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SAE approves new fast-charging standard for EVs, plug-ins

SAE International said it has approved a new technical standard that will dramatically reduce charging times for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and electric vehicles. The global engineering group said the new charging standard, developed with the cooperation of more than 190 automakers, utilities and equipment builders, will allow charging times to be reduced from as long as eight hours to as short as 20 minutes. Automakers want DC direct charging to take less than 10 minutes, or roughly the time it takes to fill a tank with gasoline.The goal is to accommodate currents as high as 500 volts distributed from public charging stations.

Future products: Hyundai's push will change the look of showrooms

Hyundai is introducing seven new or redesigned models in a 24-month stretch that ends in the fall of 2011. So naturally the Hyundai guys refer to their product onslaught as “24/7.” And the pace won't slow much after those seven models hit the streets. Significant new entries also are planned for 2012 and 2013, including Hyundai's first fuel cell electric vehicle, a redesigned Veracruz full-sized crossover and a replacement for the Azera full-sized sedan.

Peugeot RCZ R with 260bhp to debut at Goodwood FoS

The Peugeot RCZ R (concept pictured) will debut in July at Goodwood We saw the first glimpse of the Peugeot RCZ R at the Paris Motor Show when Peugeot revealed the RCZ R as a concept at the same time as it revealed a facelift for the RCZ range. At the time we said we expected the RFCZ R to turn from concept to reality by the end of 2013, and today Peugeot has revealed that the RCZ R will make its debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in July before going on sale. The production RCZ R gets a tweaked version of the 1.6 litre turbo found in other RCZs (and other PSA/BMW cars) with 265bhp and the same range of styling tweaks the regular RCZ facelift got last year.