Today, we've got some amusing news out of Germany, a range-extended electric pickup truck, a sales update, and a multi-linked analysis of how much energy hydrogen fuel-cell cars really require. All this and more on Green Car Reports. We explained why BMW is using Teslas to scare its staff about the future of electric cars and its place in that...
The sales growth of electric cars has made strides in recent years, and California's Zero-Emission Vehicle mandate has more than a little to do with that. The program adopted by the state of California more than 20 years ago, and much modified since then, requires that carmakers sell a certain number of zero-emission models in California and 10...
Workhorse may have the ultimate proposal for commercial fleets with the reveal of its W-15 pickup truck, the first range-extended electric pickup truck to be built from the ground up with fleets in mind. While Tesla says it is developing an all-electric pickup, which will supposedly be revealed in two years, the W-15 has now been introduced with...
It's now clear that the zero-emission vehicles of the future will be powered by electric motors. The electricity to power those motors, however, will come from one of two competing technologies: high-capacity batteries or hydrogen fuel cells. The debate over which technology is superior, which has the lowest wells-to-wheels carbon footprint, and...
When Tesla arrived on the scene 10 years ago, no major automaker took it very seriously—let alone thought it would cause the disruption it has in the market for luxury cars. At the same time, BMW, once the harbinger of performance and luxury, worries that it may be falling behind when it comes to electric vehicles and technology innovation...
Investors have been bullish about the electric-car maker, but its ability to meet its goals is under scrutiny as it proceeds with a mass-market model.
Today, we've got some optimistic projections on electric-car sales, possibly better batteries with a not-very-secret new ingredient, and an all-electric UPS van with a hydrogen range extender. All this and more on Green Car Reports. A couple of different studies suggest that consumer interest in plug-in electric cars is high, and their sales may...
To dig its teeth into California's crowded electric vehicle market, its Korean maker has rolled out an "Unlimited+" lease program for the 2017 Hyundai Ioniq Electric. The plan mimics a subscription service, and adds unlimited mileage allowance, vehicle-charging reimbursement, and a cohesive maintenance plan to the standard lease terms, according...
Electric vehicles aren't always associated with speed and performance, but researchers at North Carolina State University may have discovered a breakthrough to change those qualities inside their batteries. Of all things, water may hold the key to faster electric-car battery technology. Researchers compared two materials, a crystalline tungsten...
Considerable skepticism remains that passenger vehicles powered by hydrogen will become a major part of U.S. sales any time soon—or ever. Quietly, however, analysts suggest that hydrogen may provide a solution to the different challenges of producing zero-emission heavy trucks and delivery vehicles. Despite growing hoopla over Elon Musk's...
Despite a slower-than-expected start, plug-in electric cars are gaining momentum on the North American market. Not only are sales rising, so is consumer interest: according to a survey by AAA, shoppers’ interest in electric and plug-in hybrid cars is now neck to neck with that of pickup trucks. In fact, 15 percent of the interviewed...
Today, we've got an update on Tesla's promised semi tractor, some real-world analysis of the possible impact of fuel-economy rules, and the start of our monthly report on sales of cars with plugs. All this and more on Green Car Reports. Which is more important to the future of electric cars, China or the U.S.? We polled our Twitter...
WIth four-figure sales for both its all-electric Chevrolet Bolt EV and the Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid, GM probably led April's plug-in electric car sales. The "probably" comes because Tesla refuses to release its deliveries broken down either by month or by country, meaning there's no data to compare. GM's 3,102 deliveries—1,807 Volts, 1,292...
It's no secret Tesla CEO Elon Musk is an ambitious man, but he continues to fuel the hype surrounding the company by recently teasing the first Tesla semi truck. In typical Tesla fashion, the semi truck will be all electric. Its goal is to showcase the possibilities of electric range over diesel fuel, and Musk is confident the truck will...
Barbie never said "Math is hard!" The talking doll did, notoriously, say "Math class is tough!" in 1989, sparking a media firestorm over gender roles in childrens' toys and then a voluntary recall by Mattel for offended parents. Reworded, however, the point remains accurate: many people don't understand math. DON'T MISS: Costs to meet fuel-economy...
Many U.S. car buyers still aren't aware that the Chinese market surpassed North America in volume and importance fully a decade ago. Similarly, in advanced automotive technology, a case can be made that China is more important than the U.S. Nowhere is that more evident than in plug-in electric cars. DON'T MISS: Shanghai auto show roundup: China...
Today, we run down a whole host of electric cars that Chinese buyers saw and we didn't, look at a potentially risky move by Tesla on its affordable Model 3, and explain why the EPA has eradicated all mention of climate science from its website. All this and more on Green Car Reports. Saturday we ran down the previous week's top stories with our...
For the past few years, plug-in electric cars have gotten more publicity than their small share of the market deserved. That's exactly what had happened to hybrids a decade earlier—and hybrids still outsell cars with plugs, even if they're no longer getting outsize publicity. We've been driving quite a few hybrids lately, and we decided it...
Tesla is taking a major gamble regarding the production of its upcoming Model 3 sedan in skipping prototype tooling and jumping straight to permanent production tooling, says a noted auto-manufacturing expert. "He's pushing the envelope to see how much time and cost he can take out of the process," Ron Harbour, a manufacturing consultant at Oliver...
While the diesel backlash stemming from the VW emission scandal is real, BMW is forging ahead with the high-torque, high-efficiency engines regardless. For its latest 5-Series luxury sedan, it will announce that a new 540d mid-size diesel luxury sedan will arrive in U.S. showrooms later in 2017, Car and Driver reports. At this point, we'd...
