U.S. Postal Service to test a repurposed electric vehicle fleet(March 4) - Starting this summer, the Postal Service, which operates the world's largest civilian vehicle fleet, will begin a year-long pilot program of electric mail trucks in the Washington area, using vehicles converted by five manufacturers. "We have been integral to transportation since Day One," said Postal Service spokeswoman Sue Brennan, "so we consider this a role for us." Complete Story   
  
World's cheapest EV: Tata Nano electrifies Geneva show(March 4) - The world's cheapest car, transformed into the world's cheapest electric car, went on display at the Geneva Motor Show. India's Tata Nano EV seats four, has a predicted range of about 80 miles and will go from zero to about 35 miles per hour in a blistering 10 seconds. The car has super-polymer lithium-ion batteries, which Tata says provide superior energy retention. Complete Story
 
Porsche Hybrid Shows Green Gap in $90,000 Luxury Cars(March 4) - Porsche AG, Mercedes-Benz and makers of the world’s priciest autos are showing their first hybrids, testing the popularity that combination gas-and-electric motors can win in the market for $90,000 cars. Complete Story  
 
Tiny Wheego Gets Big Jump on the Electric-Car Competition(March 4) - Can an electric vehicle startup with just five employees find success in the cash-intensive, cutthroat automotive world? Maybe, if the five people have deep business experience, a savvy marketing sense and a compelling product. Complete Story
  

 
Tesla gets ready as electric cars go mainstream (March 4) - The single-model display at the Geneva motor show by electric motoring pioneer Tesla is swamped this year by a seemingly endless string of rival sportscar companies launching electric vehicles of their own. Whereas in the past the Tesla Roadster stood out as a breath of fresh air, and although it remains the only fully functional and street-legal electric car with others being trial models, it will soon be up against petrol-electric hybrids from Fisker and Lotus, Ferrari and Porsche. Complete Story
 
GM Reportedly Kills the Electric Car...Again(March 3) - Bloomberg is reporting that GM has ended development of the Cadillac Converj, an extended-range electric vehicle that was to be based on the same technology found in the upcoming Chevrolet Volt. Unnamed executives told the publication that a business plan couldn’t be made for the vehicle, despite the premium prices that could be charged for it under the auspices of the luxury nameplate. Complete Story
 
BYD Links Up With Daimler to Build Electric Cars in China(March 2) - This week, BYD signed a memorandum of understanding with Daimler to build electric cars together in China. Henry Li, BYD’s international sales manager, said the company will develop an electric car that will be positioned above the e6, the four-door electric passenger car that BYD displayed at the Detroit auto show in January. Another Chinese automaker, Brilliance, is a partner of BMW in China. Complete Story
 
Volkswagen's BIG Plans For Electric Vehicles Could Make It The World's Largest Automaker(March 1) - Think of it as a race to the starting line. Volkswagen, Europe's largest European automaker, has big plans to dominate the nascent world of electric cars. As Treehugger reported, Volkswagen plans to sell 300,000 electric vehicles a year by 2018, which would translate to 3% of all sales. VW's hybrid ambitions could lead it to overtake Toyota as the world's largest automaker within eight years. Complete Story
 
Honda to unveil 3R-C solo electric three-wheeler concept(February 26) - The three-wheeler has its drivetrain mounted low, giving the vehicle a low center of gravity to improve stability. It has a clear canopy that covers the driver's seat while it is parked and not in use. When 3R-C vehicle is in motion, the canopy becomes a windshield that provides the driver with some measure of protection. Complete Story
 
Lotus Evora 414E Hybrid Concept - Auto Shows(February 26) - What would you get if you blended the delicious Lotus Evora sports car with the upcoming Chevrolet Volt? This Evora 414E hybrid concept, which makes its debut at the Geneva auto show. A plug-in electric car with a range-extending gasoline engine, just like the Volt, the slinky Evora 414E hybrid is one of the most compelling incarnations of an electric car we’ve yet seen. Complete Story  
 
Tesla's Roadster a spunky little green devil(February 26) - So adamant are these "The Tesla will do this" and "The Tesla will do that" that I expect one day to learn -- from a true believer, of course -- that the electrified little two-door may yet be the breakthrough needed for peace in the Mideast. Complete Story
  
ZENN Motor Company Reports First Quarter 2010 Results(February 23) - "Our transition from being a car manufacturer to a supplier to Original Equipment Manufacturers, including the closure of our Saint-Jerome production facility, remains on track. Our sales performance in the quarter helped reduce inventories and our cash position remains strong" stated Ian Clifford, Chief Executive Officer. "I must commend our Saint-Jerome team for their continued professionalism and commitment during this process." Complete Story
  
Antro Solo Electric Car Splits Into Two Smaller Cars(February 25) - A Hungarian company called Antro has developed a hybrid car. That in itself would be cause for a raised eyebrow, but what’s really interesting here is that the three-seat Solo concept is designed to be joined with another Solo to create a six-passenger vehicle called…you know it–the Duo. So you’d be able to drive the family around in the Duo configuration and split it up when it’s just you and the wife. Complete Story  
 
The Coming Electric Car Battery Glut(February 24) - In advance of this fall’s launch of plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles, lithium ion battery manufacturers are breaking ground on manufacturing plants nearly every month. About $2 billion in federal stimulus funding has spurred the building of facilities in Michigan and Indiana that will start churning out battery packs by the end of the year. But the escalation in production has the potential to outstrip the demand for the batteries by as early as 2012. Complete Story
 
Will Google Charge your Electric Cars?(February 24) - Google finally won approval from Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to be an electric utility. Now that they are making billions delivering web ads, do they want to make added billions selling electricity? Quite possibly. Google already offers a smart meter app that allows smart grid customers to manage their home electricity use. With their new approval to be a utility, Google could be a smart grid / smart charge service provider. Complete Story
 
What is happening to Toyota is a lesson for any business(February 24) - There was a movie released in 2006 titled, "Who Killed the Electric Car?", which was a documentary of sorts, that at the end gave a mock verdict for the parties responsible for the death of the electric car. If they produced a movie titled, "Who Killed GM?” I can guarantee you that Toyota would be one of the main suspects. Now we may be seeing trailers for "Who killed Toyota?" Complete Story
 
Got Spare Juice in Your Electric Car? Sell It Back to the Grid, Earn Cash (February 23) -Electric cars have huge batteries inside ... and as a demo of a converted Toyota Scion xB has just shown, one day you may be able to earn cash by selling spare electricity stored here back to the grid in times of shortage. Complete Story
   
Why Nissan's Electric Car Will Flop(February 23) - The most daring gamble in the automobile world is Nissan's electric car, the Leaf.
But is this car, coming at the end of the year, really ready for prime time? Undoubtedly Nissan ( NSANY - news - people ) can sell some in the U.S.--a few thousand a year, perhaps 10,000 or 20,000 or 30,000. Some people always want something new. Complete Story
 
US Postal Service Awards ZAP Engineering Contract for Electric Mail Truck(February 17) - ZAP will convert the gasoline mail truck to run on electricity as specified by the USPS at facilities in Santa Rosa, California. Following completion the converted vehicle will undergo field trials in the Washington, DC metropolitan area later this year. ZAP was selected along with four other firms in a competitive bid process held nationwide by the USPS.  Complete Story    
 
Electric car rental by 2011(February 17) - Car rental company Hertz is to allow customers to rent electric vehicles from as early as next year, the firm confirmed last week. Select rental sites in the US and Europe will offer the Nissan LEAF from early 2011, a couple of months after the vehicle goes on sale in Japan, the US and Europe. Complete Story   
 
Tesla Roadster Takes Switzerland by Storm(February 17) - Leading electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla Motors is offering test drives this weekend in St. Moritz, the world's oldest and most prestigious winter resort.Prospective customers and media can test-drive the 2010 Tesla Roadster at the Carlton Hotel (Via J. Badrutt 11, 7500 St. Moritz, Switzerland) Saturday and Sunday, during the last weekend of the exclusive "White Turf" horse race on frozen Lake St. Moritz. Complete Story  
 
Here comes the electric Nissan Leaf(February 17) - In December 2010, in the U.S. and Japan, Nissan is due to roll out the Leaf, a five-passenger compact car that is the first EV designed for the mass market. The Leaf is powered by a 480-pound pack of lithium-ion batteries that Nissan says will propel the car 100 miles and can be recharged overnight on household current. Complete Story   
  
Honda CR-Z Sport Hybrid Coupe Makes Canadian Debut(February 17) - All-new hybrid model set to go on sale this summer. The all-new 2011 Honda CR-Z sport hybrid coupe, making its Canadian production debut at the Canadian International Auto Show, introduces sleek styling and sporty handling to the hybrid segment. Complete Story
 
GM: "We’re Forced to Make Hybrids." But Which Ones?(February 16) - Last week, General Motors Vice Chairman Bob Lutz repeated his long-held opinion that hybrid gas-electric cars have a limited market and will not be profitable for the company. Yet, he believes GM will be forced to make more hybrids because of tougher fuel efficiency regulations. Complete Story
 
Swiss Mini Electric Car Designed as Train Cargo(February 16) - Swiss speciality automaker Rinspeed plans to unveil the "UC?" electric concept car (that's the name, I swear) at the Geneva Motor Show, March 4-14. The company claims to have designed "not just a vehicle, but an entire mobility concept" that integrates individual car ownership with the use of public transportation. Complete Story 
 
Ellis Brooks Auto Center to Sell Wheego Electric Cars(February 16) - Wheego Electric Cars, manufacturer of all-electric vehicles, today announced it has signed Ellis Brooks Auto Center as its dealer with exclusive rights to sell the Wheego Electric Car product line throughout California's San Francisco Bay Area Including San Mateo, Santa Cruz, Monterey and San Francisco Counties. Complete Story
 
The Future of Electric Vehicle Batteries: Lithium Ion & China(February 15) -As the automotive industry transitions to electric vehicles, companies developing lithium-ion battery technology will be in the driver’s seat – and they’ll be carrying Chinese driver’s licenses. Li-ion technology is quickly replacing nickel-metal hydride batteries in hybrid electric vehicles, and the advanced battery market for emerging plug-in hybrid vehicles will be worth billions of dollars within a decade, according to a new report by market research firm GBI Research. Complete Story    
 
Battery evolution overwhelms mass production(February 15) - Today, battery technology is undergoing unprecedented change. The change is so rapid that innovations can’t get into mass production before another innovation promising even more takes its place in the imagination.   Complete Story

The Green Line: New diesel-electric hybrid buses hit the streets in Winston-Salem(February 15) - The first of Winston-Salem's 10 new diesel-electric hybrid buses took to the road yesterday, with more buses and fuel savings to come, transit officials said. The bright green buses were hard to miss as they crisscrossed streets downtown going to and from the Campbell Transportation Center on Fifth Street. Complete Story