Mercedes-Benz could drop its EQ badge for electric cars as it moves toward an EV-only lineup, a German business newspaper reported. EQ was launched in 2016 as a sub-brand that would serve as a launch point for EVs, but Mercedes plans to drop the EQ nomenclature from the end of 2024, according to Handelsblatt (via Automotive News Europe). The... Mercedes reportedly plans to drop EQ badging for EVs
Mercedes-Benz could drop its EQ badge for electric cars as it moves toward an EV-only lineup, a German business newspaper reported. EQ was launched in 2016 as a sub-brand that would serve as a launch point for EVs, but Mercedes plans to drop the EQ nomenclature from the end of 2024, according to Handelsblatt (via Automotive News Europe). The... 
A Chinese startup plans to ditch battery packs entirely and integrate cells directly with an EV's chassis. With this goal in mind, Neta Auto on Wednesday announced a cooperative agreement with battery supplier CATL to use the latter's cell-to-chassis tech, branded as Integrated Intelligent Chassis (CIIC). In a press release, Neta said it would be... 
General Motors and Ford have joined a pilot project to use EVs as an alternative energy source for the electricity grid, helping to cut pollution from fossil fuels. Organized by the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), the project will network EVs, along with smart thermostats, appliances, and home solar installations and energy-storage arrays, to... 
Many analyses have shown that EV battery costs stopped decreasing in 2022, putting off affordability goals. But the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently issued a reality check. Based on 2022-constant dollars, battery costs actually continued falling last year at the pack level, because of accelerated inflation, according to DOE estimates. The... 
An electric powertrain allows for a lot more possibilities for improving low-speed maneuverability, as Hyundai recently demonstrated. The automaker's Hyundai Mobis mobility-tech division has developed a hardware set called "e-corner" that allows a vehicle's individual wheels to rotate up to 90 degrees. The system was first shown in 2021, and the... 
Goodyear has developed a tire made from 90% sustainable materials that can also save fuel, but it's not destined for production just yet. The "demonstration tire" passed all of Goodyear's internal testing, as well as all applicable regulatory testing, and was shown to have a lower rolling resistance than a comparable conventional tire, the company... 
Lightyear has opened a waitlist for its second solar-assisted EV model, which aims for a lower price point and something much closer to mass-market appeal. Straightforwardly called Lightyear 2, this new model is scheduled to start production by the end of 2025 with a base price of approximately $40,000, according to a Lightyear press release. The... 
Vinfast has delivered its first VF 8 electric SUVs to U.S. customers, and it plans to open reservations for the VF 6 and VF 7 follow-up models in March, the company announced at CES in Las Vegas last week. The first 100 VF 8 EVs were delivered in Vinfast's home country of Vietnam in September 2022. Vinfast now says the first U.S. customer cars... 
Mercedes-Benz aims to have its own EV fast-charging network in place by the end of the decade, focusing on North America initially and expanding to other major markets like Europe and China. Construction will start this year in the U.S. and Canada, Mercedes announced at CES in Las Vegas this past week. The automaker wants to have more than 400... 
BMW is developing a new family of EVs dubbed "Neue Klasse," German for "New Class," and provided a glimpse of the design direction of those cars with the BMW i Vision Dee concept. Unveiled at CES in Las Vegas, the i Vision Dee is a compact sedan with what BMW calls a "reductive design" that seems to us to be a throwback to the E30 3-Series. Like...