Electrification is raising new challenges for compact models, as costly batteries push carmakers toward large, luxury EVs with high price tags. It’s 4 p.m. on a wet Monday in southeast London, and we’re trying to parallel park uphill, a necessary if unpleasant rite of passage for any city driver. Our electric car, a bright red Ora
Although electric cars are almost as old as the automobile itself, they didn’t become a worthy alternative to ICE vehicles until Li-ion batteries changed everything. These energy storage devices help power everything around us, from watches to electric cars and even cities. Let’s see how EV battery evolved and where it’s leading us. Electric vehicles
The Abarth 500e launches the Italian brand into the world of electric hot hatches – but is it more fun than a MINI Electric? Can an electric car be fun to drive? EV powertrains have proved on countless road tests that they’re smooth, quiet and efficient, but delivering a fun drive is still something of a challenge. It’s
BMW Group has announced that it plans to invest more than £600 million in its Oxford and Swindon MINI factories to develop a “new generation of electric MINIs”. With the ban on Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) car sales coming into force in 2030, many car manufacturers are preparing for the transition, and BMW says that
The Mini Electric – like a Georgian-style country house that’s just been built – takes appealing retro aesthetics and gives them a thoroughly modern twist. In fact, while the Mini has its roots in the Fifties, this version of the car has the heart of a Generation Z eco-warrior. It runs purely on electricity as the name suggests, yet – with 181bhp – it’s more powerful than
Small electric cars make a lot of sense for commuting, city life and slashing your running costs. Here, we pick out the best ones to buy in the UK right now Electric cars have also come a long way since the infamous G-Wiz arrived on the scene, especially when it comes to the most compact EVs on the
The world is about to pass an important milestone in electric vehicle adoption, which will help combat the rise in worldwide emissions Pandemic restrictions in 2020 caused the largest absolute drop in carbon-dioxide pollution from energy use since the Second World War. However, lockdowns eventually lifted, and as economic activity picked up, emissions resumed quickly by the year’s end.
One of the biggest concerns about electric cars is what happens to the batteries They are historically difficult to recycle and could result in waste mountains . BMW UK has partnered with Off Grid Energy to provide second-life solutions for batteries decommissioned from its electric cars. Batteries are being used by the energy storage firm
…in real conditions so you don’t have to As it turns out, not all electric cars are created equal Electric cars are not absolute newcomers to the car industry anymore. Over the past five years or so, most carmakers have churned out at least one electric car with plans to release a handful of others
Ten years ago, Mini experimented with an all-electric car which it called the Mini E. We tested it, even though it never went on general sale, because instead it went to companies and selected members of the public who undertook real-world trials of the car. Now Mini is producing a proper full production EV. It’s
