Honda to sell plug-in hybrid and electric cars in 2012


Honda Motor Co plans to launch a plug-in hybrid and battery electric model in 2012 as part of its strategy to push to the front of a race by global automakers to develop more fuel-efficient cars. Read More...

President Obama introduces the Chevy Volt: Announces pricing, tax incentives


President Obama defended his bailout of the auto industry on Friday by taking a tour of two Detroit factories in a media event. The Chrysler and General Motors factories are of the two domestic auto companies that Obama controls. As a shining example of the success of a government and private industry “cooperation;” Mr. Obama took a ride in Chevy’s newest vehicle the “Volt.” This car is the first of a new breed of hybrid that can deliver up to 40 mpg. Instead of the traditional hybrid design that uses a driveline of both electric and gas power, the Volt uses only electric motors to power its front wheels. There is an onboard gas engine that acts as a generator to constantly replenish a battery pack . The Volt reportedly can travel the first 40 miles solely on electric power derived from its batteries. After that the gas generator will kick in when the battery storage capacity is down to 30 percent. The result is a combined estimated fuel economy of 50 mpg. Read More...

Nissan’s Leaf Battery Maker Targets Lower Cost (Update1)



May 14 (Bloomberg) — Nissan Motor Co., which will start selling its Leaf electric car this year, aims to cut the cost of the vehicle’s lithium-ion battery pack to less than $370 per kilowatt-hour to make a profit from the model. Read More...

Daimler-Renault Cooperation Faces Battery Challenge



Daimler AG Chief Executive Officer Dieter Zetsche says the German company will become a leading manufacturer of electric-car batteries. Trouble is, his new business partner Renault SA CEO Carlos Ghosn has the same idea. Read More...

Details on Nissan Leaf battery pack, including how recharging speed affects battery life


Nissan broke ground on a new battery plant in Smyrna, Tennessee yesterday (figuratively, anyway, the actual bulldozing doesn’t start for a few weeks). For now, we will call this the U.S. Leaf battery plant, but it’s really part of Nissan’s strategy to electrify more and more of its vehicles. As we mentioned yesterday, once it is up and running at the end of 2012, the plant will have the capacity to make 200,000 battery packs a year. The nearby vehicle assembly facility where the U.S.-built Leafs will come to life will have a maximum capacity to make 150,000 Leafs a year alongside other Nissan vehicles like the Altima and Pathfinder. The extra capacity, if used, could be sold to other automakers or go into non-Leaf Nissan products. Read More...

Obama Says Auto Industry `Growing Stronger,’ Creating Jobs


President Barack Obama, in the heart of the U.S. auto industry, told a crowd of workers that the government bailouts of General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC are giving taxpayers a return on their investment. Read More...

Soon, used electric car batteries to generate cheap household power

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UK: Charging points for cars backed in East of England


About 600 charging points for electric cars could be installed in the East of England after the government short-listed the £5.6m scheme. Read More...

USA: Carlos Tavares, discussed plans for the LEAF roll-out

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USA: Chevrolet to Increase Volt Production Capacity by 50 Percent


DETROIT, Mich. – General Motors today said that thanks to strong public interest in the Chevrolet Volt, the 340-mile extended range electric vehicle, it will increase U.S. production capacity of the groundbreaking new car by 50 percent, from 30,000 units to 45,000 units, in 2012. Read More...

Perry: Nissan Won’t Lose Money on 2011 Leaf


Cutting-edge technology never comes cheaply. Automakers routinely subsidize it in new cars in new markets to gain a foothold, or even a competitive advantage–and still can lose money on innovation.Does Nissan plan to lose money with its upcoming electric car, the 2011 Leaf? Read More...

USA: Polluted Gulf of Mexico has long been ‘the nation’s sacrifice zone’

Polluted Gulf of Mexico has long been ‘the nation’s sacrifice zone’
Sewage, chemical weapons among pollutants blamed for lifeless area the size of Lake OntarioVideo
Despite second oil leak, industry says Gulf wells safe .Map
Gulf oil spill trajectory .Advertisement | ad info
. Mark Ralston / AFP – Getty Images file
“This has been the nation’s sacrifice zone, and has been for 50-plus years,” an environmental group’s director says. “What we’re seeing right now with BP’s crude is just a very photogenic representation of that.”by Campbell Robertson Read More...

USA: 5,000 Rebate Program for Future LEAF Owners; How Much Is Left?

Four months ago the state of California announced a $4.1 million $3.7ish million dollar program to stimulate the electric vehicle economy. The Clean Vehicle Rebate Project, through CARB, and administered by CCSE (California Center for Sustainable Energy), basically gives $5,000 to each purchaser of a EV (or EV-like approved vehicle) until the funds dry up. Read More...

With Automotive X Prize wrapped up at MIS, teams are urged to develop their programs

With visions of any portion of the $10 million prize slipping away from all but a few, the Progressive Automotive X Prize competitors turned their attention to the commercial future of their cars during Tuesday’s leadership conference at Michigan International Speedway. Read More...

Eaton Advances Integrated Solar Electric Vehicle Charging Station in Collaboration with Tennessee Valley Authority and EPRI

PITTSBURGH, Jul 26, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Diversified industrial manufacturer Eaton Corporation announced its collaboration with the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) for a prototype integrated solar-assisted electric vehicle charging station to be erected at EPRI’s research laboratory in Knoxville, Tenn. Additional stations are planned for Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Nashville, Chattanooga and another site in Knoxville. Read More...

How the Nissan Leaf Solves the Electric Car Range Problem with Smart Display


The Nissan Leaf, the company’s forthcoming all-electric sedan, can travel around 100 miles on a single charge. Whether that range is big enough for the American motorist is known as the “range problem.” Read More...

Top Five Electric Vehicle Developments

Everyone is talking about electric vehicles. With all the major manufacturers releasing models, smart grid companies and utilities looking seriously at integration, and the U.S. Congress potentially putting $4 billion toward EV research, this year has been dubbed as “The Year of the Electric Car.” Read More...

SANYO Completes New Factory for Li-ion Batteries for Eco-friendly Vehicles

The FINANCIAL — SANYO Electric Co., Ltd. (SANYO), one of the world leaders of rechargeable battery technologies, is pleased to announce the completion of SANYO ’s new factory for the lithium-ion batteries for eco-friendly vehicles in its Kasai Plant (Kasai city, Hyogo prefecture, Japan.) Read More...

USA: Mitsubishi i-Miev in the city


The U.S. version of the Mitsubishi i-Miev electric car won’t be here until next year, but we got to spend a week with the Japanese version to test out the power train and find out what life will be like with an electric car. Read More...

Hawaii utility proposes electric car charging deal

Hawaiian Electric Co. is proposing a plan to make it cheaper for early adopters of electric vehicles to charge up. Read More...