GM promises it can make money on all-electric cars by 2021

2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV pre-production vehicles at Orion Township Assembly Plant, March 2016Radically new powertrains are widely assumed to lose money for the companies that launch them. Toyota's hybrid-electric system, launched in Japan in 1997, likely didn't break even until sometime after the 2004 launch of the second-generation Prius. Long-range battery-electric vehicles are the same, according to analysts and insiders: the question...

Ford 300-mile all-electric SUV may be named Mach 1; due 2020

Teaser for Ford Mach 1 electric SUV due in 2020The big new debuts at the 2018 Detroit auto show are largely pickup trucks, one of them being the new mid-size 2019 Ford Ranger. Ford also introduced a new Bullitt Mustang, honoring the 51st anniversary of the legendary 1968 movie, and a high-performance ST version of the Edge crossover. (Is it the Edgest Edge?) But as for new hybrids or plug-in...

2019 Chevy Silverado: how a big, thirsty pickup gets more fuel-efficient

2019 Chevrolet Silverado, 2018 Detroit auto showThe highest-volume vehicle GM sells in North America is a full-size pickup truck—one that likely also contributes outsize profits from each of its hundreds of thousands of units. So the launch of the 2019 Chevrolet Silverado Saturday night before the Detroit auto show was a big deal for the company. Like every other new vehicle for a new...

2018 Kia Soul EV gets bigger battery, range boost from 93 to 111 miles

2017 Kia Soul EVUpdates to conventional cars come in a predictable pattern. Once a new model is launched, it gets only minor tweaks to features, prices, and paint colors for two or three years. Then in the third or fourth year, it gets what the industry calls a "mid-cycle refresh": some updated sheetmetal, perhaps a redesigned dashboard, and other more visible...

What will your next car be? Take our Twitter poll

Handing over car keysSeven years after the first mass-priced modern electric car was sold in the U.S., more car buyers than ever are at least dimly aware that such vehicles exist. Sales of cars that plug in have risen every year, with one slight dip in 2015, but they were still just 1 percent of the U.S. market of 17.5 million light vehicles last year. One reason for...

Kia Niro EV concept at CES: 238 miles of range from 64-kwh battery

Kia Niro EV concept shown at 2018 Consumer Electronics Show, Las VegasIt's well known that a battery-electric version of the Kia Niro will join the lineup soon, completing a range that now comprises the Niro Hybrid and the recently launched plug-in hybrid. Most observers had assumed the Niro EV would use the same underpinnings as its corporate sibling the Hyundai Ioniq Electric, just as the pair of hybrids does. But...

Kia Niro EV concept at CES: 238 miles of range from 64-kwh battery

Kia Niro EV concept shown at 2018 Consumer Electronics Show, Las VegasIt's well known that a battery-electric version of the Kia Niro will join the lineup soon, completing a range that now comprises the Niro Hybrid and the recently launched plug-in hybrid. Most observers had assumed the Niro EV would use the same underpinnings as its corporate sibling the Hyundai Ioniq Electric, just as the pair of hybrids does. But...

Production Hyundai Nexo hydrogen fuel-cell SUV appears at CES

Hyundai NexoThe world of cars powered by hydrogen fuel cells is still small and low-volume, but Korean maker Hyundai unveiled its production entry into that group on Monday. The sprawling Consumer Electronics Show is increasingly a showcase for advanced-technology and zero-emission vehicles, and the Korean maker used it to show its production-ready hydrogen...