Toyota takes its biggest US port off the grid with hydrogen system

Toyota Mirai and fuel-cell semiToyota’s ambitious project to take its busiest port in North America off the power grid is complete, the company reported Thursday. While the Tri-gen plant, generating 2.3 megawatts of electricity—1.7 megawatts more than what the port typically uses—will completely cut the facility’s reliance on grid power, it will remain...

2025 Audi Q6 E-Tron shows off a new interior for brand’s EVs

Audi Q6 E-TronThe 2025 Audi Q6 E-Tron electric crossover will usher in a new era for the brand's interiors when it debuts later this year. Audi on Sunday provided a preview of what's in store, showing the interior of the Q6 E-Tron after teasing the exterior in July. Following current industry trends, a curved panel houses both the 11.9-inch digital instrument...

Mercedes EV concept touts efficiency focus, 800V drive system

Mercedes-Benz Concept CLA-ClassAt the 2023 Munich auto show, Mercedes-Benz unveiled a concept car previewing future efficiency-focused EVs. The Mercedes-Benz Concept CLA-Class borrows the name of a current internal-combustion model but shows off the engineering of the Mercedes-Benz Modular Architecture (MMA) that will serve as the basis for four compact EVs in multiple body...

Review: 2024 Polestar 2 EV is a late bloomer worth another look

2024 Polestar 2The Polestar 2 has found its identity, in its fourth model year. With very little else to single it out as different, it’s pulled off an unlikely transformation—shedding its front-drive origins and becoming a rear-wheel-drive-focused performance car this year. Based on a drive last week on some twisty Colorado Rocky mountain roads, the...

Review: 2024 Polestar 2 EV is a late bloomer worth another look

2024 Polestar 2The Polestar 2 has found its identity, in its fourth model year. With very little else to single it out as different, it’s pulled off an unlikely transformation—shedding its front-drive origins and becoming a rear-wheel-drive-focused performance car this year. Based on a drive last week on some twisty Colorado Rocky mountain roads, the...

2024 VW ID.4 EV gets more power, likely boost to range

Volkswagen ID.4 built at ChattanoogaVolkswagen has revealed that the 2024 ID.4 will get a boost to acceleration—and likely range—in some versions, versus 2023. The key upgrade to the 2024 Volkswagen ID.4 lineup is a new, higher-power rear drive unit, applied to both rear-wheel-drive or all-wheel-drive versions with the larger 82-kwh battery pack. A 62-kwh battery pack is...

2023 Toyota Prius, Prime plug-in hybrid make IIHS Top Safety Pick+ list

2023 Toyota Prius PrimeThe redesigned 2023 Toyota Prius and Prius Prime plug-in hybrid have received the highest Top Safety Pick+ award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). To qualify for the award, vehicles must earn top "Good" scores in the IIHS' driver-side small overlap front, passenger-side small overall front, and original moderate overlap front...

VW ID.GTI Concept EV re-ups the fun compact car for the electric era

Volkswagen ID.GTI ConceptVolkswagen is bringing back its Golf GTI in electric form—with the ID.GTI Concept, which it declared “will be built as a usable sports car for the electric age.” Just as with the BMW Vision Neue Klasse concept that also made its debut this weekend at the Munich auto show, the ID.GTI Concept looks deep into the brand’s...

2025 BMW EV will get this minimalist look, more range, faster charging

BMW Vision Neue KlasseBMW at the Munich auto show has revealed its Vision Neue Klasse concept that shows off the design language of the automaker’s next-generation electric cars. While still a concept car, the Vision Neue Klasse is a next iteration of the i Vision Dee concept that bowed at CES in January. That model boasted what BMW called a “reductive...

2025 Mini Cooper, Countryman EVs lead brand’s electric remake

2025 Mini Cooper electric hatchAt the Munich auto show this week, Mini is showing the first two of what it claims will be part of a full lineup of EVs. The duo debuting at the show includes a redesigned version of the Mini Cooper hatchback and a first-ever all-electric version of the Mini Countryman crossover. Both are expected to reach the U.S. for the 2025 model year...

Fisker Pear urban EV to offer AWD, range up to 320 miles

Fisker PearFisker on Thursday released more details of its Pear urban EV, which was first shown at the automaker's recent Product Day event, ahead of an additional showing at the Munich auto show this next week. With a targeted base price of $29,900 before the incentives, the Pear will be offered with two battery options allowing 180 miles or 320 miles of...