Tesla breaks ground on China factory for Model 3 and Model Y

2017 Tesla Model 3, in photo tweeted by Elon Musk on July 9, 2017Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced on Twitter Sunday night that the company would break ground on its new Chinese factory on Monday. Musk said the plant, known as Gigafactory 3, will produce up to 500,000 Model 3 and Model Y vehicles for China and other nearby markets when it is completed in 2020. Initial construction, however, planned to be completed...

Tesla breaks ground on China factory for Model 3 and Model Y

2017 Tesla Model 3, in photo tweeted by Elon Musk on July 9, 2017Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced on Twitter Sunday night that the company would break ground on its new Chinese factory on Monday. Musk said the plant, known as Gigafactory 3, will produce up to 500,000 Model 3 and Model Y vehicles for China and other nearby markets when it is completed in 2020. Initial construction, however, planned to be completed...

In the red: Electric cars share location data and more with Chinese

2014 Tesla Model S in ChinaIn this post "1984" world, most consumers acquiesce to sharing their data with companies in return for better, quicker, more convenient, cheaper, or even free services. How many, however, would voluntarily turn over data about everywhere they went and when to the government, particularly a Communist government? According to a new AP report, that's...

Tesla secures site for Chinese factory

2014 Tesla Model S in ChinaIn the midst of escalating trade wars, Tesla is moving ahead with its plans to build a factory in China. The company announced on Wednesday that it signed a "land transfer" agreement with the Shanghai government for a 212-acre plot to build its proposed Chinese factory. The land transfer agreement opens the way for Tesla to start construction on...

Report: Volvo’s parent company in talks with Toyota over hybrid systems

2019 Volvo XC40Toyota revealed on Thursday that it is in talks with Chinese automaker Geely, which owns Volvo, about cooperation on hybrid vehicle technology, Reuters reported. As the company that has sold by far the most hybrids worldwide, the discussions could involve selling Toyota hybrid technology in Geely cars in China. Any agreement, however, could also...

Nissan Leaf sedan: company builds Sylphy, first electric car for China

Chinese market Nissan SlyphyNissan on Monday announced it had started production in China of a Nissan Leaf-based sedan called the Sylphy. The company first introduced the car at the Beijing auto show in April. China, the world's largest market for electric cars, also leans heavily toward sedans. The Sylphy stretches the Leaf's wheelbase to give it more rear passenger space...

Chinese electric-car builder Byton says it raised $500 million

Byton SUV conceptA $500 million infusion from investors including an automaker and a major battery supplier could help Chinese electric-car startup Byton put its cars on the road by the end of next year, the company said Monday. Byton said that its big investors—Chinese state-owned automaker FAW Group, Chinese lithium-ion battery developer CATL, and Chinese...

7 things we learned in 9 years, and where green cars are headed

Chevrolet Bolt EV being charged outside Go Forth electric-car showroom, Portland   [photo: Forth]More than four years ago, this site looked back at its first five years of coverage to assess what had changed—and what we'd learned. Now, we're repeating the exercise. In February 2014, Green Car Reports had published about 9,800 news articles. The number is now up to more than 16,800. Much has changed since then, however. We've broken down...

Infiniti announces new electric car lineup based on Q Inspiration

Infiniti Q Inspiration conceptInfiniti has promised to build electric cars in fits and starts since 2012—but we're still waiting. At the 2012 Detroit auto show, the upscale brand showed the Infiniti LE, a dressed up Nissan Leaf with a trunk, but it backed away from the model two years later and we didn't hear anything else about electrics from Infiniti for years. Until...

Tesla founder, Chinese company launch SF Motors electric cars

SF Motors SF5In the beginning, there was Tesla, although it wasn't started by current CEO Elon Musk. While Musk has now become synonymous with the electric-car brand, Tesla was actually founded by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning, who had previously founded and sold a eBook reader company. While both left the company in 2008, they have kept their hands in...

What China learned from California about getting electric cars on its roads

2014 Tesla Model S in ChinaIn the U.S., California has long been viewed culturally as the crazy, free-spirited cousin. As Californians like to point out, their state of 40 million people is also the world's sixth-largest economy all by itself. Resolutely progressive, it has regulated vehicle emissions for five decades and worked to get zero-emission vehicles onto its roads...

Via Motors to collaborate with Chinese maker Geely on electric trucks

Bob Lutz at Via Motors extended-range electric truck conversion launch, 2012 Detroit Auto ShowElectric trucks are getting more attention now than they did eight years ago, as the world prepared for the launch of the first modern electric cars to be sold in volume. The Tesla Semi tends to draw enormous amounts of attention, while less glamorous fleet buyers are ever more favorable toward plug-in electric trucks for known urban routes within...