Author: EVAI

British performance marque TWR has been revived by the son of the original company’s founder, and on Tuesday it revealed its first project, the wild Supercat based on the Jaguar XJS. The iconic Jaguar grand tourer, built between 1975 and 1996, was raced by the original TWR in various touring car championships, so it’s a fitting donor vehicle for…

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Lithia Q1 2024 earnings: Car dealer Lithia Motors Inc.’s developing captive finance company Driveway Finance Corp. lost $2 million during the first quarter, compared with a $21 million loss a year earlier.

The average price of the most popular used EVs has dropped by up to $5,000 compared to last year, according to retailer CarMax.

Sales data from September 1, 2023 to February 29, 2024, showed that the top EVs at CarMax were the Tesla Model 3, Tesla Model Y, and Nissan Leaf. They were also the top sellers in a previous CarMax report published in 2023, but since then average prices for all three have dropped. The current report showed average prices of $34,045 for the Model 3, $43,896 for the Model Y, and $18,465 for the Leaf.

Overall, among the list of top sellers, average prices are $3,000 to $5,000 less than last year, according to CarMax.

2020 Tesla Model 3

Fewer EVs from luxury brands were in the top 10 sellers this time around as well, with only four luxury models represented compared to six before. That appears to have helped lower the ceiling on used EV prices.

Those prices ranged from $22,000 to $72,000 last year, but while the lower number is the same, the upper end was $46,000 this time. CarMax partly attributes that to the elimination of the Tesla Model X from the list and lower average prices for the Model S, which is ranked ninth on this year’s list. The only non-Tesla luxury car to make the top 10 this year was the sixth-place Audi E-Tron.

And it’s not that EV interest is lagging. The report also showed a steady increase in monthly search volume on the CarMax website for electric models. EV search volume increased 177% from January 2021 to February 2024, according to the report.

Tesla Model Y

New and used EV prices soared in 2020 and 2021, and by midyear 2022 some were warning that it might soon collapse without more affordable options.

This continues to be an entirely different set of market dynamics as just two years ago. About 16 months ago, in October 2022, several analysts said that prices had peaked and the market had started to stabilize. About six months after that, the Model 3 started to nosedive in its used values and the rest of the Tesla lineup and EV market followed some months later.

While the prices are quite different, some of the trade-in patterns CarMax noted with last year’s report have continued. The Honda Civic and Toyota Tacoma were once again the most popular trade-ins for a Model 3, for example.

The first-ever electric version of the Mercedes-Benz G-Class—also known as the “Gelandewagen” or “G-wagen”—is getting the Matchbox treatment with a sustainable twist to match its electric powertrain.

Formally known as the Mercedes-Benz G 580 with EQ Technology (a name that might prove difficult to fit on the packaging), the electric G-wagen Matchbox die-cast car will be made from 99.5% recycled metal and a minimum of 81% ISCC-certified sustainable plastic.

Finished in South Seas Blue Magno (a color from Mercedes’ Manufaktur personalization division) with a black interior, the 1:64-scale toy car in a limited-edition premium version retailing for $29.99 at MattelCreations.com. A mass-produced version will be available for $2.99 at regular retailers this fall.

Matchbox Mercedes-Benz G 580 with EQ Technology premium die-cast

The Matchbox G-Class EV is no outlier. There are now scale die-cast toys or models of virtually every green car on the market from recent years—from a Chevy Volt to a Fisker Karma. Some of them might possibly end up getting kids dreaming of EVs—just as this Tesla Radio Flyer did.

As for the real thing, the G 580 with EQ Technology arrives for the 2025 model year with a 579-hp quad-motor powertrain, G-Steering four-wheel steering, and a G-Turn party trick that allows the car to pivot in a tight circle.

So far, though, the electric G-Wagen lacks the silicon-anode battery chemistry that was due to provide it with some additional weight-saving eco-credentials. It instead launches with a 116-kwh battery pack using more conventional lithium-ion chemistry. Range from the massive pack will likely land at around 250 EPA miles, while 200-kw DC fast charging should be able to charge the pack to 80% in about a half-hour.

AutoNation CFO Thomas Szlosek said that AutoNation Finance is making steady progress as the division continues shift to company customers.

BMW has committed itself to electric mobility, and that committment extends to the automaker’s BMW M performance division. The BMW hot house has already introduced the i4 M50, i5 M60, iX M60, and i7 M70 M Performance models, but for the main course—i.e. a dedicated M car—it is exploring a major step up in performance. BMW M as early as…

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Hyundai reneges on the promise of an all-EV plant. Polestar tests a different kind of battery at the charger. Federal researchers see ways to make fast-charging more reliable. And the EV with Saab roots might be made in Italy. This and more, here at Green Car Reports. 

Hyundai last week confirmed that its Metaplant in Georgia, once due to be a dedicated EV plant, will also get U.S. production of more hybrid models, as part of an effort to expand the range of hybrid trims of its gasoline vehicles. 

Polestar reports that with StoreDot’s “silicon-dominant” cells it has a prototype EV capable of 10-minute 10-80% charging. Although it might still be years away from large-scale production and the Polestar 5 used as a basis for the testing will launch with different batteries, it’s a proof point for the tech. 

The company behind the Emily GT EV, engineered by a braintrust of former Saab engineers, might build it in Italy, as part of a whole electric vehicle family with other body styles including a wagon, coupe, and convertible. 

And according to a recent brief from Department of Energy researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, more flexible controls and a gas-station-like layout might go a long way in boosting EV charging station reliability.

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Polestar has announced that prototype cells fitted to a version of its upcoming Polestar 5 flagship EV have been able to do a 10-80% charge in just 10 minutes. 

Polestar said last year that it would place the tech in a prototype Polestar 5 gaining 100 miles in 5 minutes—this project—by 2024, and it appears to have exceeded the original target. In the drivable Polestar 5, fitted with a “specially commissioned” 77-kwh battery pack, the pack has demonstrated that charge rate. 

With this project, Polestar fitted StoreDot’s “100-in-5” XFC cells into the prototype Polestar 5 via a prototype Polestar battery module. It claims to have charged the resulting pack at a starting charge rate of 310 kw and a peak of 370 kw. 

Polestar 5 prototype

The cells aren’t the all-solid-state cells that Toyota, Nissan, Honda, and others are targeting for later in the decade. But these “silicon-dominant” cells, delivered in their first test samples for automakers in 2021, are a further evolution of the lithium-ion cell tech common in EVs. StoreDot says it’s transformed them “by innovating and synthesizing proprietary organic and inorganic compounds, optimized by Artificial Intelligence algorithms.”

Polestar underscores that while energy density is on par with current nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) lithium-ion cells, these don’t require “specialist cooling systems.” The companies have previously said that this aspect could cut hundreds of pounds of weight from complete EVs, but it’s unclear if that means the test Polestar 5 is going without a liquid cooling system. 

Polestar 5 prototype

That said, it’s unlikely that the tech would be installed in a production model anytime soon, and the production Polestar 5 will get a different battery pack. With this test Polestar 5, the brand now needs to see if such a cell would be durable and reliable as part of the thermal demands of a large electric vehicle battery pack. In 2022 the companies said that StoreDot was seeking mass-production of EV-sized batteries of such tech by 2024. 

BP is an investor in StoreDot, and Polestar also holds a stake; a “strategic collaboration” with Volvo will also result in real-world testing with that related brand.