Plug-In Hybrids

  • Kia Niro Plug-In Hybrid (U.K. version)

    The Kia Niro Hybrid has been on sale in the United States since early 2017, but at its launch, the brand promised a plug-in hybrid version would arrive by the end of this year as well. Ahead of its U.S. launch, the Kia Niro Plug-In Hybrid has now arrived in the United Kingdom with a 36-mile rated range on battery power alone on the optimistic NEDC test cycle that will start to be phased out next year. The Niro Plug-In Hybrid also arrives ahead of Kia's promised Niro EV, which will be a fully electric vehicle. DON'T MISS: 2017 Kia Niro hybrid: first drive report In the UK, the Niro Plug-In...

  • 2018 Chevrolet Volt
    How important will plug-in hybrids be in 2025? Poll results

    Car shoppers may not be buying huge numbers of all-electric cars yet, but they largely understand how they work. It's a car, you plug it in to charge a battery, it runs on the battery, end of story. Plug-in hybrids are far harder to explain—are they short-range electric cars? are they...

  • 2017 Toyota Prius Prime Premium
    What happens to plug-in hybrids over time? Take our Twitter poll

    Last week, for the first time, we reminded regular readers about our regular Twitter poll in an article announcing the question of the week. That article seems to have earned us about three times as many responses as in previous polls, so we're going to make it a regular practice henceforth. This...

  • 2016 BYD Tang plug-in hybrid SUV, made in China
    China's electric-car sales now twice those in US for Jan-June 2017

    Hard numbers provide the latest evidence that shows China is by far the world's largest market for plug-in cars—or new energy vehicles, as they are referred to locally. The latest round of sales figures show the Chinese bought almost exactly twice the number of plug-in vehicles as car buyers...

  • 2018 Tesla Model 3
    Which carmaker will sell most electric cars in 2020, China included? Poll results

    Last year, China's BYD sold more plug-in electric cars than any other company in the world. That includes General Motors, Nissan, and Tesla. Now GM has launched the Chevrolet Bolt EV, the second-generation Nissan Leaf is just days away, and advocates, analysts, and enthusiasts are watching how...

  • 2017 Renault Zoe
    European electric and plug-in hybrid sales for Jan-June 2017

    The numbers are in, which means it's once again time take a look at European electric and plug-in hybrid sales. Delivery and registration data is compiled from January through June of 2017, and once more, it remains clear Europe has a favorite electric car. The Renault Zoe walks away with an even...

  • 2017 Karma Revero, Palisades, NJ, Aug 2017

    The 2018 Karma Revero remains as much of a head-turner today as the low, sleek four-door sedan was when it debuted a decade ago under another name. It also happens to be a range-extended electric luxury sedan, though we tend to think that the Karma would sell just as well if it ran on coal dust and baby-seal blood. It's a big, low, handsome shape, and we were happy to get a chance to drive the updated version of what began life as the 2012 Fisker Karma. DON'T MISS: First TV ad for Karma Revero as sales to start in June First shown as a concept at the 2008 Detroit auto show, the Karma was...

  • 2017 Volkswagen e-Golf
    Plug-in electric car sales in Canada, July 2017: Golf season

    The Volkswagen e-Golf launched in Canada in late June, tallying 39 sales before the month’s end, and followed that with 84 units in its first full month of availability. Aided by the e-Golf, the Toyota Prius Prime and the soon-to-arrive second-generation Nissan Leaf, plug-in electric vehicles...

  • 2006 Toyota Prius and 2015 Nissan Leaf  [photo: John C. Briggs]
    Should we buy a Toyota Prius Prime, Chevy Bolt EV, or Volt?

    It's now time to shop for a new car for my wife, as her wonderful 2006 Toyota Prius has 144,000 miles and we're ready for something new. So I thought I might throw the question out to Green Car Reports readers. What car should replace our 2006 Prius hybrid? DON'T MISS: 2017 Toyota Prius Prime: gas...

  • Plug'n'Drive EV Discovery Centre, Toronto
    Canada electric-car news: EV Discovery Centre, more charging sites, ZEV mandates debated

    As Canada celebrates its 150th birthday, the plug-in electric vehicle sector has charged forward, with developments on the national, provincial and even municipal levels. Here’s our take on six of the most salient stories. Federal ZEV committee On May 26, the Canadian government announced its...

  • 2017 Chevrolet Volt
    Plug-in electric car sales for July: Bolt EV, Prime, Volt, Teslas, Leaf lead (updated)

    In a U.S. car market that's coming off record numbers over the last couple of years, plug-in electric car sales continued strong last month. The Chevrolet Bolt EV, GM's 238-mile battery electric hatchback, set a new monthly sales record of 1,937 deliveries in its eighth month on sale—the...

  • National Drive Electric Week 2014: Eyeing a Tesla in Ottawa. Photo by Ottawa Centre EcoDistrict.
    National Drive Electric Week to be bigger than ever: 175 events so far

    The White House's energy week may have been low on renewable and zero emission technology, but National Drive Electric Week is poised to make up for it. Each year, Plug In America, the Electric Auto Association, and the Sierra Club join forces to implement one week of electric car events, parades...

  • 2018 Mini Cooper S E Countryman All4 plug-in hybrid, Catskill Mountains, NY, July 2017

    The makers of the 2018 Mini Coooper S E Countryman All4, the unwieldy name for its first plug-in hybrid small crossover utility vehicle, aren't going to make any friends among electric-car fans. That's because the company has included in its marketing the notion that the car's hybrid powertrain should offer some fuel-economy benefits even though you don't have to plug it in if you don't want to. A car with a plug whose maker suggests owners needn't plug in could be ... ahem ... problematic among EV advocates. DON'T MISS: New all-electric Mini E to launch in 2019 as halo for brand The...

  • 2018 Chevrolet Volt
    Chevy Volt may be replaced in 2022 with plug-in hybrid crossover: CrossVolt at last?

    Small SUVs are all the rage, steadily eating into sales of passenger sedans and hatchbacks of pretty much every size. It's not just limited to North America, either: the trend is global, which is why several makers have jacked up perfectly standard front-wheel-drive hatchbacks and turned them into...

  • Teaser for Volvo XC40
    Small 2019 Volvo XC40 crossover teased before launch, will offer plug-in hybrid

    Volvo has never tackled the small crossover segment in the United States, but it's ready to change that with the new XC40. The Volvo XC40 will join the larger XC60 and XC90 as its smallest crossover option in the United States, though a previous generation of the model has found success in Europe...

  • 2017 Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid, Ioniq Electric, and Ioniq Plug-In
    Hyundai-Kia electric-car production to soar to 50,000 next year

    Korean siblings Hyundai and Kia will aggressively increase production of electric cars next year, according to a report in the Korean press. The production increase comes amid the combined automaker's goal to become the second largest maker of green vehicles (hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and electric...

  • 2017 Renault Zoe
    European electric and plug-in hybrid sales for Jan-May 2017

    Another month, and another round of European electric car sales data is ready for dissemination. Electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles continue to earn a healthy share of the European car market, and it's clear there's still a definitive electric car for Europeans. That is the...

  • Aoxin Ibis electric car. Photo by CarNewsChina.com.
    China electric-car rules 'impossible,' say carmakers; more deference to regulators needed?

    It may be human nature to avoid doing things that are for the long-term good but impose short-term costs. Exercising more, giving up smoking, or paying more for a car that is better for the environment all challenge many otherwise responsible citizens. And it's abundantly clear that the emergence...

  • 2017 BMW i3 and 2017 BMW i8

    Tesla may garner much of the buzz surrounding electric cars, but BMW has quietly become a significant challenger in the electric-vehicle sales race. Nissan, General Motors, and Tesla have all 100,000 to 300,000 plug-in vehicles globally, but this year, BMW and its Mini brand are on track to deliver its own 200,000th plug-in vehicle later this year. For context, BMW does not count traditional hybrids in what calls its "electrified" lineup, only cars with a plug—so those figures are based on plug-in hybrid models, along with the all-electric i3 and an electric SUV in China. DON'T MISS...

  • 2019 Audi A8
    2019 Audi A8 to offer plug-in hybrid version; 48-volt mild hybrid on all models

    Audi may have taken an evolutionary approach to the design of the newest, largest luxury sedan, but it is positioning the car as a technical force to be reckoned with. The 2019 Audi A8 ushers in a new era for the German luxury brand—starting now, every single model will soon feature a...

  • 2018 Volvo XC60 first drive, Barcelona
    Hey, media, get it straight: "electrified" is NOT "electric," and the difference matters

    OK, reporters of the world, it's time for a little chat. We know—believe me, we know—that you are cranking out a whole lot of copy, with much less support than you used to have, on far tighter deadlines, to feed a voracious, anonymous online audience whose clicks get you paid. But it's...

  • 2017 Toyota Prius Prime, Catskill Mountains, NY, Nov 2016
    Plug-in electric car sales in Canada, June 2017: Prime time

    Toyota made a strong return to the Canadian plug-in electric vehicle market in June, selling 144 Prius Prime plug-in hybrids. The tally is all the more remarkable as the vehicle has so far launched only in Quebec. Why? That province is the home of Canada’s sole zero-emission vehicle mandate...

  • 2017 Toyota Prius Prime and 2017 Chevrolet Volt with Green Car Reports editor John Voelcker
    Plug-in electric car sales for June: Volt passes Prius Prime, Bolt EV rises again

    In May, the Toyota Prius Prime plug-in hybrid was the highest-selling car with a plug in the U.S. for only the second time ever. Last month, however, the Chevrolet Volt recaptured its usual spot at the top of the plug-in sales charts for those manufacturers who report monthly sales. Chevy sold...

  • Volvo S90 production in Daqing, China
    Volvo to electrify all cars from 2019: 'end of internal-combustion engine alone'

    Volvo has announced a major leap forward in an effort to embrace an electrified portfolio of vehicles. The Swedish automaker will go all-electrified come 2019; every single vehicle it launches will feature an electric motor in some usage. To be clear, this is not the immediate end of the...

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