Some 2019-2020 Toyota and Lexus hybrids recalled for brake booster issue

2019 Toyota PriusToyota will recall nearly 7,000 vehicles—including many hybrids—for a faulty brake booster that could malfunction and impair those cars' brakes, the automaker announced last month. The recall affects mostly 2019 model year cars and includes the Toyota Prius, Prius Prime, and RAV4 Hybrids built between late April and late May. A small...

The fastest Porsche SUV ever is a plug-in hybrid

2020 Porsche Cayenne Turbo S E-Hybrid As Porsche ramps up for the launch of its Taycan electric sedan late this year, today it has a new cheerleader for the performance boost of electric motors at the top of its SUV lineup: the 2020 Porsche Cayenne Turbo S E-Hybrid. Although the Turbo S E-Hybrid has the same 14.1-kwh battery pack and 2.4-hour charge time—and the same...

Silicon wafer batteries promise lower cost, better stability

XNRGI  Powercell silicon wafer battery design (from company video)In an effort to make longer-lasting, safer, and more affordable batteries, Washington-based XNRGI aims to build lithium batteries on plentiful, off-the shelf silicon wafers. Last week, the company announced plans to bring new batteries based on its patented technology to market in 2020, in a new stationary storage battery. Most such batteries...

Could moss-covered, data-connected park benches help clear city air?

Green City Solutions City Trees use moss to filter airAs countries from India to Ethiopia plant millions of trees to combat global warming, one German company has a much smaller idea. Berlin-based Green City Solutions plans to clean the air of local emissions from gasoline and diesel engines, by planting millions of tiny mossy trees in cities. Moss works similarly to trees in filtering pollutants out...

Automotive supplier tests immersion-cooled batteries for EVs

Immersion Cooled Battery Pack Concept for EVsThe two biggest challenges for electric cars—battery life and charge times—come down to battery cooling. Now British auto parts supplier Ricardo is working with partners to come up with a new type of cooling technology that the company hopes will allow automakers to pack more energy into cars' batteries and to charge them faster. The...

French company makes EV conversions easy for old clunkers

Transition-One electric Renault Twingo II conversionOff-the-shelf EV conversions aren't just for classic cars like Prince Harry's Jaguar anymore. French startup Transition One plans to make it easy to convert a wide variety of average old cars in the country to electric power by building a standard conversion kit. The company says the kit will fit several top-selling models in Europe, including the...

Nio looks to shed other businesses to keep building cars

Nio ES8 high-performance electric SUVAfter laying off 70 workers and closing an office in the U.S., Chinese automaker Nio is searching its cupboards for cash. EV sales have foundered in China this year after generous subsidies expired. and several companies have delayed or abandoned expansion plans. Nio seems to be no exception, except that it has other resources it can look to cash...