Cheapest US EVs, fastest-charging EV, gas vs. electric pickups, diesel-rule suit dropped: Today’s Car News

We look at the lowest-priced U.S. EVs. An industry group drops its lawsuit over tighter diesel tailpipe rules. How much better for emissions are electric pickups? And a Chinese automaker claims to have the world’s fastest-charging mass-production EV. This and more, here at Green Car Reports.

Short supply and strong demand, supply-chain issues, and soaring raw materials costs have altogether led to electric vehicle price hikes—if not by sticker price, by transaction price. We rounded up the six 2023 EVs priced under $40,000, before counting any incentives or credits.  

China’s Xpeng has revealed more about its G9 flagship electric SUV, which it now claims will be the world’s fastest-charging mass-produced EV. The five-seat G9 will be able to add up to 124 miles of range in just five minutes, with 800-volt silicon carbide components. And Xpeng is rolling out new 480-kw DC fast-chargers to coordinate with that.

A recent analysis from the Union of Concerned Scientists looks at the emissions of electric pickups and finds that versus a gasoline pickup, an electric truck reduces lifetime carbon emissions by 57%. As with other analyses from UCS, the findings vary based on your local grid, and they do include estimates of the additional CO2 cost of making the vehicle and its battery pack. 

The court challenge waged against a California emissions rule clamping down on heavy-duty diesel engine emissions has been dropped. The move might have slowed the electrification of delivery vehicles that some of the group’s member companies have been pushing in messaging and investor decks. Pushback came from the 17 states that have signed onto aims to electrify more trucks and buses and a range of surprising green-vehicle allies such as Unilever.

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