For the past several months, we EV newshounds have suspected that Ford had plans for a new generation of plug-ins up its sleeve. Now the #2 US automaker is beginning to reveal its answer to electric rivals GM, Nissan, VW et al. Ford announced plans to invest a record $4.5 billion in electric tech over… Read more »
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New York Times: Car dealers holding back EV sales
Car dealers are a conservative lot, and many have shown themselves to be highly skeptical about EVs. This topic, which the EV press has been discussing for some time (including a feature article in the June/July 2014 issue of Charged), has now broken through to the mainstream press, as the New York Times reports that… Read more »
Renault installs 90 charging stations in Paris for climate change summit
Renault, in partnership with electric utility EDF and others, is installing 90 new EV charge spots in and around Paris for the upcoming COP21 global summit on climate change. The charging stations, several of which will be donated by Schneider Electric, will be used to charge 200 EVs serving as VIP shuttles for conference attendees…. Read more »
EVgo partners with UC San Diego on vehicle-to-grid projects
Charging network operator NRG EVgo is leading two pilot projects at the University of California San Diego to study the potential of vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology. In the first project, EVgo has built a site to assess how owners of DC fast charging sites can use solar generation, battery storage and control systems to mitigate expensive… Read more »
LG Chem to supply battery upgrade for Tesla Roadster
Tesla has confirmed that it has a contract with South Korean firm LG Chem to provide batteries for Roadster 3.0, a package of range-enhancing improvements for Tesla’s famous first vehicle. The company began taking orders for the $29,000 upgrade in September. Until this announcement, Tesla’s only known battery supplier was Panasonic, which is a partner… Read more »
DC Fast Charging maps highlight differences between Tesla and CHAdeMO/CCS rollouts
Tesla touts its Supercharger network as a no-compromise solution for electric road trips, and has strategically placed Superchargers along well-traveled highways. Elon Musk himself has embarked on a coast-to-coast adventure in a Model S to demonstrate that it can be done in about the same timeframe as with any other vehicle. On the other hand,… Read more »
Why is Ford suddenly advertising its Focus Electric after 3 years?
Many EVangelists believe that the plodding progress of plug-in sales has a lot to do with the automakers’ minimal marketing efforts. So it’s welcome news that Ford has launched a new ad campaign for its Focus Electric. It seems to be a substantial buy (although Ford declined to talk about budgets), with TV ads running… 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 »
Aston Martin to build 800 hp EV
Iconic British sports car builder Aston Martin plans to produce an electric version of its four-door Rapide within two years, CEO Andy Palmer told Automotive News. The electric motorcar will feature all-wheel drive, about 800 hp and a 200-mile range, said Palmer. The announcement comes as no great surprise. In his previous role as Chief… 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 »