Quick trivia question: how many plants are there in the United States currently building electric cars? To be generous, we'll allow both battery-electric and plug-in hybrid models. Any idea? The answer turns out to be four. DON'T MISS: Shanghai auto show: China plugs into electric cars in a big way Meanwhile, China—which has a long-term goal... China has licensed 9 electric-car plants, more than U.S. has today
Quick trivia question: how many plants are there in the United States currently building electric cars? To be generous, we'll allow both battery-electric and plug-in hybrid models. Any idea? The answer turns out to be four. DON'T MISS: Shanghai auto show: China plugs into electric cars in a big way Meanwhile, China—which has a long-term goal... 
Many U.S. car buyers still aren't aware that the Chinese market surpassed North America in volume and importance fully a decade ago. Similarly, in advanced automotive technology, a case can be made that China is more important than the U.S. Nowhere is that more evident than in plug-in electric cars. DON'T MISS: Shanghai auto show roundup: China... 
China has long aimed to be the global leader in battery cells, solar power, and electric vehicles. But with more carrots and stronger sticks, electric-car sales started to rise in the country a couple of years ago. With close to a fifth of the world’s population starting to consider cars powered by electricity, manufacturers are now focusing... 
Finally joining the bandwagon, Swedish manufacturer Volvo has confirmed that it will introduce its first all-electric vehicle to the market in 2019. The announcement was made last week at the 2017 Shanghai auto show. That proved to be an appropriate stage, as the Chinese-owned maker plans on having the model produced in China. DON’T MISS... 
China is the biggest new-car market in the world, and has been since 2010. The world's largest country also has some of the smoggiest cities on the planet, and that's a source of increasing public agitation. So at national, state, and local levels, a variety of Chinese government entities are using carrots and sticks to encourage the sale of more... ![Buick Velite 5, for sale in China, at 2017 Shanghai auto show [photo: Ronan Glon]](http://images.hgmsites.net/tmb/buick-velite-5-for-sale-in-china-at-2017-shanghai-auto-show-photo-ronan-glon_100604550_t.gif)
China is hugely important to General Motors, as it is to virtually any global automaker. It's the largest market in the country and, recently, it has put in place an increasing set of requirements that more vehicles sold there be fully or partially electric. It also happens to be by far the largest market for Buicks in the world, to the... 
While corporate average fuel-economy standards through 2021 remain in place in the U.S., automakers are preparing their case to argue for delays in further tightening. Meanwhile, China is turning the policy screws on automakers operating in the country, telling them they must sell more electric cars. In the U.S., only the state of California now... 
Large auto companies are likely aircraft carriers: it takes a long time for them to change direction, and far longer yet to get them aligned on a new course. To various degrees, the world's carmakers have started to produce and sell vehicles that plug-in, whether for some or all of their travels. Except Toyota. The Japanese company that's not only... ![Chevrolet FNR-X Concept for plug-in hybrid crossover, 2017 Shanghai auto show [photo: Ronan Glon]](http://images.hgmsites.net/tmb/chevrolet-fnr-x-concept-for-plug-in-hybrid-crossover-2017-shanghai-auto-show-photo-ronan-glon_100600515_t.gif)
After being teased last week, the Chevrolet FNR-X Concept crossover made its debut yesterday at the Shanghai auto show. The new shape, which sports a plug-in hybrid powertrain, is intended to showcase the design talents of Chevy's Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center in Shanghai It's the second concept to be named FNR—for "Find New Roads,"... 
Ford has aggressive electrification plans for China. In a recent announcement, the U.S. automaker said that 70 percent of the vehicles it sells in the country by 2025 will be hybrids—either plug-in or conventional—or fully electric. Ford builds vehicles in China through a joint venture with Chongqing Changan Automobile Company, and the...