EV Roundup: Electric Bus Breaks Single-Charge Travel Record
CARS.COM — The wheels on the bus have gone round and round a whole lot of times for Proterra, whose 40-foot Catalyst E2 Max went 1,101 miles on a single battery charge. The electric-bus company said Tuesday that its Catalyst E2 Max hit the mark at an Indiana test track, which it calls a world record for long-distance travel in an electric vehicle on a single charge.
Related: More Electric-Vehicle News
The E2 Max has up to 660 kilowatt-hours of battery capacity. That’s the maximum for Proterra’s bus fleet — and a lot more than the batteries in today’s long-range passenger EVs, which range from 60 kwh to 100 kwh. Proterra, whose investors include venture arms from GM and BMW, isn’t the only bit of recent electric-car news, which we can’t help but notice has been at full charge of late.
Here’s what’s been making headlines:
- Mitsubishi revealed a teaser image of the e-Evolution Concept, a battery-powered SUV, ahead of a full reveal at next month’s Tokyo Motor Show.
- Porsche plans to sell an all-electric car based on the Mission E concept, and it should cost less than $100,000 and go on sale by the end of 2019. Whether Porsche sells it in the U.S., however, remains to be seen.
- A plug-in hybrid version of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class adds battery capacity for 2019. Range should almost certainly increase, too, though exact numbers for the U.S. are still pending.
- The Hyundai Ioniq Electric, which we recently reviewed on video, is under recall for its electric power control unit.
- Nissan announced pricing on the redesigned Leaf. Range is up 40 percent versus the first-generation electric car, though it still doesn’t crack the venerated 200-mile mark — at least not yet.
- The Volkswagen e-Golf has more power and range for 2017.
- The 2018 Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid — which we recently took a quick drive in — achieved an EPA-rated all-electric range of 47 miles, besting by wide margins competitors like the Toyota Prius Prime.
