California utility offers $4,000 purchase incentive for used PHEVs


Peninsula Clean Energy (PCE), which serves approximately 290,000 accounts in California’s San Mateo County, is offering a $4,000 incentive toward the purchase of a used PHEV for lower-income customers. PCE is offering the DriveForward Electric incentive in partnership with the nonprofit Peninsula Family Service (PFS), whose DriveForward program offers affordable interest rates on vehicle loans… Read more »

E-Force One customizes its e-trucks for different use cases


E-Force One, a supplier of 18-ton e-trucks, will begin equipping its vehicles with batteries from Swiss manufacturer ecovolta. The batteries are part of a concept E-Force One developed to individually tailor each vehicle to the route type and distance it must travel, as well as the charging technology available. The e-truck maker can outfit each… Read more »

Sono Motors logs 10,000 preorders for Sion solar EV


Over a year before the vehicle’s production is scheduled to begin, German startup Sono Motors says it has received 10,000 preorders for its Sion SEV (solar electric vehicle). Most of the reservations have been made by private individuals, around 87 percent of them from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The Sion features a liquid-cooled 35 kWh… Read more »

Mullen Technologies’ Qiantu K50 EV to be built in Spokane facility


EV manufacturer Mullen Technologies has signed a Letter of Intent with the West Plains Airport Area Public Development Authority (PDA) to build a new manufacturing facility in Spokane County, Washington. The 1.3 million square foot facility will produce Mullen’s Qiantu K50 sports coupe EV. The facility will be built by the PDA and leased to… Read more »

Silicon Valley airport purchases 10 Proterra e-buses to replace CNG fleet


San José International Airport (SJC), which provides services for the Silicon Valley area, is purchasing a fleet of 10 Proterra e-buses to transport passengers between SJC’s parking lots, rental car center and terminals. Funded in part by a $5-million zero-emissions grant from the Federal Aviation Administration, the electric buses will replace the aging CNG fleet… Read more »

AAA survey: Americans are interested in EVs but know little about them


The latest annual survey by AAA found that, while many Americans are interested in electric vehicles, a lack of knowledge about them is likely contributing to the slow rate of adoption. AAA conducted a telephone survey of 1,000 adults in April 2019. “Today, more than 200,000 electric cars can be found on roads across the… Read more »

Is Workhorse’s deal to buy Lordstown plant from GM to build electric pickup too good to be true?


News travels by strange paths these days. The world first learned of a tentative deal for electric truck maker Workhorse to buy GM’s idled Lordstown, Ohio plant via a self-congratulatory tweet by the President of the US. If the deal goes through, it could be a win-win-win-win: Workhorse might receive a windfall like the one… Read more »

Illinois proposes $1,000 annual fee on EVs

Illinois (Nicolas Raymond
The Illinois state legislature is considering a bill that would impose by far the highest fee on EV ownership of any US state. The legislation, introduced by Democratic Senator Martin Sandoval of Chicago, would raise the annual registration fee for electric vehicles from the current $17.50 to $1,000. The bill, which is aimed at raising… Read more »

Mercedes begins production of EQC electric SUV


Mercedes has begun production of the EQC, a pure electric SUV that represents the German automaker’s first native EV (built to be electric, not adapted from a legacy vehicle). The company has begun taking orders, and deliveries are expected to start next month. Mercedes says the EQC SUV is already sold out for the year…. Read more »