Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV)
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It's long been expected that sooner or later, the Tesla Model S electric sport sedan will be offered with all-wheel drive. Now, two different Tesla fans have captured photos and video of what appears to be a prototype test vehicle with external instrumentation driving around the San Francisco Bay Area. As published on TransportEvolved, the video and first photos posted yesterday by Frank Hsueh--which aren't of particularly high quality--simply showed the silver Model S with roof-mounted instrumentation and wheel sensors on all four wheels. MORE: AWD Tesla Model S Coming Soon? (Warning: Pure...
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How Financial Analysts (And Many Others) Misunderstand Tesla's Competitors
Startup electric-car maker Tesla Motors and its sleek Model S luxury sport sedan have generated more media coverage over the last three years than many well-established car companies. But at least some of that coverage is woefully, hilariously out of touch with the actual world of real people...
John Voelcker -
Has U.S. Demand For The Tesla Model S Electric Car Stabilized?
Last month, Tesla Motors reported deliveries of a record 6,892 Model S vehicles during the fourth quarter of 2013. Giddy investors promptly sent Tesla shares zooming higher. But many of those cars--Tesla isn't saying how many--were delivered to Europe. And if you look closely, there are signs that...
David Noland -
2014 Honda Fit EV: Model Year Ends Early As Last Cars Are Built
Honda has announced through its EV sales division that the Fit EV model year production will end early, with production of the last of the 2014 Fit EVs this fall. [UPDATE: Honda North America subsequently clarified that Fit EV production will end on schedule this fall, not "early." Honda added that...
Antony Ingram -
Nissan Surveys Tesla Owners For Intelligence On Electric Cars
Nissan is very quietly gathering additional electric-car "intelligence" about satisfaction, details, and features from Tesla Model S owners.
George Parrott -
2014 BMW i3 Gets CA Carpool-Lane Access: Battery Only, So Far
As expected, the 2014 BMW i3 electric car has been awarded its "white sticker," the coveted permission to drive in High-Occupancy Vehicle lanes with only one occupant on California's crowded freeways. The range-extended version of the i3, however, has not yet appeared on the list--and there remains...
John Voelcker -
The small Asian nation of Bhutan has a very big goal: It hopes to convert the country's vehicles to almost all electric power. Today, Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay and Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn announced an agreement between the nation and the carmaker to work together toward that goal. Nissan Leaf electric cars are to become both Bhutanese government vehicles and taxi cabs in the capital city of Thimphu. MORE: Bhutan Mulls Turning All Taxis Into Nissan Leaf Electric Cars The Nissan Leaf is the most successful electric car in history, with more than 100,000 sold. In today's ceremony, Ghosn...
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BMW's Toughest Task: Training Its Dealers On i3 Electric Car
Early adopters, ecology-minded citizens and, increasingly, drivers who want very low running costs are now buying plug-in electric cars. That much we know. But many have reported frustrations at the dealership, from a lack of interest to salespeople who actively steer them away from electrics...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Model S Electric Car Versus ... Ford Model T? A History Lesson
Well, give Car and Driver points for high concept: In picking a car to test against a 2013 Tesla Model S luxury electric sedan, the magazine chose...a 1915 Ford Model T. Yep, the most advanced, most talked-about battery-electric vehicle on the planet was pitted against the car that put the world on...
John Voelcker -
2014 Nissan Leaf Has Lowest Lifetime Carbon Footprint: Report
Which new vehicle sold today has the lowest overall carbon footprint over its lifetime? The answer, according to Automotive Science Group (via InsideEVs), turns out to be the Nissan Leaf battery-electric car. In a study to be released this spring, The Automotive Peformance Index: Redefining Value...
John Voelcker -
2015 Kia Soul EV: Details From Execs Who Brought It To The U.S.
The upcoming 2015 Kia Soul EV is not only the Korean carmaker's first battery-electric vehicle sold in the U.S., it's also one of less than a dozen all-electric cars offered for sale. Launched last week at the Chicago Auto Show, it adds a new and much greener model to the very popular second...
John Voelcker -
2014 BMW i3 Electric-Car Orders Limited To Single Trim Level (For 3 Months)
The 2014 BMW i3 electric car will only be offered in Launch Edition trim for its first 3 months on sale.
Stephen Edelstein -
Tesla Motors is notoriously stingy with information about its cars and future plans, to the great frustration of news-hungry Model S owners and fans. But in a Q & A session in Norway on February 1, Tesla CEO Elon Musk and the company's CTO JB Straubel revealed several intriguing tidbits about the Model S, the upcoming Model X electric SUV, and the company's planned mass-market Model E sedan. Among the Model X highlights: The Model X will have the same wheelbase as the Model S, and its length will be within 5 cm (about 2 inches). Width will be the same too. The Model X, of course, will be...
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Aluminum-Air Battery Developer Phinergy Partners With Alcoa
Phinergy and Alcoa will work to commercialize the Israeli startup's aluminum-air battery technology.
Stephen Edelstein -
2015 Kia Soul EV Electric Car Unveiled At Chicago Auto Show
Call it electric Soul: Kia took the wraps off its first electric car to be sold in the U.S. this morning, officially launching the 2015 Kia Soul EV at the Chicago Auto Show. The Soul EV was one of three Kia vehicles featured at the Chicago show. It was shown alongside the Kia Niro Concept, a hybrid...
John Voelcker -
2015 Tesla Model X Will Have All-Wheel Drive Only, Company Confirms
With less than a year to go before the first production Tesla Model X all-electric crossover utility vehicles are scheduled to roll off the assembly line, the company has confirmed that every Model X will come standard with all-wheel drive. Previously, four driven wheels were listed as an option...
John Voelcker -
FINAL UPDATE: Plug-In Electric Car Sales In January: Leaf, Volt Both Low
In the first month of 2014, sales of the two most popular plug-in electric cars were lower than they've been in many months. Sales levels likely fell victim both to the predictable winter slowdown in electric-car sales (which we saw in 2012 and 2013 too) and to particularly bad weather last month...
John Voelcker -
2014 Smart ForTwo Electric Drive: What It's Like On The Road
With minimal changes from the model launched last year as the least expensive electric car in the U.S., the 2014 Smart ForTwo Electric Drive remains the smallest and shortest plug-in electric car sold in the U.S.--as well as the only one offered as a convertible. The two-seat electric Smart comes...
John Voelcker -
Regenerative braking is a standard and expected part of any electrified car now, from Honda's mild hybrids up through battery-electric vehicles like the Tesla Model S. It lets the car recapture energy from momentum, which would otherwise be wasted as brake heat, by running the electric motor in reverse to recharge the battery. But what was the first car to employ regenerative braking? According to a short piece in Car Design News, it was an electric concept car called the Amitron, unveiled in 1967 by--of all things--American Motors. Shorter than a Smart ForTwo minicar, it was sufficiently...
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With Demand Soaring, Nissan Leaf U.S. Production Could Double This Year
With the 2014 Nissan Leaf going on sale this week and next, Nissan is poised to expand production and dramatically boost sales of its U.S.-built battery-electric hatchback. And if its CEO has his way, sales will double in 2014, from the 22,610 Leafs delivered in 2013 to 40,000 or more, perhaps as...
John Voelcker -
2014 Nissan Leaf Electric Car: 84-Mile Range, RearView Monitor Standard
The 2014 Nissan Leaf is now rolling off the assembly lines in Tennessee, and the first examples should arrive at dealerships this week or next. Now, after a long wait, we have information on the updates to the electric car for the new model year. Rated range rises to 84 miles Most importantly to...
John Voelcker -
2013 Tesla Model S Electric Car: Consumer Reports Still In Love
After a year of driving, Consumer Reports is still enamored with the Tesla Model S.
Stephen Edelstein -
Actress Anne Hathaway Is NOT The First 2014 BMW i3 Owner In The U.S.
Sometimes the media don't quite know what they're talking about. And so it was with a story that had actress Anne Hathaway importing one of the first 2014 BMW i3 electric cars from Germany for her husband because she didn't want to wait for it to go on sale in the U.S. next spring. The story, which...
John Voelcker -
Electric Cars So Disruptive, Gas Cars Will Be Obsolete In 2016, Says Futurist
Many people like to think they can predict the future, but only futurists (and psychics) get paid to do it. And futurist Lars Thomsen thinks that electric cars are such a disruptive technology that they will make gasoline cars obsolete--starting in 2016, or much earlier than most other analysts...
John Voelcker