Volkswagen will revive the name of an SUV pioneer for a new rugged EV brand. The automaker on Wednesday announced the new Scout brand, taking the name of the International Harvester Scout that debuted in the 1960s as one of the original SUVs. This new Scout incarnation will develop an electric pickup truck and SUV for the United States. The first… More…
Category: Greencarreports
Tesla recalls cars for overheating issue—of screens, not battery packs
Tesla is recalling 2021-2022 Model S and Model X vehicles, and 2022 Model 3 and Model Y vehicles, over a charging issue that can cause infotainment screens to overheat. The recall of 129,960 vehicles addresses a problem with the infotainment screen central processing unit (CPU), which may not cool down sufficiently during fast charging, according… More…
Freightliner eCascadia electric semi: Production version bows, will be made this year
After testing with customers, the Freightliner eCascadia electric semi truck debuted in production-ready form Monday. Production is scheduled to start later this year at Freightliner’s Portland, Oregon, factory, the company said in a press release. Freightliner claims to have about 700 orders for the truck. The production eCascadia will be… More…
First drive review: 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning revolutionizes the pickup truck
The 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning is not evolutionary in design or concept, yet the electric pickup truck’s success could be revolutionary. When the Tesla Model S launched, every automaker took notice. The Rivian R1T had a similar effect in rethinking what a lifestyle pickup truck can be and do. To a lesser but no less important extent, the… More…
2025 BMW electric sedan could split 3-Series, while i5 and i7 preserve ICE form
The first dedicated electric vehicle platform for BMW, called Neue Klasse within the company, won’t arrive until 2025, but it will focus around a size or segment of the market that’s always been very important to the German automaker: the 3-Series. According to BMW CEO Oliver Zipse, in comments made during the company’s… More…
Report: EV charger vulnerabilities might leave them open to hackers
EV charging stations might become a target for hackers, according to a recent Automotive News report. Software vulnerabilities can leave charging stations open to hacking, according to the report. One example the report occurred earlier this year on the Isle of Wight in the United Kingdom. Three charging stations’ screens were hacked to show a… More…
Lordstown Endurance electric truck production needs more cash, even if Foxconn deal doesn’t fizzle
Lordstown Motors plans to start production of its Endurance electric pickup truck before the end of the year, and is advancing a deal with contract manufacturer Foxconn, but it still needs more cash. Endurance production is scheduled to start in the third quarter of 2022, Lordstown said in its first-quarter 2022 financial results report. That’s… More…
Roush will assemble Bollinger Motors’ electric trucks in Michigan
Bollinger Motors’ lineup of commercial electric trucks has a contract manufacturer: Roush Industries. The companies announced Monday that Roush will assemble Bollinger’s lineup of Class 3 through Class 6 electric trucks at a scalable facility in Livonia, Michigan. The arrangement will include platforms and chassis cabs, and Bollinger… More…
No brakes! Will the EVs of the future omit friction pads entirely?
A prototype from Stellantis’ DS Automobiles aims for a future in which brake dust and brake-pad replacements might be a thing of the past—looking to regenerative braking as the sole method for braking vehicles. Regenerative braking, which turns EVs’ motor systems into generators when needed to slow the vehicle, is already used to… More…
California utility expands bidirectional EV charging pilots
California utility Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) is expanding public testing of bidirectional EV charging with three new pilot programs encompassing up to 1,000 residential electricity customers and hundreds of commercial customers. Each program will offer incentives to customers for participation, with “additional benefits” for those in… More…
Long before Tesla or the Leaf, this Nissan electric car claimed a 155-mile range
While we widely think of the General Motors EV1—or its preceding Impact concept car—as starting the era of the electric car. But there were others in that era, that followed a similar formula and might have potentially come to market earlier. One of them came from Nissan. As recently discussed by Japanese Nostalgic Car (via Hemmings)… More…
Study: EV owners use automaker smartphone apps often but aren’t so happy with them
A majority of EV owners use automaker smartphone apps to manage charging, but they aren’t happy with them, according to a new J.D. Power study. Of the EV owners surveyed, 70% said they used an app at least every other drive to monitor the charging process and view available range. And while most EV owners do the majority of their charging at home… More…
Volta plans to build its futuristic-looking electric trucks in the US, teases truck-as-a-service offering
Sweden-based Volta Trucks on Thursday announced plans to enter the United States market with its Zero electric commercial trucks. The company said in a press release that it plans to “appoint an experienced U.S.-based manufacturing partner in late 2022.” It plans to start U.S. production with this partner in 2024-2025. Prior to that, Volta plans… More…
Lucid updates on deliveries and raises prices effective June 1—but no price hike for reservation-holders
As part of a quarterly update Thursday, Lucid confirmed a price hike across its model line, and it confirmed that it’s still on track for producing 12,000 to 14,000 vehicles by the end of the year. During the first quarter of 2022, Lucid delivered 360 vehicles—up from 125 in the fourth quarter of 2021. And perhaps confirming that the… More…
Hyundai Ioniq 5 road-trip charging: Don’t seek out 350-kw connectors, 150 kw might be just as fast
Part of what makes the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and its close cousin, the Kia EV6, so noteworthy in the market is that they’re capable of taking advantage of 350-kw CCS connectors, and their faster-charging power levels allowed by 800-volt charging systems. On those 350-kw connectors, in ideal conditions, that can assure a road-trip charge from 10%… More…
Report: Tesla adds swiveling screen to yoke-equipped Model S
The Tesla Model S is leaving the factory with swiveling central touchscreens, according to multiple owner reports. Tesla recently gave the Model S (and Model X) a significant interior update that included a steering yoke, but it hasn’t confirmed the swiveling screen. Owners have reported seeing the screen and claim it’s original equipment… More…
Entire US Volvo lineup for 2023 is mild hybrid, plug-in hybrid, or EV
The entire 2023 Volvo lineup in the United States will be mild hybrid, plug-in hybrid, or all-electric, the automaker confirmed Wednesday in a press release. Volvo sees it as a step toward offering only pure electric vehicles by 2030 and being carbon-neutral by 2040. With the XC40 and XC90 crossover SUVs and V60 Cross Country station wagon getting… More…
Fisker 550-mile electric sports car teased, due in 2024
Fisker today revealed a glimpse of a flagship electric sports car project aiming to showcase the company’s performance capabilities. Due in 2024, the production sports car will follow Fisker’s more affordable Ocean and Pear models. The car, so far called Project Ronin (harking to the movie with some great car chases), is described as being… More…
Electrify America claims more than five times the charging sessions in 2021 vs. 2020
Electrify America on Monday released a few tidbits of network-usage data from 2021, showing a major uptick in charging sessions over 2020. The company said in a press release that it provided 1.45 million charging sessions in 2021, which is more than five times the 268,000 charging sessions reported for 2020. Electrify America dispensed 41.4… More…
DOE: $3.1 billion for EV battery supply chain, $45 million for development
The United States Department of Energy (DOE) this week announced new funding from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for domestic EV battery production and development. The DOE on Monday announced $3.16 billion for the domestic battery supply chain. Part of more than $7 billion the infrastructure law has designated for battery… More…