Intertek, a company that specializes in third-party validation and compliance testing, is working with the DOE and several national laboratories to collect real-world data on all the most popular plug-in models, testing the vehicles’ performance, durability and operational costs. Intertek acquires new vehicles directly from a dealer, and installs data logging equipment, which uses Wi-Fi… Read more »
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Smoggy Paris enforces alternate driving days (but not for EVs)
Nothing focuses the official mind on electric vehicles quite like a thick blanket of nasty grey smog. It’s no coincidence that the two places on Earth with the most aggressive pro-EV policies – California and China – are places with serious air pollution problems. Does this mean that the City of Lights will be the… Read more »
German micro smart grid project supplies an EV fleet with renewable electricity
As Germany and Switzerland work to phase out their nuclear power plants, the countries are becoming vast laboratories for renewable energy research, and EVs are an important part of the equation. A team from the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering, together with Daimler and the University of Stuttgart, has announced a project called charge@work, whose… Read more »
February plug-in vehicle sales: LEAF leading, Volt vexing
Auto sales are still in their yearly winter hibernation, but February did see a respectable monthly increase, with 7,055 plug-ins sold, compared to 5,450 in January. The LEAF held its strong lead with 1,425 units, over double February 2013 sales. Next month will mark one full year that Nissan has been building LEAFs in the… Read more »
Tesla Gigafactory takes shape, stock soars, short-sellers weep
Let’s all shed a crocodile tear or two for the poor Tesla short-sellers. Their faces (and their balance sheets) turned an even deeper shade of red this week, as TSLA shares powered through the $200 mark without tapping the brakes, on the way to $260 and beyond. A series of positive news items has driven… Read more »
Pomegranate-style anode could lead to next generation of batteries
The big buzz on the EV tech scene these days is about silicon anodes, which could offer ten times more storage capacity than carbon anodes. Scientists around the world are looking for ways to overcome the remaining obstacles to using silicon for a new generation of lithium-ion batteries. Researchers at Stanford University and the DOE’s… Read more »
Wanxiang wins auction, will pay $149 million for Fisker
(Updated 2/17/2014 – 11:30 am ET to correct/clarify details of the Fisker’s DOE loan.) China’s Wanxiang Group won an auction for the assets of bankrupt Fisker with a $149.2 million offer, beating out rival bidder Hybrid Tech Holdings. The courtroom drama lasted three days and went through 19 rounds of bidding. Fisker’s creditors were delighted with… Read more »
TSLA soars on promising news out of China
Tesla’s stock (Nasdaq: TSLA) is off to the races again – it hit new all-time highs this week, briefly poking its nose above the $200 level. Quite a feat for a stock that was trading in the $120s in November in the wake of the Model S fire incidents. Various tidbits of good news ahead… Read more »
Georgia legislators introduce bill to let Tesla sell more cars direct
The next battle in the war between Tesla and the auto dealers is shaping up in Georgia, where legislation has been introduced that would let the company sell more cars directly to the public in the state. Currently, Tesla is allowed to sell up to 150 cars a year under an exemption to the state… Read more »
Auto sales, including plug-ins, freeze up in January
After a stellar 2013, overall auto sales took a big dip in January, and plug-ins were no exception to the trend. Auto sales slid 3% as snow and ice kept people away from dealerships. Total plug-in sales were little more than half of December’s (but still more than in January 2013). The LEAF was firmly… Read more »