Car Dealer 101: electric cars that aren’t charged won’t sell

2017 BMW i3Electric-car owners and advocates have a tenuous relationship with the franchised independent car dealers who are the only legal way to buy a new vehicle in the U.S. Tesla excepted, if you want to buy a new car, you have to go to a dealership over which the carmaker has only limited control. Horror stories abound. DON'T MISS: How can automakers...

Mercedes launches home energy-storage battery, echoing Tesla

Mercedes-Benz Energy BatteryAs Tesla regularly points out, the lithium-ion battery cells used in electric cars can also serve in home energy-storage units. Now, a Daimler company will go up against Tesla in that field under the branding of its most famous luxury-car make. Mercedes-Benz Energy announced yesterday that it is working with Vivint Solar to develop home...

Could water be the secret to faster electric-car battery technology?

Prototype EVgo 350-kw fast-charging station Fremont, CAElectric vehicles aren't always associated with speed and performance, but researchers at North Carolina State University may have discovered a breakthrough to change those qualities inside their batteries. Of all things, water may hold the key to faster electric-car battery technology. Researchers compared two materials, a crystalline tungsten...

Electric jet startup is backed by Boeing and JetBlue

Zunum range-extended electric regional jet - concept designSeattle-based startup Zunum Aero has received funding from Boeing HorizonX and JetBlue Technology Ventures toward making its dream of electrified air travel a reality. Sometimes billed as the Tesla of the airplane industry, Zunum is developing a relatively small regional aircraft with about 700 miles of range. A 1,000-mile range will be attainable...

Battery legend Goodenough not done yet: new solid-state chemistry introduced

John Goodenough, co-inventor of the lithium-ion batteryLithium-ion battery-cell chemistry is currently dominant in electric cars, not to mention consumer electronics and other fields. But what seems to be an army of researchers thinks it can be improved. That includes one of the people who helped create lithium-ion batteries in the first place. CHECK OUT: Tesla granted patent on metal-air battery...

Tesla granted patent on metal-air battery charging

2012 Tesla Model S beta vehicle, Fremont, CA, October 2011When it comes to Tesla and electric-car batteries, the eyes of most analysts are currently on the automaker's "Gigafactory," which began battery-cell production earlier this year. The Gigafactory is expected to build cells in massive numbers, but using a variation of the same lithium-ion chemistry that currently dominates in the electric-car...

2017 Hyundai Ioniq to have lifetime battery-failure warranty

2017 Hyundai Ioniq ElectricHyundai is extending the lifetime battery warranty offered on previous electrified models to the 2017 Ioniq lineup as well. The warranty applies to all versions of Hyundai's first dedicated green car, including the Ioniq Hybrid, Ioniq Electric, and Ioniq Plug-In Hybrid. As with previous Hyundai models, the warranty applies to complete failure of...

Electric-car batteries: $100 per kwh before 2020, $80 soon after?

Lithium-ion cell and battery pack assembly for Nissan Leaf electric car in Sunderland, U.K., plantModern electric cars have developed to the point where range itself may become less of an issue than the cost of providing it. Automakers can create longer-range electric cars simply by installing larger battery packs, but that adds significant cost tot he car's single priciest component. Just ask Tesla, which sells multiple versions of its Model...