Politics

Canada will join the U.S. in issuing stricter fuel-economy standards for large trucks.

Canadian electric-vehicle policy seems to be enjoying its own annus mirabilis, or "wonderful year," during 2016. While "a journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step," plug-in proponents could be forgiven for wanting to advance more than a step at a time. Here, then, are a half-dozen recent...

Rhode Island uses penalties collected for environmental-law violations to subsidize electric cars.

Automakers would fund 40 percent of a proposed German electric-car incentive program, a new report says.

Unlike many of its neighbors, New York has no purchase-rebate program for electric cars.

As U.S. electric-vehicle advocates are well aware, a handful of states have reduced or killed incentives for plug-in vehicles over the past year, adding some headwinds to sales. Earlier this month, the Canadian province of Ontario took the opposite approach, expanding its plug-in electric vehicle...

The Koch Brothers of Texas have long been bêtes noires to the progressive side of the political spectrum. Now, it appears, the dynamic duo are taking on what they perceive as a threat to their fossil-fuel interests: electric cars. And Elon Musk, CEO of highly visible electric-car maker Tesla...

Electric-car ownership allows you to break free from petroleum dependence—and to instead plug in and spend your energy dollars locally and regionally, on energy from the grid. Yet in Oregon, a proposal that would let utility companies invest in regional charging infrastructure—and make...

The entire auto industry was startled when Fiat Chrysler said two weeks ago it would end production of its Dodge Dart compact car and its Chrysler 200 mid-size sedan. The company intends to use the plant capacity freed up to build more light trucks, meaning its popular crossover utilities and...

The U.N.'s aviation agency drafted the first-ever emissions rules for airplanes.

New European emissions-testing rules would allow carmakers to exceed legal limits of nitrogen oxides.

About 55 percent of U.S. plug-in car sales in January were in California, according to the California Plug-In Electric Vehicle Collaborative.

You have to give the man credit for vision. U.S. president Barack Obama will propose a tax of $10 per barrel on oil in the 2017 budget he will submit to Congress next week. According to the White House, its goal is to create "a clear incentive for private-sector innovation to reduce our reliance on...

California is by far the most advanced state in adopting plug-in electric cars. Fully 45.3 percent of the country's more than 400,000 plug-in cars were sold in California, according to data from the state's Plug-In Electric Vehicle Collaborative. But electric cars need public charging stations...

West Coast states are on track for major cuts in oil consumption, the Union of Concerned Scientists says.

Well, this might upset a few martini glasses at National Automobile Dealers Association social events. A bill passed by the California State Senate two days ago allows out-of-state car buyers to take delivery of their electric cars in California without paying any sales tax. The legislation was...

Between now and 2020, the three German luxury brands--Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz-- will collectively add more than a dozen plug-in hybrid models to their lineups. The goal is to offer a plug-in hybrid version for almost all of their most popular vehicles, most with U.S. range ratings of 15 to 25...

China will phase out electric-car subsidies, which could open the door for more plug-in hybrids.

In almost every state, you can't buy a car online from its maker, owing to language in franchise laws that forbids direct sales, written at the behest of auto-dealer lobbyists. Whether or not that's a good thing, a majority of car buyers now research new cars online well before they ever set foot...

U.S. leaded gasoline sales ceased in January 1996.