The US-American e-scooter sharing Bird has taken over German competitor Circ tonight. The terms of the deal remain undisclosed, yet it is likely Bird hopes to close the gap with Uber-financed Lime, especially in Europe.

Everything was to be so simple – one price for everyone, charged per kWh at all stations with Ionity’s high power charging network. Only it wasn’t that simple, as so-called mobility service operators got exclusive deals and charge differently – to much dismay and a competitor’s delight.

The British Channel Island Jersey now has its first electric car-sharing up and running. The service called EVie is starting with four vehicles and hopes to have 20 operating by the end of the year, expanding to 40 by the end of 2021.

Audi is bringing two plug-in hybrid models to the US market, the Q5 SUV and A8 flagship in the coming months. The carmaker says they come “at a competitive price point,” the Q5 plug-in hybrid especially.

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy has signed a bill to promote electric vehicles. The state calls for two million plug-in cars by 2035 and offers consumers rebates of up to $5,000. The ‘Light Duty Plug-in Electric Vehicle Rebate Program’ will run for ten years.

Audi wants to invest around 100 million euros in charging infrastructure to install at its own sites and is planning more than 4,500 charging points, most of which will also be publicly accessible. The majority will stand at Audi’s German plants with some at other locations as well.

Sono Motors has exceeded its crowdfunding target of 50 million euros and has extended the campaign until 20 January. The Munich-based company announced this on Saturday evening on Twitter – two days before the deadline.

Tesla has launched a new home charger. The third-gen Wall Connector features new Wi-Fi connectivity for over-the-air updates, a shorter cord length, and a tempered white glass faceplate.

The British government announces an investment of 3.4 million pounds for tests on wireless charging of electric taxis. Specifically, ten e-taxis from Nissan and LEVC are to be equipped with appropriate hardware and inductively charged in Nottingham for six months.

Volkswagen wants to buy 20 per cent of the Chinese electric car battery manufacturer Guoxuan High-Tech. There had already been rumours to this effect in August. According to the Reuters news agency, most of the details of the deal have already been finalised.

Ford is investing 42 million euros in its production plant in Valencia, Spain. Over half of the money will finance the two battery assembly lines for power packs designated for the Kuga Plug-In Hybrid, Kuga Hybrid, S-MAX Hybrid and Galaxy Hybrid models in future.

Recently Elon Musk announced that Tesla wants to create a design and development centre in China to create a select model there for worldwide distribution. A sketch Tesla published as part of a job posting for said centre now shows what this model could look like.

BMW will be closing its main plant in Munich for six weeks this summer to convert it to producing the all-electric BMW i4. The EV is scheduled to go into series production next year, still with battery cells bought in. However, this could change in future.

Tesla is not taking itself too seriously and has turned a glitch during the Cybertruck presentation into a pitch. What happened?

Fiat Chrysler wants to set up a joint venture with Foxconn, known primarily as an iPhone contract manufacturer, for the production of electric cars for the Chinese market. Both groups confirmed the plan while details are still being negotiated.

Canadian Tire Corporation announced today that 90 of its retail locations would host fast-charging stations by the end of 2020, making CTC one of the largest retail networks of EV fast-charging stations in the country.

High power charging provider Ionity, the JV between BMW, Daimler, Ford, and the Volkswagen Group with Audi and Porsche has announced a new pricing structure across its European network. Based on kilowatt-hours rather than a base fee, the system is simple but has its details.

The city of Auxerre has commissioned the French manufacturer Safra to deliver five fuel cell buses by the end of this year. To be precise, these are hybrid buses that combine a 30-kW Symbio fuel cell system with a 30-kilo hydrogen tank and a 132-kWh battery pack.

Maritime electric drive specialist Torqeedo is powering a new hybrid research boat by US company SeaRobotics. The autonomous surface vessels (ASV) is designed for long-range hydrography and subsea mapping missions. Also, Torqeedo appointed a new VP for sales in the EMEA region.

Honda and Moixa have teamed up to launch the first fruit of their pan-European cooperation. Smart chargers with vehicle-to-grid technology have been installed in London’s borough Islington and foretell a future of bi-directional charging via CCS.

Britain’s EV Energy Taskforce launched their final report in central London today. It includes 21 proposals on which 350 actors from industry, academia and politics agreed upon. However, it may prove a toothless yet bold talking tiger when it comes to regulation, for now.

Denmark’s all-electric car-sharing provider GreenMobility is expanding into Belgium with a new operating licence in Antwerp. The company wants to set up a joint venture with local partners, that is to run a fleet of up to 350 e-cars.

The European Investment Bank is providing 27.5 million euros to finance the introduction of cleaner buses in Spain. Specifically, it will support the modernisation of Grupo Ruiz’s bus fleet through the purchase of 32 electric and 141 natural gas buses for public transport.

It took Poland’s Rafako no more than three years to develop an electric bus. A specialist for power plant systems by default, Rafako now wants to serve a niche with its 8.5-metre city bus model. Yet, competition from Polish top dog Solaris and Chinese manufacturers is fierce.

VW and the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) plan to set up a fleet of autonomous buses for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Doha. Most interestingly, the ‘Project Qatar Mobility’ includes 35 electric vans, the long-expected ID. Buzz, all self-driving.

The UK-based taxi operator City Taxis announced plans to roll out 1,500 new vehicles and become one of the first firms in Europe to go fully electric. They plan to make the shift to electric cars by 2025 with cars from Nissan in Sheffield.

Indonesia’s largest taxi operator, Blue Bird, has ordered 200 electric vans from BYD. 150 of the seven-seater EVs of type T3 will be used in Jakarta, the remaining 50 in Bali.

Luxury EV maker Automobili Pininfarina is expanding its global dealer network with the Sky Group in Japan. At the launch event in Tokyo, the company specifically stressed the importance of the Japanese market, but also of Asian markets in general for sales of its upcoming electric hypercar.

Zipcar’s new electric van sharing service took off in Brixton, where it is available for small businesses to join. The van sharing service, run through Zipcar for Business, uses a Renault Kangoo Maxi ZE.

Registrations of alternative drive vehicle reached a new record of 10.2 per cent market share in the UK during November. This means more than one in 10 cars joining British roads were either hybrid, plug-in hybrid or pure electric.