Plug-in electric car sales in Sept: Volt steady, Leaf higher

2017 Chevrolet VoltSales of plug-in electric cars in September chugged along steadily, with steady sales from both the Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid and stronger totals for the Nissan Leaf battery-electric car. Chevrolet logged 2.031 deliveries of its Volt hatchback, likely now almost all the new second-generation model, raising the year-to-date total to 16,326. That's...

2017 Toyota Prius Prime: first drive of new plug-in hybrid

2017 Toyota Prius Prime test drive, Ojai, California, Sep 2016The 2017 Toyota Prius Prime is a considerably better car than a few electric-car fans had feared. In fact, with an EPA-rated range of 25 miles (more than projected) and energy efficiency so high—at 124 MPGe—that it matches the BMW i3 with all its whizzy advanced technology, it’s a very viable plug-in hybrid choice. And it all has...

New Nissan Micra debuts in Paris, not for US but Canada perhaps

New fifth-generation Nissan Micra at launch, 2016 Paris Motor ShowWhile Nissan sells many different types of vehicles in the U.S., there's one that's globally very popular that has never shown up in the States. That would be the Nissan Micra, a smaller car than the Versa sedan and Versa Note hatchback, the largish subcompacts that are its smallest U.S. offerings. The Micra is, however, sold in Canada—and...

2017 Renault Zoe electric car: larger battery doubles range

2017 Renault ZoeThe Renault Zoe electric car is by far the best-selling plug-in vehicle in Europe. Now in its fifth year, the Zoe received a significant battery capacity upgrade at today’s Paris Motor Show. The Zoe will now have a 41-kilowatt-hour battery pack, up from 22 kwh in earlier versions, giving it a range of 300 to 400 kilometters (185 to 250...

Nissan Note hybrid leaked, but not likely for North America

Leaked image of Nissan Note e-Power hybrid (Japanese market version) published on Liveblog siteThe Nissan Versa Note has never been a particularly big seller in North America. Its sedan counterpart is one of the largest and most capacious vehicles in the subcompact segment, but the Note has always been more of a car for European and Asian markets. There, it does fairly well, in part due to a higher-quality interior than the one fitted to...

Nissan electric subcompact below Leaf in future electric-car lineup?

2016 Renault Zoe electric carThe 2011 Nissan Leaf was the first mass-priced modern electric car when it launched in December 2010. Nissan has since sold close to a quarter of a million Leafs, and together with its alliance partner Renault it has now sold more than 350,000 all-electric vehicles. But the Leaf is still with us, albeit with a slightly longer range, whereas the...