2024 Polestar 2 EV switches to rear-drive, seeks 300-mile range

2024 Polestar 2Polestar has announced a comprehensive drive-system refresh for its Polestar 2 hatchback that boosts range and efficiency. It includes new motors, a slightly larger battery pack for some versions and, probably to put it best, a change in priorities. Amid a comprehensive refresh for its drive system, Polestar is switching its single-motor models...

Ford patents magnetic charging connector: MagSafe for EVs?

Ford magnetic EV charger patent imageFord has filed a patent application for a new type of EV charging connector based on a magnetic coupling. In the application, which was filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) November 1, 2022, Ford describes using magnetic attraction to secure a charging connector with a charge port embedded in a vehicle's bumper. It...

US shift toward wind and solar will cut coal, make EVs cleaner

Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in United Arab EmiratesIncreased use of renewable energy will help reduce electricity generation from coal and natural gas power plants, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) in turn making EVs cleaner. The EIA forecasts that wind and solar will together account for 16% of total electricity generation in 2023, up from 14% in 2022 and 8% in 2018...

Lightyear 0 solar EV nixed, as company pivots to Lightyear 2

Lightyear 0 starts production  -  Dec. 2022Netherlands-based Lightyear on Monday announced that it is halting production of the Lightyear 0 solar EV, which it has claimed to be the first production solar car in the world, and instead aiming toward the production of its mass-market, $40,000 Lightyear 2 solar EV due in 2025. “In order to safeguard our vision, we had to decide to...

Tesla heat pump detailed, gives a boost to winter EV range

Tesla Model Y with heat pumpTesla last week outlined some of the details that distinguish its heat pump system that’s now included throughout its vehicle lineup. The electric vehicle maker claims that its design performs well in very cold weather, where other heat pumps fall short. Depending on the exact situation, Tesla claims, its cars might be using as little as a...

Luxury EV leases are already tapping into $7,500 EV tax credit

2023 Lucid Air PureNew federal EV tax credit rules have set price caps that are narrowing the field of qualifying EVs; but a leasing loophole is already opening up a much wider field eligible for federal subsidies The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) re-upped the federal EV tax credit of up to $7,500 for qualifying vehicles. It added price caps of $55,000 for cars and...

Aptera solar EV Launch Edition: 400-mile range, no Supercharging yet

Aptera Launch EditionAptera on Friday detailed the Launch Edition configuration of its 3-wheeled EV, which the company hopes to begin producing by the end of 2023. The company claims now to have over 40,000 reservations for the vehicle, the first 5,000 of which will be Launch Edition models. While Aptera has shown multiple powertrain and range options, Launch Edition...

Hertz will funnel thousands of EVs to major US cities—charging, too

Tesla at HertzHertz is beginning the rollout of what the company claims is North America's largest EV rental fleet in Denver, and showing how it plans to continue that rollout nationwide. The company on Thursday announced Hertz Electrifies, a public-private partnership model aimed at bringing EVs to rental customers and rideshare drivers in major cities, along...

Nikola has a mobile hydrogen station for fuel-cell trucks

Nikola Tre BEVNikola wants to use mobile hydrogen stations to support its fuel-cell trucks. The company on Wednesday that it had developed a trailer-mounted mobile fueling rig that can deliver hydrogen at 10,000 psi. It plans to display the rig publicly next week. The first unit "has completed commissioning and testing and has been released for market...

Report: GM considering $30,000 small electric pickup

GM electric pickup silhouette  -  from 2020 Ultium platform previewGeneral Motors is said to be considering adding a compact electric pickup to its lineup, as one of several models that might be priced at less than $30,000. That’s according to a report Thursday from Automotive News, which claims to have seen the pickup at GM’s “affordable EV design studio” in Warren, Michigan. Automotive...

Racing tech may bring efficient in-wheel motors into more EVs

Elaphe in-wheel electric powertrainElaphe and McLaren are partnering to marry the former's in-wheel motor tech with the latter's racing expertise. At the recent 2023 CES in Las Vegas, the two companies announced an "in-wheel propulsion system" using Elaphe's in-wheel motors and inverters from McLaren Applied Technologies to create "highly efficient and hyper-responsive electric...

Shell buys Volta network and its free EV charging

Volta chargingVolta, a charging company distinguished by its partly free, partly ad-supported EV charging, announced Wednesday that it will be acquired by oil giant Shell. The two companies have signed a "definitive merger agreement" under which Shell will buy Volta in an all-cash transaction that values the charging company at $169 million, according to a...