After some dreary news coming from EV players Polestar and Renault’s Ampere, Lotus is feeling confident and ready to roll with listing its shares on Nasdaq by the end of March. The EV arm of the company is valued at $5.5 billion on a pre-money equity value basis, according to the company via an email to Electrek.

Rivian today announced that the company is going to show the world the smaller, more value-focused R2 at their Laguna showroom on March 7th. We uncovered the launch event date and location earlier, but the move is now official and could include some surprises.

Mercedes invited us out to drive the new eSprinter, the electric version of Mercedes’ cargo van, and if there’s one thing I want you to understand about it is: it’s a van, but it’s electric.

Hyundai is prepping an entry-level electric mini-SUV called Casper to take on rivals Dacia Spring and Citroën’s ë-C3 in Europe. The best part, the price is aimed at that elusive yet coveted €20,000 range (about $21.5K).

Tesla is bringing back the capacity to transfer your Full Self-Driving package and/or free Supercharging on a new vehicle despite Elon Musk saying it would be a one-time deal in the past.

Parisians have voted to triple the parking costs for SUVs – including heavier electric ones and hybrids. This Sunday, the city held a referendum, with Parisians voting 56.6% in favor of increased parking fees for SUVs and heavy sedans, of all varieties.

Consumer Reports is out with its annual owner satisfaction survey, showing Rivian to be far and away the most-loved car brand according to owners. The rating comes soon after a couple of Consumer Reports’ reviewers strangely listed the R1S as one of their “least favorite cars we tested in 2023.”

Listen to a recap of the top stories of the day from Electrek. Quick Charge is available now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn and our RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

Friday and Saturday kicked off the inaugural season of the first-ever electric boat racing league when the first eight teams in the UIM E1 Championship Series motored, foiled, and splashed across the Red Sea in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Marc Anthony’s Team Miami had pole position heading into Saturday’s race, but two other famous names were on the podium; here are the final E1 results.

This one style of vehicle is known by many names. In India, it’s an auto rickshaw. In Thailand, a tuk-tuk (a fun onomatopoeia that arose from the traditionally loud two-stroke engines powering them). But whatever it’s called, these three-wheeled taxis have used their half-bike, half-wagon design to shuttle folks around cities for decades. And now, a new era of rickshaws is seeing electric drives enabling interesting new designs.

EVs, PHEVs, and hybrids made up 16.3% of total light-duty vehicle (LDV) sales in the US in 2023 – Tesla’s price cuts were a big reason.

Ethiopia spent nearly $6 billion to import fossil fuels last year — with more than half of that spending going to fuel vehicles. In response, Ethiopia’s Transport and Logistics Ministries have announced that automobiles cannot enter Ethiopia, unless they are electric. (!)

The UK slashed value-added tax (VAT) to zero for folks installing battery storage in their homes from February 1, 2024.

As Range Rover’s first EV gets closer to launch, the all-electric vehicle is already creating a buzz. According to the company, the new electric Range Rover has over 16,000 buyers on the waitlist.

Saskatchewan’s capital city is moving forward with plans to electrify its Regina Transit fleet, signing a five-year contract with Nova Bus to acquire 53 battery electric city buses.

On the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss Elon Musk’s $55 billion Tesla compensation package getting rescinded, Cybertruck’s PowerShare details coming, GM goes back to plug-in-hybrids, and more.

Xcel Energy just announced its big solar and wind plans in the US Midwest – here’s the lowdown.

Today’s deals are a cornucopia of special sales and savings opportunities, headlined by the QuietKat Lynx All-Terrain e-bike at $2,999, those $1,000 in savings are joined by a home energy backup sale from Jackery that has a selection of power stations and solar panels from $359. Then save on EGO Power+ electric snow blowers from $549. Plus, all of today’s other best new Green Deals.

Head below for other New Green Deals we’ve found today and, of course, Electrek’s best EV buying and leasing deals. Also, check out the new Electrek Tesla Shop for the best deals on Tesla accessories.

In initial tests, the new Porsche Taycan showed impressive driving range of up to 365 miles (587 km). Although these were pre-series models, the upgraded EV drove over 100 miles more than the current model.

Polestar’s online configurator is no longer accepting new custom Polestar 2 orders, and Polestar says that the reason is because demand is too high for its best-selling vehicle.

Commercial Trailer Leasing (CTL) recently announced a groundbreaking partnership with Orange EV to bring a fleet of zero-emission electric yard trucks to various terminals across the US.

For Honda to compete as the industry shifts to electric, CEO Toshihiro Mibe explained, “We need more affordable EVs.” Honda is set to expand its lineup with an electric replacement for its all-time best-selling Civic.

We are just over one year removed from the initial launch of solar EV startup Aptera’s Accelerator program, which was implemented to not only get customers to commit to their SEV purchase fully but also help give the company some financial runway as it inches toward scaled production. It may have taken longer than anticipated, but the program succeeded, raising nearly $34 million.

Today, Trek announced its newest electric mountain bike, the Trek Marlin+. Not only is it an interesting electric hardtail MTB in its own right, but it also offers one of the most affordable Bosch-powered mid-drives on the market.