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Showing posts with label Electric Vehicles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Electric Vehicles. Show all posts

Ford Offering Huge Discounts on All-Electric Focus Due to Slow Sales

Tuesday, January 29, 2013


In 2012, the base price for Ford’s Focus Electric was US$39,995. Now, Ford’s website features a list price of US$37,995 for “cash-only” sales and a hefty US$10,750 discount on “Red Carpet leases” for delivery by April 1.

Moreover, the monthly payment for a 36-month lease with 10,500 miles per year has dropped from US$350 to US$285 and US$930 up front, and if the car is purchased through Ford Motor Credit, it offers a 1.9 percent financing rate.

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Nissan Lowers Price of 2013 Leaf EV by €3,000 in Europe

Wednesday, January 23, 2013


Less than 10 days after it dropped the price of the U.S.-made Leaf by more than US$6,000, Nissan announced that it is making its all-electric five-door compact hatchback more affordable in Europe, too, reducing its price by €3,000 (US$4,000).

As of today, the Leaf starts from €25,990 (US$34,644) in France and £23,490 (€28,490, US$37,979) in the United Kingdom.

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BMW Exec Confirms Two-Cylinder Motorcycle Engine for i3 REx

Tuesday, January 22, 2013


A BMW official has confirmed that the range-extender engine to be offered as an option on the battery-powered i3 supermini will be a two-cylinder gasoline unit sourced from the brand's motorcycle division and not the upcoming, larger displacement 1.5-liter three-cylinder petrol engine developed for the Bavarian group's automobiles.

Speaking to Autonews during last week's Detroit Motor Show, Herbert Diess, BMW's head of Research and Development, said that the range-extender engine option will be offered when the new i3 goes on sale in the fourth quarter of 2013, but he avoided to say how much it will cost.

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eBay Seller Tells us "This Vehicle Doesn't Look Like the Typical Junk from Overseas"

Sunday, January 20, 2013


We don't why you would want to, but as it turns out, you can own a SsangYong in the United States, or kind of, since the seller of this low mileage 2011 SsangYong Actyon Sports that has been re-engineered to run on battery power doesn't mention the truck's name or brand.

Instead, the California seller lists it as "Other Makes" – so when someone asks you what you're driving, you'll simply say, "a 2011 Other Makes 4-Door w/Utility Bed".

From the eBay page, we learn that this is a 100 percent electric vehicle with a top speed of 35mph (56km/h) and a driving range of 25 miles (40 kilometers), with the seller stating, "This vehicle doesn't look like the typical junk from overseas - it's the same size as a Toyota Tacoma Crew Cab, just electric."

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GM President Says EVs Are Not Dead, Next Volt Will Cost “Thousands Less”

Friday, January 18, 2013


Despite predictions that plug-in hybrid and all-electric vehicles would increase rapidly due to climbing gasoline prices, in 2012, their sales were a mere 52,172 units according to the Automotive News Data Center.

That’s a drop in the ocean when viewed in the light of total new vehicle sales in the U.S. market, which surpassed 14.5 million last year. On the other hand, that figure accounts for a three-fold increase compared to 2011.

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Fisker Looks for Strategic Partners in China, Hasn’t Built a Car in Six Months


The Karma might look gorgeous but things aren’t looking very good for its maker, Fisker, right now. In 2012, despite having delivered some 2,000 Karmas, it’s had its federal loan frozen, issued a number of recalls on the Karma, saw its battery supplier, A123 Systems, go bankrupt and 16 of its cars being destroyed by hurricane Sandy and, to top it all, it hasn’t built a single car in the past six months.

So the company is looking for partners and investors. And what better place to turn to than a country that wants to acquire high-end EV technology? That would be China; according to a report from Reuters, Fisker’s top executives are trying to find a strategic partner that would help them get things started again.

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Cadillac Says the ELR Hybrid Coupe will be Priced so as to Reflect its "Exclusivity"

Thursday, January 17, 2013


The 2014 Cadillac ELR that was revealed at this week's Detroit Motor Show is a stylish extended-range hybrid, 2+2 coupe based on the same Voltec platform as the Chevrolet Volt.

Of course, while quite similar (but not identical) under the skin, the two GM hybrids belong to entirely different segments. The Volt is supposed to be a higher-priced alternative to mass-market rivals such as the plug-in Toyota Prius, while the ELR is a premium product.

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VIA X-Truck has Mad Max Looks, 800HP with 100MPGe and is Backed by Bob Lutz

Tuesday, January 15, 2013


VIA Motors is a privately-owned electric vehicle company founded in 2010 that has developed a proprietary extended-range drive technology called VIA V-Drive that is designed for use in full-size pickup trucks, vans and SUVs. It purchases standard GM vehicles, replaces their powerplants with its own and then sells them to fleets under the VTRUX brand.

Former GM VP Bob Lutz became its chairman in 2011. Known as “the father of the Volt” – among other vehicles, that is, Lutz has been a champion of electric vehicles for a long timt, but his vision of EVs is somewhat different than what most people have come to expect…

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Cadillac ELR Hybrid Coupe Packs 207HP, Goes on Sale in Early 2014 [Updated]


When the Cadillac Converj concept was launched at the 2009 Detroit Motor Show, the consensus was unanimous: just build it! GM heard the press’ and public’s voices and, three years later, launched the production version, named ELR, at the same venue.

Having already seen the first official images, we know that the ELR is a bit different in its proportions compared to the concept; but then that’s to be expected, as the designers have to work within certain parameters set by the engineers and, in any case, the 2+2 coupe is still quite a looker.

If its styling whet our appetites, the fact that it was based on the Chevrolet Volt platform dampened things a bit. Then doubt started to creep in: is the ELR just a Volt in a nice suit?

Cadillac says that this is definitely not the case. While the ELR does indeed utilize both the FWD platform and the Extended Range Electric Vehicle (EREV) hybrid powertrain that were introduced in the Volt, those elements have been tuned to suit the coupe’s premium character.

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Color Me White: Tesla Displays Slightly Updated Model X Prototype at Detroit Motor Show

Monday, January 14, 2013


Tesla’s second model after the Model S all-electric saloon will be the Model X crossover, which was on display at the automaker’s stand at the Detroit Motor Show.

Although we’ll have to wait for the automaker’s press conference to find out more about the seven-seater electric SUV that's based on the chassis and running gear of the Model S, the only visible exterior difference to the prototype that was launched last year is the white, instead of silver, paint and the alloy wheels’ design.

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Nissan Drops Price of U.S.-Made Leaf by More than $6,000 to as Low as $18,800 with Tax Credits


At the Detroit Auto Show, Nissan revealed the 2013 model year Leaf, which aside from a host of upgrades, will be built from now on in the U.S. at the brand's manufacturing plant in Smyrna, Tennessee.

As a result of the shift in production from Japan to the United States and the addition of a new base S model, Nissan has been able to trim the entry price by more than $6,000 (about 18 percent), to $28,800, or as low as $18,800 after a $7,500 federal tax credit and state rebate of $2,500.

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First Official Photos of Cadillac's New ELR Extended-Range Hybrid Coupe [Updated]


The countdown for the presentation of the new Cadillac ELR at the Detroit auto show (January 14 to 27) begins with a fresh set of pictures that afford us our first unobstructed view of the GM's upmarket extended range hybrid coupe.

The new images show some exterior details of the car as well as of the sharply styled interior that keeps in line with other products from Cadillac.

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Nissan Presents Updated 2013 Leaf, which is Now Made in the U.S.A. as Well

Wednesday, January 9, 2013


Today, Nissan revealed the U.S. market version of the 2013 Leaf in advance of its debut at next week's North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

The 2013 Leaf that will be sold in the States features a similar host of technical and equipment improvements as the Japanese domestic market (JDM) model presented in November last year, with one important exception.

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Survey Shows Carmakers Remain Skeptic about EV Sales, will Invest in Internal Combustion Engines


It seems that, despite all the noise they make about their hybrid, plug-in and all-electric vehicles, carmakers still expect the internal combustion engine to dominate sales until 2015.

According to a survey conducted last November by audit, tax and advisory company KPMG, which surveyed 200 global automotive executives, including 22 in North America, automakers believe that sales of electric vehicles will not account for more than 15 percent of global sales for at least a dozen more years.

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Domino's Pizza Takes Delivery of a Pair of Renault Twizy EVs in the UK

Tuesday, January 8, 2013


A Domino's Pizza franchise in Swindon, UK, will now deliver its hot goods around town with a pair of Renault Twizy electric cars. Read more »

GM Shows New Cadillac ELR on the Road Ahead of Detroit World Premiere


Less than a week before its scheduled world premiere at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, General Motors has shared a single picture of its new Cadillac ELR coupe covered in wraps while driving through the mountains of Southern California during development testing.

The ELR extended-range electric luxury coupe is the production version of the wreath and crest brand's Converj Concept displayed at the 2009 Detroit auto show.

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Spied: Mercedes-Benz Ramping Up Development of Production B-Class Electric Drive

Monday, January 7, 2013


At last year's Paris Motor Show, Mercedes-Benz demonstrated a new concept for an all-electric version of the latest B-Class small MPV alongside the SLS AMG and Smart Brabus Electric Drive models.

At the time, the German brand revealed that a production version of the B-Class Electric Drive would be added to its range of compact cars in 2014. True to its word, Mercedes is continuing the development of the car, which our spies captured in prototype form undergoing cold weather tests in Sweden.

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BMW Shows the New i3 Concept Coupe on the Move

Wednesday, January 2, 2013


Displayed for the first time in public at the LA Auto Show last November, the i3 Coupe is a conceptual spin-off from BMW's five-door i3 series that will soon be released in final production trim and go on sale worldwide in the end of 2013.

In this new video, we have the opportunity to see BMW's all-electric sub-compact on the road with the narrator giving us the primary details on the car including driving range and performance stats.

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China's BYD Wants to Build All-Electric Busses in the U.S.

Friday, December 28, 2012


The Chinese maker of all-electric vehicles that gained a lot of attention in 2008 when investor Warren Buffett bought a 10 percent stake in BYD for$230 million, is now actively looking to build an electric-bus assembly plant in the States.

Micheal Austin, vice president of BYD America, broke the news to WardsAuto, adding that the company has not yet decided on the location for the plant. "Clearly, there are a lot sensitive negotiations that must go on before any of that happens," said Austin.

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Nissan Extends 2011-2012 Leaf's Battery Warranty to Address Capacity Loss Issues


After some Leaf owners located in hot-weather climates complained to Nissan about their car's lithium-ion battery losing performance , the Japanese automaker decided to take action and bolster its warranty program that will apply retroactively on all 2011 and 2012 models, as well as the new 2013 version starting from next spring. Read more »

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