plug-in cars
-
Tesla's third-generation car, currently planned for volume production in late 2017, is now officially nameless again. According to Fortune, the company has abandoned its trademark application for the name "Model E," which had been widely assumed to apply to the new vehicle. DON'T MISS: Tesla's Next Electric Car Line: Roundup Of What We Know Now That car is anticipated to be a smaller all-electric sedan with a rated range of 200 miles and a starting price of around $35,000, according to company statements over the years. Ford had applied to trademark the same name several months after Tesla...
-
New 2017 Nissan Leaf: More Details On New Styling, Range--And Infiniti Electric Too
The Nissan Leaf is by far the highest-volume electric car ever built, with 110,000-plus on the roads now. And three and a half years after its launch, Nissan is pushing hard to boost its sales all over the world. But what about the next Nissan Leaf, one designed with several years of battery...
John Voelcker -
Mother-Daughter Team Installs Battery Packs In Chevy Volt Electric Cars
A mother and daughter work side by side to install Chevy Volt battery packs at GM's Detroit-Hamtramck plant.
Stephen Edelstein -
Proterra Electric Bus Travels 700 Miles In 24 Hours With Regular Recharging
Proterra says its 700-mile test is a record for miles driven by an electric bus in one day.
Stephen Edelstein -
Do The BMW i3 And i8 Electric Cars Pose A Threat To Tesla?
With the 2014 BMW i3 battery-electric car now being delivered to its first buyers, and the range-extended i3 REx version to follow within several weeks, BMW is at last in the business of selling electric cars in volume. And that, argues one financial analyst, may pose the most direct threat yet to...
John Voelcker -
BMW ActiveE Electric Cars Join DriveNow Program As Drivers Give Them Back
The BMW ActiveE lease program is over, but the cars will live on with the DriveNow car-sharing service.
Stephen Edelstein -
Solar charging is indisputably one of the best ways of running an electric vehicle. It certainly mitigates any lingering worries about fueling your car with a smoke-belching coal-fired power plant. BMW is backing solar too, commissioning its BMW DesignworksUSA arm to design a stylish solar carport, perfect for the i3 electric car and recently-tested i8 plug-in hybrid sports car. It's the latest part of BMW's holistic view on electric mobility--making step of the process greener, rather than churning out electric vehicles and leaving it at that. BMW announced the idea last year, but this is...
-
Texas Electric-Car Purchase Rebates Up To $2,500 To Start Soon
Texas plans to offer rebates to buyers of new electric cars, plug-in hybrids, and natural-gas vehicles.
Stephen Edelstein -
Tesla Sales On Target, Gigafactory Groundbreaking Next Month: FINAL UPDATE
Tesla Motors released its first-quarter earnings this afternoon, logging revenue of $713 million on deliveries of 6,457 Model S electric cars. That's essentially the number it had said it would sell in the quarter, but the total is slightly down from the record 6,892 sold in the prior quarter. It...
John Voelcker -
Lexus Ad Not Only Sneers At Plug-Ins, But Gets Charging Wrong
Few things make electric-car advocates as cranky as criticism of their vehicles. But when the criticism is factually wrong, and comes from a carmaker that has resolutely said it doesn't think plug-in electric cars are "ready for prime time," the howling gets harsher. Perhaps Toyota's Lexus luxury...
John Voelcker -
China Leans On Automakers To Produce Electric Cars, But Infrastructure Lags
It seems that China is facing the old "chicken and egg" dilemma, as it ramps up its push for electric car sales growth. The country wants to encourage electric car use, and is pushing automakers to sell them--but so far, the country's infrastructure lags far behind. As the ChinaEV blog notes, it's...
Antony Ingram -
Want To Rent A Tesla Model S P85? It'll Cost You $900...A Day
A California exotic-car rental company has a Tesla Model S electric car in its fleet.
Stephen Edelstein -
If you've bought an electric vehicle recently, chances are you may have enjoyed some of the myriad incentives currently offered on plug-in cars. Income-tax credits, purchase rebates, sales-tax exemptions, and various non-monetary incentives have been used worldwide to spur plug-in car sales growth. Now, data from the International Council on Clean Transportation show they're working pretty well. Mostly. An ICCT paper shows that incentives vary wildly from country to country, and that some are working better than others. At around 200,000 vehicles, global plug-in car sales in 2013 were near...
-
How Many Cars Is Tesla Selling In U.S.? Pace May Be Slowing
This Wednesday, Tesla Motors will release its first-quarter financial results--one part of which will be its electric-car sales total from January through March. If the usual practice holds true, Tesla will provide a single global sales total, not breaking it down by market or month as other...
John Voelcker -
Plug-In Electric Car Sales In Canada For April: Volt Record Sales
In Canada, the Chevy Volt's record-setting sales last month overshadowed the Tesla Model S's equally impressive deliveries the month before, in March. Building on strong momentum in March, the Chevy Volt tallied 222 sales in April, breaking its own monthly record for deliveries of a single plug-in...
Matthew Klippenstein -
Plug-In Electric Car Sales In April: Leaf Widens Lead, Volt Flat Again: FINAL UPDATE
Sales of plug-in electric cars last month stayed about level with last month's, based on the reports from all makers of plug-in electric cars sold in the U.S. (except for two that refuse to provide sales data). With all data now in, it was a steady month for plug-in sales, but not a spectacular...
John Voelcker -
2014 Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive: First Drive
Can electric cars be sexy? Look at the exclusive Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Electric Drive gullwing sports car, and that question has been answered. But put your sensible cap on for the moment, have a look at the 2014 Mercedes B-Class Electric Drive, and you'll find little of such flirtation. That's...
Bengt Halvorson -
Rewarding Dealers Who Sell Electric Cars: Connecticut Takes The Lead
The Connecticut "Revolutionary Dealer Award" is meant to encourage the sale of electric cars.
Stephen Edelstein -
As of Friday, May 2, it's official: the 2014 BMW i3 electric car is now on sale in the U.S. In a small ceremony inside the BMW of Boston dealership, the first retail buyer of an i3 took delivery of his keyfob yesterday afternoon. DON'T MISS: 2014 BMW i3 Electric Car Rated At 81 Miles, 124 MPGe He is Tufts University professor of practice Charles Rabie, who was previously a so-called "Electronaut"--one of several hundred lessees of the BMW ActiveE, a BMW 1-Series two-door sedan converted to battery-electric power. Rabie had driven his ActiveE for the last two years, and is an ardent advocate...
-
2014 BMW i3 Range-Extended Model Gets Full $2,500 CA Rebate For Electric Cars
It's clearly the week for news about the new and distinctive 2014 BMW i3 electric car. Yesterday, as the first cars arrived at dealers, we learned that it was rated at 81 miles of range (less than a 2014 Nissan Leaf's 84 miles), but operates at an unparalleled efficiency of 124 MPGe. Then, late...
John Voelcker -
2014 BMW i3 Electric Car Rated At 81 Miles, 124 MPGe: BREAKING
Well, the numbers are in, courtesy of a quickly-photographed window sticker, and now we know the range and efficiency ratings for the 2014 BMW i3 electric car. The EPA-rated range is 81 miles, and its efficiency is a record-breaking 124 MPGe combined (138 MPGe city, 111 MPGe highway). ALSO SEE...
John Voelcker -
Good Luck In Getting Tesla Owners To 'Give Back' Electric Cars! (Hilarious Paranoia Alert)
Oh, awesome! Someone is leaving fliers on Tesla Model S electric luxury cars parked in San Francisco, claiming...well, claiming all sorts of hilarious and bizarre things. Folks in SF are leaving anonymous flyers on Teslas exposing the "truth" about the company. Mind-blowing. cc @elonmusk...
John Voelcker -
MD Boosts Electric-Car Tax Credit, CA Adds Funds To Rebate Program
California and Maryland put more money into electric-car incentives.
Stephen Edelstein -
2015 BMW i8: Sexy Plug-In Hybrid Sport Coupe, Our First Drive
Could the 2015 BMW i8 sports coupe, coming this summer, do for plug-in hybrids what the Tesla Model S did for battery-electric vehicles? That is, could the sleek, sexy, attention-luring coupe with doors that open like insect wings make plug-in hybrids...sexy? ALSO READ: Chevy Volt: How It Really...
John Voelcker