Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV)

  • Lucid Air

    Only a handful of people have ridden in one outside the company, but development of the Lucid Air luxury electric sedan seems to be proceeding apace. The company said yesterday at the New York auto show that a development prototype had reached an electronically limited top speed of 350 km/h (217 mph) in testing last month. Lucid Motors, formerly known as Atieva, conducted the test on the high-speed banked oval track at Ohio’s Transportation Research Center. DON'T MISS: Lucid Air luxury electric car: Bloomberg gets brief ride Speeds over 200 mph are customarily reached only by supercars...

  • 2012 Tesla Model S beta vehicle, Fremont, CA, October 2011
    Tesla trucks: semi to be shown in Sept, pickup in 18-24 months

    Relative few companies regularly make major announcements via their CEO's Twitter account, but electric-car maker Tesla is different. From software updates to dates for new product lines, tweets from Tesla's CEO Elon Musk routinely make news. And so it was this week, when Musk announced the months...

  • Teaser for Volkswagen ID SUV Concept debuting at 2017 Shanghai auto show
    Volkswagen teases electric crossover for Shanghai auto show

    Volkswagen appears to be quite clearly committed to an ambitious program of electric cars following its diesel emission scandal. But aside from two adapted models launched a few years ago—the VW e-Golf and e-Up hatchbacks—and a few low-range plug-in hybrids, it doesn't yet have much to...

  • 2017 Honda Clarity Electric
    Honda Clarity Electric, Plug-In Hybrid sedans revealed at NY auto show

    At the New York auto show this morning, Honda revealed the second and third powertrains for its Clarity mid-size sedan, now offered only in California with a hydrogen fuel-cell powertrain. The 2017 Honda Clarity Electric and 2018 Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid are powered by a battery pack and a...

  • 2012 Tesla Model S beta vehicle, Fremont, CA, October 2011
    After Tesla, which automaker is best in electric cars? Poll results

    Regardless of the number of cars they've sold—fewer than the Renault-Nissan alliance—Tesla is undoubtedly the best-known electric-car maker in the world. It delivered 76,000 cars last year, against roughly 10 million each for Volkswagen Group, Toyota, and General Motors. But its sleek...

  • 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV electric car, brought to Kelly Olsen's house for test drive, March 2017
    First impressions of Chevy Bolt EV by Nissan Leaf driver

    If you're serious about driving a green car, but not happy with your local choices, you need to move to California. The Golden State has roughly two dozen battery-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles on sale, not to mention three hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles. Electric-car advocate Kelly Olsen...

  • 2015 Tesla Model S 70D in new Ocean Blue color

    We're long past the days when car enthusiast publications sneered at electric cars as underpowered golf carts. Much of the credit for that goes to Tesla, the first all-electric carmaker, whose Model S won the hearts of 'buff-book' writers everywhere for its speed and shape. Now electric cars, including Teslas, have become enough of a part of the market that they get reviewed just like any other vehicle—long-term tests included. DON'T MISS: Tesla delivered 25,000 electric cars in Q1 2017, plus or minus That's what led Car and Driver to test a 2015 Tesla Model S P85D luxury electric sedan...

  • 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV electric car at EVgo fast-charging station, Newport Centre, Jersey City, NJ
    2017 Chevy Bolt EV electric car: first national lease deal starts at $329 monthly

    As the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV rolls out across the U.S. over a nine-month period, electric-car advocates have focused intently on its sales numbers. It's fair to say that in its first four months on sale, they haven't yet broken any records. But now, for the first time, there's a national lease...

  • Tesla Model 3 test car, Los Altos, CA, Apr 8, 2017  [clip from YouTube video by OMG_Tesla}
    Tesla Model 3 caught on video during daylight testing

    The emergence of spy photos, and more recently video, has always been one of the standard indicators of a car nearing production. With production still said to start this July, pre-production versions of the Tesla Model 3 electric car should have been popping up in spy photos by now. Two weeks ago...

  • 2015 Nissan Leaf
    Four of 10 drivers globally would consider an electric car

    It’s been merely six years since the first modern electric car hit the streets, and the segment looks ready to take off. Over 43,000 people residing in 52 countries all around the globe were asked whether they are considering buying an electric car in the next five years. On average, four out...

  • 2017 Nissan Leaf
    Putting plug-in electric car sales in perspective: they're still very low

    Volume sales of plug-in cars, both battery-electric and plug-in hybrid models, began more than six years ago. From a first-year total of about 17,000 in 2011, they rose tenfold over five years, to roughly 160,000 last year in the U.S. But it's important to understand that despite their growth rate...

  • 2017 Toyota Prius Prime and 2017 Chevrolet Volt with Green Car Reports editor John Voelcker
    Plug-in electric car sales for Mar: Leaf beats Bolt EV, plug-in hybrids beat electrics (updated)

    The Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid again took the crown among plug-in electric cars whose makers report monthly sales. A total of 2,132 Volts were sold in March, bringing its three-month sales to 5,563 units, higher than any other car with a plug over the same period. Its stablemate, the Chevy Bolt...

  • First Tesla Model S delivered in Hong Kong

    Government officials in Hong Kong have eliminated a popular tax exemption that made electric vehicles much cheaper to buy than comparable gasoline-powered models. Now Tesla worries it could take the brunt of the blowback. The loophole helped make Hong Kong one of the biggest overseas markets for the Silicon Valley carmaker's luxury electric cars. DON’T MISS: Tesla delivered 25,000 electric cars in Q1 2017, plus or minus Before the exemption expired on April 1, the Model S carried a base price of 570,500 Hong Kong dollars (about $73,400). That’s about on par with the sedan’s...

  • 2017 Tesla Model X
    Tesla Model X electric car vs Toyota Mirai fuel-cell car: CA road trip

    The ability to travel long distances has long been a distinguishing feature of Tesla's luxury electric cars, whose Supercharger fast-charging network now offers access to essentially every part of the 48 continental states. But where hydrogen infrastructure exists, which can cover a long road trip...

  • Nissan e-NV200 revolutionizes iconic Harrods fleet
    European brands adopt electric delivery trucks: Harrods, Hermes

    In the U.S., electric-car advocates and green energy fans have been dealt some setbacks during recent weeks. In Europe, however, the push toward electrification remains as strong--and trendy--as ever. Delivering on zero emissions In Germany, courier service Hermes (not to be confused with French...

  • Mercedes-Benz EQ electric car concept  [photo: Axel Harries]
    Mercedes-Benz electric cars to arrive sooner as urgency increases

    Mercedes-Benz parent company Daimler is speeding up its shift towards electrification. The auto-maker remains on track to bolster its portfolio with 10 electric vehicles, but they’ll arrive three full years sooner than expected. The battery-powered cars are now scheduled to debut by 2022...

  • 2011 Nissan Leaf
    Lessons learned from early electric car: 2011 Nissan Leaf at 90,000 miles

    Being a pioneer isn't easy. When you're pioneering new automotive technology, it can be challenging and sometimes costly. Just ask anyone who owned an early turbocharged sport sedan, for instance. That also applies, in some cases, to some of the first modern electric cars, and in particular the...

  • 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV electric car at EVgo fast-charging station, Newport Centre, Jersey City, NJ
    Fast-charging a 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV electric car

    The 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV is the first mass-priced electric car with more than 200 miles of range to go on sale in the U.S. That alone makes it a landmark vehicle, and has led to significant interest in the first electric car that provides comparable range to that of Tesla cars over the last nine...

  • Section of 2018 Nissan Leaf spy shot  [image via S. Baldauf/SB-Medien, as used on Motor Authority]

    The more camouflaged spy shots that emerge of a car being tested on public roads, the closer it likely is to being introduced. After seven years of the first-generation Nissan Leaf electric car, a redesign is due—some might say overdue. Now we have a second set of spy shots of the 2018 Leaf being tested, indicating a likely unveiling this fall. SEE NEW SPY SHOTS HERE: 2018 Nissan Leaf spy shots Once again the photos come courtesy of German spy-photo house SB Medien. You can view all of them at the link above. These more detailed photos of the 2018 Nissan Leaf confirm the idea we had...

  • Tesla Model 3
    Which electric car will sell best during 2018? Poll results

    Next year should be a record year for sales of plug-in electric cars. A new crop of affordable electric cars with 200 miles of range or more will be available, joining this year's Chevrolet Bolt EV, including the next-generation Nissan Leaf and the mass-market Tesla Model 3. So our thoughts...

  • Longer-range Renault Zoe electric car, introduced at 2016 Paris Motor Show
    Renault Zoe electric-car owners can double their range by upgrading leased batteries

    When the updated 2017 Renault Zoe was unveiled last fall at the Paris auto show, it became one of the few electric cars whose range effectively doubled over its model life. Launched in 2012 with a 22-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery, the five-door subcompact hatchback had an effective range of 60...

  • Aston Martin Rapid-E concept
    Aston Martin Rapide luxury sedan to go all-electric; cheerio, V-12!

    Many luxury automakers are planning new electric cars, both to meet future emissions standards and as a response to the success of Tesla. So far, though, no established automaker has discussed directly replacing an internal-combustion model with an all-electric one. But that may be exactly what...

  • First release candidate Tesla Model 3 electric car, from video tweeted by Elon Musk, March 2017
    First 'release candidate' Tesla Model 3 driven: video posted by Elon Musk

    The news earlier this week that the Tesla Model 3 would skip its usual "beta" development phase came as a shock to the industry and even to Tesla fans. With no reported sitings to date of Model 3 development versions on the roads, that seemed a startling and risky thing for Tesla to do. Especially...

  • 52 prototype x pedals
    What IS 'one-pedal driving' in an electric car?

    One-pedal driving is rather like the experience of owning an electric car: it can be hard to appreciate until you've spend time doing it. The phrase "one-pedal driving" refers to the ability of some electric cars to be driven almost entirely with the accelerator pedal alone. It's a feature much...

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