A family of Tesla patents and pending applications relating to a hybrid battery system has been generating a bit of buzz (see, e.g., Cleantechnica’s story here).
The patent family includes U.S. Patent Nos.
Category:
Clean Transportation
Toyota is only changing one thing for the 2014 Prius Plug-in Hybrid, but it’s probably the most important thing: the price will be cut.
Next year’s base-level Prius Plug-in model will retail for $2,000 less than the 2013 model. It will now start at just $29,990 before government incentives. The more feature-loaded Advanced
EDrive a Micro-History of China’s Pursuit of Electric Vehicle Dominance
written by CleanTechies.com Contributor
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.
Hard data collected from plug-in vehicle owners shows that the majority of EV charging takes place at home. Still, the ability to charge an electric car along the road—even if infrequent—can extend the distance each car can travel over the course of a day.
Unfortunately, the public charging landscape is
In July of 2012, I wrote about the just-released policy in China to promote new energy vehicles and fuel-efficient vehicles. At the time, I mourned the lack of incentives for producing new energy fleet vehicles and suggested the government would have better served its cause with a policy that did that. In the same blog, I talked about what Pacific Gas & Electric, a huge utility
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
Paying for fuel to power our cars is never fun, especially when the price skyrockets quickly and comes back down oh so slowly. As we scan the different stations looking at the prices, taking in a momentary gasp, and then finally picking a station and filling up, we rarely think about the taxes that we pay on the fuel that are incorporated into the price at the pump.
Unless you’re a particularly dedicated shipping enthusiast, it’s safe to say that you have probably not come across the name “Eugen Maersk” before. However, it’s time that you commit it to memory, as she may well be the future of clean shipping.
At full capacity, she weighs in at well over 150,000
Buses Seem BYD’s Electric Vehicle Future, in China and Worldwide
written by CleanTechies.com Contributor
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
Maybe you’ve seen or heard an old 1980’s era car powered by diesel fuel rumbling by on the street from time to time. Probably the first thing that came to mind was how loud the engine was. The second thing that came to mind probably was how bad the exhaust fumes smelled. With the release of the 2014 A6, A7, and Q5 TDI models, Audi has shattered all the