Israeli startup StoreDot has begun shipping samples of its fast-charging batteries to automakers for real-world EV testing. The samples are 30-Ah lithium-ion pouch cells “in EV form factor,” StoreDot said in a press release, maintaining its claim that these batteries can add 100 miles of range from just five minutes of charging. To put this into… More…

Early this year GM laid out an enticing price of $30,000 for its 2024 Chevy Equinox EV fully electric compact crossover due in fall 2023. On Thursday GM confirmed it’s planning to keep to that initial price and timeline, and it revealed much more about this upcoming EV. It will be sold in the Chevy lineup along with the gasoline Equinox… More…

Jeep on Thursday revealed what it called the next phase of its shift to an all-electric lineup for Europe by 2030 and a target of half EV sales by then in the U.S. The first of these fully electric models to arrive—revealed in March as one of Stellantis’ 25 U.S.-bound EVs by 2030—will be the Avenger. Jeep says the Avenger compact… More…

Volkswagen’s highly anticipated ID.Buzz electric van gets it right. Mostly. A couple weeks ago I was able to spend much of the day with production-spec versions of the 2024 VW ID.Buzz and found it to be a refreshing departure from the compact-to-mid-size crossover forms that have become banal. It’s neither an outfit-ready electric… More…

Dutch startup Lightyear on Tuesday announced a roughly $80 million investment the firm said will help spur development of a mass-market solar-assisted electric car. Lightyear in June revealed that in production form its Lightyear One will be instead called Lightyear 0. That model already incorporates game-changing aero and specially developed… More…

Current EVs generally weigh hundreds if not thousands more pounds than comparable internal-combustion vehicles due to heavy battery packs, and that might compromise road safety. So argues a recent Slate piece that suggests some of the latest EVs might pose more of a threat especially beyond the driver’s seat, to other vehicles and other users of… More…

General Motors will offer buyouts to U.S. Buick dealers uninterested in remaining with the brand for its EV remake, the head of Buick said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal published Friday. All of Buick’s roughly 2,000 U.S. dealers will be given the opportunity to take a buyout, Global Buick boss Duncan Aldred said in the interview. He… More…

A new California rule could pave the way for more affordable—and more efficient—EV charging. As reported by Canary Media (via ChargedEVs), the California Public Utilities Commission recently approved a new rule requiring the state’s three largest utilities to let EV chargers measure the amount of energy they’re using. Many home… More…

California’s Lucid Motors, which just last week started taking reservations for its most expensive model yet, the quarter-million-dollar, 1,200-plus hp Air Sapphire, might already be starting production of its most affordable, sub-$90,000 Air Pure version. In a Twitter post Friday, the company provided a glimpse of a Lucid Air coming off the… More…

Earlier this week, Toyota announced a $5.6 billion investment plan to produce batteries for fully electric vehicles in Japan and the U.S. That includes a $2.5 billion expansion of a North Carolina battery factory barely under construction, adding capacity for EV batteries and very likely suggesting a future commitment to U.S.-built electric… More…

California last week enshrined its 2035 ban on sales of new gasoline vehicles that don’t plug in. And now this week it’s telling the relatively few EV drivers in the state to hold off on plugging in during the afternoons. On Thursday afternoon, leading into the Labor Day long weekend, the state’s Independent System Operator (ISO)… More…

Mercedes-Benz on Thursday confirmed pricing and trim levels for its upcoming fully electric flagship EQS SUV in the U.S. With the announcement, Mercedes gave a first indication of the model line’s expected EPA range—estimated at 285 to 305 miles. In U.S.-market form, the 2023 Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV gets numbers and model designations… More…

Germany’s Sono Motors confirmed on Thursday that it has 20,000 direct consumer reservations for its upcoming Sion solar-supplemented EV that, if you don’t drive much, might seldom if ever cost you anything to “fuel.” Sono says that the Sion, which is due to be produced by Valmet Automotive in Finland starting in the second half of 2023, has… More…

Toyota on Wednesday announced a $2.5 billion expansion of a planned North Carolina battery factory to add manufacturing capacity for EV batteries. Last October Toyota announced that it would make batteries in the United States by 2025. Then in December it announced a North Carolina battery plant that it said would make hybrid batteries but would… More…

California’s more aggressive deadline for phasing out new internal combustion vehicle sales, culminating in a 2035 shift to all EVs, might seem a tough target to achieve to those in some parts of the U.S. But it’s all about perspective. In the U.S. as a whole, EV sales accounted for 5.6% of the U.S. vehicle market in Q2 of… More…

The 300-mile EV is finally becoming a mainstream commodity, with no fewer than 14 vehicles achieving that benchmark for the 2022 model year, according to the EPA. As the United States Department of Energy points out, in model year 2016 there was a single model—the Tesla Model S—that achieved a 300-mile range. Back then a 300-mile range… More…

Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe has teased another new feature for the R1T electric pickup truck and R1S electric SUV aimed at outdoor adventures. Camp Mode will prep vehicles for overnight stays in the woods by shutting off screens, conserving battery power, activating flood lights, and automatically leveling the suspension to provide a flat sleeping… More…

SparkCharge announced a new round of funding Monday that will help enable a continued expansion of the firm’s unique on-demand charging services. The company essentially uses portable hardware to help fill gaps in infrastructure or help EV owners with unforeseen charging needs. Through its Currently app, SparkCharge has been allowing EV… More…

University of Michigan (U-M) researchers claim “significantly flawed” analysis led the United States Postal Service (USPS) to downplay the environmental benefits of electric mail trucks. The Postal Service has used its analysis to justify not making its entire fleet of next-generation mail trucks electric, which has drawn criticism from the White… More…

Tesla was the highest-scoring brand in J.D. Power’s 2022 U.S. Tech Experience Index Study, which evaluates advanced-tech features in new cars. The study ranks brands by problems per 100 vehicles, the same metric used in J.D. Power’s annual Initial Quality Study, which is considered an industry benchmark. Included for the first time, Tesla achieved… More…