Stay up to date on the newest information in the world of Electric Vehicles.
Back in 2009, BMW group launched their first electric vehicle. It was an electrified MINI and they received over 1800 applications to be part of the field trial of 450 MINI Es. Brand manager Peter Schwarzbauer recently said that electrifying future MINI models are part of the strategy. “It fits perfectly with the brand, and… Continue reading MINI electric vehicles planned in the future
Kia’s newly redesigned Soul is the basis for Kia’s first global electric vehicle (following the Ray EV that has been sold in Korea for 3 years). Wider and longer than the first generation Soul, the body is also stiffer and the suspension geometry has been revised. The platform was originally designed to accept battery packs… Continue reading 2015 Kia Soul EV first test drive
Kia has revealed specs on the upcoming Soul EV with a large and informative press release. The only things missing are an official launch date, and pricing information. In the press release, Kia Motors confirms development of an all-electric version of the Kia Soul set to go on sale in 2014. The Kia Soul EV… Continue reading Kia Soul EV coming in 2014 with range of more than 120 miles
We wrote about this almost a month ago and all we had was a mostly dark photo to show you. Now, Mitsubishi has released more photos of their upcoming 2 plug-in hybrid electric vehicles that they will be unveiling at the upcoming Tokyo Motor Show later this month. The Mitsubishi Concept Grand Cruiser PHEV is… Continue reading Mitsubishi teases new concept PHEVs to be revealed in Tokyo
Ford is recalling the approximately 2600 Ford Focus Electric vehicles that have been built since Sept 15th at Ford’s Michigan Assembly Plant. The ‘Stop Safely Now’ issue is a situation that can cause a loss of power to the wheels, even while in motion. The steering and brakes to seem to remain unaffected. An official… Continue reading Ford finally responds to ‘Stop Safely Now’ problem with official recall
Over the weekend, BMW CFO Freidrich Eichiner spoke with Bloomberg. So far, BMW has received over 8,000 pre-orders for the i3 electric vehicle, and that’s before orders open in North America! Mr. Eichiner says that BMW expects to sell more than 10,000 copies of the i3 next year, and BMW is preparing to adjust capacity… Continue reading BMW considers more production capacity for i3 with more than 8,000 reservations
Mitsubishi Motors will unveil 3 new concept vehicles at the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show in late November, and 2 of them will by plug-in hybrid electric SUVs. According to Mitsubishi, these concepts will incorporate a new design identity that has a sense of the security and functionality of an SUV, along with “next generation advanced… Continue reading Mitsubishi will unveil 2 SUV plug-in hybrid electric concepts at 2013 Tokyo Motor Show
Produced by the EV project, an organization funded by the DOE, this infographic profiles data from around 8000 plug-in vehicle owners. With data going back to 2009, there is a chance some of the data is no longer valid, since Nissan alone has sold $35,000 LEAFs in the US. Out of the 8000 plug-in owners,… Continue reading EV Owner Inforgraphic shows 4 in 5 have household income over $100,000
In the most recent edition of Volkswagen’s ViaVision Magazine, the upcoming Volskwagen E-Up!, VW’s first production electric vehicle, was the main feature. The magazine describes Volkswagen’s electric motors, batteries, and the first e-Golf electric vehicle prototypes first developed in 1976. Volkswagen is producing electric drives and battery packs in house, much like other EV manufacturers… Continue reading Volkswagen E-Up! air cooled battery, featured in ViaVision magazine
Currently available in Japan and Europe, Mitsubishi has decided to delay the US launch of the Outlander Plug-in Hybrid until 2015. Some amount of delays were expected because of the 5 month production shut down due to battery fire incidents. The delay was hinted at when Mitsubishi changed the wording around the 2014 release date… Continue reading Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV delayed until 2015 in the US
From the Frankfurt Motor Show, the official unveiling, here are some photos and information on the 2014 Mercedes Benz S500 plugin hybrid. Powered by a 3.0 liter V6 engine, and an 80 kW electric motor, the S500 plug-in hybrid joins the S400 hybrid and the S3560 BlueTEC hybrid vehicles. The S500 plug-in hybrid can go… Continue reading 2014 Mercedes Benz S500 Plug-in Hybrid from Frankfurt 2013
On Tuesday, at the Frankfurt Motor Show, Audi revealed the production ready A3 E-tron plug-in hybrid electric vehicle. The A3 E-tron Sportback combines a 1.4 liter, 150-hp engine with a 75 kW electric motor, for a total output of 204 hp. The A3 E-tron has a top speed of 138 mph, and has a 0-60… Continue reading Audi A3 E-tron gets priced for Germany at 37,000 Euros
At the Frankfurt Motor Show, Volkswagen has unveiled the 2015 e-Golf electric vehicle in production form. The e-Golf uses a 24.2 kWh lithium ion battery pack to provide up to 118 miles of range according to Volkswagen. The Volkswagen e-Golf is an internal affair – all of the components, including the 144 hp electric motor… Continue reading Volkswagen E-Golf has range of 118 miles
Nissan has confirmed that its second electric vehicle, the e-NV200 compact electric van, is ready for mass production and will likely hit the market early next year (hopefully the US and not just Europe). The Nissan e-NV200 is equipped with the running gear from a Nissan Leaf, so it has a 110hp electric motor and… Continue reading Nissan e-NV200 ready for production early next year
Mercedes launches into battle with BMW, pitting the B-Class Electric Drive against the upcoming BMW i3. Mercedes Benz is touting the B-Class as being superior over the BMW i3 in all key performance indicators. “We have Tesla inside” referring to the Tesla battery components the Mercedes got from Tesla. Board member of Daimler Research, Thomas… Continue reading Mercedes B-Class Electric Drive challenges BMW i3
Just days ahead of the Frankfurt Motor Show, Smart has revealed its newest concept car, the four seat Forjoy. Smart calls the ForJoy ‘the forerunner of a new smart generation’ in its press release. The glassless, doorless, roofless idea obviously won’t make it to production, but Smart says the concept car’s proportions portend much about… Continue reading Smart ForJoy is ForFour Electric Drive concept headed to Frankfurt
Before the end of 2013, the Audi A3 E-tron will enter Audi’s production cycle, and will launch in Europe in late 2013 or early 2014. Then in mid-2014, the A3 E-tron makes it over to the US. Following the US launch of the E-tron, the vehicle will make its way to Australia in preparation for… Continue reading Audi A3 E-tron in Europe this year, US next year, and Australia later
At a recent product preview of upcoming models, Nissan Motors told reporters that the company now has plans for 5 plug-in vehicles in the future, and that Nissan is preparing wireless inductive charging for all of them. Until now, Nissan has only officially announced 3 electric vehicles: the Nissan LEAF of course, the Infiniti LE… Continue reading Nissan confirms 2 new plug-in vehicles will be added to future lineup
