Why aren’t there more full-fledged hybrid vehicles—models that provide the kind of efficiency gains that really pay off in fuel savings over time? Blame the bean-counters. With Toyota and its mammoth economies of scale with high-mileage hybrids perhaps the one exception, a set of critical components that need to go in full... Continental builds something greater from “mild” 48-volt foundation
Why aren’t there more full-fledged hybrid vehicles—models that provide the kind of efficiency gains that really pay off in fuel savings over time? Blame the bean-counters. With Toyota and its mammoth economies of scale with high-mileage hybrids perhaps the one exception, a set of critical components that need to go in full... 
As more mainstream vehicles, like the 2019 Ram 1500 lineup, get increasing levels of electrification, but stop short of becoming fully electric or even full-fledged hybrids, it can be easy to get lost in semantics. Generally speaking, the term “mild hybrid” means some energy can be recaptured by a motor/generator, but the motor might... 
Daimler AG executives said Tuesday that diesel power for Mercedes cars is here to stay, even as electric cars and electrified mobility spreads throughout its passenger and commercial vehicles, and even its global partnerships. Electrified vehicles include everything from 48-volt mild hybrids through plug-in hybrids to battery-electric cars. At the... 
The dominant news at the 2018 North American International Auto Show in Detroit was about pickup trucks. Ironically, the Detroit automaker with the fewest electrified models on sale was the only one to bring hybridization to a new truck, in the form of its brand-new 2019 Ram 1500. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has lagged GM and FOrd on the... 
XL Hybrids carved its niche in the vehicle-electrfication segment by offering hybrid conversion kits for regular gasoline-powered vans, commercial trucks, and pickups. Thus far, the Boston-based start-up has found success and a recent round of venture capital funding raised another $22 million. Notably, Swedish furniture company Ikea Group... 
Whether car buyers are ready or not, many future cars will boast some sort of electrification. The numerous announcements from automakers declare their brands will begin electrifying all vehicles post a certain date; to be clear, that does not mean cars will be solely electric. What it does likely mean is a widespread adoption of 48-volt... 
Public concerns over diesel cars, and their ebbing sales, have become a well-documented phenomenon in Europe after decades of popularity. When the VW diesel scandal exposed deliberate cheating, and real-world testing revealed that no virtually no diesels certified for sale actually met emission limits, automakers across the industry adopted rapid... 
OK, reporters of the world, it's time for a little chat. We know—believe me, we know—that you are cranking out a whole lot of copy, with much less support than you used to have, on far tighter deadlines, to feed a voracious, anonymous online audience whose clicks get you paid. But it's time to discuss the very, very important... 
Volvo has announced a major leap forward in an effort to embrace an electrified portfolio of vehicles. The Swedish automaker will go all-electrified come 2019; every single vehicle it launches will feature an electric motor in some usage. To be clear, this is not the immediate end of the internal-combustion engine for Volvo: its electrified future... 
Today's political climate has made for fluid motion in regulations, and corporate average fuel economy targets haven't been left out. Suppliers and automakers have already begun investing heavily into vehicles to be sold in 2022 through 2025, which will include various fuel-saving and emission-reducing technologies. However, that unsettled... 
Sometimes interesting predictions come buried inside a completely different topic. Take, for example, an investment note on the auto-parts supplier Continental contained in a roundup of industry research, market analysis, and news items issued yesterday by investment bank UBS. It contains the prediction that diesel engines' share of the global... 
Plug-in electric cars are slowly becoming more common, but internal-combustion engines will remain a significant presence on the world's roads for decades to come yet. That means automakers will continue trying to squeeze ever-greater efficiency out of these engines, making them more complex in the process. This will almost certainly include a...