Author: EVAI

Rolls-Royce has been spotted testing a prototype for an updated Ghost sedan. The updates will likely constitute a mid-cycle refresh for the current Ghost, which arrived on the market for the 2021 model year. Expect the updated version, which Rolls-Royce typically refers to as Series II cars, to arrive as a 2026 model in the U.S. That means a debut…

Volvo is holding off on plans to make its lineup all-electric by the end of this decade, but the automaker’s boss still supports Europe’s planned phaseout of new internal-combustion vehicle sales halfway through the next decade.

Volvo and 49 companies recently signed a declaration urging the European Union not to change its current timeline, which would see new cars with gasoline or diesel engines effectively banned in member countries by 2035. That plan does include a loophole for synthetic fuels, however, so internal-combustion vehicles could still be sold if those fuels can be produced at scale and meet emissions targets.

2025 Volvo EX40 (Europe spec)

“Electrification is the single biggest action our industry can take to cut its carbon footprint,” Volvo Cars CEO Jim Rowan said regarding the EU plan. Rivian also signed the declaration, but other major automakers did not, according to Bloomberg, which noted that other signatories included companies outside of auto manufacturing like Ikea and Uber.

The EU plan has been repeatedly challenged since it was first announced in 2021. Germany successfully lobbied for the synthetic fuels loophole in 2023, and Italian officials recently called the plan “absurd,” claiming the tightening of emissions standards leading up to the internal-combustion ban should be slowed down to address changing market conditions.

2025 Volvo EX30 electric SUV (dual-motor, Vapor Grey)

Last month Volvo backtracked on a goal, announced in 2021, to become an all-electric brand by 2030. Volvo now expects 90% of its cars to be EVs or plug-in hybrids by that time, with the remaining 10% having mild-hybrid powertrains.

Volvo COO Björn Annwall told Green Car Reports that the automaker is prepared to end sales of gasoline models even if some demand still exists, and that plug-in hybrids will evolve to offer more electric range with smaller engines.

• The U.K. powered down the final coal power plant
• In 2017 the U.K. set a goal of 2025 for the end of coal use
• The U.S. is working on increasing the use of renewable resources

The U.K. has closed its last coal-fired power plant, according to a report by energy think tank Ember marking an important step in the transition toward cleaner energy.

The shuttering of the Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station in Nottinghamshire ends an era that began in 1882, when the world’s first coal plant opened in London. Coal still supplied 39% of U.K. electricity as recently as 2012, according to the report, although its share dropped significantly after that, hovering at around 2% since 2019.

Solar panels on a Walmart store

U.K. officials announced plans to end coal use by 2025 in 2017, and the country even experienced its first day without coal-generated electricity since 1882 that same year. Ember attributes the early announcement of the 2025 goal is major factor in the phaseout of coal, along with carbon pricing, investments in offshore wind energy and grid infrastructure, and market reforms to encourage renewable energy.

Coal was primarily replaced with wind and solar energy, according to the report, which estimates that the rapid decrease in coal use since 2012 avoided roughly 970 million tons of carbon emissions and saved about $3.8 million. The U.K. is now targeting a fully decarbonized grid by 2030.

Volvo EX30 charging

A shift toward wind and solar power like the one undertaken by the U.K. lowers the carbon emissions of the electricity grid, which in turn reduces the carbon footprint of EVs charged from it. Use of these renewable sources is also on the rise in the U.S., where wind and solar together accounted for 16% of total electricity generation in 2023, up from 14% in 2022 and 8% in 2018, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA).

In the short term, though, increased energy demands from factories building electric vehicles and batteries, as well as other industries, may be leading utilities to dirtier decisions, a report published earlier this year by the Energy News Network found. Many Southeastern utilities are looking to address anticipated higher demand with natural gas rather than wind and solar, according to the report.

The addition of Tesla is another indication that the Paris show is enjoying something of a comeback after a lackluster 2022 edition.

The lender plans to offer automotive financing primarily to small franchises and startups.

Stellantis is recalling 194,000 Jeep 4xe plug-in hybrid SUVs globally after 13 reports of battery fires, and is telling owners to park outside and away from structures, as well as avoid charging, until a fix is implemented. Stellantis confirmed that 154,032 U.S.-market vehicles are affected, as well as 14,038 in Canada, 673 in Mexico, and 25,502…

Bridgestone is now producing a tire with 55% recycled and renewable materials, to be used on the Audi E-Tron GT, the automaker’s current flagship performance EV.

The tire in question is a variant of the Bridgestone Potenza Sport summer performance tire, in this case tailored specifically to the E-Tron GT, according Bridgestone. The company noted it received an International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) for the tire’s recycled and renewable-material content.

2025 Audi E-Tron GT

The specific breakdown is 35% renewable material, including natural rubber and bio-attributed polymers, and 20% recycled materials, including ground rubber and carbon black recovered from used tires, as well as rice husks and ash silica, according to Bridgestone. The tire will also be manufactured at a plant in Rome powered by renewable energy, the company adds.

Bridgestone aims to achieve carbon neutrality and use 100% sustainable materials in its tires by 2050. The company previously made small batches of IndyCar race tires with natural rubber from an American southwest crop called guayule, but this marks the first manifestation of its sustainability push in mass-produced tires for road cars.

Firestone Firehawk IndyCar race tires made with guayule rubber

With no “tailpipe” emissions to speak of, emissions from the manufacturing of tires and other components make up a bigger part of EVs’ carbon footprint. That’s led other tire makers and automakers, such as Michelin and Hyundai, to look at ways of making EV tires more environmentally friendly.

Goodyear in 2022 unveiled a prototype tire made from 70% sustainable materials, although it wasn’t commercially available. The following year it revealed greener tires for the Tesla Model 3 made with carbon black that didn’t require the combustion of fossil fuels to generate.

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• Tesla’s help with solving crime

• Stellantis lowers profit margin forecast

• UAW urges for Stellantis strike

• BMW to launch fuel cell vehicle

• Ford to offer free chargers for buyers

The Fiat 500e isn’t selling well.

Stellantis paused production of the pint-sized electric car on Sept. 12 noting sluggish demand. Reuters reported on Tuesday that production is not scheduled to resume until Nov. 1.

The original production halt was only slated to last four weeks with a restart date set for Oct. 11.

Stellantis, Fiat’s parent company, slowed production operations at the Mirafiori plant in Turin, Italy in February noting it was a response to weak market demand for the electric Fiat 500e. The slowdown was set to have the plant operating at a single reduced eight-hour shift schedule. Previously the plant was running two shifts.

2024 Fiat 500e

Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares will meet with the Italian parliamentary committee next week to discuss the automaker’s Italian production, according to Reuters.

Reuters reported that despite the production stop Stellantis recommitted to its plan of investing 100 million euros ($111 million) into assembly of an improved battery pack and to produce a new 500 Hybrid model in early 2026.

In September Italian officials told the European Union that it needed to review the plan to end sales of new internal-combustion cars by 2035.

“The ban must be changed,” Italian energy minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin said. The government official called the ban “absurd” and that it’s being dictated by an “ideological vision.” 

The 2024 Fiat 500e costs $34,095 and has 149 miles of EPA-rated range. Green Car Reports said it “charms city drivers” when we drove it in April.