Lucid Gravity, Karma EVs, Camry Hybrid AWD, Forester Hybrid, Mercedes Charging: The week in reverse gear
Which electric vehicle retains more of its range in cold weather?
And which vehicle manufacturer does EV drivers appear to have “bricked” their EVs from?
This is our review of Week In Reverse – here at Green Car Reports – for the week ending November 17, 2023.
Just before the LA Auto Show, Toyota unveiled a redesigned ninth-generation Camry, making it the best-selling full hybrid car in the United States. The 2025 Toyota Camry Hybrid For the first time, the combination of the available all-wheel drive and the hybrid system is also available. And Toyota is dividing the spacious crossover SUV market even further with the introduction of the 2025 Toyota Crown Signia. The Signia is also only offered in all-wheel drive and in hybrid form, and features a slightly more car-like layout compared to the Highlander SUV. The Signia is expected to achieve 36 mpg.
2025 Toyota Crown Signia
The Electric SUV Lucid Gravity 2025 made an official appearance at the LA show this week with three spacious rows of seats, an aerodynamic shape and a predicted range of 440 miles. Lucid has refined its user interface, updated its efficiency-focused powertrain, and added an adaptive air suspension that allows for off-road use and a towing capacity of 6,000 pounds.
Subaru also introduced its redesigned 2025 Subaru Forester at the show and confirmed that a Subaru Forester Hybrid will follow the other models by about a year.
Karma Kaveya concept
Karma revealed plans for Monday two upcoming Karma EVsincluding a sports car with a scissor door that won’t hit the market until 2026 and an electric sedan that’s scheduled to hit the market in 2024. The future of the GS-6 (Revero) or this model’s plug-in series hybrid powertrain has not yet been detailed.
Mercedes-Benz presented this first charging station of its network, which it claims will be the fastest in the US. It also provides a template for future stations in the network, many of which will be located at Buc-ee’s travel centers.
Mercedes-Benz EV charging station in Sandy Springs, Georgia
A Bug in Rivian’s over-the-air software Earlier this week could serve as a lesson for other brands as well as the electric truck brand’s own releases. The infotainment systems on some Rivian R1S and R1T trucks were virtually disabled, although the trucks were still functioning. Luckily, the rollout was paused before more than 3% received the update.
Hyundai announced its own electric vehicle factory in Ulsan, South Korea, capable of building up to 200,000 electric vehicles annually. According to a report citing a plant manager, one of the models to be built at the flagship factory will be a flagship electric vehicle – a large model Genesis GV90 electric SUVdue in 2026.
2024 Volvo EM90
With the full disclosure of the Volvo EM90 electric minivan Last weekend, Volvo – initially positioned only for China – presented perhaps the most luxurious interior of all time. Plus, it’s road trip ready and has an even larger battery than the one the Swedish automaker uses for its EX90 SUV.
In a strange twist on globalism, likely to be reinforced by Biden’s electric car policies, the US is on its way Polestar 4 is built in South Korea, at a Renault factory, under a contract manufacturing agreement. The move by a Swedish-headquartered brand controlled by a Chinese group is a workaround to circumvent an import duty imposed on Chinese-made vehicles.
Canoo American Bulldog
Canoo last week converted its light tactical vehicle submitted to the US Army into a civilian vehicle American Bulldog electric pickup. While it offers many of the same features as the proposed military version – possibly minus the Kevlar shielding – this electric truck’s specific build could draw interest as Canoo is still working toward solvency and production.
And Tesla may have installed the wrong airbag When owners of a Model S or Model X switched from the fork to the steering wheel or vice versa. The steering fork, once standard equipment when these models were refreshed, has been changed to a $1,000 option.
2024 Audi Q8
Which Electric vehicles maintain their range in cold weather the best? Battery health experts at Recurrent recently used real-world data to see that the Audi E-Tron SUV (now Q8 E-Tron) and models with heat pumps came out on top.
Toyota partners with JB Straubel’s Redwood Materials The circle closes with Toyota batteries. Under the plan, Redwood will capture recycled material from retired Prius hybrids and then use that material for future Toyota electric vehicle packages – covering what Redwood calls the most critical battery components, which currently account for the majority of the battery cell’s cost and otherwise typical are overseas.
Most Americans are staying put, according to a recent Ipsos poll that claims to draw from a “nationally representative probability sample.” I’m unlikely to buy an electric vehicle as your next vehicle. However, it also found that a slim majority of Americans support government incentives for those who want to switch to electric vehicles.
Tesla is charging
A lot of factors come into play Estimating Tesla range for navigation and trip planning, according to a post from the electric vehicle manufacturer this week. While this and the reliability of its Supercharger network remain Tesla’s strengths, the automaker remains less clear when calculating its own range estimates for its electric vehicles.
And according to a new study Electric vehicle owners don’t drive as much as with gasoline vehicles – and that’s a problem, also because most models that take into account the advantages of electric vehicles assume that they will be used about the same amount. Meanwhile, gasoline “super users” continue to opt for the easy refueling option, while many long-range electric vehicles with large, resource-intensive packages fail to reach their full potential.
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