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Recharge Wrap-up: Kia Niro caught at Nurburgring, Tesla & Ben & Jerry

The Kia Niro hybrid was spied testing at the Nurburgring. The prototype of the 2016 Niro — which originally appeared as a concept at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show — is heavily camouflaged, so it is hard to tell which exterior features have been carried over. Its plate is registered to a hybrid, but other powertrain details are unavailable (the concept was equipped with a 1.6-liter turbocharged engine and electric drive system good for 158 horsepower). When it goes on sale, positioned below the Soul in Kia's lineup, it will only be available as a hybrid, with a plug-in hybrid version expected in later years. See the video above, and read more at Autoevolution and at Hybrid Cars. A new report from IHS Automotive predicts the EV charger market to surpass 12.7 million units by 2020. In Japan, the number of EV charging stations has surpassed the number of gas stations. The Netherlands, UK and Norway are the leaders in EV chargers in Europe, while Germany and France are slow in their infrastructure growth, relative to their size. CHAdeMO is the more popular charging standard worldwide, but CCS is expected to close the gap. According to the report, PHEVs will become more abundant than BEVs in 2016, and will remain so for a while. Read more at Green Car Congress. Kandi Electric Vehicles has signed a strategic agreement with telecommunications company ZTE Corporation and EV leasing company Zhejiang ZuoZhongYou Electric Vehicle Service (ZZY). The three groups will work together to improve Kandi's "Micro Public Transportation (MPT)" carsharing program. They'll collaborate on promotion, creating a research institute, doing research and development for wireless charging and making their operating system easier to use, among other endeavors. "We are excited to connect Kandi's innovative MPT model with ZTE's cutting-edge technologies," says Kandi Chairman and CEO Hu Xiaoming. "By leveraging ZZY's premium services, our goal is to accelerate MPT's market penetration, maintain our leadership position and achieve greater success in China's booming EV industry." Read more in the press release below. Ben & Jerry's debuted a new ice cream flavor at the Tesla Motors factory in Fremont, CA. Tesla built a special Model S in honor of the event and the new flavor, which is called Save Our Swirled.

Fisker will adopt Tesla's NACS EV charging connector by 2025

Electric vehicle startup Fisker said on Tuesday it signed a deal with Tesla to adopt its North American Charging Standard (NACS), giving Fisker customers access to the automaker's Supercharger network by 2025. A plethora of automakers, including Ford Motor and General Motors, are moving away from the standard Combined Charging System (CCS) connector to Tesla's previously proprietary charging design, which is set to dominate the industry. Fisker said its vehicles made 2025 onwards will have the NACS port for charging, while other customers can use an adapter to access Tesla's 12,000-strong network of public fast chargers in the U.S. and Canada. The company will continue to provide an adapter for the CCS if customers wish to continue using the technology, the EV maker said. Tesla's recent deals represent major strides in displacing a rival standard, CCS, that earlier exclusively had the backing of President Joe Biden's administration. The government is offering $7.5 billion in funding to speed the deployment of EV chargers in the United States. Most automakers have shied away from building large charging networks as installing and maintaining chargers requires a substantial investment for still-limited returns. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Green Fisker Tesla Electric Infrastructure

Tesla settles lemon lawsuit brought on by Lemon Law King Vince Megna

As much as we're weary about giving so-called Lemon Law King Vince Megna more space on these pages, we've decided it's worth letting you all know that his client has settled his lawsuit with Tesla Motors over a Model S sedan that he claims was a lemon. As you may remember, the electric sedan in question, a 2013 Signature Performance Model S, was owned by a doctor in Wisconsin who claimed that his shiny new car required servicing so often that he had it in the shop for 66 days in his first few months of ownership. The owner claims to have asked Tesla to buy the car back three separate times and claims to be able to provide proof of such, though Tesla previously refuted that version of events, suggesting in a blog posting that the owner may have tampered with a fuse. In the end, the two parties decided to settle, with Tesla agreeing to pay Robert Montgomery, the owner, $126,836 to cover the car's cost along with his taxes and attorney fees. Case closed. If you'd like to see Megna's own video discussing the settlement, scroll down below. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.