Agnelli family member to become Fiat chairman

Fiat S.p.A. said that Agnelli family heir John Elkann will become chairman and that Italy's biggest carmaker will separate its car-making business from trucks and tractors. Elkann, 34, is the grandson of former chairman Giovanni Agnelli and is vice chairman and head of the family's holding company.

Japan quake threatens to delay U.S. output of Nissan Leaf EV

The March 11 earthquake in Japan could force Nissan to delay the start of U.S. production of its Leaf electric vehicle, now scheduled for late 2012. “The earthquake is putting us in a very difficult situation,” said Hideaki Watanabe, head of Nissan's Global Zero Emission Vehicle Business Unit.

Electric Land Rover Defender Revealed

Perfect for stalking - the electric Land Rover Defender We do tend to bang on about the only use for electric cars being as expensive runarounds in cities, or as toys to play with for the better off. After all, with useless range and sky-high prices electric cars have little going for them. But it looks like Axeon -Europe’s  leading independent developer and manufacturer of lithium-ion battery systems - has found a nice little niche that suits an electric vehicle down to the ground – Safari transport.