BMW wants to more than double the electrified vehicle output at its plant in German Dingolfing this year to over 40,000 vehicles, up from just about 20,000. The all-electric BMW iX will become the main driver behind the push.

An unofficial fuel cell alliance is forming in France as Faurecia will supply hydrogen tanks for the new fleet of FC commercial vehicles Renault plans to launch at the end of this year. Faurecia will design and manufacture these tanks in France and is already preparing for expansion.

Tasmania has made progress in charging infrastructure. The Australian states’ Premier Peter Gutwein has formally opened the Electric Highway Tasmania, a state-wide fast-charging network. It comprises twelve 50 kW chargers as well as two ultra-rapid chargers.

One year after announcing to expand electric vehicle charging infrastructure massively, Singapore more than doubles its claim. The government of the city-state now wants to install 60,000 charge points by 2030 and has more measures in place.

Major UK bus operator McGill’s has announced a £17.5million investment in all-electric buses. The company ordered a total of 35 e-buses from different suppliers to serve routes in the cities of Glasgow and Dundee in Scotland.

Electric snowmobile and watercraft maker Taiga is going public through a SPAC deal and is raising a whopping 100 million CAD in its wake. The Montréal-based company had vowed to electrify powersports back in 2015 and today joins the growing number of EV makers looking to grow big on the stock exchange.

The Greenpeace vs Volkswagen saga continues as the NGO finds the Group has registered a “disproportionately high number” of new electrified cars to themselves and their dealers when compared to ICE, allegedly to avoid fines. Volkswagen reacts rather dryly.

Porsche Italia partners with Enel X to install high power charging stations in Italy. Kuwait Petroleum Italia is also on board with the Q8 service stations where the new ultra-fast charging stations will be located.

In the Netherlands, zero-emission zones for delivery traffic are coming in at least 14 Dutch municipalities. They will only let purely electric delivery vans and trucks drive through from 2025.

The French government is launching a 100-million-euro funding programme to build more charging stations for electric cars on the national road network. The scheme is for companies installing charging hubs with at least four fast-charging stations.

The microcar called Mini EV, which GM offers in China through its partner Wuling is very popular because of its low price. Now the Mini EV is en route to Europe – as FreZe Nikrob EV via the Latvian company Dartz Motorz at a starting price of 9,999 euros.

The Fraunhofer Institute for Transportation and Infrastructure Systems IVI and Berlin-based ELO Mobility have teamed up developing next-gen hydrogen-powered buses. They just launched the Go4City project with funding through the German government.

The first hydrogen ambulance will come to London later this year built by conversion specialist Ulemco. Named Zerro (short for Zero Emission Rapid Response Operations), Ulemco teams up with Lyra Electronics, Ocado and Promech Technologies for realising the fuel-cell-range-extended EV.

The London Electric Vehicle Company, LEVC for short, has found its first partner in Austria as it appoints Grünzweig Automobil GmbH as exclusive distributor. The dealership is based near Vienna and will offer full sales and service support for LEVC’s product range which includes a taxi, a shuttle and a van.

Nissan confirms plans for its next generation of vans in Europe. The new series will include electric and conventional drives and cover both the light commercial vehicle and passenger van segment. All vans will be made in France.

Voi has announced a new partnership with Klaxon Mobility from Austria, making an electric handbike that clicks onto wheelchairs. By integrating the device into their shared fleets, Voi hopes to expand accessible transportation options, starting in New York.

United Airlines has approached eVTOL startup Archer to buy up to 200 of their air taxis. The agreement sees United lend their air space expertise “to assist Archer with the development of battery-powered, short-haul aircraft.”

Volkswagen UK has opened the order books for the VW ID.3 Pro, bringing the electric hatchback’s base price to £28,670, after the £3,000 PiCG. It differs from the introductory Pro Performance version that was among the first opening of orders.

Petrochemical giant Shell has presented its strategy for achieving climate neutrality by 2050. From the perspective of e-mobility, one point stands out: Shell wants to increase the number of charging points for electric vehicles from 60,000 to 500,000 by 2025.

The US electric car startup Rivian, supported by Amazon and Ford, is looking for European locations for a new plant. Germany, the United Kingdom and Hungary are among the countries under discussion, sources close to the matter said.

The Biden administration is looking to increase the upper limit for the number of subsidised electric vehicles per manufacturer. The bill called the Growing Renewable Energy and Efficiency Now (GREEN) Act, would benefit manufacturers such as Tesla and GM.

As Audi just launched the new etron GT line, our author and previous Porsche tester Sebastian Schaal finds the top-of-the-line GT more than “just” a Taycan clone. Instead, Audi tweaks the Porsche technology to arrive at a true electric Gran Turismo feel.

Austria’s Postbus Ag has ordered 40 hydrogen buses from Poland’s Solaris. The framework agreement specifies delivery between 2021 and 2023 and is part of a larger contract which also includes conventionally-powered buses.

AMTE Power announces its listing on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) on the London Stock Exchange and expects trading to begin in March. AMTE Power is a UK developer and manufacturer of lithium-ion battery cells for speciality markets and among those looking to build capacity in Britain.

British EV subscription service Onto continues on building the fleet as the company adds Hyundai electric cars to the fleet. They join a base of electric vehicles from PSA but also Tesla, BMW and Jaguar.

Nimble Energy has come up with a mobile charging solution for electric cars. The Czech startup, specialised in energy storage and charging stations, is building an on-demand service called Nimbee for drivers seeking to charge on the go.

Nissan and Spain’s petrochemical company Repsol have made a deal to, as they say, “promote electric mobility in Spain”. To start with, Repsol will install 15 fast-charging stations at their pitstops and offer discounts for Nissan EV drivers.

Turkish manufacturer Karsan has delivered a further ten electric minibuses to the Romanian city of Suceava, which now has 15 Jest Electric buses from Karsan in operation. Karsan had won a tender by the city for the new electric minibuses last year with an open option.

The InterEnergy Group has ordered 50 charging stations from Blink as they expand the Evergo network into Panama. The order consists of 35 Level 2 charging stations and 15 Blink DC fast-chargers and, there are more on the line.

Allstar Business Solutions, a provider of fuel cards in the UK, has agreed on a new partnership with Gronn Kontakt, an EV charging company owned by Statkraft. The deal means that Allstar has added a further 110 charge points to the network and coincides with the launch of a new EV charge payment card.