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Recharge Wrap-up: drifting Nissan Leaf video, BMW i sponsors Formula E Berlin ePrix

Watch a Nissan Leaf drift. The folks at Autocar got their hands on Nissan's otherwise tame electric vehicle with a set of plastic rear tires, and got it sideways at the British Drift Championship. If that sounds ridiculous, well, it is, but it's also enormously entertaining. If it sounds particularly tricky to pull off in the front-drive EV, yeah, it's that, too. Check it out the drifting Leaf in the video above, and read more commentary at Hybrid Cars. BMW's i division is the title sponsor of the 2016 Formula E Berlin ePrix. The German automaker, which has already put the i8 and i3 to work as safety and medical cars for the electric racing series, is "delighted to be prominently represented with BMW i at the race weekend in the German capital," according to Joerg Reimann, BMW's Vice President of Brand Experience. The 2016 FIA Formula E BMW i Berlin ePrix - as it is now officially titled - takes place on May 21. Read more from Formula E. A Hawaiian biodiesel plant is the first in the US to be certified as sustainable. Pacific Biodiesel's Big Island Biodiesel plant gets its certification from the Sustainable Biodiesel Alliance, covering both the plant's production and distribution of the alternative fuel. The facility uses waste oil, including used cooking oil, to produce its fuel. The certification system is designed to help worthy biofuel producers show that their processes and products are more than just greenwashing. Read more at Utility Dive, or from The New York Times. India's KPIT Technologies has earned the Promising Innovation in Transport Award at the 2016 Summit of the International Transport Forum in Leipzig, Germany. KPIT earned the special recognition for its system to convert diesel buses to all-electric power. The company's retrofits can be applied to a wide variety of bus platforms. Read more at Green Car Congress.

Nissan Leaf ends 2013 with best sales month ever, but can't catch Chevy Volt

Nissan and Chevrolet both ended 2013 with solid sales figures for their plug-in vehicles, the first two that were released (all the way back at the end of 2010) from major automakers. As has been the story for most of 2013, December sales for the Nissan Leaf and the Chevy Volt were roughly the same. When we left the year-to-date running tally at the end of November, the Volt was at 20,702, while the Leaf was at 20,080. As you can tell from the image above (if you've been noticing the trend in these EV sales monthly flash-reports), the Leaf outsold the Volt, but was it enough to put the Nissan on top for the year? In 2013, Nissan sold 22,610 Leafs, more than twice as many as in 2012. Almost. The Leaf made a valiant attempt, and did have its best month ever with 2,529 units sold. That means that for 2013, Nissan moved a total of 22,610 Leafs, more than twice as many as in 2012 (that year, Nissan sold only 9,819 Leafs in the US) and actually more than 2012 and 2011 Leaf sales combined (which was 19,493). Nissan continues to see the effects of its price drop and expanded sales areas, with Georgia rapidly becoming a Leaf hotbed. Nissan's Paige Presley said that Atlanta was once again the Leaf's number one market and that, "sales are expanding deeper into Georgia markets such as Macon and Columbus." The Volt saw a boost upwards from a November slump and sold 2,392 units in December. That puts the plug-in hybrid's annual total at 23,094, just down from the 23,461 sold in 2012. For all of 2013, though, the Volt outsold the Leaf by 484 vehicles. In a competition like this, we'll count that as a win for both sides. We will our more detailed monthly green car sales report, which covers more of the fuel efficient vehicles on the market, up soon. News Source: GM, Nissan Green Chevrolet Nissan Electric Hybrid PHEV ev sales hybrid sales

2022 Mitsubishi Outlander leaks via photo shoot

The 2022 Mitsubishi Outlander is making the rounds on social media this week after being spotted at a photo shoot, confirming a design we first saw in Geneva last year.  Mitsubishi's new crossover was spotted staging for photos by an anonymous photographer, who snapped a few choice shots and shared them with allcarnews on Instagram. The quality of the photos is far from fantastic, but there's enough detail to confirm that the new Outlander will be an almost direct lift of the Engelberg Tourer Concept which Mitsubishi showed in Geneva last year. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. There's also an obvious resemblance to the Outlander prototype caught in spy photos last year. The production model appears to retain the concept's discrete roof panel (which makes it ideal for contrasting colors like those on the show car) and the chipmunk-cheek styling around the headlights. The concept was ostensibly powered by a plug-in hybrid system (like the one found in the current Outlander PHEV, but with a 2.4-liter inline-4 engine rather than a 2.0-liter unit). Electric range was an estimated 43 miles, which also improves on the existing Outlander PHEV's 22 miles. The powertrain for non-hybrid Outlanders is more of a mystery. Reports from earlier this year suggest that the gasoline version could share powertrains with Nissan, which still owns a controlling stake in Mitsubishi. In exchange, Mitsubishi would supply its PHEV for the small Nissan Qashqai crossover, which is sold in the United States as the Rogue Sport. If that happens, and assuming Nissan brings it here, the Rogue Sport would be Nissan's first PHEV in the U.S. Related Video: