Plug-In Hybrids

No diesel hybrids are now sold in North America, but diesel enthusiasts have lately been salivating over the Audi Q7 e-tron quattro diesel plug-in hybrid formally launched at the Geneva Motor Show. Sadly for those TDI fans, Audi will limit that model to European sale. Both North America and China...

The distinguishing feature of the Chevrolet Volt has always been that as long as it has charge left in its battery, it runs solely on electricity. The gasoline engine doesn't switch on even under maximum acceleration (except in certain cold-weather situations, to provide heat for the cabin and...

The BMW i8 is sleek and stunning, but it's no V-8-powered supercar. Is it the car that will give plug-in hybrids sex appeal? First, you need to know what makes the i8 go. This is no straightforward supercar: The i8 gets power in a complex way--it can be front-wheel drive, rear-wheel drive, or...

Is a plug-in version of the Rogue compact crossover joining the Nissan U.S. lineup anytime soon? Based on comments made by Nissan officials this week at the Geneva Motor Show, it’s a distinct possibility. As part of his speech presenting the Sway Concept, which points to the design direction...

Winter is always a slower sales time for plug-in electric cars than the warmer months, and last month looks like it won't be any exception. Sales of most of the highest-selling battery-electric and plug-in hybrid models stayed roughly at levels similar to those of January. While a blockbuster...

The Mitsubishi Concept XR-PHEV II is an update of a previous plug-in hybrid concept.

The California Legislature will considering cutting the sales tax on battery-electric cars, plug-in hybrids, hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles, and compressed natural gas cars.

The new 2016 Chevrolet Volt is sleeker, has more electric range, higher gas mileage, a fifth seat, and should be both faster and quieter on the road. But while GM hasn't explicitly said so, it's no longer as much of a range-extended electric car (or "series hybrid"). The new 2016 Volt should be...

Last week, Ford cut prices on both the hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions of its 2016 Ford Fusion mid-size sedan. This week, the company is cutting costs for consumers in a different way: doubling its incentives to help dealers move out the last of its 2014 Ford C-Max compact tall wagons. DON'T...

By the end of this year, there will be several luxury SUV models offered in the U.S. with plug-in hybrid powertrains that let them run 12 to 20 miles on electricity alone. We've now driven one of them, the 2016 Volvo XC90 T8 "Twin Engine" model, which will go on sale this fall. And based on our...

At today's Chicago Auto Show, Mitsubishi showed off a new concept for a full-size SUV with a plug-in hybrid powertrain. Called the Concept GC-PHEV, the large and angular design exercise had previously been seen at the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show last fall, but its appearance in Chicago represented its...

A concept previewing the next-generation Kia Optima will debut at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show.

Last year's U.S. sales of plug-in electric cars were the highest on record, but now the traditional winter sales slump has set in with a bang. Electric car sales usually dip during the coldest months, and last January was the lowest sales month of the year--but this January's results apparently...

Kia has now issued another teaser photo of the "rugged runabout" crossover utility vehicle concept it will unveil next week at the Chicago Auto Show, and it now has a name: the Kia Trail'ster Concept. The photo shows the rear of the vehicle on a dirt road, with an upswept black bumper shield and...

Plug-in electric car sales during 2014 rose above the 100,000 level, to total roughly 118,500. Last year's total represents a 27-percent gain over calendar year 2013. It's the third annual increase in full-year sales in the U.S. since modern electric cars first went on sale in December 2010; the...

One of the biggest concerns among electric-car advocates is GM's ability to create and sustain a smart, coherent, clever, and explanatory marketing campaign for its new 2016 Chevrolet Volt. The plug-in hybrid with a 50-mile range will arrive on the market in the second half of this year, but Chevy...

The Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-In Hybrid's U.S. launch is delayed again.

Via Motors expects dramatic growth in its plug-in vehicle sales.

The Hyundai Motor Group, encompassing both the Hyundai and Kia brands, is known as one of the most aggressive competitors in the global auto business. And the company has big plans for expanding its lineup of green vehicles, as we learned in an interview last week with Ki-Sang Lee, a senior vice...

The new 2016 Chevrolet Volt, its designers and engineers say, carries many features requested by owners of the first-generation Volt built from 2011 through this year. Among them are more electric range, an illuminated charging port ... and a fifth seating position. DON'T MISS: 2016 Chevrolet Volt...