GM electric vehicles could be profitable early next decade, says CEO

Cadillac electric crossover SUV based on GM BEV3 modular platformIncentives, credits, and compliance schemes can only get the electric vehicle market so far. The real test of its success will be when large, established automakers can get to a point when they can call them profitable. On Wednesday, on a call with analysts to discuss the company’s fourth-quarter 2018 financial results, GM CEO Mary Barra...

Lyft plans to give riders and drivers an electric lift

Lyft car picking up a riderLyft is the latest car-sharing company to sign onto an effort to make ride sharing cars more efficient. The post-millennial taxi service announced that it plans to introduce "thousands" of electric cars onto its platform and make it easy for riders to choose them using a new "Green Mode" in the Lyft app. "These efforts will provide cleaner...

Lyft plans to give riders and drivers an electric lift

Lyft car picking up a riderLyft is the latest car-sharing company to sign onto an effort to make ride sharing cars more efficient. The post-millennial taxi service announced that it plans to introduce "thousands" of electric cars onto its platform and make it easy for riders to choose them using a new "Green Mode" in the Lyft app. "These efforts will provide cleaner...

BMW reveals prototype iNext electric SUV in winter testing

Prototype for BMW iNext electric SUV due in 2021After revealing the concept-car at a private event last September, BMW has revealed the, well, next iNext. Following the concept, the next version of the car is a test mule, complete with camouflage covering, undergoing cold-weather testing in northern Sweden—a typical place for automakers to test things like heaters, cold starts, and power...

Tesla Model 3 price cut another $1,100, for base price of $44,100

2019 Tesla Model 3 PerformanceFor the second time in barely more than a month, Tesla has cut the price of its entry level Model 3. On Jan. 1, the company cut prices $2,000 on all its models to partly compensate for a $3,750 reduction in the federal tax credit its buyers can receive. (Tesla's tax cuts are phasing down as originally scheduled after it reached 200,000 sales last...

Tesla buys ultracapacitor company to boost energy density

Tour of Tesla battery gigafactory for invited owners, Reno, Nevada, July 2016Maxwell Technologies, a San Diego company that specializes in ultracapacitor energy storage, announced Monday that it is being bought by Tesla in a stock swap valued at $218 million. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said in the past that he expects ultracapacitors could provide a more likely bet for a breakthrough in energy storage than batteries. Maxwell...

Green Car Reports is 10!

2007 Chevrolet Volt ConceptTen years ago this week, in February 2009, Green Car Reports published its first story—one packed with insight regarding the Chevrolet Volt, which was then still nearly two years away. Despite all that could have happened to the Volt in GM’s bankruptcy, it arrived on time and was everything we expected. But many things haven’t...

Diesel lawsuit proceeds against Mercedes-Benz

2014 Mercedes-Benz E250 BlueTec 4MaticWhile Volkswagen has reached a historic settlement and had to buy back hundreds of thousands of its diesel cars in the U.S., it isn’t the only automaker to be investigated for cheating on diesel emissions. Fiat Chrysler recently agreed to recall its Ram and Jeep EcoDiesels and pay owners for misleading advertising claims. A third case...

Tesla battery packs coming to Electrify America chargers

Electrify America chargers at San Francisco Premium OutletsElectrify America has been billed as a charging network to compete with Tesla's Superchargers. Now it turns out, they may be partners as well. In an announcement on Monday, Electrify America said it would install Tesla stationary battery packs at 100 of its locations to balance power demand and reduce costs. DON'T MISS: Electrify America maps out...

How to charge your electric car from the sun, at home

George Parrot's home solar installation [Credit: George Parrot]With the big upturn in electric-car adoption driven by the Tesla Model 3, incoming Kia and Hyundai options, and the highly competitive Chevrolet Bolt, many drivers will be moving to vehicles that will be primarily charged at home. This means that their household electric bills are likely to show a significant increase—a big and obvious...

Kia Niro EV drive, Tesla service, electric car ads: Today’s Car News

2019 Kia Niro EV first drive  -  Santa Cruz, CA  -  February 2019Tesla plans to make service quicker, easier, and automatic. National Electric Vehicles Sweden bought a stake in Swedish supercar maker Koenigsegg. And our latest Twitter poll asks for readers' opinions about electric-car ads. All this and more on Green Car Reports. In our first chance to drive the 2019 Kia Niro EV, we found a lot to...

Tesla aims to make service quicker, roadside assistance automatic

2017 Tesla Model SSoon, if your Tesla breaks down, you may not even have to call a tow truck. Your car will do it for you. That was one of the goals Tesla CEO Elon Musk laid out for 2019 in a conference call with investors last week as part of a larger push to streamline the company's service processes. Musk didn't confirm how the service will work, but said he...