Honda on Thursday announced plans to push its EV supply chain into Canada, in a move that it said “represents recognition of the long-term attractiveness of the Canadian EV manufacturing ecosystem.” The investment is significant—$11 billion US, including investments by joint-venture partners—but it doesn’t yet… Read more…

An electrified successor to the Mazda 6 mid-size sedan goes on sale in China later this year, but prospects for the U.S. are unclear. Unveiled at the 2024 Beijing auto show, the Mazda EZ-6 combines the Japanese automaker’s signature design flair with powertrain tech from Changan Automobile, Mazda’s Chinese partner. Mazda hasn’t confirmed sales… Read more…

In its quarterly earnings call this week, Ford reported significant losses on EVs—but still promised lower-priced models. As reported by CNN, Ford said its EV unit lost $1.3 billion in the first quarter, or $132,000 for each of the roughly 10,000 EVs sold by the automaker during that period. Sales were down 20% from a year earlier, but… Read more…

Toyota announced on Thursday that it plans to build a new three-row battery-electric SUV in Princeton, Indiana, with a corresponding $1.4 billion investment in the plant. The company emphasizes that this announcement comes in addition to the recent $1.3 billion investment in the automaker’s Kentucky plant, to build a separate three-row… Read more…

GM last week announced details regarding its vehicle-to-home (V2H) system, set to launch with the Chevrolet Silverado EV RST, that will help EV owners back up their home without the help of a storage battery like a Tesla Powerwall or a backup generator. It’s ultimately part of GM’s big energy play that sees EVs becoming home power… Read more…

Mini on Wednesday unveiled a new entry electric model, although it’s unclear if it will reach the U.S. Called the Aceman, the new model is a crossover that borrows the name and minimalist look from a 2022 concept car. Measuring just 160 inches long, it slots between the redesigned 2025 Mini Cooper hatchback and 2025 Mini Countryman crossover. That… Read more…

EV sales are likely to continue growing in 2024, reaching around one in five new car sales globally, and 11% of the U.S. market, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). Tight profit margins, volatile battery raw material prices, and the phaseout of incentives in certain countries have led to concerns about an EV sales slump, but data… Read more…

A new Tesla Model 3 Performance based on the refreshed Model 3—codenamed “Highland” by the automaker—is now available to order in the U.S. Appearing on Tesla’s website Tuesday, the new Model 3 Performance has a dual-motor all-wheel drive powertrain rated at 510 hp and 546 lb-ft of torque. Tesla quotes 0-60 mph in 2.9 seconds, a 163 mph… Read more…

Vinfast on Tuesday announced the signing of 12 more U.S. dealerships, but a recent report suggests the EV firm may be falling behind on sales targets. The first of the new dealerships is expected to open later this month, according to a Vinfast press release. The additions will give the company 18 franchised dealerships in seven states—North… Read more…

It has four motors, 579 hp, and an off-road heritage that goes back further than the Rivian R1S, GMC Hummer EV, and Tesla Cybertruck. With the electric version of its military-grade G-Class, Mercedes-Benz promises even more freedom from pavement than all those American-built flagwavers, and it does it all with batteries. Joining the G-Class in the… Read more…

Teslas are less expensive to maintain than other car brands, including some with strong reputations for reliability, according to Consumer Reports. As part of its 2023 Annual Auto Surveys, Consumer Reports asked owners how much they paid out of pocket for maintenance costs like oil changes over the previous 12 months. Researchers then compared… Read more…

Tesla on Saturday once again cut prices on several of its models for the U.S. market, as part of around-the-world price cuts. Given the cuts, anyone considering the Model 3 and Model Y in the U.S. may want to take a fresh look at the numbers. The base price of the Model Y rear-wheel drive has dropped $2,000 versus last week, to $44,630, while the… Read more…

Michelin built its name on tires that ride on a cushion of air. But the top tire-maker in the world sees the future as completely airless. “We are convinced at Michelin that airless is the future technology that is necessary for many reasons,” Cyrille Roget, the company’s director of scientific and technical communications, said… Read more…

U.K.-based Bedeo is launching a Land Rover Defender EV conversion based around in-wheel motors from Bedeo-owned Protean Electric. The Defender is the first in a series of “Reborn Electric: Icons” conversions, according to a Bedeo press release. The program will expand the company beyond its current business of electric van conversions to the… Read more…

Disneyland will replace gasoline vehicles at its Autopia ride with EVs in 2026, the Los Angeles Times confirmed this week. Autopia is one of the longer-running attractions at the Anaheim, California, Walt Disney Co. theme park and it undoubtedly has a role in nurturing auto enthusiasm for kids. With clarification that these vehicles will be “fully… Read more…

Tesla is recalling nearly 4,000 Cybertrucks over sticky accelerator pedals, after the NHTSA earlier this week said that it was already communicating with Tesla on the issue. Cybertruck pedals may become trapped in a depressed, “accelerate” position after a lot of pressure has been applied by the driver, explains documents filed with… Read more…

The U.S. now has nearly 8,200 public DC fast-charging stations, filling in gaps on the route map, according to a new Bloomberg report. The number of public fast-chargers increased 7.6% in the first quarter of 2024, fueled by the Biden administration’s $5 billion National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program, according to the report… Read more…

New factories producing EVs and their batteries are bringing more jobs to the Southeast, but utilities are trying to meet the power demands of these factories with natural-gas power plants rather than renewable energy, reports Energy News Network. Anticipated demand from the auto industry—as well as solar-panel manufacturing and data… Read more…

The Toyota Highlander midsize SUV could go all-electric, while the Grand Highlander would continue with internal-combustion engines, according to a new report from CarBuzz. This is part of a strategy to replace the alphanumeric naming scheme used by the Toyota bZ4X—currently the only EV in Toyota’s U.S. lineup—for more conventional… Read more…

Mercedes-Benz is scrapping extended-range EV powertrains after tests of prototypes, according to an Autocar report citing an anonymous source with knowledge of the matter. Mercedes built and tested some prototypes based on existing models, “concluded that the range-extender drivetrain is a transitional technology with a relatively short-term… Read more…