Tesla CEO Elon Musk gave some conflicting signals about the upcoming product on Tuesday night. “Tonight, we radically increased the design goals for the new Tesla Roadster,” the CEO said, via a post on X. Musk then clarified that the production design is complete and the product is due to be unveiled at the end of 2024, with aims to ship it in… Read more…
Category: Greencarreports
Here’s why the tiny Fiat 500e is a big litmus test for the US EV market
The 2024 Fiat 500e returns to the U.S. in March to relaunch the brand, and this time Fiat is all about EVs—and keeping the 500 lineup as a two-door icon. As Fiat has already said in various ways over the past couple years, the U.S.-bound 500e will stand on its own. It won’t be a loss-leader for the brand, or $49-a-month EV lease deal… Read more…
Renault’s hot hatch for Europe costs less than any US-market EV
The cult-classic Renault 5 hatchback has returned as an EV—at a lower price than any electric car currently available in the U.S. Unveiled at the 2024 Geneva auto show, the new Renault 5 E-Tech combines retro styling and affordability. The design is fairly close to the 2021 concept version, and Renault claims a projected base price of 25,000… Read more…
Fiat’s stylish compact EV concepts include a pickup and camper
Fiat this week debuted five concept cars at the 2024 Geneva auto show, previewing a new EV model line alongside the updated 500e that’s scheduled to reach U.S. showrooms later this year. The concepts, all based on one of the Stellantis STLA platforms due to be shared by the automaker’s many brands, include a pickup truck and camper van, as well as… Read more…
Ineos reveals Fusilier electric SUV, emphasizes range-extender option
Ineos Automotive on Friday announced an electric SUV, with an optional range-extended powertrain. Called the Fusilier, the new model shares the overall look of the internal-combustion Ineos Grenadier SUV currently in production, but is slightly shorter in length and lower, according to an Ineos press release. It will use a dedicated skateboard… Read more…
Is it fair that EV chargers are allowed where gas stations aren’t?
As EV charging infrastructure expands, lawmakers in the Kentucky legislature have introduced a bill to “protect” gas stations, local television station WKYT reports. House Bill 581 seeks to prevent zoning authorities from treating EV charging differently from gasoline dispensing. That means any location considered suitable for EV charging would… Read more…
Here’s why in a few years EVs may cost less than gas models
Lithium supply may soon exceed demand for use in EV batteries, potentially bringing price parity with internal-combustion vehicles later this decade, according to a new study from the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT). New emissions rules proposed by the EPA are expected to boost EV sales to 67% of total U.S. new-car sales by… Read more…
Mercedes delays EV targets, ICE models staying “well into the 2030s”
Mercedes-Benz is delaying an EV sales target that would have seen the automaker go all-electric in at least some markets by 2030, Reuters reports. The automaker told investors Thursday that it now expects EVs and hybrids to account for up to 50% of its sales by 2030. In 2021 Mercedes said it aimed to hit the 50% sales target in 2025, and sell only… Read more…
Here’s why in a few years EVs may not cost more than gas models
Lithium supply may soon exceed demand for use in EV batteries, potentially bringing price parity with internal-combustion vehicles later this decade, according to a new study from the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT). New emissions rules proposed by the EPA are expected to boost EV sales to 67% of total U.S. new-car sales by… Read more…
Report: GM nixed electric vans, is rushing plug-in hybrid pickups
General Motors has cancelled plans for more electric vans and a Ford Maverick-sized electric pickup trucks as it undertakes a “crash program” to launch plug-in hybrid pickups, Autoweek reported Tuesday. The automaker has nixed electric replacements for the ancient Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana vans based on the BrightDrop electric delivery van… Read more…
First Drive: 2024 Honda Prologue EV gets to something greater
The Prologue is Honda’s first mass-market EV. And fortunately it’s making a lot more sense on arrival than it was a few months ago. What happened last month was a big contextual piece. The company rolled out two head-turning Honda EV concepts providing a glimpse of its 0 Series (Zero Series) electric vehicles set to launch in… Read more…
Dodge electric muscle car will vibrate like it has a V-8, patent suggests
Dodge has long hinted that its electric muscle car—which is due to be revealed in production form March 5—will be screaming loud. But a patent filing hints that it may also vibrate like it has a V-8. First spotted by Mopar Insiders (via Jalopnik), Dodge parent Stellantis has filed a patent application for an “Active Vibration… Read more…
Report: Hyundai’s Genesis is backpedaling on all-EV plan, to hybrids
Hyundai’s Genesis luxury brand is diluting a plan to go all-electric, according to a recent report from the Korean Economic Daily. In its 2021 “blueprints for electrification,” Genesis laid out that all new vehicles for the brand from 2025 on would be either battery electric or hydrogen fuel cell—on the way to all-EV by 2030. But the brand… Read more…
EPA may allow weaker emissions rules, slower EV rollout
The Biden administration may throttle back strict emissions rules in order to give automakers more time to ramp up EV sales, the New York Times reported earlier this week. Last April, the EPA unveiled proposed tailpipe emissions rules for model years 2027 to 2032. The agency estimated at the time that this would lead to 67% EV sales by 2032, not… Read more…
Ford cuts Mach-E EV prices by thousands as sales plunge
Ford cut Mustang Mach-E prices by up to $8,100 after sales of the electric SUV reportedly fell by more than 50% in January. The automaker has lowered prices on multiple 2023 Mustang Mach-E models, reducing the base price by $3,100 to $41,695 with the mandatory $1,800 destination charge. The biggest discount is offered on several other versions of… Read more…
Volvo adds EX40, EC40 EVs, retires Recharge badge for plug-ins
The fully electric version of the XC40 SUV will now be called the EX40, while its somewhat lower-roof C40 Recharge counterpart will be called the EC40, Volvo revealed Tuesday as part of a new naming strategy for its EVs and plug-in hybrids. Among Volvo EVs, EX calls out electric SUVs, like the upcoming EX30 and EX90, EC will be used for electric… Read more…
VW ID.7 Tourer EV boasts long range, looks set for a European vacation
The Volkswagen ID.7 is getting a wagon variant for Europe, but this new model hasn’t been confirmed for the U.S. Unveiled Monday, the VW ID.7 Tourer combines range that’s fairly close to the hatchback version (VW estimates up to 425 miles on the European WLTP testing cycle) with cargo space that puts many SUVs to shame. VW claims 21.3 cubic feet… Read more…
Sono Motors revives with solar bus kit, not Sion solar EV
Germany’s Sono Motors has emerged from bankruptcy, but isn’t discussing the fate of its Sion solar-assisted EV. A press release announcing a plan to bring Sono out of bankruptcy did not mention the Sion, a small hatchback designed to use every body panel as a solar panel to boost range between charges. Instead, the company is focusing on solar… Read more…
2023 EV sales blew past 2022 levels every month of the year
EV sales not only increased in 2023 overall, but they were higher than 2022 levels for every month of the year, according to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Car sales are seasonal, and they always have been, so there’s no reason to expect that total vehicle sales or even EV sales broken out will go up every month. Yet that’s exactly what DOE… Read more…
VW’s Scout EV brand bows, around $2B US plant and truck nostalgia
Scout Motors on Thursday announced it has broken ground on a $2 billion plant in South Carolina that could eventually produce up to 200,000 EVs per year. The facility in Blythewood, “near major cities and talent hubs,” is also near the ports of Charleston and Savannah, and it’s possible that a portion of the plant’s output… Read more…