The California Air Resources Board (ARB) is one of the world’s most important promoters of electromobility. The agency’s zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate requires that 2.7 percent of new cars sold in the state this year be plug-in (or fuel cell) vehicles. That percentage is scheduled to increase every year, reaching 22 percent in 2025. The… Read more »
Fiat Chrysler is the automaker that EVangelists love to hate. The brand has nary a hybrid in its lineup (although a plug-in powertrain for the Town & Country minivan is expected to appear in 2016), and, like some evil stepmother in a fairy tale, CEO Sergio Marchionne heaps derision on the feisty little Fiat 500e,… Read more »
Chrysler is the least charged of the Big Three – its current offerings include no hybrids, one compliance car that it seems to be doing its best not to sell, and a stream of anti-EV comments from CEO Sergio Marchionne and other execs. However, Automotive News has found evidence that that may be about to… Read more »
Fiat has selected AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) as the preferred provider and installer of home charging stations for its new 500e. Fiat is the fifth EV manufacturer to choose AeroVironment as its home charging partner. To date, the company has deployed more than 12,000 charging stations in North America. The Fiat-branded, UL-listed Level 2 charging station can… Read more »
Hope springs eternal that America’s #3 automaker will someday get serious about EVs, or at least bring a hybrid to market. A couple of media outlets seized on a Chrysler exec’s comment in a recent interview as evidence that the company plans to jump on the electric bandwagon. The Detroit Free Press recently published an… Read more »
The cute, cuddly FIAT 500e EV may have been born only out of regulatory necessity. So what happens if it becomes the best-reviewed new EV in its class? The bar is raised; the game changes. Maybe Chrysler will even concede that it should sell it outside of the Golden State. Summertime in Sonoma County… Read more »
Fiat will introduce its new EV, the 500e, on Friday at the Los Angeles Auto Show. The tiny two-door is an electrified version of one of Fiat’s most iconic models – it’s ubiquitous in Europe, where it’s affectionately known as the “Italian backpack,” but went on sale in the US only in 2011. The 500e… Read more »
Rumor has it that it will have a 75 kW, 100 hp electric motor powering the front wheels, and will be sold only in limited quantities.