The European Union has introduced strict new auto emissions standards that officials say would cut carbon dioxide emissions by a third by 2020. The new standard, which must be approved by all member states and the European Parliament, would require that new passenger cars emit no more than 95 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer driven,
Electric Vehicles
New electric vehicles are improving, but can technology catch up to consumers’ demands?
I have three small children who each have a car seat, I live in the city and I coach tee-ball two nights a week. I would love an electric vehicle (EV) to help carry my load, but the realities of my life, as well as the state of the EV market, make it, in a word … difficult.
One of the biggest hurdles to getting more plug-in electric vehicles on the road has been a lack of charging infrastructure – but America may have many more charging options than previously thought.
Of all U.S. households that own at least one car, an estimated 49.6 million housing units (49 percent of all
Despite being in the midst of a financial apocalypse, California continues to find money to support the sale of electric vehicles. The California Air Resources Board just approved an additional $27 million in incentives to spur sales of hybrid and electric cars and trucks. The car rebates ($2,500 per vehicle) will put the price tag of the Leaf and Volt a bit closer to the price
Though many startup companies in the electric vehicle (EV) industry have either struggled to survive produce a profit, or insure investors of their products’ worth (or all three), one company has consistently bucked the trend of disappointing news: Tesla Motors. In 2008, the company first began selling its first-generation all electric Tesla Roadster and since then
For the past two years, electric vehicles (EVs) have been prominent subjects of automotive news pages, with OEMs introducing new models almost monthly. The latest announcement is the Toyota Rav4 EV, which is scheduled to hit California dealers late this summer. The Rav4 really exemplifies most of the EV announcements because it, like many of the EVs,
The results of the 2012 Black & Veatch “Strategic Directions in the U.S. Electric Utility Industry Report” were released recently with plenty of media attention.
Most of the headlines focused on findings surrounding our country’s future with coal (or lack thereof). Only 58 percent of utility executives said
“Fast” DC electric vehicle chargers that can charge up to 80 percent of a battery electric vehicle (BEV) in under 20 minutes are starting to sprout up in the U.S. Consumers are expected to be willing to pay up to the price of a movie ticket to wait minutes instead of hours to charge a vehicle.
Almost every big automaker fell short of their first-year sales targets for electric vehicles (EVs), and even though total EV sales in 2011 beat hybrid sales in 2000 (the vehicle’s first year on most markets) by a hefty margin, EVs took a beating from media outlets. Bad press or not, EV sales will continue to remain a mere fraction of overall vehicle sales until OEMs figure out
A quick note from the electric vehicle show in Los Angeles this week:
It’s true that most of the credible car-makers have EV products scheduled for delivery in the not-too-distant future. But they’re obviously hedging their bets, delaying their market entrance as long as possible, so as to maximize the penetration
Eight U.S. and German automakers have agreed on a standardized technology system for electric vehicle charging, a coordinated approach they say will allow drivers to rapidly re-charge their vehicles at most charging stations regardless of power source.
The announcement is an important breakthrough for
London, United Kingdom is seen as a leader throughout the entire European continent. As such, it needs to take a leg up when it comes to renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies. London looks to be a global cleantech leader and guide other European cities as well as cities around the world with the information and advice needed to become
High fuel prices are back and are slowing our economy’s growth, eating into businesses’ profit margins and sapping household discretionary budgets. Today, consumers have a range of options for buying hybrid or even electric vehicles to help reduce their fuel costs. But businesses are far behind consumers in their adoption rate of hybrid vehicles. However, high
Let me first preface this piece by saying Alaska may not, in fact, be the best place to own and operate an electric car. Confused? Let me explain. A new study (pdf) by the Union of Concerned Scientists explores the often asked but rarely answered questions surrounding the issue of whether some geographic regions may be better than others for electric cars in terms of their