Volkswagen Group CEO Herbert Diess finally joined Twitter this week, and he's making up for lost time. After teasing Tesla CEO Elon Musk about VW's EV sales success in Europe, Diess hinted at a new electric-car project. Trinity will be the next EV development program after Neo, VW's internal codename for the program that led to the ID family of... VW CEO teases Trinity project to rival Tesla, revamp Wolfsburg plant for EVs
Volkswagen Group CEO Herbert Diess finally joined Twitter this week, and he's making up for lost time. After teasing Tesla CEO Elon Musk about VW's EV sales success in Europe, Diess hinted at a new electric-car project. Trinity will be the next EV development program after Neo, VW's internal codename for the program that led to the ID family of...
If you're going to build a camper van, why not make it electric? The Nissan e-NV200 Winter Camper concept shows how an electric van can be converted into a home away from home. The modified van is equipped with a 220-volt battery to power onboard accessories, which can be recharged using a roof-mounted solar panel. Inside, you get a refrigerator...
The Mercedes-Benz EV rollout continues with The EQA small crossover. Positioned below the current EQC crossover, it goes on sale in Europe this spring, but is unlikely to reach the United States. In keeping with Mercedes' current naming convention, the EQA is an electric equivalent of the gasoline GLA crossover. "EQ" is the branding Mercedes gives...
Isareli startup StoreDot has long promised a Holy Grail of battery technology: a battery that can recharge in about the same amount of time it takes to pump gasoline. Now the startup is delivering the first samples of its so-called "five-minute charge" lithium-ion battery cells. The sample cells were produced to show off the technology to...
Added emissions from SUVs cancelled out emissions reductions by electric cars in 2020, according to a new report from the International Energy Agency (IEA). Emissions from SUVs increased last year, even as overall carbon emissions decreased due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Overall emissions fell 7%—the largest drop in history...
Honda on Monday teased the next-generation HR-V subcompact crossover for the European market, but questions remain about what the next United States-market version will be like. The automaker confirmed that the European version, which will be unveiled February 18, will be hybrid only, using a version of the same two-motor hybrid system as other...
Kia plans to launch seven dedicated electric vehicles by 2027 as part of a wide-ranging electrification and re-branding effort. The seven new EVs were teased last week as part of a "brand showcase" that also included a new logo design, and the announcement that the Hyundai-owned company will henceforth be known simply as "Kia," rather than the...
The electric Volkswagen Microbus will arrive to the U.S. market in 2023, Volkswagen of America CEO Scott Keogh said in a recent interview with Automotive News. Based on the VW ID Buzz concept first shown in 2017, the electric Microbus was originally reported as slated to arrive in 2022. Turns out it still will launch in Germany in 2022, but given...
With winter underway and its ID.4 electric crossover scheduled to hit dealerships in a few weeks, Volkswagen touted its cold-weather capabilities of its new mass-market EV. And in the U.S. it's managing to retain the necessary range without a heat pump. VW gave the ID.4 a handful of features to quickly and efficiently heat the cabin—and give...
If you're considering a used electric car, now might be a good time to spring into action. General Motors is offering 0% APR financing for 72 months on used Chevrolet Bolt EV electric cars and Chevy Volt plug-in hybrids, reports CarsDirect, which cited a bulletin sent to dealerships last week. The deal, which runs through February 1, is the type...
For its latest electric concept car, Renault looked to the past. The Renault 5 Prototype features retro styling inspired by the cult-classic Renault 5 hatchback. The original Renault 5 was launched in 1972 as a humble economy car, but also spawned the mid-engine R5 Turbo hot hatchback, built to compete in the World Rally Championship (WRC). The...
First responders need more training to deal with the possible fire risk from crashed electric cars, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said in a report released Wednesday. In high-speed crashes with high impact forces, lithium-ion battery cells are likely to be damaged, creating a fire risk, the NTSB said in a press release...
With just days left before the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden, the Trump administration on Tuesday agreed to an auto-industry request to delay steeper fines for failing to meet fuel-economy standards, according to a Reuters report. The move effectively amounts to a stalling tactic that panders to behind-the-scenes lobbying from a few...
When it comes to the Cadillac Celestiq flagship EV, four seems to be the magic number. For the 2021 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Cadillac confirmed some details of the upcoming electric sedan, including all-wheel drive, four-wheel steering, and a four-quadrant glass roof. The roof is made from suspended-particle-device smart glass, allowing...
One year after its unveiling at the 2020 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the Sony Vision-S electric car is now testing on public roads. Sony didn't provide much other detail on how things were progressing with the car. The short video it released for CES 2021 was essentially just some B-roll of the camouflaged prototype being driven on a test...
Chinese automaker Nio is launching a flagship electric car with an available 150-kilowatt-hour battery pack, and when it's scheduled to start deliveries in early 2022, it could be the first mass-produced passenger car anywhere in the world—yes, before Tesla—to have solid-state battery technology. The Nio ET7 sedan will also feature...
Lordstown Motors on Monday confirmed 100,000 non-binding pre-orders for its Endurance electric pickup truck, and said in a press release that the pickup is "on track" to start production in September. That milestone comes just two months after Lordstown announced 50,000 pre-orders for the Endurance. The company is targeting commercial fleets...
The Tesla Model Y electric crossover is getting a new entry-level variant. This week Tesla added the rear-wheel drive Model Y Standard Range variant to its online configurator. The Standard Range has a $43,190 base price (including a mandatory $1,200 destination charge), compared to $51,190 for the Long Range variant and $61,190 for the...
Chinese car buyers are very enthusiastic about electric cars, something that can't be said about other world markets, according to a new survey. That survey is from Continental, a German automaker supplier that has some business interest selling EV components to automakers. While the majority of Chinese consumers surveyed said they could see...