Today, discussion of diesel bans in Europe, updates on Toyota solid-state cells, context of the pace of electric-car battery advances, and some BYD news to boot. All this and more on Green Car Reports. We added some additional details to yesterday's story on Toyota plans for solid-state batteries in a 2022 electric car. No sooner did Audi and...
The report that Toyota is planning an electric car with a solid-state battery for 2022 has led some fans and advocates to suggest huge new leaps in electric cars are imminent. The 2011 Nissan Leaf had an EPA-rated range of 75 miles combined; the comparable figure for a 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV is 238 miles. That's remarkable progress, and clearly...
The United Kingdom will follow in the footsteps of some European countries as it announced plans to ban the sale of gasoline- and diesel-powered cars by the year 2040. The initiative closely follows a similar announcement from France, which also declared 2040 as the year it will phase out fossil-fuel vehicles Norway and the Netherlands have also...
![Tesla Model S at Supercharger site in Ventura, CA, with just one slot open [photo: David Noland]](http://images.hgmsites.net/tmb/tesla-model-s-electric-car-road-trip-upstate-new-york-to-southern-california-photo-david-noland_100500011_t.gif)
For years, electric-car skeptics raised concerns about what was cleverly dubbed "The Coal Tailpipe": the idea that plug-in vehicles produced just as many harmful emissions as gasoline cars, but in a different place. That's not remotely true for carbon dioxide, as multiple studies over the years have shown, though it is in limited cases for a small...
It's been several years since Chinese electric-car maker BYD retreated from plans to sell cars in the United States, but now it may be ready to get more serious about the market. BYD has found success in building and selling electric buses for public transportation agencies, but it has not yet launched a vehicle for private consumers. The company...
The warning came even before last week's plans for updates to 9 million European diesel cars by German luxury makers Audi and Mercedes-Benz were announced. In a letter sent to the transport ministers of European Union countries, EU industry commissioner Elzbieta Bienkowska warned that proposed bans on diesel cars in European cities could backfire...
Today, an electric-car driver explains his decision to add solar panels to his house and runs through the math, we've got two stories on the future electric Mini Cooper, and the Trump administration plans another anti-environmental move. All this and more on Green Car Reports. As it turns out, despite BMW's worries over the impact of Brexit, the...
The White House's energy week may have been low on renewable and zero emission technology, but National Drive Electric Week is poised to make up for it. Each year, Plug In America, the Electric Auto Association, and the Sierra Club join forces to implement one week of electric car events, parades, and education. This year, National Drive Electric...
The move, which follows similar announcements by France, India and Norway, is the latest part of a growing push toward the use of electric vehicles.
![Photovoltaic solar panel installation on house, Fremont, California [image: Shiva Singh]](http://images.hgmsites.net/tmb/photovoltaic-solar-panel-installation-on-house-fremont-california-image-shiva-singh_100615724_t.gif)
The purchase of an electric car that plugs into the power grid to recharge its battery often gets drivers thinking about the source of their energy. We haven't seen data from recent years looking at the overlap between electric-car drivers and home solar panels. But early analyses in California indicated as many as four in 10 electric-car drivers...
The move, which follows similar announcements by France, India and Norway, is the latest part of a growing push toward the use of electric vehicles.
Not so many years ago, a 1.2-liter engine would only have been found in the U.S. in the smallest and least impressive of subcompact cars. It might have been a 3-cylinder, and certainly wouldn't have had even 100 horsepower. But times change, and engines of that size will soon be found even in the smallest of Mercedes-Benz luxury cars. DON'T MISS...
The Tesla Model S has retaken its spot as the luxury sedan that gets the highest ratings from Consumer Reports after the electric car gained back automatic emergency braking that works at all legal road speeds. Some may remember Tesla restored the automatic braking during an update to vehicles earlier this year, but the system only worked at...
The U.S. Department of Transportation said yesterday the NHTSA is preparing to revise corporate average fuel economy requirements for model years 2022 through 2025. The proposed version of those regulations, which was issued by the Obama Administration in 2012, included steady increases for each of those model years. Among the alternatives that...
Today, we have two separate articles on solid-state batteries for electric cars, updates to lower diesel emissions, and a rare house editorial piece. All this and more on Green Car Reports. Breaking news this morning indicates that Toyota will launch an electric car with a solid-state battery, though not until 2022. Both Audi and Mercedes-Benz...
Any movement produces passionate advocates, angry detractors, even as the vast mass of people pay it little or no attention. When that movement involves most people's second most-expensive purchase, and plays a role in reducing manmade carbon emissions to alleviate the worst effects of climate change, things can get heated. And so it is among...
It's now clear that much greater numbers of plug-in electric cars will be sold in coming years and decades than have found buyers to date. With battery costs falling faster than expected, and toughening regulations in China requiring higher volumes of electric cars, the onus is on the world's carmakers to step up and sell them at a profit. But how...
Fisker's promise to bring advanced, solid-state graphene cells to the battery pack of its upcoming Emotion electric car is officially dead. Automotive-grade graphene batteries have yet to be perfected, but Fisker was poised to become the first company to utilize the technology. The batteries provide greater range and shorter charging times, but...
Both Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler and Volkswagen Group have approved new plans to retrofit older diesel-powered vehicles with new software at no cost to owners. The largest number of such cars will be in Europe. The news comes amid the latest allegations surrounding German automakers and their brands' diesel cars—and more updates could be on...
Toyota has long been the laggard on battery-electric cars, claiming they're only suitable for shorter trips and promoting hydrogen fuel cells as the best zero-emission vehicle technology. Pushed by China and its increasingly tough emission rules, the company reluctantly committed to building all-electric cars by 2020. Now a report suggests that...
