Bradley writes about electric cars, autonomous vehicles, smart homes, and other tech that’s transforming society. He contributes to The New York Times, SAE International, Via Magazine, Popular Mechanics, MIT Technology Review, and others. https://twitter.com/bradberman
Last week, we got our first in-person look at the production version of the all-electric ID.4. During the socially distanced event, VW set high expectations for the crossover EV. “We believe this is our most important product launch since the Beetle,” said EV product manager, Jeffrey Lear.
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This week, I took the new all-electric Polestar 2 for a 145-mile drive from San Francisco, down coastal Highway 1, and through the twisty mountainous roads west of Silicon Valley. The taut, sporty, and long-range Polestar 2 sedan was an absolute delight to drive. The most enjoyable aspect of the Polestar EV is not what it offers, which is plenty, but what it lacks: virtue signaling.
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Cadillac took the wraps off its Lyriq EV this evening. In a digital event, GM’s luxury brand revealed a striking and ultra-luxurious crossover EV. It’s still a “show car,” although the company says it’s about 80% toward production. The Lyriq goes on sale in the US in late 2022.
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General Motors and EVgo announced today that they plan to add more than 2,700 new fast chargers at grocery stores, retail outlets, and entertainment centers in 40 metropolitan areas. The project, which will take five years to complete, is an effort to convince renters and condo dwellers that EVs are practical. The message is to fast-charge in a half-hour while you’re completing errands.
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The Volkswagen ID.3 EV briefly became VW’s top-selling retail car in Germany last week when customers began placing orders at dealerships. The orders came more than a year after Volkswagen started taking deposits for its first purpose-built electric car. The company revealed who is buying the EV: mostly young “techie” men who had not previously purchased a VW.
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Skeptics like to point out that most EV drivers live in single-family homes that make charging easy. And they point to the current lack of charging stations at condos as an impenetrable obstacle to EV adoption. But this viewpoint reflects a lack of understanding of how daily EV charging works.
I recently chatted with Jason Appelbaum, chief executive of EverCharge — the biggest EV charging network you never heard of. He explained several hundred electric cars, all parked in the same condo garage, can easily get their daily dose of electricity.
What’s better than an EV with 2 motors? 7 motors. Duh. That’s how many motors that Ford packed into a one-off Mustang Mach-E – yielding an SUV with 1,400 horsepower. The vehicle was produced in collaboration with RTR, the Ford-based motorsports aftermarket outfit, and Ford Performance. Head below for the details and some intense RPM video…
Large dashboard displays have become synonymous with electric vehicles. We spoke with Bill Thompson, the senior design manager for UI at General Motors, about how the Cadillac Lyriq’s display will signal how the company handles digital dashboards for all its upcoming EVs. GM shared the first photo of the Lyriq’s screen, revealing a single 33-inch piece of curved glass in front of the driver.
A decade after the introduction of its Leaf compact EV, Nissan tonight officially unveiled the Ariya electric SUV. The Ariya promises to shake up the EV market with an attractive all-electric crossover providing up to 300 miles on a charge — with a base model starting at $40,000. Unfortunately, it doesn’t go on sale until well into 2021.
The all-electric BMW iX3 SUV is not coming to the United States. But the company is still trumpeting the iX3 as the beginning of its major EV campaign – and the debut of a more capable EV drive system. The production of the version of the iX3 was unveiled today. If nothing else, it provides new images for the best glimpse yet of the model.
The first driving reviews of the all-electric Polestar 2 have been streaming in from Europe. It will be another month before we get time behind the wheel. The Polestar 2 is the first sporty, long-range, luxury-oriented, EV sedan (not an SUV) to stack up against the Tesla Model 3. Agree with that assessment or not, European reviewers couldn’t resist the comparisons.
Starting this month, a one-time upfront registration fee of $100 will be charged for 2020 model year plug-in vehicles in California. That will be followed by an annual registration fee of up to $175 based on the vehicle’s value. The Golden State is by far the biggest market for electric vehicles in the United States.
The German auto industry and its 800,000 jobs are threatened if it can’t transition to EVs fast enough. The country’s politicians, and automotive executives, have a unified message. As Bavaria’s prime minister Markus Söder put it today: “Tesla is not bad, but others can do it too.”
The return of the Ford Bronco is a craze. With Ford going on the record saying that it will make EV versions of its most iconic models, there’s growing speculation that an electric Bronco is in the works. —ad: Win an electric Ford Bronco here —
General Motors confirmed that it plans to end production of its Chevrolet Sonic small gas car in October. With the Sonic’s demise, gas cars will no longer be produced at GM’s Orion Township Assembly Plant near Detroit. Orion will become an all-EV plant, where the Bolt compact and Bolt EUV will be manufactured.
In late May, Audi announced the launch of a new agile team to push the envelope on electric and autonomous technology. Volkswagen’s luxury brand said the so-called Artemis project would work on a pioneering vehicle. Autocar reports today that Audi will develop an all-electric flagship sedan to showcase that technology.
Fiat Chrysler has demonstrated nearly no interest in making electric cars. Meanwhile, just in time for the July 4 holiday, its Dodge brand has introduced a fire-breathing, supercharged, gas-guzzling 710-horsepower full-size SUV. It can seat seven, tow nearly 9,000 pounds, and hit 180 miles per hour. And it could be the last hurrah for the Hellcat engine.
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Nissan will hold a global, digital unveiling of its new all-electric SUV on July 15. Few details about the Ariya have been announced since its unveiling at the 2019 Tokyo Motor Show. The new Nissan EV is expected to offer nearly 300 miles of range, 0-60 acceleration in less than 5 seconds, and a mainstream price of around $40,000. Hopefully, we’ll get confirmed details and a look at the production design two weeks from now.
With inventory backed up as a result of the pandemic, traditional July 4 deals are on steroids this year. Combine that with a need to find new EV buyers and move remaining 2019 models off the lot. The result: Those so-called premiums on electric cars are being replaced with discounts of up to $15,000 on popular, affordable models like the Chevrolet Bolt and Nissan Leaf, according to Electrek’s Best EV deals price survey. Remember, even if you don’t live near a dealer listed, you can often use these prices to negotiate down prices at local dealers.
Three weeks after introducing the RAV4 Prime plug-in hybrid in Japan, Toyota suspended orders in its home market and cut production for the US to just 5,000 vehicles. The company cited unexpectedly high levels of consumer interest and a…wait for it…constraint in battery supply.
India only sells about 2,000 electric vehicles a year – in a market of 4 million sales per year. The introduction of the Tata Nexon EV is arguably the country’s best attempt so far to make electric cars accessible to Indian buyers. What does it teach the US market about making EVs go mainstream?
Waymo and Volvo this week announced an exclusive partnership to build a new self-driving electric vehicle for use in a ride-hailing service. Few details were provided other than the goal of working together to develop a Level 4 vehicle capable of autonomy in a wide range of locations and road conditions.
A couple of weeks ago, GM CEO Barra promised that the canceled GMC Hummer EV and Cadillac Lyriq unveilings would happen “in the not too distant future.” The date for the first of those two events was announced today: the virtual debut of the Lyriq will be held on Thursday, August 6, 2020, at 7 p.m. ET. It will be broadcast on the Cadillac media website.
Unifor, Canada’s largest private-sector union, wants the Canadian government to build an aggressive plan to produce and sell more electric vehicles. The union’s proposals come as it prepares to negotiate with the Detroit Three – and as the Canadian government makes plans for a post-pandemic economic recovery.