Which upcoming electric vehicle will be enabled for Tesla-style over-the-air updates?
What green-car icon is getting a 20th anniversary edition?
This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car Reports—for the week ending May 15, 2020.
This weekend Tesla is again the subject of much speculation, amid unconfirmed reports that it’s planning to locate its next factory, this time called a Terafactory, near Austin Texas, Last weekend was certainly not boring in the Tesla world either. After defying county public-health orders to keep its Fremont, California plant closed, CEO Elon Musk said that the company was moving its headquarters out of California, and he threatened to move its manufacturing out.
Tesla factory, Fremont, California
Based on a Reuters report citing inside sources, Tesla might be moving ahead with plans to produce its so-called million-mile battery with Chinese supplier CATL—potentially allowing Tesla to be more cost-competitive against gasoline vehicles.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in that same California county that’s the hotbed of Tesla controversy, Lucid has temporarily parked its 40 “beta prototype” versions of the Air electric sedan it’s using for testing and validation.
Lucid Air prototypes parked
The 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E electric SUV charges faster than the automaker originally indicated, according to a new release of the specs on Friday. And Ford earlier in the week announced that the Mach-E will have over-the-air updates enabled from the start, with the first OTA update expected about six months after delivery.
The 2020 Mini Cooper SE has a different priority set than nearly every other electric car on the market. One of our editors found the experience rather jarring.
There will be no Hyundai Sonata Plug-In Hybrid from the 2020 model year on. But there are plenty of 2019 models left at some California dealerships, and they’re being offered by what our partner side judged to be the best lease deal on a PHEV right now.
2019 Hyundai Sonata Plug-In Hybrid
Lordstown Motors at last released some more details about the in-wheel motors to be used in its upcoming Endurance electric pickup for fleets. The motor design will come from Slovenia’s Elaphe but be made in-house at Lordstown’s Ohio factory.
The Prius has been sold for 20 years in the U.S., and to celebrate that there’s a 2021 Toyota Prius 2020 Edition.
GM emphasized that the GMC Hummer EV, the Cadillac Lyriq, and other upcoming BEV3 electric vehicles under development won’t be delayed by the slowdown. It’s actually added products to the plan, an executive claimed.
Teaser for Cadillac Lyriq electric cossover SUV based on GM BEV3 modular platform
The first Lexus electric car won’t be offered in the U.S., but in Europe it will carry the best electric-car battery coverage—of 10 years or more than 600,000 miles.
Farther off in the future—maybe three years from now—Volvo will reportedly embracing the coupe SUV trend, with an upcoming XC100 flagship SUV, which might be offered in an all-electric version like the related XC90.
The Triggo, an electric vehicle from Poland, might be the first EV to both be capable of leaning into corners and vary its track width depending on the needs—and on the gaps in traffic.
Triggo EV
Carmakers are allegedly attempting to sneak in another break to fuel economy and emissions regulation—and it’s all related to the ratio of ethanol put in U.S. gasoline.
The economic downturn associated with the coronavirus pandemic will have a negative effect on charger installations, but a report from this week anticipated that the U.S. will catch up with Europe by 2030.
And EV drivers in California could get on their way a little faster, once weekend trips once again become part. SparkCharge portable DC fast-charging systems will get a test with electric-vehicle roadside assistance services in Los Angeles and San Francisco.
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