Nov 21, 2014 - 09:29 am
Hydrogen, Miami, Honda, New Zealand, Hawaii.
Hydrogen for Germany: The Clean Energy Partnership (CEP) announced that it will erect six new H2 stations in the German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, bringing the total number of stations there to 8 by the end of 2015. The stations will be installed in seven cities, will come from Air Liquide, Linde, Westfalen and Shell and are part of a planned network of 50 hydrogen stations across Germany.
carzoom.de (in German)
Hybrid waste collection: Miami-Dade County has ordered another 29 hydraulic hybrid refuse trucks from Autocar, increasing its fleet to 64. The E3 waste collection truck is powered by RunWise’s ‘Advanced Series Hybrid Drive System,’ said to reduce fuel consumption by up to 50 percent.
greencarcongress.com
Honda is following Toyota’s lead of bringing H2-charging infrastructure to California. A loan of 13.8 million dollars is to go to FirstElement Fuel to expand the network by 12 charge stations. More funding is to come from the Golden State itself.
greencarreports.com, green.autoblog.com
EV charger in New Zealand: Tainui’s Novotel and Ibis hotels will install electric car chargers in their car parks. Installation will be done by company Mighty River Power (MRP) and is soon to start. MRP is looking to switch its fleet to hybrid electric vehicles.
stuff.co.nz
Hawaii charged up: Volta Industries is opening two EV charging stations on Maui and plans to roll out more across Oahu in 2015. The stations are sponsored by American Savings Bank and Rising Sun Solar and usage will be free. The electric and hybrid vehicles now almost have an eight percent market share in Hawaii.
bizjournals.com
Nov 20, 2014 - 09:33 am
U.S. EV initiatives, New Mexico, Memphis, Atlanta, Hong Kong.
250 million dollars for EVs: At an event at the White House, two new initiatives have been launched. More than 70 utility providers plan to invest over 250 million dollars in EVs to electrify their fleets. PG and the Edison Electric Institute furthermore announced a new initiative for the ‘Workplace Charging Challenge’ the DoE had called for.
electriccarsreport.com, cnn.com
New Mexico e-fleet: The Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM) plans to replace most of its vehicles, possibly all 450, with plug-in electric vehicles. For a start, seven vehicles will be acquired, with six pick-ups and ten bucket trucks to follow within the next few weeks.
abqjournal.com
H2 station at Memphis airport: Plug Power has completed installation of its first GenFuel hydrogen infrastructure at the Memphis Airport. The GenFuel station includes a hydrogen tank, compression system, fuel pipelines, and hydrogen dispensers that will power a fleet of 15 airport tugs.
aviationpros.com
American Football goes electrically: ChargePoint provided ten Atlanta Falcons-branded charging stations to the team at various training facilities. Atlanta is the second biggest EV market in the U.S. after California.
bizjournals.com
Cheaper charging stations in Hong Kong: Hong Kong Productivity Council and Chinese ITE Engineering have locally developed low-cost fast-charging stations to be installed at two government facilities in Hong Kong, adding to another ten already existing imported ones in Hong Kong.
thestandard.com.hk, chinadaily.com.cn
Nov 19, 2014 - 09:20 am
Eight, Zam Energy, Wisconsin, Georgia, Edinburgh, Blackpool, Perth.
Eight to enter the USA: The German manufacturer of modular solar charging stations has entered a distribution agreement with Zam Energy. The company from Colorado will distribute and market Eight´s Point.One and Point.One S charging stations in North America.
automotive-business-review.com
EV tax: Wisconsin is pondering the idea of charging electric and hybrid car owners 50 dollars annually under a road funding proposal. Since 2005, the state has seen a 1,000 percent increase in electric and hybrid vehicles, a trend environmentalists fear could be weakened by the backward proposal.
sfgate.com
Georgia Power now launched its EV charger programme that offers business customers a 500-dollar rebate for installing 240-volt Level 2 chargers (we reported). The two-year initiative is part of a bigger framework that also includes i.e. charging stations for homeowners and educational promotion.
prnewswire.com
Electric cabs in Edinburgh: The Scottish capital has lifted a ban on electric taxis dating back to 2006, now making their use possible. The previous legislation was based on the assumption that EVs would not ensure reliability although the city itself already operates a fleet of nine fully electric cars.
edinburghnews.scotsman.com
Semi-private EV initiative: Premier Cabs from Blackpool is seeking planning permission from the council for eight fast charging stations. The company plans to introduce 12 Nissan Leaf cabs by January and is investing half a million pounds. In the future, the chargers might become publicly available.
blackpoolgazette.co.uk
Building the future: In Perth, Australia, a 19-level apartment complex is to be build. Construction is set to start mid 2015 and is said to take three years. The finished building will accommodate 20 bicycles as well as two shared electric cars for residents.
perthnow.com.au, heraldsun.com.au
Nov 18, 2014 - 09:09 am
Toyota, H2 buses, Denmark, Kandi, Iceland, Athens-Clarke.
Hydrogen for the East Coast: On the occasion of presenting its Mirai, Toyota revealed plans to erect twelve hydrogen fueling stations together with Air Liquide in the states of New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island where the Mirai will be sold from 2016.
hybridcars.com
H2 buses for Europe: EvoBus, MAN, Solaris, Van Hool, VDL together with bus operators from major European cities such as Hamburg and London have signed a joint Letter of Understanding for the commercialisation of fuel cell buses. 500 to a 1,000 are said to be deployed across Europe by 2020.
greencarcongress.com, itm-power.com, fch-ju.eu
Clever charging: Danish eMobility provider CLEVER announced its plan to build 263 new fast charging stations in its home country. By the end of 2015, a total of 543 charge points are thus to be made available, offering charging with 22 kW, 43 kW, and 50 kW in Denmark.
insideevs.com, clever.dk
Electric car sharing in China: Kandi announced the delivery of 64 Kandi EVs to the city of Wuhan in the Hubei province. The car sharing programme is operated by ZuoZhongYou Electric Vehicle Service, a Kandi subsidiary. By the end of this year, delivery of up to a 1,000 Kandi EVs is expected.
globenewswire.com
Iceland to be electrified: Canadian Sun Country Highways has set its eyes on its nordic “neighbour” and plans to set up free EV charging stations along Iceland’s roads. The initiative will go ahead together with EV importer EVEN and is said to take less than twelve months.
green.autoblog.com
County police goes all electric: Athens-Clarke police in Georgia has now added a Nissan Leaf to its existing fleet of 18 hybrid Toyota Priuses and Ford Fusions. The leased Leaf will be used by administrators rather than officers on patrol.
onlineathens.com
Nov 17, 2014 - 09:17 am
V2G, Manila, Chicago, Indiana, Milton Keynes.
V2G project: The Air Force unveiled the Department of Defense’s first non-tactical vehicle fleet composed entirely of plug-in electric vehicles in Los Angeles. The PEV fleet includes both electric and hybrid vehicles ranging from sedans to trucks and a 12-passenger van. The vehicles include vehicle-to-grid technology, allowing them to feed energy back into the grid when not being used.
puregreencars.com, greencarcongress.com
200 hybrid buses for Manila: Operator Green Frog said it will be investing 1.2 billion Philippine peso (26.7 million USD) to service 20 more routes with electric-diesel buses in the Philippine capital of Manila. The company currently operates eight hybrid buses.
mb.com.ph
Free charging in Chicago: Nissan has kicked-off its “No Charge to Charge” programme in the mid-western city. Buyers of the Nissan Leaf will have free access to 17 rapid-chargers installed in the region for two years. By mid-January about 30 chargers will be operating.
chicagotribune.com, businesswire.com
EVs charge for free: An Indiana utility charges homeowners nothing to charge their electric car at home overnight. Moreover, the Northern Indiana Public Service Company offers a subsidy of up to 1,650 dollars to registered electric-car owners who install a separate meter just for EV charging – a grant that in some cases covers the entire installation.
greencarreports.com
Smart Cities: Indiana-based Mahindra Tech has teamed up with The Open University and Milton Keynes Council to transform the British city Milton Keynes into a smart city. The focus is on transportation, electric vehicles, connected ecosystems and internet of things.
cbronline.com, myiris.com
Nov 14, 2014 - 09:21 am
Electric Circuit, Concord, Illinois, Germany.
Electric Circuit grows: Eight public charging stations will be installed in a total of six Canadian municipalities, all of which signed a partnership agreement with Electric Circuit. Regional municipality L’Érable MRC in the state of Québec had called for the development of EV infrastructure in the region.
newswire.ca
Six charge points for South Carolina: Canadian charging infrastructure provider EV Charge Solution will install these in the city of Concord. Locations include the city’s airport, transit center, operations center and a parking deck center.
rbj.net
Charging in Illinois: Level 1 charging points have been installed in parking garages at the University of Illinois. Some are located in metered spaces, others in parking garages that require a specific permit. The university plans to install Level 2 chargers within the next year.
wandtv.com
Germany incentivizes EVs: To push sales of electric cars and cut emissions, Germany will propose tax incentives for owners of electric company cars. According to an outline of a national action plan, owners will be able to offset half the cost of the vehicle against tax in the year it is bought from 2015.
thedailystar.net
Nov 13, 2014 - 09:22 am
AMP, Singapore, Car2go, PlugSurfing & Vattenfall.
AMP deal in Texas: The company is to supply 18 of its all-electric Workhorse E-100 Walk-in vans to a “major transportation company” (our bet is on FedEx). They will be used in Houston for package deliveries in and around the city.
nasdaq.com
Cutting congestion in Singapore: The city state announced that it will invest 1.5 billion dollars in sustainability over the next five years. One of the projects is adding more public transportation to reduce traffic and offering electric carsharing. They are even planning “driverless vehicles”.
eco-business.com (with video), news.asiaone.com
Is Car2go headed for China? Daimler supposedly plans to introduce its carsharing scheme there, but nothing is under lock and key yet, a Moovel spokesperson told AutoblogGreen. Let’s hope that if Car2go enters the Chinese market, they will be using electric Smarts.
green.autoblog.com
Vattenfall joins PlugSurfing: Following deals with RWE and E.On, the Berlin-based company now also cooperates with Vattenfall. Users can access Vattenfall charge points in Hamburg and Berlin via the PlugSurfing app and pay using the RFID key chain. The same is true for some 10,000 charge points in the Netherlands and another 130 in Austria (we reported).
plugsurfing.com
Nov 12, 2014 - 09:31 am
Tritium, Toyota, Zinoro, Golden.
Rapid-charging network Down Under: Tritium presents its “Fast Cities Network” initiative for Australia, for which the infrastructure provider plans to install 12 of its Veefil chargers, creating a 430 kilometres long electric highway. Tritium is looking for investors to then further develop the network.
greencarcongress.com
More plugs for Prius: Toyota expands its charging service in Japan for the Prius plug-in. Starting next month, the cars can be charged at all 700 charge points of the Nippon Charge Service, set up by Toyota, Nissan, Honda and Mitsubishi. The network is said to grow to 5,500 chargers by the end of 2015.
electriccarsreport.com, puregreencars.com
Zinoro enters civil service: 20 units of the all-electric Zinoro 1E developed by the China-based BMW-Brilliance joint venture have been delivered for the fleet of the Beijing Service Bureau for Diplomatic Missions.
chinadaily.com.cn
EVs for the city of Golden: The carsharing scheme for the Colorado city will be all-electric and feature EVs by Coda Automotive. A Tesla Model S is also available for half-day rentals to qualified customers.
heraldonline.com
Nov 11, 2014 - 09:16 am
TU Delft, Palm Beach, Pepco.
EV study: E-Mobility NSR partner TU Delft produced the report “Analysis of consumers’ EV potential,” asking if people can keep their driving behaviour, while replacing one or all cars with EVs. They found that while people living outside of cities drive longer distances, they also own more cars on average and have a higher potential to replace at least one fuel-based car for an EV.
e-mobility-nsr.eu, e-mobility-nsr.eu (report as PDF)
Free EV ride in Florida: Shoppers and visitors can again hop on (and off) the Palm Beach Free Ride electric cars, as they go into service for a second season. New this year is a Holiday Haute Ride that takes customers from one popular shopping area to the next.
palmbeachdailynews.com
Pepco deploys smart charging solution: The electric service provider will install ClipperCreek’s smart charging stations equipped with Itron Embedded Sensing technology. Pepco´s voluntary Demand Management Pilot Program encourages customers in Maryland to conveniently take advantage of off-peak charging.
itron.com, greentechmedia.com
Nov 10, 2014 - 09:17 am
Terschelling, Tesla, Munich, Light and Charge, Las Vegas.
EV island: Schylge-E-Auto commissions a fleet of 65 Nissan Leaf on the Dutch island of Terschelling. This is said to be the world’s largest island-based electric car-sharing scheme. Additional charging stations have been installed and officials are already considering to increase the EV fleet to 100.
electriccarsreport.com, puregreencars.com
Tesla expands across UK: The California carmaker has opened a new store in Birmingham and has installed three new London Superchargers at Canary Wharf, Tower Bridge and Westfield White City. Tesla has also added Reading, Bristol and Edinburgh to the Supercharger network.
puregreencars.com, twitter.com
Munich opens mobility hub: There, passengers riding bus, underground or tram can get off to switch to one of the six vehicles of a carsharing fleet, two of which are all-electric. Starting mid-next year, the hub will also feature a bike sharing service.
muenchen.de, br.de (articles in German)
Light chargers update: BWM has recently introduced its “Light and Charge” streetlamps, fitted with a charging station (we reported). Now you can get all the details in English.
cnet.com, bmwblog.com
Uber competition in Sin City: The start-up Shift wants to implement an app-based service in Las Vegas, telling its customers how to get to their destination quick and cheap. The company’s own fleet features 100 Tesla Model S, Smarts and bikes as well as shuttle and valet services.
washingtonpost.com (with video)
Nov 7, 2014 - 09:25 am
Munich, Scotland, Hamburg, Boston, Chicago.
Munich supports EVs: The Bavarian capital wants to launch a 23 million euro programme to fund the adaptation of electric cars. Individuals will receive a 2,500 euro grant when they buy an EV. Businesses will even get 4,000 euros. 500,000 euros will be reserved for electrifying the city’s fleet, and the number of installed charge points will be increased to 2,000 by 2017, according to the announcement.
sueddeutsche.de (in German)
Transport Scotland funds EV expansion: Giving one million pounds in funding, the organisation adds a total of 50 EVs to Car Clubs in Scotland. 20 EVs will be available from City Car Club branches in Edinburgh and Glasgow and smaller car club chains across Scotland will share another 30 EVs.
heraldscotland.com
Volvo plug-in buses premiere: “Hamburger Hochbahn” officially presented the new Volvo 7900 Electric Hybrid, three of which will enter service in the northern German city in December. The plug-in buses will be rapid-charged by Siemens technology.
innovations-report.de (in German)
Boston rides hybrid: The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) has rolled out the first of 60 hybrid buses by New Flyer. The other 59 buses are expected to be delivered by the end of March and will replace the outdated bus fleet in Boston.
metro.us
Alternative fuel at Chicago Airport: The Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA) called on Clean Energy Fuels to build a 4,000 square meter “Alternative-Fuel station” at the O’Hare airport. It will feature EV charging points, as well as compressed natural gas and biodiesel.
aviationnews.net, nacsonline.com
Nov 6, 2014 - 09:27 am
Light and Charge, Kandi, Japan, ChargePoint, Slough.
Light and Charge: BMW has developed a streetlight named “Light and Charge”, that also serves as a charge point for EVs. It will become part of the BMW i ChargeNow network as well as Hubject’s Intercharge. BMW commissioned the first two prototypes in Munich yesterday. A city-wide pilot project where existing streetlights will be replaced with the BMW technology will follow in spring 2015.
bmwgroup.com (in German)
Sharing Kandi EV: The Chinese city of Chengdu will launch its electric carsharing scheme before the end of the year, for which carmaker Kandi Technologies will provide 1,000 of its electric vehicles.
autorentalnews.com
Charging flat rate in Japan: For 3,000 Yen per month (26 USD), Nissan customers now have unlimited access to charge points of the Japan Battery Charge Service (JBCS). The service is a cooperation between Nissan, Toyota, Mitsubishi and Honda, which plans to have installed up to 2,500 rapid chargers in Japan by March 2015.
japan.ahk.de (article in German), itmedia.co.jp (article in Japanese)
ChargePoint expands across USA: According to company figures, ChargePoint already has more than 18,700 charge points in the U.S., 8,158 are located in California. Moreover, the infrastructure provider says that it will add over 500 new charging ports every month
insideevs.com
Slough Borough Council adds 15th EV: The council, part of the My Electric Avenue smart charging trial project in the UK, has added its 15th electric vehicle to its fleet, a Nissan Leaf. The council owns eleven of the vehicles, the other four are being leased.
evfleetworld.co.uk
Nov 5, 2014 - 09:18 am
Efacec, Plug-in car grants, Cotswold, CarCharging, Mysore.
Fast chargers for Belgium an the Netherlands: Portuguese company Efacec will deliver 60 of its fast-chargers QC45 to Dutch EV infrastructure provider Allego. The chargers will be installed at resting areas along Dutch and Belgium motorways in cooperation with EcoCare.
Info sent by email
Who get grants in the UK? There is some confusion about the definition of who the owner of a plug-in vehicle is, some criticise. It is the fleet manager who leases the car, or the leasing company who will receive government funding? Malcolm Pearson, group fleet director at Stoke-on-Trent based Holdcroft Motor Group, now called on the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) to clarify.
fleetnews.co.uk
Cotswold District gets two fast-chargers: The two electric vehicle charging points will be operational within weeks and cost four pounds (6.40 USD) to use. The UK district hopes the stations will provide a link between already existing infrastructure.
fleetworld.co.uk
CarCharging has signed an agreement to operate and service 19 Blink charging points across seven locations in the city of Plano, Texas. The plug-in possibilities in question are all Blink Level II EV chargers.
carcharging.com
Eight e-buses for India: Originally, the city of Mysore had planed to operate three electric buses by Chinese manufacturer BYD, but now decided to add another five. If the proposal gets the nod from the Ministry of Urban Development, the eight electric buses are expected to run on Mysuru roads next year.
thehindu.com
Nov 4, 2014 - 09:17 am
Canada, Hyundai, Zipcar, Esslingen.
Canada charges ahead: Canadian EV infrastructure provider Sun Country Highway wants to install no fewer than 1,000 charging stations across the country. A timeframe for the project has not yet been announced.
evnewsreport.com, insideevs.com
The first Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell have been delivered to UK customers such as Transport for London, Air Products, ITM Power and Johnson Matthey. UK consumers can order the vehicle by contacting Hyundai UK directly. Coordinating deliveries worldwide, Hyundai will fulfil new customer deliveries in early 2015.
carscoops.com, telegraph.co.uk, hyundaipressoffice.co.uk
Zipcar hits streets in Madrid: The U.S. carsharing scheme will feature a Peugeot 308 hybrid as part of their fleet in the Spanish capital. The company is set on expanding across Europe and already operates in France, the UK and Austria.
businessgreen.com
Electric buses overhead: The German city of Esslingen will be getting four new electric buses that can be charged via overhead electric wires and then operate on electricity stored in the battery. The first two buses could go into service at the beginning of 2016.
stadtanzeiger-im-netz.de (article in German)
Nov 3, 2014 - 09:15 am
Toyota, Wiltshire, Greater Manchester, La Poste, Audi, Dubai.
Toyota expands charging infrastructure tests in Aichi Prefecture in Japan. It will erect 43 new charging stations, added to the 104 already installed in the region. The goal is to find the optimal number of chargers and the best locations to encourage EV usage. In addition to past tests, stations will also be set up at cultural and social service facilities.
electriccarsreport.com, greencarcongress.com
Wiltshire opens fast-charger network: The Wiltshire County Council had received 225,000 pounds (400,000 USD) in funding from the British Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) to erect six fast-chargers across the county. It now also received a further 180,000 pounds (288,000 USD) to install more public charging points in public sector areas.
fleetnews.co.uk
The use of EV charging stations increased 12-fold compared to last year in Greater Manchester. The 300 installed charging points there were used a combined total of 974 times in September. In the same month last year, only 82 sessions were recorded.
rochdaleonline.co.uk
The 5,000th Renault Kangoo Z.E. has been delivered to the French postal service, which also employs 18,000 e-bikes, 1,000 electric quads and 100 electric trikes. Moreover, La Poste and Renault have agreed to extend their cooperation and to i.e. improve the range of the vehicles produced by Renault that are currently part of the La Poste fleet.
electriccarsreport.com, greencarcongress.com
Audi carsharing: The new “Audi shared fleet” service now rolls into the German capital and the client “Factory Berlin” picked (among others) an Audi A3 e-tron. The service allows companies to choose from the entire Audi portfolio and pay only for the time a vehicle is in use. Audi coordinates the bookings and takes care of filling tanks, as well as cleaning and servicing the fleet.
automotiveworld.com, siliconallee.com
Dubai tests e-buses: The Roads and Transport Authority wants to further study range of e-buses and lifetime of batteries under the extreme (hot) weather conditions in the United Emirates. Charging infrastructure will be developed together with the Dubai Electricity & Water Authority.
emirates247.com
Oct 31, 2014 - 09:20 am
South Korea, Multi-Contact, Coca-Cola & XL Hybrids, Chicago.
EVs are a must: South Korea’s government yesterday announced that starting next year, all government agencies and national universities must choose from electric cars for over 25 percent of their new purchases and rentals. The goal is not only to protect the environment, but also to create new jobs.
yonhapnews.co.kr
Charging on route: Swiss Multi-Contact has developed an automatic charging system for electric buses. While at a stop, a flexible plug clicks into the bus’s charging socket, allowing for charging current of up to 900 ampere. According to Multi-Contact, the stops of existing bus lines can easily be retrofitted.
multi-contact.de
Coke hybridises: Coca-Cola is adding 140 additional gasoline-electric hybrid Chevrolet Express 3500 vans converted by XL Hybrids by early 2015 to go with the 103 it already has in the fleet. 70 of the new vans are currently being delivered, a further 70 will follow.
puregreencars.com
Chicago gets two electric buses: The New Flyer Industries buses are said to go between 80 and 120 miles on one charge and save 25,000 dollars in fuel cost per year. The electric buses cost one million dollars each and were funded by a 2.2 million dollar grant from the Federal Transit Administration. Moreover, 300 of Chicago’s 1,800 buses are hybrid.
chicagotribune.com, breakingnews.suntimes.com
Oct 30, 2014 - 09:24 am
Indianapolis, Belgium, New Zealand, Tesla, Dundee.
With its “Freedom Fleet,” Indianapolis plans the largest electrification of a communal fleet in the US. A total of 425 petrol-powered vehicles will be replaced by EVs and PHEVs by 2016, the first 100 will even be replaced by the end of the year. Due to low maintenance costs, the city wants to save 8.7 million dollars over the next ten years.
greencarcongress.com, electriccarsreport.com, indystar.com
Topping that, Belgium’s nursing service “Solidariteit voor het Gezin” has ordered 729 Toyota Yaris hybrids and Auris Touring Sports hybrids, provided via leasing company Alphabet. Deliveries have already started and are said to soon be completed.
avem.fr (in French)
Tesla instead of petrol BMW: New Zealand government is ready to give its fleet an overhaul. 34 BMW 7 series limousines will need to be replaced. The Green Party suggests the Tesla Model S.
3news.co.nz, radionz.co.nz
Tesla’s CHAdeMO adapter is still not available, but it looks as though it will be a lot cheaper than originally announced. Instead of 1,000 dollars it will be available for just 450 dollars.
teslamotors.com via insideevs.com
Tripling charging points: Scottish city of Dundee will increase the number of charging possibilities from now seven to 21, spread across the city centre. The charging stations are funded by Transport Scotland.
thecourier.co.uk
Oct 29, 2014 - 09:37 am
Georgia, Sainsbury’s, Cheltenham & Gloucester, BYD.
Georgia Power enters EV business: The utility will invest 12 million dollars in charging infrastructure in the U.S. state. Some 50 new public charging stations will be installed in the second quarter of 2015. Individuals and businesses wanting to erect charging points can apply for between 250 to 500 dollars in funding.
bizjournals.com
Hydrogen from the supermarket: British Sainsbury’s will set up a H2 fuelling station at its Hendon store in north west London before the end of the year. It will be operated by Air Products and is part of the London Hydrogen Network Expansion programme. Moreover, the UK now has its first EV driving mayor. George Pattison, Lord Mayor of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, now is the proud owner of a Nissan Leaf.
thegreencarwebsite.co.uk (Sainsbury’s), businessgreen.com (mayor)
UK gets new fast-chargers: Cheltenham and Gloucester will work together to install a total of ten fast-chargers in the region before Christmas. A local Mitsubishi dealer welcomes the news and hopes the development of infrastructure will lead to an increase in sales of the Outlander PHEV.
cardealermagazine.co.uk
BYD presents charging solutions: The Chinese company that is mostly known for its electric buses recently presented all of its plug-in vehicles charging solutions. You can see cars and buses charging one over the other and a “Charging Tower” for hundreds of cars.
insideevs.com (with video)
Oct 28, 2014 - 09:30 am
Rome, ChargePoint, Washington, Louisville, Odyne Systems.
Quick-charger on wheels: First details about the mobile “Quick-Charger” for Rome’s Nissan Leaf taxi have been released. With 130 lithium-iron-tetraphosphate batteries, holding 100 kWh of renewable solar energy, the CHAdeMO compatible NV400 conversion can charge a Leaf taxi from 30 percent to 80 percent in just 15 minutes.
carscoops.com, automotive-fleet.com
ChargePoint customers can now use PayPal when charging their EVs. The charging points are owned by business or individuals (PayPal istself has 34 at its offices in California) and many of them are free of charge. If there is a fee, user can now pay via their PayPal account.
greencarcongress.com
Scenic charging route completed: Washington State finished installing over 60 charging point along the “Cascade Loop Scenic Highway” in the northern part of the U.S. state. The electrified route is a total of 440 miles (708 km) and said to be one of the most scenic in the country.
earthisland.org
Proterra bus for Kentucky: The ZeroBus will soon enter service in the city of Louisville. It seats 30 and can travel for up to two hours and fully recharge on route in less than 10 minutes by hooking up to a wireless overhead system that links to a high-capacity charger. Two of those are planned.
courier-journal.com
Michigan’s largest utility goes hybrid: Odyne Systems has delivered six plug-in hybrid trucks to Consumer Energy. The hybrid system is also used to power the equipment on the trucks without using the engine, significantly reducing noise levels at the work site.
chargedevs.com
Oct 27, 2014 - 09:21 am
Brazil, Car2Go, China, Alphabet, EDF Energy.
Dis-incentives: Brazil announced an incentive scheme, cutting import duties on hybrid cars. Plug-in vehicles are excluded from the measure, because the country fears that its electricity grid doesn’t have the capacity to handle an influx of plug-in cars and their charging needs.
greencarreports.com
Car2Go gives ten free minutes to its San Diego customers, if they park the all-electric Smarts in the so-called “incentive zone.” Leaving the cars downtown makes it easier for the fleet team to move the cars around, making sure they are charged up.
green.autoblog.com
Green buses for China: By the end of next year, 20,222 electric buses will take to the streets of Beijing, Tinjin, and Hebei Province, making up 16 percent of all public transport in the areas. Moreover, local governments plan on setting up 94 charging stations and 16,200 charging posts.
eco-business.com, autonews.gasgoo.com
Alphabet and EDF Energy partner in order to give potential EV buyers more confidence. On top of advice about charging points, UK customers will also receive detailed advice on load and power requirements, alongside managing ongoing maintenance, installation and warranty protection.
fleetnews.co.uk
Oct 24, 2014 - 08:36 am
e-clearing.net, Volkswagen, Cork, Edinburgh, VGI test.
e-clearing.net kick-off: The new interoperability platform by German Smartlab and Dutch foundation ElaadNL counts 4,500 chargers from the get-go. The target is a fully operational roaming network across Europe. Smartlab also confirmed to electrive.com that there will be talks with the competing roaming platform intercharge from Hubject, to enable communication between the two systems.
elaad.nl, e-clearing.net
Sharing the E-up: As part of the showcase project in the German federal state of Lower Saxony, Volkswagen provided 50 of the EVs to selected universities for carsharing programmes. Depending on demand, the number of vehicles can be increased.
auto-medienportal.net, motorvision.de, volkswagen-media-services.com (all links in German)
Cork plugs in: The city wants to become the capital of electric mobility in Ireland. The Drive4Zero programme will allow EVs to park for free, double public charging points and create incentives for buying an EV. The first 2,000 buyers will even receive a rapid-charge home point.
irishexaminer.com
Scotland gets first Supercharger: The Tesla fast-charger was installed at Edinburgh Airport. Tesla UK manager Georg Ell hinted that there is more to come, saying one should “watch this space for more activity.”
edinburgh.stv.tv
VGI test a success: Last week, eight manufacturers and a number of utilities came together to see, if energy providers could tell EVs to stop charging via a cloud, in order to not overload the grid (we reported ahead of the event). Using technology provided by Sumitomo Electric, the test was declared a success.
usatoday.com, transportevolved.com
Oct 23, 2014 - 08:22 am
Nissan, Van Hool, Dundee, Corby, Dendrow.
Four e-taxis for Spain: Nissan delivered four electric taxis to Spain’s two largest cities. Three e-NV200 will go into service in Barcelona and one Nissan Leaf will chauffeur guests around the city of Madrid.
thegreencarwebsite.co.uk, hybridcars.com, electriccarsreport.com
Service centre for hydrogen buses: Next month, Van Hool and partner Ballard Power System will open a Service and Parts Centre for fuel cell buses in Belgium. “ESPACE” will mainly service Van Hool buses that feature Ballard technology. By the end of 2014, there are expected to be 27 of these fuel cell buses in operation in five European cities.
greencarcongress.com
Dundee gets two fast-chargers: The city council earmarked 22,000 pounds (35,300 USD) for the installation, paid for with a Transport Scotland grant. The council hopes the new 22 kW charging stations will encourage more people to drive electrically.
thecourier.co.uk
Corby makes room for EVs: Corby borough council in Northamptonshire has set up five parking bays for electric vehicles adjacent to charging points at a car park in the city centre. A measure the city took, seeing that sales of plug-vehicles are growing.
airqualitynews.com, northantstelegraph.co.uk
Real Estate electrified: Dendrow Estate Agents in London has three Nissan Leafs in their fleet. And while this video sets out to talk about some of the issues, there do not seem to be any – just benefits. But then, the video was produced by no other than the carmaker itself.
youtube.com
Oct 22, 2014 - 08:37 am
Charge&Pay, Inmotion EV scheme, Powertree Services, MetLife.
Roaming with Mercedes: Daimler presented its “Charge&Pay for Mercedes Benz” app, allowing drivers to find the nearest available charging station and pay via the app using PayPal. The system includes almost all service providers in Germany and the carmaker plans on adding other European markets.
media.daimler.com
UK EV initiative: The Inmotion Electric Vehicles Scheme is said to be the first of its kind in the country. When leasing an electric car or van, or installing a charge point via the scheme’s partner companies, businesses can receive grants of up to 10,500 pounds (17,000 USD). The initiative is financed through the DfT’s Local Sustainable Transport Fund.
fleetnews.co.uk
Helpful neighbours: Powertree Services wants to install 68 charging station in San Francisco, including energy storage systems by Panasonic. Energy is generated via solar panels, stored and used to charge up EVs, but also to supply nearby houses.
automotive-business-review.com
Charging with the Peanuts: U.S. insurance company MetLife has installed at total of 32 charging points at all 14 of its locations across the country. Employees charge for free. The initiative aims to make employees aware of greener driving alternatives. The company’s long-time mascot Snoopy adorns on the stations.
greencarreports.com
Oct 21, 2014 - 08:18 am
CARB, Chicago, Hannover, Tritium, Malaysia.
CARB to cut ZEV? Back in 2012, the California Air Resources Board decided that six Large Vehicle Makers will be required to sell a certain number of zero emission vehicles (ZEV). Afraid not to be able to meet requirements, Immediate Vehicle Makers called for the rule to include plug-in vehicles. The measure is said to be passed in the coming days.
greencarreports.com
Zero emission chauffeur fleet: Late Chicago gangster Al Capone has reason to be jealous. Now one can hire one of six Tesla Model S, ready to hit the street of the Windy City. Chicago’s first all-electric fleet is operated by E-Motion Chauffeurs and Hires of Chicago.
insideevs.com
University of Hannover goes electric: The German university received six VW e-Caddy and will test the lightweight delivery vehicles during the upcoming 12 months. Data collected about energy consumption, servicing and battery capacity will be send to VW for evaluation.
vwvortex.com
Fast-charger from Down Under: The Australian charging infrastructure provider Tritium has signed a deal with E-Wald. The pilot scheme will be the first European client to use the “Veefil Electric Vehicle Fast Charger,” which supports CCS as well as CHAdeMO.
electriccarsreport.com
New market for BYD: At the IGEM 2014 in Kuala Lumpur, BYD presented the first electric bus for Malaysia. Manufactured in China, the K9 has already found buyers in Malaysia – Panorama Melaka has ordered 40 units and Sunway BRT 15 units.
paultan.org
Oct 20, 2014 - 08:29 am
DriveNow, Amsterdam, Beijing, e8energy, MCT Engineering.
DriveNow electrification in Europe: BMW and Sixt’s carsharing offering will also start in London by early 2015 and include the BMW i3. At the launch in Vienna, it was announced that the EV will also might be added to the DriveNow fleet for the Austrian capital. With the ChargeNow card, BMW i-customers now also have cross-border access to the charging infrastructure in Germany and Austria.
fleetnews.co.uk (London), futurezone.at (Vienna, in German), bmwgroup.com (ChargeNow, in German)
BMW i3 test fleet in Amsterdam: As part of a pilot project, ING bank leased 51 BMW i3s for staff living within 45 kilometers (28 miles) of Amsterdam. They either charge the i3 at home or at a nearby public charging point – with an additional 90 charging points available at ING’s headquarters in Amsterdam.
bmwblog.com, evworld.com
Charging lights in Beijing: Berlin-based companies Ubitricity and Ebee have come up with the novel idea of turning street lights into charging points – and the idea is making waves in places as far-flung as China. Local media reveal plans by several Beijing districts to turn their street lights into power outlets for EVs as early as this year. This could see the creation of over 30,000 additional charging points.
china.org.cn, english.cri.cn
V2H solution from Hamburg: Charging infrastructure specialist e8energy has unveiled its new DIVA bi-directional rapid-charging system with CHAdeMO connector and integrated battery. It was demonstrated last week in Berlin using a Nissan Leaf.
e8energy.de (in German)
F1 supplier truly electrified: British company MCT Engineering has gone green and invested in three Mitsubishi Outlander PHEVs. MCT manufactures carbon components used in a wide variety of areas including Formula One.
fleetnews.co.uk, electriccarsreport.com
Oct 17, 2014 - 08:31 am
Amsterdam, Brussels, PlugSurfing, Connecticut, Chargepartner.
Ready, steady, go! 167 Tesla Model S have just taken up taxi services at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, making it the biggest electric cab fleet in the world. The programme will run for four years, but might be extended for another eight. Success seems somewhat guaranteed…
gas2.org, youtube.com (Video, in Dutch)
Equally electric is Brussel’s new e-taxi fleet. 34 BYD e6 will go into service in the Belgian capital. The Chinese manufacturer bid successfully against Nissan and Renault and impressed cab companies with a range of up to 300 kilometres.
bloomberg.com, cntv.cn
PlugSurfing to expand further: The app now includes another 130 charge spots in Austria, where PlugSurfing users can charge and pay via RFID keychain. Partner for the Alpine expansion are Electrodrive Salzburg and Wien Energie, both part of Hubject’s intercharge network.
plugsurfing.com
EV promotion in the States: Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection will fund at least 20 more charging stations. Installation is fully paid for if the stations are available to the public 24/7 and free of charge. Jacksonville, Florida, offers rebates of up to 1,000 dollars for both the installation of charge points and the purchase of EVs, following in the steps of i.e. California and Georgia, where incentives can reach 5,000 dollars.
westfaironline.com (Connecticut), ens-newswire.com (other states)
Charging infrastructure software: Chargepartner developed a modular software platform enabling utilities and other businesses to manage charging infrastructure services. The white-label solution facilitates authorisation, management and billing of vehicle charging as well as user management.
chargepartner.de
Oct 16, 2014 - 08:28 am
Tesla, Malaysia, TesLowJuice, Rome, BMW i & Soho, Honolulu.
Tesla charges China: Under a new agreement with Minsheng Bank, the California EV maker will erect 200 so-called Destination Chargers in twenty cities. Similar deals with China Unicom, Intime Retail and SOHO China have seen Tesla install over 400 charge spots in 61 cities, and 20 Superchargers in another eight cities in China, says China Times.
wantchinatimes.com
Malaysia charges itself: From 2015 to 2017, the Malaysia Automotive Institute will install 125 to 150 charging stations along the country’s highways and in the capital Kuala Lumpur. The government is ready to spend 150 million Malayan ringgit (about 46m dollars) on EV infrastructure. More stations are likely to follow until 2020.
paultan.org, home.net.my
Sharing economy: In the UK, owners of Tesla wallboxes are taking matters into their own hands. The TesLowJuice is a charge club via which British Model S owners can make their chargers publicly available. 50 chargers are already registered – 20 more and the UK is covered.
autoexpress.co.uk
Leaf taxi in Rome: Nissan is working with a Roman taxi company and will erect a CHAdeMO fast charger for two Leaf taxis at the Fiumicino airport. Moreover, working with FCS Mobility, Nissan will convert a NV400 into a mobile charging station for the electric taxis.
electriccarsreport.com
Soho House and BMW i: The two enterprises have entered a global partnership that spans across Europe and America. The carmaker will provide guests and members of the Soho House Group with electric i3 vehicles, while also collaborating on cultural events.
electriccarsreport.com
Hawaii’s hybrid buses: Honolulu will soon receive four hybrid buses. They are based on New Flyers Xcelsior platform (we reported) and come with HybriDrive Series-E by BAE Systems. The articulated buses were ordered by the Department of Transportation Services (DTS) of the City and County of Honolulu.
automotive-business-review.com
Oct 15, 2014 - 08:26 am
NRG eVgo, Norwalk, France, Norway, BYD, Metron 7.
Film industry plugged-in: NRG eVgo completed its biggest corporate infrastructure project to date, installing 60 charge points at the Sony Pictures Entertainment HQ in Culver City, California. The company started offering eco-incentives in 2008. Now, about 90 PHEVs park in front of the studios.
electriccarsreport.com
Campus charging: Norwalk Community College has set up two new charging stations, partly funded by Connecticut’s Dept. of Energy and Environmental Protection. The grant requires that charging is free during the first three years after installation.
norwalk.dailyvoice.com
France is the new Norway: In September, a record-breaking 2,290 plug-ins were sold in France, almost half of them Renault Zoes (914). That brings the market share up to 0.86 percent. For Norway, it was a rather quiet month with 1,445 new electric cars and plug-in hybrids registered.
ev-sales.blogspot.de (France), ev-sales.blogspot.de (Norway)
Large scale road trip: In preparation of a show, BYD drove one of its electric buses over 1,500 miles from Lancaster to Houston. The bus stopped to charge ten times, simply using the AC power grid to charge up in two to three hours along the way.
metro-magazine.com
726 kilometres on one charge: In his electrified Mazda5 called Metron 7, Slovenian developer Andrej Pečjak travelled from Bled (Slovenia) to Dubrovnik (Croatia) at an average speed of 65 kph. Technically, he even drove 736 km, as he had to go an extra ten km to get to a charging point.
balkans.com, eauto.si (with pictures)
Oct 14, 2014 - 08:19 am
Renault, Schneider Electric, Gnewt Cargo, Berlin, RV Park.
Renault cooperates with Fortum to erect 100 charging stations, mainly 22-kW fast chargers, across Norway. The Finnish utility will be responsible for the installation and servicing, and plans to double its ‘Charge & Drive’ network in Norway, Sweden and Finland to 500 stations within the next nine months.
globenewswire.com
Schneider Electric in LA: Los Angeles County will deploy 82 EVlink charging stations by Schneider Electric. During the first year of the pilot programme, EV drivers can charge their electric cars for free for up to four hours. To date, 34 EVlink stations have been installed in LA County.
4-traders.com
Gnewt Cargo electrifies ‘final-mile’ deliveries in London, ordering three more Mercedes Vito E-Cell vans. Those will primarily be used by TNT Express within the city’s Congestion Zone. Gnewt stands for Green New Transport and offers a fleet of electric cargocycles and minivans for deliveries in Central London.
fleetnews.co.uk
E bus line in Berlin: In 2015, the German capital’s public transport provider will start testing to operate a complete downtown line with four Solaris electric buses. The buses are equipped with the PRIMOVE inductive charging system from Bombardier (we reported).
greencarcongress.com
EV campgrounds: America’s RV camp sites are experiencing an unexpected revival, as EV drivers find their 50-Amp electrical outlets a welcome way to recharge in the wilderness. Ben Rich knows how to deal with this new breed of short-term campers.
greencarreports.com
Oct 13, 2014 - 08:17 am
HyWay, Triangulum, Tesla, Geneva, ChargeMap.
Hydrogen test fleet: Under the 18-month project HyWay, France will deploy 50 Renault Kangoo Z.E. fitted with fuel cells around two hydrogen distribution stations in Lyon and Grenoble. In a second phase, the project provides for the development and production of hydrogen from local renewable energy.
greencarcongress.com
Smart Cities project: The European Commission has nominated the “Triangulum” project, led by Fraunhofer IAO, to be the lead project for the Smart Cities and Communities initiative. Triangulum will transform urban districts into smart quarters including e-mobility concepts, starting in Manchester (UK), Eindhoven (Netherlands) and Stavanger (Norway) and to be subsequently transferred to other cities.
idw-online.de
Tesla battery swapping coming soon: As Elon Musk told reporters at the event last Thursday, Tesla plans to open the first of its long-awaited battery-swapping stations within the next two months. It will be located between Los Angeles and San Francisco.
autonews.com
BMW i3 enters police fleet: As “BMW Blog” reveals, the police department in Geneva, Switzerland, will be the first law enforcement agency to use the German EV as a patrol car. The BMW i3 police car will be replacing the currently used BMW X3.
bmwblog.com
ChargeMap has launched an update of its mobile charging app. The new version comes with a redesigned interface and integrates a number of new functions in response to requests from users. The new ChargeMap app provides detailed information for 55,000 public outlets across Europe.
chargemap.com
Nylo plugs in: Nylo Hotels announced they will provide Tesla Superchargers at three of their locations in Texas. The hotels in Las Colinas, Plano and Dallas will each be equipped with three charging stations.
prweb.com
