EVs
Nissan May Offer Free Car Loans To Leaf Buyers For Long Trips
If you’re one of the many who signed up for a 2011 Nissan Leaf, you may be suffering from “range anxiety” (the fear of running out of power in the middle of nowhere). To help you overcome this, Nissan is coming up with a program that would give Leaf buyers a longer-range alternative. This program…
Electric Superbus Designed to Take You to Work at 155-MPH
It’s a bird… It’s a plane… It’s a… bus? Superbus, actually (despite the Batmobile-esque appearance of the thing). And it’s electric. An electric Superbus (no relation to the 70′s disco classic) straight out of Holland (or is it called the Netherlands?). Whichever it is, one thing’s for certain: this ain’t your grandmammy’s bus. This 20,000…
Infiniti Electric Car Teased in New Design Sketch; For Sale in 2013
Infiniti has just released a teaser design sketch of what it’s upcoming luxury electric car will look like. Believed to be based on the same platform as Nissan Leaf EV, the Infiniti model is set to hit dealers in North America in 2013. Little info is available yet, but Infiniti promises the EV will deliver…
China’s Green Car Plan Would Force Automakers to Surrender Intellectual Property
A controversial Chinese government plan that would force foreign automakers to surrender their electric vehicle technology in exchange for being able to sell vehicles in the world’s largest auto-market is drawing the ire of automakers worldwide. China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is currently writing up a 10-year plan designed to transform the country…
Peugeot EX1 Electric Roadster Concept Set To Debut At Paris Auto Show
Celebrating its 200th anniversary, Peugeot will be showing off its EX1 electric roadster concept at Paris Auto Show at the end of the month. The EX1 is a uniquely designed, lightweight two-seat roadster that’s all electric. Peugeot even claims that their concept car “has already broken several world records for acceleration from a standing start.”…
Daimler to Unveil Electric Commercial Truck Concept at Hannover Auto Show
The result is a zero emission commercial vehicle, one rated at 3.5 ton gross weight.
Kia to Launch Electric Crossover Next Year
A week after Hyundai announced its first electric car, sister company Kia Motors will continue the Korean automaker’s EV plans with a battery-powered crossover set to debut next year. “We plan to produce 2,000 electric vehicles based on Kia’s upcoming cross utility vehicles (CUVs), and 500 BlueOns by 2012,” said Hong John-hee, the head of…
Toyota Adding Six New Hybrids, Plug-In Prius and Electric City Car by 2012
Toyota has released a selection of details on its product roll-out strategy as the Japanese automaker looks to move away from its damaged safety reputation and put the focus back on products. Specifically, Toyota wants to recharge its hybrid brand amidst an influx of electric vehicles (like the Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf) hitting the…
Electric Toyota RAV4-EV to Debut at LA Auto Show
Toyota has announced via its official Twitter feed that it will show-off an electric version of the RAV4 at the LA Auto Show in November. Referred to as the RAV4-EV, this vehicle is the first product to come from the tie-up with American electric sports car maker Tesla. Both Toyota and Tesla have joined forces…
Mystery Audi Coupe Spied in Austria; Is This the R4? [video]
Several videos of a mystery Audi coupe have surfaced online, showing what appears to be the upcoming R4. The videos were taken at the Olympia Ski Resort in the Tyrolean Alps in Austria and it seems as though a production company is making either a commercial or a promo video for the new car. The…
Audi R4 Spyder Concept to Debut at Paris Auto Show
At the upcoming Paris Auto Show, Audi will unveil its latest E-Tron version, a roadster based on the smaller rear-drive E-Tron unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show earlier this year. Believed to eventually be called the R4 Spyder, this concept is the latest step in bringing a new sportscar into the Audi lineup. Like its…
Hyundai BlueOn Electric Car Revealed With Sales to Start in 2012
Hyundai has just revealed its first ever electric car, the BlueOn, based on the small i10 hatchback. Able to travel up to 87 miles on a single charge it’s capable of a top speed of 80 mph. The initial plan is to roll out several units to government agencies later this year before offering the…
Does it Cost More to Operate an Electric Vehicle Than Gas-Powered?
When you bought that new electric car of yours, we bet you thought you’d be saving all kinds of mad money. We hate to break it to you, but it turns out it is probably going to cost you more than an gas car in the long run. Many people buy electric cars because of…
Electric Mercedes A-Class to Debut at Paris Auto Show Using Tesla Battery Tech
As a sideshow to the new 2011 CLS, Mercedes-Benz will display a production version of the A-Class EV at the Paris Motor Show. Called the A-Class E-Cell, the limited-run electric car will be powered by 40kW lithium-ion batteries and additional components provided by U.S. electric car maker Tesla Motors. The vehicle’s range is expected to…
Kia POP City Car Concept to Debut at Paris Auto Show
Looking like what Hello Kitty might drive if she lived in the Tron universe, this new city car concept by Kia is called “POP” and is set to officially debut at the Paris Auto Show this fall. Taking design cues from the Kia Ray electric coupe concept, the POP is roughly 10 feet long and…
Chevy Volt Production to Jump 50 Percent in 2012
Just days after the official $41,000 price tag was slapped on the side of the Chevrolet Volt, General Motors has announced that production of the revolutionary new electric vehicle will be increased by 50 percent. With a projected production of 10,000 units next year, GM has now said the 2012 production volume of 30,000 vehicles…
BMW Banned from Calling Electric Vehicles “CO2 Free” in Europe
BMW will not be allowed to market electric cars like the ActiveE concept in Europe as emissions free, after a ruling by the European Advertising Standards Alliance (EASA). The news comes despite the fact that operating the fully-electric ActiveE produces no emissions. According to EASA the ActiveE is not a zero emissions vehicle as is…
Chevy Volt Pricing Reportedly Set at $40,000
General Motors was said to be targeting the $40,000 mark for its revolutionary new Chevy Volt electric car, and according to insider info provided to Bloomberg, that’s roughly how much the car will cost when official pricing is announced later today. GM’s new marketing boss, Joel Ewanick, is set to officially announce the dollar amount…
Honda Plug-In Hybrid Coming in 2012, Next-Gen Civic Hybrid to Use Lithium-Ion Battery
Honda CEO Takanobu Ito has given a look at the direction Honda will be taking in the coming years, putting strong emphasis on small cars and hybrids. At his annual mid-year speech, Ito gave a rough outline of the Japanese automaker’s future direction, while dropping a few important notes about new products. Two important new…
Tesla-Built Toyota Electric Prototypes Tipped to Be RAV4, Lexus RX
In a followup to the story we brought you yesterday about Toyota‘s new electric vehicle prototypes that are being built by American electric sports car maker Tesla Motors, the actual vehicles in question are reported to be the RAV4 crossover and Lexus RX luxury crossover. The reason for the use of crossovers is believed to…
Second Car in Prius Family Set to Hit Dealers in 2012
Toyota will bring three new green models to market in 2012, including the second model in the Prius family. Toyota has confirmed it will expand the Prius name into its own brand, but it’s not yet clear if the second model in the range will be the much-rumored Prius Alfa MPV or if it will…
Tesla Building Two EV Prototypes for Toyota Using Japanese Automaker’s Vehicles
After reports last week that Toyota has already begun building a prototype electric car using Tesla battery technology, it now appears that that Tesla is also engaged in the prototype process. The American manufacturer of electric sports cars has announced that by the end of the month it will deliver two prototype models to Toyota…
Toyota Already Building Prototype EV With Tesla Technology Says CEO
Toyota has already begun building an electric vehicle prototype using Tesla’s battery technology confirms company CEO Akio Toyoda. The comments were made during a meeting with journalists in Nagoya, Japan. That news does not, however, mean that a production EV will make it to market combining Tesla’s innovation and Toyota’s reputation for quality and its…
California No Longer Issuing HOV Carpool Stickers to Hybrids
Hybrid cars are a huge hit in California and for a number of reasons. The first reason you might think of is the that citizens of the fine state are concerned about the environment. And while that might be true, there’s also a more self-serving reason, namely, that the California DMV issues 85,000 “Clean Air…
