China is not just the world's largest overall new-car market, it's also now the largest market for plug-in electric cars. With its ambitious plan to build 500,000 electric cars per year beginning in 2018, it would seem to make sense that Tesla Motors would make China a priority. But Tesla has struggled in China since it launched the Model S there... Tesla and China: why an obvious match isn’t as simple as it seems
China is not just the world's largest overall new-car market, it's also now the largest market for plug-in electric cars. With its ambitious plan to build 500,000 electric cars per year beginning in 2018, it would seem to make sense that Tesla Motors would make China a priority. But Tesla has struggled in China since it launched the Model S there... 
Sales of plug-in electric cars in September chugged along steadily, with steady sales from both the Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid and stronger totals for the Nissan Leaf battery-electric car. Chevrolet logged 2.031 deliveries of its Volt hatchback, likely now almost all the new second-generation model, raising the year-to-date total to 16,326. That's... 
Mitsubishi unveiled the latest in a series of plug-in electric SUV concepts at the 2016 Paris Motor Show. As with other recent concept from the Japanese automaker, though, it is unclear whether this one will translate into a future production model. The Mitsubishi GT-PHEV concept is a large and fairly luxurious plug-in hybrid utility vehicle... 
Tesla said late yesterday that it delivered roughly 24,500 electric cars during the third quarter, including 15,800 Model S sedans and 8,700 Model X utility vehicles. That total slightly exceeds estimates by at least half of the financial analysts who had projected deliveries from the Silicon Valley maker before their release. The third-quarter... 
The 2017 Toyota Prius Prime is a considerably better car than a few electric-car fans had feared. In fact, with an EPA-rated range of 25 miles (more than projected) and energy efficiency so high—at 124 MPGe—that it matches the BMW i3 with all its whizzy advanced technology, it’s a very viable plug-in hybrid choice. And it all has... 
The largest number of one single battery-electric car sold in the U.S. in a single year is 30,000, the total logged in 2014 by the Nissan Leaf. (Of course, we don't know Tesla's sales because the company doesn't break out its quarterly global delivery totals by country.) But those were back in the day when affordable electric cars (with prices... 
Perhaps an even greater challenge than getting today's car buyers to switch to electric cars is predicting the rates of adoption among those who have yet to buy their first car. But attracting younger buyers will be crucial for the mass adoption of electric cars in future years. A new survey offers some encouraging results, at least for automakers... 
Over five years after they first went on sale, Nissan electric cars have racked up an impressive amount of mileage: more than 2.5 billion kilometers (1.6 billion miles). The Nissan Leaf has proven that electric cars can handle the rigors of daily driving just as well as internal-combustion models. At the same time, Leafs have inspired the... 
Automakers often use concept cars to preview future styling for much more restrained production models. Even when a concept car doesn't make it into production, elements of its styling can. Providing a styling template for future models is the main mission of the Renault Trezor electric sports car concept, which debuts this week at the 2016 Paris... 
Mercedes-Benz took to the stage at the 2016 Paris auto show with a quirky new concept car that the German automaker says serves as a forerunner to its upcoming lineup of electric cars. Mercedes chief Dr. Dieter Zetsche said that one of the biggest hurdles automakers will face in the future is e-mobility. Although it looks rather like the company's... 
The Renault Zoe electric car is by far the best-selling plug-in vehicle in Europe. Now in its fifth year, the Zoe received a significant battery capacity upgrade at today’s Paris Motor Show. The Zoe will now have a 41-kilowatt-hour battery pack, up from 22 kwh in earlier versions, giving it a range of 300 to 400 kilometters (185 to 250... 
This morning, Volkswagen held one of the first press conferences at the Paris Motor Show, unveiling the first of several electric cars from different makers. Its Volkswagen I.D. Concept is a preview of a high-volume battery-electric hatchback that will hit the market in 2020, priced "par with comparably powerful and well-equipped Golf models," the... 
Among the many reasons that carmakers get involved in racing is the value of motorsports as a promotional tool. It's considered a good way to burnish a brand's image, even if the cars being raced have little in common with the ones people can actually buy. This week, Porsche provided a very entertaining example of how this can be done. DON'T MISS... ![National Drive Electric Week 2016: Aspen, CO [photo: Laura Armstrong]](http://images.hgmsites.net/tmb/national-drive-electric-week-2016-aspen-co-photo-laura-armstrong_100567172_t.gif)
Between September 10 and 18, more than 120,000 people around the world turned out for National Drive Electric Week—the annual event dedicated to the promotion of electric cars. With 235 events in 212 cities, seven countries, and 46 U.S. states, the event once again surpassed the "national" part of its name to become an international... 
To realize truly significant reductions in carbon emissions, powertrain electrification will have to extend beyond just passenger cars. But electric commercial vehicles have received relatively little attention from established manufacturers. That is seemingly about to change, at least in Europe. DON'T MISS: Road for electric trucks with... 
Earlier this year, a group called Electric GT Holdings announced plans for a race series exclusively for the Tesla Model S electric car. While the Formula E series currently runs events around the globe with purpose-built open-wheel race cars, Electric GT organizers reasoned that fans would relate better to a series that used cars based on... 
Mercedes-Benz is expected to debut an electric SUV concept at the 2016 Paris Motor Show this fall. The concept will likely preview one of what could be up to four all-electric models Mercedes plans to launch over the next few years. This lineup of electric cars will help Mercedes compete with Tesla Motors, as well as German rivals that are now... ![2015 Nissan Leaf fast-charging at Royal Farms, North East, Maryland [photo John Briggs]](http://images.hgmsites.net/tmb/2015-nissan-leaf-fast-charging-at-royal-farms-north-east-maryland-photo-john-briggs_100558583_t.gif)
It's one of the questions for future electric-car charging infrastructure: what about putting them at gas stations? On the one hand, drivers are used to going to gas stations, which are often conveniently located on both local and long-distance routes. On the other hand, gas-station stops generally take 10 to 15 minutes at most, while even fast...