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Category: ElectricVehicleTrends

ElectricVehicleTrends

  • Driverless Cars More Popular Than Lab Meat and Brain Implants, At Least

    Driverless Cars More Popular Than Lab Meat and Brain Implants, At Least

    The Pew Research Internet Project just published the results of a big survey on “science in the next 50 years,” and the general finding is that the majority of Americans think technological advancements with make life better.

    One area of tech progress that people still can’t seem to agree on is driverless cars, or self-driving cars, or whatever you want to call them. The point is that Americans are oddly wary of having a robot take them to the grocery store.

    Pew asked this question to over a thousand people: Would you ride in a driverless car?

    Astonishingly (to me, at least), 50 percent of those asked said no, they would not ride in a driverless car. On the other hand, 48 percent said that they would, so at least most people are decisive on the issue.

    This makes driverless cars only 22 points more popular than brain implants and 28 points more popular than lab-grown meat.

    As you might expect, there’s an interesting divide in who supports the idea of driverless cars and who doesn’t like the sound of them.

    “48% would like to do this if given the opportunity, while 50% say this is something they would not want to do. College graduates are particularly interested in giving driverless cars a try: 59% of them would do so, while 62% of those with a high school diploma or less would not. There is also a geographical split on this issue: Half of urban (52%) and suburban (51%) residents are interested in driverless cars, but just 36% of rural residents say this is something they’d find appealing,” says Pew.

    Good news for the college grads and urban enthusiasts–they’re coming. Sure, the technology is having to jump through dozens of legal hoops, but tons of companies are developing or planning to develop driverless technology. Of course, Google is the most well-known of the bunch–but other companies are getting in on the ground floor, for instance Tesla.

    Some analysts even think that the majority of automobile sales will come in the form of driverless cars as early as the year 2035. In 20 years, these analysts predict that driverless car sales could exceed 12 million units.

    So, where do you stand? Lover or a hater?

  • Tesla Fight in Jersey Gets Anthony Weiner Comment

    Despite his misfortune of being a fellow named “Weiner” who got caught up in a scandal of his own making for sending pics of his Johnson to someone, the former U.S. Representative from New York is still amazingly relevant.

    Anthony Weiner isn’t going away. His latest public move was to write an op-ed piece for Business Insider that came as a shock to many. Weiner, a well-known Democrat who championed the notion of the public option during the early days of the Obamacare fight, actually came out in defense of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s recent decision regarding Tesla Motors.

    Christie had come under fire by some for denying Tesla the right to sell their vehicles in New Jersey through a direct sales process, rather than the more traditional car dealership model that has been in place for as long as anyone ca remember.

    Tesla stores are not like typical car dealerships. These stores are typically in malls. You can see a car, learn about the engineering process, and schedule a test drive. But you can not buy the car there. A Tesla purchase is made online, straight from the company.

    Car dealerships don’t like this sales model. And when Chris Christie struck it down in New Jersey, he removed a piece of what many see as healthy competition with the good ol’ boys car selling club.

    But Weiner made several salient points that have made some sit up and take notice.

    “Why would you want to have laws that require a car be purchased through a local dealer? Perhaps to protect a purchaser’s rights to easily enforce the warranty. To ensure the state’s ability to enforce the reams of unique state legal requirements that govern automobile sales, service and even disposal maybe. Or, it might just be a run-of-the-mill instinct for local rather than federal regulations to govern what, for many Americans, is the biggest purchase of their lives. You may not agree with these conclusions, but these are longstanding laws and there was a robust back-and-forth about them well before Tesla drove onto the scene.”

    Governor Christie, meanwhile, says that the ban on Tesla’s sales in New Jersey is because the New Jersey legislature – specifically the Motor Vehicle Commission – has set the rules for how cars can be sold in New Jersey.

    Image via Tesla Motors

  • Tesla Sales Jeopardized in New Jersey

    Tesla Sales Jeopardized in New Jersey

    It’s clear now that Tesla Motors is a threat to traditional automakers. The company’s luxury Tesla Model S receive the highest safety rating ever from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and was recently named Consumer Reports top car of 2014. All this from an electric car that is pushing the auto industry toward future technology.

    More than just pressuring the auto industry, however, the very way that Tesla is doing business is threatening to flip the U.S. car sales industry on its head. While most car companies in the U.S. use dealership franchises to sell vehicles, Tesla instead prefers to sell directly to consumers. Tesla this week was banned from doing just that by a New Jersey regulation requiring car sales be performed through franchises, rather than through company stores or online.

    The New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (NJMVC) this week passed a new regulation requiring the dealership middlemen for car sales. This is despite the fact that New Jersey had already issued two dealer licenses for Tesla store locations within New Jersey. Under the new regulation Tesla may be forced to stop selling its vehicles out of those stores.

    Shortly before the new rule was approved Tesla released a missive on its blog condemning Governor Chris Christie’s administration for going back on assurances that the matter would be settled in the New Jersey legislature. From the blog post:

    Unfortunately, Monday we received news that Governor Christie’s administration has gone back on its word to delay a proposed anti-Tesla regulation so that the matter could be handled through a fair process in the Legislature. The Administration has decided to go outside the legislative process by expediting a rule proposal that would completely change the law in New Jersey. This new rule, if adopted, would curtail Tesla’s sales operations and jeopardize our existing retail licenses in the state. Having previously issued two dealer licenses to Tesla, this regulation would be a complete reversal to the long standing position of NJMVC on Tesla’s stores. Indeed, the Administration and the NJMVC are thwarting the Legislature and going beyond their authority to implement the state’s laws at the behest of a special interest group looking to protect its monopoly at the expense of New Jersey consumers. This is an affront to the very concept of a free market.

    New Jersey is not the only state to require car companies to use middlemen for car sales. Though Tesla is working hard with state governments to change current law throughout the nation, other groups such as the New Jersey Coalition of Automotive Retailers are fighting just as hard to keep the current car sales model alive.

    For its part, the New Jersey Coalition of Automotive Retailers has issued a response to Tesla’s accusations via its Facebook page. The organization suggests that Tesla either start using dealership middlemen like everyone else or work to change New Jersey law.

    Post by New Jersey Coalition of Automotive Retailers.

    Image via Tesla

  • Best Cars of 2014: Consumer Reports List

    Best Cars of 2014: Consumer Reports List

    One of the esteemed authorities of reviews, Consumer Reports, has recently released their best car list of 2014. The company uses excellence in three categories– test performance, reliability and safety to choose the cars that we all should be looking at. Consumer Reports separated cars into a variety of categories, from small SUV, midsize sedan, compact car and midsize SUV to green car, pickup truck, luxury car, sports sedan and minivan. The best of these had the highest ratings from Consumer Reports National Research Center which garnered reports from subscribers as well as government and insurance industries to get their results. The winners of each car are the following:

    Small SUV
    Subaru Forester’s roomy rear seats, 35 mpg on the highway and its affordable price make this mini-SUV the top of the line.

    Midsized sedan
    Honda Accord wins for probably the 1,000th time with a mpg as good as their subcompact car. The Accord’s ride is always above average, but there is a noted reliability issue with the HondaLink infotainment system on the EX-L versions.

    Compact car
    Subaru returns agains with its Impreza, coming in a sedan and hatchback version with a roomy interior and great fuel economy.

    Midsized SUV
    Hyundai steps into the top ranks with its seven-passenger Santa Fe that offers a smooth exterior and luxurious ride.

    Green car
    Larry David would approve–Toyota Prius hold the crown on the best green car again.

    Pickup truck
    The Ram 1500 edges out over the Chevrolet Silverado due to the Chevy’s reliability issues. Its powerful 5.7-liter V8 and quiet cabin make the Ram 1500 the pickup truck to beat.

    Luxury car
    The Audi A6 garners the words “impeccable” and “sumptuous” even from Consumer Reports as the diesel-powered V6 Audi with 28 mpg wins the best luxury car of 2014 title.

    Sports sedan
    The BMW 328i takes the cake with a turbo-charged four-cylinder engine with 28mpg. This year, BMW also releases a diesel version called the 328d which is greatly received.

    Minivan
    The Honda Odyssey can carry eight people, has “decent” fuel economy and a V6 engine. At its great price, it also has features such as a backup standard as standard.

    If you’re looking to purchase a new car or make an upgrade, this list will surely help you narrow things down a little. If you want to go big and green, go for the Consumer Reports best overall car, the luxury electric Tesla Model S. It runs in the $90,000 price range, but the streets as well as Consumer Reports will definitely approve.

    Image via NDN

  • Tesla Model S Tops Consumer Reports’ 2014 Car Picks

    Tesla Model S Tops Consumer Reports’ 2014 Car Picks

    Last year Consumer Reports reviewed the Tesla Model S, giving it a 99 out of 100 – the best score the publication has ever given a vehicle. That review was then backed up by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which gave the Model S the highest safety rating it has ever given a car. Now that sentiment has been sustained over the past year to the new Consumer Reports’ annual auto issue.

    Consumer Reports has chosen the Tesla Model S as the overall best vehicle for 2014. The car was chosen for both its performance and what the publication calls its “impressive technological innovations.” This is despite the car’s current hefty price tag.

    Having an electric car top the Consumer Reports list is actually one of a few surprises for the Consumer Reports 2014 top car picks. The Ram 1500 was named this year’s best pickup truck, marking the first time in 16 years that a Chrysler vehicle has taken a top spot in the publication’s yearly rankings.

    Japanese car brands took only five top spots in this year’s report, the fewest of any year since Consumer Reports began picking top cars yearly. Honda and Subaru both placed two cars in four different categories (the Honda Accord, Honda Odyssey, Subaru Impreza, and Subaru Forester), while Toyota placed only one (the Toyota Prius).

    “The competition in the marketplace has grown fierce,” said Rik Paul, automotive editor at Consumer Reports. “There was a time when a handful of brands dominated our Top Picks list, but in recent years we’ve seen a more diverse group make the cut.”

    The Toyota Prius’ place at the top of the green car category was the least surprising aspect of this year’s list. The Prius has now topped that category for 11 years straight.

  • Yes, Tesla Talked to Apple, But Acquisition Is Unlikely

    Yes, Tesla Talked to Apple, But Acquisition Is Unlikely

    Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed that people at Tesla did meet with people at Apple, but it’s unlikely that any rumored merger will take place. Musk did say that “if” the talks had anything to do with a possible acquisition, he’d be unable to talk about it anyway.

    This comes in response to a big rumor floating around the tech world–one that suggests Apple was in talks to acquire electric vehicle company Tesla. This past weekend, the San Francisco Chronicle quoted an anonymous source who claimed that Adrian Perica, Apple’s merger and acquisitions chief, met with Elon Musk in Cupertino last spring.

    “If one or more companies had approached us last year about such things there’s no way we could really comment on that…We had conversations with Apple, I can’t comment on whether those revolved around any kind of acquisition,” said Musk in an interview with Bloomberg TV.

    Musk reiterated that Tesla is not for sale, as their main focus in “achieving a compelling, creating a compelling mass-market electric car.”

    “I would be very concerned and any kind of acquisition scenario that we would become distracted from that task, which has always been the driving goal of tesla,” said Musk.

    True or not, the rumors pushed Tesla stock over $200 for the first time ever earlier this week.

    Last month, Musk announced plans to build “the biggest battery plant in the world by far,” saying that Tesla would “do it in partnership with the with some other companies.” We’ll know what that looks like soon, but it’s at least possible that Apple could be one of those “other companies.”

    If you were wondering how the financials would look if this were to happen, Apple has stockpiled about $160 billion in cash, and Tesla’s market cap sits at an estimated $24 billion. But once again, this is a highly unlikely pairing.

    Image via Elon Musk, Twitter

  • Electric Vehicle Production to Ramp Up This Year

    Millions of electric vehicles are set to hit U.S. and European roads in the coming decade. This trend is already beginning as government mandates and consumer demand catch up to electric car technology.

    Market research firm IHS today released a new report predicting that electric vehicle production will increase 67% this year compared to 2013. The report estimates that more than 403,000 electric vehicles will be produced this year. That total includes both fully-electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.

    Much of this production growth will be driven by emissions standards. Governments in Europe are mandating lower emissions targets starting in 2014, driving electric vehicle production in the region. IHS sees Europe, the Middle Ease, and Africa alone as making up 40% of electric vehicle production this year. North America and the Asia/Pacific regions combine for another 30% of production.

    While the growth in electric car production in 2014 doesn’t represent the millions that are predicted to sell in the coming years, it does mean that consumers in many areas of the world will have a new choice. More top vehicle manufacturers are set to debut electric vehicles this year as the market for electric car charging grows to sustain them. In the years beyond 2014 IHS sees better battery technology making electric vehicles an even better value proposition for car buyers.

    “European emissions standards are tightening in the second half of this year with the implementation of the European Commission’s Euro 6 legislation,” said Ben Scott, analyst for Automotive at IHS. “At the same time, European automakers are introducing compelling new EV models, such as the BMW i3. These factors will boost EV demand and manufacturing in Europe in 2014.”

    Image via Tesla

  • Nissan Leaf Sales Slow, Yet Set January Record

    In 2010, Nissan became one of the first companies in the world to unveil a completely electric, emission-free automobile, the Nissan Leaf. When first released, however, the electric car craze had yet to hit the United States. Thanks to recent innovations and attention from the Tesla Model S and the Chevy Volt, however, the popularity of all-electric vehicles has begun to soar. While the Nissan Leaf may not have the name recognition of its competitors, its features and affordability make it one of the best all-electric models on the market.

    Last month, Nissan sold its 100,000th Leaf, making the Leaf the number one selling electric vehicle in the world. (A number which Nissan celebrated by gluing 100,000 coins onto the car.) Despite selling more cars than any other electric car manufacturer, Nissan saw sales of the Leaf drop considerably from December to January. In December 2013, Nissan sold 2, 529 models. In January 2014, Nissan only sold 1,252. While this number is less than half of what it was one month earlier, the sales show a 92.6% increase from sales in January 2013, when Nissan sold 650 units total.

    The 1,252 units sold this January is a new record for January sales for the Nissan Leaf.

    One may wonder why the Leaf is performing so well when it often plays third fiddle in the media behind the Chevy Volt and Tesla Model S. For starters, one has to look at the price. The base model Leaf sells for $21,300 here in the US. That fact, coupled with government incentives for buying an electric vehicle and lowered prices due to moving manufacturing from Japan to Smyrna, Tennessee, make the Leaf a much more affordable option than the Chevy Volt or Tesla Model S. Aside from that, however, is the fact that the Nissan Leaf is superbly built.

    The 99,999th buyer of a Nissan Leaf, Amy Eichenberger of Charlottesville, Va., explains why she made the switch from a Mercedes to a Nissan Leaf:

    “As an architect, the style first got my attention, and I loved the concept of zero emissions… I’d been told once I drove a Mercedes I’d never drive anything else again. I don’t need fancy, but I do appreciate the solid feel and craftsmanship of a luxury vehicle, and I get that in the LEAF… The general fuel economy out there is unimpressive and many of them felt tin-canny. I didn’t even want to look at anything in the 20 MPG range. I considered the VW Jetta TDI, Toyota Prius, Honda CRV and a couple of Subaru wagons, and I always came back to the Nissan LEAF. Everything else seemed stuck in the past.”

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylePiNsCCFY&list=UUW47Uio6Y_pC_0No0Reak-g&feature=c4-overview

    Fortunately for Nissan, the United States is not the only location where the Nissan Leaf is succeeding. In Norway, the Leaf has led all vehicle sales several times in the past year. In fact, Norwegians buy so many EVs that it ranks number 1 in the world in per capita EV ownership, with 21,000 Norwegians, out of 5 million total, owning an electric vehicle.

    If an all-electric vehicle is not appealing enough, just wait. Last year in Japan, Nissan tests a prototype version of the Leaf with fully-automated controls. The test turned out to be quite a success; therefore, one may see self-driven Leafs on the road sooner than later.

    Image via Twitter

  • Tesla Stock Rockets Despite Hazardous Adapter Recall

    Tesla Stock Rockets Despite Hazardous Adapter Recall

    The fourth quarter was a definite success for Tesla Motors Inc.

    The electric car maker indicated yesterday that its Model S sedan deliveries surpassed original predictions by 20 percent. As Tesla delivered about 6,900 sedans during the quarter, shares shot up by almost 16 percent.

    “We look forward to 2014 with anticipation,” said Jerome Guillen (vice president of global sales and service) at a Detroit Auto Show news conference, adding, “On the sales and service side – of which I’m responsible – it’s reckless growth.”

    Guillen later corrected himself, saying he misspoke and meant to say “relentless growth”; however, speculators might call this a Freudian slip, given the less optimistic press Tesla got on Tuesday when U.S. safety regulators classified Tesla’s move to upgrade wall adapters and charging software as a “recall”. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration claimed in documentation that, “An overheated adapter, cord, or wall receptacle, increases the risk of burn injury and/or fire.”

    These safety statements follow the company’s Friday announcement and Sunday letter regarding a small number of fires relating to the adapters.

    Tesla announced it would provide new adapters and software upgrades to customers to avoid charging system overheating, but C.E.O. Elon Musk quickly disputed the NHTSA’s choice of words via Twitter. He explained that the software upgrade was done last month over the air and that owners would receive the new adapters via mail.

    Although the company says it will recall 29,000 chargers, it has denied that the charger itself was the cause of the fire.

    Musk declared that the software update “alone addresses any potential risk,” before describing the strategy: “I call it a belt and suspenders approach, so even though we feel very confident about the software update, the adapter is something that provides additional surety.” He then added, “We just want people to have absolute peace of mind.”

    “Peace of mind” is something Tesla investors can also look forward to maintaining, as the company’s stock continues to ascend and remains unaffected by the adapter matter. Per Guillen, the company expects its global sales and service locations to double in 2014. Meanwhile, Tesla’s Model X crossover is still in progress, as they are “feverishly” working to introduce it later this year.

    Image Via Youtube

  • U.S. Electric Car Sales to Top 2.6 Million by 2022

    As consumers begin to view electric cars more favorably, the market for such vehicles has now opened up for manufacturers. As the cost benefits for electric vehicles continues to improve, consumers in North America are now set propel significant growth for the burgeoning industry.

    Market research firm Navigant Research today released a report predicting that plug-in electric vehicle sales in North America will hit 2.6 million total from 2013 to 2022. The sales will be led by states such as California, New York, Florida, North Carolina, and Texas.

    Chevy and Nissan, which currently lead the plug-in electric vehicle market with their Volt and Leaf models, are expected to lead sales in the coming years now that, according to Navigant, their vehicles are available throughout the U.S. Other models from the likes of Ford, Toyota, Honda, and Tesla are also expected to spur competition and eventually sales by the beginning of the 20s.

    “In both Canada and the United States, the market for plug-in electric vehicles is expanding rapidly as these vehicles become more widely available,” said David Alexander, senior research analyst at Navigant. “Overall, sales of PEVs in North America are expected to expand at a significantly higher rate in the next 10 years than that of the general light duty vehicle market.”

    Navigant expects the industry’s growth to be supported by the simultaneous growth of a charging infrastructure for electric vehicles throughout the U.S. It has already been estimated that 40% of U.S. households could use electric vehicles without changing their daily driving habits, and the coming growth of electric car charging stations could go a long way to making the vehicles viable for the rest of the population.

  • AT&T To Provide Wireless Data For Tesla and Audi Vehicles

    AT&T To Provide Wireless Data For Tesla and Audi Vehicles

    AT&T this week announced that it has signed a multi-year agreement with Tesla to provide wireless data for Tesla vehicles. The deal covers current Tesla vehicles such as the Model S as well as future Tesla vehicles.

    Tesla is a U.S. automaker known for its premium-priced electric vehicles.

    According to AT&T it will be providing data connectivity for many different Tesla systems, such as remote engine diagnostics, telematics, and (of course) in-dash entertainment options such as streaming radio and other apps.

    “Tesla’s goal has always been to catalyze the market for electric vehicles for all consumers while providing an exceptional driving experience,” said Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla. “AT&T’s advanced and reliable wireless connectivity will help Tesla continue to deliver a cutting-edge ownership experience.”

    In addition to Tesla, AT&T announced this week that it will also be offering to add Audi vehicles to its customers’ wireless plans. AT&T customers will soon be able to make Audi’s new A3 sedans to their Mobile Share data plans.

    Audi’s 2015 A3 vehicles will come equipped with 4G LTE capabilities and Audi has announced that it will soon roll out 4G to all of its vehicles. According to the car company, consumers will be able to use AT&T’s data to access “Audi connect,” which includes navigation, text-to-speech news headlines, and social media alerts. Consumers will also be able to use the connection as a Wi-Fi hotspot, allowing up to eight devices to connect through the car’s 4G data.

  • Consumers Are Coming Around on Electric Vehicles

    As prices drop and technologies improve, electric vehicles are now set to become a mainstay on U.S. roads and even in the U.S. military. Though adoption rates for the technology are clearly on the way up, manufacturers will still have to convince Americans that electric vehicles are cost effective, safe, and reliable.

    Market research firm Navigant Research today released a survey report showing that American opinions on alternative-fuel vehicles are steadily improving. The firm found that around 67% of those surveyed now view hybrid vehicles favorably and that 61% now view plug-in electric vehicles favorably. Natural gas vehicles were also found to be viewed favorably by around 56% of those surveyed.

    The survey also found that consumers looking for alternative-fuel vehicles are most concerned about saving money. Fuel efficiency was a top concern for potential buyers, followed by other factors such as performance and the size of such vehicles.

    Though the industry has obviously hit a tipping point, Navigant also found that manufacturers will have to work hard to build awareness for their brands. The survey found that less than half (44%) of respondents knew of the Chevrolet Volt. Awareness for other brands was even lower, with less than 33% having knowledge of the Tesla Model S, Nissan Leaf, and BMW i3.

    “Two-thirds of consumers surveyed stated that they believe EVs have unique features that stand out from their gasoline counterparts, and 6 out of 10 agreed that EVs are much less expensive to own in the long run than gasoline cars,” said Dave Hurst, principal research analyst at Navigant. “While those are encouraging numbers, it’s clear that automakers still have a long way to go in marketing these vehicles to the wider car-buying public.”

    (Image courtesy Tesla Motors)

  • Elon Musk Calls Media Coverage of Tesla Unreasonable

    Elon Musk Calls Media Coverage of Tesla Unreasonable

    In the past couple of months, several fires have broken out as a result of accidents involving Tesla Model S cars and multiple purchasers. As the company fought to repair the damage, their stock price zig-zagged as if it were riding a rollercoaster; this week, USNews.com reports CEO Elon Musk condemning the media coverage of the car fires as “extremely unreasonable.”

    When Tesla went public in June 2010, a share sold for $17. Prices were booming as high as $176 earlier this month, but the numbers plummeted as the media circulated news of the fires, the first of which happened on Oct. 1. Acknowledging his awareness of his investors’ expectations, Musk said “I don’t believe in talking up the stock… I think the stock is a good deal where it is right now.”

    When questioned about whether a regulator has examined the car fires and if the Model S will be changed to prevent them, Musk reiterated that he considered himself a “perfectionist” when it comes to safety, and that nobody has yet been seriously injured while driving a Tesla.

    Musk asserts the car is just as safe as every other car on the road, and that the fire reports are exaggerated. “The headlines are extremely misleading,” he said. Confronting reports from the National Fire Protection Organization that 2010 saw 184,500 vehicle fires in the United States, Musk quipped “How many times have you read about that?”

    An unnamed spokesperson for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released a statement that read “The NHTSA is in close communication with Tesla and local authorities gathering information about the incident to determine if additional action is necessary.”

    Tesla has sold roughly 18,000 cars since launching its first model in 2008; by the end of 2013, Tesla expects to have constructed an additional 20,000 Model S cars.

    The fires may have been caused by the car failing to protect its battery pack, but analyst Thilo Koslowski with the Garter automotive technology research firm explained that it’s too early to conclude the fires will be a frequent problem with the Model S.

    Max Wolff, chief economist with the ZT Wealth investment firm, said that while the car fires are less of a problem than the media says, they are a huge problem for company perception.

    “Tesla is a good company with a good product,” he said. “But Tesla stock is priced as though it is going to take over the automotive industry, and it’s not going to… Tesla is showing there is a demand for these vehicles. They are going to be in pole position on that for the near future. Other boutique makers are going to enter the market. Not so boutique car makers are also going to expand into the electric market, like Ford.”

    [Image via TeslaMotors.com]

  • Over 2 Million Electric Cars to Hit Roads in 2020

    Over 2 Million Electric Cars to Hit Roads in 2020

    Hybrid vehicles are becoming the norm in the U.S. and Europe, but fully electric plug-in vehicles are still slowly gaining traction. The reasons for this slow adoption are many, including a low install base of public charging stations and battery technology that doesn’t yet match the milage needed for some people. These factors will change in the coming decade, however, and the electric car market is forecasted for major growth in the coming years.

    Market research firm ABI Research today released a new report predicting that 2.36 million fully-electric vehicles will be shipped in the year 2020. Thhis represents a 48% compound annual growth rate from this year’s estimated 150,000 electric vehicle shipments.

    “Overall, EV sales have been disappointing so far due to a lack of choice and perceived personal benefits, high purchase prices, and most importantly, consumer anxiety about range, maximum speed, recharging times, and the lack of public charging infrastructure,” said Dominique Bonte, practice director at ABI. “However, with many car OEMs recently dropping prices and offering more choice and improved performance, full electric vehicles are on the verge of leaving their eco niche of environmentally aware and socially responsible buyers, illustrated by car OEMs such as BMW, Daimler, and Volkswagen investing heavily in electrification. Importantly, a range of emerging automotive technologies such as carbon-fiber materials, wireless in-car networking technologies, active safety including pedestrian detection and autonomous driving, connectivity, car sharing, and smart grid demand response features will support the electric automotive revolution as all new paradigms are mutually reinforcing each other,”

    According to Bonte, continued government support for the electric vehicle industry will be essential to ABI’s prediction coming true. ABI also envisions that electric vehicle infrastructure will bring with it other improvements in technology, such as smart grids and intelligent roads.

    (Image courtesy Tesla Motors)

  • Tesla Stock Drops After Fire

    Tesla Stock Drops After Fire

    Shares of Tesla Motors Inc. fell $12.05 to $180.95 after one of their electric cars caught fire. The driver of the car said he thought he hit some debris and pulled over in the car to assess the damage. Once he had exited the car, he smelled burning and then the vehicle caught fire.

    Fire fighters battled the flame which kept reigniting and claimed that it took several attempts to put the fire out completely. The trooper on the scene could not find any debris under or near the vehicle but Department of Transportation workers later found some near the site.

    Company spokeswoman Liz Jarvis-Shean said there were no indications that the fire was caused by anything other than the crash.

    “This was not a spontaneous event,” she said. “Every indication we have at this point is that the fire was a result of the collision and the damage sustained through that.”

    Under normal circumstances, investigators from NHTSA, the government’s auto safety watchdog, would travel to Seattle to investigate the Tesla crash. But with the partial government shutdown, NHTSA stopped posting recall information on its website and it was unclear when or if an investigation would begin.

    The Model S had previously received positive reviews. It received a top crash-test score from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and a tie for the highest auto test score ever recorded by Consumer Reports magazine.

    Tesla even bragged that the Model S was “the safest car in America.”

    Image from Wikimedia Commons.

  • Kia’s First U.S. Market All-Electric Car Launches Next Year

    South Korea’s second-largest automaker has announced that they will debut their first ever all-electric vehicle in the U.S. next year.

    Called the Soul EV, it’s an all-electric version of the Kia Soul, one of the company’s best-selling cars.

    Kia says that the new Soul EV will “combine the Soul’s funky and iconic design with new styling cues aimed at improving aerodynamics and distinguishing it from non-EV Souls.”

    “Eco-consciousness already comes standard on the all-new Soul with 85-percent of its materials able to be recycled at the end of its lifespan, and the Soul EV will further demonstrate Kia’s engineering capabilities as well as our commitment to producing vehicles with reduced environmental footprints,” said Orth Hedrick, executive director of product planning, Kia Motors America. “The Soul has always been a terrific choice for drivers in urban environments, and the all-new version’s blend of technology, refinement, style, improved dynamics and value has allowed us to create a car that is as efficient as it is fun to drive.”

    Kia didn’t release any more details about the upcoming vehicle, instead opting to reveal all of it down the road a major U.S. auto show. There, we’ll see images of the design, along with all specs.

    All we know is that it’ll launch in 2014. When it does, Kia will join a burgeoning EV field populated by Tesla, Nissan, Ford, Honda, Chevy, Mitsubishi, and Fiat.

    Image via Kia Motors America, Facebook

  • Tesla Plans Self-Driving Car, Elon Musk Looks for Autopilot Engineers on Twitter

    Tesla Plans Self-Driving Car, Elon Musk Looks for Autopilot Engineers on Twitter

    Although Google is the company that’s garnered the most attention when it comes to driverless automobile technology, they’re not the only ones looking to make a big push into the market – a market that is expected to grow quickly over the next couple of decades.

    Tesla is making a move to develop their own self-driving cars, and CEO Elon Musk is looking for a team to report directly to him. Musk tweeted that there is an “intense effort” at the company to develop a “practical autopilot system” for the Model S.

    He basically tweeted out a job posting as well:

    This shouldn’t come as a surprise, considering Tesla’s forward-thinking strategy. Plus, Musk said back in May that his company would eventually go in this direction.

    Tesla is looking to build a car that would be up to 90% self-driving in the next few years.

    Some analysts have suggested that half of all U.S. automobile sales could come in the form of driverless models by the year 2032. Of course, this not only depends on the rate of development of the technology, but also the speed in which states pass new laws governing driverless cars. With a strong push from Google, California Governor Jerry Brown signed a driverless car law into effect back in September of last year. Other states are also looking at ways to regulate the new tech.

    For Elon Musk, pitching a self-driving car to the public would be another task in convincing some drivers that the Tesla is the right car for them. Despite positive sales and recent news that the Tesla Model S is basically the safest car out there, some car-buyers are still wary of the electric model in general. Musk is looking to assuage those concerns by making a cross-country trip using Tesla’s supercharger stations placed strategically across the U.S. He claims that he’ll only need to charge his Model S for about 9 hours total to make it from Los Angeles to New York City.

    Image via Tesla Motors

  • Car Gesture Controls to Take Off in Next Decade

    Car Gesture Controls to Take Off in Next Decade

    Touch screens are finally making their way into car dashboards in a big way. Luxury cars such as the Tesla Model S now have entire entertainment and navigation systems running entirely off of what are essentially dashboard tablets. However, as technology continues to evolve, some market watchers are expecting that soon drivers will not have to touch anything at all to tune their radios.

    Market research firm IHS today released a new report showing that the market for gesture and proximity recognition systems for vehicles will take off in the next 10 years. The firm predicts that more than 38 million of such systems will ship in 2023, being found in around 40% of vehicles sold that year. That’s far more than the 700,000 systems that are expected to sell this year. The firm also predicts that the first “high-resolution” gesture recognition systems will show up starting in 2017.

    “The gesture is a natural method of human communication, one that is used subconsciously in everyday interpersonal communications,” said Mark Boyadjis, senior analyst for automotive infotainment at IHS. “Because of this, gestures can be used in control automotive infotainment functions ranging from navigation to satellite radio with minimum driver distraction. This, and other factors, will cause sales of proximity sensing and gesture recognition systems in cars to undergo a rapid expansion in the coming years.”

    The gesture recognition and proximity sensor systems IHS is referring to use cameras and sensors to detect user input without the need for a touch panel, knobs, or buttons. Examples include waving to tune a radio or mimicking a dial to turn volume up or down. Cadillac and Volkswagen already offer primitive proximity recognition in some of their vehicles. With driverless car technology also developing a a fast pace, drivers could soon be riding along highways, flailing their arms around without a care in the world.

  • Electric Car Sales Rising in the U.S.

    As the price and reliability of electric cars improve, manufacturers are now seeing adoption rates of the technology pick up. The U.S. in particular is seeing sales of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) soar, according to a new report from market research firm Navigant Research.

    The firm’s report predicts that PEV sales will grow 18.6% annually in the years between now and 2022. Sales are expected to be particularly high in a handful of states, including California, Washington, Florida, and New York. By percentage, Hawaii and Oregon are also expected to enjoy high PEV sales.

    “The market for plug-in electric vehicles is beginning to mature now that the most popular models, the Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf, are available in all North American markets, and Ford, Mercedes Benz, Toyota, Mitsubishi, Honda, Fiat, and Tesla are all ramping up production of competitive vehicles,” said David Alexander, senior research analyst at Navigant. “BMW and Volkswagen will soon add to the choices, and greater availability of charging infrastructure is supporting this growth. The majority of PEV sales will remain close to major cities on the east and west coasts.

    Tesla Motors in particular has seen explosive growth over the past year. The company recently announced that its Model S electric car outsold luxury car brands such as Porsche, Lincoln, and Jaguar in the state of California. It also this summer paid off a massive government loan years before it was due.

  • Porsche 918 Spyder Breaks Track Record

    Porsche 918 Spyder Breaks Track Record

    There has been much hype surrounding Tesla Motors and their new Model S lately, and rightly so. After winning many accolades, such as the 2013 Motor Trend Car of the Year, Tesla has become the bane of the motor industry. Tesla’s successes with creating a fantastic electric car have seemingly inspired other companies to follow in their footsteps and step up their hybrid game.

    Which brings us to the Porsche 918 Spyder. Porches’s newest car model was unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show yesterday and received much applause. The 2-seater car boasts a 4.6 liter V8 engine that puts out 608 hp with its gas engine. However, the engine gets a boost from 3 additional electrical motors, pushing its total horsepower to 887 total. What do all these numbers mean? Well, the Porsche 918 Spyder can go from 0-62 mph in 2.8 seconds, and 0-124 mph in 7.9 seconds. (And if that still doesn’t mean much to you, well, let’s just say this thing is damned fast.)

    Porsche put all of this magnificent horsepower to the test when it took three drivers and the 918 Spyder to the Nurburgring Nordschleife track in Germany. After a morning of driving around perhaps the world’s most trying rack-track (and giggling like 3 year old kids the entire time, I imagine), one of the drivers was able to set a new track record for the fastest time in a street legal vehicle. Porsche factory driver, Mark Lieb, was able to complete the 20.6 km long track in 6 minutes and 57 seconds, with an average speed of 179.5 km/h. (Which, for all us silly Americans who don’t use the metric system, is equivalent to travelling a 12.8 mile track with an average speed of 111.5 mph). All of this accomplished in a car that can get up to 95 mpg, which doesn’t seem either possible or fair.

    One other thing that definitely seems possible, but not fair, is the price tag. The base model of the Porsche 918 Spyder will cost $845,000. Unfortunately, that still means if I want to achieve the speeds that the 918 Spyder can reach, I will be relegated to purchasing a ticket to Cedar Point and riding the Top Thrill Dragster, which can go from 0 to 120 mph in under 4 seconds. (Eat that, Porsche.)

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Elon Musk Readies Cross-Country Tesla Model S Trip, Says He’ll Only Need to Charge for 9 Hours

    Elon Musk Readies Cross-Country Tesla Model S Trip, Says He’ll Only Need to Charge for 9 Hours

    Back in May, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced that he was preparing a coast-to-coast trip across the United States in a Tesla Model S, one that would utilize Tesla’s various Supercharger stations that have been strategically placed across the country to accommodate such trips.

    Now, that trip is about to get underway.

    Musk says that he will only need to charge his car for about an hour and a half a day. He’ll be accompanied on the trip by his 5 sons, and will begin in Los Angeles and end in New York. Every other stop on the trip has been strategically picked to be near a Supercharger station.

    A few months ago, Tesla announced a major expansion to their Supercharger project. Currently, Tesla only has 19 of these stations spread out across the U.S., (with 6 in Europe). The expansion looks to up that number to over 100.

    The Supercharger expansion also looks to increase the chargers’ efficiency. As of right now, a Supercharger can provide 200 miles for a 30-minute charge.


    U.S. Supercharger locations, via Tesla Motors

    Of course, Musk hopes this trip will assuage any concerns people have about the electric car’s ability to safely traverse long distances.

    But even with those concerns, Tesla has seen some great sales – especially in the State of California where the company outsold Porsche, Land Rover, Jaguar, Lincoln, and Volvo last year.

    Another thing adding to the Tesla Model S’s appeal – its safety. Last month, the Model S received the highest safety rating ever from the NHTSA. Parts of the car were so strong, that they even broke the test rig at one point. Now that’s some good press.

    Image via Tesla