hybrid

The Infiniti brand was formed with a singular mission: to create an automobile that one would want to take on an endless drive. Now, the automaker is facing its biggest change in its thirty-year history, a wholehearted embrace of electrification. While parent company Nissan is at the helm, the heritage of past, present, and future Infiniti vehicles can be traced directly to the Prince Motor Company, acquired by Nissan in 1966, and particularly the Prince Skyline Sport with a familiar double-arch grille and crescent cut rear window. They're styling elements that are still present in the modern-day Infiniti. What's under the hood, though, will be very different.

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Toyota has a new plug-in hybrid, the 2021 Toyota RAV4 Prime, and it's not only promising to be the automaker's most fuel-efficient RAV4, but its most powerful, too. Indeed the new PHEV is actually Toyota's second-fastest model, period, following the Supra, with 302 horsepower to play with.

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Lincoln's march through hybridization continues, with the new 2021 Corsair Grand Touring making its debut as another electrified SUV option in the automaker's luxury line-up. Building on the success of the gas-engined 2020 Corsair, the new Grand Touring introduces an electric all-wheel drive system that the automaker says will be both perkier and greener.

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Infiniti has revealed its big plans for EVs, but the Japanese automaker isn't going to deliver electrification in the same way we've seen other luxury car companies do it. Having previewed its vision for electric crossovers and sedans with a number of "Inspiration" concepts over the past few years, it turns out Infiniti still sees there being a place for internal combustion engines, even if it's electricity that's actually driving the wheels.

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The Polestar 1 behind me fills the rear view mirror, low and broad, a shark among minnows on the highway. There's something about the proportions that encourage a second-glance; after all, you can't really credit brand recognition for the number of hungry stares, hastily-pointed phone cameras, and blunt fascination the sleek 2+2 coupe engenders.

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BMW is adding a plug-in hybrid version of its X3 compact crossover, with the BMW X3 xDrive30e promising all-wheel drive along with the ability to motor on just electric power alone. The latest iteration of the X3 range comes ahead of a fully-electric version of the crossover, which BMW says will be available alongside conventional ICE and PHEV models.

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The Tokyo Motor Show 2019 is no stranger to electric cars, but the Mitsubishi Mi-Tech Concept manages to stand out all the same. A plug-in hybrid buggy, its pared-back bodywork and chunky styling are a solid reminder both that electrified cars can be ridiculously good fun and, yes, that Mitsubishi is still making vehicles.

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The Volvo XC40 Recharge may look familiar but, like the taste of Swedish pickled herring, the impact of the new all-electric crossover could be lasting. Revealed today - well in advance of its arrival on US dealer forecourts - the XC40 Recharge will sit at the top end of the 40 Series and be a car of firsts for Volvo. Read on for six things you need to know about Volvo's huge EV shake-up.

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The 2019 Porsche Cayenne E-Hybrid wears its green credentials on its sleeve: quite literally, in fact, with unmistakable lime green badges on the front fenders. Seventeen years after introduction, there's now no doubting that the market was ready to embrace a Porsche SUV. Question is, does a hybrid drivetrain sit at odds with this sporting luxe-truck?

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Better battery tech isn't the only way to boost electric car range, one big automotive tech provider is betting, with a shake-up in chip material potentially unlocking a 6-percent increase in range. Bosch plans to kick off production of silicon carbide semiconductors from 2020, taking advantage of more efficient electrical conductivity to make power electronics in EVs and hybrids less wasteful on the road.

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The Swedes may have a reputation for making safe decisions, but Volvo is threatening to upend that with news that it plans to split off its combustion engine production as it refocuses on electrification. The automaker has announced plans with parent company Geely to merge their respective ICE (internal combustion engine) operations into a single, new, standalone business.

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Polestar has begun production of the Polestar 1, its performance hybrid that the Volvo spin-off hopes will distract GT buyers from the usual BMW or Porsche. The car is being built at Polestar's new production facility in Chengdu, China, a specially-built factory for the Geely-backed automaker.

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