Detroit startup Inventev has won a $500,000 grant from the DOE’s ARPA-E agency, as well as a $50,000 matching grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, to develop its plug-in hybrid drive system for commercial trucks. Other collaborators include Pacific Gas & Electric, A123, BorgWarner, Ford and NextEnergy, which will provide testing and demonstration services… Read more »
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Plug-in sales grow again in January as Chevy, Tesla and Nissan continue to lead
2015 was a disappointing year for plug-in purchases in the US (although sales soared in Europe). Annual sales fell short of the previous year, mostly thanks to a mid-year slump. However, growth returned in October, and January marks the fourth month in a row that US sales have bested the previous year’s monthly figure. 6,291… Read more »
Hyundai joins the plug-in club with the 2016 Sonata PHEV
Around the world, automakers are facing ever-tightening emissions regulations, and they understand very well that improving the efficiency of their internal-combustion engines isn’t going to be enough to bring them into compliance. Each OEM has crafted its own strategy to reduce the average emissions of its fleet. Hyundai has opted for an “all-in strategy,” developing… Read more »
Plug-in Porsche 911 on the drawing board
How fast the EV market will grow is anybody’s guess, but there’s no question that the vehicles themselves are getting faster all the time. Porsche is accelerating its Mission E project, which aims to launch a new EV by the end of the decade. Now we hear that Porsche’s iconic 911 may eventually acquire a… Read more »
Chrysler’s new hybrid minivan has a plug (but don’t tell anyone)
Chrysler holds an enviable position atop the popular minivan segment, and the less respectable distinction of being the leading electrification skeptic among major automakers. So the company’s new plug-in hybrid minivan, which is scheduled to arrive in showrooms in late 2016, is something of a milestone. The Pacifica Hybrid, which Chrysler calls the industry’s first… Read more »
Ford unveils 2017 hybrid and plug-in hybrid Fusions
Ford’s Fusion Energi plug-in hybrid has been one of the top-selling PHEVs since its February 2013 debut (it sold 9,750 units in 2015, second only to the Volt). Now Ford has released some details of the 2017 Fusion (also available in hybrid and legacy gas versions), which is scheduled to arrive at dealerships this summer…. Read more »
Tesla leads the pack as overall 2015 plug-in sales fall short
2015 was a year of retrenching and preparation for the future in the EV industry. US sales for the year were around 116,000, falling short of 2014’s figure of 123,000. The Tesla Model S grabbed and held the lead position, handily outselling all other plug-ins in the US with 25,700 deliveries. However, the big news… Read more »
Volvo’s new S90 sedan will offer plug-in hybrid version
Volvo will unveil its new S90 premium sedan at the Detroit auto show (NAIAS) in January. One of the powertrain options will be a T8 Twin Engine plug-in hybrid. Thus, the S90 will be the second Volvo to offer a plug-in powertrain using the SPA modular chassis system (the XC90 T8 Twin Engine PHEV went… Read more »
UCLA study: HOV access for plug-in cars drives sales
One of the goodies that many governments offer to encourage EV sales is access to special highway lanes. In California at least, it seems that such policies are very effective. A new study conducted by UCLA’s Luskin Center for Innovation, with funding from the California Air Resources Board, has found that state legislation that opened… Read more »
How much of a change is VW’s promised pivot to plug-ins?
Demoralized by its diesel deception, will Volkswagen now get serious about EVs? “Arguably, no major OEM is better positioned than VW to decisively accelerate the push towards plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles,” Lux Research recently noted, “[However], they will most likely carry on as usual after some apologies.” This week, VW’s board of directors released… Read more »
