Tata, Scotland, Volkswagen, Starship Technologies, Chevy.
Tata shows electric buses: The Indian manufacturer presented a whole series of buses with alternative drivetrains. Next to the Starbus Electric and Starbus Hybrid, available in nine and twelve metres, Tata also unveiled the country’s first fuel-cell-powered bus. The only bad news: there are no concrete production plans.
indiatimes.com
Scotland outlines climate goals: The Scottish government announced that it wants to lower CO2 emissions by 66 percent by 2032 (compared to 1990). The climate plan also outlines that 40 percent of individual cars and transporters, as well as 50 percent of public buses will need to be electrified until then. 30 percent of public ferries will also receive a hybrid drivetrain in the next 25 years.
theguardian.com, climateactionprogramme.org
e-Golf for Japan: According to Nikkei, the German carmaker wants to introduce its EV to Japan in June or July. It would be VW’s first all-electric undertaking in the country and is also part of a move to repair its image damaged by the diesel scandal.
nikkei.com
The mothership: Daimler invested in company Starship Technologies, taking part in a 16.5m euro financing round. Starship develops ground-based, autonomous delivery robots that could be featured in Daimlers (all-electric) delivery vans in the future. A mothership concept combining the two had already been shown in September.
greencarcongress.com, roboticstrends.com
Chevrolet Bolt review: The Chevy Bolt feels a lot like a normal car at first glance, Darrell Etherington from Tech Crunch writes. “But it feels fast, and fun.” Especially when turning on the regenerative breaking, “the car’s character really starts to shine through.” Etherington concludes that the Bolt ist he first EV he would consider owning.
techcrunch.com (with video)
Diesel-ban in Oslo: The Norwegian capital banned private diesel cars from its roads on Tuesday and Wednesday between the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. The ban could be extended. German magazine Der Spiegel reports that Oslo even wants kick all vehicles with combustion engines out of the inner city ring by 2024.
Golf line-up expanded: Volkswagen will unveil a new crossover SUV at the Geneva Motor Show in March, which is based on the VW-Golf-inspired T-Roc concept car. A plug-in hybrid T-Roc GTE and all-electric e-T-Roc are also under development, with the latter most likely featuring a new battery pack destined for its Golf siblings in 2017. Range can thus be expected around 186 miles (300 km).
100,000 BMWi sold: Three years after launching the i-series, BMW has sold more than 100,000 electric and plug-in hybrid models worldwide. The BMW i3 sold 60,000 times, with the i8 billing another 10,000. The remaining 30,000 PHEV were sold via the iPerformance label.
More than 400 km of range: Ahead of the official premiere in Paris, Opel published some new details about its upcoming Ampera-e. NEFZ puts range at over 400 km on one charge, which is more than any other EV in its class (the BMW i3 currently offers 300 km). The new Opel is said to arrive at dealerships in Germany in spring. The UK may have to wait for the second generation of the Ampera-e, as Opel subsidiary Vauxhall will not be offering the EV for now.
Chevy Bolt update: According to Automotive News, GM will begin with production of the all-electric Chevy Bolt in October, shooting for a yearly output of 25,000 units. The range extender version Volt is said to get a makeover in 2019 that will also increase its all-electric range.
Model X premiere: Tesla uses the Geneva Motor Show to debut of its latest creation in Europe. It is also the first time the Model X appears in what Tesla calls a “major auto show,” as it missed its big moment at NAIAS in Detroit earlier this year.
Order books for Q7 e-tron open: From Tuesday, the Audi Q7 e-tron 3.0 TDI can be ordered for a base price of 80,500 euros. The first models of the diesel-plug-in will be delivered this summer. Audi is one of the first manufactures to combine diesel engine and electric motor. Fuel consumption is currently given at 1.7 litres/100 km.
Mitsubishi’s electric plans in the U.S.: The Japanese carmaker wants to launch a new crossover model there early 2018, which will be based on the all-electric eX Concept. A new and bigger Outlander (incl. a PHEV variant) is in the pipelines for 2019, and a smaller Outlander Sport for 2020. The latter is said to also be available as an all-electric car.
Faraday Future premiers concept car: FF took the wraps off its electric sportscar FFZERO1 ahead of the CES in Las Vegas. The car only has space for the driver and boasts 1,000 hp. It is basically an all-electric Batmobil, which will never make it to serial production in its current form. A peak under the hood is still worthwhile. The so-called Virable Platform Architecture (VPA) is said to allow FF to quickly build a number of different EVs. According to German newspaper Die Welt, the start-up will make shore in Europe as well, founding the FF Europe GmbH in Dusseldorf, Germany.
Volkswagen electrifies massively: VW will launch more electric models across all brands by 2018 than initially planned, Manager Magazin reports. An electric Passat will join the Phaeton, and both VW and Porsche will electrify an SUV. Porsche is to develop a production version following its Mission E concept, while the Audi Q6 e-tron will also get an electric sibling. Meanwhile, BMW and Daimler consider to jointly purchase electric components like motors and batteries, the magazine learned.
The Bolt’s debut is less than two months away. GM confirmed that its electric 300-mile range Chevy is to launch at the CES in Las Vegas in January 2016. Meanwhile, the Cadillac CT6 plug-in hybrid was unveiled in Los Angeles, boasting an all-electric range of 50 kilometres.