Jul 7, 2017 - 10:18 am

StreetScooter, innogy, EVgo, Nissan, Freiburg.

StreetScooter goes Austria: Deutsche Post/ DHL expands its electrification across the German border, where Vienna’s 5th district will see electric only mail delivery with StreetScooter vans. Margareten is thus the first “DHL Green District” in Austria and shall not be the last. While DHL operates in Austria only since 2015, Germany already got a fleet of 3,000 StreetScooter and another 100 home-made electric vans serve in the Netherlands.
wirtschaftszeit.at (in German)

U.S. subsidiary RWE subsidiary innogy has founded a new subsidiary to enter the States. Dubbed innogy e-mobility US LLC will be based in Los Angeles and offer both services and technology. They opted for local Cameron Funk as CEO.
electrive.net (in German)

Open street charging: Sacramento wants EVgo to install six pay-to-charge stations in the Californian city. An initial three chargers and four electric-only parking spots are expected to be in place by mid-2018, with expansion dependent on their success. The city already has over 400 chargers installed on public and private property.
govtech.com

Nissan Leaf comes to Chile: 25 Leafs have arrived in Santiago de Chile, where they will be used by Enel employees. The utility is also a major V2G partner to Nissan in Europe and now in Chile. Here, the 25 Nissan EV mark the start for availability for fleet owners exclusively.
insideevs.com

Heavenly help: Freiburg’s achdiocese proves forward thinking and took charge of 17 Renault Zoe. With their arrival, the EV flock grows to almost a third of the entire fleet and shall serve at different locations.
electrive.net (in German)

Jun 30, 2017 - 07:55 am

Siemens, ChargePoint, Hubject, StreetScooter, UPS, Mitsubishi.

Siemens is ChargePoint’s new old big buddy as the German corporation joined the latest round of funding led by Daimler. The infrastructure provider thus managed to gather another 43m dollars, closing the total Series G round at 125m dollars. Siemens has got its very own stake in ChargePoint as it supplies DC charging technology and has been invested since 2010.
greencarcongress.com, insideevs.com

Hubject in Croatia: Hrvatski Telekom agreed to cooperate with Hubject, meaning all intercharge users may access charging opportunities in Croatia. Hubject now includes more than 55,000 charge points.
hubject.com

StreetScooter goes Berlin: 40 electric delivery vans and 160 charge points at 4 logistic bases are only the beginning for Deutsche Post DHL’s electrification in the German capital. 30 of the 40 homemade StreetScooters are the new large version Work L, which can hold twice the volume of the usual van. On top, the fleet is to gradually get more electric, “wherever it can as Berlin is not any odd location,” DHL board member Juergen Gerdes promised. Estimates say the Berlin mail may come fully electric by 2025, at least an exact 156 charge points with 11 kW stand at the ready by now. In total, DHL operates 3,000 StreetScooters in Germany to date and is currently gearing up to electrify 70 percent of its deliveries on the first and last mile by 2025.
electrive.net (in German)

UPS is a little less ambitious than its competitor above as it set a target to have 25 percent of its new vehicle purchases be driven by alternative fuel by 2020. Five years later, UPS wants 40 percent of its fleet to be gas and diesel free.
hybridcars.com

Leading by example: The Philippine Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) took charge of five Mitsubishi Outlander PHEVs and five i-MiEV along with four quick charger units. They are part of a study and Mitsu hopes to reach more government agencies as well.
benzinga.com

Jun 15, 2017 - 07:44 am

StreetScooter + Ford, Tesla, China, Munich, SF Motors, Honda.

StreetScooter and Ford team up: With German manufacturers continuously weak on the electric transporter front, DHL subsidiary StreetScooter has turned to Ford to build bigger electric vans. The carmaker is to lend its Transit platform to be equipped with the electric drive train and fitted with a body construction based on Deutsche Post and DHL Paket specifications. Production of the large StreetScooter will start this July already so that within 2018, Deutsche Post DHL will have added at least 2,500 EVs more. This doubles its existing e-van fleet but also means that Ford and StreetScooter will become the largest manufacturer of electric medium-duty delivery vehicles in Europe.
greencarcongress.com

The safest SUV of all is the Tesla Model X according to the NHTSA rating. The American safety testing agency gave it 5 stars in all categories and subcategories, saying the probability of injury in a crash is the lowest of any SUV it ever tested.
insideevs.com, tesla.com, youtube.com (crash test front), youtube.com (crash test side)

China upholds NEV quota: Draft regulation published this week shows no signs of weakening the electric car sales quota, despite previously promised concessions. The draft by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) maintains that sales of automakers must include 8 percent electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles by 2018, so there seems to be a disconnect between the ministry and the leadership. The draft is open for public comment until June, 27.
reuters.com

The situation in Germany is not much better when seen from the perspective of a traditional carmaker. Munich joins the ranks of cities that consider a diesel ban. Munich Mayor Dieter Reiter is under pressure after data by Sueddeutsche Zeitung showed nitrogen oxide emission levels 40 percent above limits set by the EU. Reiter called the readings “shocking” and thinks BMW’s hometown “cannot do without” a diesel ban, especially as he believes that a congestion charge would not keep drivers out but would just have them pay. A ban would affect about 170,000 diesel cars in town.
reuters.com, electrive.net (in German), sueddeutsche.de (original source)

China EV made in USA: SF Motors has set up shop in California’s Santa Clara, where it plans to make electric cars reportedly. SF Motors is a spin-off from Chinese Sokon and the company says the new site will create 100 jobs. The same number of employees are to be based in Michigan, where SF intends to establish its R&D unit. Extra brain power comes from Tesla co-founder Martin Eberhard who acts as a consultant while also working on his own start-up InEVit.
thedrive.com, bizjournals.com, sfmotors.com

The cutest cub: Honda has a new pack member as it decides to make the EV-Cub concept a production reality. The small and light motorbike has been in Honda’s line-up for decades but the electric version fits a niche in green city transport. Speccs will be released closer to launch set for 2020.
greencarcongress.com

May 3, 2017 - 08:41 am

StreetScooter, JIVE, Solar Carports, Washington, California.

Sustainably sourced: German fish distributor Deutsche See wants to order 80 StreetScooter and will thus become one of the first firms to take Deutsche Post DHL Group by its word to supply its electric van. Deutsche See’s move to zero emissions comes in the wake of Volkswagen’s dieselgate, whose vehicles the fish monger used before it sued VW over their manipulations and after the group declined to deliver an EV. The new custom-made electric fleet is to start in Cologne immediately and go on to deliver its chilled wares in 20 other German cities later on.
reuters.com

Britain is looking to buy fuel cell buses in bulk and Transport for London (TfL) is currently searching partners to become part of the EU’s JIVE project. Cities such as Aberdeen, Birmingham and Dundee have already joined London in its endeavour to bring down prices by ordering large numbers together. Suppliers for single and double-decker FCVs are thus wanted across Great Britain and perhaps abroad.
greencarcongress.com, ted.europa.eu

Solar Carports enters UK: The car port specialist will launch its EV and PHEV charging products in the UK this summer. Solar Carports stays true to its name and integrates solar panels into roofs of its car ports, where they provide extra energy to charge PEVs.
fleetnews.co.uk

Washington to double EV fleet: The state of Washington wants increase the number of electric cars in its fleet by 100 percent and thus prepares to purchase 117 Chevy Bolts. They are to join about 120 existing Chevy Volts and Nissan Leafs, but even together they still represent a minority.
kuow.org

California’s EV fee is going ahead as planned so that from mid-2020, ZEV owners will have to contribute a 100 dollars a year to the maintenance of transport infrastructure. The new bill is to raise 52bn dollars in total but mainly through an increase in fuel taxes.
greencarcongress.com

Apr 12, 2017 - 09:27 am

StreetScooter, Audi, Kia, Mahindra, GM, Chrysler.

StreetScooter expands enormously: Deutsche Post DHL is taking its EV manufacturing business yet another notch up as the delivery service will open a second factory to produce the StreetScooter. Annual capacity will thus double to 20,000 electric vans and at least 50 percent will be made for third parties. Prices for a StreetScooter start at 32,000 euros and DHL hopes to interest municipalities and/or partners and fleets across Europe. No more specific location other than North Rhine-Westphalia has been given for the new production site yet.
europe.autonews.com, postandparcel.info, dpdhl.com

E-tron Sportback Audi’s 2nd EV? 2018 will see the introduction of Audi’s first fully electric model. However, now another seems to be in the pipeline. Auto Motor und Sport believes the second EV is to be the e-tron Sportback, which could hit the shelves no later than 2019.
auto-motor-und-sport.de (in German)

Kia gears up for its third EV in the meantime as the Korean brand is looking to electrify its compact SUV Stonic. An electric variant may be here as early as next year and will utilise technology from the Hyundai Ioniq Electric allegedly. With a larger battery than its brother in tech, the Kia Stonic EV may get 300 km far. If it makes it to market in time, it would be Kia’s third all-electric model after the Soul and expected Niro.
cleantechnica.com, pushevs.com

Second-hand EVs: Mahindra ventures into the vintage market for electric cars as it authorises its subsidiary Mahindra First Choice Wheels (MFCWL) to open its platform for used EVs. It includes certification and warranty and enables clients to exchange, buy and sell pre-owned electric cars.
indiatimes.com

Ampera-e statistics: The European version of GM’s Bolt EV has made it onto our shores, at least on paper. First registrations of the electric Opel surfaced in Norway (13) and Germany (68) but were most likely logged in by dealers. Get ready to book your test ride. Deliveries officially start in May.
itanywhere.no (Norway), kba.de (Germany)

Talking about shipments: Chrysler is three months behind schedule for the Pacific plug-in hybrid. It will start shipping to U.S. dealerships only after Easter. Chrysler claims quality control for the delay.
insideevs.com

Mar 28, 2017 - 08:35 am

StreetScooter, Fully Charged.

Reading tip: Deutsche Post AG and its StreetScooter business today is a success story although one could wonder, why a logistics specialist in “Autoland” Germany had to build its own electric vans in the first place. Bloomberg delivers a detailed answer that is indeed worth the read.
bloomberg.com

Video tip: The newest episode of Fully Charged is dedicated to a road test as usual however, it is not Llewellyn driving himself. Instead he sent Jonny Smith to France in order to test the new Smart EV. Curious about his judgment?
youtube.com via electrek.co

Sep 9, 2016 - 08:31 am

StreetScooter, Evercar, South Korea, Waste Management NZ.

StreetScooter delivers in Cologne: The German postal service’s electric delivery truck will start making its rounds in the city of Cologne. At first, 36 units will hit the road for DHL, followed by another 30 electric trucks before the end of the year. Moreover, the Deutsche Post wants to bring its StreetScooter to other German cities and increased yearly production capacity to 10,000 units from 2017.
report-k.de, transport-online.de (articles in German)

EVs for Uber drivers: LA-based company Evercar that rents electric and hybrid vehicles to drivers of ridesharing services such as Uber and Lyft (we reported), is expanding along the California coastline. The service is now available in San Francisco, where drivers can rent the new generation Toyota Prius.
prnewswire.com

Splitting the bill: Starting next year, operators of petrol stations, cafés, hotels, etc. in South Korea will receive 20m won (about 18,000 dollars) for every EV charging station that they set up on their grounds. The subsidies should cover about half the cost of purchasing and installation.
koreabizwire.com

Electric waste management: New Zealand’s Waste Management NZ is testing the use of electric vehicles. The company has more than 800 trucks and 200 cars in its fleet. Six cars have already been electrified and now the first three diesel trucks will be exchanged for EVs. Another six are said to follow.
nzherald.co.nz, scoop.co.nz

Aug 15, 2016 - 08:07 am

Volkswagen, StreetScooter, Tesla, Subaru, WM Motor.

VW’s New Urban Vehicles: Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess outlines the carmakers electrification. By 2018, an electric compact sedan the size of a Golf and a range between 400 – 600 km will be launched by the end of 2018. A close to production prototype is to debut in Paris later this year. Using the same platform as the small NUV, a coupé, SUV, a van, and a limousine will complete the electric line-up.
wiwo.de (in German)

Deutsche Post to sell EV: The electric StreetScooter van will become available on the open market next year. Deutsche Post DHL will soon start mass production in Aachen, where up to 10,000 delivery vehicles will then be made annually. The car has a range between 50 – 80 km.
reuters.com

Tesla with 100 kWh: The P100D version of the Model S and Model X has been officially approved to be sold in Europe. The listed range for the 100 kWh power pack is 380 miles, NEDC based.
blog.kenteken.tv via insideevs.com, electrek.co

Subaru EV by 2021? The brand’s first electric crossover will hit the American shores by 2021, a Japanese newspaper reports. The Subaru crossover will be based on either the Forester or the Outback that ride on a new platform, which accommodates for all sorts of motors.
autonews.com, carscoops.com, electrek.co

Smart, small, and cheap: WM Motor is another start-up betting on the Chinese EV market. A production facility in Zhejiang province will churn out compact electric cars to be offered at competitive prices. Three models are set to launch by 2018 and WM Motor hopes to produce 100,000 EV a year.
reuters.com

Apr 4, 2016 - 08:40 am

StreetScooter, New York, Montreal, Colorado, California.

Serial StreetScooter: After three years of testing, the StreetScooter by Deutsche Post has gone into serial production, Focus reports. The German mail service aims to produce 2,000 of the electric vehicles this year and will successively replace its fleet of 30,000 delivery vehicles. According to electrive.com sources, the StreetScooter will become available to other companies as well, with the exception of direct competitors.
focus.de (in German)

New York electrifies: The U.S. state has launched an incentive programme that includes rebates of up to 2,000 dollars for EVs and PHEVs. Local governments receive up to 5,000 dollars. The scheme also provides for charging stations, as New York aims to have 800,000 zero-emission vehicles in on the road by 2025.
eany.org, nrdc.org, poststar.com

Montreal powered by Nissan: The Canadian city has entered a framework agreement over 2 years with Cité Nissan Gabriel SEC to deliver Nissan Leafs for the municipal fleet. The agreement is part of Montreal’s electrification strategy that includes the installation of up to a 1,000 charging stops by 2020.
greencarcongress.com, ngtnews.com

Local price breaks: Boulder County, Colorado, introduced its own EV benefits that offer discounts for the Nissan Leaf and BMW i3. With up to 12,000 dollars in federal and tax incentives and the programme’s 8,000 dollar discount the price of a Leaf is down to 12,000 dollars, while the i3 will cost only about 25,500 dollars.
timescall.com

Hybrid buses in California: Marin County Transit District purchases ten hybrid buses from manufacturer Gillig LLC for 7.7m dollars. The buses are set for delivery for next year and will join the existing fleet of 18 diesel-electric buses.
marinij.com

Nov 12, 2015 - 09:07 am

Curb side delivery.

After Skype founders recently introduced a delivery robot, MIT researchers present a solution of their own. The all-electric ‘Carry’ can transport up to 100 pound, which the customer can access via a mobile app that also allows for real-time tracking. So no more excuses for not being home when the delivery arrives.
techcrunch.com

Jul 23, 2015 - 08:36 am

Streetscooter, Toyota, Energica, Nissan, Mercedes.

German postal services pushes electrification: According to German Handelsblatt, Deutsche Post DHL intends to add another 350 electric “Streetscooters” to its fleet before the end of the year. That would mean, the German postal service would have 500 of these electric vans on the road. The vehicles were especially designed by the RWTH Aachen and could also be used by craft businesses in the future.
wallstreet-online.de, handelsblatt.com (articles in German)

And then there were 11: Toyota announced that it will initially offer only eleven units of its fuel cell model Mirai in the UK. In 2016, that number could rise to 50 units. The Mirai will go on sale in the UK this summer and cost around 60,000 pounds.
autocar.co.uk

Italian super bike ready: According to Green Car Reports, Energica has kicked off production of its 100 kW strong electric motorcycle Ego. First units could thus be delivered by the end of the month. Moreover, Energica signed a distribution deal with Hollywood Electrics in southern California.
greencarreports.com (Ego), motorcycle.com (California)

— Text Ad —
Efficient Engines: The new project of the leading edge cluster Electric Mobility South-West “Effect 360°” is studying the efficient product and production solutions for electrified vehicle. The focus being on the urban-efficient vehicle segment. e-mobilbw-sw.de

Lawsuit settled: Back in 2012, U.S. Leaf owners jointly sued Nissan over rapid decline of battery capacity. Now, the carmaker agreed to give Leaf owners a new (not repaired) battery if their current pack drops down to fewer than nine bars of capacity and will offer 90 days of free charging with its EZ-Charge card, or a 50 dollar check. The settlement deal will cost Nissan some 24 million dollars.
autoblog.com, insideevs.com

Mercedes-Benz GLC350e reviewed: Matt Sounders from Autocar got behind the wheel of the hybrid SUV and was a little disappointed when stepping on it, saying there is an “unflattering delay before the combustion engine can wake up and supply” full power. Also, the car will not be available in the UK, because “Mercedes can’t make that gearbox fit a right-hand-drive car with four driven wheels.”
autocar.co.uk

Dec 22, 2014 - 09:45 am

Siemens & StreetScooter, Chevy Volt, Johnson Controls, Coda Energy.

RACE in serial production: Together, Siemens and StreetScooter presented the first series production EV incorporating the electronics and software system RACE. This central processing unit controls all functions in the car and allows to retrofit functions similar to a plug-and-play process on computers.
phys.org

Volt to incorporate ELR technology: The new Chevy Volt which is to debut at the NAIAS in January will feature on-demand regen braking known from the Caddy ELR but “even more refined.” Paddles behind the steering wheel allow to regulate the amount of regenerative braking.
greencarreports.com, transportevolved.com

U.S. batteries for Range Rover Hybrid: Johnson Controls is supplying the Lithium-ion battery pack for the Range Rover Hybrid. Production of the cells and complete battery systems is underway at Johnson Controls’ manufacturing facility in Holland, Michigan.
greencarcongress.com, hybridcars.com

Second life for EV batteries: Coda Energy has begun operation of the largest behind-the-meter energy storage system in the Los Angeles area. The system is comprised of new lithium-iron phosphate EV battery cell packs that serve to showcase the possibility of reusing EV batteries in the future.
prnewswire.com

Dec 10, 2014 - 10:21 am

StreetScooter, DHL, Audi, BMW, Tesla, Ford, China.

DHL buys StreetScooter: Deutsche Post DHL has acquired the RWTH Aachen spin-off StreetScooter GmbH including the development and production rights to electric vehicles. StreetScooter CEO Achim Kampker believes that from next year on up to 10,000 EVs could be built in Aachen annually, German Focus Online reports. Already, Deutsche Post is using about 70 StreetScooter and plans to electrify its entire mail and parcel deliveries in the city of Bonn by 2016.
dpdhl.com, focus.de (in German)

Audi plug-in to premier in Geneva: The German carmaker will present its Q7 plug-in hybrid at the Geneva Motor Show in March next year, Audi’s head of sales Luca de Meo announced in Berlin. He further remarked that there will be “more to come” in 2015 but did not go into any details.
n-tv.de (in German)

New BMW Chief: Norbert Reithofer will step down as chief executive of the German carmaker next year and will be replaced by Harald Krüger, the head of production. Reithofer will continue in a strategic role as Chairman of the Supervisory Board. Meanwhile, BMW development chief Herbert Diess will take over as Chairman of Volkswagen´s passenger cars brand.
nytimes.com, greencarcongress.com

Tesla goes Down Under: The Californian carmaker has officially launched its Model S in Australia with the delivery of nine units and the opening of its first store and service centre in Sydney. Tesla also energised the first Superchargers in Australia and plans to build up a network that will connect Canberra, Melbourne and Sydney next year and all major cities along the east coast of Australia by 2016.
marketwatch.com

Ford hybrids for Australia: Ford Australia is committed to bring hybrid cars to the local market “within the next few years,” Trevor Worthington, VP of Product Development in the Asia/Pacific region said. This comes as a surprise as before the company believed that there is no demand in the region.
motoring.com.au

Chinese EV alliance: Geely, Changan, Great Wall and other Chinese carmakers intend to form the ‘Chinese Auto Export Enterprises Alliance’ designed to collectively raise their sales in markets oversea. Both Geely and Changan are already offering hybrid and all-electric models
caam.org.cn, noodls.com

Nov 20, 2014 - 09:35 am

StreetScooter, Stratasys, Electric plane, Bombardier, ETH Zurich.

3D printed StreetScooter: Stratasys will present a prototype of the StreetScooter C16 at the EuroMold fair in Frankfurt next week. The electric car is planned to be offered for less than 10,000 euros (12,550 dollars) and will feature exterior parts printed with a 3D printer from Stratasys.
3dprint.com, 3druck.com (in German)

Electric plane from China: Shenyang Aerospace University has presented a small electric aeroplane at the Airshow China. The two-seater RX1E is said to fly 90 minutes per charge and will be produced by next year. Price is annonced at 1 million Yuan (163,000 USD)
technologicvehicles.com, eco-business.com

Driverless transport: Singapore has launched the automated ‘People Mover’ system with two ‘INNOVIA APM 100’ vehicles by Bombardier. They run on a separate track, energised by conductor rails. Another 13 vehicles have already been ordered, eight are set for delivery already this year.
marketwired.com

Cheaper high-capacity anodes: Researchers from ETH Zurich have identified vanadate-borate glasses as high-capacity cathode materials for Li-ion batteries. The composite electrodes with reduced graphite oxide are said to deliver specific energies around 1,000 Wh/kg and retain high specific capacities in the range of 300 mAh/g for the first 100 cycles.
greencarcongress.com

– Feedback –

Most clicked link on Wednesday was the rumored BMW i5, which “Autocar” suggests might be using a version of the Toyota Mirai fuel cell system.
autocar.co.uk

Sep 22, 2014 - 08:26 am

Volvo, Daimler, StreetScooter, Boston-Power.

Details of the Volvo 7900 Electric Hybrid: The plug-in version of the hybrid bus 7900 will debut at the IAA this week. It features a 150 kW electric motor with an all-electric range of up to 70 kilometres. The bus is said to go into serial production starting early 2016.
greencarcongress.com (plus video)

Upcoming projects from Daimler: Auto Express got to take a sneak peak at the inductive charging system, featured in the new Mercedes S-Class which Daimler plans to introduce in two years’ time. They also got to take a look the C350 Plug-in hybrid, ready to hit the streets next year.
autoexpress.co.uk (S-Class), autoexpress.co.uk (C350 Plug-in hybrid)

StreetScooter at the IAA: The German company will show its newest WORK edition of the StreetScooter van in Hanover, as well as a version with a biogas-fuelled range extender. The commercial vehicles show will also mark the beginning of the “StreetScooter Engineering Services,” with the goal of marketing the company’s know-how about prototyping and electric mobility.
streetscooter.eu (in German)

Modular battery system: Boston-Power developed the “Ensemble Module System,” with the goal of facilitating assembly of large format battery packs. Moreover, it can be used in the field of electric mobility as well as stationary energy storage.
chargedevs.com, boston-power.com

Jul 18, 2014 - 08:25 am

Siemens & StreetScooter, OpEneR, Fraunhofer IPA, Tesla.

StreetScooter upgrades made easy: Siemens and StreetScooter are currently testing a new electronic and software architecture as part of the RACE project funded by the the German Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy. The technology enables to retrofit new functionalities like electrical brakes in a plug-and-play approach. By the end of the year, the architecture will be implemented and tested in a StreetScooter delivery van.
noodls.com, projekt-race.de (project homepage)

More range through optimisation: The European OpEneR (optimal energy consumption and recovery based on a system network) project presented its solutions to increase electric range. The researchers of the project partners such as Bosch and PSA optimised the interaction of various components such as the electric motor, regen braking, navigation and the surround sensors and reached promising results.
greencarcongress.com, bosch-presse.de

Modular battery management: Fraunhofer IPA filed a patent for its concept of the “Intelligent Cell.” With that, each cell in a battery comes with an integrated circuit measuring the current state-of-charge. The modular battery management system makes costly maintenance obsolete as faulty cells can quickly be identified and replaced without having to exchange the whole battery pack.
ipa.fraunhofer.de (in German)

Tesla challenged: Chinese Qihoo 360 Technology says it has hacked the Model S, enabling them to remotely control the car’s horn or locks, even while driving. The news comes ahead of the SyScan360 Conference where organisers offer 10,000 dollars for those able to hack the Tesla (we reported). They might have a winner already…
forbes.com, transportevolved.com

– Feedback –

Most clicked link on Thursday was the The Weeks‘s quick roundup on various reviews of the BMW i8.
theweek.co.uk

Mar 28, 2014 - 10:22 am

Audi, StreetScooter, Vauxhall, Mando Footloose, Japan.

Audi energy: Since Germany has a liberalised energy market, Audi in cooperation with LichtBlick SE can offer every buyer of its A3 e-tron a clean electricity package. The electricity comes solely from hydro-electric power stations in Germany, Austria and Switzerland and the package not only includes the plug-in hybrid’s energy needs but also the supply of the owners homes.
thegreencarwebsite.co.uk, electriccarsreport.com

StreetScooter launch: The electric delivery van by the German university RWTH Aachen will be industrialised in the third quarter of 2013. The first utility vehicle called Work will be exclusively distributed by Spijkstaal Elektro B.V. in the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. In Germany, StreetScooter vehicles are currently used by Deutsche Post for deliveries for which they were initially developed for.
Information via mail

Low price Ampera: Vauxhall dealer Pentagon is offering GM’s electric car with range extender from 22,995 pounds (38,200 dollars). That is 10,000 pounds less than listed but already includes the 5,000 grant from the UK government. Interestingly, this puts the plug-in Ampera in the price range of the Volkswagen Golf BlueMotion starting at 21,270 pounds (35,300 dollars).
autoexpress.co.uk

E-bike for traveller: The chainless e-bike Mando Footloose by Haller Meister made its retail debut at consumer electronics shop Capi at Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam. The retailer wants to support sales with large-scale promotions. Luckily, home delivery will be available as e-bikes are not allowed on planes due to li-ion battery regulations.
bike-eu.com

Sales in Japan: Here are the numbers for the electric and hybrid vehicle sales in Japan of the year 2013: Toyota again came in first with sales of 1,280,235 units, accounting for about 83% of Japan’s hybrid and EV market. Honda on the other hand reported a decline on sales of 19%, whereas Mitsubishi was able to kick-off its Outlander plug-in with 20,026 units.
just-auto.com