Kia may be the auto brand with the biggest disconnect between perception and reality in the US today. It makes stylish, modern vehicles – passenger cars plus a growing range of crossover utilities – packed with advanced features. It’s a legitimate competitor to Toyota, Honda, and others. But ask the average buyer if he or… Read more »
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Hyperdrive opens new battery manufacturing facility in UK
UK-based battery maker Hyperdrive Innovation has opened the doors to HYVE, a new battery manufacturing facility at the company’s Sunderland UK home base. Hyperdrive says the new facility will allow it to produce up to 30,000 battery packs annually. Since moving to Sunderland in 2014, the company has invested £7 million in its manufacturing capabilities…. Read more »
2019 Chevy Bolt EV – still charged and ready
We first reviewed the Chevrolet Bolt EV in June 2017, and were impressed. I gave the Bolt two thumbs up in 2017, and I’ll repeat that assessment for the 2019 model. The Bolt has plenty of range for a driver’s daily needs, it handles well, and it has enough power to surprise the hell out… Read more »
BMW’s electric Mini Cooper SE: redeemer or regression?
BMW can’t seem to make up its mind about electrification (the same could be said about most of the legacy automakers). In 2013 it released the i3, which was a giant stride forward at the time. The once-revolutionary city car continues to sell in respectable numbers in some European markets, but BMW never followed up… Read more »
Alliance Ventures invests in The Mobility House to integrate vehicle batteries into power grids
Alliance Ventures, the venture capital arm of Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi, has invested an undisclosed amount in The Mobility House, a technology company that provides a platform for integrating vehicle batteries into power grids using intelligent charging and energy storage. Several Alliance member companies have worked previously with The Mobility House. Renault is partnering with the company on… Read more »
Automakers showcase new EVs at Bern Formula E race
The Formula E electric racing championship made a huge impression on its first visit to the Swiss capital of Bern, a picturesque city that’s far from familiar with motorsport (last year’s Zurich e-Prix was the first auto race to be held in Switzerland in 60 years). This is the second season for Formula E’s second-generation… Read more »
Despite weak EV sales, total battery capacity increased 69% YOY in April 2019
Despite weak EV sales growth in April 2019 compared to the same month the year prior, total battery capacity deployed in newly-sold EVs increased markedly over the same period, according to Adamas Intelligence’s EV Battery Capacity Monthly. While total EV sales increased just 19.6% over the previous April, the industry deployed over 6.7 GWh of… Read more »
Toyota accelerates its electrification plans, teases six new EVs
EV advocates have long been puzzled by the policies of Toyota. The company that initiated vehicle electrification in 1997 with the Prius, and that currently makes the second-best-selling plug-in vehicle in the US (the Prius Prime) has consistently dismissed the benefits of pure EVs, insisting that hybrids are superior, and diverting resources to fuel cell… Read more »
The auto industry is finally advertising its EVs
Over the past few years, we in the EV media have been highly critical of automakers for failing to advertise their EVs (and then claiming that there’s no consumer demand for them). So it’s only fair that we praise them now that they’re starting to release some pro-EV ad spots. Several TV campaigns have referred… Read more »
2019 Hyundai Kona Electric: A viable EV competitor for the average car buyer
As a company, Hyundai often sets goals that slightly exceed those set by competing automakers. The engineers who designed the Ioniq Hybrid and Plug-In hatchbacks were told that the new vehicles had to beat the fuel-efficiency ratings of the Prius hybrid and Prius Prime plug-in hybrid. So it is with the Hyundai Kona Electric. We… Read more »