The 2-seat PB18 e-Tron (a reference to the words Pebble Beach and the year 2018) concept car was developed at Audi’s newly established Design Loft in Malibu, CA, as part of an internal program investigating design ideas for possible future...

Researchers found the “green” value of EVs can vary dramatically across the U.S. due to climate differences, whether producing the electricity to recharge them relies on fossil fuels, and how far the vehicles are driven each day.

While most emergency-fire-response teams are well-versed in extinguishing fires in gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles, a recent fire in a Tesla Model X raised the issue of whether crews should undergo mandatory specialist training.

SEAT, together with VW Group China and JAC, will establish an R&D center in China to develop electric vehicles, and connectivity and autonomous-driving technologies, including parts and components.

HonestJohn.co.uk Managing Editor Dan Powell says high list prices, range anxiety and limited access to charging points have been routinely blamed for slowing EV sales, but the issue of high insurance premiums has been quietly ignored.

Called SmartCharge, the Honda beta program uses the Fit EV’s onboard telematics system and eMotorWerks’ JuiceNet software platform to compute optimal vehicle charge times.

“We believe hydrogen fuel-cell technology is the best clean energy that can be carried on board a vehicle,” says Toyota engineer Andrew Lund. “Batteries are heavy and take a long time to recharge.”

GM will turn over fewer engine families than it has historically and optimize existing architectures for use in its HEVs, PHEVs and EREVs to help preserve capital, engineering executive Mike Anderson says.

Electrification is on the way, but for now automakers are pushing hard to gain as much efficiency as possible from traditional internal-combustion engines.