article thumbnail

Road Test: 2023 Volvo XC60 Recharge Ultimate

Clean Fleet Report

Road Test: 2023 Volvo XC60 Recharge Ultimate Surprising Performance in a Compact Plug-In Hybrid SUV Okay, a show of hands if “quick or fast” come to mind when Volvo SUV is mentioned. New for the 2022 model year, the 2023 XC60 Recharge continues to deliver performance and all-electric and hybrid efficiency in a premium compact SUV.

article thumbnail

SAE International revises recommended practice for electric and hybrid electric vehicle safe battery testing

Green Car Congress

SAE International has released J2464: Electric and Hybrid Electric Vehicle Rechargeable Energy Storage System (RESS) Safety and Abuse Testing , a revised recommended practice for establishing safe battery systems. It does not apply to RESS that uses mechanical devices store energy, such as electro-mechanical flywheels.

article thumbnail

Tech: How do Hybrid & Plug-in Hybrid Batteries Recharge? Do I Need to Plug a Hybrid In?

Clean Fleet Report

Regular Hybrids Regular hybrids recharge their onboard nickel-metal hydride or lithium-ion battery packs by reclaiming energy through a process called regenerative braking. It takes with kinetic energy that would normally be lost as heat through traditional mechanical friction brakes and stores it as electric energy in the battery.

article thumbnail

Ford begins production of 2012 Focus Electric at Michigan Assembly, C-MAX models on deck

Green Car Congress

Ford’s Michigan Assembly Plant is starting production of the 2012 Focus Electric ( earlier post )—a five-passenger, battery-electric car Ford expects will achieve more than a 100 miles per gallon equivalent (MPGe) fuel economy rating. Optimized gear ratios enabling improvement in fuel economy.

Michigan 363
article thumbnail

Chevrolet to begin selling Spark EV in Maryland

Green Car Congress

The Spark EV delivers an EPA-estimated combined city/highway 119 MPGe fuel economy equivalent and 82 miles of EPA-estimated combined city/highway range. Storing that energy from the charging process and the vehicle’s regenerative braking capability is a 19 kWh lithium-ion battery pack.

Maryland 150
article thumbnail

Mazda6 diesel sedan offers up to 60 mpg US

Green Car Congress

i-ELOOP (short for “intelligent Energy Loop”) uses a supercapacitor to store electricity recovered during deceleration to power the vehicle’s electrical systems, thereby improving fuel economy. By freeing up this engine capacity, i-ELOOP increases fuel economy under everyday urban driving conditions. High Power.

MPG 311
article thumbnail

Road Test: 2023 Kia Niro Hybrid

Clean Fleet Report

First debuting in 2017, the Niro is a key model for Kia as it offers three different propulsion choices, all of which offer excellent fuel economy or all-electric driving range. Head of the hybrid MPG class Hybrid Efficiency Efficient, but not quick The 2023 Kia Niro Hybrid running on 87 octane is the class leader in fuel economy.

Kia 89