The Model S is just about the greatest car ever made, but it’s always had one major defect: there are a couple of other production vehicles that can beat it in a drag race. For those of us who wish to go beyond Insane, Tesla has introduced Ludicrous mode (the name is a reference to… Read more »
Search Results Found For: "VW"
Volkswagen brings new plug-in Passat to Europe
Volkswagen is expanding its stable of plug-in vehicles with the new Passat GTE plug-in hybrid. The VW Group now offers no less than ten plug-ins: the Audi A3 e-tron, Q7 e-tron and R8 e-tron; the Porsche Cayenne and Panamera S E-Hybrids; the Golf and Passat GTE plug-ins, the low-volume XL1, and the battery-electric e-up! and… Read more »
EV sales may be in a holding pattern in the US, but they’re booming worldwide
Those of us who follow the month-by-month plug-in sales figures can’t help but be a little disappointed by the tale so far this year. In three of the last six months, US sales failed to equal the monthly figures of a year ago. We’re now halfway through the year, and total sales of 54,388 are… Read more »
Volkswagen to install 12,000 charging points in its German parking lots
Volkswagen has announced what must be one of the world’s largest workplace charging programs – it plans to install 12,000 charging points at its company parking lots in Germany over the next few years – 10% of the company’s 120,000 employee parking spaces. CEO Martin Winterkorn made the announcement at the recent National Conference on… Read more »
Tesla Superchargers may be too popular for their own good
Giving away free stuff can be a winning business strategy, but it can backfire if customers start gaming the system. At Tesla’s recent shareholders’ meeting, Elon Musk complained that some Model S owners living near the company’s free Superchargers are using them to charge up for everyday driving, rather than for road trips as Tesla… Read more »
Bolloré’s electric Bluecar, with novel solid-state batteries, coming to London
Electric car-sharing service Autolib has become a hit in Paris and two other French cities since its 2011 launch, and now boasts a fleet of over 3,500 EVs. Corporate parent the Bolloré Group also has a fleet of electric Bluebuses operating on Parisian streets, and has been working on bringing electric car sharing to Indianapolis… Read more »
May plug-in sales: Tesla, LEAF and Volt back in the top 3, overall sales mediocre
The traditional running order reasserted itself in May, as the Model S, LEAF and Volt slid back into the top three spots. While plug-in sales were up substantially over April, they failed to best the May 2014 numbers. The Tesla Model S grabbed the lead with 2,400 estimated US sales. Deliveries of the D are… Read more »
Tesla to adapt to Chinese charging standards – as soon as they exist
Tesla has announced that it will fully support China’s charging standards, modifying its vehicles to ensure that they are compatible. This is surely a wise and necessary policy, as concerns about charging infrastructure are widely considered to be the main reason that EV sales in the world’s largest auto market have been slow to take… Read more »
Smith partners with FDG to produce medium-duty electric trucks
Smith Electric Vehicles, a builder of medium-duty commercial EVs that was profiled in the January/February 2013 issue of Charged, plans to form a joint venture with strategic partner and investor FDG Electric Vehicles, an EV and battery manufacturer listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The new JV will offer a combined portfolio of EVs… Read more »
Lodging network teams with Tesla to deploy 170 destination charging stations
Tesla is on a mission to make electric road trips as convenient as possible. Complementing the worldwide network of 2,349 (and counting) Superchargers is the Destination Charging program, which partners with hotels and other travel destinations to deploy Level 2 chargers for overnight charging. The latest to join the program is Select Registry, an independent association… Read more »