Electric busmaker Eurabus has opened their factory in Kazakhstan as planned. The Berlin-based company wants to assemble their first 100 modular e-buses there within this year before ramping up to 500 units in 2019. Most will sell locally.
Berlin-based busmaker Eurabus has announced plans to open an assembly plant in Almaty, Kazakhstan by the end of this year. They plan to produce up to 100 electric buses per year there. The first completed models are expected in autumn 2019.
Charging corridors across USA: The White House will establish 48 EV charging corridors along nearly 25,000 miles of highways in 35 U.S. states. 28 states, utilities and carmakers, like GM, BMW or Nissan, as well as infrastructure providers are to add more stations. Additionally, 24 states and local government vowed to acquire more electric cars for their fleets and to also add more EV charging stops. reuters.com
In New Jersey, utilities and other enterprises are lobbying to put more EVs on the road. Their ChargEVC coalition promotes various policies. If successful, the campaign may become a model for other states. nrdc.org
Electric Highway: New Zealand’s utilities Mercury and Contact want to double the number of EV charging stations available to Kiwis. Together with PlugShare, they set out for the so-called Electric Highway. Existing charge spots shall be made visible to drivers via PlugShare’s app. newshub.co.nz
Sea air improvement: Barcelona’s harbour shall become less polluted. The port seeks to replace its fleet with electric vehicles until complete electrification by 2020. The 25 actions outlined in the plan include the installation of respective charging stations as well. ajot.com
Kazakhstan electrifies: 100 EV charging stations shall soon stand in the Central Asian country; 40 in Astana, 40 in Almaty and another 20 along motorways. The federal initiative also includes assembly of an electric car in Kazakhstan, which is priced at about 15,000 dollars. kazakh-tv.kz, youtube.com (Video)
Cadillac CT6 world premier: Cadillac’s latest limousine debuts in New York these days. The CT6 is allegedly to come as a plug-in hybrid. Meanwhile, the new Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid has been introduced with full technical data. It will come with a modified drive unit from the Chevy Volt with 182 hp of total system power. bloomberg.com, nydailynews.com, greencarcongress.com (Malibu Hybrid)
Lexus presents RX 450h: Toyota’s luxury subsidiary will bring the fourth-gen RX to the New York Auto Show. While details on the hybrid have not yet been published, it is believed the PHEV will boast a V6 and two electric motors. Together, the trio is to deliver more than 300 hp. greencarcongress.com
Leaf for less: Nissan has reduced the price for the Leaf by 140,000 yen (1,170 dollars) for all grades in Japan. This means the best-selling EV is now available in its domestic market from 2.39 million yen (19,978 dollars) including subsidies. carnews.beforward.jp
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No EVs from Kazakhstan yet: The country was supposed to start production of EVs together with Iveco already at the end of last year. However, these plans have now been postponed indefinitely. en.tengrinews.kz
Details on DeltaWing: The road version of the arrow shaped racer is slowly becoming more real as now first design sketches have been published. DeltaWing Technology Group says it is open to all sorts of electrification, be it battery, fuel cell, or hybrid (we reported). gizmag.com
VW to present FCEVs: According to German magazine Wirtschaftswoche, Volkswagen will show fuel cell versions of the Passat and the Golf at the L.A. Auto Show. The FCEVs will be available for test drives, but serial production is not in the cards any time soon, also because of missing hydrogen infrastructure. wiwo.de (in German)
Proton prototype: The Malaysian company unveils its Preve REEV, a range-extended model featuring a 15.7 kWh Li-ion battery, that has an all-electric range of 50 km (31 miles). The vehicle has a top speed of 128 kph (80 mph), though it needs 14.7 seconds to go from zero to 100 kph. insideevs.com, paultan.org
Govecs shows new e-scooters: The German company presents the “GO! S3.4 Sharing” that can communicate with mobility sharing services via an app. Govecs also revealed that it will further develop and produce the all-electric “Scrooser”, which will become available in the second quarter of next year. motorradreporter.com (in German)
Turkey pushes EV adoption: The country hopes to lessen congestion in Istanbul and Ankara, by introducing a fee on vehicles in the cities’ centres. According to Hürriyet Daily News, the government also considers cutting taxes for EVs and hybrids. hurriyetdailynews.com
EVs from Kazakhstan: Following the elimination of import taxes on electric vehicles (we reported), the country wants to begin building its own plug-ins by the end of the year. Negotiations are underway with Italian manufacturer Iveco, whose production facilities are already up and running in Kazakhstan. Moreover, KazMunaiGas is said to install a minimum of eight charging spots in the city of Astana. tengrinews.kz
Massachusetts plans massive investments in its Clean Vehicle Project. The initiative includes the construction of new public charging stations and the introduction of more than 200 vehicles powered by alternative fuels in private and public fleets. Furthermore, eight electric school busses with V2G capability are planned to put in service. Overall grants are 15.5 million USD (11.4 million euros). greencarcongress.com, mass.gov
Free charging when flying: NRG eVgo offers free electric car charging at their new Park & Charge point located at Los Angeles Airport (LAX), USA. Coupons can be downloaded until February 16 and are redeemable until March 31. electriccarsreport.com, hybridcars.com, evgonetwork.com (Coupon)
Duty free EV imports: The Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia will exempt electric cars from import duties. The removal of the 19 percent import tax will stay in place from February 1, 2014 to December 31, 2015. It is believed that this will increase the import of EVs at least tenfold. ev.com