Initial estimations for electric vehicle sales may have been a tad too optimistic, as a new report is coming out that EV sales may total half of what was originally expected by 2025.

It’s probably too early to tell given human nature – who would have thought the Prius would be a hard to get vehicle – but Morgan Stanley now expects electric vehicles to account for 4.5-percent of total auto sales in 2025 instead of the initial 8.5-percent figure.

Automakers are still optimistic however, Renault-Nissan still expects electric vehicle sales to account for 10-percent of the global market by 2020.

The skepticism towards the originally inflated figures comes from the fact that without government assistance, electric vehicles will be too expensive to meet those forecasts. Electric vehicle sales are currently heavily subsidized by various governments but that’s not expected to last.

Analysts believe that sales will increase once the battery technology on electric vehicles becomes less expensive, but that’s not expected until 2025. We’re a little more optimistic though, given how technology has improved exponentially over the years.

GALLERY: Nissan Leaf

[Source: Left Lane News]

The struggles of the electric car are well documented, and it appears that the struggle is not going away anytime soon.

According to the latest news, the Federal Government will pull its funding to ease the cost of buying an electric vehicle charger. Up until now, the Fed’s have been discounting these units as an incentive to get the public to buy an electric vehicle. In 2010, the deductions covered 50% of the cost, and in 2011 it was reduced to 30%. Now it seems that from 2012, no deduction will be offered to those buying these charging units.

If you use electric vehicles for commercial use, the savings were good for up to $30,000; but that will no longer be the case either.

Genevieve Cullen, the vice-president of the Electric Drive Transportation Association said that: “The timing of this couldn’t be more unfortunate”. Cullen and her supporters have been urging congress to extend the tax deduction, but it doesn’t appear to be working at this moment. However, if you buy an electric car now, you will still get the $7,500 tax credit offered by the government. So if you are thinking of buying an electric car, buy it before the government pulls its support from that program.

In 2011, the electric car and plug-in hybrids accounted for less than 2% of new car sales in the States.

[Source: Left Lane News]

Never heard of the American car company Coda? We won’t blame you. This electric car upstart is trying to make a name for itself, but has so far run into production delays plus other birthing problems new car companies face.

However, the editor’s at Forbes believe in Coda and that it will soon be among the most successful new companies in America. Forbes has thus included Coda in their annual “100 Most Promising Companies” list.

Coda is also the only car company in this exclusive list, which mostly is comprised of software companies, and has placed a burger joint (Smashburger) at the top.

Forbes says that the reason Coda is on its list is because of  “compelling business models, strong management teams, notable customers, strategic partners and precious investment capital.” Even in tough times, Coda has managed to raise money, hire more people and start production, which is a huge accomplishment in these tough economic times.

Coda’s CEO Phil Murtaugh said he is “honored and excited for this recognition.”

If all goes to plan, Coda will start delivering their electric sedan in a few months time. Price start at $39,900 plus a destination charge of $895. However, due to its green credentials, you’ll get a $7500 credit from the Government. The Coda requires six-hours (from 220V) to charge fully and has a range of 150-miles.

[Source: Autoblog]

In the 1960′s there was the muscle-car wars, and in the 1980′s it was all about who can sell the most minivans. Now its time for the green-car wars, to see who can sell the most plug-in hybrid or fully electric cars.

The two biggest rivals at the moment are the Nissan Leaf and the Chevrolet Volt. While the Leaf is a fully electric vehicle, the Volt in a plug-in hybrid, so when the battery dies, you can still keep moving, provided you have some gasoline in its tank.

These two vehicles have been going head to head all year, and in America, it is the Leaf that is winning by quite a margin. Nissan has moved 8,720 Leafs thus far, while Chevy had moved just 6,142 Volts in the U.S.

North of the border, there is a different story developing. The Volt is actually outselling the Leaf. Chevy has moved 243 Volts thus far, while only 111 Leafs have found homes in Canada.

Part of the reason the Leaf is having a harder time selling in Canada is because there are only 27 Leaf Certified Dealers in the country, and even they will only sell a car to someone who lives within 42-miles from one of those dealers. The Volt on the other hand is sold through all Chevrolet dealers.

Chevrolet has been dealing with a lot of negative publicity regarding the Volt in recent weeks due to its battery issue, which could result in a fire. This little sales victory in Canada might give the bow-tie boys something to cheer about.

[Source: Auto North]

w

If it seemed space-aged to charge your cellphone wirelessly a few years ago, what do you think of doing the same thing with your car?

Nissan and Mercedes-Benz are playing with the idea, and showing off what they have so far. The Mercedes B Class E-Cell concept may make use of the technology in the future, but on the more immediate horizon, Nissan is demonstrating how wireless charging may play into their Leaf.

It’s the same system as the charging pads you can use to juice your mobile gadgets— all it takes is driving your induction charger equipped EV over a pad and presto, you’re getting power. Sounds simple right? If not, here’s how it works: there are charging coils connected to the car battery and to the stationary pad, which is connected to a power source. Both sides are magnetically tuned to each other so when they come in close contact they transmit electricity.

As nice as that might seem, the luxury comes at a price. Charging via an induction system is about 90 percent as effective as plugging in according to a story published by Wired. Not only that, but it can be tough for drivers to align their cars for optimal charging efficiency. That problem could be addressed through parking assistance technology similar to what many cars already have today, but it presents a challenge to EVs already on the road.

Conductix-Wamplifier, the company working with Daimler to develop this system, has actually been working on this technology for years despite the recent announcement.

With the growing number of EVs on the road, this technology could be a mainstay at home. It’s appealing because lower charging efficiency stops mattering with time. Another story we reported speculated that wireless charging systems will be more-or-less standard in EV-using homes.

Other companies like HaloIPT are already retrofitting corporate fleets with their version of the system.

[Source: Wired]

The head of Toyota‘s Prius program thinks that Toyota will be able to sell as many as 1 million hybrids anually by 2015. Satoshi Ogiso, who was responsible for developing the original Prius, said that hybrids could sell as many as 2 million units by 2020.

Toyota Hybrid sales topped out at 690,000 in 2010, and many felt that if it weren’t for March’s earthquake and tsunami, the pace of sales would have accelerated even further. Prius sales (including the Prius c, Prius V and other variants) will account for half of hybrid sales.

Ogiso said that model line-up expansion would be kept under control for the Prius, but some expansion may occur. A sports car model was also hinted at, but appears to be some ways off.

[Source: Automotive News]

The electric mobility pod from Chevrolet called EN-V will be shown in its latest form at the Tokyo Motor Show from Nov. 30 to Dec. 11.

The EN-V, which stands for Electric Networked – Vehicle, made its world debut in 2010 at the World Expo Shanghai, and is designed to solve congestion in heavily populated city centers. The idea is that a small personal vehicle will take up less space on the road, will be easy to park and won’t pollute the environment either.

The EN-V will be part of the “Smart Mobility City 2011″ display, which will highlight other mobility solution vehicles from around the world.

So far, there are no plans on putting the EN-V into production.

Over the past 60-years, Volkswagen has produced delivery vehicles, which have been used around the world for various purposes, from delivering mail to emergency services.

Gathering all the knowledge they have learned in this field, Volkswagen has now come up with a new concept van which they think will be the future of delivery mobility.

It’s called eT! and it’s a fully electric van, which uses electric wheel hub motors to power it along. A zero-emissions delivery vehicle will certainly go a long way in cutting down on pollution in city centers.

The eT! can be operated semi-autonomously in certain situations also. With their “Follow Me” feature, the van can follow the delivery person as they go door to door. It even has a “Come To Me” command feature which will have the car come to its driver.

The eT! can even be driven via using a joystick controller on the passenger side of the vehicle. This way, the delivery driver can drive the vehicle without having to walk around every time to get to the driver’s seat.

While Microsoft and Ford‘s previous collaboration, MyFord Touch, drew significant criticism from users as well as from Consumer Reports, their latest product promises to be a big hit. Designed for the new Ford Focus Electric, the MyFord Mobile app has earned the International CES Best of Innovation Design and Engineering Award in the software and mobile applications category.

Thanks to the MyFord Mobile app and its use of Microsoft’s cloud computing technology, drivers will be able to keep track of when utilities switch to lower off-peak charging rates so that a charging schedule can be coordinated to minimize electric bills and the Focus’ cost of ownership. MyFord Mobile’s network can monitor the rate schedules of Utility services and transmit that data back to the vehicle via embedded cellular connectivity so that it will trigger the charging process only when the rates fall.

Thanks to navigational data and can also assist in locating the closest charging stations along the driver’s route. It will calculate whether the vehicle’s range can reach the station with the currently available charge and design multi-stop, plug-to-plug journeys to keep drivers from getting stranded.

Available on smartphone platforms Android, Blackberry, and Apple iOS, the MyFord Mobile app, “is designed to help Focus Electric drivers maximize their gasoline-free driving in a worry-free, low-effort way. Drivers can take advantage of information stored off-board to automatically charge their cars at the lowest possible cost and reduce range anxiety with plug-to-plug route planning,” according to Bill Frykman, of Ford Connected Services Product & Business Dept.

Frykman adds, “We’re honored CES has recognized our efforts to use the latest connectivity and cloud technology to augment the capabilities of the car to promote greener driving.”

There’s a new kid in Los Angeles, BYD. The Chinese battery and electric car manufacturer opened its California office today.

BYD says it will bring 150 green-collar engineering and management jobs to the city. The event highlight, however, is a deal between BYD and Hertz to provide airport shuttles to the rental agency. This could prove to be a key time for the company to move into the California electric car market.

Their opening is hot on the heels of the California government deciding to limit HOV lane benefits to electric cars in an effort to encourage greener transportation. BYD has a chance to get a jump on the electric car market considering the only EV’s available to consumers are the Nissan Leaf and Tesla Roadster.

Things may not all be bright though, BYD saw their profits drop by just over a third between 2009 and 2010 and lackluster sales in the first half of this year aren’t boding well either.

Their financial woes are largely due to poor car sales in China, where they failed to meet even half of their projected numbers.

Their push into the North American market could prove to be a good source of revenue, but BYD Vice-President Michael Austin admitted earlier this year to the Glendale News-Press that “the paradigm of driving a Chinese car in the U.S. is going to be hard to break.”

[Source: Auto Observer]

Damon Lavrinc of Autoblog had the chance to sit down with Albert Biermann, Head of Product Development for BMW‘s M Division, and was able to glean some information on future product that should put to bed some of the many rumors floating around about BMW’s skunk works.

First up, the upcoming 2013 BMW M5 will be available with a 6-speed manual. The previous M5 debuted with a 7-speed SMG gearbox, and the resulting outcry forced BMW to backtrack and offer a proper stick after launch. Not so for the new car, which will have the option of either a stick or a dual-clutch gearbox. What won’t be offered is all-wheel drive (due to the sophistication of the M5′s electronic rear differential) and a wagon (BMW sold just over 1,000 M5 wagons world wide last time around, and can’t justify the investment like Cadillac can with the CTS-V wagon).

BMW also won’t be offering an M version of the Z4 for similar reasons, but don’t be surprised to see an M version of one of BMW’s EVs, with Biermann stating “There will be a day when we will not only tweak combustion engines, but electric motors. But we have to continue to provide the M experience.” Biermann also discussed the popular topic of weight reduction, stating that his goal is to have the new model match the outgoing models’ weight, and that due to increasing complexity and vehicle content, weight reduction isn’t always possible.

[Source: Autoblog]

Not so long ago, Volvo had announced that it was working on a plug-in hybrid version of their V60 wagon. Now according to Volvo, the V60 may be out by as early as next year.

Volvo said it is working on two variants, a gas-electric plug-in hybrid for North America, and a diesel-electric plug-in hybrid for the rest of the world. Volvo’s system, which uses lithium-ion batteries to power the electric motors, has a range of 31-miles on battery power alone, after which the combustion engine will kick in to take you home.

No figures are known what the gas-electric versions will achieve, but the European diesel-electric version is said to be good for 124-mpg.

With the combustion engine powering the front wheels, and the 70-hp electric motors powering the rear, this is effectively an all-wheel drive vehicle also. Volvo said it will be more expensive than a regular V60, but will cost two-thirds less to run.

The V60 Plug-In Hybrid will go on sale in 2012, first in Europe, followed by the rest of the world in the same year.

[Source: Motor Authority]

If you’re a fan of the Nissan LEAF, you’ll want to bookmark the EV’s new blog, “Go Electric.”

The official Nissan LEAF blog was launched at the end of September and it’s a place where Nissan LEAF drivers and enthusiasts can share words, photos, and videos of about the EV.

The GO Electric owner’s blog will allow you to actively discuss your experiences on online forums and in Nissan social media communities, as well as keep up to date on what other LEAF owners are talking about. Weekly content from 14 Nissan LEAF owners who will share their personal experiences of owning a 100-percent electric vehicle will also be a feature of the blog. You can also share your two cents by commenting on blog posts and by liking or disliking what they have to say.

Be sure to drop by the Go Electric blog regularly for new stories, pictures and videos about the Nissan LEAF.

Ford has scoped out the 20 cool places for you to charge your electric vehicle on your next cross-country road trip. With more charging station popping up all the time, EV owners have more options when it comes to long-distance trips and sight-seeing locales.

Ford picked each location based on a number of factors, including distance to a landmark, dining and shopping venues to visit while you’re waiting for your electric vehicle to charge. Here are the 20 coolest places to charge in the U.S., listed alphabetically, along with what makes them so cool.

Edison Park Fast Lot – New York City: Near Times Square and Broadway.
Fashion Island, Newport Beach, Calif.: Located at a premier outdoor shopping center.
Fisherman’s Wharf, San Francisco: Enjoy waterfront dining, shopping, and sightseeing
Give Kids the World Village, Kissimmee, Fla.: A nonprofit center that gives children with life-threatening illnesses a memorable experience.
Greenville Zoo, Greenville, S.C.: Visit the world-class zoo while charging.
Hall Wines and Clif Family Winery, St. Helena, Calif.: Tour the two wineries and take in the scenery.
Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort, Honolulu, Hawaii: Take a break at this beach resort.
Houston Arboretum and Nature Center, Houston: A day of fun with nature and animals.
Los Angeles Convention Center, Los Angeles: The nearby Staples Center offers plenty of attractions.
Malibu Country Mart, Malibu, Calif.: Look for celebrities or hit the stores while shopping.
Mall of America – Bloomington, MN: Enjoy shopping, entertainment, and a variety of other attractions.
Magnificent Mile – Downtown Chicago: One of the most iconic streets in America.
Mint Street Parking Garage – Downtown Charlotte, N.C.: A first-class view of downtown Charlotte.
NFL Stadiums: CenturyLink Field, Seattle and M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore: Cheer on the Seattle Seahawks and Baltimore Ravens.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tenn.: A solar-powered electric vehicle charging station.
Peaches Bed & Breakfast, Grand Rapids, Mich.: Spend the night at this historic manor.
Ruby Falls, Chattanooga, Tenn.: America’s highest underground waterfalls.
Santa Monica Plaza Shopping Center, Santa Monica, Calif.: Beach lovers can hang out on the Santa Monica Pier.
Science Museum of Richmond and Children’s Museum of Richmond, Va.: Visit the two museums.
Stevens Pass Mountain Resort, Leavenworth, Wash.: Hit the slopes at this ski resort.

Following in the footsteps of the Aston Martin Cygnet, Lotus will introduce their own City Car, apparently dubbed the Ethos, in late 2013.

First unveiled at the 2010 Paris Auto Show, the Ethos will be powered by a hybrid powertrain or possibly a fully electric system like the Nissan Leaf. The concept used a 1.2L three-cylinder engine with a hybrid system that allowed for 37 miles of electric driving and a total range of 310 miles. Pricing is said to be set at $45,000.

GALLERY: Lotus Ethos Concept

[Source: DuPont Registry]

One of the most respected names in the automotive business is Gordan Murray. Not only was he the designer behind some of the best Formula 1 race cars back in the 1980′s, he was also the mastermind behind the McLaren F1 road car, which is still widely respected as the best supercar ever made.

Having recently worked on such projects as the Caparo T1 and his own Gordon Murray Design T.25 city car, he has now pulled the wraps off his latest creation, the T.32.

Also known as the Teewave AR.1, the project was green-lighted by carbon-fiber specialists Toray Industries Inc. Toray wants to get into the business of making their own car, rather than just supplying panels for other manufacturers.

So Toray employed the services of Gordon Murray to design and develop their new car, which uses the running gear out of the Mitsubishi iMiEV. This 63-hp electric motor can propel this 1,874 lb. sportscar from 0-62 mph in 11.4 seconds, and onto a top speed of 91 mph.

However, the AR.1 is designed to be more of an urban sportscar, and thus its 0-31 mph acceleration time of 4.4 seconds will ensure it can easily keep pace with other traffic.

As with all electric vehicles, most people are more interested in charging times and range. The Teewave AR.1 will take six-hours to fully charge and can travel 116-miles before needing recharging.

Murray reveals that it took just nine months from concept discussion to running prototype. No dates have been given as to when this vehicle will go on sale, in which markets or how much it will cost.

Earlier this week at the Frankfurt Auto Show, Infiniti released teaser sketches of their upcoming Nissan Leaf-based Infiniti electric sedan concept.

As if that wasn’t enough to stir the press, Nissan’s global communications chief Andy Palmer informed the media of an upcoming Infiniti mid-engine electric sports car as well. The car will use many of the technologies found in the Nissan Leaf Nismo RC, which was on display at the New York Auto Show earlier this year. Elements in the Leaf Nismo RC that may be applied include a full carbon fiber tub and a rear-wheel drive layout.

As far as powertrain is concerned, the concept coupe is likely to use a range extender application where although the wheels will be driven by electric motors, a hyper-compact petrol engine will be a source of energy generation (similar to the Chevrolet Volt).

Last but not least, Red Bull Racing, the Formula 1 team sponsored by Infiniti, will likely lend its experience with KERS (kinetic energy recovery system) for the concept’s development as well.

Expect to first see the Infiniti electric sports car concept at the next Geneva Auto Show. The production car is aimed for 2014, released alongside of the upcoming Infiniti electric sedan.

[Source: Motor Authority]

Audi‘s answer to BMW‘s i3 EV will be on display at the Frankfurt Motor Show, but they just couldn’t wait until then to show off what we can expect to see. Despite these photos being mostly computer generated renderings they give a good idea of Audi’s direction with their A2 Concept, which currently is rumored to arrive around 2015. Chances are, Audi’s electric subcompact will focus more on luxury and fuel economy than BMW’s i3, and its styling definitely takes on Audi’s traditional cues.

Currently the A2 Concept is powered by an electric drivetrain featuring an 85kW engine with lithium ion batteries to shoot 199 lb-ft of torque to the front wheels. It will be able to travel around 125-miles on a single charge and will take around four hours to charge back up. Rumor has it that it’ll have a top speed of 93-mph and a 0-60 time in 9 seconds. Not too shabby for a high-tech EV.

The grand debut will happen next week, so stay tuned for real, genuine photos of Audi’s A2 Concept at AutoGuide’s Frankfurt Auto Show page here.

GALLERY: Audi A2 Concept

Siemens might be a household name, but it is normally associated with appliances such and blenders and sewing machines.

However, now it hopes to add another daily appliance to its resume, by making an electric car. To do so, it has partnered with Volvo to make a fully-electric car based on their C30 platform.

Volvo, which has been quite keen over the last few years to produce an electric car will certainly gain a lot from Siemens technical know-how on this subject.

“We are very happy to have Siemens as a partner. Their world-leading knowledge and experience will bring the technology in our electric cars up to an entirely new level,” says Stefan Jacoby, President and CEO of Volvo Car Corporation.

Volvo has shown electric versions of the C30 in the past, but now with Siemens help it can get this project a lot closer to production. Volvo will deliver 200 vehicles to Siemens by the end of this year for testing.

Volvo hopes to start a small production run of the electric C30 this year, with a plug-in hybrid version of the V60 to be launched next year.

Our neighbors in the North want to see green in their future. No, not just money, but also green energy. Hence the Government of Ontario (Canada) has teamed up with one of the worlds largest automotive parts manufacturer Magna International Inc. to develop electric vehicle technologies.

The project is said to cost $441-million and will take about six-years to develop. The Ontario government will contribute $50-million towards this green project.

Ontario wants to be taken seriously about its plans for a greener future and is attracting car companies to move it towards this goal. Earlier this year, Toyota announced that it will produce the RAV4 EV model in Ontario, which will be the first electric vehicle produced by Toyota outside of Japan.

The project with Magna will help develop electric car parts and lightweight materials which will be used by other manufacturers. The Ford Focus EV was partly developed by Magna.

Frank Stronach, the founder of Magna owns a 27% stake in a electric car company called E-Car Venture, a connection that will surely help in moving this new project forward.

[Source: Automotive News]

If you are a driver, you are well aware of the rising gas prices, and this trend is not looking to reverse anytime soon. This is effecting the way people buy new cars, and according to Pike Research, more than 5-million electric and hybrid vehicles will be sold globally by 2017.

Also according to this report, the largest manufacturer of these vehicles will be the United States, followed by Japan, while the largest consumer of such vehicles will likely be China.

Currently conventional hybrids like the Toyota Prius and Honda Insight (among many others) are on sale, but as far as plug-in electric vehicles go, you have to pick between the Chevrolet Volt, the Nissan Leaf and the Tesla Roadster. Soon, the market will see cars such as the Fisker Karma, Ford Focus Electric and the Mitsubishi i go on sale later this year.

So will the world be taken over by electric cars now? If petrol prices don’t change, people’s buying habits will change very quickly to save their pocket books, while also helping save the planet.

[Source: Auto Observer]

Volkswagen is set to unveil a single seat electric car at a special event in Berlin next month, as the company explores the future of mobility and personal transportation.

A VW spokesman confirmed that the vehicle would be shown at an event in Berlin on September 8th. VW said that the new car would surpass the previous XL1 concept unveiled in January. Volkswagen is hoping for battery-powered cars to make up 3 percent of sales by 2018.

[Source: Automotive News]

Electric cars not green enough for you? How about a solar powered car? Ford will be working with SunPower, an established solar provider, to build a solar energy system for the Focus electric vehicle that goes on sale later this year.

Solar panels will be mounted on the car owner’s house or garage, to power the vehicle. The panels won’t directly charge the electric car’s battery but will provide power to the house at a rate sufficient enough to offset nearly 1,000 miles of driving a month in the Focus.

The solar power option will allow for green electricity, rather than traditional electricity from a house, which is often made by burning fossil fuels at power plants. The 2.5-kilowatt system will produce about 3,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per year. The power will be generated by 147 square feet of roof panels (11 panels that are 4 feet by 2 feet). The solar power option will be offered through Ford dealers for about $10,000 after federal tax credits. The Best Buy Geek Squad will work with Ford to install home chargers at the customers house, after the purchase.

Ford has yet to announce the price of the 2012 Focus electric, but the first vehicles go on sale in California and New York later this year.

Ford is delaying the full launch of the 2012 electric Focus. Initially, the Focus EV was to be launched in 19 markets, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit and Seattle. However, plans have changed and the primary launch will be concentrated in California and New York.

Ford’s electrified-vehicles marketing manager David Finnegan said, ”For the first few months of production, we will be concentrating on California and New York,” he said. “Our dealers in those areas will be the first to have their retail orders scheduled and receive the Focus electric. We will be rolling out to the remainder of our initial markets starting in spring 2012.” Ford has yet to set a date for the Focus EV launch in the remaining markets.

[Source: Automotive News]