The German automakers are plugging in. Audi introduced its first PHEV, the A3 Sportback e-tron, in Geneva in February, and VW has promised an electric version of its blockbuster Golf later this year. Now Mercedes has unveiled its B-Class Electric Drive at this week’s New York Auto Show. Daimler hasn’t offered many details, but it seems that… Read more »
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Auto industry groups protest Zero-Emission Vehicle mandates
Two auto industry lobbying groups, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and the Association of Global Automakers, have petitioned the EPA to reconsider California’s Zero-Emission Vehicle (ZEV) requirements, Automotive News reported. The new rules, most of which begin to take effect in 2018, would require automakers to sell an estimated 1.4 million EVs, PHEVs and/or hydrogen… Read more »
Its not just EVs that are selling slowly in Europe
Many of us have been puzzled about the fact that plug-in sales are taking off more slowly in Europe than in the US, given the continent’s compact cities, high fuel prices and tradition of greenery. However, looking at 2012’s auto sales figures may provide a simple explanation. While the US auto industry had a spectacular… Read more »
February plug-in sales: Volt back on top, LEAF in short supply
As overall sales continue to be slow, the Chevrolet Volt regained its title of best-selling plug-in vehicle in the US with deliveries of 1,626 units in February. It was no surprise to see a large increase over January’s meager sales of 1,140, which GM attributed to a holiday production pause. Significantly, the latest number handily… Read more »
Smith Electric Vehicles: the long haul and the short end of the stick
Smith sees a bright future in electric trucks on the horizon, but must wade through a sea of speculation to get there. All Smith Electric Vehicles Corp. wanted was a long-term growth strategy that would let the company scale up production of its all-electric, zero-emission medium-duty trucks at the same time that it beefed up… Read more »
Rich Byczek on delayed battery overheating and stranded energy
(This article originally appeared in Charged Issue 6 – JAN/FEB 2013) EV standards gaps: Intertek’s Rich Byczek on two of the biggest safety concerns centered around batteries. The EV industry is young and evolving quickly – too quickly, in some cases, for the standards community to keep up. The competing charging standards provide the most obvious example. There are… Read more »
Energy Secretary Chu poses the Workplace Charging Challenge to US employers
Thirteen major US employers and eight “stakeholder groups” have joined the DOE’s new Workplace Charging Challenge.
Musk: Boeing batteries “inherently unsafe”
Well, what a surprise – Elon Musk is in the news again. A few days ago, he offered to help out beleaguered Boeing, whose pride and joy, the new 787 Dreamliner, has been grounded because of its battery pack problems. Now Musk has criticized the Dreamliner’s battery design as “inherently unsafe,” in an email to… Read more »
Fisker’s Future: Tony Posawatz on moving the start-up ‘onward’
The feisty California start-up looks to break free of its growing pains and hit cruise control on the Atlantic.
Stuck in the MUD: Multi-unit dwellings present major obstacles to EV ownership
The San Francisco Bay Area is widely considered ripe with potential for early and widespread adoption of EVs. Area residents are generally progressive, environmentally concerned, and technologically literate. The area was an epicenter of electric vehicle deployment during California’s earlier EV Mandate era, and nearly 50 years ago the Electric Auto Association was founded by… Read more »