In spite of tougher standards, European cars get dirtier

English traffic, from European Environment Agency reportEuropean automakers need to sell many more electric cars, but their customers aren't buying. Instead, they're buying more gas powered SUVs that emit more pollution than the cars they drove before. The ramifications for automakers could be dire if they can't sell more electric cars by next year. The European Union is scheduled to introduce the...

Federal tax credit on Tesla models set to ratchet down again July 1

2018 Tesla Model S and 2018 Tesla Model XBuyers who want to buy a Tesla have only a few days to take delivery if they want to earn a federal tax credit of $3,750 after they buy. Tesla is in the midst of the phase-out of its federal tax credit after it surpassed selling a cumulative total of 200,000 cars last June. The $1,875 credit on Teslas will last from July 1 to December 31, before...

Reports: Tesla working to develop its own batteries

2017 Tesla Model 3, in photo tweeted by Elon Musk on July 9, 2017Unlike other electric automakers, Tesla has long had a lock on its own battery supplies through an exclusive deal with Panasonic and the companies' jointly owned battery Gigafactory in Nevada. Now the company is working to develop its own batteries at a skunkworks near its main car factory in Fremont, California, according to multiple reports...

Architect of clean-air rollbacks resigns at EPA

Bill Wehrum, EPA Office of Air and Radiation head (CREDIT: Wikimedia Commons)EPA Office of Air and Radiation Administrator Bill Wehrum, an attorney who formerly represented power companies in their effort to roll back clean-air regulations, has resigned. The biggest air-quality issues that the Office of Air and Radiation oversees are tailpipe emissions from cars, and emissions from power plants that increasingly provide...

BMW Motorrad sketches out what’s next: electric motorcycles

BMW Motorrad Vision DC electric motorcycle conceptWhile quite a few startup companies have been building electric motorcycles for years, established motorcycle manufacturers have been slow to join the fray. The much-anticipated Harley Davidson Livewire, for instance, isn't yet out but is due in August. On Tuesday, BMW Motorrad, the company's motorcycle division, at last announced its intent to...

Rivian says more “gear tunnel” accessories coming

Rivian R1T Overlanding conceptIn a conversation with Green Car Reports Tuesday, Rivian spokesman Michael McHale confirmed that the Rivian R1T will offer more than just a built-in kitchen for camping. The truck's "gear tunnel," a cargo compartment that stretches the width of the truck underneath the floor of the bed, and just behind the cab, is designed to house a wide range of...

Volkswagen says its battery supplies are secure

VW ID familyDespite its plans to become the biggest EV-maker in the world by 2023, Volkswagen says it won't be affected by the tightening battery supplies that have roiled the industry, including Audi, the company's Volkswagen Group partner. VW plans to build up to 3 million all-electric vehicles a year by 2025 and plans to produce 22 million EVs in total by...

BMW pulls ahead its electrification plans by two years

BMW X3 xDrive30eJust eight weeks ago, at its annual shareholders meeting, BMW announced that it will build 12 new all-electric cars by 2025, along with 13 plug-in hybrid models. Now the company has moved up that schedule by two years and says it will have 25 new "electrified" models on the market by 2023, and that the majority of them will be fully electric. At...

Regional discounts can make electric cars a steal

2019 Nissan Leaf for sale at Lokey Nissan In some places, you almost can't afford not to buy an electric car. Adding regional incentives to state and federal incentives can cut the price of some electric cars nearly in half and make them cheaper than some used cars or the most basic of new gas models. Consider that electric cars never need gas or oil changes, and buyers can come away with...

Electric Jaguar XJ flagship to compete with Tesla Model S

2019 Jaguar XJJaguar Land Rover plans to launch its new flagship with a jolt. At a recent investor day, the company said its new flagship XJ sedan will launch first as an electric model, likely in 2020. Models with gas engines are expected to follow. The automaker previously announced it will offer electric and plug-in hybrid versions of every model it sells by...

China lets air out of its EV market with new restrictions on startups

Kandi K22China has developed such a lead in EVs, the country is looking to dial it back, according to a recent Bloomberg report. The country has become famous as the largest market in the world for electric cars, which account for about 3 percent of the 28 million cars sold there a year, triple the percentage of almost double the sales in the U.S. The...

Mack plans to send electric trucks to the garbage dump

Mack Electric LR garbage truckA lot of ink, pixels, and synapses get spent trying to figure out how to make heavy duty electric trucks that can travel 500 to 1,000 miles in a day and get a fast enough recharge before heading back to work. Recent studies have shown a far more effective way to reduce pollution is to supplant short-haul machines that spend most of their time in...

Hyundai rides on top with new double-decker electric bus

Hyundai double-decker electric busIf converting city buses to electric power is one of the most effective ways to reduce harmful pollution from particulate matter and nitrogen oxides in cities an even more effective way is to double the number of people they can carry. London has begun converting its iconic double-decker buses to electric models made by China's BYD, and now...

Oslo plans to recharge electric taxis on the fly

Oslo taxi stand [Credit: Fortum]If ever there were an argument for wireless charging, taxis may be it. And as with most things in electric cars, if there's a way to demonstrate the technology in action, Norway may find it. That's the impetus behind the country's latest effort to equip all of Oslo's taxi stands with wireless chargers. The city announced the plan in March...

Tesla Model X highway patrol car ready to chase Australian bad guys

Victoria, Australia, Tesla Model X police carIf there are two things you learn about police cars from watching cop shows on TV, it's that they should be both fast and stealthy to sneak quickly into sketchy situations. What better option than a Tesla Model X? That's what the police in the Australian state of Victoria are thinking at the moment, anyway. The Victoria police department just...