Mitsubishi i comes off with AeroVironment home charger

AeroVironment will be an authorized nationwide supplier of home charging systems for electric vehicles, including their installation and support services, for the 2012 Mitsubishi i. AeroVironment’s Level 2 home charging station being offered with the Mitsubishi i is capable of recharging a fully depleted battery in approximately 7 hours, or 80 percent in less than 30 minutes.

Read more...

Hybrid sales to reach 8.3 million by 2020 – ABI Research

Market research firm ABI Research sees the annual sales of vehicles powered by both electricity and fuel increasing to more than 8.3 million by 2020, representing about 11 percent of new vehicles sold. The introduction of the first plug-in and all-electric consumer vehicles from major manufacturers in 2011 and 2012 will trigger steady growth in this sector for the next eight years, ABI Research said.

Read more...

Smith Electric Vehicles, Wanxiang to team up for commercial EV’s

Electric vehicle maker Smith Electric Vehicles Corp. and China’s Wanxiang Group Corporation will be investing up to $75 million in a joint venture to develop, manufacture and commercialize all-electric school buses and commercial vehicles in China. The two companies signed a letter of intent at the U.S.-China Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum in Los Angeles held this week, in conjunction with a state visit by Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping.

Read more...

Toyota starts assembling 7,000 hybrid Camrys for Taiwan

The hybrid version of North America's bestselling car, the Toyota Camry, has started production of its 2012 model in Taiwan, with 7,000 vehicles expected to roll out for the local market by the end of the year. Toyota said production started on February 15 at its production affiliate, Kuozui Motors, Ltd. As with the rest of the Camry line, this year’s Camry Hybrid is on an all-new platform, although on the outside it is identical to the previous model.

Read more...

Tesla says Model X sales reach $40 million in one day

Tesla Motors said advance sales of its new electric vehicle, the crossover SUV Model X, have exceeded $40 million one day after market launch. Tesla unveiled the Model X Thursday evening last week, a car that it said it will begin to deliver in early 2014, with a target of selling 10,000 to 15,000 units per year. The company will manufacture the cars at its Fremont, California factory starting by the end of 2013.

Read more...

Hertz to be among the first to try EV wireless charging

Car-rental company Hertz Corporation will take part in a large-scale testing of wireless charging for electric vehicles with Virginia-based company Evatran, becoming the first car rental company to try the technology. Hertz, the world’s largest airport general-use car-rental brand, said the trial will follow the company as it uses Evatran’s Plugless Power systems on their own electric vehicles which are part of Hertz’s Global EV program.

Read more...

Zero and Chinese company emerge on top of e-motorcycle ranking

A California-based EV specialist and a Chinese company topped Pike Research’s latest ranking of the 12 leading manufacturers of electric motorcycles and scooters in the world. Still in its infancy, Pike Research said the industry is booming in the Asia-Pacific. An estimated 17 million two-wheeled electric vehicles was delivered in the region in 2011, while shipments for the rest of the world were probably only 30,000 last year, Pike Research estimated.

Read more...

Quantum, SBE Inc. to develop electric drive-train solutions

Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide, Inc. and SBE, Inc. have announced a technology partnership to develop advanced electric drive-train buses. SBE, Inc. is providing a novel integrated capacitor/bus structure design solution to Quantum which specializes in the development and production of advanced propulsion systems.

Read more...

World’s first diesel plug-in hybrid goes on sale next year

Sales of Volvo’s new plug-in hybrid, the Volvo V60, will start at the beginning of 2012. The V60, billed as the world’s first diesel plug-in hybrid, starts at 57,000 euros ($75,160). After the initial batch of 1,000 cars for model year 2013, the company said production of the V60 plug-in hybrid will increase to between 4,000 and 6,000 cars as of model year 2014.

Read more...

Los Angeles extends BYD’s plugin hybrid testing for a year

The Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles extended an existing contract allowing electric cars from BYD Motors Inc., to run with their fleet as part of testing program. The agency is using seven F3DM plug-in hybrid compact sedans from the Chinese car maker to conduct housing inspections to help BYD determine how the car functions in real driving conditions.

Read more...