Could wind-and-solar towers charge EVs, stabilize the grid?

Change Wind  -  Wind and Solar tower, for charging/grid bufferingWind and solar-powered charging could further lower the environmental impact of electric cars; but one New York-based company wants to combine them in one electricity-generating device that could be used for EV charging stations or wherever grid-buffering might help keep blackouts at bay. Change Wind Corporation has developed the Wind & Solar...

Tesla settles with the EPA over Clean Air Act violations

Tesla factory, Fremont, CaliforniaOn Tuesday the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a settlement with Tesla over paint-related Clean Air Act violations at its Fremont, California, plant. The total cost of the penalty for violations spanning nearly three years is $275,000, or the retail equivalent of about four base Model Ys. Tesla delivered about 936,000 vehicles...

2022 Volkswagen ID.4 range boosted, now up to 280 miles

2022 Volkswagen ID.4The 2022 Volkswagen ID.4 is getting a range boost, VW announced Tuesday in a press release, including a series of EPA-estimated figures that haven't yet been officially posted. The estimates do point to a significant range improvement. VW said the base rear-wheel drive 2022 ID.4 Pro has a 280-mile range—20 miles more than the 2021 model. The...

Mazda CX-60 plug-in hybrid SUV will debut new platform, interior theme

Mazda CX-60 teaserMazda will unveil a plug-in hybrid SUV based on a new platform March 8. The Mazda CX-60 will be the first model to use a new rear-wheel drive platform, according to a UK press release from the company. Hinted at for several years now, the new platform is a big departure from the front-wheel drive platforms used by all of Mazda's current SUVs...

What should the charging station of the future look like?

Electric fueling station of the future  -  Will the electric-vehicle charging station of the future look a lot like a gas station, or will it involve more clusters of chargers in corners of vast blacktop parking lots? Thankfully, if you go by the winners, announced earlier this month, of a competition called “The Electric Fuelling Station of the Future,” the answer is neither...

VW electric Microbus revival due for March 9 reveal, 2023 deliveries

2024 VW ID.BuzzVolkswagen plans to reveal its ID.Buzz electric Microbus in production form on March 9. But with each reminder of the pending reveal, it's trickling out a little more information about the long-anticipated electric van. The ID.Buzz is expected to follow closely on the prototype version teased in November—for Europe. The U.S. version, not due...

Could spinning off EV business allow Ford to go electric quicker?

2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E GTFord is looking at ways to separate its EV business from its other operations in order to win more positive attention from investors, according to a Bloomberg report published Friday. CEO Jim Farley wants to "wall off" the EV business from its internal-combustion engine business, and has considered spinning off one or the other, according to the...

Tesla reached a cumulative million of its new-format cells in January

Tesla Model YTesla produced its millionth large-format 4680 battery cell in January, according to a tweet from the company's official account posted Friday. The 4680 cells, so far made at a facility in California, are key to Tesla's plans to continue boosting range and performance while lowering cost. The name references their dimensions—46 millimeters...

It’s easier to buy a Kia EV6 than a Hyundai Ioniq 5: Here’s why

Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6  -  Hyundai E-Pit fast-chargingThe Hyundai Ioniq 5 and the Kia EV6 are two of the hottest electric vehicle introductions of this past year. Both models are built on the same leading-edge E-GMP platform for EVs. Both brands share the same Hyundai Motor Company parent and are part of the same overarching plan to electrify. But if you happen to be in a region that’s not...

Aptera is tuning its 1,000-mile EV—and it can outrun some sports cars

Aptera beta prototype testingAptera recently provided an update on development of its electric 3-wheeler, releasing a pair of videos showing a test mule being put through its paces at California's Chuckwalla Valley Raceway. The stripped-down vehicle shown here is a "beta" prototype, representing the second of four phases of development, Aptera noted. It follows the initial...