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Nissan shows how EVs are breaking the niche barrier in Norway

Call it Keeping up with the Hansens. Through a combination of environmental consciousness, big-time government incentives and good old-fashioned peer pressure, Norway has become the country with the highest number of electric vehicles per capita. And Nissan couldn't be happier. EVs have about a 15-percent new-vehicle market share in Norway, Nissan says in a new four-minute video called No Longer Niche (watch it below). Between Norway's cheap electricity and incentives such as bus-lane use, free parking and free public recharging, Nissan's sold more than 15,000 of its all-electric Leaf EVs since sales started in Norway in 2011. In fact, Norway's EV incentives were scheduled to run through 2017, but the rules' 50,000-EV threshold may be reached as soon as next year. The rising (and, we suspect, somewhat frigid) EV tide has helped other vehicle makers, to a lesser extent. This past spring, The Wall Street Journal reported that Tesla Motors' all-electric Model S sold almost 1,500 units in March, breaking the all-time single-model monthly sales record for the country. To put EVs' 15-percent market share in perspective, consider this: last year, Ford F-Series pickups, the biggest-selling US model, accounted for about five percent of US new vehicle sales. So, in order to visualize the EV effect in Norway, imagine three times as many Ford F-Series pickups on the road in the US as there are now. On second thought, don't. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Nissan considering 200-mile Leaf to take on Chevy Bolt?

With 30,200 units sold, the Nissan Leaf posted its best year ever in the US in 2014. However, Nissan needs to keep looking over its shoulder because the Chevrolet Bolt Concept from the 2015 Detroit Auto Show clearly has success EV in its sights. Chevy claims that for roughly the same price (after incentives) as a Leaf, the future Bolt could offer a 200-mile range. Although, evidence continues to mount that the Japanese brand is hard at work on its next-gen electric hatchback capable of significantly longer driving distances. According to TheDetroitBureau.com, the next Leaf will reportedly debut in about two years and will be offered in a high-output version with 200 miles or more of range. It will all be possible thanks to new lithium-ion batteries with lower weight and higher power density. If accurate, the changes would more than double the model's current EPA-estimated 84-mile range and put the hatchback on sale at roughly the same time as the Bolt's debut, if it happens. "We want to be competitive," said Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn to TheDetroitBureau.com during the Detroit Auto Show. "It may have even more range." In another speech, he also predicted that the company's EVs would become even more affordable. The statements are hardly a surprise from the company boss. Ghosn is a big proponent of electric power over other zero-emissions alternatives because it is cheaper overall, among other reasons. The latest speculation about battery innovations from the next Leaf actually echoes earlier leaks about the car. Ghosn suggested during a Japanese TV interview that the range could double for the new generation, and an unnamed engineer believed that 250 miles of driving was at least possible. Featured Gallery 2013 Nissan Leaf View 55 Photos News Source: TheDetroitBureau.comImage Credit: Nissan Green Nissan Technology Hatchback Electric Chevy Bolt

NHTSA releases updated Takata airbag recalled cars list, but it still has errors

Unfortunately, the government's list still contains errors.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has issued an updated list of vehicle models that it's urging owners to repair under the mushrooming Takata airbag inflator recall. The latest version adds vehicles from new automakers like Subaru and Ford that are missing from the original announcement, and it also removes erroneous entries from General Motors, leaving only the 2005 Saab 9-2X (a reskinned Subaru WRX), and the 2003-2005 Pontiac Vibe, a joint project with Toyota.