China’s central government has tweaked its approach to growing the country’s New Energy Vehicles segment (see my blog of September 20 on latest NEV policy), but it still aims to have tens of thousands of battery electric and plug-in-hybrid electric vehicles on the road in a few years.
If you don’t think China is committed to EVs for the
I visited Shanghai EDrive on October 24 as part of the Clean Truck and Bus Forum, sponsored in part by CalStart. The visit confirmed what I had heard about EDrive from industry sources; it is a well-run company. The visit also confirmed my and many others’ suspicions that the growth of the electric vehicle sector in China will fall far short of the
By the end of August, 59,000 electric vehicles had been sold in the U.S. — more than during all of 2012, a new report from the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) shows.
That’s good news for a technology sector that’s expected to play an important role in cutting future
While the Chinese government may be intent on growing the electric vehicle segment, Chinese consumers are not so keen to buy electric vehicles. But that doesn’t mean companies in China that produce components for electric vehicles aren’t counting on the sector growing. The just-released New Energy Vehicle policy is a big reason for that optimism. Local government support also plays a role.
General Motors CEO Dan Akerson recently claimed that his company plans “to compete head-to-head” with Tesla Motors on plug-in electric vehicles. Given the current lineup of products offered by both companies, that’s a little hard to envision. Tesla makes high-end, electric-only performance vehicles, while GM has so far released a comparatively low-priced plug-in
The average fuel efficiency of new vehicles in the United States rose to 24.9 mpg last month, according to a study released by the University of Michigan this week. The findings confirmed a trend seen in the growing sales numbers for hybrid and electric vehicles, small gasoline cars, and increasingly efficient trucks and SUVs. Thanks in part to higher federal fuel economy
If you wonder what BYD is up to lately outside of China, electric buses seem to be the Chinese automaker’s thing these days. It is also still hawking its much-maligned e6 pure electric crossover vehicle as a taxi. Development of the dual-mode Qin (the current generation of BYD’s hybrid) seems to be treading water, however. Perhaps BYD, like most
Small cars are only now beginning to gain traction in the United States—where pickup trucks, roomy sedans and towering SUVs have long dominated the consumer landscape. But with new demographic trends, such as populations becoming increasingly concentrated in cities, carmakers are anticipating a shift towards smaller urban commuter vehicles like
There is an assumption that buying a green, low emissions or even an electric car produces the lightest carbon footprint. But studies reveal that the manufacture of all cars, even green or electric ones makes up a huge chunk of their total emissions and that keeping and caring for the same car for decades instead of buying new is often the more sustainable
Here’s the common refrain from electric vehicle skeptics: electric vehicles aren’t necessarily that much cleaner than conventional vehicles and hybrids—even though they burn no gasoline and have no tailpipe. As the argument goes, electricity produces air pollution upstream, before a “zero emissions” vehicle even hits the road, and manufacturing
Electric vehicles will catch on when there are enough charging stations to make their widespread use really practical, and manufacturers will offer more EV’s for sale when there is a market for them! I love driving my Tesla Model S, but have to admit that for some overnight trips I take an older internal combustion engine powered car since it is still hard
There is no doubt I am somewhat obsessed with Shanghai GM Wuling. Ever since I visited it back in 2001 (the first foreign journalist to do so) I have followed it with great interest. Let’s face it; investing in Wuling will go down in history as one of General Motors best strategic moves. GM has Phil Murtaugh to thank for that. He negotiated the deal with Wuling’s
I’ll be 75 years old in 2030, so it’s likely that I’ll still be around to validate what I’m about to say: the idea, expressed in this article, that fuel cell vehicles will grow to $73.8 billion in sales (not $74 billion mind you) by that date – or any other — is preposterous.
The world will not be retrofitting its fuel delivery
Tony Hsieh (pronounced “Shay”), whose net worth is north of $800 million, is working on a plan to convert some of the 9000 taxis in Las Vegas to electric vehicles (Teslas) hailed by and paid for with smart phones. I hesitate to criticize someone who’s been so monstrously successful, but I’m unclear on the benefit. Currently, is it hard hailing a taxi? Is it