Vacuum maker Dyson hires Infiniti exec to get serious about making cars

Roland KruegerDyson, famous for reinventing vacuum cleaners, looks to be getting serious about building electric cars. The company announced on Tuesday it has hired former Infiniti President Roland Krueger to head its automotive operations. Under Krueger's tenure, Infiniti, Nissan's luxury brand, announced that it would convert most of its models to electric or...

From a global view, going electric could hike up small-car prices

Volkswagen ID Crozz concept, 2017 Shanghai auto showAs soon as 2024, electric cars are expected to reach price parity with gas-powered cars, largely due to the falling costs of battery packs. Volkswagen’s chairman Hans Dieter Pötsch, earlier this week, provided some commentary to the German Welt am Sonntag that appears to be aimed at dispelling that expectation—or at least lowering...

Would you buy an electric car from Cadillac? Twitter poll results

Future Cadillac long-range electric large luxury utility vehicle (rendering), 2019 Detroit auto shoLast week, ahead of the Detroit auto show, General Motors announced that it would shift its electric-car focus from building relatively affordable Chevrolets to expensive luxury Cadillacs. The company also showed images of a concept of its first electric Cadillac SUV. That led us to wonder whether electric-car buyers, after six years of salivating...

Mercedes-Benz moves to build battery supply chain in Europe

2020 Mercedes-Benz EQCA key obstacle to getting more electric cars on the road at the moment may be building up a big enough supply of batteries to power them. So far, the only automaker with a large enough supply of batteries to produce electric cars in large volumes is Tesla. Volkswagen has also announced a $10 billion investment in electric-car batteries, but those...

Tesla may use new battery supplier for cars made in China factory

Tour of Tesla battery gigafactory for invited owners, Reno, Nevada, July 2016Tesla is reportedly exploring the idea of buying local batteries for its factory in China, from a supplier other than Panasonic. Panasonic has been Tesla's partner in creating batteries for its electric cars from the outset of Model S production and co-owns the Nevada battery-production Gigafactory that produces far more electric-car batteries any...

Lifting the hammer: Germany considers limits on Autobahn speeds

2020 Mercedes-Benz EQCEfforts to curb global warming have led Germany to propose limiting speeds on its famous Autobahns. Facing heavy fines from the European Union if it fails to meet greenhouse-gas reduction targets, the country's committee on the future of transport put forward a series of draft proposals that includes limiting speeds on currently unfettered...