Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV)
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General Motors has always had an aggressive schedule for launching its 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV, the industry's first mass-priced electric car with 200 miles or more of range. It was revealed as a concept just 18 months ago at the 2015 Detroit Auto Show, with a production version unveiled at this year's Detroit show. Now, the company has promised that Bolt EVs will start arriving at Chevy dealerships between October and December of this year. DON'T MISS: 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV preview The timing was confirmed by Alan Batey, GM's president for North America, who spoke to reporters on Wednesday...
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2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV preview
The 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV will be the world's first mass-priced electric car with a range of 200 miles or more. That alone makes it a hugely important new market entry. Going on sale in late 2016 or early 2017, just six years after modern electric cars arrived, the Bolt EV represents a second...
John Voelcker -
Some 2015-2016 Ford Focus Electrics recalled for pinion-shaft problem
Certain Ford Focus Electric models are being recalled because they may lose power while driving.
Stephen Edelstein -
Plug-In Electric Car Sales Report for June: more of the same
Sales of plug-in electric cars last month continued at pretty much the same level as in May, with few notable gainers or losers among the high-volume entries. While the Nissan Leaf electric car and the Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid had run neck-and-neck in total sales last year, the Leaf has now fallen...
John Voelcker -
Tesla delivers 14,370 electric cars in Q2, fewer than planned
Electric-car maker Tesla Motors said it delivered 14,370 vehicles from April through June, made up of 9,745 Model S sedans and 4,625 Model X utility vehicles. That number means the company missed its second-quarter production target of 17,000 cars. During the first six months of this year, Tesla...
John Voelcker -
2016 Tesla Model S vs original: how do they compare in value?
I’ve owned my 2013 Tesla Model S for more than three years, and put 66,000 miles on it now. It still runs great, and it makes me happy every time I drive it. I plan to keep it for at least a few more years. But I can’t help occasionally peeking at the Tesla Motors online Model S...
David Noland -
It's a frequent complaint from car shoppers: all the affordable electric cars are small hatchbacks or sedans, but I want an SUV. Indeed, there's only one all-electric crossover utility vehicle on the market—the Tesla Model X—and that will run you $80,000 or more. Now it appears that Nissan has plans to solve that problem. DON'T MISS: Next Nissan Leaf confirmed for 60-kwh battery, 200 miles of range According to the British magazine Autocar, Nissan may be planning all-electric versions of the next Juke and Rogue (which is sold in some markets as the Qashqai). The Rogue compact...
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Next Nissan Leaf confirmed for 60-kwh battery, 200 miles of range
The next-generation Nissan Leaf will get a larger battery pack.
Stephen Edelstein -
What hurts Nissan Leaf sales: Tesla Model 3 or Chevy Bolt EV electric cars?
The numbers are in, and for the Nissan Leaf electric car, they're not pretty. Despite a boost in its EPA-rated range from 84 to 107 miles, its year-to-date sales of 4,697 units are down 40 percent on the 7,742 that were sold in the same five months last year. And those were down on the total of...
John Voelcker -
Plug-in electric car sales for May flat: Leaf struggles despite range boost
U.S. sales of cars with plugs were essentially flat last month, as low gas prices and perhaps anticipation of longer-range entries within months kept a lid on buyer interest. The second-generation Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid, now available throughout the country as a 2017 model, logged 1,901...
John Voelcker -
Mercedes-Benz electric cars: more details of 4 models for 2020 emerge
All three German luxury car makers now have plans to launch battery-electric vehicles before 2020 to counter the unlikely success of California's Tesla Motors. Whether their electric cars are sedans, SUVs, or both, they will likely be sized and priced to compete with the Tesla Model S and Model X...
John Voelcker -
2017 Chevy Bolt EV sales could go as high as 80,000, says analyst
The question of how many electric cars can be sold in a single year remains a topic of hot debate as the U.S. market awaits the launch of the 200-mile Chevy Bolt EV at the end of this year. The world's best-selling electric car, the Nissan Leaf, had its highest-sales year in the U.S. in 2014, when...
John Voelcker -
With the Stanley Cup destined to be won by an American team for the 23rd straight year, Canadian hockey fans seemingly spent the month of April shopping. The country's monthly auto sales topped 200,000 for the first time in history, and least two plug-in electric vehicles set sales records. None did as well as the Tesla Model S did in March, however. DON'T MISS: U.S. Plug-in electric car sales for April 2016: Volt romps, Leaf stagnates In all, 325 Tesla Model Ses were registered, obliterating the single-month Canadian plug-in electric vehicle sales record. As a result, despite a slow start to...
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Plug-in electric car sales for April 2016: Volt romps, Leaf stagnates (update)
After the usual winter doldrums at the start of the year, April proved to be a good month for plug-in electric car sales in the U.S. March was a record-breaking month, and as April results come in today and tomorrow, last month's pace seems to be robust as well. As usual, the two highest-volume...
John Voelcker -
How BMW can compete with Tesla electric cars: future i5, plug-in hybrids, says advocate
For a decade now, Tesla Motors has been the "black swan" of the auto industry. It's a California company startup, founded from scratch, using a new powertrain, that against all odds has sold more than 100,000 electric cars and created a brand known worldwide. You can almost hear the grinding of...
John Voelcker -
2017 BMW i3: up to 114 miles of range from 50-percent battery increase
For its fourth year on the market, the 2017 BMW i3 electric car gets a huge boost in battery capacity and hence its EPA-rated range. The battery capacity rises 50 percent, from 22 to 33 kilowatt-hours, and the company says the rated range for the battery-electric version will be up to 114 miles...
John Voelcker -
Hyundai to launch all-electric SUV in 2018 with 200-mile range
Carmakers need to launch more plug-in electric vehicles to meet global regulations on emission reduction and energy efficiency. And small to mid-size SUVs are the fastest-growing segment in auto markets around the world. Now we learn that Hyundai is planning to launch a dedicated all-electric SUV...
John Voelcker -
Four new (or updated) electric cars coming for 2017
Among battery electric cars on sale in the U.S., only three vehicles have sold more than 10,000 copies since 2010: the Nissan Leaf, Tesla Model S, and BMW i3. But four new or updated models coming for the 2017 model year may change those equations. The most eagerly awaited new 2017 electric car is...
John Voelcker -
Electric cars with 200 miles of range will be the next big step in expanding the global market for plug-in vehicles. Leading the charge will be GM, with the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV that will go on sale in less than a year. That car will be followed at some point by the next-generation 2018 Nissan Leaf and the Tesla Model 3, which its maker says will go into production by the end of 2017. DON'T MISS: Updated 2017 Ford Focus Electric: 100-Mile Range, DC Fast Charging But Ford, which has held back on battery-electric vehicles, has no immediate plans to join that party. The company will update its...
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2018 Honda Clarity electric versions: first details, including 40-plus-mile range for plug-in hybrid
The 2017 Honda Clarity will arrive in showrooms late this year with a hydrogen fuel-cell powertrain, one of three hydrogen-powered vehicles that will be sold in limited numbers in specific California regions that have hydrogen fueling stations up and running. But Honda has much larger plans for the...
John Voelcker -
Bob Lutz called 2017 Chevy Bolt EV a 'compliance car'; is it?
Electric-car advocates are often passionate, with memories long enough to remember GM's 2004 destruction of its pioneering fleet of EV1 electric cars. Since then, the company has built and sold two generations of the Chevrolet Volt, with the launch of the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV imminent within a...
John Voelcker -
2016 Tesla Model S gets styling update, 48-amp charger, new interior options, $1,500 price increase (updated)
The Tesla Model S electric car, which went into production in June 2012, is getting its first styling updates in almost four years. The Silicon Valley carmaker said that Model S luxury sedans produced starting today in its Fremont, California, assembly plant will have a new front-end design...
John Voelcker -
Today you can spec any Tesla Model X version online
Once again Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk has released some new product information, this time on the 2016 Tesla Model X electric crossover utility vehicle. And he did it via his most frequent method of communcation: Twitter. The news is that the online configurator for the full array of Model X...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Model 3 depositors vs Chevy Bolt EV: sea change or double standard?
More than 325,000 potential buyers have put down $1,000 apiece for a Tesla Model 3 electric car that they won't get for two years, if not considerably longer than that. Which must frustrate the electrification team at General Motors deeply. The 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV with more than 200 miles of...
John Voelcker