Hyundai has a phased plan for the electrified future. Its Sonata PHEV is now on the road (and on the cover of the current issue of Charged). The Korean automaker is now turning up the voltage another notch with the Ioniq, a five-door hatchback that will be offered in hybrid, PHEV and EV models. Hyundai… Read more »
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EV marketing efforts continue to miss the mark, determining the reasons why is complicated
Most of us in the EV industry are probably tired of the mainstream media’s constant stream of “EVs aren’t selling” articles, which began around the time the Volt made its debut, and will probably continue until the day the last ICE vehicle rolls off the line. Well, for the near future, it’s only going to… Read more »
Tesla leads the pack as overall 2015 plug-in sales fall short
2015 was a year of retrenching and preparation for the future in the EV industry. US sales for the year were around 116,000, falling short of 2014’s figure of 123,000. The Tesla Model S grabbed and held the lead position, handily outselling all other plug-ins in the US with 25,700 deliveries. However, the big news… Read more »
Hyundai to launch new line of electrified vehicles
The Korea Herald reports that Hyundai plans to launch a new brand of electrified vehicles in January. The first model from the new brand – tentatively named AE – will be a hybrid, followed by PHEV and pure EV versions. According to the Herald, the five-door hatchback, envisioned as a competitor for the Toyota Prius,… Read more »
What does Elon Musk think of the Apple iCar?
There’s no longer any doubt that Apple is doing some electric vehicle R&D. Whether an actual iCar will eventually disrupt the dinosaurs of Detroit remains to be seen, but a Greek chorus of auto industry insiders is already warning the champions of Cupertino not to do battle with this dragon. A recent Fortune article ridiculed… Read more »
BMW i3 snatches second place in September plug-in sales
US plug-in sales are still in the slow lane – once again, the monthly figure of 10,134 fell short of last year’s 10,921. The Tesla Model S grabbed the lead position, with 2,500 estimated US sales in September. The company reported delivering 11,580 total vehicles worldwide in the third quarter of 2015, a 49% increase over Q3… Read more »
2016 Chevy Volt: GM’s top electrification engineers on designing the all-new EREV
When the Chevrolet Volt was launched at the end of 2010, I must confess that I gave it little chance of success. It seemed like an awkward compromise – buyers who wanted to go electric would surely prefer a pure EV, and buyers who weren’t ready to take that plunge had every reason to stick… Read more »
A closer look at torque ripple – minimizing its effects on electric machines
The Switched Reluctance Motor, or SRM, is often discussed as a prime choice for the next-generation EV traction motor. It is simple, robust, and arguably the least expensive of all motor types to manufacture. However, SRMs are notoriously difficult to control, and prone to emitting significant amounts of vibration and acoustic noise. The good news… Read more »
August plug-in sales slow as LEAF, Volt and Model S jockey for the lead
There’s little good news for EV-lovers this month. August US plug-in sales of 8,972 were essentially unchanged from July, and were even further behind August 2014’s figure of 12,172. There were no major position changes – most of the leading models posted minor declines or increases. The bright spots at the moment are outside the… Read more »
Sales of plug-ins plateau as Model S maintains a lean lead
It’s official: US plug-in sales are in the doldrums. July sales of 8,951 were substantially down from June (10,364), and from July 2014 (11,242). While we’re waiting for the 2016 LEAF and next generation Volt to get things moving again in the fall, we’ll console ourselves with the news that even as US sales have stalled, worldwide… Read more »