“The heavy rare earth elements are added as sort of a spice, a doping agent, to maintain the magnetism of the magnet at high temperatures. It also improves corrosion resistance and the longevity of the magnet,” says Seaver Wang, director of the climate and energy team at the Breakthrough Institute, an Oakland-based think tank. Beyond…

The Aito M8 is a mid-sized three-row EREV (extended range electric vehicle) premium crossover.  The Aito M8 was officially unveiled in March for Chinese consumers, but it's already on Huawei showroom floors. The M8 starts at just under $50,000 in China.  They call it “China Speed.” This can refer to a lot of things: the…

EVs sales are increasing in the U.S., but the adoption is spread unevenly across the country, with coastal states showing more interest in EVs than others. The transition sentiment in the U.S. remains flat year-over-year, while people in Europe and China are far more excited about EVs. Even then, EV buyers rarely switch back to…

Tesla brought in 20 percent less automotive revenue at the end of last year compared to the year previous, the company reported today, as demand for its electric cars appear to have dipped precipitously across the globe. The drop exceeded even some pessimistic Wall Street analysts’ predictions. By late afternoon, before CEO Elon Musk…

Tesla expects to begin production of more affordable EVs sometime over the next 10 weeks. It managed to prepare its production lines for new models at the same time that it upgraded the tooling for the refreshed Model Y. The automaker warns that "changing political sentiment" could still affect the brand in the near term. Tesla…

Buyers of premium vehicles don't want to pay recurring subscriptions. According to Lincoln, those buyers would rather have the cost baked into the MSRP of the vehicle. Many automakers are doing exactly that, meaning that second-hand buyers of used luxury cars will often be the ones paying for recurring subscription costs. Lincoln finally figured out…

Tesla is facing perhaps its most pivotal moment in recent history. The automaker's sales are slipping, investor confidence is dwindling and political pressure coming from within has stained the automaker's reputation. With its first earnings call of the year coming today, Tesla has a lot to answer for. I hope everyone has their popcorn ready.…

CATL revealed the world's first mass-produced sodium-ion batteries in China ahead of the Shanghai Auto Show. The low-voltage and high-voltage sodium-ion batteries deliver exceptional cold-weather performance in terms of range, charging speeds and power output.  They aren't as energy-dense as lithium-ion batteries but still have several crucial advantages.  The battery world wasn’t bullish about sodium-ion…

Mercedes will begin equipping its cars with drive-by-wire tech as early as next year. It will show off the tech by also making a yoke steering wheel available to owners. The automaker says that the new tech plays hand-in-hand with its automated driving systems; meaning Mercedes could have big plans in how to revamp the…

People often forget this today, but Volkswagen was among the earliest Western automakers to break into China. It launched a joint venture with the locals at SAIC in 1984, and that was the start of decades of sales and profits in what became the world's biggest car market. For its trouble, Volkswagen is now in…