The Polish bus manufacturer Solaris has signed a contract with the Dutch transport company Hermes for the delivery of ten Trollino 18s. The MetroStyle trolleybuses are scheduled to arrive in the city of Arnhem in the first half of 2024.
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The British business unit of the parcel service provider Hermes has ordered 168 Mercedes-Benz eSprinters. The electric vans are to go into operation before the end of the year. The order is being handled by the Mercedes dealer Intercounty Truck & Van.
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A project titled ZUKUNFT.DE plans to provide 500 electric transporters in the German states of Baden-Württemberg, Hamburg and Hessen for urban package delivery services in cities. Four large logistics providers have joined forces to bring the initiative to life.
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Hermes kicks-off electric delivery in Hamburg: The German logistics company started to deploy six electric transporters in different neighbourhoods of Hamburg. The sextet bases on Fiat’s Ducato and has been modified by Hamburg-based Emovum. In early 2018, Hermes and cooperation partner Mercedes-Benz Vans want to extend the electrified delivery nationwide by gradually adding 1,500 electric powered Vito and Sprinter until the end of 2020.
electrive.net , newsroom.hermesworld.com (both in German)
Lyft and nuTonomy team up in order to bring “thousands” of autonomous cars on the streets. The MIT spin-off intends to start working with the cab service already next month with a pilot project in Boston. There Lyft users will be able to book autonomous Renault Zoe models for a ride.
theverge.com
In France too, the Zoe is to drive autonomous as car supplier Delphi plans to launch a new service together with Transdev and Renault. Kick-off is scheduled for the on-going year with two autonomous Zoe models in Normandy and a shuttle bus in Saclay close to Paris. Due to security reasons, human drivers will accompany the service initially.
europe.autonews.com
London to see Bluepoint’s car hire scheme: EV charging network operator Bluepoint wants to repeat the success of Paris’ Autolib scheme and thus announced plans to expand its plug-in car hire business across London. According to the company, a trial in Hammersmith and Fulham already worked out well.
businessgreen.com
Texas rewards EV purchase again: Texas reanimates its subsidy programme for electric vehicles stopped in 2015. Thus the state contributes again 2,500 dollars to every new EV on top of the federal subsidy of 7,500 USD.
houstonchronicle.com
Strategic transport partnership: Mercedes and courier Hermes have finalised their previous agreement to make deliveries emission free. Hermes wants to deploy 1,500 electric Mercedes Sprinters and Vitos, first in Stuttgart and Hamburg but later nationwide. At the signing ceremony, they further detailed the deal. It includes plans for infrastructure for logistic hotspots, where the batteries assembled in Daimler subsidiary Accumotive’s new facility will be charged. The electric drives have been specifically developed by Mercedes to electrify its van business, which will also receive another 150m euros over the next few years. daimler.com, electrive.net (in German)
Jeep offensive: The outdoor brand wants to offer hybrid versions of most of its eight models, FCA CEO Marchionne announced. The leap into electric terrain is to take place within the next 2-3 years, so it looks like the Yuntu PHEV, displayed in Shanghai, was more than just a concept to test the waters.
marketwatch.com
Lambo likes it large: The Urus SUV by Lamborghini will have 650 hp under the hood. A first production run will see an initial 1,000 units hitting the road next year but Lambo plans to scale up to 3,500 pieces annually. By 2019, the Urus will also come as PHEV variant featuring the same V8 engine.
autonews.com
Spyder up close: The upcoming roadster BMW i8 has been caught on camera and bared almost all, or at least parts of its convertible new side. The innards of the super hybrid are expected to be stronger comes 2018, when a 380 hp engine will be combined with a bigger battery pack.
carscoops.com
Korea gets Kia Niro PHEV: Kia has begun to serve its local market, where it launched the dedicated plug-in hybrid as planned. The Niro went on sale for 33m Won (about 27,000 euros). Europeans will have to wait until autumn for the PHEV and Kia has scheduled an all-electric version for 2018.
yonhapnews.co.kr
Changan too bets on domestic buyers and just announced an electric version of its compact SUVs CS15, that will launch in China later this year. The Changan CS15 EV entails 55 kW and has a said range of up 300 km.
carnewschina.com
4 in 5 victories of this year’s Formula E racing series went to Swiss Sébastien Buemi. The Renault pilot just scored again at the ePrix in Monaco, where he overtook Lucas di Grassi (Abt Schaeffler Audi Sport) and Nick Heidfeld (Mahindra Racing).
electricautosport.com, youtube.com (highlights)
