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... 
The Sony and Honda's EV joint venture came into greater focus this week at CES, where the two companies unveiled a new prototype and confirmed Afeela as the brand name for the venture. Looking a bit different from the Sony Vision-S concept first shown in 2020, the sleek prototype previews a production model scheduled to begin pre-orders in 2025... 
Consumers are showing more interest in electric cars, but cost concerns are a critical barrier to further adoption, according to a new study. In its 2023 Global Automotive Consumer Study, consultancy Deloitte found that most Americans don't feel ready for an EV. Just 8% of survey respondents said an EV was the preferred choice for their next... 
As it prepares to launch a global lineup of electric cars and trucks, Stellantis is also planning to build a very different kind of electric vehicle. At CES in Las Vegas, the automaker announced that it will build the Archer Midnight electric aircraft, as well as provide $150 million in funding to California-based Archer Aviation in 2023 and 2024... 
The 2023 Chevrolet Bolt EV once again qualifies for the federal EV tax credit, but now it's also getting a small price increase. General Motors lost eligibility for the $7,500 credit when it reached the 200,000-unit sales cap that was previously in place. Under the revamped rules enacted as part of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and due to take... 
South Korea's antitrust regulator has hit Tesla with a 2.85 billion won ($2.2 million) fine for allegedly minimizing the impact of cold weather on range, Reuters reported Tuesday. The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) said Tesla had overstated "driving ranges of its cars on a single charge, their fuel cost-effectiveness compared to gasoline... 
Each bidirectional EV charger installed could pay for itself in three years, and earn up to $15,000 over 10 years, according to projections from a firm that provides such equipment. Chargers installed for vehicle-to-grid (V2G) operation, allowing EVs to discharge power back into the grid, have similar upfront costs to conventional chargers. But... 
Teslas have generally held their value better than other electric cars, but used Tesla prices are now dropping fast, according to a recent Reuters report. The average price of a used Tesla in November 2022 was $55,754, down 17% from a July peak of $67,297, according to the report. In comparison, overall average used car prices dropped 4% during... 
The Volkswagen MEB platform that has served as the backbone for the automaker's EV push is set to get a number of updates over the next few years. The updated version, dubbed MEB+, will incorporate charging and battery updates, as well as an electrical architecture designed to support more advanced driver-assist tech, according to VW. A new... 
In the months even before we knew some used plug-in hybrids would be eligible for a $4,000 used EV tax credit, market interest in plug-in hybrids was on the rise, according to a recent pricing analysis. In a blog post last month, the retail conglomerate Carmax explained search volume for the term "plug-in hybrid" has increased significantly since... 
A low drag coefficient (Cd) is very important for maximizing range, leading automakers to push for more aerodynamic EVs. The Nio EC7, the Chinese automaker's new flagship SUV, is yet another example of this trend. Unveiled at the company's recent Nio Day 2022 presentation in Heifei, China, the EC7 has a drag coefficient of 0.23, which Nio claims...