Electrifying heavy-duty trucks is essential if we’re to fight climate change and air pollution, but the pace of the transition has been painfully slow—many, many pilots, but few truly large-scale orders. For example, shipping giant Schneider acquired 92 Freightliner eCascadias in 2023—a good start, but only that, considering that the company currently operates over 10,000… Read more »
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Kia EV9 and Volvo EX30: Are they 2024’s most important EVs?
One’s a three-row midsize SUV under $60,000; the other’s a compact hatchback that starts in the mid-30s. Now we’ve driven both. Choosing “best of” or “most important” new cars is always dicey, and doubly so with electric vehicles. New entries are announced virtually every month, and picking the 2025 models that will be most important… Read more »
New report: automakers have secured less than a fifth of battery metals required for 2030 EV production
When it comes to electrifying by the magic date of 2030, automakers talk a great game—but if you want to know which companies are serious about electrification, look into which ones are lining up supplies of critical battery minerals. According to a recent report from Transport & Environment (T&E), automakers in the European market have… Read more »
Companies test the latest and greatest EV charging technologies at CharIN’s annual Testival
The Charging Interface Initiative (CharIN), a non-profit standards association with over 300 global members, conducts an annual “Testival” at which vehicle OEMs and EVSE providers test the compatibility between specific EVs and charging stations. CharIN describes the event as “speed dating” for vehicles and chargers. The 2023 Testival North America, a three-day event hosted by… Read more »
No complaints at Volvo—EV sales soar in October
The legacy automakers had a truly scary October. Ford and GM, both of which had seemed to be manfully slogging forward with electrification, have scaled back their EV plans, moaning that they can’t make a profit on EVs. (It’s not just American companies—VW and Mercedes are wavering too.) Their can’t-do jeremiads are aimed at politicians,… Read more »
As 2023 wanes, legacy automakers fall farther behind Tesla and BYD
Ever since Tesla’s 2003 founding, industry observers (and even the company’s own execs) have been predicting that the giant global automakers would respond to the new company’s challenge, produce their own compelling EVs, and surpass (or perhaps even acquire) the upstart. Two decades later, that scenario seems more unlikely than ever. As Tom Randall writes… Read more »
EV charging is changing, Part 4: Behind the scenes as seven automakers counter Tesla’s Superchargers
Part 1: How automakers’ disappointment in Electrify America drove them into Tesla’s arms Part 2: No, NACS is not today’s Tesla connector Part 3: Why Tesla’s NACS is unlikely to kill CCS EV charging is changing, but much remains to be settled A flurry of news over less than a year permanently altered the US landscape… Read more »
Seven automakers unite to create massive new public EV charging network in North America
A lot of folks were doubtless still digesting the details of Tesla’s near-takeover of the North American public EV charging scene—and along comes another blockbuster development on the infrastructure front. Seven of the world’s major automakers—GM, Stellantis, BMW, Mercedes, Hyundai, Kia and (oddly enough) Honda—have announced plans to form a joint venture to build a… Read more »
Amazon brings Rivian electric delivery vans to Germany
In 2019, Amazon announced an order of 100,000 electric delivery vehicles from then-startup Rivian, and the two companies collaborated to design a new state-of-the-art EV. Amazon began rolling out the new electric vans in the summer of 2022. The company says it now has 3,000 Rivian vans in service across the US, along with 2,000… Read more »
2023 Hyundai Ioniq 6: Korean Model 3 clone, or something else altogether?
Battery-electric sedans are a rare breed— that makes Hyundai’s striking Ioniq 6 a strong new entry. Quick, name all the battery-electric sedans for sale in the US—that aren’t Teslas. By our count, there’s only been one: the pricey, luxury Lucid Air. Now, there’s another: the 2023 Hyundai Ioniq 6 is on sale at your local… Read more »