MyOpinion

I am a gas car fan, but not in the normal way. Most self-described combustion aficionados mean they've owned a few fun cars, maybe wrenched on one or two and usually kept up with whatever's on the cover of the magazines. But I went a little further into that world. I didn't own a few cars. I owned 13 gas-burners over the course of 5 years, almost all of them old and beaten up. I didn't just read the magazines, I built my life around working for one, then became the reviews editor at Road & Track. But when I got the call to work at InsideEVs, I knew it was time to take a step into the future.

I leased a new EV. It's a 2024 Chevy Blazer EV, and I love it. Let me explain why.

Its powertrain is quieter than the smoothest BMW inline-six. It rides beautifully because it isn't trying to be a sports car or a truck. And the technology I've derided as a built-to-last enthusiast turns out to be quite charming in my day to day life. Sure, no screens and a double-din stereo would be more repairable. But it's ok to admit that I like having Google Maps and Spotify built in to my car. I love having a 360-degree camera and a power tailgate. I love knowing I have modern-car safety, with potential life savers like automatic braking with pedestrian detection. The curmudgeon in me wants to complain that humans should be able to drive without electronic aids, but a hundred years of experimenting with that has lead to a lot of deaths.

I love that my car doesn't need to be turned on or off. Like every electronic in my life, it knows to turn itself on when I start using it, and turn itself off when I walk away. I love that it still has overrides to keep it on, or force it off. I love that I can heat up the cabin without waiting 15 minutes for the engine to warm up, regardless of whether I'm driving or using remote start. I love one-pedal driving, and the feeling of a 1-to-1 relationship between my right foot and the rate of acceleration. There's no delay, no waiting for a dawdling transmission to downshift.

Most of all, I love the feeling of driving it at night. I love zooming unto a dark highway, without noise or drama, blasting into the night lit by nothing but LED headlights. I love that moment where there's a quick break in traffic, and one quick press of the throttle rockets me forward with more immediacy than the best internal combustion car can manage. And I love that I can enjoy all of this without any tailpipe emissions.

Some 295,000 plugin vehicles were registered in Europe in September, rising 6% YoY, which represents the EV market’s return to growth for the first time since April. This is even more significant when you consider the overall market fell by 4%, to 1.1 million units.

Interestingly, BEVs are the ones pushing the market upwards, growing 14% YoY to 212,000 units. PHEVs remain stuck in red, falling 9% in September to 83,000 units.

Looking at the remaining powertrains, only HEVs were positive, growing 12% YoY, while petrol was down 19% and diesel continued to free fall, dropping 24%.

As such, September’s automotive market has seen some seismic changes, with plugin vehicle share of the overall European auto market rising to 26% (19% full electrics/BEVs). Added to the 34% market share of HEVs, that means that 60% of all passenger cars sold in Europe last September had some kind of electrification.

Even more importantly, for the first time, sales of HEVs (34% share) surpassed sales of petrol vehicles (29% share) in September, a trend that is surely here to stay. Meanwhile, diesel (8%) continues to lose relevance every passing day. At this pace, I wouldn’t be surprised if diesel was dead in Europe before 2030, with petrol following it a couple of years later.

These results kept the 2024 plugin vehicle share at 22% (15% for BEVs alone) through the end of September, which is only 1% less than where we were a year ago, at 23%.

Finally, looking at the sales breakdown between BEVs and PHEVs, despite the good result for pure electrics in September, they represented 72% of all plugin sales, and they are at exactly at the same level in 2024 as they were a year ago (67%). With new or refreshed models landing soon for both powertrains — namely, cheaper BEVs and longer range PHEVs — and new CO2 ceilings in Europe, it will be interesting to see how the two technologies behave next year.

Battery-electric vehicles (BEV) are now hitting an all-time record of 22.2% market share in the state – more than twice the national BEV market share.

Germany's car giants were once the envy of the world, but now find themselves facing a myriad of threats.

BMW and Mercedes-Benz have issued profit warnings in recent weeks amid slumping EV sales in Europe and brutal competition in China, while Volkswagen is also facing a reckoning.

On Wednesday VW said net profit for the three months to September 30 plunged by almost 64% to 1.57 billion euros, with a 30% decline to 12.8 billion euros for the first nine months of the year.

A 4% rise in vehicle sales in North America and 16% growth in South America for the nine months was offset by a 1% decline in western Europe and a 12% slide in China — VW's biggest market outside Europe. It now expects to deliver about nine million vehicles this year, or about 240,000 fewer than 2023.

Volkswagen is seeking to cut billions in costs after issuing two profit warnings in three months. On Monday, its top union official said the company was planning factory closures in Germany for the first time, along with pay cuts and layoffs. The Golf and Polo maker is one of Germany's biggest employers with about 300,000 workers

Wired magazine does not devote a lot of time to electric cars, so when it runs a story saying the new Renault 5 EV is will be a “smash hit,” it’s time to sit up and pay attention. Now, before we get carried away, Wired gives the Renault 5 a rating of 8 out of 10 — good, but not perfect. Range could be better and back seat passengers may find leg and hip room a little tight, but there is a lot to love about the new car, starting with styling.

“The new Renault 5 EV is unashamedly nostalgic in look, mining a design trend that’s been around so long that retro is almost retro,” Wired says. “Yet when you see it in the flesh for the first time resistance is futile. Here, surely, is the electric car that will demolish any lingering preconceptions, a surprisingly sophisticated conduit for all-round feel-good vibes that’s packed with big-car tech.” That is high praise indeed. Renault boss Luca de Meo couldn’t agree more. “Some products are magical,” he said. “You don’t have to hold endless discussions, everybody is always in agreement on what needs to be done. And they do it. There’s no inertia.”

Renault 5 EV Shines

A little history is called for. The Renault R5 first appeared in 1972 as a competitor to the Fiat 127 (which later was produced in Russia as a Lada before it reappeared later as the Yugo). From 1976 until 1983, it was sold in North America as Le Car, a rather sly way of emphasizing its Gallic origins to customers who would not know an R5 from an avocado. The R5 was no track day star. It came with a 782cc 4-cylinder engine. A 956cc engine was optional and a 1289cc engine was made available in 1974. Despite its modest power, the R5 was the best selling car in France (and much of Europe) from 1972 until 1986. It was cheap to buy, economical to operate, rugged, and one of the first cars to feature a hatchback instead of a trunk.

Wired writes, “The new R5 aims to brighten your day via its candy colors, and an exterior and interior design that prompts an expertly executed Proustian rush. The silhouette might be familiar, but the new car has fuller proportions and imaginative postmodern touches galore. There’s a cheeky little four corner graphic in the headlights that ‘winks’ as you approach. The foglights below mimic that motif, while the vertical taillights are another echo of the original. They’re now designed for a degree of aerodynamic efficiency that would have boggled the minds of Renault’s engineers back in the day. The chunky wheel arches call to mind the mid-engined R5 rally car, and the new car’s roof can be had in a variety of treatments. It’s a five door car but the rear door handles are cleverly hidden away. And the old car’s hood vent reappears here as a state-of-charge indicator. Each strip represents 20 percent of the available energy.”

Fans of the R5 will recall that Renault stuffed a turbocharged engine into the car where the rear seat used to be, widened the rear axle by a foot or more, and created one of the quickest road cars you could buy at the time. The car was a beast to drive, with many test drivers reporting the turbo was more like an on/off switch. Controlling the available power was tricky, even for professional drivers, but the performance was exhilarating, to say the least.

Specs & Prices

The new R5 uses a bespoke platform, called AmpR, so it has a flat floor and longish wheelbase despite measuring only 3.9 meters (12.8 feet) in overall length. The battery’s case helps stiffen the structure. The new R5 comes with two batteries — 40 kWh and 52 kWh. There are also three motors available — 70 kW, 90 kW, and 110n kW — which are equivalent to 94, 121, and 150 hp, respectively. Both batteries contain prismatic NMC cells from Renault’s battery partner AESC. According to Renault, both the vehicles themselves and the batteries will be manufactured in northern France. Only the larger battery will be available at the start of production.

Prices start at £22,995 ($29,830) with uprated models selling for £30,000 ($38,890), yet the R5 is not a cheap car in terms of its engineering specs. Multilink rear suspension and disc brakes all-round are unusual in this class, suggesting a big-car character in a compact package, Wired says. A heat pump is standard. Maximum charging power is 100 kW — enough to replenish the battery from 15 to 80% in 30 minutes. There is also an 11 kW AC charger built in. Renault says cars fitted with the 52 kWh battery have a range of 255 miles WLTP. An equivalent EPA range would be right around 200 miles, although Renault has no current plans to market the car in US.

By sales, SUVs have surpassed sedans, wagons, hatchbacks, and minivans, and last year they also accounted for 53% of battery-electric vehicle sales and 83% of plug-in hybrid sales. Conventional car body styles still accounted for 43.4% of EV sales, but just 10% of plug-in hybrid sales.

SUVs are generally heavier and less aerodynamic than cars, which impacts efficiency of internal-combustion and electric powertrains alike. That's led to differing analyses of the relatively high number of plug-in SUV sales.

The DOE has a fairly positive outlook, saying in September that a small electric SUV with 300 miles of range is estimated to have half the lifetime greenhouse gas emissions of a comparable gasoline vehicle. In 2021 it said that popular small SUVs were a meaningfully better choice than larger models in terms of overall emissions—and that EVs and plug-in hybrids were better still.

Under a new agreement inked between Ford and LG, the companies will move production of EV batteries for the Ford Mustang Mach-E from Poland to its Michigan facility in 2025. This (of course) has everything to do with the IRA and tax credits.

“To capitalize on competitive market conditions,” the new agreement moves Ford Mach-E battery production to the US, where those batteries can take advantage of America’s various incentives. Over in Europe, LG plans to take advantage of incentives over there by supplying a total of 109 GWh of batteries to Ford for its electric commercial vans starting in 2026.

“These agreements attest to our experience and expertise in powering commercial vehicles with innovative battery technologies designed to handle extreme user environments,” said David Kim, CEO of LG Energy Solution. “Capitalizing on our local production capacity, we will secure leadership in the European market and deliver unmatched values to our customers through advanced battery technologies that effectively address diverse needs.”

Is Hyundai bringing its most affordable EV to the US? For the first time, Hyundai’s Casper Electric was spotted driving on US streets. Will the low-cost EV launch in the States?

After opening pre-orders for its smallest and most affordable in July, starting at just $23,000 (31.5 million won), the Casper Electric is already Hyundai’s best-selling EV in Korea.

Hyundai followed it up by launching an even cheaper Casper Electric Premium model, starting at $20,000 (27.4 million won). With subsidies, Hyundai said the new compact electric SUV is available for as little as $7,300 (10 million own).

According to Hyundai, buyers are flocking to the new EV thanks to its “ample driving range” and low starting price.

The Casper Electric is rated with up to 196 miles (315 km) driving range in Korea. In Europe, the mini electric SUV is known as the Inster EV. It starts at under $27,000 (25,000 euros) and has WLTP driving range of up to 221 miles (355 km)

Despite all the ideological and political divisions surrounding electric vehicles, Americans are driving home battery-powered vehicles in droves.

However, things are looking rather bleak on the other side of the Atlantic. Staunch opposition to Europe's proposed emissions regulations, a trade war with China and some major hiccups from homegrown automakers like Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and Stellantis are slowing EV adoption in the continent.

When you isolate yourself from the deafening political noise around electric cars and the terrible headlines in financial papers, things start appearing more clear.

Americans are driving home battery-powered cars in droves. They're purchasing more EVs than buyers in Europe, which has over the years been friendlier to EVs but has now run into some troubles. In some ways, though, this is a reversion to the natural order: The U.S. market had about 3 million more sales last year than the EU market, so our market is considerably larger. That it lagged behind Europe in EV sales for so long was a sign of higher consumer resistance, among other factors.

Automakers in the U.S. sold a record 344,000 electric cars in the third quarter, according to data analytics firm New AutoMotive. That's almost at par with Cox Automotive, which estimated 346,309 EV sales in the country between July and September.

Despite higher EV demand, Kia’s overall global sales fell by 1.9% in the third quarter, with 763,393 vehicles sold. The company said reduced subsidies, a lack of popular compact cars in Europe, and sluggish sales in China, Russia, Central and South America led to fewer car sales.

Overseas sales grew in North America, India, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific, but it was not enough to offset the weaker global demand. Kia will boost sales of popular eco-friendly models (EVs and hybrids) to drive demand, including the Carnival HEV and Sorento HEV in the US and Korea.

In Europe, Kia aims to increase its eco-friendly car share to over 40% of total sales. Kia plans to sell over 9,000 EV3 models as demand for the affordable EV continues to grow.

In the US and Europe, Kia will start full-scale sales of key new models, including the K4 and EV3, while expanding the availability of previously in-short supply models.

India is home to a wide selection of electric vehicles which could very well flip the global EV market on its head. For some reason, Indian manufacturers are able to offer electric two-wheelers with impressive specs and performance, for a fraction of the price of their global counterparts.

And whatever that reason may be, it would surely make electric two-wheelers much more accessible to a wider audience.

A good example of this comes in the form of the newly released T30, a sporty and futuristic electric motorcycle from Indian EV startup Raptee.HV. This thing clearly flips the script when it comes to EV motorcycles, as it looks like it focuses more on a sporty and enjoyable ride, rather than sheer utility and efficiency.

For starters, its styling is clearly sporty, with its sleek and angular bodywork sort of reminiscent of yet another Indian EV motorcycle, the Ultraviolette F77, a bike that has already started making its way to Europe. It also gets way more tech than anybody asked for, as it’s decked out with a seven-inch touchscreen display with built-in smartphone connectivity, navigation, and OTA updates.

Performance-wise, expect this thing to deliver similar power as a 300cc motorcycle, as it’s rocking a 22 kW (about 30 horsepower) motor with a claimed torque rating of 70 Nm (52.5 pound-feet). This gives the electric motorcycle a top speed of 135 kilometers per hour (84 miles per hour), and an impressive zero to 60 kilometer-per-hour (37 miles per hour) sprint time of 3.5 seconds. All of this is powered by a 5.4-kilowatt-hour battery pack with a claimed range of 150 kilometers (93 miles) on a single charge.

So yeah, on paper, this thing is pretty standard when it comes to electric motorcycles. For reference, it has similar performance, range, and tech features as the recently released Can-Am Origin and Pulse electric motorcycles. But when it comes to pricing, the T30 just blows the Can-Am out of the water.

So how much are we talking? Well, in India, the T30 carries a sticker price of Rs 239,000, or the equivalent of about $2,800 USD—around a fifth of the price of the Can-Am. All of a sudden, the rather lackluster 90 miles of city range doesn’t seem so bad, does it?

The wait is officially over. Volkswagen Group’s revival of the Scout brand has finally unveiled production-intent concept versions of its two flagship EV models. We are in Nashville, Tennessee, where Scout Motors shared details of its first SUV, the Traveler, and its all-electric pickup truck, the Terra. If Scout can hit its targets, these new EVs will also be quite reasonably priced.

The first EV model is the Traveler SUV. This EV is expected to deliver over 7,000 pounds of towing and a payload capacity of nearly 2,000 pounds. It is also expected to deliver up to 350 miles of all-electric range, but even more, if you add a range extender (more on that in a bit). As you can see from the image above, the Traveler’s rear features a split tailgate for easy access to cargo and “protection from the elements when opened.”

The second Scout EV model to debut today is the Terra pickup truck. It will offer the same range and payload as the Traveler but is expected to be able to tow up to 10,000 pounds. The Terra will also feature a 5.5-foot pickup bed equipped with two 120V and one 240V power outlets.

The Traveler SUV will start at a retail MSRP below $60,000, and its entry-level trim could arrive priced as low as $50,000, including “available incentives” – assuming that includes the full $7,500 federal tax credit since these EVs will be built entirely in the US.

The Terra truck is expected to hit the market with a starting retail price under $60k as well, and its entry-level option could be as low as $51,500 with available incentives. We will need to wait a while to learn exactly what those trims entail and what incentives are available at the time, but even at full price, these Scout EVs are relatively affordable compared to their competitors.

Pre-orders for the Scout Traveler and Terra are now open, and you can secure a reservation on the company’s website. However, targeted production of these EVs is not expected to begin in South Carolina until 2027.