plug-in cars

In a week where US Coda Automotive has launched its 2011 Sedan, an all-electric vehicle based upon the chinese-made Hafei Saibao, China’s own electric car industry is undergoing some interesting changes. BYD, backed by U.S. businessman Warren Buffet, has been making loud noises in the...

During his 2008 campaign for president, Barack Obama famously said that he wanted one million plug-in cars on U.S. roads by 2015. That's a goal that many experts continue to think will be extremely hard to attain. Now California has adopted the same goal for the state alone, but with a different...

What happens when the humble charging station gets a makeover courtesy of a top San Francisco design firm, a choice of colors and an TV advert full of young, happy, carefree friends making an EV road trip? The GE WattStation. Developed by General Electric as its answer to the demand for electric...

Coda Automotive, the electric car company that many have overlooked until recently has just launched its new site detailing vehicle price, vehicle information and range information. We’ve been guessing at the Sedan’s base price now for some time, but Coda have confirmed that the retail...

Over the weekend we noticed that Nissan is now detailing a cold-weather package as an option on the 2011 Leaf. Although it’s not available yet at any of the current dealers, but Nissan has confirmed with fan-site Nissan-leaf.net that it will be available to order soon. So what is in the cold...

Sit back, relax, and take in the official design and specifications for the Kestrel, the hemp-bodied EV engineered by Canadian firm Motive Industries. We looked at the benefits of the environmentally friendly hemp construction last month, an avenue Lotus have also explored with their 2008 Eco Elise...

Earlier this week Swiss-based Nation-E announced the Angel Car, a vehicle which the company says will aide stranded electric cars with flat battery packs. Designed to help alleviate the range anxiety many commentators cite as the major hurdle to widespread EV success, the Angel Car is only a phone...

Ask a non EV owner what life is like with an electric car and you’re likely to hear tales of range anxiety, slow motoring and constant recharging. But as the results of BMW’s Mini E trial in the U.K. show, drivers of BMW’s two-seat, all-electric mini have, horror of horrors, been...

Amidst a flurry of battery-electric vehicle announcements by automakers all over the globe, Toyota reiterated plans to launch six new hybrid models by 2012. But the company will push back the U.S. launch date for its first plug-in vehicle, the 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid. Toyota had said this...

How expensive is an electric car to charge? It’s a question we get asked a lot by our readers, keen to know just what the impact of electric car ownership will have on their pocket books. With gasoline cars it’s really easy to keep track of fuel costs. Filling up at the gas station is a...

As we pointed out last week, it’s not always best to be first to release a new generation of technology, especially when the competition is so fierce. Playing the game between being the first and the best is a tough one for automakers everywhere. While Mitsubishi, Chevrolet and Nissan are all...

Coulomb Technologies, a leader in roadside charging stations and infrastructure, announced a $15 million third round of funding, which it will use to further develop its network of electric vehicle charging stations. The company has inked partnerships with Leviton and Siemens, which will add their...

Does the 2011 Nissan Leaf leave you feeling uninspired? Does the 2011 Chevrolet Volt appear too aggressive? Is the 2011 Tesla Roadster just too sporty? Do you long for classic looks, big wheels and great all-round visibility? This weekend an electric car will be sold at an Indianan auction house...

Picture the scene: You arrive home after a long day at work. The lights are on, the dinner is waiting for you in the oven and the kids are watching TV. Before leaving the garage, you plug in your 2011 Nissan Leaf and switch the charger on. And the whole neighborhood goes dark. Your EV was the straw...

It’s not a secret that Hawaii is keen to become the most electric car-friendly state in the whole of the U.S. And now two more electric car companies are laying a claim to the electric vehicle market in the island state. Earlier this week at the Asia Pacific Clean Energy Summit and Expo, the...

With several big electric vehicle launches due over the next few years and order books filling up quickly, we're sure to start seeing more of them on the roads. Research agency Pike Research has announced that combined sales of full-electric (battery electric, or BEV) vehicles and plug-in hybrid...

In a week where many mainstream media outlets are claiming electric cars are prohibitively more expensive to own than gasoline counterparts, a team of Swiss researchers have released conclusive data showing that the environmental impact of the electric car is much less than most gas cars. As any EV...

It's been the most anticipated all-electric car of 2010 with well over 13,000 pre-orders in the U.S. alone. We've driven one twice and loved the car's well-finished trim, impressive handling and accurate range calculations using the car's built-in GPS. Our very own Marty Padgett is one of the...

While early adopters won't need many public charging points for their electric cars, conventional wisdom has it that the public at large probably will. And according to a May report by Pike Research, that's exactly what will happen. The clean-technology market research firm predicts that by 2015...

 The end of 2010 is seen by many in the automotive industry as the first hurdle for many budding electric car companies. By the end of 2010 both Chevrolet and Nissan will have plug in vehicles on the market, both at prices that will outcompete much of the competition. For the smaller automakers...