [via Periscope: Gruendermetropole]
    Israeli firm StoreDot claims battery with 5-minute charging time

    It's one of the Holy Grails for battery researchers and electric-car advocates alike: a battery that could recharge in the same amount of time as it takes to stop for gasoline. Some of that can be provided by charging at higher rates, as Porsche's proposed 800-volt system for 15-minute fast...

  • 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV pre-production vehicles at Orion Township Assembly Plant, March 2016
    GM goal: profitable, affordable electric cars built in big numbers

    Automotive innovation rolls out over many years, usually decades, and usually only a few companies lead. Others hang back, waiting to see if buyers will accept new features, new powertrains, and new types of vehicles. More than six years after modern electric cars hit the market in volume, many...

  • Cash for Clunkers banner with Mercury Sable, Albany, New York

    In recent years, governments have increasingly worked to encourage the sales of plug-in electric vehicles. Incentive programs for the purchase of a low-emission vehicle have been adopted across the world. The amounts granted and the mechanisms vary according to the individual program, but the goal is the same: reduce emissions. DON’T MISS: California to test electric-car 'point of purchase' rebate for electric cars Romania is no exception and now, according to The Quebec Times, the country has recently doubled its incentives for the purchase of plug-in electric cars. In comparison, the...

  • Honda Clarity lineup: Electric, Plug-In Hybrid, Fuel Cell, at 2017 New York auto show
    Assessing the Honda Clarity range: how electric cars fit in, and why

    The 2017 Honda Clarity Fuel Cell is the only model of Honda's newest sedan presently on sale, though an all-electric version will arrive later this year. The hydrogen-powered mid-size sedan with a rated 366 miles of range is the one that's gotten by far the most publicity from Honda, as its...

  • Longer-range Renault Zoe electric car, introduced at 2016 Paris Motor Show
    European electric and plug-in hybrid sales for Jan-Mar 2017

    The first quarter of 2017 is now behind us, which means we get to take a peek at the European plug-in electric vehicle sale numbers. The year-to-date numbers show a significant growth in sales for most electric models, according to the recent European Alternative Fuels Observatory report. The...

  • Image from 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV electric-car ad by Ourisman Chevrolet, Rockville, Maryland
    Low-budget Chevy Bolt EV dealer ad normalizes electric cars

    Ah, local car-dealer ads on television. You've likely seen them, usually during the local ad minute on national shows, often late at night or in the cheaper slots. They're mostly formulaic, but each one mixes several elements for its own unique blend of attention-grabbing pitch. DON'T MISS: This...

  • Senator Rob Portman drives Chevrolet Bolt EV
    Advocacy group takes electric cars to Capitol Hill to inform lawmakers

    The best way to change perceptions about electric cars is to put novices in the driver's seat—quite literally in this sense. The advocacy group Plug In America went to Capitol Hill recently, with a barrage of plug-in electric and pure battery electric vehicles, in an effort to educate...

  • Tesla Store Los Angeles [photo: Misha Bruk / MBH Architects]
    Tesla faces battle over direct sales to buyers in Connecticut

    Another month, another Tesla battle with auto-dealer lobbyists in another state—or so it seems in the company's ongoing battle to sell electric cars online directly to buyers. This time, the action is in Connecticut, where on Monday the legislature's finance committee approved a bill letting...

News First Drives Electric Cars Hybrids Guides Green Life