Payment not accepted: Volta’s free DC fast charging network starts soon

Volta free DC fast chargingA California-based company is taking the ad-supported model popularized by smartphone apps and applying it to the next generation of vehicle infrastructure with a nationwide network of free DC fast charging stations. Volta announced last week that it will build 150 stations over the course of the next year, it said in its announcement. This first...

Will Tesla’s purchase of battery maker lead to proprietary cells?

Tour of Tesla battery gigafactory for invited owners, Reno, Nevada, July 2016Tesla's quiet acquisition of a Canadian battery manufacturer may be the first significant indicator yet that the Silicon Valley EV builder plans to develop its own future battery tech. Some time over the summer, Tesla discretely purchased Ontario-based Hibar Systems Ltd., Electric Autonomy Canada reported on Friday. The acquisition only came to...

The most important electric cars for 2020

Rivian R1SElectric-car debuts continue apace for 2020, and not one on our list feels like a rush job from any of their respective automakers. That’s because mainstream electric cars have become deliberate automobiles themselves. No longer relegated to low-volume “compliance cars” or hurried powertrain swaps, the electric cars on our list...

Driverless cars could dramatically increase traffic in Europe

Waymo self-driving car depot in Chandler, ArizonaAn increase in driverless cars that some in Europe anticipate will occur between now and the year 2050 could result in what one research group likens to "rush hour that lasts all day." The report, released last month from Europe's Transport & Environment, calls the potential "Wild West" unregulated increase in driverless cars a threat to...