China’s BYD built more plug-in cars than any other maker last year

2016 BYD Tang plug-in hybrid SUV, made in ChinaTime for a quick quiz: which carmaker sold more plug-in electric vehicles last year—both battery electrics and plug-in hybrids—than any other? If you're a reader in North America or Europe who managed to miss our headline, odds are you may answer "Tesla" or "Nissan," based on media coverage of those two companies' achievements. You...

Pilot production of Tesla Model 3 to start Feb 20: report

Tesla Model 3 Driving on a Public RoadTesla said yesterday it would shut down its production lines for one week this month to prepare for the launch of its upcoming Model 3 electric sedan. The Silicon Valley carmaker said the "brief, planned pause" was to add paint-shop capacity and do general maintenance at its assembly plant in Fremont, California. An exclusive Reuters news service...

2017 Chevy Bolt EV electric car: new owner’s first impressions

John and Mimi Porter of San Diego, California, with their new 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV, in Feb 2017As the first mass-priced electric car with more than 200 miles of range to hit the market, the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV has attracted a great deal of attention. It's won numerous awards, including the Green Car Reports 2017 Best Car To Buy title, and received rave reviews from a wide variety of media outlets. But what do actual owners think? DON'T...

Strong demand for Opel Ampera-e in Norway moves up launch date

Opel Ampera-eJust as the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV electric car is launching in North America, its European cousin is beginning deliveries across the Atlantic. In Europe, General Motors markets the U.S.-built Bolt EV as virtually identical Opel Ampera-e under its German Opel brand. An example of what is known in the industry as "badge engineering," the Ampera-e...

Strong demand for Opel Ampera-e in Norway moves up launch date

Opel Ampera-eJust as the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV electric car is launching in North America, its European cousin is beginning deliveries across the Atlantic. In Europe, General Motors markets the U.S.-built Bolt EV as virtually identical Opel Ampera-e under its German Opel brand. An example of what is known in the industry as "badge engineering," the Ampera-e...

Science Guy Bill Nye buys Chevy Bolt EV, his seventh electric car

Bill Nye in new 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV, Jan 2017 [photo: Oskar Liners, Community Chevrolet, Burbank]Bill Nye, better known as "The Science Guy" on the popular PBS children's series that bears his name, loves electric cars. He drove one of only a few hundred original GM EV1 two-seat electric cars almost 20 years ago. Three weeks ago, he took delivery of a brand-new "Kinetic Blue" 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV—and he says he couldn't be happier...

Plug-in electric car sales for Jan: Bolt EV over 1,100 in second month

2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV, road test, California coastline, Sep 2016While the auto industry at large waited to see if January sales continued as strong as last year's record-breaking total, electric-car fans waited for a different number. That was the number of Chevrolet Bolt EVs sold last month, the car's first full month on sale, albeit in a small number of states. Those states, most prominently California, have...

How many Tesla Model 3 electric cars can company build this year?

Tesla Model 3 design prototype  -  reveal event  -  March 2016It's one of the most fascinating sets of questions in the auto industry. How quickly can Tesla Motors put its Model 3 electric car into production? And when? How many cars can it build this year? How many can it deliver to paying customers? At a promised starting price of $35,000, the Model 3 is not only Tesla's latest moonshot but the car that...

Hybrid market share peaked in 2013, down since then

U.S. hybrid vehicle market: total sales and market share, 2000-2016   [source: PIRA Energy Group]What's a "green car"? Is it a hybrid? A zero-emission vehicle? One that plugs in? Or just one that uses less fuel than other cars in its segment? It's a perpetual conundrum, for Green Car Reports among others, but it illustrates one of the longstanding challenges in the field. Will the market for green cars expand as more enter the market, or is...

2018 Nissan Leaf: what we know so far about new electric car (updated)

Nissan Sway Concept  -  2015 Geneva Motor Show live photosThe Nissan Leaf is by far the highest-volume electric car ever sold, with total sales now having passed 250,000 units. First launched in 2011, the Leaf got some updates for the 2013 model when production for North American sales moved from Oppama, Japan, to Smyrna, Tennessee. It got a battery capacity upgrade for 2016, boosting its rated range...

When can I buy a Chevy Bolt EV electric car? See state-by-state schedule

2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV, road test, California coastline, Sep 2016Last month, the first Chevrolet Bolt EV electric cars were sold in California's Silicon Valley. Electric-car advocates and buyers across the U.S. now want to know when they too can expect to take delivery of their 238-mile electric hatchbacks. And as numerous comments and e-mails from readers attest, some Chevy dealers don't seem to have a clue...

Plug-in Electric Car Sales in Canada, Dec 2016: cresting Everest

2017 Porsche Cayenne S E-Hybrid Platinum EditionWhile still just shy of the 30,000 vehicle milestone, cumulative Canadian plug-in electric vehicle sales likely finished 2016 high enough to scale Mount Everest (elevation in feet: 29,029). While the full 2016 milestone is unlikely to be reached by January 11—birthday of Sir John A. MacDonald, the country's first Prime Minister—it may...

VW ID Buzz concept: all-electric Microbus could arrive in 2022

Volkswagen I.D. Buzz ConceptIf you pronounce the word "buzz" with a German accent, it sounds like "bus"—which is almost surely why VW's second all-electric concept vehicle is called the Volkswagen ID Buzz. It's the latest in a series of concept studies for a modern-day Microbus, with stylistic nods to the classic Type 2 bus launched 65 years ago. It's one of the few...

Deal of the year? Used Fiat 500e electric cars at $6,500?

2017 Fiat 500eIt's well known by now that the used-car prices of low-range electric cars are low. Any 2011 through 2016 electric car not made by Tesla is likely to be cheap on a used-car lot due to worries about battery degradation and its effect on range. Used Nissan Leafs, for instance, can often be found for around $9,000, even with only 30,000 or 40,000...

Electric car battery warranties compared

2017 Chevrolet Bolt EVIt's one of the most frequently asked questions by anyone hearing about a modern electric car: do I have to replace the battery? With 15 years of experience in mobile phones and more than that with laptop computers, most buyers know that lithium-ion batteries lose capacity over time. Replacing phone or laptop batteries, generally for less than...

Woz got a Tesla, not a Chevy Bolt EV: Supercharging may be why

Steve and Janet Wozniak with new 2016 Tesla Model S, December 2016  [source: Steve Wozniak Facebook]In September, Chevy scored quite a publicity coup for its Bolt EV long-range electric car. The car's chief engineer, Josh Tavel, took a pre-production 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV to show Steve Wozniak, cofounder of Apple Computers—universally known as "Woz." He's a big electric car fan, and had driven a Tesla Model S since he picked one up his...