Electrify America won’t allow EVs a full charge at busy stations

2022 Hyundai IONIQ 5 at Electrify America DC fast-charging stationSome Electrify America locations in California will limit charge to 85% “High-utilization station” locations were chosen for the pilot test Regular charging and idle fees apply Electrify America is testing a strategy that may help alleviate wait times at some of its busiest stations by preventing customers from charging all the way to...

Is NASCAR getting ready for EVs—or hybrids?

NASCAR electric race car prototypeNASCAR surprised attendees at its Chicago Street Race on Saturday with the debut of a fully electric SUV prototype. It’s so surprising, perhaps, because the race series hasn’t even gone hybrid yet. NASCAR remains a race of thirsty, loud V-8 engines and rear-wheel-drive cars with rear-mounted manual transmissions. And while the...

Software prompts another Chevy Bolt EV battery fire recall

2022 Chevrolet Bolt EV72 Bolt EV and EUV models missed software to signal a bad battery Those models need to return to dealerships for the software Affected owners should park outside, not charge above 90% A small subset of Chevrolet Bolt EVs previously recalled for potential battery fires have once again been recalled for the same. While this isn’t a new issue...

2025 Kia Sportage Hybrid gets price hike, still undercuts RAV4, CR-V

2025 Kia Sportage HybridBiggest price hike applies to base front-wheel-drive Sportage Hybrid 2025 Sportage Hybrid remains cheaper than rivals if AWD isn’t a priority Sportage PHEV carries over at 34 miles of range, includes AWD Kia has carried over its Sportage Hybrid and Plug-In Hybrid lineups for the 2025 model year. And while there are few changes to these...

Nissan sees lots of crossover between Formula E, production EVs

Nissan Formula E car, at Portland, 2024Nissan plans to bring its e-4orce AWD tech into Formula E Formula E may in turn become a testbed for performance AWD Battery tech will stay divergent between production and racing Nissan’s Formula E race car is wearing the e-4orce badge for the first time this 2023/24 season. Yes, that’s the same badge you might find on a 2024 Nissan...

Nyobolt’s electric sports car shows 5-minute fast-charging in action

Nyobolt electric sports car prototypeIf there were reliable high-power EV fast-chargers everywhere, and you could gain about 100 miles of range in four minutes, would you really need such a big battery? The very fast-charging battery cells from Cambridge, U.K.-based Nyobolt aren’t the solid-state cells that are so eagerly anticipated as a potential EV game-changer, but they...

Oil industry pushes back versus softened fleet mpg standards

2025 Ram 1500 RHOThe oil industry last week launched a legal challenge versus the U.S. EPA and its latest light- and medium-duty vehicle standards set for the 2027-2032 model years. The case was filed by the American Petroleum Institute (API), which represents members ranging from valve makers to Shell and Exxon Mobil. Joining in are the National Corn Growers...

Why do EVs cost more to insure than hybrids in 2024?

Tesla Model 3 PerformanceAs more data rolls in from the insurance industry, an unfortunate trend has persisted for electric vehicles: They cost more to insure. And there are enough of them in the vehicle fleet now to underscore that it’s no longer a matter of insurance companies covering themselves for the unknowns of a new vehicle type. Based on calendar-year...

Test drive: 2024 Volvo S60 Recharge PHEV is better in charge

2024 Volvo S60 RechargeIt’s been nearly a decade since Volvo first started rolling out plug-in hybrids in the U.S., and while the formula for them hasn’t changed a whole lot, a couple of important details have. One of them is that Volvo’s made the batteries larger every few years, leading to more plug-in electric range, improved hybrid drivability, or...