Apr 11, 2016 - 07:22 am

ReachNow, Bolloré, Air Liquide, Westward Industries, Australia.

Reaching the future now: BMW debuted a new carsharing service in Seattle. ReachNow includes 370 BMW and Mini vehicles of which one fifth are electric. The app-operated car club includes a chauffeur and delivery service, while i3 or Mini owners will be able to rent out their own cars in the future. Parking is free within the city and the scheme could expand to three more cities within this year.
seattletimes.com, greencarcongress.com

Future delayed: Bolloré’s London electric carsharing is running behind schedule as negotiations with the British capital’s 33 boroughs are taking longer than expected. The company is adamant to get the same charge deal for the Source London network in all districts, even if that means a one or even two years delay. Bolloré initially planned to have 3,000 BlueCity EVs running by 2018.
reuters.com

H2 fueling stations: The California Energy Commission earmarked 17.3m dollars for the installation of publicly accessible hydrogen fuelling infrastructure. Projects that will cover existing gaps have priority. Meanwhile, Air Liquide released the locations of its first four of 12 H2 stations in north-eastern USA: Hartford, Connecticut, Braintree and Mansfield in Massachusetts and the Bronx in New York.
greencarcongress.com (CALEnergy), greencarcongress.com (Air Liquide)

Parking enforced on EVs: Santa Monica, California, will buy 23 electric three-wheelers for 1m dollars. The GO-4 EV trikes by Westward Industries (also used by the NYPD) are made for parking enforcement agencies and security patrols, as they are just over a metre wide and have a range of up to 75 miles. Approval of the plan will be on the city council’s agenda tomorrow.
surfsantamonica.com

Fleet electrification: Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) has further electrified its fleet. 36 hybrid vehicles are now joined by two Nissan Leaf and two e-bikes. Another eight EVs are lined up for purchase and solar panels for charging are currently being installed.
csiro.au, insideevs.com, evfleetworld.co.uk

Mar 1, 2016 - 09:44 am

Bolloré, Lower Saxony, Rhode Island, Volvo UK, Ankai.

Bolloré stretches: The French manufacturer presented a 12-metre version of its BlueBus, which is originally only 6 m long. Eight battery packs with 30 kWh each provide 200 km of range. Bolloré invested 40m euros in production, hoping to sell 200 units a year, especially as France plans a tender for electric buses by 2017.
insideevs.com

Police plugs in: Police in Lower Saxony, Germany, ordered twelve VW Passat GTE. The federal state is home to the manufacturer that is in turn one of the biggest employers there. State fleets already include 38 (partially) electric cars, including the e-Golf and e-Up. However, state police own a total of 4,300 vehicles – so it is a long way before going all-electric. But the force already hopes for more state funding.
presseportal.de (in German)

Beneficial money laundering: Rhode Island will use fees paid by environmental law offenders to fund its DRIVE (Driving Rhode Island to Vehicle Electrification) programme. The scheme offers a rebate of up to 2,500 dollars. So far, 200,000 dollars have been “collected,” but only 17,500 paid out.
hybridcars.com, autoblog.com

Plug-in partners: Volvo UK teamed up with Pod Point to supply customers with home charging equipment. British buyers of a plug-in Volvo will have the option to have a Pod Point Solo installed at their home within 10 working days for 390 GBP.
fleetnews.co.uk

Electric bus deal: The Chinese city of Xuzhou has ordered 100 electric buses after just putting its first hundred into operation. The vehicles come from Ankai, a Chinese manufacturer whose factory has the capacity to turn out 6,000 units annually.
anhuinews.com

Dec 16, 2015 - 09:27 am

Co-cycling.

Tesla takes another step into sustainability, upcycling leftovers from its leather seats to make iPhone cases clearly marked with the T logo. A co-branding that could have with mutual benefits. Could alloy from faulty MacBooks be used for matte rims maybe?!
ubergizmo.com

Oct 1, 2015 - 09:09 am

Honda, BMW, Suzuki, Bolloré, Denmark, Sweden.

Mirai fighter: Honda is ready to present the production version of its FCV at the Tokyo Motor Show this month, publishing a first teaser image. The launch in Japan is set for early 2016. Furthermore, the Odyssey Hybrid, the NSX Hybrid, and the Neowing Hybrid trike will be on display.
greencarcongress.com, greencarreports.com

New BMW i update: The German carmaker’s third model in the electrified i-series can be expected by 2020 and not 2019, as previously hoped, auto motor und sport reports. It will most likely be called BMW i5 and will have a range of up to 500 km. Earlier reports suggested it might be powered by a fuel cell.
auto-motor-und-sport.de (in German)

Suzuki hybrids: In Tokyo, the manufacturer will show its hybrid concept Air Triser. The compact minivan’s seven seats can be rearranged to form a lounge. Electric AWD is optional. Also at the booth will be Suzuki’s compact Ignis and the Ignis Trail concept, both featuring a mild hybrid system.
indianautosblog.com (Air Triser), indianautosblog.com (Ignis), indianautosblog.com (Ignis Trail)

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Bolloré eyes America: The French corporation is looking to expand its business across the Atlantic. Apparently, CEO Vincent Bolloré is already talking to American companies interested in adding the Bluecar to their fleets. Even consumer sales might be a possibility in the future.
gas2.org

Goodbye green government: Denmark’s three-month old government is reversing the country’s green policies. By 2020, a 180 percent levy will be extended to electric cars, which will then be taxed like any other car. A special tax on Nitrogen-Oxide emissions, as those emitted by diesels, will be scrapped at the same time, rendering the government’s reasoning of budget deficits somewhat unreasonable.
bloomberg.com

Clean country: Sweden vows to become the first fossil fuel free nation worldwide. In 2016 alone, it plans to invest 546m dollars in clean energy, while increasing support for clean transport such as electric buses among other measures. When exactly it will be fossil fuel free has not been stated, but 2050 seems likely.
bloomberg.com, sciencealert.com

Sep 8, 2015 - 08:02 am

Bolloré, India, California, Hamburg.

BlueCar in Congo: Together with Qatar, Bolloré introduces Bluecongo in Congo’s capital Brazzaville on the occasion of the African Games. 50 electric cars and 14 electric buses can be rented and re-charged at 80 charging points, which are yet to be installed. The vehicles will remain in the Central African republic after the games.
automobile-propre.com (in French)

Inter city electric buses in India: Indian state of Gujarat is wants to introduce battery electric buses to run between Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar. The first phase of the Gujarat State Electric Vehicle (GSEV) programme already saw six electric buses being deployed in Gandhinagar.
business-standard.com

EV fees in California? The Golden State’s roads need repair but who will pocket the governor’s proposed 3.6bn dollars a year? Tax increases and higher vehicle registration fees one way to foot the bill, while some also call for the inclusion of EV drivers to the paying folks.
autoblog.com

Future safe bus depot: The German city of Hamburg will include EV charging points, as well as hydrogen storage and filling stations in its planned bus garage. Construction will start by 2016. By 2020, public transport provider Hochbahn will be required to only buy buses with alternative drivetrain technology.
newstix.de (in German)

Aug 7, 2015 - 08:17 am

Norway, Japan, Cornwall, Bolloré.

Norway on track: A member of Norwegian Parliament recently laid out targets for the traffic industry. Already this year, all communal vehicles will become electric, with public transport to follow by 2020. By 2022, all cabs have to run on electricity as well. From there it is only a “small” step until, in 2025, all newly registered private cars shall be electric, too. Today, 20 percent of Norway’s motorised four-wheelers are EVs.
ecomento.com, greencarreports.com

Japan charges ahead: Together with NEC Corporation, Seven & i Holdings will install 3,380 wall boxes for EV charging at its supermarkets, malls and department stores. From November on, they can be used with charge cards supplied by the Nippon Charge Service.
automotive-business-review.com, nec.com

Cornwall charged up: The first rapid EV charging station has been installed at the Eden Project in British Cornwall. Another 15 will follow before the end of the summer.
piratefm.co.uk

Bolloré goes Cambodia: The French EV sharing service is now offering its services to tourists visiting the country’s ancient Angkor Wat temples. As Blue Solutions, the company signed a 6-month trial contract. The blue cars can be hired for 80 dollars a day.
insideevs.com, youtube.com

Jul 17, 2015 - 08:20 am

Faraday Future, Mini, Hyundai, Tesla, Audi, Bolloré.

Brave new future: Faraday Future wants take on Tesla and have an EV with the highest energy density by 2017. While production has not been set up yet, FF hired some 200 people, including high level EV experts. Nick Sampson, Tesla’s former chief engineer, has been taken on as product designer together with Richard Kim, who was responsible for the BMW i8 and i3 concept designs. Silva Hiti, former lead powertrain at Chevy Volt is to do the same for FF and Page Beermann, former Creative Director at BMW, will be responsible for the exterior design. FF’s websites shows the company is not just working on electrification, but also on maximum digitalisation. It seems, the first Tesla-fighter may not be “made in Germany” after all.
motortrend.com, venturebeat.com, hollywoodreporter.com, faradayfuture.com

Mini Superleggra: Autocar followed up on the car’s progress. Mini CEO Peter Schwarzenbauer says the company is “working hard” to bring the concept on the streets by possibly 2019. It could then also come as a PHEV, featuring the same drivetrain as the BMW 2er Active Tourer.
autocar.co.uk

Prius fighter spotted: Hyundai is working on a dedicated hybrid, which might be presented at IAA this year. New photos show a heavily camouflaged hatchback but unveil a charging port close to the driver’s front door, unmasking it as a plug-in hybrid.
autocar.co.uk

Model X in China: Tesla plans to offer its upcoming SUV in China in the first half of 2016, after launching it in the U.S. already this quarter. Furthermore, the Californian EV maker plans to open five to six new service centres in big Chinese cities by the end of this year.
bloomberg.com

Audi in Australia: The German carmaker launched the A3 e-tron Down Under. The plug-in hybrid is available at Audi dealerships in Australia, priced from 62,490 Australian dollars. The package includes a 230-volt, high-output 16-amp single phase power outlet for home charging.
carshowroom.com.au

EVs on the internet: It seems, there is little one cannot buy on Amazon. Now Bolloré is offering its Bluecar and Bluesummer via the online retailer at a reduced price of 25 to 31 percent. Unfortunately, the deal is only available for “Premium” Amazon customers and only those, living in Metropolitan France.
automobile-propre.com (in French)

Jul 13, 2015 - 08:25 am

BlueIndy blues.

Bolloré’s electric car sharing in Indianapolis is in trouble again. Business owners are protesting against EVs charging and supposedly blocking their storefront. A Democratic politician will today propose to symbolic tow away of five BlueIndy demonstrator cars. Not a good look.
indystar.com

Jun 18, 2015 - 08:33 am

Bolloré & PSA, Fisker, Lifan & Alibaba, Gogoro, Mercedes-Benz.

Bolloré teams up with PSA: Bolloré is now working with Peugeot-Citroën to start building the BlueSummer convertible from this September at PSA’s Rennes facility. Up to 3,500 units are to be produced annually and will be offered for less than 20,000 euros at Citroën dealerships. Furthermore, Bolloré and PSA will also seek to promote car-sharing schemes. The deal with PSA complements one signed by Bolloré with Renault, which started to produce the Bluecar model this month (we reported).
europe.autonews.com, reuters.com

Fisker Karma update: Fisker has finally decided where to manufacture the Karma successor: in the Californian Moreno Valley. There, the first production facility on American soil is to come up for the PHEV, initially creating 150 jobs. However, a more detailed schedule has not been issued so far.
washingtontimes.com, pe.com, businesspress24.com

Alibaba to sell Lifan EVs: Chinese carmaker Lifan Auto now entered a strategic partnership with online retailer Alibaba. Among the 20 electric models with exchangeable batteries that Lifan plans, one electric small car will be dedicated exclusively to sales through the online portal.
just-auto.com

Gogoro update: As expected, the manufacturer will start to deliver its electric smart scooter in Taiwan from July 25 for 128,000 Taiwan dollars (4,140 USD). A flat rate for battery swapping comes at 899 Taiwan dollars a month (29 USD). Already, there are 32 battery swap station in Taipeh and this number is to increase to 75 at the time of launch and to 150 by year’s end.
focustaiwan.tw

PHEV equality: In the U.S., Mercedes will offer its S550 plug-in hybrid for the same price as the petrol version. Both will start at 95,325 dollars. The luxurious Daimler is to become available in California this month with more states likely to follow soon.
greencarreports.com, carsdirect.com, mbusa.com

Mercedes C-Class PHEV review: John Voelcker had the chance to drive the 2016 Mercedes-Benz C 350e. Voelcker found the plug-in hybrid version of the C-Class pretty much driving as well as the S-Class PHEV and was particularly eager to get the most out of the electric mode.
greencarreports.com

Jun 15, 2015 - 08:39 am

Bolloré, DriveNow, CHAdeMO, CSE, Vermont.

Bolloré kicks off in London: The French carmaker has introduced the first ten bright red electric cars in the British capital. Bolloré plans on extending its electric hire fleet there to 3,000 vehicles in the coming five years.
standard.co.uk

DriveNow electrifies: BMW board member Peter Schwarzenbauer announced that the carmaker will expand and update its carsharing scheme DriveNow, including the all-electric i3. The service currently offers 3,100 cars in eight cities worldwide.
automobilwoche.de (in German)

CHAdeMO bets on V2G: The CHAdeMO Association hopes to make the standard more appealing by making it compatible with vehicle-to-grid technology. It is the first standard to make this a topic. In April, we spoke to Tomoko Blech, European Representative of the CHAdeMO Association, about the future of electric vehicle charging. If you did not watch the exclusive interview yet, you can do so below.
transportevolved.com, electrive.com (exclusive interview)

Connecting stations: The California Energy Commission has earmarked 1.5 million dollars for the Center for Sustainable Energy to lead development of an advanced management platform for integrating EV charging with utility-scale energy systems. It will be the first data platform to employ the ISO/IEC 15118 standard.
greencarcongress.com

Freedom Stations for Vermont: NRG EVgo says it will install 12 of its “Freedom Stations” in the U.S. state of Vermont. The first fast-charger has already gone online in the city of Rutland.
greenmountainpower.com, vpr.net

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Jun 9, 2015 - 07:55 am

G7, Audi, Renault, Bolloré, India, BMW, Tesla.

Zero carbon emissions by 2100 is the very long-term goal the G7 leaders agreed upon at the summit in Germany. This means oil, coal and gas will eventually become a thing of the past. The summit in Bavaria will be followed by the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris, France, in the second half of 2015. It remains to be seen if these targets will then become binding.
theguardian.com

Tesla Fighter at IAA? Apparently, Audi is readying its electric SUV most likely dubbed Q6 e-tron as a concept for this year’s Frankfurt Auto Show, Automotive News Europe reports. Once the model goes into production, it could be offered as plug-in hybrid or even fuel cell vehicle as well, the portal predicts.
autonews.com (after registration), motorauthority.com

Renault to build Bluecar: Renault now started production of Bolloré’s electric Bluecars in its Dieppe facility as part of an agreement from last year, thus moving production from Italy to France. The plant includes a dedicated assembly shop to handle the work on the Bluecars.
greencarcongress.com, renault.com

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EV subsidy in India: The Delhi government is close to passing a note specifying a 15% subsidy on the price of electric rickshaws and other BEVs. If the bill passes the cabinet, the scheme would come into effect immediately. The subsidy would be granted at vehicle registration.
indiatimes.com, overdrive.in

New BMW 7 Series leaked: Ahead of tomorrow’s world premiere, pictures showing the 2016 BMW 7 appeared in the configurator of BMW Austria along with some more information. Apparently, the 740e PHEV will not go on sale together with the conventional model which will become available in October.
indianautosblog.com

Tesla has won a new customer for its stationary batteries as Advanced Microgrid Solutions (AMS) chose it as primary technology provider. AMS is to install up to 500 MWh of Tesla power packs in commercial and industrial facilities to provide grid support to utilities.
greencarcongress.com

Apr 7, 2015 - 09:07 am

Bolloré, Massachusetts, Hawaii, Ireland, Toshiba.

Twizy for Lyon: The all-electric two-seater by Renault is now being offered as part of Bolloré Bluely carsharing scheme in the French city. A total of 30 are ready for use. Until the end of the year, Bolloré wants to have a total of 110 Twizy to join its Lyon fleet and Bluecub Carsharing scheme in Bordeaux.
greencarcongress.com, renault.com

Massachusetts pushes EV sales: The U.S. state has earmarked an additional two million dollars for its Massachusetts Offers Rebates for Electric Vehicles (MOR-EV) program. It offers a discount of up to 2,500 dollars to those who buy or lease an electric vehicle.
electriccarsreport.com

How much could you save? Hawaiian electric companies have launched an online tool that estimates, how much money a person could save by driving electric. The EV Bill Savings Estimator also takes into account off-peak charging rates.
chargedevs.com

Apartment solution: Irish companies Carra, EC Charging, Electro Automation and Smartcharge have all received 25,000 euros in funding to bring EV charging infrastructure to apartment blocks. A viable solution could receive another 200,000 euros to develop a prototype.
siliconrepublic.com

Toshiba bus hits the road: The company’s first electric bus has begun operating in the city of Kawasaki in Japan, along the Kawasaki Municipal Hospital route. The bus is equipped with vehicle-to-grid technology and can be used as a power source in the event of an emergency.
azocleantech.com, toshiba.co.jp

Feb 9, 2015 - 09:02 am

Electric buses, Washington, London, Bolloré, Valladolid, Xiamen.

Funding for electric buses: The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has announced a total of 55 million dollars in grants to put more battery-electric and fuel-cell buses into service across the country. Ten projects in the states of California, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas were selected to receive a share of the grants.
greencarcongress.com, fta.dot.gov

Washington pushing EV ownership: Lawmakers in Washington state plan to encourage more drivers to turn to electric cars. A new bill would renew the sales tax exemption until 2021, but only for the first 45,000 dollars of an electric car’s purchase price – bad news for Tesla.
autoblog.com

London´s cabbies call for transformation package: The Licensed Taxi Drivers Association (LTDA) and Clean Air in London (CAL) are urging London’s mayor Boris Johnson to implement an eight-point plan to encourage private hire and taxi companies to use electric vehicles. The package includes further incentives as well as 500 rapid charging points exclusively for use by private hire vehicles and taxis.
evfleetworld.co.uk, cleanair.london

Bolloré wins backing for charging network: French Bolloré Group said on Friday it will invest 150 million euros (172m USD) to roll out an charging network across France, after the plan won government backing. Bolloré plans to install 16,000 new chargers nationwide in the next four years (we reported).
reuters.com, europe.autonews.com

European cooperation: The German metropolitan region of Lower Saxony teams up with the Spanish city of Valladolid to jointly promote electric mobility. As a first step, a VW e-Golf is tested by the Valladolid city council. More electric cars (the locally produced Renault Twizy as well as EVs from Volkswagen) will go on Valladolid´s streets later as part of a project funded by the EU´s Smart City project.
metropolregion.de (in German)

Xiamen goes all-electric: 30 BYD e6 pure electric taxis were put into service in the Chinese city of Xiamen, with another 60 e6 taxis to follow soon. The Xiamen Public Traffic Plaza-Station will set up more than 50 charging poles in the city, 20 of which have already been put into service.
whatsonxiamen.com

Dec 12, 2014 - 09:11 am

BlueBUS, The Mobility House, CarCharging, Zenith, Derby.

France electrified, again: Bolloré’s subsidiary BlueBUS has taken order of 12 electric buses to be delivered to the public transport providers in the Ile-de-France region, STIF und RATP. The 12-metre buses are said to have a range of up to 180 km (111 miles) and go into service by late 2015 or the beginning of 2016. There might be more to come as a total of 40 million euros (50m dollars) could be invested in electric buses serving in the region.
leparisien.fr (in French)

Prepaid charge card: The Mobility House launches its ChargeCard, a prepaid card that can easily be topped up. It is valid at 2,400 charge points in Germany as well as in the Austrian cities of Vienna and Salzburg. Payment is being taken for kWh, not charging time. The card can be ordered online.
mobilityhouse.com, youtube.com (both in German)

Blink app: CarCharging has started a new app that enables users to remotely start charging at Blink stations. In a next step, the Blink App is to include payment options and become available to use with other charge points from GE and SemaConnect which are part of the CarCharging network as well.
prnewswire.com

Zenith’s electric vans are now eligible for the Drive Clean Truck program in Chicago. Effectively this brings down the price to 46,884 dollars via the program’s voucher. After the 7,500-dollar federal incentive the Zenith EV costs less than 40,000 dollars which puts it on par with its petrol-powered competitors.
baystreet.ca

Low carb car club: Derby city council is to start a car club for its residents with ten hybrid and electric cars by the end of next year. The cars will be available for hire on a pay-as-you-go basis but can also be “blocked” for longer periods by businesses hiring the vehicles for their employees.
derbytelegraph.co.uk

Dec 9, 2014 - 10:28 am

Bolloré, Singapore, Laos, Malaysia, PlugSurfing, BYD.

France to be charged up? Bolloré introduces plans to erect 16,000 charge points all across “La Grande Nation” and intends to invest 150 million euros over the next four years.
Read more on electrive.com >>

Electric car sharing in Singapore: The government of the city state has launched the Electro-Mobility Singapore (EMS) task force to explore the viability of a 1,000-EV car sharing and charging infrastructure project. A Request for Information (RFI) is asking for business model proposals.
todayonline.com, transport.asiaone.com

Laos to be electrified: Laotian city Luang Prabang plans to import 100 electric cars which the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is ready to fund with four million dollars. More trials in other cities of Laos are to follow if the pilot proves to be a success.
thaipbs.or.th, 12go.asia

Malaysia to recharge: Another three million ringgit (about 860,000 dollars) will be invested next year to erect 300 charging stations in the south-east Asian country. They will join the existing 40 charge points in Malaysia and are in line with the country’s plan to boost the EV uptake (we reported).
themalaysianreserve.com

Luxembourg added to PlugSurfing: Thanks to a cooperation with Estonteco, the PlugSurfing app now includes 26 charging points in Luxembourg where users can pay via a RFID-enabled key fob. The Berlin-based start-up now connects a total of more than 10,000 charging points across Europe.
plugsurfing.com

BYD in Britain: British private-car service Thriev has ordered another 200 BYD e6. The EVs will add to the existing fleet of 32 e6 with deliveries due to start by April 2015. The London-based firm is now BYD’s biggest oversea partner but the Chinese carmaker has already set eyes on the U.S. market.
cleantechnica.com

Dec 9, 2014 - 09:04 am

Bolloré plans to create 16,000 public charging points in France.

It is no small goal the Bolloré Group has set for itself. In the coming four years, it wants to more than double the number of charging points in France, installing 16,000 new ones across the country. It was already known that such a project had been presented to the French Ministry of Economy, but the name of the operator was only now made public.

“This project is a new stage for electric mobility in France,” Economy and Finance Minister Emmanuel Macron told French media, adding that “through a private initiative with public support, we are accelerating our route towards having a truly national network of electric car charging points.”

Bolloré wants to invest a total of 150 million euros over the next four years, installing the charging points successively across the country. CEO Vincent Bolloré said on French radio that the stations would never be further than 40 kilometres apart.

Thanks to legislation adopted in August, private operators are now allowed to construct charging stations on public territory and French utility EDF (Energie de France) had voiced their interest in realizing a similar project. At the end of January, the Economy and Finance Ministry will announce, whether the Bolloré project will be allowed to go ahead or not.

According to the energy transition law, which is still being debated by government, France wants to have a total of seven million charging points online by 2030. At the moment, there are only 14,000, with some 4,000 located in Paris as part of the electric carsharing scheme “Autolib.'”

Bolloré manufactures the “BlueCar,” the all-electric and sole vehicle employed in the programme in the French capital and its suburbs. It kicked off in December 2011, and now, nearly 3,000 of the small EVs are on the road there. The scheme was expanded to Lyon-Villeurbanne and Bordeaux in France at the end of last year and to Indianapolis in the U.S. in May 2014.
lemonde.fr, challenges.fr, automobile-propre.com (articles in French); france24.com (in English)

Sep 10, 2014 - 08:29 am

Renault & Bolloré, Denza, Toyota, Jaguar, Wuling, Mercedes-Benz.

French EV Alliance: Renault and Bolloré have now fixed their cooperation. Cooperations to be precise. From mid 2015 on, Renault will take over the production of Bolloré’s Bluecar in its facility in Dieppe, France. Furthermore, a feasibility study will consider the development of a three-seater for Bolloré. The new vehicle is said to feature lithium-metal polymer batteries and could eventually be used in a newly formed joint venture for electric carsharing all over Europe.
transportevolved.com, greencarcongress.com, green.autoblog.com, renault.com

Denza production start: The Daimler-BYD joint venture is now manufacturing their EV for the Chinese market. By the end of September, the all-electric Denza will become available starting at 369,000 yuan (60,200 dollars), buying incentives of nearly 120,000 yuan (19,600 dollar) excluded.
media.daimler.com, caradvice.com.au

Spy shot: Driving Sports captured an hitherto unknown Toyota which could later be identified as most likely being a pre-production FCV. The Japanese hydrogen car, presumable called Mirai (we reported), is expected to arrive in the U.S. by summer 2015 after it debuts in its homeland in April next year.
blog.drivingsports.com

Jaguar XE: The prestige project does not feature a hybrid version from the start as previously hoped for. However, the XE’s drive is “designed to link in with all the different combinations of hybrid technology” and while no time frame was given, it looks like there will be a hybrid version eventually.
motoring.com.au, autoexpress.co.uk

Chinese mini i3: Chinese Wuling will present a new concept EV called City Car at the Guangzhou Auto Show this November. The designers seemingly favour German engineering as the new EV resembles some design elements of BMW’s i3 while its dimensions are more those of a Smart.
carnewschina.com, worldcarfans.com

Almost 90,000 pounds will Mercedes be asking UK buyers of the S-Class 500 plug-in hybrid when it hits the isles in late November. The exact starting price is 87,965 pounds (141,800 dollars) after the government grant of 5,000 pounds. The premium hybrid will be exempt from road tax as well as London’s congestion charge.
thegreencarwebsite.co.uk, puregreencars.com

Jul 11, 2014 - 08:18 am

Volkswagen, Honda, Nissan, Renault, Bolloré.

VW is preparing for the USA: Volkswagen is cooperating with Bosch and ChargePoint in the American market. Bosch Automotive Service Solutions will take over installation and supply of home chargers for e-Golf drivers who will also get access to ChargePoint’s network and app.
puregreencars.com, electriccarsreport.com

New energy home opens up: After receiving great interest in its Californian ‘Honda Smart Home,’ the carmaker is taking the project open source. On the project’s homepage, various building plans can now be downloaded (in PDF and CAD format) free of charge.
earthtechling.com, forbes.com, hondasmarthome.com

EVs enter fleets in UK and Italy: Oldham Council is taking seven Nissan Leafs into service across the borough. They will be shared with Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service and Greater Manchester Police. Meanwhile, Turin-based carsharing provider IoGuido is bringing six Fiat 500e home to Italy.
fleetnews.co.uk (UK), insideevs.com (Italy)

Renault’s Zoe finished 2,500 kilometres through the UK without any mayor problems. The ‘Charging around the UK’ tour, organised by Pod Point and sponsored by the French manufacturer, went to 15 British towns in 17 days in June. Starting in London, the Zoe travelled as far north as Scotland while using 72 charging stations.
thegreencarwebsite.co.uk

Boris Cars à la French: In the run-up to the introduction of the BlueCar electric car sharing in London next year as ‘Source London,’ the Guardian’s Paris correspondent Jon Henley took a closer look at Bolloré’s offering. Apart from his own, reassuring experience (“That’s my car”) he also takes into account history and other user experiences. Promising!
theguardian.com

May 5, 2014 - 09:18 am

California, H2USA, BYD, BMW, NREL, Indianapolis, Bolloré.

H2 campaign: The California Energy Commission supports the installation of 28 H2-fuelling stations, investing 47 million dollars in the project. 27.6 million dollars are allocated for a total of 19 Toyota and FirstElement Fuel joint projects, some of which will be installed at existing gas stations. Linde LLC plans to set up a H2-fueling station in San Ramon.
toyota.com, just-auto.com

California joins H2USA, a public-private partnership headed by the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE). The goal is to push commercialisation of clean energy technologies and especially fuel cell technologies and H2-fuelling infrastructure.
electriccarsreport.com

News from BYD: The Chinese manufacturer kicks off production of one of its e-buses at its new plant in California. Some 200 electric buses are set to roll off the production line there every year. The first will hit the streets of LA in August. Meanwhile, BYD has delivered three units to Taiwan.
chargedevs.com (California), automobiledistribution.automotive-business- review.com (Taiwan)

Sun(ny) roof: BMW Designworks USA has developed a solar carport, especially designed to the BMWi models. Using the BMWi Wallbox Pro, a live readout of the power generated from the panels vs. taken from the grid is possible.
bmwblog.com

Interim results: The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has begun its evaluation on the first results collected during six months into a 12-month trial of 10 medium-duty Smith Newton electric vehicles (EVs) and 10 comparable conventional diesel vehicles operated by Frito Lay in the Seattle area. The test focuses on fuel economy, maintenance and durability.
nrel.gov

16 million dollars for car-sharing: The city of Indianapolis and utility provider Indianapolis Power and Light want the state to foot the bill for installation of charging infrastructure and power lines for a proposed EV-sharing programme. French Bollore will supply all 500 EVs as well as invest 35 million dollars in the programme.
indystar.com

Mar 20, 2014 - 09:41 am

Bolloré, Toyota, Germany, Trust My Garage.

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

Mar 14, 2014 - 10:20 am

Bolloré, Seattle, NRG eVgo, ClipperCreek, PlugSurfing, Hubject.

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