Have the last two holdouts among major automakers just hopped on the electric bandwagon, or are they just indulging in some fast-follower greenwashing? Following Toyota’s announcement of a new line of battery-electric vehicles, Honda now says it plans to make battery-electric and fuel cell vehicles 100% of its North American sales by 2040. There are… Read more »
Search Results Found For: "toyota hydrogen"
Hino speeds production timeline for its Class 4-8 electric trucks
Hino Trucks, a subsidiary of Toyota, is accelerating the production timeline for its suite of battery-electric vehicles. The new Class 4-8 electric trucks are now slated to go into low-volume production in Q4 2022 and full production by the end of 2023. The company originally planned to have its BEV range in production by 2024,… Read more »
Heavy-duty electric trucks start to appear in fleets
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 »
New emissions scandal? Tests show PHEVs emit more pollution than claimed
Sometimes it seems automakers will try any powertrain technology in order to avoid selling battery-electric vehicles. First diesels, then hydrogen, were touted as ways to reduce CO2 emissions while still maintaining the fill-er-up-with-fossil-fuel business model (and continuing to crank out the colossal SUVs that carmakers claim consumers crave). Many electric purists have long suspected that… Read more »
Seven future electric pickup trucks. Maybe.
Over the first 10 years of their existence, most modern battery-electric cars have been compact hatchbacks or Teslas. While a few are marketed as crossover utility vehicles, none have been the full-size pickup trucks that make up a huge and very profitable segment of US vehicle sales. That’s about to change. What follows is a… Read more »
California proposes to enact zero-emission mandate for commercial vehicles
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has released the final draft of the Advanced Clean Trucks standard. The latest proposal, which is stronger than previous drafts, is the first in the nation that would create a zero-emission mandate for trucks. The proposed rule would require automakers to sell a certain percentage of zero-emission trucks each… Read more »
Volkswagen explains why batteries, not fuel cells, are the right choice for passenger cars
The debate over hydrogen fuel cells refuses to go away. The founders of Tesla considered hydrogen and other energy storage media before deciding that batteries were the best choice for electric powertrains, and have explained their reasoning in great detail several times since. Toyota, on the other hand, continues to insist that fuel cell vehicles… Read more »
CARB announces $200 million in new funding for clean freight transport
Passenger cars get most of the press, but heavy-duty vehicles are arguably even more in need of reducing emissions. In California, there’s a comprehensive (and complicated) plan to electrify everything. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has announced up to $205 million in new grants for projects to advance clean freight technologies. The grants will… Read more »
A quiet hit: 2018 Honda Clarity PHEV
Honda sneaks into third place in the PHEV race It’s ironic that Honda, which has long been known for the fuel efficiency of its vehicles, has been a laggard on the long road to electrification. The Japanese automaker launched its Insight Hybrid in 1999, shortly after Toyota introduced the Prius, but sales have been modest… Read more »
Tesla founders Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning talk EVs
Here’s a treat for any EV fan: a long and meaty talk with Tesla founders Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning, delivered at Stanford last October. While there are several substantial talks with Tarpenning available on YouTube (he also graciously granted me a lengthy interview for my book about Tesla), Martin Eberhard has seldom sat down… Read more »
