Three H2 stations: ITM Power has been contracted by London to build three hydrogen refueling stations for 2.8 million pounds (4.7m dollars). The stations are part of the HyFive project (we reported) and expected to go into operation by 2015. In February, ITM received planing permission for five hydrogen stations on the Isle of Wight. fleetnews.co.uk, itm-power.com
Battery swapping works better with electric scooters than cars it appears. Kentfa has installed 30 stations in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, where buyers of the company’s Isuda e-scooter can change their batteries. The system has been running smoothly since last August, so now Japanese and UK companies are showing interest. thegreencarwebsite.co.uk
Pro-Tesla bill: The governor of Washington state signed a bill allowing the Californian carmaker to keep its stores open and also to open new ones. This right is in fact exclusive to Tesla as it only applies to manufacturers who had a state dealership license before January 2014. green.autoblog.com
Fast forward: Will the number of EVs in Sri Lanka raise from today’s 60 to 100,000 in only two years? Yes, says the CEO of E-Lanka Automotive, Anuruddha Lihinikaduwa, who hopes the installation of charging infrastructure in Sri Lanka will be the main driver of this development. thesundayleader.lk
Tesla Airport Taxi: Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam wants to add 100 Model S destined to serve as cabs for flight passengers by the end of the year. The fleet will be run by three Dutch cab companies with concessions starting from June. schiphol.nl (in Dutch), streetinsider.com
Carsharing and taxis in Austria: The Austrian Climate and Energyfund is calling for concepts for electric carsharing and electric taxis. Four concepts will compete in a first step before a final decision on which idea to put into practice will be made beginning of next year. The winning project might then be ruled out in Vienna, Graz and Klagenfurt with funding of six million euros. oekonews.at (in German)
California to cut EV rebates: The California Air Resources Board is discussing to reduce tax incentives for EV buyers by 500 dollar as its Clean Vehicle Rebate Program is 30 million dollars in debt this year. Another option is to exclude EVs costing more than 60,000 dollars from the programme which would mean taking Tesla’s Model S and the Caddy ELR out of the game. green.autoblog.com
Shoprider goes EV: Taiwanese company Pihsiang, owner of the scooter brand Shoprider, is marketing its new range of EVs under the name of Achensa. The electric cars have a price tag at around 11,000 pounds (18,400 dollars) and are capable of just over 50 miles on a single charge with a top speed of either 28 mph or 50 mph, depending on the model. thegreencarwebsite.co.uk
RWE goes USA: The German utility provider and Daimler together with two American partners have installed 26 charging points at the campus of the University of California in San Diego. Here, they want to test the communication standard ISO/IEC 15118 with electric Smarts for the next three years. timesofsandiego.com
Plug-in hybrid bus: As of May last year, plug-in Volvo buses have been undergoing field tests in Gothenburg. The results show that the buses are popular with passengers and drivers and with residents at the route. The hybrid buses are recharged at the two end depots and capable of an all-electric range of 7 kilometres. Volvo wants to start commercial production early 2016. automotiveworld.com
VW e-load Up for airports: Volkswagen’s cargo-carrying small EV has been on display at the Hannover Messe industrial fair this week equipped as a ‘Follow Me’ airport vehicle. The cargo version of the e-Up had been shown for first time last month in Berlin and is said to make it into production eventually. indianautosblog.com
E-roaming made in USA: The states discover interoperability with the CarCharging Group (Blink) and GE (WattStation) allowing consumers easy access to each others stations. At the same time, GE has opened its electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) Connect software platform to app developers. automotive-business-review.com (cooperation), electriccarsreport.com (apps)
CARB’s new ZEV regulations might be bad news for Tesla as rules for zero emission credits changed. While the maximum number of credits one vehicle can gain went up (7 to 9), it is now harder to qualify as the EV in question needs to be capable to refuel to 95% within only 15 minutes and battery swapping does not count. chargedevs.com, green.autoblog.com
EVs in France: Last month a total of 1,130 plug-in cars were sold in France with the Renault Zoe (279 units) being the most famous model. On second and third position were the Renault Kangoo Z.E. (195) and the Bolloré Blue Car (194), whereas the Tesla Model S only found 25 buyers in March. ev-sales.blogspot.co.uk
Paris goes all e: Paris’ public transport provider RATP plans to electrify its whole bus fleet by 2025. A call for bids for as much as 4,500 electric buses will be started this year. The e-buses will join Bolloré’s BlueTram (we reported) in the streets of the French capital. lemonde.fr (in French)
Pay by phone: Chargemaster is simplifying access to its Polar Network. Instead of registering and paying via RFID card, EV drivers can now download a free app which enables them to charge and pay via their smartphone. fleetnews.co.uk, thegreencarwebsite.co.uk
London to Oslo: On Friday, five teams in five Tesla Model S will start a journey going from the British capital through Gent, Amsterdam, Hamburg, Copenhagen and Gothenburg to Norway. The tour is part of the EU project ‘E-Mobility NSR’ and shall only take 80 hours. e-mobility-nsr.eu
The good news from Norway never seem to stop as the country hits yet another EV milestone. Currently, there are 26,886 plug-in vehicles of which 25,710 are electric. The latter, make for a market share of 1%, together with hybrids it is even 1.1%. gronnbil.no (in Norwegian) via greencarreports.com
SLAM presented: The fast-charging network for Germany (we reported) has been officially introduced to the public at Hannover Messe. The first 20 SLAM stations are said to be erected at banks by the end of September this year. By 2017, a total of 400 AC and DC quick charging points are planned. All stations will use the same billing system and are to be integrated with other projects of the ‘Nationale Plattform Elektromobilität’ (NPE for national platform e-mobility). idw-online.de (in German)
Street of the future: The first neighbourhood cluster of the My Electric Avenue project (we reported) has now received its Nissan Leafs. Marlow, UK, is one of eleven areas to take part in the trial designed to monitor the charging demand of EVs on the grid. In total, 111 participants have agreed to lease the electric Nissan. puregreencars.com
Half of all Auris sold in the UK in the first quarter of 2014 are hybrids, says Toyota. The Britain-built C-segment car is now accounting for almost 6% of the family car segment sales. thegreencarwebsite.co.uk
Carmaker or grid-storage company? Considering Tesla’s plans to build the Gigafactory and thus being able to supply battery packs with a total annual output of 50 gigawatt-hours, this a valid question to ask. Why not head over to John Voelcker at Green Car Reports and join the discussion. greencarreports.com
400 Nissan Leafs have been acquired by Avis Denmark, thus boosting the Danish EV market by 60%. With the support of the Danish Energy Agency, the rental car company will be able to offer the electric cars for only 3,495 kroner (642 dollars) per month. Also, the installation of a charging station on the business’s premises is possible with this ‘mini-lease.’ electriccarsreport.com
ChargeLounge: The name of Fraunhofer IAO’s latest concept says it all. It offers all four quick-charge standards – CCS, CHAdeMO, Tesla and Type 2 in one place, as well as a space for EV drivers to relax, use WiFi or even schedule meetings. The ChargeLounge premiers at the Hannover Messe today. Ten prototypes will then be tested under real life conditions before being available in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland in 2015. Fraunhofer plans to install 600 stations by 2020. thegreencarwebsite.co.uk, transportevolved.com, chargelounge.de
Hubject goes to Scandinavia: The latest addition to the e-roaming platform is Fortnum. The Scandinavian utility provider plans to integrate its charging stations in Norway, Sweden and Finland to the Hubject platform. This will grow the pan-European intercharge network by 150 stations. hubject.com (press info)
Electric Highway to be improved: UK utility company Ecotricity announced it will double its CHAdeMO charger network along the British motorway M4. Additionally, the Electric Highway is said to be equipped with CCS DC quick chargers. Ecotricity further pledged to improve reliability by exchanging faulty parts and upgrade all existing stations. transportevolved.com
Electric Avenue officially launched: The Electric Avenue trial is seeking to understand the impact of electric cars on a neighbourhood, both technically and socially. To control the demand on the local grid, EA Technology’s Esprit software will be monitoring loads and temporarily halting charging if necessary. transportevolved.com
eRoaming for Austria: Four Austrian energy providers are opening their respective charging stations for eRoaming. 150 stations of Kelag, Salzburg AG, illwerke vkw and Wien Energie are now integrated into the intercharge network by Hubject. And because BMW’s ChargeNow card is already using the intercharge network, drivers of the BMW i3 are now able to roam most stations in Austria and about 1,000 charge points in Germany. hubject.de, oekonews.at (in German)
Nissan to expand DC charging in Germany: The Japanese carmaker has signed a contract of cooperation with the Berlin-based Omexom to install another 100 CHAdeMo stations within the next two years. The chargers will be erected at Nissan dealers, partners and fleet customers. Omexom will also be responsible for project management and service while Nissan will integrate the new stations into its Carwings telematic system. motor-exclusive.de (in German)
No to DIY charging stations: The UK Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (UK EVSE) association has expressed its view in a letter to Zero Carbon World, a charity that used to supply DIY kits over their web page and through resellers. UK EVSE sees a serious safety risk in home build charging equipment while existing providers point out that to date no problems have been reported. transportevolved.com
Polar late start: The Polar Network charging provider in the UK, had planned to switch its billing scheme from flat-rate charging to charging per use two days ago. However, users found they could still charge their cars as usual while the new website appears anything else but ready. The few infos found by Transport Evolved leave room for speculation whether personal data of future Polar users will be shared with BMW. transportevolved.com
Charging stations on Balearic Islands: With two million euros funding from the institute for alternative energy (IDAE), the Spanish government wants to install 2,000 EV charging points on Mallorca and other islands. The bidding process is soon to begin. finanzas.com (in Spanish), mallorcazeitung.es (in German)
Testing the new cab for London: Finally, the Range Extended Electric Metrocab (we reported) got into the right hands – its future drivers. According to the video of the first rounds of testing, the cabbies are loving it. thegreencarwebsite.co.uk, newspress.co.uk
Controlled charging: As part of the EU-supported project ‘Green eMotion,’ Malaga utility Endesa has commissioned ten intelligent charging stations by Siemens. In a software-managed process, the amount of electricity being charged is controlled and split among the individual EVs. diariosur.es (in Spanish), greenemotion-project.eu (overview)
Hungarian e-volution: Also part of the project is the installation of ten charging points in Budapest. But that is only the beginning. Some 68,000 chargers are said to be commissioned across the country by 2020. Incentives for EV-buyers are also on the agenda. bbj.hu, kormany.hu
BYD put to the test again: More and more cities take a fancy to BYD’s all-electric buses. Following LA, New York, Bogota, London and Copenhagen, Turkey’s capital Ankara and Brazilian mega city Rio de Janeiro are trying the buses for themselves. electriccarsreport.com (Rio), electricvehiclesresearch.com (Ankara)
Tesla gets to stay in New York: The EV manufacturer will be allowed to keep its five stores but had to agree not to open any further point of sales in the state. Recently, a number of U.S. states passed measures preventing Tesla from owning its stores and selling directly to customers. treehugger.com
Double the incentive: South Korea’s island of Jeju offers EV-buyers incentives worth 7,000 dollars. That is on top of the governmental rebate. That way, the cost of an electric vehicle can almost be cut in half. green.autoblog.com
EV incentives in Massachusetts: Governor Deval Patrick announced plans to start offering rebates for electric car and plug-in hybrid purchases similar to those in California. Buyers could thus get 2,500 dollars at the point of sale. At the same time, Massachusetts will continue to provide funding for institutions and businesses in its existing EV programme. greencarreports.com
Highway Code update: RightDriver.co.uk has found that almost 65% out of 1,056 driving instructors would like to see hybrid vehicles included into the standard UK driver’s guide. More than a third believe that specifically all-electric vehicles belong into the Highway Code while 68% wish to see more information on alternatively-fuelled vehicles in general. thegreencarwebsite.co.uk
Charging for charging: Just ahead of the launch of new tariffs for charging at Polar Network stations in the UK today, the company seemed to have lowered its prices. However, customers are still indignant with some considering boycotting the network altogether. transportevolved.com
Leafs for bus company: The Hamburger Hochbahn company has acquired eleven electric Nissans. The Leafs will be driven by mechanics and supervisors in the German city of Hamburg. There, they will certainly catch some attention as they bare the slogan “Wenn ich groß bin, werde ich ein Hochbahn-Bus” (“When I grow up, I will be a Hochbahn bus”). The company already has 36 alternatively-fuelled buses in its fleet. newstix.de (in German)
Electrifying commercial vehicles: In the German model region Berlin-Brandenburg, the project ‘InitiativE’ is offering funding for businesses wishing to acquire an electric vehicle. To ease the higher costs of EVs compared to gasoline powered vehicles, the government pays up to 45% of the price difference. The programme is open to businesses, fleet operators and both private and public institutions in the region. bundesregierung.de (in German)
Belgian EV sales: February was premium month with the BMW i3, Tesla’s Model S and the Porsche Panamera plug-in being the most sold electric cars out of 178 in total. BMW enthused 41 Belgians, closely followed by Tesla with 34 and Porsche’s 31. ev-sales.blogspot.de
Waiting list for rebates: The California Air Resources Board (CARB) now had to start a waiting list for incentive funds due to the high demand for clean vehicles in the sunshine state. Applications are still being accepted and CARB plans to expand its programme further but has to deal with the workload in the meantime. greencarcongress.com
No e-buses for Long Beach, yet: BYD and Long Beach Transportation (LBT) had to mutually agree to terminate their contract over the delivery of ten BYD e-buses. The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) had to withdrew funding, blaming errors during the application process. The bidding will start anew, with both FTA and LBT agreeing that BYD is now formally eligible to win (back) the contract. puregreencars.com
Together for Austria: Four Austrian energy providers will join their respective charging networks to offer free roaming between Vienna and Vorarlberg for their customers. Details will only be presented next week. oekonews.at (in German)
CHAdeMO update for SLAM? The fast-charging network SLAM (we reported) which is dedicated towards the erection of about 400 CCS DC chargers at strategic locations throughout Germany might also get CHAdeMO outlets. According to electrive.com sources, the Japanese are considering to pay the extra costs on their own. Source: own research
Nissan for Northumberland: The council of the English has added two Leafs to its fleet, which will be available to more than 1,000 employees. Because the cars proved to be very popular during trials, Northumberland Council is already thinking about adding more. thegreencarwebsite.co.uk, fleetnews.co.uk
Tesla deal in Ohio: The Californian carmaker has reached an agreement with the Ohio Automobile Dealers Association to keep its two stores in the state open and to launch just one more. Still, the deal needs approval from Ohio state legislature and would be exclusive to Tesla. thegreencarwebsite.co.uk
The Four Seasons Hotel Silicon Valley in Palo Alto now offers EV charging via a Blink Level II station. The station is part of their partnership with the Car Charging Group. finanznachrichten.de
Yet another EV boost? The Obama administration proposed to increase the tax break for EVs and other alternative vehicles from 7,500 to 10,000 dollars. However, this would only benefit cars cheaper than 45,000 dollars and therefore not the Model S. detroitnews.com, thegreencarwebsite.co.uk
Swift to sweep over India? Apparently, the Indian government has big plans for Maruti Suzuki’s latest plug-in hybrid, the ‘Swift Range Extender,’ which was designed in India but uses parts from Japan. How many Swift plug-ins will be ordered is not disclosed yet, due to the upcoming elections, but details are set to be revealed at the start of the new financial year 2014/15. autocarpro.in, indianautosblog.com
Connecting Austria: Renault finally offers the so-called emergency cable to Austrian drivers of its electric Zoe. With the cable it is now possible to recharge the car at standard household outlets. The ‘Green Up’ package costs an extra 600 euros and allows for slow charging with ten or 14 A. For maximum safety, Renaults recommends to have an extra socket (with fuse and RCD) installed, commissioned by Alpine Energie. oekonews.at (in German)
DC wars: Referring to recent statements, it becomes obvious that not everybody is happy about the fact that Tesla is pushing forward by using its own proprietary DC charging system. Both Managers from Daimler and car supplier Bosch would have liked Tesla to adopt existing standards. chargedevs.com
Danish charging network: After utility provider E.ON bought the charging network from bankrupt Better Place in September of 2013, the company has now introduced its new charging products and tariffs. Charging starts at 99 kroner (18.30 dollars) a month and 3.25 kroner (0.60 dollars) per kilowatt-hour. The network currently has about 700 public charging points with fast-charging stations to be added along Danish motorways and strategic locations by 2015. eon.dk (in Danish)
Tax credits for EVs will still be granted in the U.S. of Georgia – at least for another year. It looks like the proposal to cut the incentive (we reported) simply came too late to be put in place this year. cleantechnica.com
EVs in Texas: According to Navigant there are about 5,000 electric cars in oil-rich Texas. The researchers predict that this number will grow to nearly 100,000 by 2023. The full report shows the diversity when it comes to plug-in car sales in North America. No surprise: California, New York, Washington, and Florida will lead the way in PEV, says the report. plugincars.com (Texas), navigantresearch.com (North America)
H2 buses for Aberdeen: The Scottish city has taken delivery of the first four of ten hydrogen-powered buses. The buses from Belgian company Van Hool are equipped with fuel cells from Ballard Power Systems. The 19-million pounds (31m dollars) project received funding by the EU, the UK and the Scottish Government, as well as a broad range of private sector partners. greencarcongress.com
New range record for BYD: In Copenhagen one of the BYD electric buses currently on trial in various European cities, achieved to go 325 kilometres (202 miles) on a single charge. Two of the electric buses have been in service in the Danish capital since January and were specially equipped to handle the rigours of the Scandinavian winter. green.autoblog.com
No charging in London: A recent piece in the Sunday Times stated that 69% of all charging points in London had not been used in six months. Transport Evolved looks at possible causes and names five reasons why charging stations in London and in other cities are not being used as much as they could be. transportevolved.com
— Ad — MobiliTec – German Pavilion – Baden-Württemberg | 7 to 11 April 2014 | Hannover Messe: Electric Mobility made in Baden-Württemberg – The cluster Electric Mobility South-West connects over 80 key players from business and science within the region of Karlsruhe – Mannheim – Stuttgart – Ulm. Visit us: Hall 27, Booth H85. More cluster information >>
Let’s take the Pod: Funded by the UK government with 1.5 million pounds (2.47m dollars), 20 of these all-electric, autonomous driving machines on rails will be installed in Milton Keynes in 2015. Each Pod seats two and will transport people from the train station into the city centre. If the trial is successful, the government plans on putting 100 of the pods in service by 2017. earthtechling.com
A2B takes over Electric Bicycle Network: The latter had counted some 5,000 e-bike rentals in the UK per year, especially to tourists in national parks. With the acquisition, A2B, an electric bicycle brand by Hero Cycles, hopes to extend cooperations with other tourism networks and therefore rental business of its e-bikes in the UK. bikebiz.com
Naperville to get two new charging stations: Due to high demand, EV drivers have to queue before they can get power at the only existing charging point in the small town in Illinois. Even after a 1.50 dollar charging fee was introduced in 2013, the station remains overrun. The local government will now install two further chargers. greencarreports.com
Extreme weather range: According to a new study by the American roadside assistance firm AAA, the range of EVs can drop by almost 60% in extreme cold and drop by 33% in extreme heat. In their research centre, the Nissan LEAF, Ford Focus EV and a Mitsubishi i-MiEV were put to the test. thegreencarwebsite.co.uk
Airport electrified: Together, Seattle’s Sea-Tac Airport and Alaska Airlines will install 576 charging points for ground transportation services, such as luggage carts. In a first phase, 296 of the stations will be set up, which will be able to identify which vehicles needs the most charge. greencarcongress.com (plus video)
Multi-system quick charging: Arizona-based GoE3 plans to install several thousand fast-charging stations in the U.S. in four years to enable coast-coast trips for everybody and not just Tesla drivers. The stations will support DC charging using the CHAdeMO, CCS and Supercharger system. transportevolved.com
BYD in Turkey: A BYD e-bus will be tested in the capital Ankara, the latest in a series of tests across European cities. The Chinese carmaker will put a whole line of battery-powered busses on display at the BusWorld in Turkey in May, including double-decker and articulated models. greencarcongress.com
iRoad finds its drivers: At the beginning of next week, Toyota’s electric three-wheeler will hit the roads in and around Tokyo. 20 EV-pros and amateurs, will get to test drive the vehicle until the end of June. The carsharing trial in Toyota city continues as well. greencarcongress.com, thegreencarwebsite.co.uk
Ford invites employees to charge their EV at work and installs GE WattStations at some 60 locations across the U.S. and Canada. The first four hours of charging is free. Data will be collected by the MyFord App as well as the charging points themselves. greencarcongress.com, puregreencars.com
Car2Go conquers Rome: Vehicles belonging to the carsharing fleet will get the much desired windshield sticker, allowing them to drive in the restricted downtown areas, the Zone a Traffico Limitato, normally only open to residents. Unfortunately, the Smart fortwo in service are not electric. motornature.com
Bolloré to launch BlueTram: The all-electric tramway uses supercapacitors instead of overhead wires or tracks to move along. And while the first prototype still uses the body of the Bluebus, the first 50 trams could enter service as early as 2015. Moreover, they are supposedly ten times cheaper to produce than other streetcars. france3.fr (in French), lemonde.fr (in French)
Toyota iRoad comes to France: 30 of the electric three-wheelers will be tried in Grenoble in the south of the country. The EV is also being tested in Japan and will be offered in car-sharing schemes in cities across the world. While the iRoad is not good for long distances, it is perfect for going that ‘last mile.’ transportevolved.com
Germans show patriotism when shopping for EVs: EV Obsessions tracked sales there in January and February, finding that the BMW i3 and VW e-up were the most popular EVs in Germany. The U.S.-build Chevy Volt, on the other hand, is getting the cold shoulder, with only 11 cars sold so far. evobsession.com via greencarreports.com
Hybrids can come: The Trust My Garage programme has given 1,000 training courses, getting UK garages fit to service and repair hybrid vehicles. In the scheme, which is run by the Independent Garage Association (IGA), technicians were shown how to handle the high voltage systems. After all, there are over 25,000 hybrids registered in the UK. thegreencarwebsite.co.uk
BYD successful in Uruguay: The BYD electric bus and e6 pure-electric taxi had been roaming the streets of the country’s capital for the past four months. Now the results are in. The e-bus made it up to 252 km (157 miles) on one charge, with an average energy consumption of 1.26 kWh per km. electriccarsreport.com
Cab-sharing in NYC: Audi, MIT and GE want to find out, how sharing of New York cabs could work in practice and by how much the ridesharing program could cut emissions. To get the answers, their joint-program named HubCab will track 150 New Yorker taxis and study how ridesharing could be utilised. green.autoblog.com
Berlin gets charged up: Together The New Motion, e8energy, Citroën and Total have opened the first three CHAdeMO public fast charging stations in the German capital. These use the e8energy @fix fast charger with integrated Type 2 connector and are operated by The New Motion. greencarcongress.com
Bavaria to install fast-chargers fast: Bavaria’s interior minister, Joachim Herrmann, announced his plan to install fast chargers at all 68 motorway service areas of the German federal state by the end of 2015. To bridge longer distances between them, additional chargers could be erected at smaller rest areas. pnp.de (in German)
Fast-charging is not as damaging as expected, a recent study of the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) concluded. Four Nissan Leafs were charged in pairs with one being charged fast (DC) and the other at Level 2 chargers. The battery capacity was then measured at at 10,000, 20,000, 30,000 and 40,000 miles and only minimal differences could be found. simanaitissays.com via green.autoblog.com, avt.inel.gov (presentation as pdf)
Public display of affection: The German state of Baden-Württemberg is the undisputed territory of Porsche, Mercedes and Audi. At least until the state’s transport minister Winfried Hermann publicly posed with a Tesla Model S. While the green-party minister is convinced that electric cars are the way to go, local patriots were not particularly amused. bild.de (in German with photos)
Study with EV owners: DLR, the German aeronautics and space research centre, has asked 3,111 owners of electric cars about their usage patterns and satisfaction. 84% of private users would recommend an EV to others while half of the commercial users are planning to buy another one in the near future. Most EV owners were male and went through higher education. 50% had a household net income of between 2,000 and 4,000 euros a month which contradicts the assumption that EVs are mainly for the wealthy. dlr.de (in German)
— Textanzeige — MobiliTec – German Pavilion – Baden-Württemberg | 7 to 11 April 2014 | Hannover Messe: Electric Mobility made in Baden-Württemberg – The cluster Electric Mobility South-West connects over 80 key players from business and science within the region of Karlsruhe – Mannheim – Stuttgart – Ulm. Visit us: Hall 27, Booth H85. More cluster information >>
Saving money and carbon emissions: A new mobility concept for Oberhausen, Germany, wants to save the town 200,000 euros and 100 tons of CO2 emissions by electrifying the fleet for the city’s employees. In a first step, 79 electric cars will be purchased including 36 Colibri one-seaters. Later, bicycles, pedelecs and the ‘Job-Ticket’ with reduced prices for public transport will be introduced. derwesten.de (in German)
DHL to intensify electrification: Deutsche Post DHL just signed a letter of intent with Renault for further purchases of the Kangoo Z.E. Most recently, DHL made the decision to switch is entire delivery fleet in Bonn, Germany to electric vehicles. There, over 140 electric vehicles will be in use by 2016. greencarcongress.com, puregreencars.com
Tesla carsharing: Vukee Cars already has the app and the knowledge, all that is missing are 250,000 dollars which the company aims to collect through crowdfunding to buy 25 Tesla’s to share. The company wants to set up its car sharing in EV-friendly and supercharger-dense areas in the USA. At an hourly rate of 44 dollars the Model S remains a luxury though. indiegogo.com (crowdfunding campaign) via transportevolved.com
EVs in Italy and Spain are not particularly selling well: Looking at the sale figures for February, the BMW i3 was the best-seller in Spain with only 12 units and the Smart electric drive coming first in Italy with 30 sales. In total, only a merely 4 Tesla Model S were registered. cleantechnica.com
Bolloré electrifies London: After taking over Source London and its 1,500 charging points (we reported), the Bolloré subsidy IER will bring its electric carsharing scheme to England’s capital in 2015. The company runs e.g. the car-sharing service Autolib’ in Paris. In London, it plans on starting out with 100 EVs and increase its fleet to 3,000 electric cars by 2018. cityam.com, businessgreen.com
Charge and fly: Seattle’s Sea-Tac airport has recently installed another 36 electric vehicle charging stations at their main-terminal parking. Together with the already exiting 12 charge points, this makes it the largest provider of any North American airport. The 48 stations are available to all plug-in drivers on a first-come, first-served basis. electriccarsreport.com, puregreencars.com
New fast chargers in CA: A total of 46 NRG eVgo charging points are already online or are currently being installed there. And that is just the beginning – according to the company, it has received around 200 orders in the Golden State. automotive-business-review.com
48 Amps from ClipperCreek: The new HCS-60 charging station was conceived for private and company usage and can be installed in- and outside. The 240 V, 48 Amp, level 2 charging point comes with a 3-year warranty and 25-foot charging cable. The starting price is set at 899 dollars. greencarcongress.com
Locate, charge, pay: PlugSurfing will give a sneak preview of its new app at the Cebit that makes it possible to easily locate and pay at charging stations. The app will be rolled-out across Europe in the second quarter of this year. mynewsdesk.com, plugsurfing.de (project)
New Hubject partners: The Berlin-based company, which is developing a cross industry business and IT platform for charging infrastructure, announced three new partners. Hedele, PlugSurfing and ubitricity will open up their interfaces and become part of Hubject’s intercharge network. hubject.de
The project ‘My Electric Avenue’ has not even really started but is already proving one thing according to Transport Evolved: Put the price right and people will happily buy electric cars. Though, the aim of the project, which is subsidised with 9 million pounds (14.9m dollars), is to assess how EVs, being charged all in the same neighbourhood and at the same time, might impact on electricity supplies (we reported). So far, more people signed up for the trial lease than cars are available. transportevolved.com, thegreencarwebsite.co.uk
More DriveNow: The carsharing scheme from BMW is looking to expand to another 10 to 15 European and 10 U.S. cities but has not revealed any details about its timing yet. Currently, DriveNow is operating in Berlin, Cologne, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Munich and San Francisco and serves 240,000 users. bloomberg.com, green.autoblog.com
Revolutionary Award? The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and the Connecticut Automotive Retailers Association created an EV incentive aiming at the car dealers. The ‘Connecticut Revolutionary Dealer Award’ will be given to the dealership which sells the most electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles in the first half of 2014. Tesla better hurry with its planned Milford opening. ct.gov
Anti-Tesla regulation: Yesterday, the U.S. state of New Jersey passed a regulation that is prohibiting any vehicle manufacturer selling cars directly to consumers. The regulation is backed by the New Jersey Coalition of Automotive Retailers in fear of “Tesla crushing competition.” Tesla Motors, which is the only company with a direct-retail strategy, is also banned from direct sales in Arizona and Texas. transportevolved.com, reuters.com
Charging solution for smart homes: Dutch start-up Cohere has developed a smart energy management and charging controller for smart home application. The web-based platform ‘Sem’ uses the open UDP interface of the KEBA wallbox to optimise green energy supply for EVs. A pilot project with 20 Teslas will be launched in the coming weeks. kecontact.com
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University commuter: In April, the project “fahrE” kicks off at the Technical University Chemnitz. Headed by the Centre for Interdisciplinary Driving Assistance (I-FAS), university employees can use one of four EVs and eight e-bikes to commute between the different parts of campus. tu-chemnitz.de (in German)
EV incentive scrapped: The proposed cut of Georgia’s 5,000-dollars rebate and 2,500-dollars tax credit for low-emission vehicles (we reported) has now become a bill. According to representative Chuck Martin, EV prices are dropping and sales no longer need to be incentivised. The bill is now on the table of the state senate for confirmation. insideevs.com
New charging network in the UK: The Milton Keynes CrossLink network features 14 rapid tri-standard chargers – the first in the UK – ready to recharge all the latest EVs to about 80% capacity in just 20 minutes. The project is funded in part by the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) and connects the East Anglia with the South West. thegreencarwebsite.co.uk
Charge while you shop: Together with Nissan, French supermarket chain Auchan will set up 130 fast chargers from DBT-CEV supporting CHAdeMO and 3-phase AC at car parks across the country. These will be available to Nissan drivers via the Nissan Zero Emissions Charge Pass ‘Kiwhi’ (we reported). insideevs.com, chademo.com (PDF)
Unwanted e-buses: Californian city of Long Beach had ordered more than ten BYD e-buses, but the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) wants the contract to be reopened for bidding. The reason – BYD is not actually eligible for the deal, since it does not qualify for the state’s Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program. chargedevs.com, presstelegram.com
Some 1,039 rebates for EVs were collected by residents living in Fremont, California, since 2010, making it the city with the second most electric-car purchase rebates granted in the Golden State. The reason, city officials believe, is that residents are more willing to try things “made in their backyard,” which in this case only happens to be the Model S, since the Tesla factory is located there. greencarreports.com
1,200 BYD e-buses for China: The city of Dalian has signed an agreement with the Chinese company to purchase 600 electric buses this year and another 600 in 2015. The contract also mentions the conversion of 50% of the province’s cabs into “new energy vehicles.” As a result, BYD will open a new e-bus factory in the Dalian Huayuankou Economic Zone. greencarcongress.com, electric-vehiclenews.com
Nissan e-NV200 fleet: The Dutch Taxi Electric is the first private cab company that will use the new electric Nissan van for its taxi fleet. Both companies have cooperated before when Taxi Electric were the first to fully electrify their fleet with Leafs in 2011. The city of Barcelona will use the e-NV200 as cabs soon too. electriccarsreport.com, thegreencarwebsite.co.uk
Charge at home for free: Residents of “The Elysian” condo in Los Angeles who own an electric car can now benefit from 20 Level-2 charging stations installed by the buildings developer Linear City. Charging is free for life. Furthermore, the landlord wants to introduce e-carsharing for his tenants. greencarreports.com, hybridcars.com
Coast-to-coast with 60 kWh: A person called Sam has just driven a 60 kWh Model S from California to Virginia in only 107 hours, using Tesla’s Superchargers. Sam is now on her or his way back, while tweeting and uploading pictures to instagram. twitter.com via teslamotors.com, hybridcars.com
Charged for charging: UK firm Chargemaster has just unveiled details of the new tariffs for users of its Polar EV charging network which will take effect from April. EV drivers will be charged by the hour, using up credits as a member, or for each charge event when choosing the PAYG option. transportevolved.com
i-Road takes to the streets: Toyota has started trials of its electric three-wheeler in Toyota City, Japan. Here, the i-Road will be made available at public charging stations. Later this year it will enter a carsharing scheme in Grenoble, France. greencarcongress.com
Swiss charging cooperation: Energy provider BKW Energie and Groupe E team up to expand the MOVE charging network. BKW will distribute charging stations to private households, companies and local communities and will integrate those into the Move network. ee-news.ch (in German)
Living lab: At the Fraunhofer Institute Center Stuttgart IZS up to 30 EVs can re-charge at AC charge spots at the same time. If all spots in the Fraunhofer Campus garage are taken, the electric cars could amount for up to 20% of the centre’s energy demand thus making the installation ideal to test smart grid applications. The facility is part of the charge@work project in which the Daimler AG, University of Stuttgart and Fraunhofer scientists work on micro smart grids powered by renewable energy. electricvehiclesresearch.com
BYD for Nanjing: Placing the largest order for BYD to date, the Chinese city of Najing has ordered more than 600 K9 electric buses and 400 e6 electric taxis. Nanjing is one of the cities in China that has been chosen by the government to be a pilot region for their air quality improvement programs. businesswire.com
CA’s first electric school bus enters service: The so-called Trans Tec SST-e has a Ford E450 cutaway chassis and features an electric powertrain by Motiv Power System. It has a range of 80 to 100 miles and could save the school district as much as 10,000 dollars in fuel and maintenance every year. wsav.com, cleantechnica.com
Car Charging starts selling Blink HQ again: The 240 V, 30 A, level-two residential EV charging station is compatible with all electric vehicles sold in the U.S. It also includes an 18-foot cable. Blink HQ had been previously been sold by Ecotality, which was bought out by Car Charging in October 2013. electriccarsreport.com, puregreencars.com
Corporate carsharing: Smart-VP Annette Winkler said in Geneva that Daimler Mobility Services is considering setting up a carsharing concept for its corporate clients. But that is not definite yet. automobil-produktion.de (in German)
Tesla tightens service grid in Europe: At the 2014 Geneva Motor Show, the carmaker announced the opening of some 30 new service centres across the continent. Moreover, Tesla promised the rapid development of the Supercharger network in Europe. greencarcongress.com
10,000 charging stations for Quebec by 2017: Of which a total of 3,500 will be set up by public administrations or private companies alone. To push development, these will be subsidised by a new incentive program that covers 75 percent (up to 5,000 Canadian dollars) of the installation costs. The only condition is that charging should be available free of charge for the respective employees. avem.fr (in French)
Fuel cell onshore power supply in Hawaii: The pilot project will use hydrogen fuel cells to supply energy to docked ships at the Port of Honolulu. That way, they can turn off their combustion engines while at anchor there. In a six-month trial four 30 kW fuel cells will be housed inside a 20 ft shipping container and can therefore be moved around the harbour. gizmag.com, greenoptimistic.com
ChargeLounge: The name of Fraunhofer IAO’s latest concept says it all. It offers all four quick-charge standards – CCS, CHAdeMO, Tesla and Type 2 in one place, as well as a space for EV drivers to relax, use WiFi or even schedule meetings. The ChargeLounge premiers at the Hannover Messe today. Ten prototypes will then be tested under real life conditions before being available in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland in 2015. Fraunhofer plans to install 600 stations by 2020.
