Details of UK's £5000 Plug-In Car Grants published

The Government has signed off the Plug-In Car Grants, giving details of which electric cars qualify for the £5000 grants. The incentive means that cars such as the Vauxhall Ampera will cost £28,995, GM confirmed today. Transport secretary Philip Hammond and business minister Mark Prisk announced the scheme and confirmed which areas will qualify for the second round of Plugged-In Places funding - allowing councils to install electric car recharging networks.

GM taps Opel designs for future Buicks in the U.S.

Even as General Motors explores the sale of Opel, it will tap its European unit as a source for future Buick sedans. For the past two years, GM has shared Opel vehicles and design with Saturn. Sources familiar with GM's plans say those products now will go to Buick.

SAE approves new fast-charging standard for EVs, plug-ins

SAE International said it has approved a new technical standard that will dramatically reduce charging times for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and electric vehicles. The global engineering group said the new charging standard, developed with the cooperation of more than 190 automakers, utilities and equipment builders, will allow charging times to be reduced from as long as eight hours to as short as 20 minutes. Automakers want DC direct charging to take less than 10 minutes, or roughly the time it takes to fill a tank with gasoline.The goal is to accommodate currents as high as 500 volts distributed from public charging stations.