Jennifer Mossalgue

New year, new rules: As of January 1, things are about to get a little easier when it comes to getting your federal tax credit for buying an electric vehicle. Now the rebate – which is up to $7,500 for new EVs that qualify and up to $4,000 for used EVs that qualify – is available immediately when you purchase your car, rather than needing to wait potentially months to file a claim with your tax return. And auto dealers are signing up in droves with the IRS.

New data shows electric cars and plug-in hybrids made up more than 24% of all new passenger car registrations in the European Union this year, rising a bit from last year. While gas vehicles still hold nearly a third of the market, diesel rates took a dive.

Hyperloop One, the futurist transportation company (in case you forgot) that promised to whisk passengers and cargo in vacuum-sealed tubes at jet speeds from city to city, is officially over – but this time, it’s for real. According to Bloomberg, the much-hyped, long-beleaguered company will officially close its doors on December 31.

Kia has been accused of pulling a shady move by stockpiling new Kias in a storage lot in Ontario and leaving Canadian customers out to dry – some have said they have waited months, even years, for their new Kia. The rationale? Kia doesn’t want to look too good.

Legacy automakers are still selling millions of gas guzzlers, but if we were to spin some good news out of that, the Environmental Protection Agency reports that emissions levels have now dropped to “record lows” and vehicle fuel economy is now at a “record high.” But what does it really mean?

The Biden administration is worried about the “imminent wave” of Chinese battery factories being built in Mexico, which could further intensify the trade war between the US and China.

Global e-scooter company Bird, an early pioneer of shared micromobility, has seen better days – it has confirmed that it is filing for bankruptcy for its service in the US, while keeping its Canadian and European operations intact for the time being.

Audi says it is now pulling back on what was a fairly ambitious rollout of upcoming electric vehicles in response to what its newly appointed CEO says is the EV “slowdown” and to “avoid burdening” factories and dealers.

In a strange reversal of plan, it looks like Volkswagen is revising its interior design. After a slew of complaints about its touchscreen-heavy interiors, the German brand is bringing back more good, old-fashioned physical buttons, according to Autocar.

The German government announced that it will abruptly end its subsidy program for electric vehicles on December 31, which has dealt a blow to automakers in one of its biggest European markets. But Tesla and Mercedes-Benz say that they will compensate for it, covering the full price of the subsidy for German buyers, with other automakers joining in.

France aims to democratize access to electric vehicles with a freshly launched “social leasing” program that allows low-income drivers to lease electric cars for as low as €40, about $43. That includes no down payment and free charging, in some cases, for six months.

This week, Canada will announce new regulations requiring all vehicles sold in the country to be zero-emissions by 2035, according to a report. The move works to phase out fossil-fuel-burning vehicles in the country but also shorten the biggest barrier for Canadian consumers: long wait times.

The Biden administration has issued a new directive to all government employees to travel by train or electric car, or electric Uber or Lyft, when traveling on official business. As the country’s largest employer, with an annual business travel purchasing budget of $2.8 billion, that could have a serious impact on carbon emissions.

General Motors has announced that it is laying off 1,314 workers at two Michigan plants, including one that produces the Chevy Bolt EV, which the company has discontinued, for now at least.

It’s gone from bad to worse for robotaxi company Cruise in the fallout of the October incident involving a pedestrian. The company has now announced it is laying off 900 workers, one day after firing nine executives. Meanwhile, rival company Waymo pulls out ahead with new services.

Today, France has revealed its list of electric vehicles now eligible for federal tax incentives of up to €7,000. As expected, EVs made in China – including Tesla’s Model 3 and the Dacia Spring, the cheapest EV on the market – didn’t make the cut.

General Motors has fired “nine key people” at robotaxi company Cruise amid the fallout from an accident involving a pedestrian in San Francisco. The incident – and the uncovered details that have dealt a massive blow to an industry that relies on trust from the public and regulators – has already forced the company’s founder and CEO Kyle Vogt to resign.

The beloved city car Fiat Panda, the brand’s bestselling model in Europe, will get a new look next summer as a larger model that’s available in a fully electric version for around €23,300 (about $25K).

The competition is fierce: There are more than 900 EV charging companies around the world, and they all want prime locations for fast public chargers, according to a new report from Reuters.

Love it or hate it, Toyota seems to be moving forward with its plan to add a manual transmission simulation to its electric cars, complete with engine revving noise and lots of jerky feels. A new patent application shows a system with up to 14 pseudo gears to enhance the zero-emissions driving experience and maybe convert some manual-loving drivers over to the EV side.

Getting doored – when a car door unexpectedly flings open and you crash into it – is one of the most underestimated dangers to cyclists. While some cars have exit warning systems to protect cyclists, next-gen cars from Volkswagen and Ford attempts to push that technology a bit further.

Slow-moving Mazda, which currently sells one compliance electric car, the MX-30 (and in limited quantities), says it will finally wake from its long slumber and crank out a few more EVs, seven or eight models in fact, and sell them internationally by 2030. Here’s hoping that the promised electric Miata is part of the lineup.

Michigan-based EV battery startup ONE, Our Next Energy, has been touted as “a poster child” of President Biden’s agenda to wean the US off its dependence on China by building batteries in the US, and bringing a flood of new clean tech jobs with it. But after a wave of layoffs and a loss of funding, the company has announced a new CEO. It is replacing its CEO and founder Mujeeb Ijaz, known for his dazzling genius in the field of battery engineering, with a seasoned executive and board member.

Stellantis has announced that it plans to cut what will likely be thousands of jobs from its Jeep plants in Detroit and Toledo, Ohio, blaming California’s emissions regulations for putting the company at a competitive disadvantage.