plug-in cars
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Tesla Motors will add more service centers, stores, and Supercharger stations in Europe this year.
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Plug-In Electric Car Sales For Feb: Leaf Up, Volt Down (Tesla Unknown As Usual)--FINAL UPDATE
Analysts worried that winter weather would put a crimp in U.S. new-car sales last month, but one electric car racked up record February sales: the Nissan Leaf. Leaf sales of 1,425 cars in February were a record for the month, more than double the 2013 total of 653 February sales (the numbers for...
John Voelcker -
Is This A Tesla Model S AWD Prototype Caught Testing? (Video, Photos)
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...
John Voelcker -
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 -
Not All BMW ActiveE Drivers Moving To BMW i3, Poll Finds
BMW ActiveE drivers question the i3's price and practicality.
Stephen Edelstein -
Electric Cars Drive Silently Into Reality TV Shows
An electric Volkswagen Beetle and a derelict CitiCar join the ranks of automotive reality-show stars.
Stephen Edelstein -
Imagine you're a carmaker, and you found you could build a type of vehicle that customers all absolutely adored. Not just liked. Not just said, "Yeah, it's fine, it does what I need"--but out-and-out loved, cherished, talked about incessantly, and recommended to everyone they met, all the time. Those cars exist today. They're called electric cars. The customer satisfaction scores for plug-in electric cars are off the charts, and have been pretty much since they were introduced. General Motors has said the Chevrolet Volt, launched in December 2010, has the highest satisfaction scores it has...
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Who Buys Plug-In Electric Cars, And Why? CA Report Explains It All For You
Within two or three months, there will be more than 200,000 plug-in electric cars on U.S. roads--and we're learning more about who buys them, and why. California's Center for Sustainable Energy released a new report this month that depicts the owners of different models having different reasons for...
John Voelcker -
Georgia Advocates Ask Legislature To Keep Electric-Car Tax Benefit
Today, Georgia is among the best places in the country to buy an electric vehicle. Its electric-vehicle tax credit of $5,000 is among the highest offered by any state, and makes buying a battery-electric vehicle much more affordable. But advocates for the bill are now appealing to Georgia...
Antony Ingram -
Advice To Dealers On Green-Car Sales: Focus On Cost Savings First
When it comes to selling green cars, showing buyers that they're saving money can more important than showing them that they're saving the planet.
Stephen Edelstein -
Where Should Tesla Put Its Battery Gigafactory? Reader Poll
When electric-car maker Tesla Motors released more information about its planned "gigafactory" to produce lithium-ion battery cells in the U.S., it revealed the four states it's considering as plant locations. They are Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, and Texas, all of which are shown as candidate...
John Voelcker -
2015 BMW i8: Sexy Plug-In Hybrid Sport Coupe Coming Later This Year
With awareness of the 2014 BMW i3 battery-electric car starting to rise--it will arrive at dealers in late April or early May--it's sometimes easy to forget that BMW has a second plug-in car following close behind. And unlike the i3, whose looks are controversial, there's very little debate over...
John Voelcker -
This afternoon, Tesla Motors released details on its proposed "Gigafactory" to build lithium-ion cells for its future electric cars. To provide enough cell capacity to build a projected 500,000 electric vehicles in the year 2020, Tesla would require more cells than last year's entire global production. Hence, as CEO Elon Musk has said several times, it will need its own gigantic U.S.-based cell assembly plant, which he dubbed the "gigafactory." MORE: Why A Gigafactory? Because Tesla Used One-Third Of All Electric-Car Batteries Last Year The six-page presentation released by the company today...
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Buying An Electric 'Compliance Car'? Think Hard About Servicing First
There are now more than a dozen plug-in electric cars for sale in the U.S., but not all electric cars are created equal. And a pair of recent articles about service challenges experienced by owners of the Toyota RAV4 EV underscores that buyers should be fully aware of the context in which their...
John Voelcker -
Timeline For New Fisker Karmas: 'Within A Year'...Hopefully
The assets of the bankrupt Fisker Automotive are now in the process of being transferred to winning bidder Wanxiang America, but already the new owners have started to discuss their plans for the automaker. The latest news nugget is that Wanxiang hopes to restart production of the Karma...
John Voelcker -
Why A Gigafactory? Tesla Used 1/3 Of All Electric-Car Batteries Last Year
The 210,000 plug-in electric vehicles sold around the world last year used a lot of lithium-ion batteries. But if startup automaker Tesla Motors has its way, it will soon need as many lithium-ion cells (of the 18650 format it uses) as are now built worldwide. That's why the company plans to release...
Matthew Klippenstein -
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 -
A British study claims that wind turbines can last 25 years without the need for upgrades or replacement.
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CONTEST: Most Unusual Place You've Charged An Electric Car?
We know electric-car owners will go to extraordinary lengths to plug in and recharge wherever the opportunity presents itself. It may be for just a few minutes--a kilowatt-hour here and there--or it may be overnight. Sometimes even longer. MORE: Electric-Car Drivers Charge Anywhere; Check Out These...
John Voelcker -
China Buys More Cars, But U.S. Trounces It In Plug-In Cars
China represents a huge, and growing, market for new car sales. But when it comes to choosing greener cars, the country lags far behind the U.S., with electric and plug-in hybrid vehicle sales lower than those of many individual states, let alone the whole country. The China Association of...
Antony Ingram -
Fees Start April 1 On WA Electric Highway: Same Price As Gas?
All good things must come to an end--and it seems that applies to free DC quick-charging for electric cars along the Northwest's innovative Electric Highway. For the past year or more, the CHAdeMO quick-charging stations in Oregon and Washington states have offered free recharging under the...
John Voelcker -
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 -
What Do Tesla, Cadillac, Hyundai Have In Common? Owner Love!
These three disparate brands are the most-loved among U.S. car buyers, a new study says.
Stephen Edelstein