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Lots of luxury electric cars, Volvo XC40 subscription, Drive Electric Week roundup: Today's Car NewsJohn Voelcker
Today, we've got news on luxury electric cars from Volkswagen and from Jaguar, and a poll asking your opinion on them, as well as a prediction about car-subscription services replacing some sales . All this and more on Green Car Reports. This year's National Drive Electric Week, the eighth one, was larger, better, and held in more places than ever before. The CEO of Volvo says that one of every five XC40 small SUVs it delivers in 2023 will be driven via subscription service rather than sold to individual buyers. To kick off a slew of stories about luxury electric cars, we've got a new poll...
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Jaguar I-Pace electric SUV has already accumulated 25,000 orders: CEO
In the rarified but still high-volume world of global luxury auto brands, Jaguar is still a tiny player. The British brand sold fewer than 150,000 cars globally last year, one-third of the number of Land Rover and Range Rover SUVs from its sister brands within Jaguar Land Rover. Audi sold 1.9...
John Voelcker -
Volkswagen to show flagship all-electric ID sedan in Geneva: Phaeton successor?
The long, strange, sad saga of the now-defunct Volkswagen Phaeton will likely go down as an asterisk in VW's long history. The pet project of now-departed VW Group chairman Ferdinand Piech, a member of the Porsche family that controls the carmaker, it was a $70,000-and-up luxury sedan from the...
John Voelcker -
Which maker will sell most electric luxury cars by 2020? Take our Twitter poll
It has taken several years for European luxury makers to sort out what to do about the unexpected arrival of Tesla and its electric cars into a market they've dominated for decades. Sure, Lexus and a host of lesser Asian makes have competitive products somewhere between premium and luxury, but...
John Voelcker -
Car subscription services to take 1 of 5 sales by 2023, Volvo CEO says
The 2019 Volvo XC40 not only represents the Swedish brand's first compact crossover to be sold in the U.S. but its first shot at a new model for drivers to obtain cars: a subscription service. During the XC40 launch, Volvo revealed it would introduce Care by Volvo, a subscription service giving...
Sean Szymkowski -
National Drive Electric Week was bigger, broader, better than ever this year
This year's National Drive Electric Week was expected to be the biggest to date after organizers announced 175 events had been planned as of July. The seventh annual event to promote electric cars grew even larger than anticipated, with 278 separate local meets, presentations, and drive events...
Sean Szymkowski -
Today, we've got more info on two Teslas, a look at China's electric-car battery plans plus a study on why battery startups fail, and survey results on what may happen to future fuel-economy rules. All this and more on Green Car Reports. Over the weekend, as always, we ran down last week's important green-car news stories. Changes have come fast and furious this year to the Tesla Model S lineup, which will lose the rear-wheel-drive 75 version. We also reported on a new study looking at why battery startups fail in the U.S. and what could be done to address that. Today, a couple of videos...
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2018 Nissan Leaf vs Chevrolet Bolt EV: new electric cars compared
The 2017 Chevy Bolt EV went on sale last December, but only became available nationwide in August. Meanwhile, electric-car shoppers waited eagerly for details of the 2018 Nissan Leaf, the second-generation car that finally premiered in early September. We've now driven both cars, and can take a...
John Voelcker -
China to build many gigafactories' worth of electric-car battery plants
While the United States federal government threatens to backslide on renewable energy, California and China continue to move at an aggressive pace to lead the world in zero-emission vehicles. However, there's another piece to the electric-car puzzle that China seems poised to lead as well: battery...
Sean Szymkowski -
CT dealer incentive for electric-car sales works, could be improved: report
Connecticut ushered in a unique electric-car incentive in 2014, and the first points of data on its effectiveness have now been published. The Connecitcut Hydrogen and Electric Automobile Purchase Rebate (CHEAPR) program not only provides a direct incentive for consumers to buy electric cars, it...
Sean Szymkowski -
What will happen to U.S. fuel-economy rules through 2025? Poll results
With the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president last November, it became clear that the regulatory environment for businesses would change once he took office. Indeed, dozens of regulations limiting corporate activities involving emissions, fossil-fuel exploration, hiring and firing, and a host...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Model 3 interior details, features emerge from pair of videos
While the 2017 Tesla Model 3 electric car is now being delivered in small numbers to company friends and employees, not all the specifications, features, and details for the electric car are available. Now more information has emerged, in the form of a pair of videos—one by a detailer and...
John Voelcker -
Over the past decade, advances in battery technology have progressed steadily, but not quite as quickly as impatient electric-car advocates might like. With electric cars and plug-in hybrids fast becoming part of every carmaker's lineup, durable, less expensive, and higher-capacity batteries are more important than ever. Yet despite growing electric-car sales, most battery-startup companies fail in the United States. DON'T MISS: Electric-car battery progress: incremental improvements, not revolutionary leaps Since 2000, just 36 U.S. battery startups have received $500,000 or more in...
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2019 Volvo XC40, 2017 e-Golf prices, Porsche's faster charging, Tesla Model S 100D: The Week in Reverse
What's the catch that some journalists didn't notice in a new electric-car announcement by China? Which unlikely green car completed the grueling, no-support-allowed Mongol Rally? This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car Reports—for the week ending on Friday...
John Voelcker -
Volvo XC40 SUV, Nissan Leaf rally car, VW's 80 electric cars, EV sales in 2018: Today's Car News
Today, a surprise Mongol Rally entrant, VW's growing electrification plans, the new 2019 Volvo XC40 small crossover utility vehicle, and your views on electric-car sales. All this and more on Green Car Reports. Among the 2018 Nissan Leaf, the Chevy Bolt EV, and the Tesla Model 3, which electric car...
John Voelcker -
2019 Volvo XC40 small SUV to become brand's first electric car
Two years ago, the Volvo XC90 large SUV launched to widespread acclaim and awards as the Sino-Swedish brand's first all-new vehicle in six years. It was followed by the S90 sedan and V90 wagon in 2017, filling out its large luxury lineup. The 2018 Volvo XC60 mid-size crossover utility is now...
John Voelcker -
VW Group makes 300 models globally, will electrify them all by 2030
Along with the gleaming concept cars and new production models unveiled at last week's Frankfurt auto show, auto-company executives also make news. Often a company's CEO or product chief will announce directions for the future, whether they're hints about upcoming vehicles or new powertrain plans...
John Voelcker -
Scots couple complete grueling Mongol Rally in electric car
The Mongol Rally is no small undertaking for any driver, in any type of vehicle. The 10,000-mile rally takes drivers from Europe to Siberia, via Mongolia, with no support vehicles or backup cars. On July 16, 2017, a Scottish couple arrived at the starting line at the Goodwood race course in England...
Sean Szymkowski -
The Trump administration hasn't been coy about trying to champion traditional fossil fuels while downplaying the importance and falling costs of renewable energy. Earlier this year, Department of Energy secretary Rick Perry, previously governor of fossil-fuel producer Texas, called for a 60-day review of the United States' energy grid. The stated goal was to understand why traditional fuels such as coal and nuclear power were falling out of favor—and what that might mean for grid stability. DON'T MISS: Trump DoE to critique renewables against coal for grid reliability The department's...
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Which electric car will sell best in 2018? Take our Twitter poll
OK, now the 2018 Nissan Leaf has made its debut, and we know the prices, specifications, and standard and optional features of the updated electric car with a projected 150 miles of range. Deliveries of the 2018 Leaf will start early next year, but meanwhile the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV has been on...
John Voelcker -
Rare-earth metals, Mercedes electric plans, oil-company angst, Tesla news, rumor: Today's Car News
Today, we've got a Tesla rumor and a Supercharger expansion, news from Mercedes on electric SUVs, oil company Shell slamming the idea of future bans on cars with engines, and a primer on rare-earth metals. All this and more on Green Car Reports. There will be three types of cruise-control system on...
John Voelcker -
Tesla expands Supercharger fast-charging sites into cities for Model 3 owners
With the mass-production Model 3 in mind, Tesla has begun to expand its Supercharger fast-charging stations into urban areas. Earlier this month, Tesla opened its first two Supercharger stations in Chicago, Illinois, and Boston, Massachusetts. The Chicago site features 10 charging stalls, while the...
Sean Szymkowski -
Mercedes to invest $1 billion to build electric SUVs, batteries in Alabama
Daimler, the parent company of Mercedes-Benz, announced that it will invest up to $1 billion to build electric SUVs and batteries in and around its assembly plant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The plans, first reported reported Thursday in The Wall Street Journal (paywalled), represent a major expansion...
John Voelcker -
Shell bashes bans on gasoline cars, proposes carbon pricing instead
The prospect of bans on gasoline and diesel new-car sales have become a much greater threat not only to automakers but to oil companies as well, now that China has said it is studying such a move. The world's largest car market has not announced any timetables for such a ban, which will likely be...
John Voelcker