EQXX sets record, Polestar 5 confirmed, wireless EV charging makes sense: The Week in Reverse

Why does wireless charging matter for electric cars?

What key ingredient is missing from making the redesigned 2023 Honda HR-V a great crossover?

This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car Reports—for the week ending June 24, 2022.

Remember when the Mercedes-Benz Vision EQXX concept broke a record for efficiency on a single charge? It did it again, recording 746 miles without charging on one European trip this week. 

Lightyear might challenge that claim about efficiency with a production version of the Lightyear One dubbed Lightyear 0. In-wheel motors and solar panels could enable it to drive 20 miles a day without plugging in for two months, the startup estimates. 

Owners of gas cars would love that kind of efficiency or range with gas prices so high. A proposed gas-tax holiday through September won’t curtail the issues underlying the high gas prices, critics say. 

In other policy news, Democratic senator Joe Manchin quashed a $4,500 EV tax-credit bonus for union-made vehicles in the Senate’s version of the Build Back Better Act. 

Polestar 5 prototype at the 2022 Goodwood Festival of Speed

Polestar 5 prototype at the 2022 Goodwood Festival of Speed

Polestar 5 confirmed with 884 hp, 800-volt architecture. The flagship EV expected for 2024 takes aim at the Tesla Model S, Lucid Air, and Mercedes-Benz EQS. 

The newest mass-produced electric vehicles to go on sale in the U.S., the Toyota BZ4X and related Subaru Solterra, were recalled in their home country of Japan for wheels that could come loose

Closer to home, Redwood Materials led by Tesla co-founder J.B. Straubel partnered with Toyota to help it reuse and recycle hybrid batteries. Other automakers are beginning to weigh the second-life uses for batteries used in their electric vehicles. 

Volkswagen teased its latest EV headed for the U.S., the ID.Aero sedan that runs long on VW’s MEB electric platform. 

2022 Tesla Model 3

2022 Tesla Model 3

Know what the most American-made car is, based on an annual study by Cars.com? Yup, it’s the Tesla Model Y and Model 3. 

If loyalty to your checkbook is more important, then the 2023 Nissan Leaf’s starting price below $29,000 means you can get two Leafs for one Y. 

Even the base Leaf’s 149-mile range would be enough to cover most daily driving habits, yet a survey of drivers unfamiliar with EVs found that they grossly underestimate a battery’s range and capacity. 

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Honda may have underestimated just how close to greatness they came with the redesigned 2023 Honda HR-V. The small crossover is the perfect candidate for a hybrid system. Maybe next year. 

Electric trucks gain traction, but Volvo Trucks’ 600-mile fuel-cell semi lacks the green hydrogen availability to fill it up regularly within 15 minutes. Yet the new Megawatt Charging System protocol to charge heavy-duty trucks and buses has just been formalized. 

For electric passenger vehicles, however, wireless charging promises a quick, new motoring world. 

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