Aptera solar EV will be first to get Openpilot driver-assist tech

Aptera announces Openpilot integrationAptera will integrate the Openpilot driver-assistance system with its electric three-wheeler, giving the vehicle, which is classified as an autocycle, tech similar to passenger cars. Openpilot will add adaptive cruise control, lane centering, and forward-collision warnings, along with a driver monitoring system that ensures drivers will remain...

LG plans $5.5B Arizona battery plant as largest in America

Lucid Air battery cellsLG Energy Solution on Friday announced a $5.5-billion battery manufacturing complex in Queen Creek, Arizona. The company claims the plant will be the largest battery-making investment in the U.S. to date. The complex will consist of two manufacturing facilities—one for 2170-format cylindrical battery cells for EVs, and another for pouch-type...

Tesla Model 3 leads a nosedive in used EV prices

2019 Tesla Model 3Used car prices have fallen sharply over the past year, led by the Tesla Model 3, according to new analysis from iSeeCars. Overall used car prices are down 4.7% from September and 8.7% from a year ago, according to the analysis, which is based on the average listing prices of over 1.8 million 1-5-year-old used car sales in Feb. 2022 and...

Rivian adds compatible Tesla Superchargers to its navigation app

2023 Rivian R1TRivian has added locations of compatible Tesla Superchargers to its navigation app, allowing R1S and R1T drivers to more easily find the Superchargers Tesla is opening up to EVs from other manufacturers. The interface adds Tesla Supercharger locations both to the in-vehicle navigation and the mobile app. Rivian provided this excerpt (below) from...

Dongfeng claims world’s first passenger cars with in-wheel motors

Dongfeng Fengshen E70Chinese automaker Dongfeng has launched a production model with in-wheel motors from supplier Protean Electric. In press releases, Protean claims the Dongfeng Fengshen E70 is the "world's first fully homologated passenger car" equipped with two ProteanDrive in-wheel motors. A conventional inboard motor drives the front wheels, while the in-wheel...

Qiantu K50 electric sports car revamped for US as Mullen GT

Mullen GTRSMullen Automotive still plans to bring the Chinese-developed Qiantu K50 electric supercar to the U.S., but now under a different name and with a different assembly location. The U.S. version of the K50 will henceforth be known as the Mullen GT and GTRS, Mullen announced Monday in a press release. The company said it had also revised the styling of...

Why Mexico builds many US-bound EVs but buys few of them

Ford Mustang Mach-E assembly - MexicoMexico will soon build large numbers of EVs, but most will go north to the U.S. rather than being sold domestically. The reason behind it isn't a culture clash or a lack of concern for the environment. It's a matter of economics and practicality. EVs remain too expensive for most Mexicans, and lack of charging infrastructure makes them less...

Hyundai robot could ease EV charging, tackle mobility barriers

Hyundai charging robotHyundai believes automated charging robots could help make EV charging easier and more accessible. The automaker on Tuesday released a short video showing its prototype robot charging an Ioniq 6 sedan. Hyundai showed the design of the robot in a computer-generated video last year, but this time it's showing a working version that's been undergoing...

Report: EV battery repair hurdles may inflate insurance premiums

2023 Tesla Model Y in the IIHS side impact testA lack of standards for repair and replacement of EV battery packs may lead to higher insurance premiums, according to a recent Reuters report (via Automotive News). Battery packs can represent up to 50% of an EV's price tag, often making it uneconomical to replace them, according to the report. And while there is no standard procedure for...

Kia EV5 electric SUV concept taps solar panels, swivel seats

Kia EV5 conceptKia just revealed the 2024 EV9 electric SUV in production-ready form, but the automaker on Monday revealed a smaller electric SUV concept. Called the EV5, the concept previews a "production model destined initially for Chinese market later this year," according to Kia. Note the use of the word "initially," which hints that the EV5 is coming to...

Funding crunch puts Oregon EV rebates on hold

Electric Avenue charging stations in Portland, Oregon [photo: Portland General Electric]Unprecedented EV sales and a lack of funding to keep pace with them have put Oregon EV and plug-in hybrid rebates on hold. The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) recently announced that it is temporarily suspending the state's Clean Vehicle Rebate Program due to projections showing that it will be oversubscribed by late spring. April...

Study: Workplace EV charging could cut need for more power plants

Tesla chargingThorough planning of EV charging station placement, specifically with a greater emphasis on workplace charging, could cut the need for more power plants, according to a new MIT study. Published in the journal Cell Reports Physical Science, the study uses data from New York City and Dallas to counter the narrative that an influx of electric cars...

Combustion-vehicle sales peaked in 2017, peak oil due in 2027

Nissan Leaf confuses gas station staffThe global market for internal-combustion vehicles peaked in 2017 and is now in "structural decline," Bloomberg New Energy Finance declared in a recent report. Combustion-vehicle sales in 2022 were down almost 20% from the 2017 peak, according to BNEF. In 2017, 86 million internal combustion passenger vehicles were sold globally—including...

BMW Neue Klasse EVs will debut with panoramic head-up display

BMW Panoramic Vision head-up displayThe BMW Neue Klasse family of EVs debuting in 2025 will feature a panoramic head-up display. BMW showed the display, dubbed Panoramic Vision, Wednesday during its annual business conference. In what the company claims is an industry first, the display will span the windshield and show information to both the driver and front passenger, unlike...

7-Eleven wants its EV charging network to be among the largest

7-Eleven 7Charge EV fast-charging stationConvenience store chain 7-Eleven has ambitious plans for EV charging. The company on Thursday announced 7Charge, an EV charging network that it aims to make one of the largest in North America. The plan includes DC fast-charging stations at 7-Eleven locations in the U.S. and, eventually, Canada, with access via a proprietary app. While light on...

Tesla owners sue over parts-and-service monopoly

Tesla SuperchargerTesla is being sued by customers who claim the automaker has unlawfully monopolized replacement parts and repair services. Two class action lawsuits (via Transport Topics) were filed Tuesday and Wednesday in San Francisco on behalf of two California residents who own Model S EVs. The plaintiffs allege that Tesla has violated antitrust laws by...

Volkswagen ID.2all concept previews affordable compact EV

Volkswagen ID.2all conceptVolkswagen on Wednesday unveiled a concept car providing the first real look at a promised affordable EV due to be unveiled for the European market in 2025. The Volkswagen ID.2all concept previews a future production model that will have a base price of 25,000 euros (about $26,500 at today's exchange rates) and will utilize a new variant of the...

Biden administration opens $2.5B community EV charging program

Electric Avenue rededication, Portland, July 2015The Biden administration on Tuesday opened applications for the first round of $2.5 billion in funding for EV charging infrastructure under a community grant program. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law enacted in November 2021 includes $7.5 billion to help fund a national EV charging network, with the goal of building 500,000 EV charging stations...

Biden administration opens $2.5B community EV charging program

Electric Avenue rededication, Portland, July 2015The Biden administration on Tuesday opened applications for the first round of $2.5 billion in funding for EV charging infrastructure under a community grant program. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law enacted in November 2021 includes $7.5 billion to help fund a national EV charging network, with the goal of building 500,000 EV charging stations...

Fires aren’t an EV safety concern but their weight is, warns IIHS

2022 Ford F-150 LightningEV fires tend to get a lot of attention, but the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) warns that EVs' added weight—and the damage it can inflict on other road users—is the real safety concern. "Fifty-five EV crash tests and zero fires later, I’m still worried about these batteries, but for a more mundane reason than...