Charged has been reporting on electric trucks for a decade, but the electrification of real-world fleets has been frustratingly slow, and several would-be e-truck builders have gone bust waiting for fleet operators to conduct years-long pilots. Now we’re finally starting to see some large orders. Will 2021 be the year of the electric truck? A… Read more »
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High-voltage EV battery packs: benefits and challenges. More voltage, more better?
In 2020, Porsche delivered just over 20,000 units of its luxury Taycan EV—the first vehicle from a major automaker to sport an 800 V (nominal) battery, which is more than double the voltage of its competitors (and firmly into light-rail and switchyard locomotive territory, actually). It appears that many other EVs will soon follow in… Read more »
Refreshed Tesla Models S and X to ditch lead-acid for Li-ion 12 V battery
Elon Musk and Sandy Munro covered a lot of ground in their recent video chat, discussing a great number of advances and improvements to Tesla’s vehicles and manufacturing processes. Here’s just one tidbit that many may have overlooked: beginning with the upcoming Model S/X refresh, Tesla plans to abandon the century-old lead-acid battery technology in… Read more »
2022 GMC Hummer EV: the biggest, baddest, butchest EV to hit the market?
The news that General Motors would relaunch the infamous Hummer name—as an all-electric truck no less—broke a few days before the high-dollar, high-visibility 2020 Super Bowl ad that introduced that vehicle to the world. After a succession of carefully staged events for media and the public, we now know that the 2022 GMC Hummer EV… Read more »
EV manufacturer Arrival establishes North American HQ in Charlotte NC
British EV-maker Arrival plans to establish its North American headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company will add 150 new employees and invest $3 million in its new office complex in the trendy South End neighborhood. Arrival was founded in 2015, and has over 1,300 employees at sites in the UK, US, Germany, Netherlands, Israel,… Read more »
Toyota announces new EV platform, revamped version of fuel cell-powered Mirai
Toyota has announced that it will someday release a preview of a possible electric SUV for the European market. Details are “to be announced in the coming months.” The unnamed “preview model” will be based on Toyota’s new e-TNGA platform. The new platform is designed to be easily adaptable for a range of vehicle types—some… Read more »
2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E first drive report
Ford’s first real EV turns out to be a serious contender from Day One, due to striking looks and universal name recognition. Sitting in the 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E as it fast-charged in a Walmart parking lot, a grinning middle-aged man approached. The Mach-E attracts attention—thumbs-up in traffic, stares on the highway—so we figured he… Read more »
GM teases future electric Chevy crossover and pickup, invests more in EVs
General Motors CEO Mary Barra said Thursday the company is accelerating its electric-vehicle efforts, pulling forward the schedule on many future launches, and expanding the number of EV models it sells globally to 30 by the end of 2025—a larger number than the dozen future EVs shown to journalists in a no-cameras presentation in March…. Read more »
Volkswagen ID.4 and Nissan Ariya bring EV drive to compact crossovers…chasing Tesla Model Y
Can new electric entries in a hugely popular segment convince US buyers to buy EVs from Nissan and VW as family vehicles? Two new battery-electric models from major global car brands are about to bring electric cars into a category where they’ve been notably absent: family crossover utility vehicles. The 2021 Volkswagen ID.4 and 2022… Read more »
Shoppers buy more EVs if they understand charging—and now there’s proof (exclusive first look)
New-car salespeople have simple motivations: They want to spend the least time selling you a new car for the highest possible commission. You buy a new car every five years or so; they sell up to 25 cars a month. They make money on the difference in knowledge. That makes electric cars a problem: they… Read more »