2014 Nissan Quest Sv on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Uber promises 100% electric cars by 2040, commits $800 million to help drivers switch

Uber Technologies Inc on Tuesday said every vehicle on its global ride-hailing platform will be electric by 2040, and it vowed to contribute $800 million through 2025 to help drivers switch to battery-powered vehicles, including discounts for vehicles bought or leased from partner automakers. Uber said that vehicles on its rides platform in the United States, Canada and Europe will be zero-emission by 2030, taking advantage of the regulatory support and advanced infrastructure in those regions. Uber, which as of early February said it had 5 million drivers worldwide, said it formed partnerships with General Motors and the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance. In addition to the vehicle discounts, Uber said the $800 million includes discounts for charging and a fare surcharge for electric and hybrid vehicles, the cost of which would be partially offset by an additional small fee charged to customers who request a "green trip." The deals with GM and the Renault alliance focus on the U.S., Canada and Europe. Uber said it was discussing partnerships with other automakers. Uber's plan follows years of criticism by environmental groups and city officials over the pollution and congestion caused by ride-hail vehicles and calls for fleet electrification. Lyft Inc, Uber's smaller U.S. rival, in June promised to switch to 100% electric vehicles by 2030, but said it would not provide direct financial support to drivers. Uber said its goal is to reduce the overall cost of ownership for electric vehicles, which are currently more expensive than gasoline cars. The company also released data on its emission footprint and said it would publish reports going forward. Before the pandemic, electric cars accounted for only 0.15% of all U.S. and Canadian Uber trip miles — roughly in line with average U.S. electric car ownership. At around 12%, the share of plug-in hybrid and hybrid cars was roughly five times as high as the U.S. average. Ride-hail trips overall account for less than 0.6% of transportation-sector emissions, according to U.S. data, but the total number of on-demand vehicles has significantly increased since Uber's launch nearly a decade ago, with 7 billion trips last year, according to Uber's February investor presentation. Uber said its U.S. and Canadian trips with a passenger produce 41% more carbon dioxide per mile than an average private car once miles spent cruising between passengers are included. Uber's plans could be a boon to the auto industry.

Nissan reviving Pulsar name for Euro market

The Nissan Pulsar doesn't have what we'd consider a rich history in the US, other than on some models decades ago. However, the nameplate has been part of the Nissan lineup globally since 1978 and has proven popular in Asia and Australia. Now, the brand is teasing a five-door hatch to revive the name and hit European showrooms this fall.
The new Pulsar will be built at the company's recently renovated factory in Barcelona, Spain. It's not clear from the teaser whether this is the same model that is already sold in other parts of the world or a brand new vehicle. Although, Nissan says in the announcement that the car "has been designed to meet the specific demands of European car buyers."
With competitors like the Volkswagen Golf and Ford Focus, the European five-door hatch market is seriously competitive. It will be interesting to see if Nissan will have something special to bring to the table. Scroll down to read Nissan's full teaser about its latest hatchback in Europe.

Mitsubishi and Nissan teaming up on electric kei car

Nissan and Mitsubishi have announced plans to build an electric kei car together. The yet-unnamed car would mark a major step towards electrification of Japan's popular supercompact segment. The car will be powered by a 20 kWh battery and will be engineered to cover daily driving duties in a Japanese driving cycle. The car can also double as a mobile power source or power a home in emergency situations. Nissan says the car will measure 134 inches long, 58 inches wide, and 65 inches tall, in order to comply with laws limiting kei car size. The companies state that the car will be developed by NMKV Co., Ltd., a joint-venture that stands for Nissan Mitsubishi Kei Vehicle. Each carmaker owns a 50 percent stake, and already jointly builds models such as the feline favorite Nissan Dayz, which Mitsubishi sells as the eK. In reality, that likely means Mitsubishi will be developing the car and Nissan will simply slap a badge on it. Nissan has not traditionally built kei cars, choosing instead to rebadge those made by Suzuki or Mitsubishi. In fact, Mitsubishi built the first electric kei car, the i-Miev, way back in 2009, and it was actually sold in the U.S. until 2017. The jellybean-shaped EV was a pioneer in the field, but its 62-mile range from a 16 kWh lithium-ion battery showed the limitations of the technology at the time. Mitsubishi moved about 32,000 of them before they pulled the plug, with a pre-tax-credit price ranging from $23,000 to $31,000. The new Nissan-Mitsubishi kei car will land at around 2 million yen, or $18,200. The price, while slightly more expensive than a gasoline counterpart, bucks predictions from analysts that said prices would skyrocket by 66 to 120 percent if kei cars were forced to electrify. A petrol-powered Nissan Dayz starts at around $15,200. Size-wise, the two share a similar footprint as they are governed by kei car size limits. The special class of cars get unique license plates and other registration cost benefits due to their compact dimensions. A BMW i3 would exceed those boundaries due to its 158-inch length and 70-inch width. However, the larger EV comes equipped with a substantially bigger 42.2 kWh battery good for 152 miles of range. Though no photos have been released, we predict it will look like the iMk concept (pictured above). The car will go on sale in spring 2022. Related Video This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.