EVs

2011 Nissan Leaf owners are right on the cutting edge of car technology, but so far only Apple iPhone users have been able to enjoy the full experience of controlling the car's climate control and charging timer functions from a mobile device. No longer. Android smartphone users are now privy to...

Electric vehicles have upsides and downsides. On the upside, they crank out far fewer pollutants than their fossil-fuel-swilling cousins, and they may help ease dependence on foreign oil. On the downside, they're quiet. Too quiet. While some of you might find that a good thing, EV's lack of sound...

Google built its reputation as a small, simple search engine, but there's nothing small about the company's investment in electric vehicles. Google has just placed an order for 30 Nissan Leafs and Chevrolet Volts, as well as 250 EV charging stations from Coulomb Technologies. Google will add the...

Volvo showed us its C30 Electric zero-emissions hatchback at the 2011 Detroit Auto Show back in January, which included a crashed example with the car's expensive battery pack fully intact, but now the automaker has confirmed that customer leases are about to start. Unfortunately, those leases are...

One of the biggest hurdles towards the mainstream acceptance of electric cars is the lengthy period of time, usually around six to eight hours, that it takes to top up their batteries. Compare this to filling up a gasoline or diesel powered car, where topping up a tank takes only a matter of...

Meet the Formulec EF01, a truly awesome single-seater electric race car which combines speed and efficiency with sustainability and respect for the environment. Designed and created by South African firm Formulec and its technology partner SEGULA Technologies, the new electric race car is capable...

Late last year we first told you about a new development and testing center established by Audi exclusively for its electric drive systems near its headquarters in Ingolstadt, Germany. Now we have an inside look at another electric car development center belonging to Audi, this time at a satellite...

Still unsure if the $100,000-plus Tesla Roadster is for you? Well, Tesla is hoping to change all that with its latest promotional effort, the Drive Change Electric Roadster Tour, which will see the company’s iconic Roadster paraded across the country in order to convince buyers that electric...

Mercedes-Benz already has a number of electric prototypes out and about including the Smart ForTwo Electric Drive, which is already available for lease and soon sale, as well as the SLS AMG E-Cell supercar, which has been confirmed for sale in 2013. Not only that but the automaker’s parent...

Despite the best efforts of some in the auto industry to keep electric cars off the roads, they're back. Given the current state of technology, the EV's revenge will likely be slow and steady, but most experts agree that electrics are the future of transportation. There are, however, several...

If you're looking to jump on the latest advanced powertrain bandwagon, it won't be all that expensive: the BMW ActiveE is going on lease this fall for $499 per month on a 24 month contract with $2,250 due at signing. Only 700 will be available, so competition for the cars will be fierce. The...

The parent company of Mercedes-Benz, Daimler, has signed a deal with automotive parts supplier Bosch to expand their long-standing partnership and cooperate in the development and production of electric drivetrains that will eventually feature in a number of new production models. The two industry...

BMW has confirmed it’s poached GM’s former head of product planning, Frank Weber, to fill the role of head of vehicle architecture and integration at the luxury automaker. Weber, a key engineer in the development of the Chevrolet Volt and its Voltec range-extending electric drive...

Making its world premiere at the 2011 Seoul Motor Show today is the all-new Kia Naimo, an electric crossover concept penned by the automaker’s design team in South Korea and characterized by its simple lines and muscular stance. The simple overall design is accentuated by a number of striking...

Tesla is no stranger to lawsuits, having been on both the receiving end and acting as instigator in several nasty cases in the recent past. The Californian electric car startup is now at it again, this time taking on the formidable forces of the BBC, more specifically the network’s Top Gear...

As much as Lotus may be straying from the straight and narrow path of simplicity and lightness, the rest of the automotive world may be becoming a little more Lotus-like--or at least a few manufacturers may be. At the Geneva Motor Show this year, Lotus Engineering unveiled the production version of...

Bringing Nissan into the EV sports car arena in style, the ESFLOW packs cues from the Z, the GT-R, Infiniti's Essence concept, and just a tiny bit of Juke--all while enticing us with the purity of torque you get from an electric motor zipping you around. Good for 148.8 miles on a single charge...

There have been reports about Rolls-Royce developing an all-electric version of its Phantom luxury sedan for several years now, the latest with newly appointed CEO Torsten Mueller-Oetvoes admitting such a car would be good idea. Old-world charm, resolute styling and blue-blooded buyers may not be...

Following on from its Escooter electric two-wheeler concept at last year’s Paris Auto Show, Smart has rolled out a new open-top ‘speedster’ based on the brand’s Fortwo Electric Drive minicar. The new vehicle is called the Forspeed and it’s scheduled to make its world...

The MegaCity Vehicle (MCV) is BMW's soon-to-be-built all-electric urban wonder machine, if you buy the markting spiel. But it may be more than that. BMW's Chief Financial Officer Friedrich Eichiner recently told the German publication Focus Magazin that the MCV will offer an optional...