Updated 1/10/14 10:00am EST to include response from BMW. BMW’s new i3 is available with an optional feature that’s the first of its kind – a small range-extending gas engine. However, financial publication The Street reported this week that there’s a drawback to opting for the REx – it makes the car ineligible for California’s… Read more »
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Stock strategist: Most investors don’t understand electric cars
“The car market is at the start of a major transition,” writes Chris Umiastowski in the Toronto Globe and Mail. “The electric-car market…faces an enormous growth curve that is not well understood by the general public.” Umiastowski’s main point is to explain why he’s bullish on the stock of Tesla (Nasdaq: TSLA), but his article… Read more »
15 million for Massachusetts alt fuel programs, including electric school bus pilot
Massachusetts has announced $15.5 million of new funding to support alternative fuel vehicles and related infrastructure. The investment, which includes $11.7 million in Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality funds from the US DOT, will be split among several programs, including an electric school bus pilot. The first phase of the Massachusetts Electric Vehicle Incentive Program… Read more »
Wanxiang bids for Fisker again in last-minute offer
The assets of bankrupt automaker Fisker Automotive are scheduled to be transferred to Hybrid Technology LLC, which bought the automaker’s outstanding $168 million DOE loan for $25 million in October. However, just days before a hearing in which a judge will decide whether to give final approval to the deal, Chinese auto parts giant Wanxiang… Read more »
New microscopy technique gives researchers a better look inside batteries
Electricity may seem invisible, but storing it in batteries has some very physical effects. As a battery is charged and discharged, electrons and ions rush around from place to place, sometimes causing electrodes to change their shapes over time. As researchers experiment with improved electrode materials, it’s critical to get a microscopic view of what… Read more »
Berkeley Lab researchers get to the root of the lithium anode problem
In the quest for higher energy density, the use of lithium metal anodes would seem to be a promising approach, if it weren’t for those doggone dendrites. Dendrites are microscopic fibers of lithium, which sprout, tree-like, from the surface of the lithium electrode and spread through the electrolyte until they reach the other electrode, possibly… Read more »
Mitsubishi slashes price of 2014 i-MiEV
Mitsubishi has drastically dropped the price of its 2014 i-MiEV, and added several features as standard equipment. The new MSRP is $22,995 – a $6,130 price reduction from the previous 2012 model year vehicle (was there really no 2013 model?). After tax breaks, California residents could be driving electric for $12,995 – no more than… Read more »
Envia bungles battery breakthrough as former CEO sues and GM jumps ship
Back in 2012, battery startup Envia was the toast of Silicon Valley. Its innovative battery technology had achieved the highest energy density ever recorded for a lithium-ion cell – a breakthrough that could halve the costs of EV batteries – and the company already had a deal to supply cells to GM. Today, the company… Read more »
Tesla wins Buckeye state battle as dealership war spreads
Ohio was the site of the latest battle in the war between Tesla and the auto dealers, and the subversives from Silicon Valley seem to have won the day. The Ohio Dealers Association got an anti-Tesla amendment added to Ohio Senate Bill 137 – an unrelated bill that requires drivers to change lanes when highway… Read more »
November sales: LEAF edges into lead, Prius falls back
It’s a nail-biting battle for the lead in the plug-in sales race. The Nissan LEAF barely edged into the lead for November, selling 2,003 units – one more than in October. Sales of the world’s most popular pure EV have already more than doubled 2012’s figure. The 2014 LEAF is in production now and should… Read more »