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FRANKFURT, Germany — BMW intends to speed the rollout of new electric cars, vowing to bring battery-powered models to 50% of global sales by 2030, the German automaker said March 17.

Electric Last Mile Inc., the plug-in delivery van startup that’s in the process of merging with blank check company Forum Merger III Corp., said it has 45,000 preorders and will start production at the former Hummer plant in Indiana in the third quarter.

DETROIT — The world’s major automakers have made something abundantly clear: They believe electric vehicles will dominate their industry in the years ahead. But do customers feel the same way?

Cruise, the self-driving technology company that’s majority-owned by General Motors Co., said it acquired autonomous-vehicle startup Voyage, which operates a service in retirement communities.

Tesla Inc. said Jerome Guillen, who’s been president of automotive since September 2018, transitioned last week to president of Tesla heavy trucking.

Tesla Inc. shares fell a day after firefighters responded to an incident at the company’s factory in Fremont, Calif., containing a blaze in an area of the property under construction.

As gas tax revenue declines because more people are buying electric vehicles, a Minnesota lawmaker has proposed a bill that would tax electricity as fuel at charging stations for electric vehicles.

A teardown of Volkswagen AG’s first dedicated electric vehicle found it measures up favorably with Tesla Inc. models in several key aspects, sending the German carmaker’s shares to levels last seen before its diesel emissions scandal.

Electric-vehicle maker Workhorse Group Inc. plunged on Feb. 23, triggering multiple trading halts, after a key U.S. Postal Service contract that some had expected it to win went to rival Oshkosh Corp. instead.

Tesla Inc. shares wiped out their year-to-date gains Feb. 23 and briefly traded below the level where they were when the electric carmaker entered the S&P 500 Index in December.