Toyota expands battery supply with CATL deal

2017 Toyota Prius Prime test drive, Ojai, California, Sep 2016As it gradually moves to begin selling more plug-in and electric cars, Toyota is widening its net to secure more batteries. Japan's largest automaker signed a deal this week to buy batteries from Chinese suppliers Contemporary Amex Technologies (CATL) and BYD. The agreement adds to a January deal Toyota signed to buy batteries from Panasonic. All...

Choice of new BMW CEO solidifies automaker’s electric plans

Incoming BMW CEO Oliver ZipseIn naming its former head of manufacturing, Oliver Zipse, as its new CEO, BMW is doubling down on its strategy of building electric versions of its mainstream cars, rather than a separate line of EVs. Zipse, who will take over August 16, when current CEO Harald Krueger steps down, is credited with developing the new strategy after the company lost...

Continental builds something greater from “mild” 48-volt foundation

Continental 48V full hybrid systemWhy aren’t there more full-fledged hybrid vehicles—models that provide the kind of efficiency gains that really pay off in fuel savings over time? Blame the bean-counters. With Toyota and its mammoth economies of scale with high-mileage hybrids perhaps the one exception, a set of critical components that need to go in full...

Lotus Evija supercar marks start of a new electric era for sports-car brand

Lotus EvijaLotus is no newcomer to electric cars, having produced the chassis for the original Tesla Roadster. On Wednesday, the British sports car company unveiled its own electric sports car, the Evija, which it says will be the most powerful car on the market with electric motors producing 1,973 horsepower. The company didn't list its battery size, but...

Seres EV startup postpones US launch amid downsizing

2020 Seres SF5Seres, the startup electric carmaker formerly known as SF Motors, is shelving plans to bring a new electric car to market in the U.S. The electric-car company was founded in 2017 when the Chinese industrial company Sokon bought the battery-technology company founded by former Tesla CEO and founder Martin Eberhard. At the Shanghai auto show in...

Polestar 2 performance package cues rivalry with Tesla Model 3

Tesla Model 3 vs. Polestar 2Quite a few automakers are gunning for Tesla, especially startup automakers in Silicon Valley and China. Perhaps the most direct, credible threat, however, comes from Polestar, Volvo division that plans to focus on performance-oriented electric cars. The Polestar 2, planned to debut late this year, is aimed directly at the Tesla Model 3, with a...

Polestar 2 performance package cues Tesla Model 3 rivalry

Polestar 2Quite a few automakers are gunning for Tesla, especially startup automakers in Silicon Valley and China. Perhaps the most direct, credible threat, however, comes from Polestar, Volvo division that plans to focus on performance-oriented electric cars. The Polestar 2, planned to debut late this year, is aimed directly at the Tesla Model 3, with a...

Next-generation Fiat 500e electric car arrives for Europe in 2020

Fiat Concept Centoventi conceptFiat Chrysler Automobiles has announced plans to build up to 80,000 copies of a new electric Fiat 500 at the company's Mirafiori, Italy, factory starting in 2020. The company's chief operating officer for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, Pietro Gorlier, told Reuters earlier this month that the new 500 will be a dedicated electric car. The...

Lexus developing electric-car platform, considering in-wheel motors

2019 Lexus ES 300hElectric cars are winning over even the most skeptical of automakers. Last month, Toyota announced it was teaming up with Subaru to develop a dedicated electric platform for a new SUV. Now the company's luxury division has told Digital Trends that it is also developing a new all-electric architecture for a future model. That's not all, though...

Tesla drops base Model S and X, again, in latest model-line shakeup

2019 Tesla Model SAnother cut in federal tax credits, another shakeup in Tesla's model lineup. Tesla has cut its prices to split the difference in cost to buyers after the federal tax credit on its cars dropped from $3,750 to $1,875 on July 1. The drop is part of an ongoing phase-out of Tesla's federal tax credit after the company reached 200,000 electric cars sold...

Would solar cells add value to your EV? Take our Twitter poll

Toyota Prius Prime PHV test vehicle with solar panels in JapanSeveral companies have recently proposed placing solar panels on top of electric cars to give them extra range. First, there was German startup Sono Motors, which the company says can get up to 21 extra miles from 330 solar cells, making up a 1.21 kilowatt array spread over its roof, hood, and doors. Then came World Solar Challenge team Solar Team...