General Motors on Tuesday announced completion of its first BrightDrop EV600 electric delivery vans, and revealed a second version dubbed EV410. It’s a fairly quick turnaround considering that GM only announced the EV600, as well as plans to build it in Ontario, Canada, in January. The EV600 is the first model for BrightDrop, a new standalone… More…

The U.S. electric vehicle maker Lucid leaped past several milestones on Tuesday. With an official commissioning ceremony for its Casa Grande, Arizona manufacturing plant featuring Arizona governor Doug Ducey, and presentations by CEO and CTO Peter Rawlinson and manufacturing VP Peter Hochholdinger, it reported that it has produced the first… More…

Crowdfunded EV startup Atlis Motor Vehicles on Friday unveiled a hand-built prototype of its XT heavy-duty pickup truck, which the company claims will achieve up to 500 miles of range and 15-minute charging. Intended as a work vehicle, the XT will serve as the launch vehicle and flagship for a range of EVs based on Atlis’ XP platform, the company… More…

The 2022 Rivian R1T electric pickup truck draws a lot of attention for a lot of reasons. Around town, the traditional pickup truck style finds the future with LED light bars ringing the rounded edges of the truck. On the road, it makes 3.0-second 0-60 mph acceleration runs look effortless. Off-road, its prodigious capability and quiet footfalls… More…

Ford on Monday announced its largest single manufacturing investment ever—$11.4 billion, which will include the creation of nearly 11,000 new jobs at two mammoth manufacturing complexes in Tennessee and Kentucky. The announcement was coordinated with a somewhat stepped-up target: Ford now plans for 40 to 50 percent of its global vehicle… More…

Over the past decade, Michigan, the traditional home of the U.S. auto industry and a hub for manufacturing, has seemed perfectly fine ceding leadership in electric vehicle infrastructure to the West Coast. Last week, Michigan Governor Gretchen Witmer introduced two projects that could go a long way to turn that impression around: one involving… More…

Mercedes-Benz announced Friday that it plans to join Automotive Cells Company (ACC), the venture between Stallantis and TotalEnergies, creating “a European battery champion for electric vehicles.” With the new stakeholder, ACC will aim for a 120-gigawatt-hour annual capacity, more than doubling the previous target, and boosting the… More…

An expansion of the EV tax credit, which has seen bipartisan support before, has been on President Biden’s CO2-cutting tasklist since before he was elected. Now, as part of a massive $3.5 trillion reconciliation spending bill, the credit faces an uncertain future. The expanded credit, earlier in the year seen as a shoo-in for one of these… More…

With the list of electric cars rated at 300 miles or more in EPA testing growing rapidly, 400 miles is the new goal for many luxury automakers. But not BMW. The automaker is targeting 600 kilometers (372 miles) of range, but feels no need to aim higher than that, David Ferrufino, project leader for the 2022 BMW i4, said in a recent interview with… More…

Lotus on Tuesday revealed the platform for a planned electric sports car, codenamed Type 135, due in 2026. Following Lotus founder Colin Chapman’s maxim “simplify, and add lightness,” the new platform emphasizes weight reduction. Known internally as E-Sport, the new platform was developed through Project LEVA (Lightweight Electric Vehicle… More…

Ford on Wednesday announced plans to partner with Tesla co-founder J.B. Straubel’s Redwood Materials on battery recycling. The plan is for recycled materials to be fed back into the United States EV battery supply chain, creating a so-called “closed loop,” according to a Ford press release. This reduces costs, as well as the overall environmental… More…

General Motors on Tuesday revealed more about the motors and propulsion systems that will power a generation of Ultium-based electric vehicles. Motor design and efficiency is an unsung hero in the drive for pushing EV range higher without having to upsize the battery—and the demand on charging infrastructure—so GM’s… More…

Honda on Monday announced United States sales targets for the Prologue, an upcoming electric SUV that will use General Motors’ Ultium hardware. The automaker said in a press release that it will initially target 70,000 annual sales for the Prologue when it launches in 2024. However, the Prologue won’t be available nationwide, at least not right… More…

The Mercedes-Benz EQS electric luxury sedan will start at $103,360 when it reaches United States dealerships this fall, Mercedes confirmed Tuesday in a press release. That base price, which includes a mandatory $1,050 destination charge, buys the EQS 450+ version, with a single rear motor producing 329 horsepower and 419 pound-feet of torque. The… More…

Audi has revealed pricing, equipment, and range information for U.S. versions of its all-electric overture for the masses, the Q4 E-Tron lineup due late this year. The compact Audi EV will start at just $44,995, including the mandatory $1,095 destination charge. That’s for the single-motor rear-wheel-drive version, badged the Q4 40 E-Tron. The Q4… More…

As it begins customer deliveries of the R1T electric pickup truck, Rivian has revealed more details of its subscription program for charging and other ownership perks. Per the company’s website, the Rivian Membership includes unlimited LTE connectivity access, as well as unlimited free charging, including DC fast-charging on what the company calls… More…

The 2021 Volkswagen ID.4 earned a Top Safety Pick+ from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the non-profit safety agency confirmed Tuesday. It’s the highest safety rating awarded by the IIHS and considered to be the most rigorous safety testing in the industry. With the ID.4 lineup awarded that accolade, assuring a robust set of safety… More…

The new head of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) called out Tesla’s use of “Full Self-Driving” branding for its non-autonomous driver-assistance tech in a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal. NTSB boss Jennifer Homendy called the Full Self-Driving name “misleading and irresponsible,” saying that consumers pay more… More…

The Chevrolet Bolt EV and EUV electric cars remain on a production pause, but GM confirmed Monday that battery production is again underway. Production has resumed at LG battery plants in both Holland and Hazel Park, Michigan, the automaker said, as LG understands the nature of two manufacturing defects that have been the root cause of Chevrolet… More…

Police cars are a significant chunk of Ford’s fleet business, and now the company is taking steps to make them electric. Ford on Friday said it is “exploring all-electric, purpose-built law enforcement vehicles” as part of its overall $30 billion investment in electrification through 2025. For now, the Ford Mustang Mach-E will serve as a testbed… More…