Starting on the 20th of May, BMW of North America will release the 330e and 330e xDrive on the US market. Prices for the plug-in-hybrid sedans in the U.S. start at $44,550 for 330e and $46,550 for 330e xDrive.

Despite commitments to e-mobility by Ford and General Motors, the two largest US American carmakers intend to produce only about 320,000 electric vehicles in North America in 2026, which is only about five per cent of the combined vehicle production of both manufacturers there.

Alleged software problems with the VW ID.3 development have been treading the rumour mill recently. Now a spokesperson officially confirmed the issues, while insider information reflects a more dire reality.

Any claimed range or specified maximum charging power must be treated with caution when wanting to know how fast you’ll really progress on longer journeys with one or more charging stops.

Mercedes-Benz subjected the EQV to an endurance test in Arjeplog, Sweden. The electric V-Class proved its operational capability under extreme conditions at temperatures as low as minus 30 degrees Celsius, icy roads and deep snow.

In Sweden, electric cars and plug-in hybrids achieved a market share of 24.3 per cent in February. The background to the new car registration boom is primarily a change in the Swedish subsidy system, which came into force at the turn of the year.

Tesla has officially introduced several new options for the delivery of its electric cars. The ‘contactless’ car delivery is naturally due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis, but other options are more extensive in scope.

After Aston Martin recently postponed plans for battery-electric cars, the British sports car manufacturer has now published more details of its electrification plans. These mainly focus on hybrid engines.

In Luqiao, China Polestar has kicked-off series production of the Polestar 2 BEV. The Volvo subsidiary’s all-electric car is to be launched on the European market first, with deliveries planned to start summer 2020 before coming to the US and China.

According to a media report, Jaguar Land Rover wants to expand its historic plant in Castle Bromwich into a production centre for electric vehicles. The first three models have also already been named.

Daimler has announced expansion plans on the Indian subcontinent. In the next two years, the German carmaker aims to release a total of ten electric vehicles as Mercedes in India, local media reports.

The Istituto Europeo di Design has presented an all-electric concept vehicle called Tracy, designed by students of the Master’s degree course in Transport Design in Torino. Based on the plans of the Italian students, it was built under the roof of EDAG Italia.

FCA subsidiary Maserati has postponed the presentation of its first electrified sports car until September 2020 due to the Covid 19 pandemic. Originally, the event was to take place in May. As a result, the relaunch of the brand has also been postponed.

Porsche is investing around 10 billion euros in the hybridisation, electrification and digitalisation of its vehicles by 2024 and, according to their statements, is “consistently expanding” the product range in the field of electric mobility.

Nissan is gearing up to electrify all new and redesigned models to hit the Japanese market starting in the fiscal year 2020 under tighter emissions rules, local media has learned. There is also news on the upcoming models.

The Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio raised substantial doubt in its ability to continue its business due to on-going financial difficulties that have been exacerbated by the coronavirus. The reduced EV subsidies in China also played a part.

Hyundai has increased range of the Kona Electric with 64 kWh battery from 449 to 484 kilometres (WLTP). That’s 35 km more, and the gains have been achieved by mostly mechanical means. Besides, a rear-mounted bicycle carrier is now also available.

BMW has now officially confirmed that the next-gen 7 Series will include a fully electric model for the first time but not exclusively as a BEV. However, there is still no official confirmation for the presumed battery-electric version for the 5-series.

Volvo’s electric car brand Polestar registered a wholly-owned subsidiary in Shanghai on 11 March. Polestar calls its China spin-off Jixing Automobile and has tasked it with the wholesale and retail of vehicles and auto parts.

In order to boost sales, Peugeot UK will offer an extra £500 towards new fully electric vehicle purchases. This follows the Government announcement that it would reduce the current Plug-in Car Grant (PICG) from £3,500 to £3,000 starting on 12 March.

First carmakers announce closures of factories in Europe due to the Coronavirus crisis unfolding on the continent. PSA will lockdown all vehicle production plants in Europe by 27 March and the French carmaker is not the only one.

The British brand Apex Motors has introduced an all-electric sports car called AP-0. The EV is scheduled to go into production at the end of 2022, and Apex says prices will start at 150,000 pounds (before taxes). Down payments are already accepted.

Hyundai has delivered the first examples of the Kona Electric from European production to customers. The more powerful of the two Kona Electric versions is produced at the Hyundai plant in Nošovice, Czech Republic.

BMW has activated the eDrive Zones digital service for the first PHEV models. This is intended to allow cars to automatically switch to electric mode when entering a certain zone, such as inner cities.

Rumours of a new small, low-cost electric car from Volkswagen have been persistent. According to a British media report, the model, presumably called ID.1, will replace the VW e-Up starting in 2023 and will be about the same size.

As the British government cuts the Plug-in Car Grants, first carmakers react. Renault UK will top-up the new PiCG of £3,000 by £500 for all Zoe orders placed before 31 March 2020.

The Volvo XC40 Recharge is now on sale in the UK for £53,155. Volvo’s first all-electric car will arrive at dealers in late 2020. The XC40 is not eligible for the £3,000 Plug-in Car Grant (PiCG) because it costs more than £50,000.

The US electric car start-up Bollinger Motors has now presented in detail the platform on which its first two models B1 and B2 are based. The goal: to offer the platform to other manufacturers in future.

Following the cancellation of individual races, Formula E and the FIA have now announced that the 2019/20 season will be completely suspended for at least two months due to the Covid 19 spread. Even after that a resumption is not guaranteed.

With the W-15 the US manufacturer Workhorse wanted to launch an electric pickup with a range extender. As the company has now confirmed to electrive, it had discontinued the pickup project several months ago.