Super-flat REE skateboard EV platform will get suspension help from KYB

REE modular EV platformREE Automotive will get some help from a Tier 1 automotive supplier as it continues to push a skateboard EV platform toward production. The Israeli startup has arranged a partnership with KYB, a company that supplies suspension systems to automakers. KYB will apply its suspension expertise to REE’s skateboard platform, the companies said in a…

Location is everything for high-power DC fast charging

Electrify America DC fast chargers at San Francisco Premium Outlets, Livermore, CaliforniaThe DC fast-charging stations, such as those that are part of the Tesla Supercharger or Electrify America networks, are arguably the ones for which location is the most important. As the type of station that gives drivers the most miles in the least time, they’re critical for selling people on the idea that longer trips can be done with a...

Electric oil tankers: A slick use of renewable energy?

e5 electric oil tankerIt seems even the oil industry is acknowledging that electric transportation is the future. A group of seven Japanese companies formed the eConsortium to promote electric ships. The consortium's first project? An electric oil tanker. Expected to be the world's first zero-emission tanker, it will be powered by "large-capacity lithium ion batteries"...

Hyundai Kona Electric: The new favored police patrol car for Europe?

Hyundai Kona Electric police cars in SwitzerlandAs cities look to reduce air pollution, some are equipping their police forces with electric cars. The Hyundai Kona Electric is proving to be a popular choice, in Europe at least. Police forces in Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom currently use Kona Electric patrol cars, Hyundai said earlier this month in a press release. The Ioniq and...

Connected EVs could help power the grid: California utility studies how

Southern California Edison Charge Ready electric-car charging programCalifornia has more electric cars than any other state, and a local utility wants to put them to work powering the grid. Southern California Edison (SCE) plans to launch a demonstration project for "vehicle-to-grid" or "V2G" technology, in which vehicles both charge and discharge power to the grid. More than 200,000 electric cars are currently on...

How the Sono Sion electric car will use every body panel as a solar panel

Sono Sion solar charged electric car solar panels In a sea of electric-car startups, Sono Motors has no problem standing out. The Munich-based company aims to build an unpainted plastic-paneled, solar-cell-covered urban hatchback primarily for Europe. It’s been largely crowdfunded—most recently, with a successful $58 million round. And the car will be made with China’s NEVS at...

2020 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid: Prices rise significantly, and so does mpg

2020 Hyundai Sonata HybridThe 2020 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid offers the best EPA-rated highway rating of any sedan on the market. While that is going to save some gas money, the automaker announced Wednesday that the new sedan will cost more than its predecessor, a difference that may take longer to pay off with savings from the pumps. A well-equipped Sonata Hybrid is no...

EVs predicted to gain market share, despite 18% sales drop in 2020

2020 Nissan LeafElectric-car sales will decrease in 2020 due to the global coronavirus pandemic, but not as much as sales of internal-combustion vehicles. That's among the top-level predictions from an annual Bloomberg New Energy Finance report released Wednesday. It also predicts that electric cars will continue to gradually gain market share in the coming...

Pop-up EV charging hubs deemed a success in UK trial

Urban Electric pop-up street-side charging hubs in BritainA trial of pop-up EV charging stations in the United Kingdom has proven successful, showing a possible way to expand urban charging infrastructure without adding clutter. A British company called Urban Electric announced the trial last year, placing prototype pop-up charging "hubs" along streets in Oxford, England. Activated by an app, the...

Nissan electric ambulance curbs the tailpipe emissions

Nissan NV400 electric ambulanceIn a lung-related pandemic, maybe we should be thinking a little more about how many of our existing emergency vehicles—ambulances specifically—have tailpipes and big diesel engines. Working with the Tokyo Fire Department, Nissan converted an ambulance to electric power. It's not the first electric ambulance, but Nissan claims it is...

GM battery chief: 600-mile EVs viable, million-mile battery in sight

Possible electric Chevrolet Camaro in GM Ultium teaser videoBeyond a no-cameras showing in early March to analysts, dealers, and invited press, General Motors still hasn’t provided a first look at its next-generation electric vehicles—including the GMC Hummer EV and Cadillac Lyriq that are both due to go on sale before the end of 2021. On the other hand, GM has been unusually open in discussing...

California will mandate more electric cars for Uber and Lyft: Here’s how

Uber self-driving prototype in San FranciscoThe current coronavirus pandemic has been a gut-punch not only to ride-hailing tech giants Uber and Lyft, but to the “independent” workers who drive for them and rely on them for secondary (and sometimes primary) income. Ride-hailing and ride-sharing demands are dramatically lower at the moment—down about 60% versus last year...