Seeking to kick-start electric car sales outside of California, the lobbying group that represents a dozen automakers said Monday that it sent letters to nine state governors urging them to help spur zero-emissions vehicle demand. In the letters, the automakers urge the state governors to boost investments in electric-car charging infrastructure... Automakers make plea to 9 state governors to help boost electric, zero-emissions car sales
Seeking to kick-start electric car sales outside of California, the lobbying group that represents a dozen automakers said Monday that it sent letters to nine state governors urging them to help spur zero-emissions vehicle demand. In the letters, the automakers urge the state governors to boost investments in electric-car charging infrastructure...
Within the next two years, three different hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles will be offered to California buyers in small numbers. The 2017 Honda Clarity Fuel Cell vehicle went on sale in California at the end of 2016, and 2018 models just went on sale. The Toyota Mirai has also been available in California since 2016, giving California buyers a choice...
Norway and The Netherlands started the trend a few years ago, though they're relatively tiny car markets. Then France and the U.K. joined in. China, the world's largest new-car market by far, is doing it—though the country hasn't decided when. All of those countries plan to ban, or work the end of, sales of new vehicles with...
In 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...
Two years ago, the government of India proposed a remarkable and ambitious goal: make every new vehicle coming onto its roads electric by 2030. The plan was largely a response to some of the world's highest levels of hazardous air pollution in its cities, higher in many cases than the legendary foul air in Chinese cities. The world's second-most...
The Hyundai Nexo hydrogen fuel-cell SUV that debuted last month at the Consumer Electronics Show won't be seen on California roads for many months yet. It is expected to go on sale in the U.S. in the fourth quarter of this year, but now we have a few reports from outlets that have driven the one SUV whose only tailpipe emission is water. The...
It's now abundantly clear that Tesla has created the roadmap on how to build a widespread DC fast-charging network that lets electric-car drivers travel long distances, even across the country. The Tesla Supercharger network can only be used by Tesla cars, however—and it remains entirely unclear how, whether, or when other carmakers will be...
Last Thursday, Governor Jerry Brown said in his annual State of the State address that California would need 5 million zero-emission vehicles on its roads by 2030 to meet its goals for reducing carbon emissions. An executive order on Friday laid out new state actions toward that goal, including a $2.5 billion initiative to bring a quarter of a...
After announcing it would ban the sale of fossil-fuel vehicles by 2030, the world's second-most populous country plans to support that goal through private and corporate partnerships and government incentives. India's decision to end fossil-fuel sales in the country comes with unique challenges. One is a per-capita annual income of just $1,670...
Sales of plug-in electric cars are rising steadily in North America, Europe, and Asia, with roughly 2 million now on the world's roads. China is debating when it will ban sales of new vehicles with combustion engines. Meanwhile, Toyota—one of the four largest global automakers—is only reluctantly planning to launch its own...
A California lawmaker will propose a bill next month that will ban the sale of gasoline-powered vehicles in the state beginning in 2040. Assemblymember Phil Ting, a Democrat representing much of the Bay Area, said he plans to introduce the bill when lawmakers return for the next legislative session in Sacramento. DON'T MISS: Bill could ban...
You may not have heard it happen, but the global automotive industry changed forever on Thursday. China released its plan to require substantial sales of plug-in electric cars by all makers who want to sell in the world's largest car market, and they start in little more than a year. The levels far exceed those required by California, whose...
Tropical islands are some of the best places on earth to pioneer carbon-free energy and zero-emission vehicles. Within the United States, the eight islands of Hawaii are blessed with a temperate climate, abundant sunshine, few high-speed highways, and a statewide speed limit of 60 mph, achievable only on a few roads. This has led to a push for...
It's public knowledge that Hyundai plans to replace its aging Tucson Fuel Cell utility vehicle with an all-new hydrogen-powered vehicle, and that it has big plans for the future. The Korean automaker showcased the FE Fuel Cell concept in March to provide a glimpse of what to expect when the dedicated design for its next fuel-cell vehicle arrives...
California has long been the nation's leader in zero-emission vehicles, with initiatives dating more than two decades. Now the Golden State is partnering with China, the world's largest car market, to accelerate that country's zero-emission goals. The state announced a new initiative with China, in which they will work together to accelerate the...
Carlos Ghosn, the man behind the Nissan Leaf electric car and now the chairman of the Renault Nissan Alliance, isn't the first to say it. But his recent comment that cities are driving the push for electric cars is an important one, because it indicates a prime market for their advantages. The result is that city governments all over the world are...
California has by far the most aggressive climate-change policies in the nation, and the state is a global leader in plans to reduce carbon-dioxide emissions. It's also the world's eighth-largest economy, with a growing population, soaring economic output, and a resolutely progressive legislature. While its zero-emission vehicle policies may get...
The sales growth of electric cars has made strides in recent years, and California's Zero-Emission Vehicle mandate has more than a little to do with that. The program adopted by the state of California more than 20 years ago, and much modified since then, requires that carmakers sell a certain number of zero-emission models in California and 10...
It's now clear that the zero-emission vehicles of the future will be powered by electric motors. The electricity to power those motors, however, will come from one of two competing technologies: high-capacity batteries or hydrogen fuel cells. The debate over which technology is superior, which has the lowest wells-to-wheels carbon footprint, and...
Large auto companies are likely aircraft carriers: it takes a long time for them to change direction, and far longer yet to get them aligned on a new course. To various degrees, the world's carmakers have started to produce and sell vehicles that plug-in, whether for some or all of their travels. Except Toyota. The Japanese company that's not only...