Sono Motors on Monday announced that it had taken another step toward getting its Sion electric hatchback into production on schedule. In a press release, Sono said it had started the series-validation phase of development. The company said it’s currently building a fleet of 37 series-validation vehicles and bodies-in-white, which represent the… More…

Ford and Volkswagen on Monday confirmed an expansion of their relationship around electric vehicles—resulting in a second electric vehicle based on VW’s MEB platform for EVs, as well as a longer-term plan to double Ford’s volume of models on that platform to 1.2 million units over a six-year span. Ford has confirmed that the… More…

Earlier this month, Ford suddenly stopped taking orders for two especially popular versions of the Ford Mustang Mach-E—the Premium and California Route 1. That left more than an $18,000 price gap between the base Select, which is only offered with the base 70-kwh Standard Range battery pack, and the top GT, with its included all-wheel drive… More…

Aston Martin last week announced a partnership with Britishvolt to develop new battery technology. The goal is to create batteries for a planned “ultra-luxury performance EV,” Aston said in a press release. Due to launch in 2025, this will be the British automaker’s first production EV after a couple of false starts. Aston’s previous EV, a track… More…

If you’re looking to learn more about EV batteries, Lucid Motors CEO and CTO Peter Rawlinson may have just delivered the best primer yet. Over roughly 36 minutes, this first video in a series covers just about every aspect of the Lucid Air battery pack and how it helps enable the luxury sedan’s 520-mile maximum range. Rawlinson starts with the… More…

While bidirectional charging remains at the hypothetical or developmental stages for some automakers, it’s almost here for Ford and its F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck. A new partnership between Ford and California utility PG&E is aiming to take that functionality to the next stage: the electrical grid. Ford plans the first… More…

Rivian revealed updates on R1T, R1S, and EDV production, preorders, and what amounted to its most significant product update in months, as part of a letter to shareholders and Q&A held Thursday. The company is ramping up production, gradually and with plenty of supply-chain-related fits and starts. As of March 8, Rivian reports that it has… More…

General Motors on Wednesday teased that its Chevrolet Blazer electric crossover, due to arrive starting in spring 2023 and debut later this year, will be the first from the brand to be offered in an “SS” performance model. The SS badge, for Super Sport, has been a Chevy mainstay since the leading edge of the muscle-car era, typically… More…

A coalition of ethanol producers have joined a group of 16 states challenging tougher vehicle emissions standards for model years 2023 through 2026, Automotive News reported last week. Under the Biden administration, the EPA has proposed rules that will support a fleet mix of about 40% EVs by 2030 and arrive at a slightly tighter level by… More…

A surge in raw material prices could cause EV battery prices to rise, according to a recent Reuters report. Battery prices have declined consistently over the past few years, but rising prices of nickel, lithium, and other materials—exasperated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine—could halt or even reverse that trend, according to the… More…

Five years after generating much buzz with a Microbus-inspired electric van, Volkswagen has at last revealed the production model, suitably called ID.Buzz. Although for the U.S. there’s a big asterisk: America won’t see the ID at dealerships until 2024. Simply put, Americans shouldn’t dwell too much on the specs for the European… More…

There are some ill-informed opinion pieces suggesting that the more EVs that are put to use, the more we’ll need to tap into dirtier power sources in order to meet demand. But as a recent RMI report suggests, that’s not true—because relatively simple tech like smart charging and time-of-use rates will help smooth loads and help utilities… More…

One of the touted benefits of solid-state batteries is increased safety owing to a more stable solid electrolyte, but new research casts doubt on that claim. Solid-state batteries get their name from their solid electrolyte, which proponents claim is less prone to damage and overheating than the liquid electrolyte used in conventional lithium-ion… More…

Volvo Cars has announced that it will be testing electric taxis equipped with wireless charging, in “a live city environment” to evaluate the potential of the technology. The tech, from Momentum Dynamics, is due to be installed on a “small fleet” of Volvo XC40 Recharge electric SUVs operated by Cabonline, which claims to be the largest… More…

Electric vehicles have the potential to be more than just transportation—by using their battery packs for supplemental home energy and grid stabilization. That’s what a collaboration between GM and Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E), announced Tuesday morning, aims to explore—with the eventual hope of making every GM vehicle… More…

Wind and solar-powered charging could further lower the environmental impact of electric cars; but one New York-based company wants to combine them in one electricity-generating device that could be used for EV charging stations or wherever grid-buffering might help keep blackouts at bay. Change Wind Corporation has developed the Wind & Solar… More…

Polestar aims to build a truly climate-neutral car by 2030—in that it will not only eliminate emissions from driving but from every different aspect of production, and even sales and support. That’s a lofty goal—especially considering that the project, called the “Polestar 0 Project,” won’t resort to offsetting… More…

Will the electric-vehicle charging station of the future look a lot like a gas station, or will it involve more clusters of chargers in corners of vast blacktop parking lots? Thankfully, if you go by the winners, announced earlier this month, of a competition called “The Electric Fuelling Station of the Future,” the answer is neither… More…

Volkswagen plans to reveal its ID.Buzz electric Microbus in production form on March 9. But with each reminder of the pending reveal, it’s trickling out a little more information about the long-anticipated electric van. The ID.Buzz is expected to follow closely on the prototype version teased in November—for Europe. The U.S. version, not due… More…

Ford is looking at ways to separate its EV business from its other operations in order to win more positive attention from investors, according to a Bloomberg report published Friday. CEO Jim Farley wants to “wall off” the EV business from its internal-combustion engine business, and has considered spinning off one or the other, according to the… More…