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The U.S. Department of Energy has announced a five-year, $120-million award for a team of 14 companies, universities and national laboratories that will be charged with creating next-generation batteries for use in vehicles and the grid.

California’s electric car startup Tesla says its more widely affordable Model S sedan will soon see

a price increase. Without specifying the size of the increase, Tesla says it will not apply to those who have already placed a reservation and who finalize their order “within a fair and predefined” time frame. Mazda’s next-generation 6 sedan will be its first to offer optional diesel power in North America. The company showed a 2.2-litre “Skyactiv-D” engine at the recent Los Angeles Auto Show, announcing it will arrive in 2013.