Tesla is the world's only automaker to build and operate its own large-scale network of public charging stations. This year, the Silicon Valley automaker hopes to double the number of Supercharger DC fast-charging sites, to make it more convenient for U.S. Tesla owners to undertake longer road trips. With 373 sites in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico... $8 billion cost to make Tesla Superchargers as common as gas stations: analyst
Tesla is the world's only automaker to build and operate its own large-scale network of public charging stations. This year, the Silicon Valley automaker hopes to double the number of Supercharger DC fast-charging sites, to make it more convenient for U.S. Tesla owners to undertake longer road trips. With 373 sites in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico...
New York state has finally issued details on its effort to step up its efforts to promote electric cars. The Empire State is one of eight so-called "ZEV states" that have adopted California emissions standards. But New York does not mandate automakers to sell zero-emission vehicles within its borders, and currently does not offer purchase...
Tesla says it will put its mass-priced Model 3 electric car into production by July, and ramp up production extremely quickly from there. CEO Elon Musk hopes to be building 5,000 cars each week by the end of the year; he previously set a goal of producing 500,000 cars across all model lines by the end of 2018. The Model 3 is the vital linchpin of...
GM said today it will sell its European Opel division to PSA Peugeot Citroën, the French parent of the Citroën, DS and Peugeot brands, for 2.2 billion euros (approximately $2.33 billion). Among the questions surrounding the sale—which includes the U.K.-market Vauxhall brand—is where the change in ownership leaves Opel's...
The Chevy Bolt EV electric car got off to a fast start in its first full month of Canadian sales, selling 86 vehicles in February. Excluding its first week of availability in late January, the Bolt enjoyed the fourth-best debut month of any plug-in electric vehicle in the Canadian market. It trailed the Tesla Model S (95 in December 2012), the...
Volvo currently offers plug-in hybrid powertrains in its top models—the XC90 SUV, S90 sedan, and V90. As the Swedish automaker redesigns its lower-level models, it will add plug-in hybrid options to them as well. But whereas the current T8 "Twin Engine" powertrain uses a 4-cylinder engine and all-wheel drive, other models will use a...
Lithium-ion battery-cell chemistry is currently dominant in electric cars, not to mention consumer electronics and other fields. But what seems to be an army of researchers thinks it can be improved. That includes one of the people who helped create lithium-ion batteries in the first place. CHECK OUT: Tesla granted patent on metal-air battery...
Is there no middle ground in discussing electric-car maker Tesla Motors? The challenge of reading large volumes of Tesla coverage is that it tends to be either rabidly positive or sharply negative. And the company's stock is so obsessively analyzed both by supporters and detractors that sober analysis is often hard to come by. DON'T MISS: Tesla...
Since more than 350,000 people around the world put down $1,000 deposits to reserve a place in line, the Tesla Model 3 electric car has assumed larger-than-life status. Its maker, Silicon Valley-based Tesla Motors, recently reaffirmed that series production will start in June and that Model 3 deliveries will begin in the second half of the year...
There are essentially two types of electric cars on sale today. Battery-electric vehicles are powered only by a battery, while plug-in hybrids have an engine to supplement a more limited battery range. Which type will ultimately predominate isn't clear; each has advantages and disadvantages. DON'T MISS: Plug-in hybrids to catch on more quickly...
As automakers produce electric cars in greater numbers, public charging infrastructure will become even more crucial to lure new buyers and convince them the cars can be practical. Some automakers have already invested in charging infrastructure, while others are just starting to contemplate public charging stations for the electric cars they plan...
The lithium-ion battery pack is at the heart of any electric car. Its cost, energy density, and safety features do as much as any other feature of an electric car to determine its success. And battery packs from Tesla Motors differ from those built by virtually any other electric-car maker in at least one key aspect. DON'T MISS: Tesla Model 3...
Even with aggressive promotion of battery-electric or hydrogen fuel-cell cars, hundreds of millions of internal-combustion vehicles will remain on the world's roads for decades to come. But estimates of exactly how many internal-combustion cars will be displaced by alternatives in a given period vary wildly. One alternative-fuels lobbying group...
The next couple of years promise to be quite interesting for electric cars. A minimum of six new models are expected in that time period, all promising ranges of 200 miles or more—which until a few months ago had been the exclusive province of Tesla Motors. The list includes two affordable 200-mile electric cars: the second-generation Nissan...
Once again, it's the first day of the month following a weekday sales close, when the auto industry turns its eyes to the sales charts emerging from all automakers (except Tesla). For plug-in electric cars, the question this month remains the same as last month: how many Chevrolet Bolt EVs did GM deliver? As distribution of the first affordable...
Tesla will undertake a major expansion of its Supercharger network of DC fast-charging stations this year. The Silicon Valley automaker is already one of the most committed to offering widespread DC fast charging, positioning the stations as a way for customers to complete longer journeys more easily. After expansion slowed in 2016, Tesla hopes to...
It was one of the new battery-electric vehicles anticipated for this year, a mid-size sedan from a global maker that remains the second highest-volume hybrid maker in the world. Then the news hit earlier this week: the all-electric Honda Clarity EV would have a rated battery range around ... 80 miles. From the justifications they offered, we...
The Tesla Model S may have upended the luxury-car establishment, but it's the Silicon Valley automaker's Model X crossover that most traditional luxury brands now seem to be targeting. Audi, Jaguar, and Mercedes-Benz will each launch a new all-electric SUV within the next two years. And those pricey electric cars may soon be joined be a somewhat...
As the old saying goes: the enemy of my enemy is my friend. The biofuel and fossil-fuel lobbies have argued in the past over the blending of biofuels with the general fuel supply. But now the two groups have found something they can agree on. DON'T MISS: Sierra Club to sue EPA over failure to report on ethanol A U.S. biofuel-lobbying group is...
As in other industries, "big data" is an increasingly common buzzword these days in discussions of electric cars. Last November, several research entities presented relevant data sets and advocated for their use at an electric-car "datathon" hosted by the White House. Putting theory into practice, Ford has now analyzed customer data to analyze how...