Jennifer Mossalgue

If you’re in London and looking to hail one of its legendary black taxis, there’s a good chance you’ll get an emissions-free ride. Half of London’s fleet of 15,000 black cabs are now electric vehicles. And starting next year, you can Uber one too – a huge coup for a company once banned in London and loathed by taxi drivers all the world.

Warnings about another wave of massive job losses at Volkswagen have been circulating for a few weeks, but now a new report says the company will cut one-fifth of its administrative staff. But it is hoping to soften the blow by offering early retirements as opposed to all-out firings, for now at least.  

A new breed of electric vehicles is drawing inspiration from Japanese kei cars, tiny cubes-on-wheels that are highway-legal but not likely to pass muster with US or EU safety standards. But what if we loosened up those standards to help lower prices, enabling broader adoption of EVs to people who don’t have 30 grand or more to spend on a car? That is, at least, one of the ideas that French automaker Renault’s head Luca de Meo has put on the table. 

For years, Chinese EV maker Nio has essentially done it all, delving into high-end EV manufacturing, in-house batteries, autonomous driving, and chips, as well as innovative battery-swapping tech and even making smartphones, all while pulling in huge investments and talent to make that happen. Now, according to a new report, it’s looking to lighten the load.

Another day, another chapter in the weeks-long Tesla strike in Sweden – but this time a union in Denmark says it will stop offloading and transporting Tesla vehicles to Sweden as it joins in a sympathy strike with IF Metall, forming the beginnings of a Nordic port blockade against Tesla. 

The first of 500 charging stations at Pilot Flying J rest stops are now open. General Motors announced the new partnership with Pilot Travel Centers and fast charging network EVgo last year, and today the companies announced that 17 charging stations are up and running across 13 states after a soft launch, which started in September.

At the COP28 climate conference in Dubai, the Biden administration has announced a historic plan to sharply cut methane emissions from the oil and gas industry in the next 15 years as part of new rules to put limits on the “super pollutant.” 

European automakers have secured less than a fifth of the cobalt, lithium, and nickel they’ll need to meet targets by 2030, according to a new analysis by Transport & Environment (T&E). Exceptions are Tesla and China’s BYD, but Tesla and certainly BYD fall a bit short on responsible practices compared to other automakers.

California’s infamous Salton Sea has been a known hotbed of lithium for years, but no one had a sense of how much “white gold” was found there. Now a new study quantifies that, and it’s impressive: The huge underground reserve of scorching hot brine located underneath the lakebed contains enough lithium to build batteries for 375 million electric vehicles, making it one of the largest lithium brine deposits in the world.

It’s been a tough few weeks for workers at next-gen and traditional EV battery companies, with hundreds of employees in the US and Europe losing their jobs. Call it new industry growing pains: Companies are struggling to bridge the gap between early-stage products and the high-volume production that will be needed down the line, reports The Information. Battery makers also are looking to save cash as costs surge and investors move their funding to less risky prospects.

Despite predictions of a major slump in automatic sales around the globe, the European auto industry predicts that this will spark a huge uptick in EV sales in the EU – and that’s thanks to a flood of new, cheap models hitting the market. 

The Biden administration is expected to announce on Friday what will disqualify EVs from eligibility for the $7,500 subsidy. However, the government is reportedly discussing granting automakers a temporary reprieve from the proposed restrictions on EVs containing battery parts or materials coming from China. 

Just as the wheels touched down on Virgin Atlantic’s historic flight from London to New York yesterday, powered by a low-carbon fuel engine made by Rolls-Royce, the company has announced a new shift. Rolls-Royce CEO Tufan Erginbilgiç says it’s time to sell off its electric jet engine unit and focus on other strategies – namely sustainable aviation fuels, or SAF.

Michigan-based EV battery startup ONE, Our Next Energy, has cut its workforce by 25% due to market pressures. One of the many players in the race to develop an LFP battery pack on North American soil, ONE is one of the most valuable privately held companies in the US and plans to build a $1.6 billion gigafactory in Michigan.

After filing twin lawsuits against the Swedish Transport Agency and the country’s postal service after workers refused to deliver license plates for its cars, Tesla can enjoy a small victory in the battle in Sweden. Hours after filing the suits, a court in Sweden has backed the automaker, offering a temporary injunction to get the plates to the company within a week.

A new report gives us a glimpse of what our world could look like if there weren’t so many big, hulking SUVs cruising around. Because of the rise in electric vehicles, carbon emissions from automobiles could have dropped by more than 30% over the past 10 years, except they haven’t – and that’s because of our global appetite for jumbo cars, the report authors say.

More drama is unfolding as the dispute between Swedish unions and Tesla now involves a supplier of critical components for the Model Y, where workers have reportedly set down their tools in support of the IF Metall strike. They said they won’t be showing up for work or will be given non-Tesla-related tasks until further notice.

McDonald’s, or “McDo” as the French say, is installing 2,000 new fast charging points across 700 car parks in France by 2025. Each McDonald’s charging station will offer 150-200 kilowatts of power, so you can recharge your car in about the time it takes to inhale a Big Mac and extra-large frites.

New Jersey joins a growing list of nine states, including California, Vermont, New York, Washington, and Oregon, to ban gasoline-burning cars – eventually, at least. As of 2027, New Jersey will start limiting the number of gasoline-powered cars, light-duty trucks, and SUVs that can be sold within the state, and eventually ramp that up to a full ban starting 2035.

Here’s a breath of fresh air, literally. In a new milestone, the number of new electric car registrations has exceeded those of diesel-powered vehicles in Europe for the first time, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association.

In the race to build small, more affordable electric vehicles to stave off fierce Chinese competition, Stellantis announced this morning that it has signed a broad preliminary joint venture with Chinese EV battery giant CATL. The plan involves buying and developing LFP batteries for the company’s small and mid-sized EVs in Europe. As part of the long-term deal, Stellantis – the parent company of Jeep, Fiat, Citreön, and Peugeot, among many more – is planning to build a new gigafactory in Europe to manufacturer LPF batteries.

DC fast charging network EVgo has announced a new deal with rental car company Hertz that offers drivers renting an electric car from any Hertz location in the US with discounts on charging for a year, with no subscription or session fees. EVgo is also following in Tesla’s footsteps and building prefabricated models for its charging sites.

Amid the fallout from the accident involving a pedestrian in San Francisco, robotaxi company Cruise cofounder Kyle Vogt has stepped down from his role as CEO. 

French automaker Renault is looking to investors, including China’s Geely, to funnel some cash into its Alpine racing and sports car brand. Alpine, best known for its A110 sports coupe, is looking to reinvent itself as an all-around player in the EV space with a line of all-electric hatchbacks, SUVs, and crossovers. The brand says it will launch in the US in 2027.