Even though Porsche’s September Taycan debut is set in stone, it just can’t help itself with the teasers. While the images probably won’t mirror the production version exactly (that paint job certainly won’t fly), Porsche seems to be implying the bodywork seen here is headed for the assembly line.

From what we can see, there’s a lot left over from the Mission E. The overall look has softened slightly, but the broader strokes of the concept vehicle remain largely intact. Take the headlamps, for example. The overall shape has changed, resulting in something more in line with the rest of the brand’s lineup. However, they maintain the same bulb layout as the Mission E.  (Read More…)

Everyone’s favorite Danish designer has put his plans for an electric performance sedan on hold, turning his attention instead to an affordable, mass-market electric SUV.

Half a century ago, the foremost automotive trend was ordinary family cars stuffed to the gills with huge, fuel-sucking V8s. Today, if you’re not planning a bland, long-range EV with a liftgate and a somewhat sensible price, you’re nobody. Henrik Fisker doesn’t want to be a nobody. (Read More…)

British tabloid The Sun reported this week that the next James Bond movie will feature an all-electric Aston Martin Rapide E as 007’s featured ride in an effort to give the government-sanctioned killer a greener persona. While Bond films have featured countless vehicles, Astons are typically reserved for series’ titular hero — though he has driven a weird amount of Fords throughout the years.

Developed with loads of help from Williams Advanced Engineering, the Rapide E will be James’ first electric vehicle (watercraft and moon buggy excluded) and was an intentional decision on the part of the film’s director, Cary Joji Fukunaga, to update the character. “The decision was spearheaded by the film’s new director, who’s a total tree-hugger,” claimed The Sun’s unnamed source. “He is working directly with Aston Martin to get one of their electric cars ready for its big close-up.”  (Read More…)

While Porsche has already confirmed its first-ever all-electric model for a September debut, parading it around in Mission E guise, the production Taycan remains a bit of a mystery. Most, including yours truly, are under the assumption that the finished model won’t look all that different from the prototype (probably with a dash of Panamera). But that’s based on little more than a gut feeling and a couple of design sketches the automaker quietly released this week.

In fact, Porsche was so quiet about the drawings, it only bothered sharing them with individuals on the model’s waiting list.  (Read More…)

You can’t tell the masses that, if they can’t afford the latest and greatest green vehicle, they should get used to riding a bike or a bus. Volkswagen seems to realize that.

As it prepares an even larger complement of electric vehicles than originally thought, the automaker isn’t forgetting the little guy. VW plans to spread its MEB platform far and wide — reaching even entry-level consumers who can’t pay for more range.

(Read More…)

If the industry’s Magic 8 Ball worked with 100 percent accuracy, no vehicle would ever land with a disappointing thud. Sales projections would always be on target, and smooth sailing would be assured.

Alas, predicting consumer appetite and market forces is never that easy, but Volkswagen feels confident it can beat its already ambitious electric vehicle targets, both in terms of models offered and vehicles bought. It’s so confident, in fact, that it’s officially raising its own bar. (Read More…)

After creating ripples throughout the automotive community by announcing an all-electric next-generation Macan small crossover, Porsche might go a step further and ditch the model’s name altogether.

Talk about severing links to the past… (Read More…)

Unlike another German automaker, BMW isn’t jumping into “electromobility” (gag) with both feet. There’s an element of restraint in the automaker’s electrification plans, unlike Volkswagen’s bid to put 1 billion EVs on the moon by next week. Thanks to this cautious blend of profit-mindedness and environmental consideration, we now have high-margin vehicles positioned above the X7 SUV. (Bimmer needs the dough for green things.)

But electric BMW vehicles are already here, and more are on the way. Normal-looking ones, too, like the iX3 crossover — a battery-electric version of the popular X3, due to start rolling out of China next year. At least, Bimmer was due to begin exporting it, until the automaker took the needle off the record. (Read More…)

Kia’s much-teased EV concept turned out to be less attractive and more serious than we initially assumed. Following an announcement suggesting the vehicle’s wild arrangement of 21 interior screens was a humorous jab at industry trends, the automaker officially debuted the car at the Geneva Motor Show. Styled at the company’s European design centre in Frankfurt, the “Imagine by Kia” concept manifested into a slightly puffy crossover serving as an exercise in design.

In the end, Imagine is guilty of some of the show car sins Kia seemed to be railing against. For starters, it uses a single sheet of glass for the windscreen and roof, features rear-hinged doors at the back, rides on bespoke Goodyear tires, and hosts the ever-popular menagerie of interior displays.  (Read More…)

The German Association of the Automotive Industry, known in its native tongue as Verband der Automobilindustrie (VDA), says its members have formally committed themselves to investing 60 billion euros (roughly $68 billion USD) into electrification and vehicular autonomy over the next three years.

The claim was made as part of a larger announcement serving as a rundown for what German automakers hope to achieve in a period where nothing seems certain.

The European Union, along with China and several other nations, have committed themselves to embracing electrification in a bid to lower emissions and modernize roadways. “In the next three years, we will invest over 40 billion euros in electric mobility, in addition to a further 18 billion euros for digitalization, and the development of networked or automated vehicles” said VDA President Bernhard Mattes, adding that German automakers anticipate 100 EV models on offer to the public by the end of that period.  (Read More…)

Hoping to start this week in better form than last week, Tesla CEO Elon Musk took to Twitter Sunday to generate buzz ahead of the Model Y’s debut. The upcoming crossover, based on the Model 3 sedan, will see the light of day on March 14th at the company’s L.A. design studio, Musk said.

As for when customers can expect to see one, that’s a matter for the bookies. (Read More…)

The $35,000 Model 3 is here. Fittingly, perhaps, it’s three years late.

Tesla has promised a $35,000 version of the Model 3 since announcing the car in 2016, but the company focused on more-expensive variants at first to help get the model off the ground without tanking the company in the process. It needed the large profit margins from the higher-priced Model 3 to help the company turn a profit for back-to-back quarters for the first time.

Now you’ll be able to buy multiple versions of a Standard Range trim. The base version of which will be available for $35,000 and have a 130-mph top speed and a range of 220 miles. Zero to sixty should take 5.6 seconds.  (Read More…)

Polestar, Volvo’s former performance division (which parent company Geely insisted be spun off as its own electric car brand), announced its second automobile on Wednesday. Whereas the Polestar 1 was a 600-horsepower hybrid coupe, Polestar 2 adds a set of rear doors and does away with internal combustion altogether.

For all the “Tesla fighters” out there, this one comes the closest to giving the Model 3 a run for its money. With a targeted range of 275 miles, accomplished via a 78-kilowatt-hour battery pack structurally integrated into the vehicle’s floor, Polestar 2’s in the sweet spot for range. But it also happens to be the correct shape (five-door fastback) and price to ensure its gets stuck in Elon Musk’s tastefully shorn hair.  (Read More…)

Ahead of its debut at the Geneva Motor Show, Honda has revealed the prototype of its upcoming “urban electric vehicle” in full, providing tasty yet bittersweet catnip for eco-conscious American drivers who have neither the funds nor patience to hop aboard the Tesla train.

The e Prototype, a successor to the brand’s 2017 Urban EV concept, should give buyers a good sense of what they’re in for. European buyers, that is. Despite the considerable buzz generated by this car, it stands to remain well out of reach for North Americans. And, depending on your point of view, that’s a shame. (Read More…)

So, perhaps not cheapest for long. Tuesday, the German automaker announced its next-generation Macan crossover will divest itself of internal combustion for its next generation.

By adopting new architecture and dropping its gas powerplant, the Macan, refreshed for 2019 and currently starting at just a tick below $50k U.S., will become the company’s third electric vehicle. It’s unlikely the S and GTS variants will survive, but perhaps the Macan will retain TURBO badging of a non-turbo nature? (Read More…)