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Geely's new EV plant in China will build premium Polestar cars

BEIJING/SHANGHAI — An electric vehicle factory planned by China's Geely will produce cars under the premium Polestar marque, two people with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Monday. Zhejiang Geely Holding Group plans to build a plant with annual manufacturing capacity of 30,000 premium EVs in the western city of Chongqing, run by a wholly owned, newly registered company, according to documents on its website. Geely and Polestar declined to comment. The plan comes as foreign automakers including BMW AG and Tesla expand EV production in the worldÂ’s biggest market, sourcing major EV components such as batteries locally and often even exporting a portion of the vehicles it builds. Hangzhou-based Geely is ChinaÂ’s most internationally known automaker. It owns Volvo Cars and Lotus, almost half of Proton and 9.7% of Daimler AG. Through wholly owned company Polestar, it builds low-volume Polestar 1 hybrid performance cars in the western city of Chengdu and Polestar 2 volume sedans in Taizhou in the east. It also plans to begin production of the Precept sedan, displayed at this yearÂ’s China auto show. Polestar aims to eventually offer bigger, more sporty vehicles at its showrooms, which currently span nine countries and whose number it plans to raise to 45 from 23 by year-end. Polestar Chief Executive Thomas Ingenlath told Reuters the firm is scouting markets in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East. Geely is also building a factory in China to make sport-utility vehicles under the Lotus marque, Reuters reported.  

2023 Volvo XC90 Review: Design that stands the test of time

Pros: Classy, clean, minimalist design; powerful PHEV powertrain available; robust standard safety and driver assistance suite Cons: While we like the design, it’s due for an update; upgrading to PHEV is costly The 2023 Volvo XC90 is a three-row, full-size SUV that we like for its tasteful design, comfortable interior space and excellent safety. For 2023, the standard powertrains become mild-hybrid designs based on a turbocharged 2.0-liter engine. The plug-in-hybrid XC90 Recharge version raises the price considerably, but provides a generous amount of all-electric range while being the most powerful and fun XC90 by far. It wonÂ’t provide the sporty driving dynamics like some of the performance models from BMW and Mercedes, but thereÂ’s plenty to like about VolvoÂ’s flagship crossover. What Volvo does offer is oodles of safety, with excellent crash test results year after year, and a robust suite of safety and driver assistance technology that doesnÂ’t feel like itÂ’s working against you while youÂ’re driving. The XC90 is also comfortable and roomy, seating six to seven passengers in an interior thatÂ’s comfortable and interesting to look at without feeling overwrought or ostentatious. The XC90 is getting a little long in the tooth as itÂ’s now in its eighth year since a complete redesign, but its unique, crisp design and modern technology hide its age well. If you want something all-electric, though, youÂ’ll have to wait just a little longer. Volvo will release its full-size EX90 as a battery-electric successor to the XC90, expected to go on sale in 2023 with an all-new design and more safety tech than ever before. Interior & Technology   |   Passenger & Cargo Space   |   Performance & Fuel Economy What it's like to drive   |   Pricing & Trim Levels   |   Crash Ratings & Safety Features What's new for 2023? The 2023 XC90 switches to mild-hybrid powertrains as standard, complete with integrated 48-volt battery and an integrated starter/generator added to the existing 2.0-liter engines. The new B5 and B6 mild hybrids therefore replace the outgoing T5 and T6 engines. The XC90 Recharge remains a plug-in hybrid option. The XC90 switches to Google-based infotainment software for 2023, incorporating Google Maps, Google Play and Google Assistant voice control. The XC90 also gains over-the-air update capability, which means Volvo can send remote software updates to the vehicle, improving features over time.

Hyundai Sonata PHEV may be a game (and mind) changer

If you really, really want to consume volts instead of fuel on your way to work, school or shopping, you currently have just three options: pure EV, hydrogen fuel cell, or plug-in hybrid EV. Much as we love them, we all know the disadvantages of BEVs: high prices due to high battery cost (even though subsidized by their makers), limited range and long recharges. Yes, I know: six-figure (giant-battery) Teslas can deliver a couple hundred miles and Supercharge to ~80 percent in 10 minutes. But few of us can afford one of those, Tesla's high-voltage chargers are hardly as plentiful as gas stations, and even 10 minutes is a meaningful chunk out of a busy day. Also, good luck finding a Tesla dealership to fix whatever goes wrong (other than downloadable software updates) when it inevitably does. There still aren't any. Even more expensive, still rare as honest politicians, and much more challenging to refuel are FCEVs. You can lease one from Honda or Hyundai, and maybe soon Toyota, provided you live in Southern California and have ample disposable income. But you'd best limit your driving to within 100 miles or so of the small (but growing) number of hydrogen fueling stations in that state if you don't want to complete your trip on the back of a flatbed. That leaves PHEVs as the only reasonably affordable, practical choice. Yes, you can operate a conventional parallel hybrid in EV mode...for a mile or so at creep-along speeds. But if your mission is getting to work, school or the mall (and maybe back) most days without burning any fuel – while basking in the security of having a range-extender in reserve when you need it – your choices are extended-range EVs. That means the Chevrolet Volt, Cadillac ELR or a BMW i3 with the optional range-extender engine, and plug-in parallel hybrids. Regular readers know that, except for their high prices, I'm partial to EREVs. They are series hybrids whose small, fuel-efficient engines don't even start (except in certain rare, extreme conditions) until their batteries are spent. That means you can drive 30-40 (Volt, ELR) or 70-80 miles (i3) without consuming a drop of fuel. And until now, I've been fairly skeptical of plug-in versions of conventional parallel hybrids. Why?