2020 Ford Escape Hybrid, Byton M-Byte, Lightning Strike: Today’s Car News

2020 Ford EscapeThe Ford Escape Hybrid will make a comeback for 2020—with a plug-in hybrid, too. Chinese Tesla rival Byton reveals the M-byte testing in winter. The Lightning Strike electric motorcycle is out. And our latest Twitter poll asks what kind of electric-car racing matters most. All this and more on Green Car Reports. When the updated Ford Escape...

Lightning Strikes twice with second, affordable electric motorcycle

Lightning Strike Great as the bike may be, the best thing about the new Lightning Strike electric motorcycle may be its name. Perhaps in an effort to beat the Harley-Davidson LiveWire electric bike to market, Lightning introduced its new, more mainstream Strike last week. Unlike the LiveWire or the new Zero SR/F, the Lightning Strike is a sportbike, with riders...

Byton M-Byte electric SUV tackles cold-weather testing, nears production

Byton M-Byte  -  winter testing, Inner MongoliaWith a Chinese base and international outposts—tech in California and design in Germany—Byton aims to create a different kind of electric-car lineup. That vision revolves around a cloud-based Byton Life ecosystem, built-in Amazon integration and, in at least two of its models, what could be the biggest infotainment display yet, a big...

Lithium battery production set to grow 50 percent a year

Lithium-ion battery cellsOne of the biggest upcoming challenges for electric cars is having having an adequate supply of lithium batteries. A new report by Benchmark Minerals, first cited by CleanTechnica, shows battery makers are working quickly to meet growing demand for new lithium-ion battery cells from automakers. According to the company's Battery Factory Data...

New electric motor could eliminate transmissions

Linear Labs Hunstable Electric Turbine motorIt isn’t just batteries that are making big strides in electric cars. Several companies are also striving to make electric motors more efficient and powerful. Now a new Texas company claims it has a new motor technology that can generate twice the torque, three times the power, and 10 percent more range for electric cars in the same weight...

Grove launches hydrogen fuel-cell car brand in China

Grove Hydrogen Automotive fuel-cell carChina is the world's largest market for cars—especially electric cars. The country has even announced that at some point in the future it will ban internal combustion cars. But it's not all about battery electric EVs, it turns out. A new company called Grove Hydrogen Automotive Co. announced that it will focus on fuel-cell cars, starting...

EPA panel says air pollution not harmful

EPA Acting Administrator Andrew WheelerIt isn't just global warming emissions that the EPA plans to deregulate. At a meeting last Thursday, a key air quality standards board at the agency cast doubt on longstanding findings that particulate matter—the microscopic particles spewing from diesel tailpipes—can cause health problems leading to premature deaths. In the absence of...