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 »
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Bob Lutz thinks Tesla’s in trouble
Since Tesla’s 2003 founding, there’s been a steady stream of articles explaining why it would soon go belly-up. The latest comes from a seemingly unlikely source: Bob Lutz, the “father of the Chevrolet Volt.” Back in the day, Lutz and Musk seemed like fellow travelers – the former GM exec said he would always be… Read more »
BMW CEO: New EV planned, but diesel still rules in Europe
Instant replay department: An auto exec makes a passing comment about future electrification plans; the pro-EV press hears what it wants to hear, and reports that the company is making a major new push to get charged. A couple of weeks ago, VW announced that it would continue several EV development programs – most of… Read more »
ABB introduces automated fast charging system for city buses
Battery-electric buses are operating on a trial basis in dozens of cities around the world, but some planners are still concerned about the constraints common to all pure EVs: short driving ranges and long charging times. Electronics giant ABB has introduced an automated fast charging system that aims to relegate these problems to the past…. Read more »
August plug-in sales slow as LEAF, Volt and Model S jockey for the lead
There’s little good news for EV-lovers this month. August US plug-in sales of 8,972 were essentially unchanged from July, and were even further behind August 2014’s figure of 12,172. There were no major position changes – most of the leading models posted minor declines or increases. The bright spots at the moment are outside the… Read more »
Saab successor hooks up with Dongfeng to build new energy vehicles
The future of Saab lies in China. National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS), which inherited the Saab brand in 2012, and has been laboring like a mythical Nordic hero to bring it back to life as an EV, has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the giant Chinese automaker Dongfeng Motor Corporation. Dongfeng will help NEVS… Read more »
New independent EV builder makes the scene
The difficulty of starting up a car company, and the unlikelihood of anyone duplicating Tesla’s success, are so well known as to require no repetition here. Suffice it to say that Faraday Future’s recent colorfully-worded announcement that it intends to bring a new EV to the market has been greeted with predictable skepticism. However, the… Read more »
Ultramodern plug-in buses go into service in Gothenburg
Volvo’s home town, the Swedish city of Gothenburg, has become something of a center for electric bus research, as the company operates pilots of electric and plug-in hybrid buses, some using dynamic wireless charging. This month the city opened its first fully operational route featuring electric buses. Bus route 55, which runs through the city… Read more »
Tesla resists changes to California ZEV mandate
California’s ZEV mandate, which will require 15 percent of cars sold in the state to be zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) by 2025, will soon be expanded to include medium-size OEMs such as Mitsubishi and Volvo, which naturally have some helpful ideas as to how the rules could be watered down. At a May hearing, automakers and… Read more »
California: Smaller automakers can earn ZEV credits with PHEVs (UPDATED)
For several years now, the California Air Resources Board’s ZEV mandate has required the largest automakers to produce a certain number of zero-emission vehicles for sale in the state. Beginning in 2018, smaller OEMs will be subject to the rules, too. Unsurprisingly, these companies would rather skip it, and at a May hearing, Jaguar Land… Read more »