Audi, BAIC, Tesla, BladeGlider, Hyundai Porsche.

Welcome to a new edition of “electrive.com today”, the fresh industry service for electric mobility – made in Germany! Our newsletter is published every workday, delivering you all the latest global emobility news – short, to the point, and free of charge. Here are today’s top stories and innovations:

– Brands + News –

Audi plug-in concept: Before today’s start of the Detroit Auto Show, Audi released details of its latest crossover concept. The Allroad Shooting Brake has a 2.0 TFSI engine driving the front wheels and an electric motor with 85 kW powering the rear axle. The concept car is presumably a preview of what we might see in the next Q1.
greencarcongress.com, carmagazine.co.uk, autoblog.com (photos)

Electric Saab for China: BAIC will bring the Saab 9-5 back to life as an electric version for the Chinese market. As Shenbao D or Senova D it will cost about 37,000 euros. This year’s production of 10,000 is set to double by 2015. With a 40 kW motor, the EV has a top speed of 130 km/h and a range of 150 kilometres. When the electric Saab will come to Europe is yet unknown.
carnewschina.com

Tesla upgrades wall adapter: After six Model S drivers reported problems with overheating wall-charger adapters, the Californian company will send out new plugs including a new thermal fuse to all customers for free. Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that these incidents are “very rare.”
bloomberg.com, greencarreports.com, green.autoblog.com

BladeGlider might go into production: According to Nissan’s VP Andy Palmer it is in “the mid-term plan” to build the triangle-shaped concept in small numbers. First, a lawsuit over copyrights will have to be sorted as Don Panoz believes the BladeGlider resembles his DeltaWing racer all too strongly.
carmagazine.co.uk, autoblog.com

Hyundai fuel cell lease: The US branch of Hyundai has specified the terms for leasing their Tucson FuelCell, which is better known as IX35 FCEV in Europe. On a two-years contract, customers pay a monthly instalment of 499 dollars with 2,999 dollars down payment. The lease includes maintenance as well as fuel.
hyundaiusa.com

Panamera S E-Hybrid test ride: John Simpson was sceptical before riding the plug-in hybrid Porsche but was soon won over by its performance. Yet Simpson found a “snag” – the price of 89,000 GBP (147,000 USD) and he wonders, if buyers that can afford this car will benefit from the government’s plug-in car grant.
thegreencarwebsite.co.uk