VW plans 27 electric cars by 2022 on new platform

Volkswagen Group MEB modular electric car platformVolkswagen is doubling down on its electric car strategy, it announced at a press event in Dresden, Germany on Monday. The company announced plans to build 27 electric cars on its upcoming MEB affordable electric-car architecture by 2022 in an effort it calls "Electric for All." Those include cars already announced, such as the ID small hatchback...

What’s the most exciting electric car for 2019?

Tesla Model 3 bought [Photo by reader AH]Tons of new electric SUVs are hitting the market for 2019. None, though, can apparently hold a candle to the entry-level Tesla Model 3, in our Twitter followers' estimation. That's the result of our Twitter poll last week, which asked, "What's the most exciting electric car for 2019?" In response, fully 58 percent of our Twitter followers chose...

Kia Niro Electric range rated at 301-miles in Europe

2019 Kia e-Niro (Niro EV)When it introduced the Kia Niro EV in Korea in June, the company said it would go 236 miles on a charge. It has now been rated at far more than that in Europe. Kia on Tuesday said that the car earned a rating of 301 miles on the new Worldwide Harmonized Light-Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP). The news was first reported by the Express, in Britain...

Report: Justice Department investigating Tesla, Musk over tweets

Elon Musk at Tesla Model 3 revealThe U.S. Department of Justice may be investigating Tesla and its CEO Elon Musk for criminal wrongdoing related to a series of tweets its founder sent this year, Bloomberg reported Tuesday. A spokeswoman for the Justice Department declined to comment on the report. At issue are a series of tweets in August in which Musk said that the automaker had...

Electric car-sharing programs expanding in U.S.

2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV electric car in Maven car-sharing fleet, Los Angeles [photo: Dan MacMedan foElectric cars and car sharing go naturally together. Both aim to clean up the environment by reducing gasoline consumption. With lower maintenance, electric cars are also easier to maintain for fleets than gas cars. Combined with gas cars, car-sharing fleets can also provide a backup for electric-car owners who want occasional access to a larger...

Saudi investment fund takes $1 billion stake in Lucid Motors

Lucid AIrLucid Motors announced yesterday that it will receive a $1 billion investment from the Saudi Arabian public investment fund. Lucid is a Silicon Valley-based electric car builder working on a direct competitor to the Tesla Model S. In August, Tesla chief executive Elon Musk suggested that he had held talks with the same Saudi investment fund about...