All-electric car sharing in Stuttgart: Daimler’s fleet of 500 shared electric smarts in the Swabian capital will receive reinforcements by mid-April when 50 Mercedes B series Electric Drive will join. The 5-seater electric cars will be a little more expensive with 34 cent per minute, that is 5ct more than for a Smart ED. Once the EVs are added, Stuttgart’s Car2Go fleet will be the largest fully electric flexible car sharing fleet worldwide, according to Daimler. daimler.com
Eco Tour di Sicilia: 200 Renault Zoe will soon roam the south of Italy during the Eco Tour di Sicilia the French carmaker launched together with car rental company Sicily by Car and utility Enel. The latter will add 400 charging stations to the offer designed to explore Sicily in a most climate-friendly manner. autovolt-magazine.com, automotiveworld.com
Korea wants to have 1,450 fast-charging stations across the country before the year’s end and has just added another 100 over the last three months. This means there are 200 standing by now but also that the pace of installation has to accelerate to reach the energy ministry’s target. koreaherald.com
PlugSurfing and Allego cooperate: The companies have launched a peer-to-peer connection using the Open Charge Point Interface (OCPI). EV drivers with Plugsurfing’s app can thus access real-time data from Allego stations in Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Source: PI via email
Talking charging stations: A range of smart electric vehicle chargepoints from Ensto Chago that can communicate with each other through cloud software has been approved for support by the UK Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV). The aim is to distribute energy evenly between multiple charging EV. itsinternational.com
Tesla destined for China: The EV maker has found another cooperation partner in Hang Lung Properties. A total of ten Tesla Destination Chargers are to be installed at six of Huang Lung’s shopping malls. Test drives will also be possible. streetinsider.com, bidnessetc.com
EV excess wanted: Utility provider Hawaiian Electric says it will install 25 new EV fast charging stations in Oahu, Maui County and the Big Island. Furthermore, discounted rates will stimulate EV charging when excess energy is available, while also promoting the use of electric cars. bizjournals.com
Billboard charger: Finnish Ensto Chago presents the Chago Wall 2.0. The charging station integrates an advertising space that could generate income to pay for the station, installation and charging. The digital display was developed together with Symbicon. parking-net.com, enstochago.com
Home run: The Kansas City Royals now offer their fans 5 EV charging stations at the Truman Sports Complex. Charging will be free of charge for the first two years thanks to the Jackson County Sports Complex Authority. The stations are part of the KCP&L Clean Charge Network. salinapost.com
Spanish Supercharger update: Tesla now opened the second Supercharger station on Spanish soil. The lot in Tarragona joins the 4-slot spot in Girona (we reported) and thus puts Valencia into reach. insideevs.com
Finish EV infrastructure provider Ensto Chago has so far made trips between Nordic capitals Helsinki, Stockholm and Oslo a reality. As they introduce their third generation of chargers, Managing Director Juha Stenberg tells electrive.com in an exclusive interview at the Hanover Trade Fair that while the trend is clearly going in the direction of fast- and even faster charging, there is still a clear market for stations with an output of 20 kW or less. Still, Stenberg hints that Ensto Chago has the one or other ace up its sleeve and may be looking into (much) faster stations in the future. Don’t miss the whole interview! electrive.com (highest resolution), youtube.com (optimized for mobile devices)
“Hardware is not the only thing that is important,” says Juha Stenberg, Managing Director of Ensto Chago. The Finish manufacturer of EV charging infrastructure now offers its third generation of chargers and Stenberg says it will also increasingly focus on services for EV drivers. Ensto Chago has a diverse portfolio of charging stations and “they all have their role in the whole charging network that we are now building,” says Stenberg during our exclusive interview at the Hanover Trade Fair. AC chargers, for instance, are needed in Finland and Sweden where plug-in hybrids are more popular than purely electric cars, while 20 kW DC fast charging stations are a better fit for restaurants and shopping centres, because they are easy to install and easier on the grid than stations with a higher output. Still, Stenberg agrees that there is a trend towards faster charging and hints that it is not the end of the line in terms of development of EV infrastructure made in Finland. Enjoy the video!
Reading tip: Our editor Carla Westerheide visited the Geneva Motor Show and brought home some details on five electric highlights by ED Design, Volkswagen, Audi, EVTEC, and NanoFlowcell. electrive.com
Click tip: For those who wonder how dynamic charge management for multiple EVs might work, Ensto Chago now published the right interactive tool online. Park and charge your virtual vehicle(s) and see how much load the grid can stand. enstocampaigns.com
Billboard charger: Finnish Ensto Chago presents the Chago Wall 2.0. The charging station integrates an advertising space that could generate income to pay for the station, installation and charging. The digital display was developed together with Symbicon.
