Kia has demonstrated that it can create winning electric vehicles like the EV6 GT and three-row EV9. But it also believes it's about to be ahead of rivals in making affordable EVs—the next great frontier for the electric world. Now, with the upcoming EV3 subcompact crossover and the EV4 sedan, Kia expects to see significantly increased EV adoption,…

New factories producing EVs and their batteries are bringing more jobs to the Southeast, but utilities are trying to meet the power demands of these factories with natural-gas power plants rather than renewable energy, reports Energy News Network. Anticipated demand from the auto industry—as well as solar-panel manufacturing and data centers—is leading utilities to forecast…

VinFast Auto's global electric vehicle deliveries during the first quarter of 2024 amounted to 9,689. It's a 444% increase year-over-year (from a low base of 1,780). Compared to the previous periods, this volume is relatively stable. Only the Q4 2023 stands out with a record of 13,513 EV deliveries. However, it's worth noting that…

The Volkswagen Group, which owns car brands like Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche, wants to stay ahead of the pack in the world’s largest and most competitive electric car market, China. Last year, the Volkswagen brand lost the top spot in the Chinese sales charts after a 15-year reign after being dethroned by BYD, so…

Elon Musk is no longer the world's richest person. In fact, he's fallen all the way down to third place on Forbes' real-time billionaire list, behind LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault and Amazon's Jeff Bezos. But that could all change if a court-rejected 2018 pay package is approved by Tesla shareholders. Welcome to Critical Materials, your…

Mirai means "future" in Japanese. When Toyota made a big bet that hydrogen was the future of driving, naming its first hydrogen-powered Fuel Cell EV the Toyota Mirai seemed a fitting move for those huge ambitions. Things haven't worked out that way. As early adopters found out, the Mirai wasn't the ideal future that…

The top-of-the-line Volvo EX30 Twin Motor Performance version was recently range-tested by Bjørn Nyland in Norway. The results, at two constant speed levels—56 mph (90 km/h) and 75 mph (120 km/h)—turned out to be slightly disappointing. The Volvo EX30 is equipped with a 69-kilowatt-hour battery (64 kWh usable). The Twin Motor, all-wheel drive version…

Kia reports that its global vehicle sales in March amounted to 272,026, 2.4% less than a year ago. The total sales during the first quarter of 2024 exceeded 760,000 (down 1% year-over-year). The South Korean manufacturer's all-electric car sales increased quickly and last month was especially strong. Kia EV lineup…

Toyota on Wednesday announced a recall of 2023 and 2024 Prius hybrid and Prius Prime plug-in hybrid models due to a potential fault with the cars' electronic rear door latches. In the approximately 55,000 vehicles recalled in the U.S., water can enter and short circuit these door latches, according to a Toyota press release. If…

EV and off-roading enthusiasts—this humble writer included—got a nice surprise when Jeep announced its first-ever all-electric off-roader in the shape of the upcoming Recon back in 2022. Scheduled to go on sale this year, the Recon can be considered the battery-powered alternative to the iconic Wrangler. Just like its stablemate, the EV will come…