Purchasing Nissan’s Leaf pure-electric vehicle is a four-part process and the carmaker wants to make sure that potential customers how to go about it by announcing an outline. Delivery is set to start in December in some markets. Registration can be made online. Customers can then reserve a Leaf starting in April and order one in August. Nissan has yet to reveal which markets will be the first recipients of the vehicle. Interestingly, the process coincides with the end of a 24-city U.S. and... Read More

As you may know already Audi is working hard on its upcoming electric cars, but today we find out something new regarding these cars. It appears that the German manufacturer is planning to use e-Tron designation for its electric vehicles, just like the current vehicles bear the “quattro” designation. According to the latest reports, Audi will produce an initial run of 100 units of its e-tron electric sports car at the Ingolstadt factory in 2012, but an expansion of the production... Read More

The New York Times reports: "A FEW blocks from the Tesla Motors dealership here is one of California’s public charging stations for electric vehicles. But the Tesla Roadster, just the sort of vehicle that planners had in mind when the statewide network was conceived, cannot be charged there. “It’s an inductive charging system,” Jeremy Snyder, general manager of the Tesla showroom, said of the facility. Translation: the inductive connector is not compatible with the Roadster,... Read More

Finally, the Tesla Roadster electric car is available in right-hand drive, in order to bring some joy for the Queen. Also, it appears that the car is available with some improvements over previous left-hand version such as a new sound system and new noise-reduction materials. The model is available now at Tesla’s Knightsbridge showroom in London with a price tag of £86,950. The Tesla Roadster will be followed by the Model S saloon, set to debut in 2012. “The right-hand-drive model... Read More

MINI’s electric venture, one of the steps in BMW’s Project i, has been receiving an intriguing response from customers who have piloted the innovative MINI for six months. Generally, they are happy with one exception. As one would predict with an electric vehicle and an underdeveloped infrastructure, customers have what is being called "range anxiety." Basically, they feel as though they are being controlled by an "electric leash," that prohibits how far they can... Read More

This is the production version of Tesla’s Model S luxury electric hatch that will go on sale in 2012. The Model S is a five-door car that has the same size as the BMW 5-Series. It will likely be sold in the UK after its launch. Incidentally, Tesla’s European HQ will open in London later this year. According to Tesla’s engineering boss, former Jaguar and Lotus man Peter Rawlinson, the car is “deep in the design and engineering phase.” It is claimed that the Model S is... Read More

Audi’s E-Performance initiative, which it set up late last year, has released its second car – the new e-tron. An affiliate, Audi Electronic Venture (AEV), oversees the project. The AEV works with universities, research institutions and start-up companies in the areas of electronics, mobility and design. Frank van Meel, head of Audi’s vehicle electrification strategy, said that the company is seeking to establish concepts that can be put into production. Van Meel said that instead... Read More

By 2020, electric vehicles will still not have become a mainstream phenomenon, according to a study by Boston Consulting Group. Xavier Mosquet, leader of the firm’s global automotive practice, points out that the main reason is said to be high battery costs. Mosquet said automakers are unlikely to reach their long-term cost target of $250 per kilowatt-hour for lithium ion batteries. Currently, the price is $1,000 to $1,200 per kilowatt-hour. This study is well-timed for discussion as automakers... Read More

The competition is getting fiercer between Daimler AG and BMW AG as they race towards achieving serial production of small electric cars. Both are intent on changing their reputations of only creating high-performance luxury cars that are not at all fuel-efficient. Daimler and BMW have long been reliant on V-8s that are used on the BMW X6 crossover and the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Gullwing. But now, these companies are focused on their efforts to develop zero emission vehicles. Last July, BMW decided... Read More

A McKinsey & Co. study revealed that by 2015, electric vehicles could account for up to 16% of new-vehicle sales in New York City. According further to the management consulting firm, New York could see the total number of electric cars reach 70,000 over the next five years. These statistics indicate how the auto industry as well as government leaders in the US and other countries, are preparing for the entry of electric vehicles into global markets in the next few years. The study also estimates... Read More