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. 

Verkor has announced its intention to produce battery cells for electric cars on a gigawatt scale in Europe, among other things. The newly founded French company relies on well-known partners and is already looking for a site for the factory.

Lime, Tier and Dott were granted permission to operate in Paris, while all other operators will have to pack up and go: The three e-scooter suppliers were able to prevail in a tender. They will each receive a two-year contract, during which they will be allowed to use 5,000 electric scooters in the city.

Renault has announced that it will accept orders for the all-electric Twingo Z.E. in Europe from mid-August. The small electric car may even be available for order in Germany earlier than in its home market France.

The UK-based electric car subscription service Onto (formerly Evezy) has ordered 1,100 Renault Zoe. The first units were already delivered. A pilot project for electrification is also being launched in a small village in the Pyrenees.

In France, Gaussin engineering, a company that designs, assembles and sells products and services in the transport and logistics field, has announced a firm order for 150 fully electric automotive trailer movers from its distributor Blydd.

The Dutch bicycle subscription provider Swapfiets has announced that it will also offer its service in London, Milan and Paris before the end of the year and will include other electric vehicles in its product range in addition to bicycles.

Daimler plans to sell its plant in Hambach, France, where they build the Smart electric vehicles. In 2018, Daimler had announced that the factory would also make a compact model of the electric car brand EQ, presumably the EQB.

Groupe Renault has created a new subsidiary called Elexent to help other companies find solutions for charging their fleets of electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles. A branch office in France is already operational.

A commercial made by the e-bike manufacturer VanMoof has been prohibited from broadcast on French television because of the ads depiction of a melting car. The self-regulating body responsible, the ARPP, argue that aspects of the film “discredit the automobile sector […] while creating a climate of anxiety.”

The electric car rental company UFODrive has launched a fleet management software for electric cars. The Luxembourg-based company already rents electric vehicles in various European cities and now also offers the new software ‘eMobility Fleet Manager’.

PSA is accelerating its push into commercial electric vehicles: Citroën has now announced that it will also launch the compact van Spacetourer as a BEV called the ë-SpaceTourer by the end of the year.