Electric Vehicles

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Tesla exploded the electric car market, becoming the clear leader in the industry with the mass-market Tesla Model 3, and eventually even having the #1 best selling model of any kind in the world with the Tesla Model Y. Recently, though, BYD sales have climbed much faster, and Tesla sales have actually declined. Perhaps it’s just a bump in the road for Tesla, but this is definitely the year of BYD. There are several other Chinese EV startups rising fast as well — from NIO to Xpeng to Zeekr. Does that mean the US is just going to be left in the dust? Maybe, but we’ve got some cavalry on the way. In particular, watch out for the rise of Rivian.

Volkswagen was a key driver of Germany’s post-war economic rise. With the Beetle, Golf, Type 2 bus and many successful models later, the brand cemented its legacy as a household nameplate and a global automotive leader. But in the electric vehicle era, things aren’t going as planned. VW factories once considered sacred in its home country now risk closure as its EV plans fail to take off against China and Tesla.

In a new white paper, the group notes that boosting efficiency allows for smaller battery sizes, which in turn cuts costs. Most EVs average 2.5 miles per kwh, according to the paper, but the Tesla Model Y averages 3.5 miles per kwh. That’s a 40% increase which, assuming similar range, allows for a 40% reduction in battery size that’s worth up to $4,800 in cost savings, the ACEEE reasons.

Electric cars are the future, and each year we’ve seen automakers add more EVs to their lineups. Everyone is working on electric vehicles, from well-established existing manufacturers to new names such as Lucid, Canoo, and Rivian. We’ve compiled a list of every electric vehicle, from concept to production, that isn’t available yet but will be soon.

An early convert to the idea of an all-electrified lineup, Volvo has taken a slightly different tack to most other automakers as it electrifies its product range. Where most would start off with a big and expensive electric vehicle first, it did the opposite, starting out with small and affordable. That means it’s now time for a flagship EV, an all-new three-row SUV called the EX90, which we’ve driven ahead of US deliveries toward the end of this year.

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I’ve been thinking over this the last few days, and I do not see a situation where ev charging will ever be profitable enough for businesses to install them at large. I assume most public charging is DC fast charging so I’m talking about that.

The Honda Civic has always been a reliable sort. You can rely on it to be a comfortable daily, a track-ready hot hatch, an economical commuter, and a cheap buy. No, wait. Scratch that last one. A Civic is still affordable, but it’s no longer the cheapest Honda to lease. That crown now belongs to the electric Prologue.

Zeekr, which is a premium brand under China’s Geely, wants to expand its presence in Europe with the upcoming launch of the 7X electric SUV. It’s built on the 800-volt SEA platform shared with many other of the group’s offerings, so it offers plenty of range, performance and tech on top of the fact that it’s quite a good-looking SUV.

Everyone wants a better future, not only for ourselves, but for our children and grandchildren. Society is supposed to continue getting better with each passing generation, and we hope that this trend continues far into the future. If anything, we want this to happen faster! In this article, I want to discuss how technologies we’re excited about today can improve society in ways much bigger than most of us think. But, to see these full benefits, we’re going to have to do something most people find a little off-putting.

GM’s BrightDrop electric commercial vehicle experiment is over—sort of. The vans themselves aren’t going anywhere for now, but the BrightDrop name itself appears to have been … dropped. Instead, the EV commercial vans will be folded into the Chevrolet brand, which has a substantial fleet sales operation.

In recent months, we’ve seen the automotive industry pivot away from a focus on battery electric vehicles (BEVs). Now, the EV movement faces a unique set of challenges that could come after the rise of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). If people get hooked on PHEVs, we could find ourselves having a tough time getting car buyers to want to move on from “the best of both worlds.” In this article, I want to talk about what some of those challenges are and what we can do to get past them.

It’s hard to know who or what to believe when it comes to the auto industry eventually going all-electric.

DETROIT – Jaguar is telling owners of about 3,000 electric SUVs to park them outdoors and away from structures due to the risk of battery fires.

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The share of electric and hybrid vehicle sales in the United States increased in the second quarter of 2024 (2Q24) after a slight decline in 1Q24. Combined U.S. sales of hybrid vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, and battery electric vehicles (BEVs) increased from 17.8% of total new light-duty vehicle (LDV) sales in 1Q24 to 18.7% in 2Q24, according to estimates from Wards Intelligence.

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After unveiling its new “Hyundai Way” strategy on Wednesday, Hyundai confirmed its highly anticipated three-row electric SUV, the IONIQ 9, will be built in the US. Hyundai also revealed plans to launch EREVs with over 550 miles (900 km) range. Here’s what else you can expect from Hyundai over the next few years.

There’s not much special about the Kona’s guts. Take away its Robocop-esque styling, and you’ll find the same small car and crossover platform that underpins the Kia Niro and Hyundai Elantra. It doesn’t even look radically different from the regular Kona, which is powered by a choice of four-cylinder gas engines.

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BEIJING, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD (002594.SZ), opens new tab reported improved net profits in the second quarter thanks to its extended market leadership, even though it led a protracted price war with aggressive discounts on its best-selling models. BYD’s net profit hit 9.1 billion yuan ($1.3 billion) in the April-June quarter, up 32.8% from a year earlier and its fastest growth since end-2023, while revenue grew 25.9% to 176.2 billion yuan, it said in a stock exchange filing.

Krista Cortese, her husband and their toddler were making due with the 2003 Mazda hatchback that they got years ago from a neighbor. But the Seattle family was spending $230 a month on average for gas and maintenance. It was costly and Cortese didn’t like using fossil fuels to get around.

BEIJING, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Chinese electric vehicle maker Xpeng (9868.HK), opens new tab priced the first model of its budget sub-brand MONA from $16,813 on Tuesday, wedging into the mainstream but highly competitive segment of the world’s largest auto market. The MONA M03 electric hatchback coupe is Xpeng’s most affordable model and will compete with other EVs priced in the 100,000-150,000 yuan ($14,035-$21,052) range, which accounts for a third of total car sales in China.

Ford Motor Co. appointed Todd Willing the new Global Design Director for Ford and Lincoln brands worldwide. Willing was formerly the Global Design Director for Ford’s electric vehicle (EV) division, the Model e. Willing’s promotion leaves a gap in the Model e division’s team.

DETROIT – Production at an electric vehicle battery cell plant jointly run by General Motors and Samsung SDI has been delayed as EV sales have slowed in the U.S.

The latest count of public EV chargers has swelled to 192,000. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, this number has doubled since the Biden administration took office and is continuing to grow at a rapid rate of 1,000 new chargers every week.

Polestar, the electric car manufacturer owned by Chinese-based giant Geely, will have a new chief operating officer starting next month. On October 1, Thomas Ingenlath, who served as CEO since the company’s inception as a standalone automaker in 2017, will step down.

Tesla uberbulls often like to say that Tesla is the leader in self-driving because while it doesn’t have a commercially available autonomous ride-hailing service like Waymo, it doesn’t rely on geo-fencing and mapping like Waymo.

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In 2024, a small electric SUV with a range of 300 miles produces 52% fewer life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions than a comparable gasoline vehicle. Electric vehicles (EVs) have no tailpipe emissions, but nearly three quarters of the GHG emissions for a gasoline vehicle come from the tailpipe (vehicle operation). Although GHG emissions from the production and distribution of electricity is about double that of gasoline production and distribution (149 vs. 75 gCO2e/mile), that difference is more than offset by the tailpipe GHG emissions from the gasoline vehicle. Battery production adds an additional 30 gCO2e/mile over the life of the EV but is negligible for the gasoline vehicle. Increasing efficiencies for battery and vehicle production will lower GHG emissions in the future. Also, GHG emissions from electricity production are projected to be lower as the United States moves toward decarbonization of the grid.

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Why have Pacific Gas & Electric and Zum deployed the largest electric school bus fleet in the US alongside the Oakland Unified School District? Electric school buses make education more accessible and equitable. The harmful gases emitted from an internal combustion engine bus disproportionately affect communities of color and students with disabilities.

Car & Driver (C&D) named the Hyundai IONIQ 5 N its “2024 Electric Vehicle (EV) of the Year.” The 2024 Hyundai IONIQ 5 N, with an MSRP of $67,495, received a 10 out of 10 Car and Driver rating.

Honda has pledged to invest $64 billion to develop seven bespoke electric vehicles, which it plans to launch by 2030 on its way to selling only EVs and fuel-cell vehicles after 2040. However, there doesn’t seem to be a consensus within the company that there is enough demand for EVs, which is reflected in its limited selection of available battery-powered models.

Tesla has ramped up NACS adapter production to 8,000 units per week as the opening of the Supercharger network to other automakers has greatly slowed down.

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Recently, there’s been some bad news out of Detroit. Ford’s backing off on some upcoming EV models, including a three-row SUV many had been looking forward to, and will instead be focusing more on hybrids. GM has been having different problems with software, recently laying off 1,000 developers after a string of Silicon Valley types failed to acclimate to more traditional corporate culture.

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Tesla is in trouble.

The Nissan Ariya is a revolutionary car for the automaker—or, it has the opportunity to be. I just wish more people knew about it.

Tesla is issuing a new recall for more than 9,000 of its Model X SUVs due to roof cosmetic trim pieces that could fly off while driving because they may have been adhered without primer. It’s the second such recall from the company to address the issue on the Model X, the first one issued in 2020, and it is again specific to early 2016 vehicle models.

Ford has written off $1.9bn as it cancelled plans for an all-electric large SUV in the US, opting to produce a hybrid version instead in the latest sign of western carmakers struggling to make profitable electric cars.

If you thought Waymo was on a roll before, you ain’t seen nothing yet. The robotaxi company under the big Alphabet (formerly Google) umbrella has apparently doubled the number of paid robotaxi trips it is providing in just three months.

Things are changing at Ford. Again. Apparently, and perhaps understandably, fed up with the lack of profits from electric vehicles despite becoming America's second-best-selling EV brand behind Tesla, the Dearborn automaker is retooling its electrified roadmap.

After Kia opened EV9 orders in Korea last summer, the electric SUV secured over 13,000 reservations in just eight days.

Household vehicles were driven an average of 64.6 minutes on a typical day in 2022 (including all trips made that day) and parked for the remainder of the time (95%). Drivers in all Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) averaged between 61 minutes and 68 minutes per day with the longest driving time of 67.6 minutes for those in MSAs with 1-3 million people. Household vehicles being parked for 95% of a 24-hour day offers opportunity for EV charging.

I don't agree with this article. 60k for this is way too much. Ev makers really need to work on pricing.

AutoGuide reported today that Subaru has trademarked the “e-Outback” moniker in Japan. The trademark application was filed in early August and published today. Rumors of a hybrid Outback have been running wild among Redditors for months but Subaru has yet to confirm anything on those lines.

There is a fundamental truth you have to understand about car companies:They do not exist to make cars. They exist to make money. That distinction, analyst Kevin Tynan tells me, is why they’re not really interested in making affordable electric vehicles.

It’s a big day for BRP and its motorcycle brand, Can-Am. The launch of its first two electric motorcycles, the Can-Am Pulse and Origin, marks a return to grace for the legacy motorcycle maker that once dominated the tracks.

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Through the first seven months of 2024, Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis accounted for 10% of the US EV market. Hyundai outpaced Ford (7.4%) and GM (6.3%), according to Motor Intelligence.

Alphabet-owned Waymo unveiled its sixth-generation Driver system on Monday with a more efficient sensor setup. Despite having a reduced camera and LiDAR sensor count from the current platform, the self-driving ride’s new setup allegedly maintains safety levels. Once it's ready for public rides, it will coexist with the current-gen lineup.

China’s leading EV maker launched the upgraded electric crossover SUV with over 16 standard features for the same low starting price.

A free, autonomous, fully electric shuttle service launched on August 13th in Detroit. The State of Michigan’s Office of Future Mobility and Electrification, the City of Detroit, Bedrock, Michigan Central, and Perrone Robotics worked together to create the shuttle system, which utilizes Ford E-Transit vans. (Even though online there is a squishy, anti-EV narrative claiming all EV sales are down, Ford posted some information in July that E-Transits were selling well.)

It wasn't supposed to be like this.

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It's a situation no electric vehicle owner wants to think about: A car catches fire for inexplicable reasons and causes significant collateral damage before it's finally extinguished. It's also a headline no car company that makes EVs wants to deal with. Thankfully, those fires are statistically rare. But after one conflagration involving an electric Kia in a parking garage in Korea, the Hyundai Motor Group said it's taking proactive steps to alleviate the public's fire fears and alert owners to potential problems before they happen.

According to Grunitz, Volkswagen’s first electric GTI will be “a real go kart” to drive. He’s already driven a prototype, claiming, “It’s really amazing.”

AmpUp and EVSE, a division of Control Module, which designs and manufactures patented, retractable-cable EV charging stations and support equipment, has introduced an expanded deployment for the Los Angeles Bureau of Street Lighting (LABSL) providing Level 2 EV chargers for an additional 150 existing streetlight poles throughout LA communities.

Earlier today, at Oakland, CA charging station.

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GM decided it would be best to remove its oh-so-popular Chevy Bolt from production and to focus instead on its Silverado EV and Equinox EV. For a variety of reasons, including loyal customer outcry, that may not have been the best GM corporate decision ever. However, for anyone now looking to purchase a used Chevy Bolt, the time is ideal to do so.

I know — there are more Chinese EV startups than days in the month. It’s definitely hard to get a good vision of the Chinese market, even with Jose Pontes’ superb monthly China EV sales reports, but there are a handful of these Chinese EV companies that are really working to make their mark globally, and it’s particularly fun to track their progress. Zeekr has quickly risen up the food chain and into that world, as well as BYD (which you can’t call a startup, of course, but leads the market), NIO, and Xpeng.

Last August, Indian mobility company Ola Electric announced its upcoming lineup of full-size electric motorcycles. The firm has now provided specs for one family of the bikes, the Roadsters, which boast a range of up to 579 km (360 miles) and a top speed of 194 km/h (121 mph).

The most important decision an electric car owner makes after buying an EV is which home charger is the best for their needs.

It's a brutal time to sell and a helluva time to buy. The used EV market is in freefall, and it's current owners that are holding the bag. But if you've been looking for the time to get into a modern, long-range EV, it may be now.

Tesla notoriously doesn’t offer many, if any, interior options other than a black or white interior.

This week, Business Insider took a look at those claims. In its analysis, Musk has been weighed in the balance and found wanting. The Cybertruck for sale right now has less range and a far higher price tag than Musk initially predicted, with the cheapest model currently available costing nearly $100,000. Here’s what it found when it looked at some of Musk’s claims about the Cybertruck.

Although Kia has yet to announce the new trim, a new video from HealerTV caught the EV4 hatchback for the first time in Korea.

Tesla sells the most EVs, but if you don’t think it sells the best EVs, here are some alternative models that you could choose instead.