All the News, Reviews, Guides and Reports on Electric Cars

The home EV charging market continues to evolve with charging station operators and automakers destined to play an even greater role in satisfying EV drivers’ need to recharge at home. Ahead of unveiling new plug-in vehicles later this year, Ford in October announced a new home charger as well as agreements to enable Ford drivers to roam across multiple networks.

My 2013 Ford C-Max Energi plug-in hybrid has a relatively small 7.6 kilowatt-hour battery. Because I take mostly short trips, the C-Max’s 20 miles of all-electric range—and access to a plug in my garage—means I only have to gas up about once a month. I thoroughly enjoy spacing out those refueling stops as much as possible. Thankfully, there are new solutions for reducing the charging time without springing for a Level 2 charging station.

We are approaching the tenth anniversary of the so-called modern electric car. The first sales of the Nissan LEAF, which at the time offered 84 miles on a single charge, were made in December 2009. A decade later, the LEAF goes nearly three times as far for about the same price. But EV sales still represent less than 2 percent of total vehicle sales in the United States.

What’s it going to take for everyday consumers to shift from gas to electric? Price parity with gas cars? Eliminating range concerns? If the answers are yes and yes, then we don’t have to wait another day. There are three highly capable, long-range plug-in hybrids available for less than $30,000.

Tesla this week cut the price of its Model 3, its best-selling electric model. The price of the Model 3 will drop by $1,000 to $38,990. The Tesla Model 3 so far in 2019 makes up nearly half of all EV sales in the United States.

Even if you’re a budget-minding car buyer, you don’t have to put off buying an electric car. With some willingness to re-think your assumptions, there’s a highly affordable EV for sale—between about $20,00 and $30,000—that can meet your needs and satisfy your tastes.

The pro-Tesla blogosphere champions nearly everything that Elon Musk claims is fantastic and ground-breaking. But Musk’s announcement earlier this month—that Tesla will soon offer EVs with 400 miles of range—landed with a thud. Thank goodness.

We’ve heard about the rise of electric SUVs for a couple of years. So far, these promising new, larger EVs—some of which are barely larger than traditional sedans—have had little impact. Will we see signs of change when May sales numbers are reported early next week?

For more than a year, the Prius Prime has been the second best-selling plug-in vehicle—surpassed only by the Tesla Model 3. Now the new 2020 version of Prime, due as early as June, will become even more accessible and attractive when its back row expands to accommodate a fifth passenger and adds two USB ports.

It’s important to gain a grasp of pricing schemes for public EV charging, so you can compare the cost of charging on the road to what you pay at home.