E-Mobility

Fully electric vehicles now occupy only four of the top dozen or so slots in the greenest American cars ranking, down from seven last year. The plug-in or gasoline hybrids of the 2022 model year turned out to be more energy-efficient than new EVs that are constantly growing in size and horse power.

After a two-year fight with Tesla's assembly quality, repair customer service, and interior trimmings, a Model S owner finally traded it for a Chrysler 300. The big V8 sedan checked all the boxes for them, down to the fact that they have physical knobs to control the A/C or car stereo volume while driving without looking to a screen.

While the newly released pictures of Lexus' electric BEV Sport certainly look impressive, a lack of detailed information and Lexus' overall vague language hint at a very long waiting period until the high-performing spiritual successor to the legendary LFA will finally hit the red-hot electric car market.

Rivian detailed its R1T electric truck's protection system aimed at preventing theft or damages to the expensive EV. Called Gear Guard, the sentry kit consists of five cameras offering a full 360-degree around the R1T at all times, a virtual Yeti sentinel, and the good ol' steel cable to guard your belongings.

NIO will be starting the first deliveries of its groundbreaking ET7 performance sedan with 600+ miles of range in Q4 and the Beijing municipality has prioritized the factory buildout of its 150kWh semi-solid state battery maker. Tesla's new design center is listed among the other priority projects of the local government, too.

A recent study of footage of Tesla's 'Full Self-Driving' software, captured by Tesla owners, has left some experts with concerns for its safety. However, many vehicle owners taking part in the autonomous driving Beta defended the testing, arguing that it was vital for development.

An investment vehicle of the billionaire George Soros has staked US$2 billion in Rivian Automotive, the maker of the R1T electric pickup truck and the R1S midsize electric SUV. The R1T production delays, however, have sent Rivian's share price down 43% in 2022 alone, and the Soros Fund Management stake is now worth just $1.17 billion.

Tesla finally has some exciting news about the follow-up to its original Roadster EV as its design chief hinted they are still "feverishly" working on its development though a release probably won't happen before 2023. Tesla's design exec also said that Apple has long dropped the ball on the looks and excitement its products bring.

With an expected peak power output of almost 180 horsepower, Triumph's electric motorcycle prototype TE-1 will likely throw shade at direct competitors like the American icon Harley-Davidson and its electric two-wheeler called LiveWire.

Thanks to its beefy tires and dual LED headlights, very light adults may enjoy the rather outdated but relatively affordable Jeep Razor RX200 electric off-road scooter, even though it remains unclear what makes Jeep's newest two-wheeled EV a better choice compared to the cheaper and already available regular Razor RX200.

Qualcomm has just announced that it has become a Premium Partner in Scuderia Ferrari's campaign for the 2022 FIA Formula One World Championship. This new agreement will also see much more Snapdragon technology in the classic Italian marque's next generation of road cars as well. Qualcomm will also become involved in the brand's eSports concerns.

From solid-state battery investments to hitting a production capacity for 600,000 electric vehicles by 2023, Ford wants to be the "true EV leader" in the U.S. In order to achieve this, Ford will invest up to US$20 billion more on top of its US$30 billion EV commitment by 2030, spearheaded by an ex-Tesla and Apple Car executive.

Tesla lost US$101 million on its crypto investments in 2021, reveals its latest SEC filing, as Elon Musk's buoyant $US1.5 billion Bitcoin purchase saw some writedowns throughout the year and towards the crypto price crash at its end. Tesla previously profited from a March sale of some of its Bitcoin holdings, and now holds US$1.99 billion worth of bitcoins.

Incidents with Teslas in the Full Self-Driving Beta mode have been reported, but there was no evidence to confirm them for the NHTSA so far. A YouTuber took the newest FSD Beta 10.10 update for a drive around San Jose and experienced what could be the first self-driving Tesla accident caught on tape in real time.

The new cylindrical 4680 battery that Tesla intends to start placing in its electric vehicles as soon as this quarter will also be produced by Panasonic later this year. Panasonic commented that, since Tesla has placed a huge order for them, it will be given 'top priority' as a client for its first 4680 batteries to be shipped later in 2022.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has filed a recall request with Tesla for an issue affecting the seatbelt fastening chime. The warning sound fails to engage when the driver exits the vehicle when it's on and then returns, so Tesla will have to issue an OTA fix for the affected Model 3, Y, S, and X vehicles.

A problem with Tesla’s “rolling stop” feature has been found, which has led to the company recalling nearly 54,000 cars. The feature, part of the Full Self Driving software, could mean that your vehicle does not come to a halt at a stop sign, which is illegal.

Toyota Camry can feel safe that its 28-year reign at the top of the new car sales ranking hasn't been abruptly brought to an end by the Model 3 EV. Tesla Australia, it turns out, has claimed record Model 3 sales in error, putting its numbers at odds with the actual vehicle registration data in defiance with the 'truth in reporting' initiative of a local industry board.

Panasonic claims to have pioneered the "world's first integrated-frame lens", a new type of lens suitable for demanding and potentially crucial use-cases such as the far-infrared sensing needed for effective person- or object-avoidance of the autonomous vehicles touted to take over in the future. Furthermore, this new advancement might boost the integrity of these lenses while reducing the cost of making them.

Tesla's gross profit margin is one of the highest in the industry, it turns out, as it costs Tesla just US$36,000 on average to build one of its electric vehicles. A healthy 29% profit margin is something many carmakers can only dream of, yet Tesla is determined to bring production costs even further down going forward.

It took a bog standard Porsche Taycan less than two and a half hours on the charger and US$76.82 in electricity costs to cover the 2,834.5-mile distance between Los Angeles and New York. "Hypermiling" aficionado Wayne Gerdes managed to shorten the previous Guinness world record's fast-charging time by nearly three times.

Tesla has released a new gadget, the TeslaMic, with its Chinese New Year software update. The device can be used to play karaoke in your car, with the Leishi KTV app included in the update.

Instead of creating a battery development and manufacturing partnership with Rivian, Samsung created such a joint-venture with Stellantis, as the maker of the R1T electric pickup went into a production delay spiral. Not only couldn't Rivian commit on purchase volumes, but it also wanted "unacceptable" technology transfers.

The electric car pioneers from the Alliance of Renault, Nissan, and Mitsubishi will be investing US$26 billion in the next five years towards fleet electrification with the goal to have 35 new EVs by 2030. Not only that, but Nissan is tasked with the mass production of an all-solid-state battery before the end of the period.

In a recent press conference, Tesla confirmed that it would not be releasing any new vehicles this year. Musk confirmed rumours that Cybertruck production would be delayed until 2023 at the earliest.

In addition to being more efficient by using more regenerative braking, Tesla's latest Autopilot software update is also supposed to provide an improved driving experience in slow stop-and-go traffic.

The range of BMW's powerful electric SUV apparently holds up quite well when being driven at high speeds which are prohibited in many countries around the world.

Instead of relying on touch-sensitive buttons, a new iteration of Tesla's futuristic yoke steering wheel in the Model S and Model X could be equipped with a regular horn.

General Motors announced the biggest single production investment in its history, a nearly US$7 billion outlay aimed squarely at the production of the Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra electric trucks. GM plans to surpass Tesla and become America's largest EV manufacturer, and will start by converting the Orion factory in Michigan into an electric truck plant, as well as invest in battery cell production there.

The NIO ET7 and ET5 performance sedans that are sizing up Tesla's Model S Plaid won't be the first electric cars with semi-solid state batteries, as a humble taxi fleet just got its first delivery of EVs with such packs. Made by the world's largest lithium producer Ganfeng, the E70 electric cars' battery packs are made with solid electrolyte diaphragm.

Volkswagen has finally previewed its new bus - the first of its kind to be electric. It has been revealed to have a design somewhat like the original's hallmark shape - however, it will be outfitted with considerably more up-to-date tech. They include an AR heads-up display, LED headlights and a new kind of wheel.

The Chinese car company Geely allegedly has plans to start making phones as well. To this end, it is said to be in talks to acquire the OEM Meizu. Meanwhile, the same brand has confirmed that it will release 2022 devices with Qualcomm silicon, prompting the release of an image projecting how such handsets might look.

The now announced Yamaha EMF electric moped comes with a futuristic and sporty design, a swappable Gogoro battery system and impressive performance specs including a quick 0 to 50 kph time of just 3.5 seconds.

About 80% of the electric vehicles currently on the market, as well as the ones that will appear up to three years from now, will be able to use the new EVOGO battery swap station network of the world's largest EV battery maker CATL. The cross-platform EVOGO network is achieved by an innovative rented battery block concept that can be used for swaps by most EVs out there in 125-mile range increments.

The first felony charges against a driver using a widely available autonomous driving system like Tesla's Autopilot have been pressed in California after a deadly crash. The U.S. government has been investigating a number of incidents involving Tesla cars in Autopilot and Traffic Aware Cruise Control modes since last August, too.

More performance sometimes results in a higher power consumption, which is why Tesla had to inform certain customers that the projected range of their ordered Model 3 is lower due to the recently introduced AMD Ryzen CPUs which now power Tesla's infotainment systems.

The rather sophisticated but still imperfect workaround that enables Apple CarPlay on Tesla's infotainment system may present technically inclined users with an experimental method to improve the connectivity between their iPhone and their electric car.

Subaru Tecnica International, the motorsports focused arm of Subaru, has revealed a new concept car. The all-electric STI E-RA has four motors which can deliver up to 1,073 hp.

This new software update for the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y apparently initiates the recalibration of a vital component of the heat pump, which may have caused some defects and the failure of the entire heating system in very cold winter temperatures.

Mazout is a new start-up targeting the growing electric 2-wheeler market in India. However, the company asserts that its upcoming motorcycle will be the country's first example of the "cruiser" variety. A prototype of its flagship has been previewed at events such as the EV India Expo 2021 thus far.

The world's largest electric vehicle battery maker CATL isn't optimistic about the speed of solid-state battery development and pegs 2025 as the year when the first samples will appear. CATL expects just 1% of electric cars to boast solid-state batteries by 2030.

Hyundai Motors plans to release no less than seven electric vehicles in the U.S. this year among all of its brands like Kia or Genesis, starting with the base Ioniq 5 model. The existing factories in Alabama and Georgia may be retrofitted for expanding EV production in America according to Hyundai's US$7.4 billion manufacturing plan, but President Biden's pending subsidies for carmakers registered with the United Auto Workers Union may tip the scales in the Tennessee plant's favor.

Even though Tesla claimed that it has solved this already known issue of the Model 3 and Model Y with a software update, owners are still reporting heat pump failures which could potentially lead to life-threatening situations when driving these electric cars in very cold winter conditions.

A 19-year-old IT and security enthusiast has managed to gain access to a number of Tesla cars in different countries following a vulnerability in third-party software or hardware that they installed. The access included key control features like "disabling Sentry Mode, opening the doors/windows and even starting Keyless Driving," in addition to honking the horn or taking over the car stereo while driving.

Tesla scrubbed all Cybertruck 2022 production references from its website recently and threw those who hit the preorder button in a state of confusion. It turns out that Elon Musk may simply be preparing for a grand 2022 Tesla product roadmap unveiling during the next quarterly conference call where the top Cybertruck electric pickup trim and its pricing will be revealed.

LG has scored another electric vehicle win after making its durable dual-stack OLED displays the preferred choice for in-car infotainment systems. Not only will LG be providing the flexible OLED panel for the unique Mercedes EQS pillar-to-pillar Hyperscreen, but it also announced that its new infotainment system will be present in the EQS electric performance sedan as a full package.

With only two wheels and about 1,000 less horsepower than the thunderous Bugatti Veyron, the first electric vehicle made by the French company comes as a bit of a surprise since it appears to be nothing more than an electric scooter.

The already rumored upgrades to the headlights, taillights and charging port of the 2022 Tesla Model S have now apparently been confirmed by pictures of an official production unit which has been spotted in a Tesla showroom in Taiwan. However, not all of these updates are necessarily expected to make their way to the North American market.

Tesla has asked its fanbase to contact the Governor, Senate, and Assembly of the state of New York and ask them to allow direct sales of electric vehicles. In some U.S. states, car manufacturers can't sell directly to buyers.

A prototype of the EV with cryptomining capabilities has been driven on public streets in Canada during a first test drive, and this milestone for the Daymak Spiritus has of course been captured in a recently released video.