Tesla open to third party apps for its big center screens

Consumer Reports Tesla Model 3 Navigate on Autopilot prepares to pass on left [CREDIT: CR]Just like any other big screen, the one that floats in the middle of every Tesla's dashboard (horizontal or vertical), runs software that anyone could, theoretically write. As it stands now, Tesla controls everything that goes into the screen, including apps such as Slacker and TuneIn that are available to listen to in Teslas. Tesla owners have...

Smartphone-based customization coming to Hyundai and Kia electric cars

Hyundai-Kia smartphone-based EV performance settingsFully electric cars have a great potential to be customized and personalized, to a level that’s not entirely possible with gasoline models. Unlike anything with a tailpipe, EVs don’t have to go through reams of emissions-test paperwork every time some of the basic parameters are changed. Today, Hyundai Motor Group (which includes...

Uber to bank London surcharge toward electric vehicles for its drivers

Uber electric carUber announced Tuesday that it will levy a surcharge for its ride-hailing passengers in London. The goal: to get 20,000 drivers to go all-electric by the end of 2021, on the way to make every car using its ride-hailing app an electric vehicle in the smog- and congestion-prone city by 2025. The surcharge, which is part of the company’s...

EVgo adds mobile app for electric-car charging network access

2015 Nissan Leaf at evGo fast charger at Livingston Mall, Livingston, NJ   [photo: John Briggs]One way for electric-car charging networks to make the public charging experience more user-friendly is through the use of smartphone apps to replace the RFID cards that identify members and let them initiate charge sessions. Not only do they provide electric-car drivers a host of capabilities, but they allow drivers to pay for charging sessions...

Car subscription services to take 1 of 5 sales by 2023, Volvo CEO says

2019 Volvo XC40The 2019 Volvo XC40 not only represents the Swedish brand's first compact crossover to be sold in the U.S. but its first shot at a new model for drivers to obtain cars: a subscription service. During the XC40 launch, Volvo revealed it would introduce Care by Volvo, a subscription service giving access to the compact crossover. For a flat monthly...

Car subscription services to take 1 of 5 sales by 2023, Volvo CEO says

2019 Volvo XC40The 2019 Volvo XC40 not only represents the Swedish brand's first compact crossover to be sold in the U.S. but its first shot at a new model for drivers to obtain cars: a subscription service. During the XC40 launch, Volvo revealed it would introduce Care by Volvo, a subscription service giving access to the compact crossover. For a flat monthly...

Hydrogen fuel-station finder app launched by Air Liquide

Air Liquide hydrogen fueling stationElectric-car drivers can rely on several different locator apps to find nearby public charging stations as they travel. While only a handful of public hydrogen fueling stations are operational at the moment, drivers of fuel-cell cars now have their own station-tracking app as well. Hydrogen-infrastructure company Air Liquide launched the new app...