Green car concepts, production models at Frankfurt auto show

Honda Urban EV concept teased ahead of Frankfurt auto showAlthough a handful of automakers have opted to skip the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show, there are still plenty of new green concept cars and production models confirmed to make their debut. Leading up to the media days of the 2017 Frankfurt show, we will continue to update this running list of what is confirmed and what potentially may make its debut...

What happens to plug-in hybrids over time? Take our Twitter poll

2017 Toyota Prius Prime PremiumLast week, for the first time, we reminded regular readers about our regular Twitter poll in an article announcing the question of the week. That article seems to have earned us about three times as many responses as in previous polls, so we're going to make it a regular practice henceforth. This week, the question has to do with plug-in hybrids...

Autonomous electric truck prototype can be controlled remotely

Einride T-pod, autonomous electric truck prototypeSwedish company Einride has officially unveiled the first full-scale prototype of its futuristic autonomous electric truck. First announced back in April, the T-pod is touted as being more than a simple self-driving electric truck—it’s pitched as an entirely “new transportation system,” with plans to have an active fleet of...

Used Renault electric-car batteries provide DC fast-charging on highway

Renault Connected Energy charging station powered by second-life batteriesRenault hasn't tackled the home-energy storage market to the degree its alliance partner Nissan has, but it has found another use for "second-life" batteries. The French brand has worked with UK-based Connected Energy to install two electric-car DC fast-charging stations powered by second-life batteries. Once the energy capacity of lithium-ion...

China’s electric-car sales now twice those in US for Jan-June 2017

2016 BYD Tang plug-in hybrid SUV, made in ChinaHard numbers provide the latest evidence that shows China is by far the world's largest market for plug-in cars—or new energy vehicles, as they are referred to locally. The latest round of sales figures show the Chinese bought almost exactly twice the number of plug-in vehicles as car buyers in the United States did. Despite the high...

Mini Electric Concept revealed before Frankfurt auto show debut

Mini Electric Concept rendering, 2017 Frankfurt auto showWe've known since last July that an all-electric Mini Cooper will go into production in 2019. Now, we can see the first renderings of the car that will make its official debut at the Frankfurt auto show in two weeks. The Mini Electric Concept is recognizable as the three-door hardtop version of the famous British small car, but numerous design...

Tesla wins Michigan court fight to get e-mails by lobbyist, lawmaker

Tesla Store Los Angeles [photo: Misha Bruk / MBH Architects]As a Tesla lawsuit over the state of Michigan's dealership franchise law grinds on, the Silicon Valley automaker scored a recent legal victory. A federal magistrate has ordered two Michigan lawmakers to turn over their communications to the company's lawyers, including emails they sent to lobbyist groups. State Senator Joe Hune and State...

2018 BMW i3 electric car range adds sportier i3s version

2018 BMW i3 and i3sWhile the 2018 BMW i3 will formally debut next week at the Frankfurt auto show, the company has released details ahead of time on the updates to the lineup of its compact electric car. While battery range stays the same as last year, a new i3s model (for Sport) has been added, with revised suspension and a Sport mode added to its drive-mode...

Transparent solar cells to let Audi capture energy from glass roofs

Audi and Chinese firm Alta Devices team up to develop a glass solar roof panelSolar energy has long generated electricity both on building roofs and in huge "solar farms" for utility companies, but only a few cars have had solar panels on their bodies. Solar roofs aren't a new concept, but Audi and Alta Devices' solution would be the most transparent photovoltaic solar roof implementation yet—literally. The German...

Electric cars and public charging: hot dog and bun, not chicken or egg?

2015 Nissan Leaf at evGo fast charger at Livingston Mall, Livingston, NJ   [photo: John Briggs]It's an old cliche used to indicate an unsolvable problem: which came first, the chicken or the egg? Sometimes it's applied to the challenge of electric-car charging stations: which comes first, sales of the cars or installation of public charging to support them? Well, Jeff Allen isn't having any of it. He wants to talk about hot dogs, and buns...

How Teslas charge in US and UK.: similarities and differences

Tesla charging port in the United KingdomIt's well-known that electrical outlets in the United States and elsewhere vary, but it also makes for somewhat different charging experiences with the Tesla Model S. In Europe, the standard voltage is higher than the United States, which means more power can be drawn from a standard wall outlet. However, higher-rated charging connectors, such as...

UK Royal Mail electric vans now entering service

Arrival UK Royal Mail electric postal vanThe United Kingdom's Royal Postal Service has entered a new era as its first electric mail vans enter service. In total, nine electric postal vans from local company Arrival will enter the Royal Post's fleet, along with another 100 electric vans to be added in December from French brand Peugeot. The Arrival electric vans are capable of traveling...

Tesla semi reportedly has 200 to 300 miles of range

2012 Tesla Model STesla's first foray into the commercial vehicle sector—an all-electric semi truck—is expected to debut next month, but specifics surrounding the electric-car maker's latest project have been few and far between. An exclusive report may have revealed Tesla's range figure as it prepares to tackle a segment dominated by diesel-powered...

New LG Michigan plant could boost GM electric-car domestic content

2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV pre-production vehicles at Orion Township Assembly Plant, March 2016The question of where consumer goods are made has become more prominent in our political discourse of late, cars among them. Every automobile sold in the U.S. carries a listing of content sources, specifying what percentage by value of its overall content comes from which countries or regions. Electric cars, it turns out, have some anomalies...

2018 Nissan Leaf teaser: electric car will ‘amaze your senses’

Teaser for 2018 Nissan Leaf debuting on September 6, 2017With the 2018 Nissan Leaf electric car due to be unveiled to the world in Japan on September 6, the company continues to release bits and pieces of teaser information. Yesterday, Nissan issued a video promoting a list of the new model's features. It also provided a photo of the electric hatchback's rear corner, showing a very different taillight...