Search Results Found For: "auto dealers"

UC Davis study: Plug-in buyers less satisfied with the dealer purchase experience

The nation’s network of auto dealers has not exactly embraced electromobility, as we explained in a recent feature article. The Institute of Transportation Studies at UC Davis has released a detailed study of the issue, which finds that buyers of plug-in vehicles (PEVs) tend to be far less satisfied with the dealer purchase experience than… Read more »

September plug-in sales: Revenge of the pure EV

September plug-in sales showed a slight decrease compared to August, but 2014 is still on track to decisively beat 2013’s figure. Pure electricity ruled this month, as the leading EVs made strong showings, and all the major PHEV models showed steep declines. The Nissan LEAF still leads the pack. Sales shrank slightly to 2,881 in… Read more »

CHARGED Electric Vehicles Magazine Issue 14 – June/July 2014

Subscribe Now Trouble viewing? Read the features inside here.   Featuring: The Tech A closer look at how batteries fail   Impregnating motors with thermal management materials to reduce hot spots   Membrane technology and the importance of venting EV electronics   The Vehicles Are auto dealers the EV’s worst enemy?   Harley-Davidson’s Chief Engineer on the… Read more »

Why did Nevada win the Tesla Gigafactory? Theories abound.

Commentators from a wide variety of backgrounds are offering a wide variety of reasons why Tesla chose Nevada for its game-changing Gigafactory. The site is fairly close to Tesla’s Fremont, California assembly plant, and offers easy access to an Interstate highway and a major rail corridor. Tim Crowley of the Nevada Mining Association thinks that… Read more »

Dual-carbon battery claims to be longer-lasting and safer than Li-ion

Seldom does a week go by without an announcement of a promising new battery technology – but the road from the laboratory to the auto dealership is a long one, and there’s no knowing which of today’s breakthroughs might enable tomorrow’s mass-market EVs. This week’s news, from Power Japan Plus, almost sounds too good to… Read more »

FTC officials: States should allow Tesla direct sales

Officials from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have weighed in on the war between Tesla and the state auto dealers’ groups. They join several prominent politicians, a group of 70 economists and law professors, and over 133,000 citizens who signed a pro-Tesla petition in saying that state laws prohibiting the company’s direct sales model amount… Read more »

March plug-in sales: LEAF leaps ahead, Volt vindicated

In the spring a young person’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of…a new car! Overall auto sales were up 6% in March, and plug-in sales surged. 9,376 units were sold, a healthy increase both on February’s figure (7,055) and last March’s measure (7,982). The LEAF opened up a wide lead with 2,507 units, a respectable… Read more »

New York compromise allows Tesla to keep its company-owned stores

One state may have found a workable compromise in the war of Tesla versus the auto dealers. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced last week that the belligerents reached an agreement that allows the EV-maker to keep its five company-owned stores in the state. “Today’s agreement reaffirms New York’s long-standing commitment to the dealer franchise… Read more »