Karma's Revero electric car revs up for summer debut

Karma Automotive, an electric automaker with roots in the failed Fisker Automotive, will unveil its first car, the Revero, this summer.

The luxury plug-in sedan is being produced at the company's Moreno Valley facility. No specific date or price point was provided by the company, and Karma did not respond to requests for photos of the Revero.

The Costa Mesa-based company also is expanding its supply chain, engineering and program management in Michigan.

"We have a very aggressive growth plan, and we want to ensure we have the best available people in the industry. Detroit is the home of some of the top technical resources and leading suppliers in the world," Darren Post, vice president of engineering, said in a statement.

Karma is expanding its resources at its Costa Mesa headquarters.

The company hired Dennis Dougherty as the company's president and chief operations officer Tuesday.

"Dennis brings with him extensive operations experience in the U.S., China and Mexico which will be invaluable as we launch the Revero and expand our global footprint," said Tom Corcoran, chief executive.

Fisker, which was founded in 2007, was funded in part with $528 million in U.S. Department of Energy loans. It sold 1,800 Karmas in the U.S. and Europe before battery problems, recalls and the bankruptcy of its battery supplier led to its bankruptcy in 2013.

Original production plans called for the sale of 10,000 Karmas annually — a target that was never met, despite high-profile sales to celebrities such as Justin Bieber and Leonardo DiCaprio.

The company was acquired by Chinese auto part company Wanxiang Group Corp. for roughly $150 million in 2014.

The new Karma has more than 600 people working in its Costa Mesa headquarters, Moreno Valley facility and Troy, Mich., locations.

What's still to be seen is how car buyers will welcome a luxury plug-in hybrid while gas prices remain low. U.S. sales of "green" cars in May plunged 32 percent from a year earlier to about 36,600 vehicles, according to AutoBlog.

Source: Karma's Revero electric car revs up for summer debut

The Fastest-Selling Used Cars of 2016

Want to unload a used car quickly? Better hope you have a hybrid or electric car. iSeeCars.com took at look at 2.2 million used cars  that were one to three years old sold between  January and May of 2016, and found that five out of the top ten were alternative fuel cars, whether that's plug-in hybrids, electric cars, or hybrid models.

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The average one- to three-year-old car spent 42.4 on the market before being sold. The Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid spent just 19.7, selling significantly faster than the second fastest-selling car on the list, the Nissan Leaf, which sold after 24.3 days.There's a reason these Priuses are selling so quickly. "Fifty-four percent of these cars were sold in California, says iSeeCars.com CEO Phong Ly. "The distribution of the stickers that allow plug-in hybrids to be used in California's HOV carpool lanes with a single occupant has reached its limit, pushing up demand for used cars that already have this privilege," said Ly. 

Nissan Leafs, partly due to low gas prices, saw their value tumble down by more than $2,000 from 2015 to 2016, says Ly, which probably explains why they're moving quicker. The same can be said for the Tesla Model S, which saw a 17 percent decline in price, and a concurrent shortening of time before owners were able to sell.

The other two hybrids on the list fit within into own particular niches. "While the Lexus CT 200h shares its hybrid powertrain with the Toyota Prius, this is a rather sporty car, known for its handling, yet still gets 43 mpg in the city," says Ly. "SUV sales are once again on the rise and the venerable Toyota Highlander Hybrid offers buyers an upscale interior, a luxurious ride and an impressive 27 city/28 highway mpg, putting it at the top for fuel economy in this popular segment."

Overall, it seems alternative fuel cars have declined in price to the point where they've become both desirable and affordable. Per the same study, in between 2015 and 2016, prices on electric car prices sunk by $3,830, with a $1,214 decline for plug-in hybrids, a fall off of $889 for hybrids. Used gasoline vehicles, meanwhile, saw their price drop by just by $242.

Source: The Fastest-Selling Used Cars of 2016

Electric Maserati? Maybe After 2018. Fiat Considering Electric City Car For Europe

8 hours ago by Mark Kane

Fiat 500e

Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne stated once that every Fiat 500e sold cost company at least $14,000, but apparently that doesn't stop him from make new plans today for an electric city car for Europe.

It's still not clear what model would be introduced, but Fiat probably can't afford to stay electric-less forever in Europe.

On the exotic side, under the Maserati brand, Fiat could also introduce some kind of high-end EV into Tesla's territory.

In this case, an electric Maserati Alfieri (see in non-electric concept form above) is apparently in future plans, but Marchionne has refused to launch one in his 'last 5 year contract' through 2018, so perhaps we will see the vehicle in 2019 when the CEO finally retires and some new blood comes on board.

Sergio Marchionne said:

"I'm not as convinced as some others are about the fact that electrification is the solution for all of man's ills. We need to experiment as we are doing now with connected cars and mobility as electrification is one of the potential answers."

For now we are looking ahead of Maserati Levante plug-in hybrid, utilizing Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid (PHEV) powertrain.

source: Bloomberg

Tags: europe, FCA, fiat, Fiat 500E, maserati, sergio marchionne

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Source: Electric Maserati? Maybe After 2018. Fiat Considering Electric City Car For Europe

Electric Vehicles at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb: Race report

Randels Media Group/Revvolution.com, Official Photographers of the PPIHC

Despite a blown engine that prevented any running on the Friday before the race—and an epic case of jet lag after winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans the week before—Romain Dumas was the fastest man of the day at Pikes Peak, setting the second-fastest time ever.

Randels Media Group/Revvolution.com, Official Photographers of the PPIHC

Despite a blown engine that prevented any running on the Friday before the race—and an epic case of jet lag after winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans the week before—Romain Dumas was the fastest man of the day at Pikes Peak, setting the second-fastest time ever.

Nathan Leach-Proffer| www.speed-photos.com

"It's incredible! To win the 24 Hours of Le Mans and Pikes Peak within days, it's beyond my dreams ! I don't know if it's sunk in yet," said Dumas. "The win was the objective from the word go, but it wasn't an easy challenge. There were expectations because we had to better our performance from two years ago, and we knew the electric prototypes would be quick and our car was still new. We wanted to show our level of performance. We didn't quite do that, to be honest, with a pierced hose and small issues with the brakes near the end of the run. But we won after all and that's the main thing and I'm very happy."

Elle Cayabyab Gitlin

Rhys Millen won overall last year, but had to settle for being the fastest of the electric cars in 2016.

Corey Davis | Randels Media Group/Revvolution.com, Official Photographers of the PPIHC

The fastest of Acura's three-car effort was the 4-Motor EV Concept.

Elle Cayabyab Gitlin

You can read more about Tajima-san's race later this week. Battery management problems plagued his week at America's Mountain.

Jonathan Gitlin

Nobuhiro "Monster" Tajima and Tetsuya Yamano smile for the cameras on race morning.

Elle Cayabyab Gitlin

Blake Fuller thinks this might be the first racing Tesla on the planet. For such a heavy car it did a rather good job in the race.

Elle Cayabyab Gitlin

The last of the Electric Modifieds was Entropy Racing's EVSR. The car put in some impressive times in practice considering that with only 180hp it had far less power than most of the other cars (gas or electric). Motor trouble slowed driver Rick Knoop on race day, unfortunately.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.—The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb turned 100 this year, making it five years younger than the Indianapolis 500. Other than age, the two events have very little in common. The first Indy 500 came about because Carl Fisher wanted to give America's new car builders somewhere to test their creations; by contrast, Spencer Penrose organized the first Pikes Peak Hill Climb in 1916 to help draw tourists to the mountain (and in turn, his hotel the Broadmoor). Ironic then that all these years later it's Pikes Peak—rather than Indianapolis—that's being used to test the cutting edge of automotive technology.

In particular, people have been bringing electric cars and motorbikes (you can read about those later today) to test them on the hill climb. The 12.4-mile (19.99km) course is short enough that they don't need to be overburdened with batteries, for one. And unlike internal combustion engines, electric motors don't care whether they're at sea level, the start line (9.390 feet/2,862m), or the 14,110-foot (4,300m) summit—they make the same amount of power everywhere.

When last we checked in from America's Mountain, Romain Dumas and his Norma M20 RD Limited Spec-2016 were the fastest combination of man and machine, topping the qualifying charts. This somewhat upset the narrative—for the Norma runs in the Unlimited class and does so on gasoline, not electrons. As the fastest overall qualifier, Dumas would be the first of the cars to set off, some two hours later than planned. Below the tree line the weather was perfect, but icy conditions up top saw several motorbikes crash, causing several lengthy delays.

(Things got worse later in the day for all the racers, who have to wait until the final car has reached the top before they can descend en masse. Check out the hail covering Jonathan Frost's car in this video of him coming back down.)

Last year's overall winner, Rhys Millen, had to settle for being the second car to run, still the fastest of the Electric Modified class, followed by Tetsuya Yamano in the Acura 4-Motor EV Concept. Paul Dallenbach's fossil-fueled car split these two from the next-fastest EV, that of "Monster" Tajima.

As it turned out, qualifying position was remarkably predictive; the cars finished in the order they ran. Dumas set the fastest time overall—and the second-fastest time at Pikes Peak ever—8:51.445. Evidently recovered from his win at Le Mans (and the associated jet lag), Dumas' win came after an engine failure on Friday that prevented the team from getting any practice time on the upper section of the course. Millen's Drive eO was fastest of the EVs, also breaking the nine-minute barrier (8:57.118). Yamano and the Acura were seven seconds behind (9:06.015), then Dallenbach and Tajima. (Full results can be found here, and you can read more about how Tajima got on in our feature later this week.)

Further Reading Electric vehicles at altitude: Pikes Peak qualifying day

We get our first look at the electric vehicles that will race on America's Mountain.

Even Dumas was a little taken aback by his win, having expected the electric cars to be more dominant. "24 hours ago, this win was unimaginable. I have no words to explain the work put in by the team, especially this week and even more so since Friday morning. This team, with the help from Norbert Santos, it's my pride. The guys didn't sleep while they were putting the car back together. We really had our backs to the wall but we did it. We could have done better in terms of the time, that's certain," he said. "But this event is so unique. Pikes Peak has a point in common with Le Mans; you never know what to expect and you have to put all the right puzzle pieces together the day of. So when there's a victory at the end of it all, it's a huge satisfaction."

The final car in the Electric Modified class—Rick Knoop's Entropy Racing machine—ran into problems when a motor malfunctioned, giving Knoop just half the car's 180hp (134kW). Knoop finished in 15:02.413, a disappointing result for a car that would have posted a time in the 11-minute range had all been well.

The Electric Production class was somewhat undersubscribed, with just a sole entry from Blake Fuller in a Tesla Model S P90D. Nevertheless, Fuller set a new course record for essentially unmodified electric road cars. Fuller's Tesla was almost completely stock, save for the addition of a roll cage and some grippier tires, along with about 800lbs (362kg) of weight reduction. (You can see a more detailed look at Fuller's car courtesy of The Fast Lane Car's video.) Fuller got to the top in 11:48.264 in the world's first racing Tesla.

Check back later today for some news about the motorbikes at Pikes Peak.

Listing image by Corey Davis | Randels Media Group/Revvolution.com, Official Photographers of the PPIHC

Source: Electric Vehicles at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb: Race report

In May BYD Sold Over 9,000 Plug-In Electric Cars In China

5 hours ago by Mark Kane

BYD plug-in electric car sales in China – May 2016

Plug-in electric car sales in China – May 2016 (source: EV Sales Blog)

China plug-in vehicles sales in May resulted in well over 26,000 plug-in electric cars sold, which represented a 119% year-over-year according to specifc model data collected by the EV Sales Blog.

Interestingly, over one third of the Chinese plug-in vehicle market is now in the possession of BYD, which in May exceeded 9,000 total sales as a brand – the company's second best result ever.

More impressively, BYD is still expanding its dominance over its home market – outpacing the segment overall  in May with a 130% gain of its own.

Over the last month, two models – the Tang and Qin, were 1st and 2nd respectively, while Tang continues to strengthen its first overall position.

BYD May sales breakdown:

Tang – 3249

Qin – 2705

e6 – 1683

e5 – 1172

Qin EV300 – 207

BYD's goal for 2016 is to sell about 120,000 plug-in vehicles. In the first five months of 2016 the  Chinese company has sold about ~33,000 EVs,  so the monthly average for the rest of the year will need to exceed 12,000 per month – a level at which no OEM has yet to ever sell in single month.  Anywhere.

Tags: byd, byd e5, byd e6, byd qin, byd tang, china, sales

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Source: In May BYD Sold Over 9,000 Plug-In Electric Cars In China

Your grandchild may never own a car, says Navigant Research

The internal-combustion car was the dominant form of personal transportation in the U.S. for most of the 20th century, and that is still the case today.

But electric cars are gaining momentum, and they could lead to even more drastic changes in the car industry than just the abandonment of fossil fuels.

Imagine if your grandchildren not only didn't fill gas tanks—but didn't own cars at all.

Electric powertrains will enable other technologies that could spell the end for individually-owned cars, argues Navigant Research senior research director John Gartner in a recent article for EV World.

Many analysts have argued that the combination of electric power, autonomous driving, and carsharing and ridesharing services will profoundly change how people use cars.

Gartner argues that electric powertrains will be "the lever for this change" because they complement those new technologies and services.

The array of sensors and processors required for self-driving cars draw a considerable amount of electricity, and a fully-electric powertrain can more easily provide this, he says.

The same would theoretically be true of the numerous connectivity features that would give people relieved of the duty of driving something to do—and potentially make sharing services more efficient.

Increased use of carsharing and ridesharing services could shift more volume to the roads from public transit, Gartner notes.

This could actually increase traffic congestion and vehicle emissions in urban areas.

Fleets of electric cars would cut down on emissions, while connectivity features could be used to network them together and coordinate their movements.

Cars used in sharing services will still have higher annual vehicle-miles traveled (VMT) than today's individually-owned cars, which will likely shorten their lifespans.

However, that could have the positive effect of an increased supply of used electric-car  battery packs, which could be re-purposed for energy storage, says Gartner.

Stationary battery packs can be used to store energy from solar panels for later use, or to balance electricity grids.

BMW plans to offer a home energy-storage system that uses re-purposed "second-life" battery packs, while General Motors and Nissan have experimented with the concept in commercial applications.

Higher VMT could also require more frequent replacement of cars, helping to soften the blow of falling new-car sales brought on by sharing services, says Gartner.

Yet carmakers plan to do more than just supply vehicles to sharing services.

BMW and Daimler already operate their own carsharing services, while GM is investing in ridesharing service Lyft and has its own "mobility" brand called Maven.

Ford plans to transform itself from a car company into a "mobility company" by looking at ridesharing and other potential sources of revenue beyond car sales.

Th is article first appeared at GreenCarReports.

Source: Your grandchild may never own a car, says Navigant Research

Why Nissan Has an Edge in 200-Mile Electric Cars

Nissan has an edge with the volume-selling Leaf on the road. | Eric Schaal/Autos Cheat Sheet

Wouldn't it be great if there were an affordable all-electric car that could go decent distances and fast-charge for less than $30,000 after incentives?

Tesla has captivated the world with this message, and General Motors beat everyone to the punch with the upcoming Chevy Bolt. But Nissan already has such a car on the road — one it's delivered in volume around the world. With the announcement that a longer-range Nissan EV is in the works, the automaker has a been-there, done-that edge on the competition.

At a June industry event in Canada, Nissan's global director of EV engineering told AutoblogGreen a 200-mile Leaf was on the way, though he didn't say when. While we knew it was happening, it was the first time a high-ranking company official put it on the record in such terms. This bit of information tells us the next wave of electric vehicles will be as competitive as enthusiasts hoped; it also says the most successful EV maker is making its big move.

Nissan has fewer unknowns than other manufacturers looking to produce 200-mile EVs in volume. | Source: Nissan

Nissan brings to the game the technological expertise honed over years of manufacturing and improving the Leaf, its pure electric car capable of 107 miles in SV trim ($34,200). Meanwhile, the Japanese automaker has also demonstrated the capacity and ability to produce the Leaf in volume.

Its 30,200 sales in 2014 represent the record for any plug-in vehicle on the U.S. market, and it has already delivered close to 95,000 models to American drivers since its debut. In a word, the automaker has already done the thing Tesla wants to convince everyone it can do with its upcoming electric car for the masses.

Source: Why Nissan Has an Edge in 200-Mile Electric Cars

Electric racer goes 0 to 60 mph in 1.5 seconds, built by students

A group of Swiss students have built an electric car that can out accelerate even the quickest supercars.

The tiny electric car reached 100 kilometers per hour (62 mph) from a standstill in just 1.513 seconds during a run at Dübendorf Air Base, near Zurich.

It required only 100 feet to reach that speed.

DON'T MISS: Electric motorcycles return to Pikes Peak to race into the clouds

Known as "Grimsel," the car was built by students from the Swiss universities ETH Zurich and Hochschule Luzern, who members of Academic Motorsports club Zurich (AMZ).

The car weighs just 370 pounds, thanks to extensive use of carbon fiber.

It's powered by four 37-kilowatt (50-horsepower) in-wheel electric motors, and boasts a combined output of 1,250 pound-feet of torque at the wheels, according to AMZ.

Custom traction-control and torque-vectoring systems help put all of that power to the ground efficiently.

The car also features an aggressive aerodynamics package—including a massive rear spoiler—that engineers calculate would allow it to drive upside down at 110 kph (68 mph).

Grimsel doesn't spend much time driving on ceilings, though.

ALSO SEE: Tiny 40-Year-Old Electric Car Now As Fast As Tesla Roadster (Apr 2015)

It was built for Formula Student, an international competition for engineering students with events in various countries around the world.

Cars are judged based on performance, but also design, cost, and a business plan for marketing them to hypothetical investors.

The AMZ team beat the previous 0-to-62 mph record of 1.779 seconds, set by the Green Team from Germany's University of Stuttgart in July 2015.

Like Grimsel, the Green Team car was a small single-seat, open-wheel electric car with all-wheel drive.

Thanks to instantly-available torque, electric cars are well suited to contests of acceleration.

MORE: Ford Mustang Electric Drag Car Does 0 To 60 MPH Under 2 Seconds, Targets 200 MPH (Jun 2015)

Electric drag racer has claimed to have achieved 0 to 60 mph in 1.8 seconds with his "White Zombie"—a heavily-modified 1972 Datsun 1200.

Wayland also participated in the build of an electric 1968 Ford Mustang called Zombie 222, which record 0 to 60 mph in 1.94 seconds last year.

Vintage cars and tiny student-built race cars typically aren't thought of as being in the same league as supercars, but throw in some electric motors, and it seems anything is possible.

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Source: Electric racer goes 0 to 60 mph in 1.5 seconds, built by students

Road to 'green' cars bumpy, but innovation is key

A woman checks out a BMW electric car during a recent NEV fair in Nanjing. Some makers of electric cars have cooperated with property developers to install charging stations at residential areas and office buildings. (Photo provided to China Daily)

Against the backdrop of the June 26-28 Summer Davos 2016 in Tianjin, China's evolving electric car segment shows it is determined to overcome challenges like poor infrastructure

For the past two years, Liu Yang, 30, a Beijing resident, has been driving an electric car. But, this year, she decided to buy a gasoline-powered sedan. Why? Simply because charging stations for electric cars are hard to find in and around the national capital.

"It is a nightmare to drive electric cars in big cities like Beijing, especially when you don't have charging facilities in your neighborhood," she said, adding there is always a long queue at the nearest charging station.

"Pumping gasolene at fuel stations is a pain, but at least it's only once a week or fortnight," Liu said.

Her complaints are quite common in China, as insufficient charging infrastructure is stopping automobile buyers from going electric, despite perks and privileges on offer.

To combat air pollution, China, the world's biggest maker and buyer of automobiles, is promoting low-emission vehicles to the average driver with a series of measures, including rebates on purchase of electric vehicles and exemption from the lottery system for driving licenses.

Last year, officials in Beijing also said they were considering cheaper or free parking for electric cars, but most drivers are still hesitant to go down the green path.

Ambitious target

Official data shows that more than 300,000 electric cars were sold in China last year, a fraction of the target the country set for itself. In 2012, China announced it is targeting to put 5 million electric cars on its roads by 2020.

The so-called range anxiety－it refers to worries that batteries won't carry as far as drivers want to travel－, a gaping lack of alternative fuel facilities at home, and affordability still trump environmental concerns for most of Chinese buyers, experts said.

Chinese officials are seeking to provide incentives to people to switch from ordinary cars to electric cars. But they also need to resolve the problem of insufficient chargers, said Robert Weisenmiller, chairman of the California Energy Commission. The state of California is home to over half of electric vehicles sold in the United States.

"There are a lot more high-rises and skyscrapers here (in China), so it makes charging much harder at home," he said. "People in the US are very concerned about having electric cars out of charge and not being able to recharge them."

Electric vehicle makers will typically install a charging pole at a driver's home, so they can power up cars overnight, but installation seems impossible in many communities across the country.

Ye Ke, owner of a Tesla Motors electric car in Beijing, said she does not find plugging in the car at night a problem as she has a fast charger installed in the garage at her house. But she faces a problem when she goes back to her apartment.

　　

Source: Road to 'green' cars bumpy, but innovation is key

Faraday Future Also Working On A Self-Driving Car

Quite a few companies are working on self-driving or autonomous cars so it's not surprising to find out that Chinese electric car maker Faraday Future has said that it's also creating a self-driving car of its own. Faraday Future unveiled its first electric concept car – the FFZERO1 – at the International Consumer Electronics Show earlier this year, but it's unclear as yet when it's going to actually put a production car on the road.

Not a lot of information is available about Faraday Future's self-driving car at this point in time but the company has obtained an Autonomous Vehicle Tester permit in California, the permit enables the company to start testing its autonomous car on public roads in California.

The state has granted permission to 14 companies to test self-driving cars on public roads in California, including Google, Volkswagen, GM's Cruise Automation, and now Faraday Future. However, Faraday is expected to start testing its self-driving cars in Detroit, Michigan as well.

"Through this enhanced testing, and under the constant supervision of our qualified test drivers who will be behind the steering wheel at all times, we are confident in the success of the autonomous technologies that we are developing for future FF products," a spokesperson for Faraday has said.

Even though Faraday has not produced a working prototype of its self-driving car, the company says that it's going to test its autonomous driving software, hardware, sensors, user interfaces, and more in real-world environments.

Filed in Transportation. Read more about autonomous cars and self driving car. Source: techcrunch

Source: Faraday Future Also Working On A Self-Driving Car

Video: this electric car just set a world record

The grimsel electric racing car has broken the world record for acceleration by an electric car. The vehicle accelerated from 0 to 100 km/h in 1.513 seconds over a distance of less than 30 m. The record-breaking car was developed by students at ETH Zurich and Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts.

The Formula Student team at the Academic Motorsports Club Zurich (AMZ) accomplished its mission: the grimsel electric racing car accelerated from 0 to 100 km/h in just 1.513 seconds and set a new world record. It reached the speed after covering less than 30 m of track at the Dübendorf air base near Zurich. The previous world record stood at 1.779 seconds and was set last year by a team at the University of Stuttgart.

The record-breaking Formula Student electric car was developed and built in less than a year by a team of 30 students at ETH Zurich and Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts. grimsel is AMZ's fifth electric vehicle and sets new standards in lightweight construction and electric drive technology. Thanks to the use of carbon-fibre materials, grimselweighs just 168 kg. The four-wheel drive electric racing car has four specially developed wheel hub motors that are capable of generating 200 hp and 1700 Nm of torque. A sophisticated traction control system regulates the performance of each wheel individually, allowing the car's acceleration to be increased even further. No large-scale production car – even one with a combustion engine – can reach an acceleration comparable to the grimsel.

AMZ's most successful vehicle

grimsel celebrated considerable success in the international Formula Student competition back in the summer of 2014. With over 500 teams competing, Formula Student is the largest competition worldwide for engineering students and takes place every year on race courses around the world. With three overall victories and a points average of 920 out of a possible 1000, grimsel is AMZ's most successful vehicle. The success of the grimsel also contributed to AMZ's first place defence in the Formula Student world rankings, which they have held since 2013.

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This article is published in collaboration with ETH Zurich.

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Source: Video: this electric car just set a world record

Daimler Could Choose a New Brand Name for Its Electric Car Range

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All these names and the connections between them can get a little confusing sometimes, but we guess everybody knows what Daimler stands for and what its relation to Mercedes-Benz is.

In recent weeks, talks of the first-ever Mercedes-Benz electric car that would be developed as such from the ground up have gained pace, all pointing toward a preview of this vehicle at the Paris Motor Show in October. Needless to say, this new car - which will have the appearance of an SUV - will be the first of many, so we can expect a whole family of EVs wearing the Mercedes-Benz three-pointed star logo.

Or can we? An unnamed source told German publication Handelsblatt that parent company Daimler might choose to create a completely new brand under which to market its new fleet of all-electric vehicles. The media outlet attempted to obtain a reaction from Daimler, but - predictably - the company refused to comment. Which is almost as good as confirming the rumors.

Handelsblatt also claims that a decision might be reached on July 20 when Daimler's non-executive supervisory board is to hold a meeting. Whether the announcement will be made then or closer to the Paris reveal, though, remains to be seen.

But the real question here is whether this would be a beneficial move for Daimler. The German company is probably not yet entirely sold on the fact that electricity holds the key to the future, so it would rather keep its core brand - Mercedes-Benz - out of it for the moment. In case it all goes south, the heavy resonance name will not be directly associated with the failure, allowing it to emerge unscathed from the possible fiasco.

At the same time, should everything go well, merging the two brands - the new, still unnamed one and Mercedes-Benz - would be a simple affair. It could be argued that the new electric cars would benefit from having the Mercedes-Benz logo strapped on their nose, but you can rest assured that even though they might sell under a diff erent name, Daimler will make sure everybody knows they have Mercedes-Benz backing. Besides, it's rumored that the EVs will also reflect the sister brand's design, so even on a visual level, they'll clearly show their common roots.

Whatever the case, Mercedes-Benz Daimler seems determined to take the fight to Tesla, something that other traditional manufacturers have also announced lately, one way or another, with Volkswagen being the most prestigious (or should we say "infamous") of them.

Source: Daimler Could Choose a New Brand Name for Its Electric Car Range

Mercedes-Benz may create electric-only brand

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Source: Mercedes-Benz may create electric-only brand

Mercedes electric SUV concept for Paris: what we know so far

Mercedes-Benz is expected to debut an electric SUV concept at the 2016 Paris Motor Show this fall.

The concept will likely preview one of what could be up to four all-electric models Mercedes plans to launch over the next few years.

This lineup of electric cars will help Mercedes compete with Tesla Motors, as well as German rivals that are now scrambling to produce luxury electric cars of their own.

DON'T MISS: Mercedes-Benz electric cars: more details of 4 models for 2020 emerge

As the vehicle that will likely set the direction for the rest of Mercedes' new electric-car lineup, that makes the SUV concept a very important vehicle indeed.

When it debuts in Paris in late September, the electric SUV concept will feature new styling that will carry over to other electric models, according to Britain's Autocar magazine.

What will be underneath that styling is less clear.

Previous reports suggested that the first of the four production Mercedes electric cars would be a variant of the GLC-Class crossover.

Known as the "ELC," it would share a platform with internal-combustion GLC models, but with markedly different styling.

It it would have a flat battery pack under the floor, at least two motors (one per axle), and up to 400 kilowatts (540 horsepower) of output, according to a recent report by German magazine Autobild.

MORE: Mercedes-Benz GLC to offer world's first plug-in fuel-cell powertrain

The GLC platform was engineered from the start to accommodate plug-in hybrid and battery-electric powertrains, as well as the plug-in hydrogen fuel cell powertrain of the upcoming GLC F-Cell model.

Yet earlier this month Mercedes also unveiled a dedicated platform for electric cars, which it calls a "multi-model vehicle architecture."

That's because the platform is modular, and could underpin a variety of vehicles.

Its layout is similar to the one used by Tesla, with a flat battery pack in the floor, and an electric motor at one or both axles.

Mercedes may also use the Paris Motor Show concept to preview future battery technology.

At the same time as its announcement of the modular electric-car platform, Mercedes promised that future batteries would deliver twice the range of today's lithium-ion cells, at half the cost.

This may involve switching to a different battery chemistry, possibly lithium-sulfur.

Flat lithium-ion battery back for next-generation Mercedes-Benz electric cars

Enlarge Photo That would help Mercedes achieve the target 500-kilometer (310-mile) range for the electric SUV mentioned by outgoing R&D chief Thomas Weber to Reuters at a recent media event in Germany.

Batteries for a production version of the SUV concept—and other future Mercedes electric models—would likely be manufactured by subsidiary Deutsche Accumotive.

The production SUV is expected to appear by the end of 2018 or sometime in 2019.

Meanwhile, the concept will share the stage at the 2016 Paris Motor Show with an updated Smart Fortwo Electric Drive, based on the third-generation Fortwo introduced in the U.S. last year.

_______________________________________________

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Source: Mercedes electric SUV concept for Paris: what we know so far

Watch this electric race car SMASH the 0-60 mph record

As Tesla has shown us, electric cars are quite capable of embarrassing their gas-powered rivals, but a new record-breaking racer developed by a student team demonstrates just how potent the electron is. Handiwork of a Swiss team of students, Academic Motorsports club Zurich (AMZ), the race car may look small but it's not short on power or indeed speed.

In fact, it shot from 0 to 60 mph in just 1.513 seconds, setting a Guinness world record in the process. You can watch it in the following video, but try not to blink because you'll miss most of the attempt if you do.

The racer itself, which has been named Grimsel, has four motors, one for each of the wheels. While there's only 200 HP in all, the more important number is torque: that's more than a frankly ridiculous 1,250 lb-ft.

As for the wheels themselves, they're made from carbon fiber to help keep curb weight down, and they're joined by oversized wings to ensure there's enough downforce to keep Grimsel on the track rather than taking off like a tiny, electric plane.

It's an important consideration, because the racer only weighs 370 pounds. Like the Model S, Leaf, or e-Golf that might be on your drive, AMZ uses regenerative braking to pump some of the otherwise wasted energy produced by slowing back into the batteries, and the car is capable of translating as much as 30-percent of that power into charge.

Four independently powered wheels means there's the potential for some very interesting power distribution, and sure enough the AMZ team uses a clever torque vectoring system. Similar to the approach we'll see Acura use on its quad-motor NSX concept headed to Pikes Peak this weekend - and, indeed, the Honda concept that proceeded it, and which we tried out ourselves last year in Japan - different levels of power can be pushed to each corner of the car depending on which has most grip.

There's also all-important traction control to make sure as much of that 1,250 lb-ft. of torque makes it to the asphalt as possible.

As for what's next for the AMZ team - which is made up of students from Swiss universities ETH Zurich and Hochschule Luzern - that's not clear, but it's entirely possible that the work done on traction and motor control could be essential in helping future electric vehicles make the most of their power.

MORE AMZ

Source: Watch this electric race car SMASH the 0-60 mph record

Which countries have plans for all new cars to be electric, and when?

Electric-car rally in Geiranger, Norway [Image: Norsk elbilforening via Flickr]

Enlarge Photo

Plug-in electric cars currently make up a fairly small percentage of the millions of new vehicles sold globally.

But within the next two decades, they may be the only new cars available for sale in certain countries.

Multiple countries have announced plans to end the sale of new internal-combustion cars as a way to cut carbon emissions.

DON'T MISS: Norway's Goal: All New Cars Will Be Emission-Free By 2025 To Cut Carbon (Aug 2015)

So which one will be the first?

Norway is likely the friendliest nation in the world for electric cars, and it was the first to discuss making all new cars electrically powered (whether via batteries or hydrogen fuel cells).

The Scandinavian country already offers generous incentives to electric-car buyers, and has built up substantial charging infrastructure.

Oslo street scene: Nissan Leaf, Volkswagen e-Golf, Tesla Model S, July 2015

Enlarge Photo

Electric cars already account for an average 24 percent of new-car sales in Norway, but certain politicians are pushing for them to make up 100 percent of new-car sales by 2025.

This goal was first proposed last August by Ola Elvestuen, a member of Norway's parliament and Chair of the Standing Committee on Energy and the Environment.

Norway's major political parties have now agreed to this "complete ban" on new internal-combustion cars, The Independent reported earlier this month.

MORE: India's ambitious goal: all electric vehicles on roads by 2030

The Netherlands is also moving to end sales of new gasoline and diesel cars by 2025.

In April, the Dutch parliament passed a motion to that effect, although it would still have to be approved by the senate to become law.

Hybrids would still be allowed under the proposed rule, and internal-combustion cars sold before 2025 would be grandfathered for operation until the ends of their lives.

Erasmus Bridge, Rotterdam, by Flickr user Martin de Lusenet (used under CC License)

Enlarge Photo

Like Norway, The Netherlands boasts significant electric-car incentives, and electric cars account for a greater share of sales than in most countries.

Both Norway and The Netherlands also have concentrated populations, meaning short average commuting distances that won't tax shorter-range electric cars.

That's less true of Germany, where electric cars currently account for a relatively low percentage of sales.

Yet Deputy Economy Minister Rainer Baake believes the country should ban sales of new gasoline and diesel cars by 2030.

Baake believes an emission-free car fleet is the only way to meet Germany's goal of cutting carbon emissions 80 percent by 2050, according to Bloomberg.

Smart Fortwo Electric Drive and Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive at driving school.

Enlarge Photo

The government also wants to put 1 million electric cars on German roads by 2020.

Right now, electric cars only account for about 0.6 percent of new-vehicle sales in Germany, although an incentives program approved by lawmakers in May could help boost sales.

The country with the most ambitious electric-car goal, though, may be India.

Rather than simply ending sales of new internal-combustion cars, India's government wants to make all cars in the country electric by 2030.

This would hinge on an incentive program that would allow people to buy electric cars very cheaply.

However, the proposal faces the challenge of instigating mass electric-car adoption in one of the world's most populous nations, and creating the necessary infrastructure to support all of those new cars.

Many Indian homes do not have access to electricity at all, and the country currently relies heavily on fossil fuels to generate power.

But with some of the worst air pollution in the world, India may have the greatest incentive of any country to make all of the cars on its roads electric.

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Source: Which countries have plans for all new cars to be electric, and when?

Student-Built Electric Car Crushes 0-60 MPH Record With Unbelievable 1.5-Second Run

Swiss student motorsport club Academic Motorsports club Zurich (or AMZ for short) smashed the Guinness world record for acceleration in an electric car with a 1.513-second zero to 60 mph run today. Holy crapping crap, I'd say the future of motorsport is in pretty awesome hands.

The students had some fun with the video of their record attempt, showing off a number of things you can't get done in the time this car can reach 60 mph (or 100 kph if you're Swiss). Their driver can't even jump out of the car that fast!

Their car, "Grimsel" had to reach 60 mph in 100 feet for the record attempt, and it crushed it. AMZ is made up of Swiss university students from ETH Zürich and Hochschule Luzern. As such, Grimsel was built in 2014 for the Formula Student Electric racing competition, which attracts student teams from around the world.

The car itself is a masterpiece, with carbon fiber wheels and big, meaty wings that would make an airplane jealous. Four wheel hub motors designed by the team give the featherweight 370-lb car over 200 horsepower and over 1,250 lb-ft of torque, per a team press release. The electric motors are efficient, too, regenerating as much as 30% of their spent energy back into the battery under braking.

A clever traction control system ensures that all wheels are putting down as much power as they can in trickier road conditions, and torque vectoring helps the car turn on a time by sending more power to the outer wheels in a turn.

The previous 0-60 mph record of 1.779 seconds was set last year by another Formula Student Electric car run by GreenTeam Uni Stuttgart e.V., per Guinness World Records. Record times are an average of the time set by two runs, back-to-back, in each direction. So, not only do you have to break the record once, but you've got to confirm it with a second run that's just as or nearly as fast.

Oh, and we caught that donut in the video, AMZ. This team even has the proper celebrations down pat.

Source: Student-Built Electric Car Crushes 0-60 MPH Record With Unbelievable 1.5-Second Run

Tesla Wants To Be Your New Utility Provider

Mr. Musk's Tesla Motors on Tuesday made an acquisition offer to, well, to Mr. Musk's SolarCity The two companies count Mr. Musk as both chairman and their largest shareholder. The idea is to have one company, with one brand name, producing electric cars, batteries, and solar panels. It would also make Tesla an even more complicated company, and add an unprofitable operation to its already-strained finances.

Colin Langan, UBS (Rates Tesla sell, SolarCity neutral) We are cautious on the deal as synergies seem limited, it adds complexity, and most importantly it could potentially be an unneeded distraction for Tesla management.

Tesla already is facing aggressive Model 3 production targets of 500,000 by 2018 and the production ramp of the Model X has been slow. Adding SolarCity may increase the operational and accounting complexity as the business is very different from auto and storage. Although SolarCity would only be ~10% of combined Tesla-SolarCity sales, SolarCity's GAAP losses could be a significant drag. SolarCity would continue to require at least upfront upfront capital investment to grow its business, likely increasing overall cash burn for Tesla.

SolarCity and Tesla have worked together on a battery offering, and there may be some potential future synergies on the SG&A front, but we note Elon Musk was unaware of how many Tesla customers have solar – implying customer acquisition synergies may not be the primary focus.

Pavel Molchanov, Raymond James (strong buy rating on SolarCity) The key word, of course, is "proposal." This is not a done deal, and we are skeptical that the initial terms will prove acceptable to SolarCity's board. Put simply, we think there is a deal to be made here, but at a higher price point.

Historically, the stock has traded at more than two times and even three times [net present value], and while that is probably not realistic for the foreseeable future, a takeout multiple of (at best) 1.35x NPV does not look very appealing. Because this stock is (as always) a special situation, there is no objective way to gauge what is the right multiple, but we think that a $30+ deal value would be more appealing, both "optically" and fundamentally.

Sven Eenmaa, Stifel (downgraded SolarCity to hold from buy) Reward to risk looks balanced on proposed acquisition price. The proposed acquisition price is 26%-36% above SCTY's 7/21 closing price, but is at the range midpoint only marginally above SCTY's 2016 YTD average closing price of $26.95. Nevertheless we would expect Tesla's proposal to set the baseline for SolarCity's acquisition valuation, particularly given Elon Musk's 22% ownership and role at SolarCity, and given recent risk perceptions around SolarCity's growth and financing strategy execution, which would benefit from increased backing from a company such as Tesla. With Tesla's proposal pointing to an intent to negotiate and complete the combination in an expedited manner, and given the complexity of and recent execution challenges at SolarCity, we see very limited potential for competing bidders to emerge.

Trip Chowdhry, Global Equities Research Your new utility provider: 500,000 Tesla Model 3 will hit the road every year starting 2018 – the current electric grid does not have the capacity to cater to this enhanced load that would start to happen; Starting 2018, almost every household may be Tesla customer, with either a Tesla car, Tesla battery or Tesla solar generation or any combination of these, or all of them; Next, we expect Tesla to do something in the grid as well.

Sophie Karp, Guggenheim (buy on SolarCity) We think that the offer for SolarCity is low, considering its vast and valuable customer network (which can be used by Tesla to cross-sell its own products and services) as well as SolarCity's portfolio of assets and development capabilities.

We value SolarCity's portfolio of deployed assets at the end of the second-quarter 2016 at $24/share (net of recourse debt). Additionally, we value SolarCity's development business at $12/share. Effectively, Tesla would be paying $2.50-4.50/share for the DevCo—well below our estimates. As a reminder, our DevCo valuation presumes that SolarCity is able to generate $0.53-0.63/w in cash margin in the normalized scenario, which is consistent with recent monetization deals and 2015 run-rate of costs. To get to the middle of the valuation range of $3.50/share, we would need to assume $0.37-0.40/w margin instead, which, if validated by a market transaction, we would view as a negative cross-read to other residential peers.

Brian A. Johnson, Barclays (underweight both companies) While no doubt the Tesla bulls will hail the combination as visionary, we believe the assumption of another $2.6 billion of debt to fold in a solar company with limited synergies and uncertain growth/cash prospects only reinforces our negative view of Tesla (UW, PT $165). For SolarCity (UW, PT $20), it is a timely lifeline.

Given limited access to capital for SolarCity, we believe the core rationale for this deal is for SolarCity to take advantage of Tesla's relatively favorable access to and cost of capital. However, the combined entity is likely to magnify the losses and cash burn that both were seeing individually.

In funding SolarCity's losses, it further reinforces our view Tesla will need to return to the capital markets for additional capital infusions, likely via the equity markets. However, this is contingent on the equity capital market remaining an open well for Tesla – which is far from certain.

Source: Tesla Wants To Be Your New Utility Provider

Former Ford GT engineer defects to Karma to make electric cars

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Former Ford engineer Kip Ewing is among the latest auto industry veterans to join Karma Automotive, the upstart electric car company built on the ashes of Fisker. The company is opening a new Troy, Michigan engineering center, an outpost of the company's California headquarters and manufacturing operation.

Karma has grown from 20 to 500 employees in two years. The company will ramp up its Michigan facility to 80 employees this year and plans to have a total of 150 people working out of Troy by next year. Ewing will serve as chief engineer and is among the most recent Karma hires that hail from the ranks of Aston Martin, Rolls-Royce, Tesla, Ford, FCA, and GM and will report to Darren Post, who is heading Karma's engineering efforts. Ewing was on the Ford team that led the development of the 2017 Ford GT and its predecessor, and his May departure from Ford was a surprise.

I spoke to Ewing recently about his new appointment. "When I interviewed with Tom Corcoran, our CEO, he asked me the question of why I wanted to leave Ford. My response was, 'I think the right question is why would come to Karma?' The plant they have, the financial backing they have, the leadership they've assembled has made it a really attractive opportunity," he says.

Karma Automotive Karma Automotive's new manufacturing facility in Moreno Valley, California.

Karma Automotive is the direct descendent of Fisker Automotive, an ill-fated company founded by prolific auto designer Henrik Fisker that stopped making its beautiful-but-flawed cars in 2012. Chinese parts manufacturer Wanxiang later acquired Fisker and its battery supplier A123, and has quietly begun staffing up its operations, after changing its brand name to Karma. (Fisker himself is no longer involved in the company.)

Karma Automotive is expected to introduce the Revero, a reengineered version of the original Fisker Karma, later this summer. "The product that will be revealed later this year will look very much like the original car," Ewing says. "Most of the changes will be in the quality and function of the vehicle — much more refinement and reliability. I think that's a really important part of this story that we're making a modern electric luxury car designed in America and made in an American plant."

I also spoke with James Taylor, Karma's chief marketing officer, and a former president of Cadillac. He told me he has led much of the company's recruiting efforts over the past two years. "We've gone from 20 to 600 people to ramp up the critical resources to make what we believe is a sustainable car business. At the back end of that is Kip and bringing on some experienced serious engineering people to build out our ranks," he told me. Taylor says Karma has a new business structure and is not under pressure to bring a car to market at a rapid pace. "Sounds corny but true — only when it's ready is it ready. And we have a lot of funding in the bank for our next generation of products that assures our future," he adds. Karma is focused on beefing up its California plant and will source drivetrain components from BMW. Fisker's original plant was in Finland, which apparently accounted for some its manufacturing woes. The additional office in Detroit helps broa den the talent pool.

Photo by Harold Cunningham/Getty Images A Fisker Karma at the Geneva Motor Show in 2013. Karma Automotive's Revero is expected to look similar.

In contrast to several of the California-based EV companies chasing Tesla — including Faraday Future, NextEV, and Atieva — Karma is not emphasizing self-driving or connectivity, instead focusing on electric power and driving experience. "I literally had one of the customers say 'I don't want to drive an iPad,'" Taylor says. "They treat it as a sense of relaxation and enjoyment, almost old-school driving. You have to have adequate connectivity in the car, what's expected in the ultra luxury segment. It's not going to be overemphasized or a technical contest over who has the most buttons and the most features to be able to control."

The Revero, like the Fisker Karma before it, will be an extended-range electric car, not a fully electric vehicle like the Tesla Model S. The Revero will have new a wiring harness and electronic boxes. "A lot of unglamorous things that are under the skin that don't make for big sexy car reveals, but are very important," Taylor says. Members of the original design team have stayed on the company, offering insight into its future design palette.

Karma envisions itself as a driver's electric car, which is appealing to engineers. "It's a drop-dead gorgeous, beautiful vehicle that has proportions like no other and its still very much about engaging the driver in the experience, dynamically and visually," Ewing says. "We just want to build that up with a very unique perspective an opportunity space that no one else plays in."

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Source: Former Ford GT engineer defects to Karma to make electric cars

Carmakers, Canadian governments tackling electric car range anxiety

MONTREAL — Automakers are hoping to overcome the biggest roadblock to electric vehicles sales — range anxiety among consumers — with a little help from government.

A spokesperson for Ford Canada said Monday that government efforts to extend the network of recharging stations along highways and elsewhere is a big psychological boost in helping consumers overcome range anxiety, even though the typical Canadian urban commute is far shorter than the travelling range of many of today's plug-in vehicles.

"(With) both the federal government and provincial governments working together to develop the infrastructure you'll see range anxiety eventually disappear," Marc Vejgman, Ford's product marketing manager, said in an interview at a global electric vehicle conference in Montreal.

Meanwhile, new products from the automakers themselves are starting to bring more consumers around.

Nissan says sales of its popular Leaf plug-in surged 50 per cent when it introduced a more powerful battery last November that boosted the car's range by 27 per cent to 172 kilometres.

Ford is planning to introduce a new battery this fall that will increase the range of its all-electric Focus by 31 per cent to 160 km.

Nissan said it believes new technology can double the Leaf's range in three years and add hundreds of kilometres over time.

But Kazuo Yajima, alliance global director of the company's electric vehicle engineering division, said efforts to add more range need to be tempered with reducing vehicle costs.

"We cannot rely on the (government) subsidies or incentives forever," he said.

Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard said Quebec's $8,000 subsidy for the purchase of electric vehicles will only be phased out when sales hit a critical mass and prices fall.

B.C. offers a $5,000 subsidy and Ontario provides up to $14,000 in incentives as it aims for electric cars to make up five per cent of new vehicle sales by 2020.

"It's hard for me to tell you at what moment we will be able to decrease the incentives," Couillard told reporters, adding that the sale of electric and hybrid cars generates returns for the provincial economy.

"When you fill up your car with gasoline you basically encourage oil exporters — also of course Canadian oil producers — but if you charge your electric car you send money directly through Hydro-Quebec and recycle it in Quebec's economy," he said

Electric cars are a niche market with less than one per cent of global auto sales. More than 21,000 plug-in electric vehicles have been sold in Canada since 2011. The plug-in hybrid Chevy Volt leads, followed by the all-electric Tesla Model S and Nissan Leaf. Together they account for almost 70 per cent of sales.

Meanwhile, Quebec announced Monday that it will greatly increase the number of fast-charge stations for electric vehicles along one of the province's busiest highways. Quick-charging stations will be added in two phases in six communities along the 580-kilometre stretch of Highway 20 between Montreal and Mont-Joli.

Couillard said the announcement demonstrates the province's drive to encourage the use of such vehicles and reduce greenhouse gases. The province aims to increase the number of electric and hybrid vehicles on Quebec roads tenfold to 100,000 by 2020.

Couillard said interest in electric cars is growing exponentially, but infrastructure needs to be deployed at a speed that accommodates growing demand.

Source: Carmakers, Canadian governments tackling electric car range anxiety

European electric and plug-in hybrid sales for Jan to April

When it comes to global electric-car sales, the Renault-Nissan Alliance leads the way.

The conjoined carmakers have sold more electric cars than any others, and the Nissan Leaf is the best-selling electric car in history.

In Europe, the two carmakers have competed for the top spot in battery-electric car sales over the past few months.

DON'T MISS: Plug-in electric car sales for May flat: Leaf struggles despite range boost

The Renault Zoe was Europe's best-selling electric car last year, but was surpassed by the Leaf in March.

The Leaf managed to stay on top at least through April, according to the running tally of electric-car and plug-in hybrid sales kept by the European Alternative Fuels Observatory (EAFO).

Nissan's electric car achieved 8,058 sales between January and April, maintaining its lead over the Zoe, which managed 7,466 sales.

However, the Leaf's market share also shrank from 13.1 percent in March, to 12.5 percent in April.

The Tesla Model S remained in third place, with 4,166 sales in the first four months of 2016.

As always, it's hard to know how the Tesla figures is calculated, as the company does not release monthly sales results.

ALSO SEE: Plug-in Electric Car Sales in Canada, May 2016: Canada crosses 20,000 cars with plugs

It may be extrapolated from quarterly sales figures, or based on individual country registration data.

The Volkswagen e-Golf and BMW i3 stayed in fourth and fifth place, with 2,918 and 2,056 sales, respectively.

They were followed once again by the Kia Soul EV, which racked up 1,425 sales between January and April.

Interestingly, the seventh-place slot—accounting for 1,051 sales—is listed only as "unknown."

This may refer to miscellaneous models or small neighborhood electric vehicles that sell in quantities too small to warrant month-to-month monitoring.

The Mercedes-Benz B250e landed in eighth place, with 979 sales.

CHECK OUT: Electric-car interest in France spikes due to gas shortage

It was followed by the Volkswagen e-Up (873 sales), an electric version of the VW Up city car that isn't sold in the U.S.

Finally, the Peuegot iOn rounded out the top 10 with 695 sales.

The iOn is a Peugeot-badged version of the Mitsubishi i-MiEV.

The Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-In Hybrid was the best-selling vehicle of its kind for the first four months of 2016.

Through April, it racked up 8,293 sales, and held 12.8 percent of the market.

That's almost double the 4,224 sales of the Volkswagen Golf GTE in the same period, although the Outlander's market share slipped somewhat from the 13.1 percent recorded in March.

The Volvo XC90 T8 "Twin Engine" retained third place with 3,487 sales, followed by the Audi A3 e-tron (2,831 sales) and Volkswagen Passat GTE (2,495 sales).

They were in turn followed by three luxury models: the BMW X5 xDrive 40e SUV (2,073 sales), Mercedes-Benz C350e sedan (1,539 sales), and BMW i3 REx city car (1,406 sales).

The extended-range electric i3 REx is considered a plug-in hybrid for the purposes of the EAFO tally.

The Volvo V60 Twin Engine diesel-electric wagon again came in ninth place, with 1,150 sales.

Finally, the BMW 225xe Active Tourer took the 10th-place spot 1,096 sales.

This front-wheel drive hatchback is unrelated to the 2 Series coupe and convertible sold in the U.S., although its plug-in hybrid powertrain may be appear here in the next-generation MINI Countryman crossover.

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Source: European electric and plug-in hybrid sales for Jan to April

ClipperCreek now offers “Ruggedized” Charging Stations for electric vehicles

The ClipperCreek HCS-40 Level 2 electric vehicle charging station is now available with a "Ruggedized" option. The HCS-40R and HCS-40PR (with NEMA 6-50 or 14-50 plugs), feature a rubber overmolded SAE-J1772 connector, a field-replaceable connector latch, and a five year warranty. The HCS-40R and HCS-40PR are affordable solutions designed for fleet, parking lot, and extreme weather conditions, and it's a popular choice for the BMW i3.

The Ruggedized option is offered at an additional $100 to the base price of $565 for the hardwired HCS-40 and $589 for the plug-in HCS-40P.

Features of the HCS-40R and HCS-40PR include:

7.7kW of power to charge your vehicle quickly

Impact and crush resistant SAE-J1772TM connector

Type 4X watertight and corrosion resistant rubber overmolded EV connector

25 feet of charging cable for installation flexibility and superior vehicle reach

5-year warranty

Field-replaceable latch

Wall mount SAE-J1772TM connector holster included

Integrated cable wrap making storing the cable simple and convenient

Rugged, fully sealed NEMA 4 station enclosure for installation anywhere

ClipperCreek customers are supported by an outstanding customer service team

No assembly required

Made in America

The HCS-40R and HCS-40PR are available for purchase immediately at www.clippercreek.com or by calling the ClipperCreek customer service center 877-694-4194.

Source: ClipperCreek now offers "Ruggedized" Charging Stations for electric vehicles

Marchionne says electric Maserati may debut by 2019

Ask Sergio Marchionne's opinion on the prospects of making a profit on producing electric-vehicle versions of Fiats or Chryslers, and he's likely to shoot the concept down. Bring that price point up into Maserati range, though? That apparently may be in the works, according to Bloomberg News.

The famously EV-averse Marchionne says the company may start work on an electric vehicle for its hoped-for Maserati Alfieri model. Additionally, a hybrid version of the Maserati Levante SUV may also be developed during the next few years. The EV may be available by 2019, while the hybrid may start sales shortly thereafter. Meanwhile, Fiat may also be working on an electric city car, which would be its first in Europe.

The key, of course, is the price point. The Maserati brand means that a new EV may be a legitimate competitor to Tesla Motors because such a badge could approach the $100,000 threshold where the Tesla competes. Marcionne has long professed that it's nearly impossible to mak e money on electric vehicles. Earlier this month, Marcionne, speaking with UK's Car magazine, suggested that Tesla Motors is the best example of this theory, because, for all the demand for and growth of the California-based company, Tesla has never made an annual profit.

And while the Fiat 500e electric vehicle has been feted for its style and performance, Marchionne has always insisted that the model was produced strictly to comply with California's zero-emissions policy, and that the company loses about $10,000 on each 500e it sells.

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Source: Marchionne says electric Maserati may debut by 2019

Electric car maker eyes 2 California cities for factory

By Dale Kasler, The Sacramento Bee (TNS)

Saturday, June 18, 2016 | 2 a.m.

Sacramento is in the running once again for a major factory in a hot high-tech industry: electric cars.

After losing its long-shot bid for Tesla Motors Inc.'s battery plant in 2014 to Northern Nevada, Sacramento has emerged as one of two California cities being considered for a 1,300-employee factory to build electric vehicles. Sacramento's rival in California is Tracy, although the manufacturer is looking at out-of-state locations, too.

The company is Atieva USA Inc., a Silicon Valley startup that's being bankrolled in part by a Chinese Internet billionaire. Its interest in Sacramento and Tracy was disclosed in documents filed in January with a state financing authority, but it didn't become public knowledge until Thursday.

Atieva is the latest in a series of startups attempting to break into the electric car business, a tiny but growing corner of the automobile market. Some industry analysts question the staying power of some of these companies, but say having a deep-pocketed investor could help Atieva gain ground.

In January, Atieva secured $44.7 million in sales-tax breaks from the California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority. Marc Lifsher, a spokesman for state Treasurer John Chiang, who chairs the authority, said Thursday the tax relief is contingent on the company choosing a California location.

"Site selection for both the new headquarters and the manufacturing facility is currently underway, with potential locations for the manufacturing facility identified in Tracy and Sacramento, as well as out-of-state locations," according to an authority staff report. The company expects to make the decision "by the first half of 2016" and break ground in the third quarter, the report said. The plant would cost $530.7 million.

The staff report didn't identify specific locations under consideration in Sacramento or Tracy. Sacramento County's chief deputy county executive for economic development, Rob Leonard, wasn't available for comment. Barry Broome, the head of the Greater Sacramento Area Economic Council, declined comment.

Officials at Atieva, based in Menlo Park, couldn't be reached for comment.

Atieva was founded in 2007 by former employees of Tesla and Oracle and was originally bent on building car batteries. According to the January state staff report, major shareholders include an affiliate of China's state-owned Beijing Automotive Industry Holding, Palo Alto venture capital firm Venrock and a Chinese investment fund geared toward clean technology.

Numerous media reports say another key financier is Chinese billionaire Jia Yueting, who made his fortune with an internet-content company that's known as "the Netflix of China." He reportedly is now itching to topple Tesla founder Elon Musk for leadership in the electric car business.

Yueting also reportedly is the money man behind Faraday Future, the Gardena company that recently broke ground on a $1 billion electric car factory near Las Vegas and is negotiating to build a plant at the former Mare Island naval shipyard in Vallejo. According to Reuters, the first news outlet to report on Atieva's factory project, Atieva has raised several hundred million dollars in total.

But the company has reportedly undergone some turmoil. The U.K. newspaper the Guardian reported in April that the founder and first chief executive, former Tesla official Bernard Tse, exited the company last fall amid disagreements with Beijing Automotive. The newspaper also said Beijing Automotive sold its stake in April to Jia Yueting. The web entrepreneur might wind up merging Atieva with Faraday, the Guardian added.

Atieva is among a spate of companies seeking traction in a small but fast-growing market.

"The whole area's kind of like the Wild West right now," said Ed Kim of Tustin market researcher AutoPacific Inc. "New players keep coming in."

Kim said he wasn't familiar with Atieva but said having major Chinese backing could help the startup gain traction. And Tesla has shown "it's certainly not impossible for a startup to come in," he added.

On the other hand, analyst Karl Brauer noted that Tesla has not made a profit yet and it's unclear if any newcomer would be able to dislodge established companies like Chevrolet and Ford, which have made substantial progress with electric cars.

"There's a collection of car companies, electric car companies, trying to crack the code on the electric vehicle business, but nobody's done it yet," said Brauer, who works for Kelley Blue Book.

Kim said Americans purchased 67,300 electric vehicles last year. That represented 0.4 percent of the U.S. market.

Officials with Atieva told Reuters that the factory will build 20,000 cars a year at first and could ramp up to 130,000 a year.

In 2014, Sacramento's Mather Commerce Park was among the California sites in the running for Tesla's $5 billion "Gigafactory" project, the subject of an intense multistate bidding war. Gov. Jerry Brown's administration made recruitment of Tesla a priority, and legislators considered a series of tax credits and other incentives. But Tesla executives said all along that California wasn't likely to get the 6,500-employee factory, and Sacramento officials acknowledged they weren't likely to sway the firm.

Lured by hefty incentives from Nevada, the company chose a spot east of Reno for the factory, which will build car batteries. The decision became political fodder in California, where Republican gubernatorial candidate Neel Kashkari said Gov. Jerry Brown didn't do "nearly enough" to sway Tesla. Brown said the Tesla wanted too much, including a "massive cash upfront payment."

Source: Electric car maker eyes 2 California cities for factory

Board OKs Tax Credit for 3rd California Electric Car Company

A state board on Thursday approved $10 million in tax credits for NextEV USA, the latest electric vehicle company to establish its U.S. headquarters in California.

The company with Chinese financing based in San Jose, California, is the third in the hyper-competitive electric car market to receive a multimillion-dollar tax credit from California Competes, a board that hands out credits to promote job creation.

NextEV is promising to create more than 900 research and development jobs in California by 2020 in exchange for the tax credits, which were among nearly $47 million approved Thursday.

The company's first commercial vehicles are slated to go to market in China next year, NextEV attorney Paula Brown told the board, but the "brains and the heart of that car is Silicon Valley."

NextEV has not decided where to conduct its manufacturing, but is considering California, Brown said. The jobs being added will be primarily in research, engineering and design, and could include a San Francisco design center, she said.

"2019 will be a global vehicle, which means it has to be much higher safety standards than the vehicle that we're planning for China," Brown said.

Gov. Jerry Brown's administration previously awarded $15 million for Tesla for 4,400 jobs. Tesla opted last year to build its new battery plant in neighboring Nevada.

The administration also approved $12.7 million for Glendale-based Faraday Future, which has promised to create nearly 2,000 jobs at facilities in Gardena, Rancho Dominguez, San Jose and Redwood City by 2020. The Chinese-owned company also has broken ground on a Nevada manufacturing facility.

Other credits approved Thursday include:

-- $6 million to OWB Packers Inc. to create 605 jobs in Brawley, in the Imperial Valley near the Mexican border.

-- $3 million to Pabst Brewing Company to create 328 jobs in northern or central California.

-- $3 million to GreenPower Motor Company Inc., an electric bus manufacturing company, to create 190 jobs in Porterville.

-- $1.6 million to Qico Inc., a cremation equipment manufacturer, to create 80 jobs in San Diego.

The board also rescinded three tax credits after the companies said they would not meet their job creation targets, including $1.5 million approved for IBM, which had promised to invest nearly $90 million in office space, furniture and fixtures and hire 84 full-time employees in San Francisco by 2017 at a minimum annual salary of $135,000.

The state Franchise Tax Board reviews the businesses after the tax credits are approved, but it does not make those records public.

In response to a California Public Records Act request from The Associated Press about the IBM tax credit, the agency released a one-page document that said "Go-Biz determined that IBM will not meet its milestones and that it is in the best interest of California" for the credit to be returned. It said IBM did not object.

In a statement provided to the AP, the company noted that it never collected any of the tax credits.

© 2016 Associated Press under contract with NewsEdge. All rights reserved.

Source: Board OKs Tax Credit for 3rd California Electric Car Company