EV advocate to charging entrepreneur You may remember a little Nissan LEAF battery controversy that popped up a few years ago. Beginning in May 2012, a handful of LEAF owners located in Phoenix, Arizona started posting on forums that, according to the car’s dashboard display, their batteries were losing capacity much faster than they were expecting…. Read more »
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February plug-in sales slow overall, but BMW i3 powers ahead
There are plenty of legitimate excuses: winter is always the slow season for auto sales; a couple of key vehicles are in rundown mode as buyers wait for a new and improved model; and, although logic tells us they shouldn’t, ultralow gas prices may be taking a bite out of demand for plug-ins. Be all… Read more »
A plethora of plug-ins at the Geneva Auto Salon
Plug-in cars seem to have arrived in Europe. At this week’s Geneva Auto Salon, charging posts were to be seen at just about every major automaker’s booth, as EVs and PHEVs were peacefully coexhibited with legacy gas and diesel models. The corded cars were generally not prominently featured, but neither were they hidden away in… Read more »
Quick Charge Power to offer CHAdeMO DC Fast Charging upgrade for Toyota RAV4 EV
Quick Charge Power, the EVSE company founded by well-known EV advocated Tony Williams, is developing kits for drivers who are looking for a serious charging upgrade. For EV owners without a DC Fast Charging option, Williams is building a CHAdeMO upgrade kit called JdeMO. The idea was inspired by Williams’s Toyota RAV4 EV, which was sold… Read more »
Plug-in sales drop with the temperature – LEAF fails to set new record, Volt buyers wait for the new model
January has always been a slow month for EV sales, and this month didn’t fail to disappoint. Monthly sales of 5,924 barely bested last January’s figure. A new generation of vastly-improved plug-ins is in sight, so a lot of buyers may be opting to wait a bit, and those rock-bottom gas prices probably aren’t helping…. Read more »
Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV US launch delayed again
Mitsubishi’s Outlander Plug-In Hybrid has sold well since going on sale in Europe and Japan two years ago, and there’s reason to believe that it could be a huge hit here as well. However, US buyers will have to wait for a plug-in crossover – the US launch has been delayed once again. Mitsubishi recently… Read more »
2015 VW e-Golf ushers in an era of interchangeable drivetrains for every Volkswagen model
Rising above the waters of the Mittelland Canal in Wolfsburg, Germany, four iconic smokestacks cut through an otherwise sparse skyline. These are the most recognizable – and among the last – vestiges of the original Volkswagen factory from 1938. Symbolically, however, the smokestacks represent much more than the symbols of a power plant that –… Read more »
BMW i3: “The most advanced vehicle on the planet” taken apart and reverse-engineered
The BMW i3 incorporates several extremely innovative features (as we noted in our August 2013 cover story), from its carbon fiber “life module” to its bottom-mounted battery pack to its unique optional range extender. In a recent Forbes article and accompanying video, Sandy Munro calls it “the most advanced vehicle on the planet…as revolutionary as… Read more »
German automakers (still) planning to challenge Tesla
Elon Musk hopes Tesla’s success will inspire other automakers to get serious about EVs. The latest buzz in the automotive press is that he may get his wish, as German luxury brands are rumored to be working on their own EVs to compete with the boys from Silicon Valley. Automobile magazine reported earlier this month… Read more »
November plug-in sales: LEAF (still) leads, Ford falters, Toyota tanks, smart surges
The US auto industry had another banner month, and plug-ins were present at the party, though perhaps not first in line at the punchbowl. PEV sales were down a tick from October, but eked out a gain compared to November 2013. Year-to-date sales have now surpassed 2013’s total, and it appears that annual sales will… Read more »