BMW’s plug-in car sales rise, keeping it in same class as Tesla, Nissan, GM

2017 BMW i3Tesla may garner much of the buzz surrounding electric cars, but BMW has quietly become a significant challenger in the electric-vehicle sales race. Nissan, General Motors, and Tesla have all 100,000 to 300,000 plug-in vehicles globally, but this year, BMW and its Mini brand are on track to deliver its own 200,000th plug-in vehicle later this...

Bentley Bentayga SUV to be luxury brand’s first plug-in hybrid

2017 Bentley BentaygaUnlike rival Rolls-Royce, which may go directly to an all-electric model in future, Bentley has set its sights on plug-in hybrids first—and the Bentayga luxury SUV will be the first one from the brand. The plug-in versions of the Bentley Bentayga is expected to arrive next year, and will be capable of running solely on battery power and...

Plug-in electric car sales in Canada, June 2017: Prime time

2017 Toyota Prius Prime, Catskill Mountains, NY, Nov 2016Toyota made a strong return to the Canadian plug-in electric vehicle market in June, selling 144 Prius Prime plug-in hybrids. The tally is all the more remarkable as the vehicle has so far launched only in Quebec. Why? That province is the home of Canada’s sole zero-emission vehicle mandate, patterned on California’s. Depending on the...

Why two-motor hybrid systems are better than those with just one

2017 Toyota Prius Prime PremiumSix years ago, we wrote that a number of single-motor hybrid systems were about to enter the market. They represented a new approach to a technology pioneered in 1997, when the first-generation Toyota Prius was launched in Japan. Through 2010, all the full-hybrid vehicles introduced by Ford and General Motors used systems designed around a pair of...

European electric and plug-in hybrid sales for Jan-April 2017

2017 Renault ZoeElectric vehicle sales are holding steady in Europe; the latest sales data shows popular battery electric vehicles remain popular. Plug-in hybrids continue to hold their own as well, according to data aggregated from numerous individual national markets. The Renault Zoe, in particular, continues to sell quite well. DON'T MISS: European electric...