Star Wars and electric vanlife converge in ID.Buzz show cars

Volkswagen Volkswagen has rolled out two ID.Buzz electric vans steeped in Star Wars—and part of a collaboration with Lucasfilm and the recent debut of the “Obi-Wan Kenobi” series on Disney+. Like the series, the ID.Buzz is arriving later than originally anticipated. Production versions of the VW electric van won’t come to the U.S...

Wait, weight: DC to charge heavy-duty trucks more to drive, with an EV kicker

2022 GMC Hummer EVA proposal to curb the use of heavy-duty pickup trucks on city streets could also impact EVs. The District of Columbia could soon require owners of vehicles weighing more than 6,000 pounds to pay a $500 annual registration fee, about seven times the fee for a normal sedan, Bloomberg reported Thursday. The proposal is mainly targeted at heavy-duty...

EVs emit more brake dust, which the EU is stepping up to regulate

2022 Porsche Taycan GTS Sport TurismoTailpipe emissions tend to be the focus of regulators, but the next round of European Union emissions standards will tackle pollution from another source—one that is particularly relevant to EVs. Scheduled to be unveiled in July, the upcoming Euro 7 standards will still require automakers to reduce tailpipe emissions such as nitrogen oxide...

Lucid Air recalled over instrument panel wiring

Lucid Air interior  -  user interfaceLucid is recalling 1,117 Air electric sedans to address a fault that could disable display screens. The fault involves a wiring harness that may not be secured properly in the affected cars, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recall report. That could impact vital functions, such as the speedometer and gear...

Lucid Air recalled over instrument panel wiring

Lucid Air interior  -  user interfaceLucid is recalling 1,117 Air electric sedans to address a fault that could disable display screens. The fault involves a wiring harness that may not be secured properly in the affected cars, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recall report. That could impact vital functions, such as the speedometer and gear...

Stellantis plans $2.5 billion factory with battery supplier Samsung SDI

Chrysler EV concept  -  Stellantis EV Day, July 2021 (screencap)The parent company of Jeep, Ram, Dodge, Chrysler, and more—Stellantis—has announced a joint-venture electric-vehicle battery plant with South Korea’s Samsung SDI, in Kokomo, Indiana. Due to start in 2025, the Indiana plant will create 1,400 jobs and will have an initial annual capacity of 23 gigawatt-hours, with aims to hit 33...