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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

Five reasons why you might be driving electric sooner than you think

Jan 26, 2017 14:21 pm UTC| Insights & Views Technology

There is huge potential for using electric vehicles to tackle climate change, give us cleaner air and grow the green economy. The question is, when it will make sense for most of us to ditch diesel and petrol, and go...

Electric Car Series

Tesla Free And Clear, No Defects Found In Autopilot

Jan 20, 2017 09:58 am UTC| Technology

For months, Tesla Motors has been under a magnifying glass after traffic incidents occurred involving their vehicles equipped with Autopilot. The car company just had a major thorn pulled from its side with the National...

Electric Car Series

China And Europe Leaves US In The Dust In Electric Car Shift

Jan 16, 2017 11:56 am UTC| Technology

Tesla may be one of the most recognizable brands in terms of electric cars in the world right now, but according to new data, the U.S. is lagging behind in the adoption of green vehicles compared to China and Europe. This...

Electric Car Series

Plug-in Hybrids Made 30% More Efficient, President Obama Declared Fossil Fuel Industry Dead

Jan 11, 2017 06:21 am UTC| Technology Politics

Its widely accepted that electric vehicles or plug-in hybrids are more efficient than cars that run on gas. However, researchers recently managed to increase the efficiency of plug-in hybrids by up to 30 percent. This is...

Electric Car Series

Solar Powered Island By Tesla’s SolarCity Initiative

Nov 25, 2016 09:02 am UTC| Technology

Elon Musk, the famous CEO billionaire of Tesla Motors, has never been shy about expressing ambitious goals. One of his biggest projects is SolarCity, which is meant to be a benchmark for powering the planet using clean...

Electric Car Series

Tesla Will Thrive Under Trump, CEO Elon Musk Says

Nov 21, 2016 08:24 am UTC| Technology

With the election of Donald Trump as the next to take the seat as the President of the United States, there are fears that he could take away zero-emission vehicle credits. These are basically incentives to help both...

Electric Car Series

Are priority measures for electric cars really a good idea?

Oct 30, 2016 21:36 pm UTC| Insights & Views Technology

With as many as 40,000 premature deaths linked to air pollution each year, five UK cities are considering a novel approach to reduce emissions. Birmingham, Leeds, Nottingham, Derby and Southampton may adopt clean air...

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Economy

What if the Reserve Bank itself has been feeding inflation? An economist explains

Heres something for the board of the Reserve Bank of Australia to ponder as it meets next month to set interest rates. It has pushed up rates on 13 occasions since it began its attempt to restrain inflation in May...

China’s new world order: looking for clues from Xi’s recent meetings with foreign leaders

There is broad consensus that Chinese foreign policy has become more assertive and more centralised in the decade since Xi Jinping has ascended to the top of Chinas leadership. This has also meant that Chinese foreign...

How India’s economy has fared under ten years of Narendra Modi

More than 960 million Indians will head to the polls in the worlds biggest election between April 19 and early June. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is seeking a third...

Will global oil supply be at risk if Iran and Israel pull the Middle East into war?

Tensions in the Middle East have escalated following Irans weekend missile and drone attacks on Israel, heightening concerns of a wider conflict. As with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, further conflict has the...

EU enlargement: What does the future hold?

To widen or to deepen. This has been one of the longstanding dilemmas throughout European Union (EU) history, and a perennial sticking point in the unending process of European integration. In its time, the UK...

Politics

Georgia is sliding towards autocracy after government moves to force through bill on ‘foreign agents’

Georgias ruling party attempted to pass a controversial bill on foreign agents in March 2023. The law would have required civil society groups and the media to register as being under foreign influence if they receive...

South Korean President Yoon faces foreign policy challenges after the National Assembly election

South Koreas parliamentary election of April 10, 2024, was widely seen as a referendum on President Yoon Suk Yeols first two years in office. That being the case, the nation collectively expressed its strong...

How will US foreign policy affect Joe Biden’s chances of re-election in November?

When big questions about American foreign policy collide with an election, its rarely good news for a sitting president. Like many leaders before him, US President Joe Biden has had some of these questions thrust on...

US Commerce Secretary Asserts Huawei Chip Lag, Affirms Export Control Success

In an interview on CBS News 60 Minutes, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo stated that the latest Huawei Mate 60 Pro phones chip remains significantly behind U.S. technology despite being the most advanced from China. She...

‘We have thousands of Modis’: the secret behind the BJP’s enduring success in India

Since 2014, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modis popularity has grown exponentially and so has the formidable organisational machine of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). These two factors will be key to delivering the BJP...

Science

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,...

Peter Higgs was one of the greats of particle physics. He transformed what we know about the building blocks of the universe

Peter Higgs, who gave his name to the subatomic particle known as the Higgs boson, has died aged 94. He was always a modest man, especially when considering that he was one of the greats of particle physics the area of...

Could a telescope ever see the beginning of time? An astronomer explains

The James Webb Space Telescope, or JWST for short, is one of the most advanced telescopes ever built. Planning for JWST began over 25 years ago, and construction efforts spanned over a decade. It was launched into space on...

US media coverage of new science less likely to mention researchers with African and East Asian names

When one Chinese national recently petitioned the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to become a permanent resident, he thought his chances were pretty good. As an accomplished biologist, he figured that news...

If life exists on Jupiter’s moon Europa, scientists might soon be able to detect it

Europa is one of the largest of more than 90 moons in orbit around the planet Jupiter. It is also one of the best places to look for alien life. Often termed an ocean world by scientists, observations to date strongly...

Technology

SHIB Community Ignites Burn Rate by 2,076% Following Major Announcement

The Shiba Inu community has dramatically increased the SHIB burn rate by 2,076% in response to a recent significant announcement, signaling a proactive shift in strategy. Shiba Inu Community Ramps Up Token Burns,...

Toyota Teams with Tencent, Nissan Joins Forces with Baidu in China AI Drive

The automakers announced on Thursday that Nissan will partner with Baidu and Toyota Motor of Japan will partner with Tencent of China. These cross-border alliances underscore the significance of artificial intelligence to...

Bitcoin Price Alert: Potential Drop to $59K Seen as Prime Buying Opportunity for Savvy Investors

As Bitcoin teeters near a significant threshold, market analysts eye a potential dip to $59,000 not just as a concern but as a strategic buying signal for long-term gains. Bitcoin Price Teeters as Expert Predicts...

US SEC Set to Reject Spot Ether ETFs in May Amid Regulatory Hurdles

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is expected to deny approval for spot Ether ETFs in May, continuing a cautious stance amid unresolved regulatory clarity, according to industry insiders. SEC Set to Delay...
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