South America: Nissan launches Leaf in 4 markets
Nissan is starting sales of the Leaf in the four largest South American markets: the electric model is now available with the 40 kWh battery in Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Colombia.
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Oxis prepares for serial production of Li-S batteries
The lithium-sulfur battery specialist Oxis Energy has announced plans to build the first production plant for the manufacture of electrolyte and cathode material specifically for the mass production of lithium-sulfur cells in Port Talbot in Wales.
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Oxis Energy releases details re: Brazilian Li-S cell manufacture
Lithium-sulphur battery specialist Oxis Energy, which has recently announced a number of new investors, is now announcing the construction of the world’s first manufacturing facility for the mass production of Li-S cells. This is to be built in the Brazilian city of Belo Horizonte.
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BYD delivers electric buses to Brazil & Hungary
Brazil’s largest city, that is Sao Paulo, has received its first electric buses from BYD. The 15 buses are part of a pilot project involving solar power, before they will take up full service in March 2019. Meanwhile, BYD has also become active in Hungary.
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Brazil: Brewery Ambev to run 1,600 VW electric trucks
Brazilian beer maker Ambev plans to add 1,600 electric trucks to fleets of its logistic suppliers. The first will be the VW e-Delivery that is to hit the road this year. It is the kickstart of a trial designed to find the zero emission technology serving Ambev best.
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Nissan begins researching battery second life in Brazil
Nissan and the university of Santa Catarina in Brazil have made an agreement to research battery second life functions for Nissan Leaf batteries as innovative energy storage solutions.
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BYD delivers 30 EVs to Brazil
BYD has completed their so far largest order from Brazil. The Brazilian city of São José dos Campos is leasing 30 electric vehicles from the Chinese manufacturer, which will be used by police and government.
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Oxis Energy begins cell production in Brazil
The British battery specialist OXIS Energy is in the process of opening a manufacturing facility in the Minas Gerais state in southeastern Brazil. OCIS is aiming to produce batteries for electric buses and planes with their lithium-sulfur technology.
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BYD and Marcopolo reveal new electric bus D9W
The Chinese vehicle manufacturer BYD has begun producing buses in Brazil, and presented a new electric bus model, made in cooperation with Marcopolo, in the Brazilian capital Brasilia.
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Toyota to conquer Brazil with Flexible Fuel Hybrid
Toyota has special plans for the Brazilian market: A prototype based on the Prius, but using so-called Flexible Fuel Hybrid technology has been introduced. The Hybrid FFV can run on gasoline, as well as alternative fuel sources, such as ethanol.
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Nissan to offer Leaf in Latin America
Nissan will be offering the Leaf as of the coming year in Latin America as well. The EV will be released in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Columbia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Uruguay and Puerto Rico in the first phase of South American rollout.
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Electric mini Renault for Asia – and other world regions
The French already have a prototype of the small and cheap electric car the alliance of Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi plans to launch in China. CEO Carlos Ghosn mentioned test rides in an interview recently.
WeiterlesenMilton Keynes, Chongqing Lifan Group, Scottland, Brazil, New Delhi.
Free EV parking: The English town of Milton Keynes has created 15,000 free parking spaces for electric vehicles with a Green Parking Permit. Funded by the “Go Ultra Low Cities” initiative, the spaces are only the first step in a multi-stage plan, which will includes the addition of charging hubs, residential chargers, and bus lanes access.
fleetnews.co.uk, autocar.co.uk
World’s biggest carsharing: Chinese Chongqing Lifan Group hopes to roll out the world’s largest carsharing scheme from next year, reaching a 300,000 electric car fleet by 2020. The company will use Lifan 300EV2 cars, which the manufacturer claims can be recharged in three minutes.
chinadaily.com
Scottish Borders fleet: The Scottish Borders Council used 87,000 pounds worth of government funding to purchase six electric vehicles. Two of the cars will be for social care staff and three for the council’s waste, neighbourhood services, and contracts staff.
holyrood.com
Brazil receives bus: The Brazilian city of Curitiba has received its first Volvo electric hybrid bus as part of Volvo’s electro-mobility project in Latin America. The vehicle comes with Zone Management, which allows areas where the bus can drive 100 percent electric to be defined and for the operator to limit the bus’ maximum speed in regions with high pedestrian traffic.
automotiveworld.com
New Delhi to hire fleet: The Union Transport Ministry in New Delhi has invited bids for hybrid and electric cars to be used by officials. They plan to hire at least 20 cars in each category for one year, with the possibility of extending the contract another year. Some criticise that the move may discourage taxi companies for investing in greener fleets.
livemint.com
Mercedes, Tesla, Volkswagem Guangzhou Auto, Brazil.
Mercedes goes electric: According to German Auto Bild, Mercedes is planning to launch an electric variant of its GLC by the end of 2018. The ELC will have at least two electric motors and a 400 km range. And by autumn 2020, the carmaker is said to introduce an electric version of its GLA, called the ELA.
autobild.de (ELC; in German), autobild.de (ELA; in German)
H2-Mercedes? Moreover, British magazin Autocar quotes Thomas Weber, Mercedes’ head of research and development, as saying that the carmaker will premier its GLC F-Cell at the Frankfurt Motor Show 2017. The car will then hit showrooms in 2018 for around 50,000 pounds and is said to have a range of 600 km.
autocar.co.uk
Tesla recall: The EV maker is calling all 90,000 Model S sold worldwide back to the shop because of a possible seatbelt issue. The recall is voluntary, as there has only been one incident in Europe where the front-seat passenger seatbelt detached. There have been no reported accidents or injuries.
forbes.com, insideevs.com
VW cuts R&D budget: Amid the emission scandal, the carmaker will reduce its investments in research and development by about 1bn euros, bringing total investments for 2016 down to 12bn euros. However, it will spend some 100m euros more on the development of alternative drivetrains, including its modular electric kit.
nytimes.com (plus video with interview), greencarcongress.com
No EV facility: Guangzhou Auto (GAC) says it will not build its planned factory for electric and hybrid cars, and will instead update existing facilities by 2016. The goal is to annually produce 400,000 vehicles with fully and partly electric drivetrains. GAC will also launch a subsidiary for component production.
reuters.com
Brazil cuts taxes: The country recently lowered import duties for electric and fuel cell vehicles and now considers also including electric buses and small utility vehicles.
tax-news.com
SK Continental, B-Class ED, ZAP Jonway & AIMA, Brazil, KIA, KTM.
Bye-bye EV battery: The joint venture between Germany’s Continental and South Korea’s SK Innovation, established in 2013, might come to an end. Developing batteries for EVs is just not paying off, executives say, as the market is increasing more slowly than expected. Continental doesn’t see “any economic basis in the medium-term for the business operations in our joint venture” and “existing activities and investments have already been reduced considerably,” Dr. Elmar Degenhart, chairman of Continental’s Executive Board, stated.
bloomberg.com, continental-corporation.com
Sales kick off for B-Class ED in Germany: Pricing starts at 39,151 euros (49,186 USD), while the electric cars can be leased at a monthly rate of 399 euros (501 USD). The B-Class ED comes in three equipment lines and with an “Exclusive package” for an additional 1,309 euros (1,644 USD).
puregreencars.com, automotive-business-review.com
ZAP-AIMA deal: The Chinese-American company ZAP Jonway has signed a deal with electric motorcycle manufacturer AIMA in order to develop a new version of the Urbee, Starting in January, the new model will be sold via the 2,000 AIMA dealerships in China.
money.cnn.com
Brazil to introduce subsidies: Minister for development Mauro Borges said at the Sao Paulo International Motorshow that Brazil will introduce subsidies for manufacturers of electric and hybrid vehicles. A few weeks ago, the government had announced that it would cut import duties for hybrid vehicles only, because it feared the national grid could not support EVs (we reported).
laht.com, greencarreports.com (earlier report)
Driving the Kia Soul EV: The Telegraph is not the “biggest fan” of the EV from South Korea, saying that performance nods off at about 50 mph and that the car “shivers and shakes on anything but billiard tables.” Lastly, pricing is an issue and the Kia Soul EV costs about as much as the BMW i3 in the UK.
telegraph.co.uk
Riding the KTM Freeride E-SX: The electric off-road motorcycle weighs only 108 kilos and the battery last for a maximum of 45 minutes of “moderate driving,” but can be swapped easily. Moreover, range is not really an issue, as KTM hopes to set up E-Park off-road tracks, where one can easily change or charge a bike.
pistonheads.com
Brazil, Car2Go, China, Alphabet, EDF Energy.
Dis-incentives: Brazil announced an incentive scheme, cutting import duties on hybrid cars. Plug-in vehicles are excluded from the measure, because the country fears that its electricity grid doesn’t have the capacity to handle an influx of plug-in cars and their charging needs.
greencarreports.com
Car2Go gives ten free minutes to its San Diego customers, if they park the all-electric Smarts in the so-called “incentive zone.” Leaving the cars downtown makes it easier for the fleet team to move the cars around, making sure they are charged up.
green.autoblog.com
Green buses for China: By the end of next year, 20,222 electric buses will take to the streets of Beijing, Tinjin, and Hebei Province, making up 16 percent of all public transport in the areas. Moreover, local governments plan on setting up 94 charging stations and 16,200 charging posts.
eco-business.com, autonews.gasgoo.com
Alphabet and EDF Energy partner in order to give potential EV buyers more confidence. On top of advice about charging points, UK customers will also receive detailed advice on load and power requirements, alongside managing ongoing maintenance, installation and warranty protection.
fleetnews.co.uk
California, Volkswagen, Pennsylvania, Brazil.
Californian funding: The California Air Resources Board (CARB) just approved a 222-million dollar electric mobility funding plan for 2014 and 2015. 116 million dollars are reserved for EV incentives. The scheme will now support fuel-cell vehicles with up to 5,000 dollars each.
greencarcongress.com, arb.ca.gov
All on one card: In the German region of Hanover, Volkswagen started testing its own mobility card with 50 participants. The card allows EV drivers to reserve and pay selected charging stations and parking lots. Furthermore, VW’s carsharing ‘Quicar’ as well as public transport services are said to be integrated. The card works in combination with an app that allows EV drivers to prolong parking time via their smartphone.
car-it.com (in German)
Five-Tesla-stores bill: Pennsylvania’s senate unanimously voted for a bill that will allow Tesla to operate up to five stores in the state. Tesla said it is pleased with the compromise as it “serves the interests of Pennsylvania’s consumers” while cutting “potentially protracted conflict” short.
green.autoblog.com
Brazil Post to test electric vans: The postal service of the football nation just took delivery of two Renault Kangoo Z.E. In a trial, one van will serve in Brasilia while the other will deliver parcels electrically in the metropolitan region of Curitiba. The four-month trial could be prolonged up to one year.
postandparcel.info