Earlier this month, Ford suddenly stopped taking orders for two especially popular versions of the Ford Mustang Mach-E—the Premium and California Route 1. That left more than an $18,000 price gap between the base Select, which is only offered with the base 70-kwh Standard Range battery pack, and the top GT, with its included all-wheel drive… More…
Category: Greencarreports
Aston Martin and Britishvolt ally to create batteries for performance EV due in 2025
Aston Martin last week announced a partnership with Britishvolt to develop new battery technology. The goal is to create batteries for a planned “ultra-luxury performance EV,” Aston said in a press release. Due to launch in 2025, this will be the British automaker’s first production EV after a couple of false starts. Aston’s previous EV, a track… More…
Energy, power, cells, modules, cooling: Watch Lucid’s CEO give the best EV battery primer yet
If you’re looking to learn more about EV batteries, Lucid Motors CEO and CTO Peter Rawlinson may have just delivered the best primer yet. Over roughly 36 minutes, this first video in a series covers just about every aspect of the Lucid Air battery pack and how it helps enable the luxury sedan’s 520-mile maximum range. Rawlinson starts with the… More…
Ford and PG&E study how F-150 Lightning might support the grid, not just the home
While bidirectional charging remains at the hypothetical or developmental stages for some automakers, it’s almost here for Ford and its F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck. A new partnership between Ford and California utility PG&E is aiming to take that functionality to the next stage: the electrical grid. Ford plans the first… More…
Rivian plans LFP cells, heat pump, 800V upgrade; 2022 production plan halved to 25,000
Rivian revealed updates on R1T, R1S, and EDV production, preorders, and what amounted to its most significant product update in months, as part of a letter to shareholders and Q&A held Thursday. The company is ramping up production, gradually and with plenty of supply-chain-related fits and starts. As of March 8, Rivian reports that it has… More…
Affordable electric Chevy Blazer due in 2023—sporty SS version too
General Motors on Wednesday teased that its Chevrolet Blazer electric crossover, due to arrive starting in spring 2023 and debut later this year, will be the first from the brand to be offered in an “SS” performance model. The SS badge, for Super Sport, has been a Chevy mainstay since the leading edge of the muscle-car era, typically… More…
Ethanol producers, states join opposition to stricter Biden emissions and mpg standards
A coalition of ethanol producers have joined a group of 16 states challenging tougher vehicle emissions standards for model years 2023 through 2026, Automotive News reported last week. Under the Biden administration, the EPA has proposed rules that will support a fleet mix of about 40% EVs by 2030 and arrive at a slightly tighter level by… More…
Analysts: Raw material price surge will put EV battery affordability gains on hold until 2024
A surge in raw material prices could cause EV battery prices to rise, according to a recent Reuters report. Battery prices have declined consistently over the past few years, but rising prices of nickel, lithium, and other materials—exasperated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine—could halt or even reverse that trend, according to the… More…
VW ID.Buzz electric Microbus revealed: US version won’t be shown until 2023, sold until 2024
Five years after generating much buzz with a Microbus-inspired electric van, Volkswagen has at last revealed the production model, suitably called ID.Buzz. Although for the U.S. there’s a big asterisk: America won’t see the ID at dealerships until 2024. Simply put, Americans shouldn’t dwell too much on the specs for the European… More…
More EVs likely means less pollution from utilities, not more: Here’s why
There are some ill-informed opinion pieces suggesting that the more EVs that are put to use, the more we’ll need to tap into dirtier power sources in order to meet demand. But as a recent RMI report suggests, that’s not true—because relatively simple tech like smart charging and time-of-use rates will help smooth loads and help utilities… More…
Research suggests solid-state EV battery cells aren’t always safer than conventional lithium-ion
One of the touted benefits of solid-state batteries is increased safety owing to a more stable solid electrolyte, but new research casts doubt on that claim. Solid-state batteries get their name from their solid electrolyte, which proponents claim is less prone to damage and overheating than the liquid electrolyte used in conventional lithium-ion… More…
Volvo plans to test wireless fast-charging with XC40 Recharge taxis
Volvo Cars has announced that it will be testing electric taxis equipped with wireless charging, in “a live city environment” to evaluate the potential of the technology. The tech, from Momentum Dynamics, is due to be installed on a “small fleet” of Volvo XC40 Recharge electric SUVs operated by Cabonline, which claims to be the largest… More…
GM wants future EVs to be home power banks—and it starts with a California pilot program
Electric vehicles have the potential to be more than just transportation—by using their battery packs for supplemental home energy and grid stabilization. That’s what a collaboration between GM and Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E), announced Tuesday morning, aims to explore—with the eventual hope of making every GM vehicle… More…
Could wind-and-solar towers charge EVs, stabilize the grid?
Wind and solar-powered charging could further lower the environmental impact of electric cars; but one New York-based company wants to combine them in one electricity-generating device that could be used for EV charging stations or wherever grid-buffering might help keep blackouts at bay. Change Wind Corporation has developed the Wind & Solar… More…
Polestar aims for a climate-neutral car by 2030, seeks help from suppliers and beyond
Polestar aims to build a truly climate-neutral car by 2030—in that it will not only eliminate emissions from driving but from every different aspect of production, and even sales and support. That’s a lofty goal—especially considering that the project, called the “Polestar 0 Project,” won’t resort to offsetting… More…
What should the charging station of the future look like?
Will the electric-vehicle charging station of the future look a lot like a gas station, or will it involve more clusters of chargers in corners of vast blacktop parking lots? Thankfully, if you go by the winners, announced earlier this month, of a competition called “The Electric Fuelling Station of the Future,” the answer is neither… More…
VW electric Microbus revival due for March 9 reveal, 2023 deliveries
Volkswagen plans to reveal its ID.Buzz electric Microbus in production form on March 9. But with each reminder of the pending reveal, it’s trickling out a little more information about the long-anticipated electric van. The ID.Buzz is expected to follow closely on the prototype version teased in November—for Europe. The U.S. version, not due… More…
Could spinning off EV business allow Ford to go electric quicker?
Ford is looking at ways to separate its EV business from its other operations in order to win more positive attention from investors, according to a Bloomberg report published Friday. CEO Jim Farley wants to “wall off” the EV business from its internal-combustion engine business, and has considered spinning off one or the other, according to the… More…
Tesla reached a cumulative million of its new-format cells in January
Tesla produced its millionth large-format 4680 battery cell in January, according to a tweet from the company’s official account posted Friday. The 4680 cells, so far made at a facility in California, are key to Tesla’s plans to continue boosting range and performance while lowering cost. The name references their dimensions—46 millimeters… More…
It’s easier to buy a Kia EV6 than a Hyundai Ioniq 5: Here’s why
The Hyundai Ioniq 5 and the Kia EV6 are two of the hottest electric vehicle introductions of this past year. Both models are built on the same leading-edge E-GMP platform for EVs. Both brands share the same Hyundai Motor Company parent and are part of the same overarching plan to electrify. But if you happen to be in a region that’s not… More…