Australian adoption of electric vehicles is on the rise, but we still lag behind much of the developed world when it comes to electric (EV) and plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV) sales and support. UPDATE, 6:16pm: The story has been updated with direct quotes from Behyad Jafari, CEO of the EV Council...
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) will move production of its Discovery SUV to Slovakia from early next year, the company has confirmed this week, in a bid to prepare its Solihull, UK, facility for a new generation of electric vehicles (EVs)...
General Motors and Honda have announced a partnership to develop advanced battery components, in an attempt to speed up the rollout of electric cars that are attractive to consumers. The agreement will see the two companies collaborate on development of GM's next-generation battery systems, with Honda to source its battery modules from the American giant...
The Kia Niro EV has been presented at the Busan motor show in Korea this week, accompanied by new details regarding additional variants and the driver-assistance technologies on offer. It appears the Niro EV has a lot in common with the Hyundai Kona Electric, with Kia confirming the electric SUV's 150kW/395Nm electric motor which exclusively drives the front wheels – contrary to previous coverage suggesting it would feature the Ioniq Electric's lower-output 88kW/295Nm unit...
Audi says that whilst sports cars can be made with the current-generation of lithium-ion batteries, the need for lighter, smaller and higher capacity units in the form of solid-state battery technology will likely be the answer to proper lightweight electric sports cars...
Adam Levine may be known best as the lead singer of Maroon 5, but he's also quite the Porsche fan. In a new video published by the German sports car maker, the singer/songwriter steps out of his classic black 356 Speedster for a spin in the Mission E concept to see if it addresses his feeling that electric vehicles "don't have a soul"...
Elon Musk is promising to fix the problems with the Model 3's braking performance, after Consumer Reports – a similar publication to Choice – returned poor results in its braking tests, and dubbed the car 'not good enough to recommend'. During testing, Consumer Reports discovered "flaws – big flaws" with the 'affordable' Model 3's brakes...
After ending his Formula 1 career with Red Bull Racing, Mark Webber made the switch to World Endurance Championship (WEC) racing with Porsche. He's not competing anymore, but the Porsche partnership isn't over...
Tesla has finally announced what we can expect from the Model 3 Performance, which should be making its way to US customers soon. So, what's the story? Tesla knows a thing or two about acceleration, so we'll start there. The 0-60mph (0-97km/h) sprint takes 3.5 seconds in dual-motor Performance models, before topping out at 250km/h...
Formula E isn't the only race series with its sights set on transforming the world of motorsport. The fully-autonomous Roborace category is aiming to take the focus off humans and put it onto self-driving technology with a futuristic, sci-fi inspired racer...
Avid motoring enthusiasts probably remember Volkswagen towing a Boeing 747 with a diesel V10 Touareg. People saw diesel very differently in 2008, and the 747 was still alive and kicking. Now, Tesla and Qantas have teamed up for a more up-to-date take on the same stunt...
Elon Musk has confirmed the order books will open for dual-motor and performance-oriented Model 3 variants this week, with production to start in July. The news was announced (surprise surprise) on Twitter, and matches an April tweet claiming the expanded line-up would be available from "probably July"...
Audi has announced plans to sell 800,000 pure-electric and plug-in vehicles in 2025, as the brand doubles down on its commitment to electric mobility. Rupert Stadler, Audi AG board chairman, said the company wants to "revolutionise mobility" and become the top luxury manufacturer in the e-mobility space – not exactly unique goals, given both BMW and Mercedes-Benz are aggressively planning their own plug-in revolutions...
Audi has released another teaser for its upcoming all-electric e-tron, this time in the form of a towing test with the e-tron Vision Gran Turismo. Released ahead of the annual GTI Meet at Lake Worthersee, a celebration of all things performance in the world of Volkswagen Group, the images are designed to illustrate the practicality on offer in all-electric cars...
Sales of the Nissan Leaf have jumped by 15 per cent over the past 12 months, thanks to strong demand across the USA, Japan and Europe. Nissan shifted more than 50,000 units worldwide – 54,541 to be precise – in the Japanese FY2017, eclipsing the 42,473 sold in the same period (April 1 - March 31, Japanese financial year) across 2016 and 2017...
Nissan has unveiled an updated e-NV200 van, complete with a bigger battery and faster charging, but it's still not on the cards for Australia. Although it's very similar to the existing car on the outside, the e-NV200 update is packing a 40kWh battery in place of the 24kWh unit currently offered, making for a zero-emissions range of 300km per charge...
Kia Australia is planning to skip importing existing hybrid models altogether as it seeks to bring at least two pure-electric vehicles to market by 2021. Speaking to CarAdvice in Brisbane this week, Kia Australia's chief operating officer, Damien Meredith, said that the decision to skip hybrid vehicles in its entirety makes sense for the brand, as there is currently no demand for either type of alternative fuel vehicles, so it may as well start with the better option...
Tesla has paused Model 3 production for up to five days, as it seeks to improve automation processes in its Fremont, California, factory. According to a report in BuzzFeed, the break in production came as a surprise to employees, who have allegedly been forced to use annual leave or stay home without pay...
Nissan has positioned itself at the forefront of electric vehicle (EV) development, driving the move to e-mobility with cars like the Leaf. But before electrification was the talk of the town, and before the first-generation Leaf, there was the two-seat Tama, developed by Prince Motors – which eventually became Nissan...
PSA Group, parent of Peugeot, Citroen, DS and Opel, has created a new standalone electric-vehicle division as it seeks to catch the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance in the burgeoning e-mobility space. The company wants the spinoff 'business unit' to "respond to the challenges of the energy transition and to build an efficient and coherent offering of electric mobility solutions" for the ever-changing automotive landscape...
