Author: EVAI

The 2025 Toyota Highlander Hybrid costs at least $5,000 more than last year’s base Highlander Hybrid Highlander Hybrid base trim is now XLE, and it comes standard with all-wheel drive The 25th Edition celebrates the 2001 launch of the Highlander, but it only comes as a Hybrid Toyota shakes up the lineup for the 2025 Highlander three-row crossover…

Manufacturers are under increasing pressure to incorporate novel, recyclable materials that produce fewer greenhouse gases. Many are turning to next-generation materials.

• GM EVs can now charge at over 17,800 Tesla Superchargers
• Most Superchargers will require an adapter
• Unlike Ford and Rivian, GM charges $225 for the adapter

General Motors on Wednesday announced that it will begin shipping North American Charging Standard (NACS) adapters that will give its EV owners access to more than 17,800 Tesla Supercharger DC fast-charging stations.

The automaker follows Ford and Rivian, which began shipping free adapters to customers this past spring. But GM will charge its customers $225 for adapters, which the automaker said will first be made available in the U.S., followed by Canada later this year. GM noted that it’s “leveraging multiple suppliers” to produce adapters, helping to ensure no supply bottlenecks occur.

GM EVs get Tesla Supercharger access in 2024

Superchargers will also be integrated with GM’s in-vehicle charging apps, allowing drivers to use those same apps to locate a charger, check its status, and initiate and pay for charging, according to GM. With compatible Superchargers, GM claims its customers will have access to 321,800 DC fast-charging and Level 2 AC public chargers in North America. That includes a number of road-trip fast-charging stops co-branded with EVgo.

GM announced that it would adopt NACS in June 2023 in what turned out to be the second of a series of announcements by automakers planning to use the Tesla charge port. At the time, GM said it would begin adding NACS ports to future EVs in 2025. Hyundai, meanwhile, has already added an NACS port to the Ioniq 5 for the 2025 model year.

2025 Chevrolet Equinox EV

The arrival of adapters marks the first step in GM’s move away from a charging standard it helped establish. GM was one of a coalition of automakers that helped bring about the Combined Charging Standard (CCS) in 2011, and was the first to install a CCS port in a production vehicle—the 2014 Chevrolet Spark EV.

The NACS port may give GM customers access to more stations, but it won’t solve all charging problems. As of June 2023, when GM made its NACS announcement, there were actually more CCS connectors in the U.S. than NACS ones. And while the Tesla Supercharger network continues to get high marks for reliability, that will only extend to non-Tesla EVs if automakers and hardware suppliers can ensure interoperability between a wider array of vehicles and charging stations.

Tesla has patented a wireless EV charging system, indicating that the company is preparing to commercialize tech that’s been hinting at for years as a possible addition to its electric vehicles.

A patent filing was spotted by Twitter (now known as X) user SETI Park. It was filed by Tesla Feb. 2 and published by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Sept. 6. It discusses a form of inductive charging, in which electricity is transmitted from a coil connected to a power source to one on an electric vehicle, that is the most common current method of wireless charging.

Model S wireless charging pad

Tesla first teased wireless charging during a March 2023 presentation to investors, showing what appeared to be a wireless charging pad beneath a garage-parked Model S in one presentation slide.

Tesla did not comment on when or even if it would offer wireless charging to EV owners at the time, but just a few months later, enthusiast media noticed that the automaker appeared to have acquired German wireless charging firm Wiferion. Again, Tesla didn’t publicly comment on its acquisition of the Wiferion or any wireless charging plans that might enable, but last December chief design officer Franz von Holzhausen confirmed to Jay Leno that the company is actively working on the tech.

Tesla Model 3 equipped with WiTricity wireless charging system

Wireless charging has a convenience factor that may win over would-be EV owners, as drivers don’t need to remember to plug in every night; they’re simply prompted to park the car centered over a charging pad. So far, though, WiTricity is the only company supplying the tech in an original equipment application outside of China—on the South Korean-market Genesis GV60.

For Tesla, wireless charging could also increase the uptime for self-driving vehicles, such as the revenue-generating robotaxis Tesla CEO Elon Musk continues to pursue. 

The Toyota Sequoia enters the 2025 model year with a new 1794 Edition model The 2025 Sequoia is priced from $64,120, including a $1,945 destination charge All 2025 Sequoias offer 437 hp and maximum towing of 9,520 pounds The Toyota Sequoia already takes a stab at the luxury full-size SUV segment with the Capstone flagship, but Toyota has stepped…

The 2025 Toyota Highlander Hybrid three-row crossover receives standard all-wheel drive and a new special edition as its only significant updates. Based on the Highlander Hybrid Limited grade, the 25th Edition marks two and a half decades since the launch of the first-generation Highlander. Unveiled at the 2000 New York auto show as a 2001 model…

The Civic Si gets a few key styling tweaks for 2025 The sedan is only offered with a 6-speed manual transmission Civic Si among the highest-priced cars in the class at more than $31,000 I have never bought a car that didn’t have a manual transmission. Sure, I have a truck with an automatic, but I inherited it—and trucks don’t…

• Jeep to offer more powertrain options

• In-car payments for EV charging

• Tesla registrations in Silicon Valley

• New tariffs on Chinese EVs, materials

• New-gen LFP bus batteries last 15 years, CATL claims—20% longer
• CATL claims a 22% boost in energy density by volume, and 175 Wh/kg by weight
• Superfast Charging Edition goes up to 70% in 15 minutes

Chinese battery supplier CATL has unveiled a new battery pack for electric buses designed to tolerate the rigors of public-transit use.

The CATL Tectrans Bus Edition pack, officially revealed at IAA Transportation 2024 in Germany, is designed for longer-distance passenger buses, and it has an energy density of 175 watt-hours per kg—higher than other lithium iron phosphate (LFP) bus batteries.

It’s one of CATL’s new Tectrans battery packs for trucks and buses that it claims will last up to 15 years—a 20% extension based on tech improvements—or 1.5 million km (nearly a million miles), according to a presentation, with a warranty “that covers the entire vehicle lifecycle,” Aleksej Krükov, the company’s chief engineer of overseas business, said Monday at the show. Further, a Long Life Edition was pegged at 15 years or 2.8 million km (1.74 million miles), with battery swapping options.

Meanwhile, very fast charging is a key part of the products, too. In a Superfast Charging Edition, CATL claims a 70% charge in just 15 minutes—a feat that, for fleet operators would require megawatt charging.

CATL Tectrans Long Life Edition LFP electric bus battery

CATL Tectrans Superfast Charging Edition LFP electric bus battery

CATL told show attendees that it is currently in talks with 13 vehicle manufacturers to use the Tectrans Bus Edition battery in up to 80 models, according to CnEVPost, although it’s unclear if any of these will be sold outside of China.

The new-generation battery packs range up to 600 kwh. They employ a new high-press-density cathode design that helps lead to these packs’ 22% increase in energy density by volume. In the Superfast charging edition CATL has also worked to equalize temperatures across the pack.

The battery company has a wide range of potential customers, as many companies already build and sell electric buses around the world. In the U.S., China’s BYD has made a lot of electric buses, as has specialist firms like Proterra and established manufacturers of internal-combustion vehicles. Mercedes-Benz has even built buses with solid-state batteries that marked the first use of that tech in a production vehicle.

CATL Tectrans Bus Edition battery pack

CATL has long been a major player in the passenger-car EV battery business, and has developed cell-to-pack tech as an alternative to conventional battery packs that the company has claimed can deliver a power advantage. It’s now focusing more on commercial-vehicle applications with the Tectrans brand, which launched in July with two batteries for commercial trucks, including a long-range version and a fast-charging version that can be charged to 60% in as little as 12 minutes, according to CnEVPost.

While electric cars get most of the attention, electric trucks and buses are an important part of the emissions-reduction equation. A 2021 study estimated that a shift to electric trucks and buses could save 57,000 lives by 2050 by reducing air pollution and its associated negative health effects.

• Lotus’ upcoming sports car might crib design elements from the Theory 1 concept
• The Theory 1 packs a 70-kwh battery delivering about 250 miles of range and 987 hp from two electric motors
• Lotus has an electric SUV arriving in 2025 with a sedan following

Lotus on Tuesday unveiled the Theory 1 concept as a preview of the design direction of future models, including an electric sports car due in 2026.

The exterior incorporates aerodynamic elements, including a diffuser, air deflectors, and air curtains in the nose, a contoured underfloor incorporating a NACA duct that feeds air into the cooling system, and body sides designed to keep air flowing smoothly around the car, according to Lotus.

The concept has a 70-kwh battery pack affording an estimated range of about 250 miles, and powering dual motors that send 987 hp to all four wheels, which wear EV-specific Pirelli P Zero Elect tires. Lotus estimates a 0-62 mph time of less than 2.5 seconds and a 200-mph top speed for the roughly 3,500-pound EV.

Lotus Theory 1 concept

Lotus claims both the battery and motors are incorporated into the chassis as stressed members to increased rigidity, a common practice with the race cars the British automaker built its reputation on. The rear wing is also mounted directly to the rear motor and suspension assembly so that the downforce it generates acts directly on the suspension mounts—not unlike early winged Formula 1 cars.

Inside, the Theory 1 has a central driving position, with passenger seats on either side. In keeping with Lotus founder Colin Chapman’s maxim “simplify, then add lightness,” the seats are actually padding attached directly to the cars carbon fiber tub. The headrests also house speakers for the audio system, and Lotus used a special textile that incorporates haptic elements in place of traditional switchgear.

Lotus Theory 1 concept

Elements of the Theory 1 will likely reappear on an upcoming Lotus electric sports car codenamed Type 135. This will be based on a new Lightweight Electric Vehicle Architecture (LEVA) and was due to use a new “battery cell package” co-developed with Britishvolt before that company’s bankruptcy.

The Type 135 will be proceeded by the Lotus Eletre electric SUV, which is due to reach the U.S. in the first quarter of 2025, and the Emeya, an electric sedan due to face off against the Tesla Model S Plaid and Porsch Taycan. Lotus plans to offer only fully electric models by 2028, and has also shown fast-charging hardware that can already deliver more power than most EVs can handle.