plug-in cars
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California BMW i3 owners will get free DC fast charging on the NRG eVgo network through 2015.
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Tesla And Panasonic Reach Agreement On Gigafactory Project: Report
Panasonic will reportedly invest funds and provide equipment for the massive lithium-ion cell factory.
Stephen Edelstein -
Plug-In Electric Cars: How To Buy A Second Charging Cable
If you own a plug-in electric car, what's the best (and cheapest) way to get a second charging cable to supplement the one that came with your vehicle? Turns out there are several options--as electric-car owners and advocates suggested when we asked the question. MUST SEE: Decoding Toyota's...
John Voelcker -
Decoding Toyota's Electric-Car Disdain: A Role For Fuel Cells
While unveiling its fuel-cell vehicle last month–priced to undercut the Tesla Model S ever so slightly–Toyota's Global R&D Chief Mitsuhisa Kato offered some dismissive thoughts on battery-electric vehicles. As quoted in Automotive News, the 39-year veteran of the Toyota Motor...
Matthew Klippenstein -
Nissan Leaf $5,500 Battery Replacement Loses Money, Company Admits
Last month, electric-car owners finally learned the price of a replacement battery pack for the Nissan Leaf: a surprisingly low $5,500 after the old pack is traded in. Many advocates and Leaf owners promptly seized on the price to "prove" that Nissan could now build batteries for less than $250 per...
John Voelcker -
China To Mandate One-Third Of Government Vehicles Be Plug-Ins
China is continuing its march of electric car progress with the announcement that 30 percent of all government vehicles should be plug-ins. Battery electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids and fuel-cell cars will all be eligible under the plan, set to be phased in over the next two years. According to...
Antony Ingram -
The third annual BC2BC electric-car rally is cancelled three weeks before the planned kickoff.
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Audi A3 e-Tron Plug-In Hybrid: Not A Compliance Car, Exec Says
Two years ago, we described the difference between high-volume electric cars and "compliance cars"--those built in very limited numbers solely to meet California rules that require a certain number of zero-emission vehicles to be sold each year. Now it appears that manufacturers don't want new...
John Voelcker -
Is Detroit Responding To Tesla Patent Offer With Collective 'Meh'?
Last month, electric car maker Tesla Motors took the unusual step of opening up its patents to other automakers. Automakers usually guard their patents very closely, ensuring them as much competitive advantage as they can get away with before someone builds something better. Open Tesla's patents...
Antony Ingram -
New Kind Of Nurburgring Record: Toyota Prius Plug-In Sets Fuel-Economy Bar
Automakers love to boast about Nürburgring lap times when selling performance cars. Once one of the most dangerous motor racing circuits in the world, it's now a measuring stick for the capabilities of road-going sports cars, performance sedans and supercars. ALSO READ: White House Responds To...
Antony Ingram -
2015 Chevrolet Volt: Bigger Battery, But 38-Mile Electric Range Remains
With widespread expectations that we'll see a redesigned second-generation model unveiled early next year, the 2015 Chevy Volt was expected to be a carryover model with few changes. And so it is, with one important exception: Without any fanfare, its battery capacity rose to 17.1 kilowatt-hours for...
John Voelcker -
Plug-in Electric Car Sales In Canada, Jun 2014: 10,000 On Roads At Year-End?
To borrow from an old soccer saying, plug-in electric car sales in Canada are a game in which about a dozen models compete, and the Chevy Volt wins. But in the broader competition with combustion, based on current trends, the Canadian market looks ripe to hit a nice round milestone by the end of...
Matthew Klippenstein -
Tesla Motors is making a concerted effort to hire veterans.
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2014 Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Car: 87 Miles Range, 84 MPGe
The 2014 Mercedes-Benz B-Class electric car hasn't quite reached dealerships yet--several are telling customers it could be next week--and its EPA ratings for range and efficiency have been something of a mystery too. Now, courtesy of an alert electric-car fan, we know the ratings for the first...
John Voelcker -
2014 BMW i3: What A Tesla Driver Thinks Of New Electric BMW
Several reports in general news media recently have touted the new 2014 BMW i3 electric car as a serious challenger to the Tesla Model S. One writer even went so far as to label the i3 a "Tesla killer." Dream on. There's no way a frumpy-looking little 2+2 city car is going to challenge the mighty...
David Noland -
Beijing Angles For More EVs: 1,000 Fast Chargers, Wiring Mandate For Buildings
Beijing hopes to spur electric-car adoption with a massively-expanded charging infrastructure.
Stephen Edelstein -
Plug-In Electric Car Sales In June: Leaf's Best-Ever June, Volt Up On May (FINAL UPDATE)
It hasn't reached the heady heights of May's record-breaking sales tally, but Nissan still has the highest-selling mainstream electric vehicle on the market. Nissan rounds off the month's sales having moved 2,347 Leafs. That's 770 fewer than May's best-ever Leaf sales total, but it's still a record...
Antony Ingram -
Nissan's DC Quick-Charging Stations: 630 CHAdeMO Sites Live Today
While most electric cars get charged overnight for most of their miles, the growing number of DC fast-charging sites enable longer trips when necessary. But those quick chargers--initially CHAdeMO stations for Nissan Leaf, Mitsubishi i-MiEV cars, and more recently Tesla Supercharger sites for its...
John Voelcker -
Three and a half years after the first Nissan Leaf went on sale, Nissan has announced the cost of a replacement lithium-ion battery pack for its electric car. It's a surprisingly low $5,499 (after a $1,000 credit for turning in the old pack, which is required), plus installation fees and tax. The installation is estimated at roughly 3 hours of labor. Fitting the replacement pack to 2011 and 2012 Nissan Leaf models requires a special $225 installation kit, which makes the new battery "backward compatible" with even the earliest Leaf models. DON'T MISS: Nissan Leaf Likely To Offer Larger...
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Tesla Model S Electric Car: Simply The World's Coolest Taxi
What kind of taxis do you ride in? Battered old Crown Vics? High-mileage Toyota Priuses or Ford Escape Hybrids? Our bet is that unless you've recently spent some time in Norway, you haven't ridden in a Tesla taxi. DON'T MISS: Envy The Man Who Owns Seven Tesla Electric Cars (In Norway) Given that...
John Voelcker -
California Puts Its Electric-Car Owner Survey Info Online
California surveyed applicants for the state electric-car incentive program, and will put the results online.
Stephen Edelstein -
Portland Tests BYD K9 All-Electric Passenger Bus: Quick Ride
If Warren Buffett needed to catch a ride across town, we suspect he might do it exactly the way that we did this past week: in an all-electric BYD bus. Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway famously invested big in China’s BYD Motors in late 2008 -- likely spurred by the company’s...
Bengt Halvorson -
Minnesota Leads Nation, Mandates Off-Peak Electric-Car Charging Rates
Minnesota is the first state to mandate special off-peak charging rates for electric cars.
Stephen Edelstein -
Renewable Energy Won't Cause Electric Utility 'Death Spiral': Study
Solar panels won't destroy electric utilities' business model, a new study says.
Stephen Edelstein