Tesla Boosts Car Battery Power During Irma, Raising Questions of Control
The company remotely enabled free software upgrades for Florida drivers during the hurricane, sparking questions about Tesla’s oversight.
VW announce $84 billion investment in electric cars
Volkswagen is stepping up its shift to electric cars and plans to invest more than 20 billion euros ($24 billion) in zero-emission vehicles by 2030 to challenge pioneer Tesla in creating a mass market.
The world’s largest automaker by sales said on Monday it would roll out 80 new electric cars across its multi-brand group by 2025, up from a previous goal of 30, and wanted to offer an electric version of each of its 300 group models by 2030.
The German company had previously said it would spend more than 10 billion euros by 2025 on a move to electric vehicles.
“A company like Volkswagen must lead, not follow,” Chief Executive Matthias Mueller told reporters on the eve of the Frankfurt auto show as he unveiled the group’s “roadmap E”.
“We are setting the scene for the final breakthrough for e-mobility.”
VW’s electric car offensive mirrors pre-Frankfurt show announcements by German rivals.
Daimler said on Monday its Mercedes-Benz luxury brand planned to offer electric motors for all models by 2022, though cautioned the shift to lower-margin electric cars required extra cost savings.
BMW, which launched the i3 electric car in 2013, said on Thursday it was readying its factories to mass produce electric vehicles by 2020 and pledged to have 12 purely battery-powered models on offer by 2025.
The Volkswagen Group will fully electrify its entire model portfolio by 2030. That means: By then at the latest, there will be at least one electric variant of each of the Group’s around 300 models. For all brands and in all markets. “That’s not a non-binding declaration of intent, but a commitment we’ll be measured by as of this day,” stresses Müller.
The company will provide more than €20 billion for direct investment in industrializing electromobility by 2030. The money will be spent on vehicles based on two completely newly developed electric platforms, as well as on the plants and workforce qualification. It will also go toward the charging infrastructure.
“We also won’t let the issue of batteries be taken out of our hands,” emphasizes Müller. He adds that the company will need a battery capacity of more than 150 GWh a year by 2025 solely to fit its own e-fleet with lithium-ion batteries.
To cater for that enormous demand, the Volkswagen Group has initiated an invitation to tender for long-term strategic partnerships for China, Europe and the United States. “We’re talking here about one of the largest procurement projects in our industry’s history, one with a global order volume of more than €50 billion over its term,” states Müller. That was solely for the Group’s high-volume vehicles based on the all-electric architecture.
The CEO makes it clear that the campaign has ambitious objectives: “We want to make Volkswagen the world’s number 1 when it comes to electromobility by 2025.” One-in-four of all new vehicles from the Group might then be powered solely by electricity. “Depending on how the market develops, we’re talking here about up to three million e-cars a year.”
“Nothing can stop the transformation in our industry. And we’ll lead that transformation,” emphasizes Müller. His mission is to shape the system change in drive technology, boldly, uncompromisingly, yet responsibly. As the CEO notes: “Our goal is to redefine mobility. To make it sustainable, clean and better for our customers worldwide. That’s what drives us. That drives me personally. And it’s what 600,000 employees at the Volkswagen Group and our brands are working to accomplish.”
2018 Leaf range, Honda plug-in hybrid, used VW diesels, Texas fossil fuels: Today’s Car News
Today, we've got news on a pair of Honda hybrids, a remarkable announcement on the future of cars out of China, an explanation of how Texas exacerbated its hurricane damage, and a philosophical question about the 2018 Nissan Leaf. All this and more on Green Car Reports. Over the weekend, we ran down last week's top green-car stories. Owners who... 2018 Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid rated at 47 miles of range
While there will be three distinct powertrains offered in the Honda Clarity mid-size sedan, most U.S. shoppers will only ever see one of them on sale. That's the plug-in hybrid, which will go on sale "later this year" as the sole Clarity to be offered at all Honda dealers. Now the 2018 Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid's electric range has been... 2018 Nissan Leaf: does it pioneer the ‘mid-range’ electric car?
With the 2018 Nissan Leaf due to arrive at U.S. dealers in four or five months, next year is shaping up to be a very interesting test of what buyers want in battery-electric cars. Much of the focus has been on the new car's range rating, projected to be 150 miles combined when it's confirmed by the EPA. The new Leaf enters what carmakers call... Honda CR-V Hybrid appears in Frankfurt; US likely next, but when?
Five months ago, Honda showed a hybrid version of its CR-V compact crossover utility vehicle at the Shanghai auto show. Now, a European version of the Honda CR-V Hybrid is being shown at this week's Frankfurt auto show. Having teased it twice around the world, will the hybrid crossover come to North America too? DON'T MISS: 2018 (?) Honda CR-V... Plug-in electric car sales in Canada, Aug 2017: Chevy Volt’s 50th win
The Chevrolet Volt won its 17th straight Canadian plug-in electric vehicle sales title in August, which became its 50th overall. Much has changed since its September 2011 arrival in the home of the beaver—which, we note, is not just Oregon State University’s mascot, but Canada’s national animal as well. Back then, the Nissan Leaf... Texas fossil-fuel industry made state more vulnerable to hurricane
Hurricane Harvey will go down as one of the most destructive and costliest natural disasters in the United States. While the storm has dissipated, with this week's attention focused on Hurricane Irma, the effects and damage tolls will last for years—and one thing already seems clear: Texas' dependence on the fossil-fuel industry poses an... Electric cars in UK cleaner than best diesels in summer, not yet in winter
Although electric cars do not emit exhaust, it's widely recognized that the electricity to charge their batteries often still comes from fossil fuels. This has led to the scrutiny of electric cars to determine whether their overall "wells-to-wheels" carbon footprints exceed those of regular vehicles powered by internal-combustion engines. For most... China’s Electric Car Push Lures Global Auto Giants, Despite Risks
G.M., Ford and Volkswagen are increasingly working on new energy vehicles in a country with a history of using what it learns to set up rivals.
China developing timetable to end sales, production of gasoline cars
The auto industry has now grudgingly accepted that battery-electric cars will make up some portion of the world's new vehicles in years to come. But a milestone in that trend may have come today, in news from China. Policy makers in the world's most populous country, and largest car market, are developing a timetable to end production and sales of... Want to buy a used, updated Volkswagen TDI diesel car? Your VW dealer will get first dibs
Updated Volkswagen diesel vehicles with new engine software will soon be back on the market, but those looking to buy one will have to wait for their local dealership. Volkswagen will offer the hundreds of thousands of modified diesel vehicles to its franchised dealers first, offering them a "right of first refusal" on the cars. The software... Mazda SkyActiv-X engine, 2018 Nissan Leaf, electric-car sales, Mercedes concept: The Week in Reverse
Which two prototype cars did we drive in Japan and report on this week? How many hundreds of thousands of miles have several electric cars now covered? This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car Reports—for the week ending on Friday, September 8, 2017. Friday, we asked how to market electric cars to... 2018 Leaf sales goal, advertising electric cars, Uber bans diesels, Lexus NX hybrid: Today’s Car News
Today, we've got clever new ads that highlight how electric cars should be sold, an Uber ban on diesels in London, a sales goal for the 2018 Nissan Leaf, and more about next week's Frankfurt auto show. All this and more on Green Car Reports. Mercedes-Benz released another teaser image of the EQ A compact electric concept they'll debut at next... Goal for 2018 Nissan Leaf: double sales of new electric car
After lavish launch events around the world, the 2018 Nissan Leaf electric car will go on sale next month in Japan and early next year in North America. The second generation of the world's best-selling electric car, however, faces a very different landscape than did its predecessor in December 2010. For one thing, the 2011 Leaf was the sole... BYD: tiny electric cars for China could be 75 percent of sales
Chinese automaker BYD was the world's largest producer of plug-in electric cars last year, and the outlook for new markets in its home country are quite healthy, suggesting strong continued growth. BYD plans to tackle the country's inland cities, viewed as a new frontier for automakers, with a small and very affordable electric car. The industry... 2018 Lexus NX Hybrid gets more safety equipment at lower price
Drivers shopping the luxury crossover market have a new proposition to consider, and it comes with hybrid power. The updated 2018 Lexus NX 300h hybrid crossover will go on sale with a recommended price that's actually lower than the outgoing 2017 model. Despite the price drop, this year's hybrid NX 300h actually boasts more standard equipment... New ‘EVs are better’ ads: how electric-car marketing should be done (exclusive)
People buy electric cars for many different reasons, only one of which is the environment. Others include their quieter, smoother performance; the immediate torque; the desire to have the very newest and most advanced technology; and the lifetime cost savings. These diverse motivations apparently pose a huge challenge to the best marketing minds... Uber to go all electric or hybrid in London by 2020, ban diesels, add clean-air fee to rides
Uber has announced it will require its 40,000 drivers in London to switch to hybrid or fully electric cars, and ban diesel vehicles from its fleet, by the end of 2019. By the end of 2021, it will extend that policy throughout the United Kingdom, where it presently operates in 40 cities. Uber said it will use only electric cars within London by... Engines vs motors, Mazda’s SkyActiv-X engine, Niro Plug-In, electric-car sales: Today’s Car News
Today, we've got a pair of stories on internal combustion, covering Mazda's innovative and fuel-efficient new SkyActiv-X engine and a dismissive comment on electric cars from a Japanese CEO. Also, a new Twitter poll to take and an update on U.S. plug-in electric car sales. All this and more on Green Car Reports. If you think of the global auto...