Long-delayed BMW i8 Spyder plug-in hybrid due in 2018

BMW i8 Concept SpyderA convertible version of the BMW i8 plug-in hybrid coupe was teased as far back as the 2012 New York Auto Show, when the i8 Spyder concept first debuted. But while the i8 coupe went into production as a 2014 model, BMW has been unusually slow to approve a convertible version for production. BMW mentioned an i8 convertible during a March press...

VW ‘annoyed’ it won’t get order for electric vans it didn’t make

Deutsche Post StreetScooter electric van prototypeSuppose you're one of the world's three largest automakers. You don't offer a type of vehicle that a relatively small but highly visible customer in your home market wants. Do you have the right to be annoyed if that customer designs those vehicles itself? DON'T MISS: USPS picks AM General to help build next-generation mail trucks Only...

Plug-in hybrid next-generation Mini Countryman teased before launch

Mini Countryman plug-in hybrid prototypeThe next generation Mini Countryman crossover utility vehicle will be the brand's first model to offer a plug-in hybrid powertrain. Its parent company BMW has released teaser images confirming an upcoming production plug-in hybrid. While it did not specifically say the model was a Countryman, the camouflaged prototype being driven by Mini...

European electric and plug-in hybrid sales for Jan-Aug 2016

Renault Zoe electric cars on the Outer HebridesThe Renault Zoe once again maintained its position as the best-selling electric car in Europe, at least through August. As has been the case all year, the subcompact hatchback's main competition for that title was the Nissan Leaf—built by Renault's Japanese alliance partner—which once again earned the second-place spot. The Leaf...

Best deals on hybrid, electric, fuel-efficient cars for October 2016

2017 Mitsubishi Mirage G4The leaves are beginning to change, and so are the deals on green cars. Our monthly survey of best deals on hybrid, plug-in electric, and fuel-efficient cars includes some new models, as well as some with incentives retained from previous months. As we get further into the 2017 model year, carmakers are getting more eager to rid themselves of...

At 133 MPGe, Toyota Prius Prime wallops BMW i3 on energy efficiency

2017 Toyota Prius Prime PremiumMove over, BMW: there's a new efficiency champion in town this year—and you'll have to give back that laurel wreath you've worn since 2014. Last week, final EPA fuel-efficiency results were released for the 2017 Toyota Prius Prime plug-in hybrid. When running in all-electric mode, that car is now the most energy-efficient vehicle you can buy...

Fisker is coming back, he says, with 400-mile electric car

Henrik FiskerHenrik Fisker has designed some remarkable cars, among them Aston Martins, the BMW Z8, and of course the striking Fisker Karma range-extended electric luxury sedan. That vehicle, launched in 2012 by his namesake company, saw production of less than 3,000 units before the company collapsed in bankruptcy. The same vehicle will relaunch next year as...

When will plug-in electric car sales exceed hybrid sales? Poll results

Jen Smith with her new 2016 Toyota Prius FourThe questions of whether and when sales of plug-in electric cars will resume their climb after a static 2015 are much on the minds of green-car advocates these days. It's taken as an article of faith that cars with plugs will grow as a proportion of the global market, ultimately supplanting large parts of the current gasoline fleet in decades to...

Plug-in electric car sales in Sept: Volt steady, Leaf higher

2017 Chevrolet VoltSales 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...