In electric cars, it's not just the powertrain that is different. It's the tires. Electric cars require special tires for a variety of reasons, tire manufacturer Continental said in a press release Friday. Their tires must handle more weight compared to internal-combustion vehicles, and deliver more torque to the road when moving away from a stop... Here’s why electric vehicles need different tires
In electric cars, it's not just the powertrain that is different. It's the tires. Electric cars require special tires for a variety of reasons, tire manufacturer Continental said in a press release Friday. Their tires must handle more weight compared to internal-combustion vehicles, and deliver more torque to the road when moving away from a stop... 
The full impact of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic remains to be seen, Volkswagen is already predicting that it will be good for electric cars. The pandemic has made electric cars "more inevitable," declared the headline for an in-house interview with Volkswagen Group of America senior VP of strategy Reinhard Fischer posted Friday. "I expect the... 
Audi is the latest automaker to experiment with bi-directional charging, which allows electric cars to discharge electricity from their battery packs back into the grid—or to a smart-home energy management system. Partnering with energy infrastructure company Hager Group, Audi tested a prototype E-Tron Sportback crossover equipped for... 
Nikola Motors announced Thursday that it had broken ground on a factory for hydrogen fuel-cell semi trucks in Coolidge, Arizona. The 1 million-square-foot, $600 million, factory will be built in phases, according to a Nikola press release. The first phase is scheduled to be completed in 2021, with the second phase due to be completed over the... 
Despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the Volkswagen ID.4 electric crossover is still due to start deliveries later this year. An expansion of VW's Chattanooga, Tennessee, factory that will allow the ID.4 to later be built locally is also on schedule for 2022. The Chattanooga Times Free Press reported Wednesday that equipment for the factory... 
The recently-revived Land Rover Defender is not available with an electric powertrain, but a UK-based company is offering electric conversions of older models. Twisted Automotive will offer a limited number of the conversions in North America. While the Defender was available in multiple body styles, this batch will all be soft-top 90... 
The 2020 Audi E-Tron Sportback electric SUV gets the same top-tier United States safety ratings as the standard E-Tron. Both the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) have carried over the Sportback's Top Safety Pick+ and five-star rating, respectively, from the E-Tron... 
Jeep is launching 4xe plug-in hybrid versions of the Renegade and Compass in Europe, but both models are unlikely for the United States. The Renegade and Compass share a powertrain consisting of a 1.3-liter turbocharged four-cylinder gasoline engine and 6-speed automatic transmission, working with two electric motors—one for each axle. The... 
General Motors is no longer interested in selling a hydrogen fuel-cell passenger car, and will instead focus on battery-electric vehicles. The company hadn't provided an update on fuel-cell activities in some time, but the news emerged from a press call with GM chief sustainability officer Dane Parker discussing the automaker's 2020 sustainability... 
As it ramps up electric-car production, BMW has inked a battery-supply deal with Sweden's Northvolt. BMW plans to buy 2 billion euros ($2.3 billion) of batteries from Northvolt beginning in 2024. Batteries will be manufactured at a factory currently under construction Skelleftea, Sweden, which will use 100% renewable energy, according to a BMW... 
Hydrogen produced using renewable energy could become a cost-competitive option over that made from natural gas within the decade, according to a new analysis from IHS Markit. By 2030, production of hydrogen by "splitting" water—which can be done using electricity generated from renewable sources—will be cost competitive with the... 
Volkswagen built its Arizona Proving Grounds for hot-weather testing of new cars. Now the automaker is subjecting charging stations to the Arizona heat as well. A 50-space charging site was recently added to the Maricopa, Arizona, facility, VW said in a press release Wednesday. This will allow for charging electric cars in temperatures up to 120... 
The first of BMW's next-generation electric cars has arrived, but it's not coming to the United States. The 2021 BMW iX3 electric crossover was originally slated for the U.S., but BMW no longer plans to offer it here. The iX3 will launch in China, where it will also be built, later this year. The iX3 is based on the X3 crossover and thus Tesla... 
Joe Biden announced a broad environmental plan Tuesday that includes provisions to broaden the federal electric-car tax credit and revive the "Cash for Clunkers" program. "Biden will restore the full electric vehicle tax credit to incentivize the purchase of these vehicles," a statement on the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee's campaign... 
Hydrogen fuel-cell powertrains have been demonstrated in sedans, SUVs, and commercial trucks, but a California-based company plans to use fuel cells for something a lot faster. The Hyperion XP-1 is a hydrogen fuel-cell supercar that has been in development since 2016—with the company itself nine years old. The car was due to be physically... 
A contingent of 15 states and the District of Columbia have signed a memorandum of understating (MOU) to draft regulations requiring all new new medium-duty and heavy-duty trucks sold in their jurisdictions to be electric by 2050. The states signing the MOU include: California, Connecticut, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New... 
As Tesla stock soars, electric-car startup Fisker Inc. announced Monday that it plans to become a publicly-listed company. In order to go public, Fisker will merge with Spartan Energy Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition firm backed by private equity firm Apollo Global Management. The deal values the combined companies at $2.9 million... 
Honda and Chinese battery maker CATL have inked a long-term partnership, including use of CATL batteries in Honda electric cars, as well as joint development of battery technology. The first Honda model with CATL batteries is scheduled to launch in the Chinese market in 2022, Honda said in a press release Friday. The partnership also encompasses...