UK-based EV leasing company Octopus Electric Vehicles has launched its DriveFree plan in the Houston area. The program, which customers access online, includes the lease of a pre-owned EV, as well as a maintenance contract and smart home charging through Octopus Energy. “With DriveFree, we wanted to address all the concerns people have about switching… Read more…
Kia U.S. EV Sales Increased 65% Through February 2024
The Kia EV6 and EV9 sales are neck and neck. Read more…
Tesla Superchargers Cost More For Other EVs, Unless You Buy A Membership
The Tesla Supercharger network is opening up to other EVs. But charging costs extra for outsiders. Read more…
Toyota talks tough on EVs: “We’d rather buy credits than waste money”
Toyota CEO, Ted Ogawa, isn’t holding back. The automaker known for its beloved Prius hybrid is taking a skeptical stance on electric vehicles. Ogawa claims EVs will only snag a measly 30% of the US market by 2030 and openly states Toyota would prefer to buy emission credits than “waste” money building electric cars. This surprising statement flies in the… Read more…
Ford Reportedly Bought A Tesla Cybertruck For $250,000
Porsche may have bought one, too. Both for benchmarking purposes? Read more…
GMC Hummer EV joins gas-guzzlers in list of meanest for the environment
The 2024 American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) list of “meanest” vehicles for the environment includes the expected array of gas-guzzling trucks—but also one EV. The 2024 GMC Hummer EV SUV was ranked ninth on the list, between the GMC Sierra pickup truck and Mercedes-Benz G550 SUV. The annual list is based on the estimated… Read more…
Ford Performance set to return to Pikes Peak 2024, climbing in a souped up F-150 Lightning
Ford Performance is returning to “America’s Mountain” to participate in the 102nd running of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. After reaching the summit in a modded-up electric SuperVan last year, Ford looks to make the climb again with a bespoke F-150 Lightning EV and has teased it in an interestingly sounding video below. Read more…
Tesla increases Model Y prices back up as part of new temporary discount strategy
Tesla has increased Model Y prices back up as part of a new strategy to implement temporary discounts. Read more…
CyberVan! Li Auto’s Mega MPV launches in China alongside ambitious EV expectations
Li Auto has officially launched its first-ever battery EV, a multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) called the Mega. Priced at over RMB 560,000 ($77,800), Li Auto expects the luxury minivan to be a top seller in its segment, contributing to its target of 800,000 vehicles sold this year. Read more…
Microchip’s new plug-and-play mSiC gate driver works out of the box to reduce high-voltage design time
Microchip Technology has added a new offering to its line of silicon carbide (SiC) semiconductor solutions. The new 3.3 kV XIFM plug-and-play mSiC gate driver uses the company’s patented Augmented Switching technology, and is designed to work out of the box with preconfigured module settings to reduce design and evaluation time. “The complex development work… Read more…
AMPECO CEO discusses the software that makes large-scale EV charging systems work in comprehensive Q&A
Q&A with AMPECO CEO Orlin Radev Large hardware installations need complex software to keep them running, and EV charging infrastructure projects are no exception. Any organization running more than a couple of EV chargers—whether it’s a public charging provider, a fleet operator, a multi-unit residential property, or just a business that offers EV charging to… Read more…
‘We Are Catching Up’: Toyota North America CEO On Where EVs Are Going
But he still thinks EVs will only be 30% of the market in 2030, and Toyota’s planning for that. Read more…
2023 Toyota Mirai With Up To $40,000 Cash Incentive Is Now Dirt Cheap
Factor in the $15,000 in free fuel, and the 2023 Mirai becomes among the most affordable cars on sale. Read more…
Tesla: It’s Okay to Double-Park At Superchargers Stalls In A Non-Tesla
The cables at V3 Superchargers are so short that Tesla’s app is recommending non-Tesla vehicles take up multiple stalls to charge. Read more…
Fisker confirms potential EV partnership with “large automaker”
Fisker is in talks with an unnamed “large automaker” for a potential investment, development of one or more EV platforms, and North American manufacturing. The announcement, first reported by Automotive News, came directly from Fisker’s fourth-quarter 2023 earnings report Thursday. The company reported a $463 million net loss for the quarter… Read more…
Battery swapping partnership for LEVs emerges in India
Quantum Energy, an Indian e-scooter provider, has partnered with Battery Smart, the country’s largest battery-swapping network for LEVs. It is also largely unknown outside India since it focuses on electric two- and three-wheelers. Read more…
US wary of Chinese EVs collecting data
The US government is launching an investigation scrutinising Chinese cars due to potential security risks. According to the White House, the issue is whether the vehicles are collecting sensitive data and transmitting it to China. Read more…
Retrofit refrigerator unit for electric vans
Thermo King provides transport temperature controls and launched a new series for electric light commercial vehicles. The E-500e offers electrically powered refrigeration while minimising the impact on the battery and EV range. Read more…
Toyota says it would rather buy credits than ‘waste’ money on EVs
The CEO of Toyota isn’t mincing words, saying that he believes EVs will only make up 30% of the US new-vehicle market in 2030, half of the target the EPA sought last year. As the car industry’s largest hybrid pusher, Toyota says it is better positioned to just buy credits to close the EPA gap rather than “waste” money on BEVs, its CEO said. Read more…
Electric vehicles outperformed diesel in this winter’s extreme cold
A lot of fuss was made this winter when some Tesla owners in Chicago experienced difficulty charging – but that wasn’t the experience for the majority of EV owners. In Colorado’s West Grand School District, electric school buses didn’t perform as well as their diesel counterparts. They performed better. Read more…
