The French town of Drancy hosted the handover ceremony, as BYD delivered a 13m e-Coach electric bus to local political representatives. Greater Paris has introduced new Low Emission Zones to curb emissions the capital.

Fastned has received the first order from France. The highway operator Autoroutes Paris-Rhin-Rhône (APRR) has commissioned the Dutch company to build and operate nine charging parks. The French Ministry of Transport must still approve the contract.

China’s Aiways is driving its European expansion as the company’s first electric SUV reaches new customers. The EV maker has named the Netherlands as next destination this November, following an earlier market launch in Germany and parts of France.

Total has won the concession tender of the City of Paris for the modernisation and expansion of the French capital’s public charging network. The concession is valid for ten years and covers the supply, installation and operation of the charging network.

6.5 million euros from the European Research Council (ERC) go to the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces in Potsdam, Germany. With this funding, the researchers aim to increase the density of batteries four to six times.

PSA has temporarily halted the market launch of Polestar in France with a lawsuit. PSA claims that the logo of the Swedish-Chinese electric car brand is too similar to those of Citroën and DS.

ElringKlinger and Plastic Omnium are joining forces in fuel cell technology to accelerate the development of hydrogen mobility. To achieve this goal, the two companies will establish the EKPO Fuel Cell Technologies joint venture for the development, large-scale production and marketing of fuel cell stacks.

France is planning a special tax for particularly heavy cars such as SUVs, which would affect German manufacturers in particular. The plan is to tax every kilogram above a vehicle weight of 1.8 tons with an extra ten euros. Electric and hybrid vehicles will be exempt from the tax since they can be very heavy […]

When Group Renault presented their latest plans for two new all-electric models, both set to capture large segments of volume markets, and the company would not state the actual price. We found indications today though, at least for the upcoming Dacia Spring.

Digital Charging Solutions (DCS) and Lexus Europe are launching a new charging service for Lexus drivers under the label “Lexus Charging Network”. The service is available in Norway, Switzerland, Portugal, Germany, France, Great Britain, Spain and Italy.

Renault is putting two new projects for the second-life use of batteries from electric vehicles in the spotlight. Both ‘Advanced Battery Storage’ in France and ‘SmartHubs’ in the UK are aimed at helping to balance power grids as the share of renewable energy increases.

ABB offers a new 11-kW bidirectional charging station specially designed for Vehicle-to-Grid in partnership with French company DREEV, a joint venture between EDF and Nuvve. The first target market is France, followed by the UK, Italy, Belgium and Germany.

The French municipal association Métropole d’Aix-Marseille-Provence has ordered up to 50 electric buses from Heuliez Bus under a framework agreement, which is to be delivered by the end of 2022.

France is planning a new premium for older electric cars. The new subsidy of 1,000 euros, which Transport Minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari announced, is intended specifically for the purchase of second-hand battery-electric cars.

Faurecia opened its global competence centre for hydrogen storage systems in the French city of Bavans after having invested 25 million euros. The company wants to develop lightweight and cost-effective tanks and systems here to promote hydrogen mobility.

ElectReon Wireless, the Israeli company, specialising in inductive charging for electric vehicles, has signed an MoU with road construction company Eurovia. They jointly want to build wireless charging into road systems in Germany, France and Belgium.

43 per cent of Europeans now consider buying an electric vehicle and name climate change as one of the main reasons for doing so. This is but one result of the annual EVBox Mobility Monitor with respondents from six European countries.

The EU is contributing over 54 million euros to several transport projects with alternative drive systems. Funding is being provided for projects in Spain, Italy and France so far. The scheme is a rolling call.

The Spanish bus manufacturer Irizar has received an order from Strasbourg for 49 electric buses. The order from CTS (Compagnie des Transports Strasbourgeois) comprises 49 purely electric 12-meter buses of the new generation.

The European offices of Hyundai and Kia, together with Digital Charging Solutions (DCS) are launching a new charging service for electric car drivers under the labels Charge myHyundai and KiaCharge. The service will be rolled out across various markets in Europe.

After the French government decided to increase its subsidies for electric cars and plug-in hybrids to up to 7,000 euros a few months ago, they will cut back subsidies again from 2021. At the same time, France is tightening the malus penalties for high CO2 emissions.

The French Rennes Métropole municipal association has commissioned the Daimler subsidiary EvoBus to supply 92 eCitaro buses. The 33 solo and 59 articulated fully electric buses shall go into operation successively between 2022 and 2025 in the Breton capital’s STAR bus network.

Punch Powertrain PSA e-transmissions, the joint venture between the French PSA Group and the Belgian transmission manufacturer Punch Powertrain, has now been established following official approvals. The company started operations on 17 September.

The French government presented a national hydrogen strategy. It provides for an investment of 7.2 billion euros by 2030 and a hydrogen production capacity of 6.5 GW by 2030. At the same time, a national H2 committee will be established.

Less is more. That’s the Citroën Ami in a nutshell. The all-electric four-wheeler with its 75-kilometre-range targets a young, urban group of buyers who simply want to get from A to B. We tested it and wondered whether the little friend is also suitable for fleet use.

The European BATTERY 2030+ project is gaining momentum as the research initiative launches seven projects with a total budget of 40.5 million euros from the EU’s Horizon 2020 program this September.

Peugeot is working on a new mini-SUV below the 2008 model, which will replace the compact 108 and will feature a purely electric drive. Unconfirmed reports expect the new Peugeot e-1008 to launch in late 2021 or early 2022.

The new Citroën C4 which PSA presented in June together with its all-electric offshoot ë-C4 is available to order in France with immediate effect. Prices for the all-electric variant start from 28,600 euros after subsidies.

The French automotive group PSA with its German subsidiary Opel and the French energy group Total with its subsidiary Saft have now signed an agreement to set up the Automotive Cells Company (ACC) joint venture.

Electric kick-scooters are again causing an uproar. In Belgium, a man was filmed riding a scooter on a motorway. In England where electric kick-scooters are being trialled, teenagers have also been caught on the motorway while others are doing things like riding them inside shopping malls.