Plug-in models to feature across full Volvo range
By Chris Lilly Volvo has announced a huge electrification programme that will see its entire range feature at least one plug-in hybrid variant per model and a fully-electric car by 2016. The Swedish company has revealed its plans for a heavily electrified range as it predicts that electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) will […]
Toyota Wants Only Electric Cars on the Roads by 2050
By Matthew Strauss Toyota has launched the Environmental Challenge 2050: Six goals intended to improve sustainability, ultimately resulting in getting carbon dioxide-omitting vehicles off the road within 35 years. The focal point, at least for the immediate future, is the latest model of the manufacturer’s fuel-cell vehicle, the Mirai. Toyota launched its famous Prius hybrid, in […]
Red Bull Racing Team Readying Electric Road Car?
By Mark Kane. Adrian Newey, famous Red Bull Racing F1 engineer, is working on the Red Bull road car, which could turn out to be all-electric. The matter was recently described by Autocar, who put up the image of a sports car with the Aston Martin badge and a BMW charging station. Newey is working […]
Unprecedented surge for electric car market
Good news about electric vehicles continues, we’ve released new figures today showing that there has been a 138.5% increase in plug-in car purchases in the first nine months of 2015. More than 20,000 British motorists switched to electric between January and September – a big step up from 2014. There are now more than 27 […]
Tesla’s autopilot lets cars drive, change lanes themselves
Electric car maker Tesla Motors is leapfrogging competitors with a new autopilot system that lets cars change lanes by themselves. Like other semi-autonomous systems already available from Mercedes, Audi and Volvo, Tesla’s system automatically keeps the car within its lane and maintains a certain distance from the car in front, both at highway speeds and […]
Toyota Sees End of Gas-Only Cars
By Matthew Rocco. Toyota, known for its Prius hybrid vehicles, recently launched a car powered by hydrogen fuel cells. On Wednesday, the Japanese automaker announced its boldest move yet, saying it will phase out almost all of its conventional gasoline cars by 2050. With the industry facing tough regulatory standards around the world, Toyota said […]
VW looks to cutbacks and electric cars to overcome scandal
By Andreas Cremer and Jan Schwartz. Volkswagen will cut investment plans at its biggest division by €1 billion (NZ$1.7 billion) a year and step up development of electric vehicles, it said on Tuesday, as it battles to cope with the fallout from its cheating of diesel emissions tests. The German company also said it would […]
Different climate change challenge for NZ
By Mike Underhill. Renewable electricity has become the urgent catchcry for most countries wanting to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. New Zealand’s challenges – and opportunities – are quite different. Barack Obama’s Clean Power Plan has set the bar high for the US, where nearly 40 per cent of electricity is generated by coal. Electricity production […]
Council keen to get electric car share scheme for Christchurch
By Lois Cairns. The city council is considering plugging into a rapidly growing trend by establishing a car sharing scheme in Christchurch. It is looking at going one step further than most other cities by using electric vehicles. The council has been working on the idea with the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) and is […]