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An electric car is an automobile that is propelled by one or more electric motors, using electrical energy stored in rechargeable batteries or another energy storage device. Electric motors give electric cars instant torque, creating strong and smooth acceleration. They are also around three times as efficient as cars with an internal combustion engine. The first electric cars were produced in the 1880s. Since 2008, a renaissance in electric vehicle manufacturing has occurred due to advances in batteries and energy management, concerns about increasing oil prices, and the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Several national and local governments have established tax credits, subsidies, and other incentives to promote the introduction and adoption in the mass market of new electric vehicles depending on battery size and their all-electric range. Electric cars are significantly quieter than conventional internal combustion engine automobiles. They do not emit tailpipe pollutants, giving a large reduction of local air pollution, and, can give a significant reduction in total greenhouse gas and other emissions (dependent on the method used for electricity generation). As of September 2015, there are over 30 models of highway legal all-electric passenger cars and utility vans available for retail sales, mainly in the United States, China, Japan, Western European countries. By mid-September 2015, about 620,000 light-duty electric vehicles have been sold worldwide out of total global sales of one million plug-in electric cars sold since 2008. The world's top selling highway-capable electric car is the Nissan Leaf, released in December 2010 and sold in 46 countries. Global Leaf sales passed the 200,000 unit milestone in December 2015, and the Tesla Model S, released in June 2012, ranks second with over 107,000 units sold worldwide. In this series, we cover stories covering the development of electric vehicles around the world.

Electric Car Series

Electric vehicles are usually safer for their occupants – but not necessarily for everyone else

May 01, 2024 03:43 am UTC| Insights & Views Business

The future of automobiles is electric, but many people worry about the safety of todays electric vehicles. Public opinion about EV crash safety often hinges on a few high-profile fire incidents. Those safety concerns...

Electric Car Series

Why surging sales of large electric vehicles raises environmental red flags

Nov 07, 2023 09:00 am UTC| Business

Electric cars are getting bigger and heavier. In 2019, 30% of the electric vehicle (EV) models available worldwide were sports utility vehicles (SUVs). Fast forward to 2022 and that figure stood at 40% equivalent to...

Electric Car Series

Will drivers who paid Victoria's electric vehicle tax be able to get their money back?

Oct 25, 2023 05:32 am UTC| Business

Electric vehicle owners in Victoria couldnt be blamed for wondering if they might get their money back after the High Court found the states zero and low-emission vehicle road-user charge to be unconstitutional. The...

Electric Car Series

The High Court of Australia's decision on electric vehicles will make charging for road use very difficult

Oct 24, 2023 09:22 am UTC| Law Business

The High Court of Australias decision to invalidate Victorias electric vehicle tax has been widely noted as a major judgement in the history of federal-state taxation powers. In 2021, Victoria introduced a 2.5 cents per...

Electric Car Series

How sodium-ion batteries could make electric cars cheaper

Oct 11, 2023 03:38 am UTC| Technology

Cars that burn petrol and diesel must be replaced with renewable alternatives if the climate crisis is to be overcome. Electric vehicles (EVs) are widely viewed as the best option available. This is because EVs can be...

Electric Car Series

Why delaying the ban on petrol and diesel cars won't slow UK's shift to electric vehicles

Sep 23, 2023 00:49 am UTC| Economy

The UK has delayed its ban on the sale of new cars which burn petrol or diesel in internal combustion engines (ICE) from 2030 to 2035. In some ways, this is no surprise: the original plan was to ban them from 2040, a...

Electric Car Series

The EU’s anti-subsidy investigation into electric vehicles is a risky strategy that may backfire

Sep 21, 2023 01:52 am UTC| Law Business

In her State of the Union address on 13 September, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen announced a new anti-subsidy investigation into electric vehicles (EVs) from China, claiming that the market is being...

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Economy

Nigerians throw naira notes around to show love: but it could land you in jail

The legal implication of physically damaging the naira, Nigerias currency, came into focus recently with the prosecution of at least two celebrities by the countrys Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. Nigeria has a...

The US is one of the least trade-oriented countries in the world – despite laying the groundwork for today’s globalized system

Given the spate of news about international trade lately, Americans might be surprised to learn that the U.S. isnt very dependent on it. Indeed, looking at trade as a percentage of gross domestic product a metric...

Beyond the spin, beyond the handouts, here’s how to get a handle on what’s really happening on budget night

Three weeks from now, some of us will be presented with a mountain of budget papers, and just about all of us will get to hear about them on radio, TV or news websites on budget night. The quickest way to find out what...

Johannesburg in a time of darkness: Ivan Vladislavić’s new memoir reminds us of the city’s fragility

Ivan Vladislavić is Johannesburgs literary linkman. He tells us, in the first pages of his new book, The Near North, that before cities were lit, first by gaslight and later electricity, people of means paid torchbearers...

Economist Chris Richardson on an ‘ugly’ inflation result and the coming budget

With Jim Chalmerss third budget on May 14, Australians will be looking for some more cost-of-living relief beyond the tax cuts although they have been warned extra measures will be modest. As this weeks consumer price...

Politics

Taiwan is experiencing millions of cyberattacks every day

Taiwan stands out as a beacon of democracy, innovation and resilience in an increasingly autocratic region. But this is under growing threat. In recent years, China has used a variety of grey zone tactics to pressure...

Sudan’s civil war is rooted in its historical favouritism of Arab and Islamic identity

The current civil war in Sudan goes beyond a simple power struggle between two generals. It reflects a deep-rooted crisis within the countrys governing structure thats been present since it gained independence from the...

South Africa’s youth are a generation lost under democracy – study

South African president Cyril Ramaphosa recently painted a rosy picture in which the countrys youth democracys children had enormous opportunities for advancement, all thanks to successive post-apartheid governments led...

Sadiq Khan on track for third term as London mayor – but nearly half of Londoners dissatisfied with performance

Polls have consistently shown that the incumbent mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, appears to be on track to win a third term in office at the upcoming mayoral elections on May 2. One poll we commissioned as part of our...

The politics stopping the UK from opening a youth mobility scheme with Europe

Earlier this week, it seemed possible that young people in the UK might soon be able to travel freely to work and live in Europe again. The European Commission laid out proposals to open mobility to millions of 18- to...

Science

IceCube researchers detect a rare type of energetic neutrino sent from powerful astronomical objects

About a trillion tiny particles called neutrinos pass through you every second. Created during the Big Bang, these relic neutrinos exist throughout the entire universe, but they cant harm you. In fact, only one of them is...

The Mars Sample Return mission has a shaky future, and NASA is calling on private companies for backup

A critical NASA mission in the search for life beyond Earth, Mars Sample Return, is in trouble. Its budget has ballooned from US$5 billion to over $11 billion, and the sample return date may slip from the end of this...

Dark matter: our new experiment aims to turn the ghostly substance into actual light

A ghost is haunting our universe. This has been known in astronomy and cosmology for decades. Observations suggest that about 85% of all the matter in the universe is mysterious and invisible. These two qualities are...

A Nasa rover has reached a promising place to search for fossilised life on Mars

While we go about our daily lives on Earth, a nuclear-powered robot the size of a small car is trundling around Mars looking for fossils. Unlike its predecessor Curiosity, Nasas Perseverance rover is explicitly intended to...

The rising flood of space junk is a risk to us on Earth – and governments are on the hook

A piece of space junk recently crashed through the roof and floor of a mans home in Florida. Nasa later confirmed that the object had come from unwanted hardware released from the international space station. The 700g,...

Technology

Crypto Market Selloff: BTC, ETH, SOL, XRP, SHIB Prices Plummet, Crash Fears Grow

The cryptocurrency market shows new symptoms of weakness as bulls and bears battle for supremacy. Investors have recently lost about $150 billion, with the cryptocurrency market valuation falling from $2.42 trillion to...

BYD Shark Debuts in Mexico, Rivals Tesla Cybertruck and Ford F-150 Lightning

This month, the streets of Mexico will showcase the BYD Sharks debut, an advanced hybrid electric pickup set to rival the Tesla Cybertruck and highlight BYDs cutting-edge hybrid technology. BYD Shark: A New Hybrid...

South Korea Secures Competitive Edge With US Tax Credit Extension on EVs

South Korea has positively received the U.S. extension of tax credits for electric vehicles (EVs) incorporating Chinese graphite. This critical decision supports Seouls strategy to dominate the American EV market. This...

SHIB Exec Connects Shiba Inu to Bitcoin; Open Interest Falls 7%

SHIBs marketing officer, Lucie, emphasized similarities between Shiba Inu and Bitcoin, highlighting both projects foundational anonymity and community-driven development. Meanwhile, a 7% drop in open interest raises...
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