Smart to go all-electric worldwide by 2020: Daimler CEO

2018 Smart EQ ForTwo CabrioThe U.S. sales history of the Smart two-seat minicar started with a bang in 2008, when gasoline prices soared, and has waned since then. A complete redesign of the little ForTwo in the 2016 model year, with the Cabrio soft-top following for 2017, didn't do much for sales. That led parent company Daimler to make a radical decision: For the 2018...

Electric I-Pace may lead Jaguar design, style into the future

2019 Jaguar I-PaceIn January 2007, Jaguar dropped a bombshell, in the form of the C-XF concept sedan it unveiled at that year's Detroit auto show. The sleek, fastback shape, simple rectangular grille with recessed mesh, and swept-back cat's-eye headlights yanked Jaguar design out of its fusty retro-traditional straitjacket and catapulted it into the 21st century...

McKinsey summarizes state of the art, latest trends in electric cars

2018 Tesla Model 3Over the seven years modern, mass-priced electric cars have been on sale, various bits of wisdom have emerged among their fans, advocates, and owners. One might be how much battery range is "enough" to prevent drivers from worrying constantly about whether they need to charge. Another might be which vehicles have batteries that seem to hold their...

Plug-in electric car sales in Canada, March 2018: Prius Prime rivals Volt

2017 Toyota Prius Prime and 2017 Chevrolet Volt with Green Car Reports editor John VoelckerThe Chevy Volt won its umpteenth monthly plug-in sales title in Canada last month, but soaring sales of other models were the big story in the Canuck electric vehicle market—which may have reached 1.75 percent of the market in March. The Volt tallied 555 March sales, Canada’s second-best single-month total for any model, second only to...

Why I traded my Chevy Bolt EV for a Tesla: one reader’s story

Used 2015 Tesla Model S P85D on day of purchase  [photo: Jay Lucas]As a nation, the U.S. takes lots of road trips, because most of the country has no viable mass transit between city pairs. If electric cars are ever to enter the mass market in North America, they have to be usable on those road trips. Last year, our reader Jay Lucas of Alexandria, Virginia, wrote an account of his road trip in a new 2017...

Buyers in seven Northeast states urged to consider electric cars

2013 Nissan Leaf electric car tested as taxi in New York City, April 2013When companies want to sell more of something, they market it. Now, at long last, electric cars are about to get the same treatment. Following an announcement at the New York International Auto Show last week, 16 major automakers are joining forces with seven states to promote sales of electric vehicles to consumers. The Alliance for Automobile...

Buyers in seven Northeast states urged to consider electric cars

2013 Nissan Leaf electric car tested as taxi in New York City, April 2013When companies want to sell more of something, they market it. Now, at long last, electric cars are about to get the same treatment. Following an announcement at the New York International Auto Show last week, 16 major automakers are joining forces with seven states to promote sales of electric vehicles to consumers. The Alliance for Automobile...

5 things about the 2019 Hyundai Kona Electric we learned at the NY auto show

2019 Hyundai Kona ElectricAfter a Detroit auto show that was about little except pickup trucks and a new Jeep, followed by a tepid Chicago show, New York proved to be relatively rich in interesting new green cars. The standout was clearly the 2019 Hyundai Kona Electric, the 250-mile battery-electric small hatchback that will go on sale before the end of the year. While it...

5 things about the 2019 Hyundai Kona Electric we learned at the NY auto show

2019 Hyundai Kona ElectricAfter a Detroit auto show that was about little except pickup trucks and a new Jeep, followed by a tepid Chicago show, New York proved to be relatively rich in interesting new green cars. The standout was clearly the 2019 Hyundai Kona Electric, the 250-mile battery-electric small hatchback that will go on sale before the end of the year. While it...

What China learned from California about getting electric cars on its roads

2014 Tesla Model S in ChinaIn the U.S., California has long been viewed culturally as the crazy, free-spirited cousin. As Californians like to point out, their state of 40 million people is also the world's sixth-largest economy all by itself. Resolutely progressive, it has regulated vehicle emissions for five decades and worked to get zero-emission vehicles onto its roads...