VW electric convertible, Volvo C40 Recharge debut, Nissan e-Hybrid efficiency: Today’s Car News

Nissan hits a 50% thermal efficiency with an engine set for hybrid duty. Volvo reveals the first EV for its lineup that won’t get a gasoline equivalent. And VW teases the idea of an electric Cabriolet. This and more, here at Green Car Reports. 

There aren’t any mass-market convertible electric cars. Volkswagen, clearly thinking to the heritage of its Golf Cabriolet and Eos models, has thrown out the possibility of an affordable electric convertible, likely built on its MEB platform. What do you think?

Nissan is claiming a 50% thermal efficiency for an engine that it plans to use with its e-Power series hybrid system. Could this leap ahead in engine efficiency be what it needs to make the series-hybrid setup work for performance and mpg—also, perhaps, for its upscale Infiniti brand, which is due to depend heavily on the tech?

Volvo has revealed the 2022 C40 Recharge electric crossover, a sportier-looking sibling to the XC40 electric SUV. The automaker also announced plans for 100% of the cars that the brand sells globally to be all-electric by 2030.

And over at Motor Authority, the chief engineer for the Mercedes-Benz C-Class, which has lost market share to the Model 3 over the past few years, has revealed that the company’s upcoming EVA platform for premium EVs will only be used for the EQE mid-size sedan on up. A second platform, not arriving until 2024, might spawn future smaller EVs sized like the C-Class. 

_______________________________________

Follow Green Car Reports on Facebook and Twitter