Best deals on plug-in, hybrid, and electric cars for July 2019

2017 Toyota Prius Prime test drive, Ojai, California, Sep 2016As tax credits on electric cars wind down, great deals are getting harder to find. Still, our partners at CarsDirect found some deals as low as $199 a month for July in scouring manufacturer programs for deals. Since some electric cars are still sold in small numbers and in limited areas, we've focused our selections on deals on cars that are...

In spite of tougher standards, European cars get dirtier

English traffic, from European Environment Agency reportEuropean automakers need to sell many more electric cars, but their customers aren't buying. Instead, they're buying more gas powered SUVs that emit more pollution than the cars they drove before. The ramifications for automakers could be dire if they can't sell more electric cars by next year. The European Union is scheduled to introduce the...

Best deals on plug-in, electric, and hybrid cars for June 2019

2019 Chevrolet Bolt EVThis month, rising interest rates and sparse inventories are cutting into the great deals that automakers have recently offered on plug-in and electric cars. Still, our partners at CarsDirect found some deals as low as $179 a month on electric cars this month. That deal, however, is on the Fiat 500e, which is only sold in California and Oregon...

BMW teams with Jaguar Land Rover for EV parts

BMW iX3 Concept front 3/4Jaguar Land Rover and BMW announced on Wednesday that they will form an alliance to build the unique parts, beyond the battery, that make up an electric vehicle. The effort will focus on electric drive units (EDUs), including motors, transmissions and power electronics, such as motor controllers. BMW has said it plans to build 25 new plug-in...

Audi boosts plug-in plans to include 20 all-electric models by 2025

Audi Q4 e-tron conceptAudi on Thursday announced a dramatic expansion of its plans to develop electric and plug-in cars. At its annual shareholders' meeting, the company told investors that it plans to release 20 new electric cars along with 10 new plug-in hybrids by 2025 as part of its "four rings" plan to reduce its carbon footprint by 30 percent (relative to 2015...

2020 Audi Q5 plug-in hybrid arrives in Europe

2020 Audi Q5 55 TFSI eAudi released the 2020 Q5 55 TFSI e quattro—the first of its new range of plug-in hybrids—in Europe on Tuesday, with some impressive specs. The company says the crossover will have 25.9 miles (40 kilometers) of electric range on Europe's new WLTP driving cycle from its 14.1 kilowatt-hour battery, located under the floor. Using the...

Best deals on plug-in, hybrid, and electric cars for May 2019

2017 Toyota Prius Prime test drive, Ojai, California, Sep 2016With rising interest rates and falling federal plug-in vehicle tax credits on some models, the best deals on electric cars, plug-in hybrids, and conventional hybrids are a little harder to find versus a few months ago. Our partners at CarsDirect.com still found some leases on plug in cars as low as $199 a month in May, and we've rounded up the...

Big deals arrive on 2019 Chevy Volt: Get one while you can

2019 Chevrolet VoltIn an effort to clear out the last of its inventory, General Motors has added the Chevrolet Volt to its list of models eligible for an 18 percent discount off sticker price this month. When it went on sale in December 2010, the Volt was the first mainstream-brand plug-in car of the modern era (beating the Nissan Leaf by a matter of days.) It...

Report says Fiat Chrysler emissions deal worth $2 billion to Tesla

Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit in EuropeAnalysts should no longer be worried about whether Tesla has enough cash to meet its immediate needs. In addition to $2 billion it raised in stocks and convertible bonds last week, the company signed a deal with Fiat Chrysler last month to share its emissions credits in Europe with the Italian-American automaker, which is lagging in electric cars...

2020 Toyota Prius Prime gains seating for 5, Apple CarPlay, revamped lineup

2017 Toyota Prius Prime PremiumThe 2020 Toyota Prius Prime plug-in hybrid gains some important functionality, even though some of the key specifications for range and efficiency haven't changed. The most important improvement, perhaps, is that the Prime now offers a third seat in the center-rear, making it a five-passenger car. Previous versions had only four seats. The second...