Jul 28, 2016 - 08:21 am

Mercedes, VDL, Jaguar, Keating Berus, Seoul, Mahindra Reva.

Electric truck from Daimler: As announced yesterday, Mercedes has unveiled the prototype of its Urban eTruck with a 26 ton permissible gross vehicle weight for short-radius distribution in cities. The truck features two 125 kW electric motors in the rear adjacent to the wheel hubs and has a modular battery pack with up to 212 kWh capacity that can be recharged using CCS. Range is estimated at 200 km. Daimler says that it won’t begin serial production before 2020.
greencarcongress.com, europe.autonews.com, daimler.com (drivetrain details)

Electric truck from VDL: Dutch manufacturer VDL is a little quicker than Mercedes and wants to offer a 37t truck for short-radius distribution in cities by 2017. Moreover, it says it will use locally developed and manufactured battery technology.
ed.nl (in Dutch) via primemovermag.com.au

Electric Jaguar duo? According to insider George Kacher from Automobile Magazine, the British carmaker is working on two electric vehicles – a sedan and an SUV. They are both allegedly being built by Austrian company Magma and will hit the road in 2019. The goal is to produce 30,000 electric sedans and 50,000 electric SUV per year.
automobilemag.com

British luxury EV: The unveiling of a new electric sports car from the UK at the luxury trade fair Top Marques 2017 in Monaco has already been announced. The Keating Berus is said to get an all-electric offshoot with around 300 kW. No further details are known.
autocar.co.uk

Seoul gets even more generous: The city’s government announced that it will increase subsidies for electric vehicles. Private buyers as well as companies will thus receive an extra 2m won, which is just shy of 1,800 dollars per EV bought.
koreaherald.com

New Mahindra Reva EV? It looks as though the carmaker wants to launch two new electric models this year, though no details have been given price. The plans may surprise, as India is not exactly a soaring EV market. Only 753 electric cars were sold there in 2015.
cardekho.com

Dec 23, 2015 - 09:58 am

Vision Fleet, Uber China, Mahindra Reva, Cayman Islands.

Freedom Fleet: The electrification of Indianapolis’ communal fleet is back on track as Vision Fleet wins back its initial contract to replace 425 gas guzzlers with plug-in hybrids and electric cars. 212 vehicles had already been deployed before a lawsuit over procurement procedures delayed the project. The new contract runs over four years but does not specify a number of cars to be leased anymore.
greenfleetmagazine.com, insideindianabusiness.com

Uber China electric? The Chinese branch of the app-based cab service has found a new investor in Guangzhou Automobile Group (GAC). While the investment is undisclosed, the cooperation will have a “particular emphasis on promoting new energy vehicles,” Uber China announced.
techcrunch.com, cnbc.com

Mahindra Reva is taking matters into its own hands, installing 120 EV charging stations in Indian Bangalore. 20 are capable of fast-charging. The Indian carmaker says the government being too slow and that for EVs to be accepted, infrastructure has to come first.
bangaloremirror.com

Electric mail delivery: The Cayman Islands’ government uses its first electric car to deliver packages. The Nissan e-NV200 will drive from George Town airport to the city centre and is to prove its value in a pilot throughout 2016. The island has eight EV charging stations.
petrolplaza.com

Sep 23, 2015 - 07:51 am

PSA, Dongfeng, NextEV, Local Motors, Jordan, Mahindra Reva.

PSA partners with Dongfeng: Together, French PSA Peugeot Citroen and Chinese Dongfeng plan an electric vehicle for 2020. Furthermore, they will co-develop a shared platform for compact cars. Nonetheless, PSA will continue its current EV collaboration with Mitsubishi.
reuters.com

Up for the challenge: The start-up NextEV has raised half of the one billion dollars it seeks for its ‘Tesla-fighter,’ winning over Sequoia Capital and Joy Capital as investors. By the end of the year, the company plans to partner with two unnamed car manufacturers for production.
bloomberg.com

3-D printed car ready to order: Local Motors will take pre-orders for the first-generation of its Reload Redacted EV from next month via the crowdfunding platform Indiegogo. Deliveries are set for the beginning of next year, while a high-speed version might be ready by the end of 2016.
3dprint.com, kpho.com

— Text Ad —
Evaluation of integrated electric mobility: In the framework of the new project of the leading edge cluster Electric Mobility South-West “BIE”, cluster partners from industry and research develop supporting systems to enhance the integration and acceptance of electric vehicles. As an outcome, dedicated forecast models will allow, amongst other things, an enhanced range prediction for entire vehicle fleets and provide a comprehensive decision basis for individual users. emobilbw-sw.de

Free to register: The Jordanian government has now exempted electric cars from registration fees, amounting to about 9,000 dinar (12 dollars). Already last month, EVs were freed from custom duties and sales tax.
jordantimes.com

e2o review: This inspection of Mahindra Reva’s electric compact car concluded that it is lifestyle product. Writer Nithyanandh Karuppaswamy describes the e2o is “quirky, “saying that it “appeals to those that question the status-quo.”
rushlane.com

Mar 10, 2015 - 09:19 am

SecMobil, EVE & Bar-Ilan University, RIT, Mahindra Reva.

Tamper-proof charging stations: As part of the project “SecMobil,” engineers at the Ruhr University Bochum (RUB) and partners have developed a security sensor for charging stations. According to researchers, in a single chip the charging currents are measured, manipulations of the charging station are uncovered and all data is encrypted before it is sent for settlement to the operator.
emobilserver.de, idw-online.de (articles in German)

Autonomous EVs: Together, the Bar-Ilan University in Israel and U.S.-based company Electric Vehicle Evolution (EVE) want to develop driverless electric cars. The technology in question is currently used for football paying robots and will be tweaked to fit the needs of EVE’s electric cars.
globes.co.il, jewishbusinessnews.com

New testing centre for battery technology: The Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) in the state of New York opened its Battery Prototyping Centre. Scientists and start-ups will have access to the centre to test new battery technologies i.e. for electric vehicles.
wxxinews.org, democratandchronicle.com

Mahindra Reva goes driverless: The Indian electric-carmaker has filed for permission with the British and Singapore government to test autonomous electric vehicles in the respective countries. The company is certain that its technology will be ready for testing on the open road in three to four years.
economictimes.indiatimes.com, motorbeam.com

– Feedback –

Most clicked link on Monday was Nissan’s Sway concept presented at the Geneva Motor Show.
greencarreports.com

Mar 2, 2015 - 09:40 am

Mahindra Reva, Magna Steyr, Quick Charge Power, GKN.

Mahindra Reva tech kit: The Indian carmaker announced that it will license its technology to other companies. In order to cut development costs, the proposed “kits” will include the know-how for developing drivetrain, battery pack, HVAC (heating, ventilating, and air conditioning) and telematics for remote diagnostics.
thehindubusinessline.com

MILA Plus to be unveiled: As we previously reported, Magna Steyr will take the wraps off its new plug-in hybrid sports car this week. The drivetrain combines a three cylinder and two electric motors, the latter allowing for an all-electric range of 75 kilometres. More information is now available in English.
greencarcongress.com, autoblog.com, electriccarsreport.com

Retrofit CHAdeMO option: Starting this summer, Quick Charge Power will begin selling its JdeMO kit, allowing for the Toyota RAV4EV to be retrofitted with CHAdeMO fast charging technology. The EVSE company believes the same system will work on other EVs from Tesla, Mercedes, and BMW.
chargedevs.com

GKN struts its stuff: The British maker of drivelines for i.e. the BMW i8 and Porsche 918 Spyder, invited “unsuspecting journalists” to the snowy climates of Sweden to test its engineering on a track on a frozen lake. First driving the i8, Sam Sheehan from evo Car Technology was clearly impressed when he learned that it was the car’s eAxle that made the car slide around with “such precision.”
evo.co.uk

Feb 5, 2015 - 09:25 am

Nissan, EV market shares, EU, USA, Mahindra Reva, Bosch.

Nissan Maxima photos: The Japanese manufacturer first featured its all-new sedan in a Super Bowl ad and has now delivered more pictures. The 2016 Maxima is set to debut at the New York Motor Show in April and is believed to come with a hybrid drive too, but this has yet to be confirmed.
autoevolution.com, motoring.com.au

European EV sales are rising as their market share reached 0.49 percent last year, according to Automotive Industry Data (AID). Translated into numbers, 58,582 EVs were sold, an increase of 51.7 percent. In the U.S., 82,130 electric cars were bought, resulting in a market share of 0.5 percent
forbes.com

Real world emissions: The EU plans to introduce new regulations forcing carmakers to test emissions under real world conditions from 2017, the Guardian reports. A European Commission spokesperson is quoted saying that a proposal to introduce a new emissions testing procedure is being finalised.
theguardian.com

Higher incentives in the US? The White House is again attempting to increase EV tax incentives. Instead of 7,500 dollars, buyers could get up to 10,000 dollars. Furthermore, the incentives could to be transformed from the current tax credit into a point-of-sale rebate – but nothing has been decided yet.
greencarreports.com, detroitnews.com

New Mahindra Reva CEO: The chief of the Indian electric vehicle manufacturer, Chetan Maini, will move to a new role within Mahindra Group. He will be replaced by Arvind Mathew as CEO of Mahindra’s EV subsidiary by May 1, 2015.
thehindu.com

Bosch recall: Bosch eBike Systems has started a replacement program due to problems with its 1st gen Classic+ Line systems. The malfunction manifests itself in “clicking noises or as disruptions affecting the freewheel function”, the company said in a statement sent to retailers. Bosch bears all costs of replacement and extends the warranty period.
bike-eu.com

Aug 22, 2014 - 08:28 am

Ford, Dongfeng & PSA, Mahindra Reva, Honda, Toyota, Acura.

New Ford hybrid line-up? Apparently, the American carmaker is working on a new hybrid model, Reuters reports. Project ‘C240’ is said to hit the market by 2018 and might come with several body styles. It would be Ford’s first purpose-built hybrid.
reuters.com, hybridcars.com

Chinese-French cooperation: PSA’s joint venture in China, Dongfeng Peugeot Citroën, is reportedly in negotiations to intensify the partnership. Together, the companies want to develop new technologies for micro hybrids, plug-in hybrids as well as pure electric vehicles for the Chinese market.
gasgoo.com

More range for E2o: Mahindra Reva is now offering a premium version of its electric model in India. The upgraded E2o has a range of 120 kilometres, or 50% more, as well as electric power steering. For next year, electric and hybrid variants of the company’s Verito and Maxximo are in the pipeline.
indiatimes.com, business-standard.com

Supercharged hybrid: Honda offers a supercharger kit for its CR-Z hybrid, which will raise the base 130 hp to 192 hp. The kit was developed by Honda Performance Development and is sold for 5,495 dollars.
hybridcars.com, puregreencars.com

Prius Taxi: Toyota is hoping to strengthen its hybrid sales in Korea by offering the a taxi version of the Prius. It would be the first foreign company to break into the Korean taxi market, and also the first to offer a hybrid while most cabs in the country run on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).
blogs.wsj.com

Honda Civic Review: Jeff Cobb drove the updated version of the hybrid sedan. The 2014 Civic comes with a Li-ion battery and a renewed hybrid system that offers some EV-only operation. Still, Cobb thinks that the Fit/ Jazz hybrid system would be more efficient if adapted to the new Civic.
hybridcars.com

The Acura RLX Hybrid could be the most sophisticated hybrid yet, says Anthony Ingram, who did a review of three-motor hybrid. One is mainly feeding the system with energy from braking, while the remaining two work at the rear, with 27 kW each but independently, thus making the “Super-Handling All-Wheel Drive” live up to its name.
greencarreports.com

Aug 12, 2014 - 08:33 am

Formula E, BYD, Tesla, Toyota, Mahindra Reva.

Formula E race rehearsal: Before the actual start of the electric racing series in Beijing in September, the Formula E held two test races. Furthermore, the event schedule has been published: Two training sessions, the four-part qualifying and the 1-hour race itself will take place on a single day.
thegreencarwebsite.co.uk, fiaformulae.com, electriccarsreport.com, youtube.com (Video zu den Testrennen)

Electric lorry by BYD: Spyshots showing the BYD T5 are circulating in the world wide web. The all-electric T5 is said to have a range of 400 kilometres and apparently, the Chinese company plans to issue a smaller version called T3 as well as a bigger model, the T7 in due time.
carnewschina.com

A new Roadster by 2017? Auto Bild’s Hauke Schrieber is quoting Tesla’s chief designer Franz von Holzhausen who said the company is planning a Model R. The new car would sit on the Model 3 platform and be designed to “show what Tesla is capable of,” according to Holzhausen.
electric-vehiclenews.com, autobild.de (German original source)

Camry service campaign: Toyota is calling 177,000 Camry Hybrids back into the workshops in what the company calls a “service campaign.” The recall, as Consumer Reports prefers to name it, is due to an issue with the brake fluid which can lead to a failure of the brakes’ power assist system.
greencarreports.com

Mahindra quick charging: The Indian manufacturer now offers quick charging for its E2O with a feature called Quick2Charge. If the new variant comes to market, the E2O will cost 45,000 rupees (about 735 dollars) more in India. The export version will have Quick2Charge as standard.
indiancarsbikes.in

Aug 5, 2014 - 08:47 am

Nissan & Mitsubishi, Mahindra Reva, ZAP Jonway, Smart, Mini, NRG.

Electric city car: Nissan and Mitsubishi are planning to build a low-cost EV based on a minicar, Nikkei reports. The two Japanese companies have formed a 50:50 joint venture and want to offer the electric car for 1.5 million yen (14,600 dollars) including subsidies. The launch is set for 2016/17.
nikkei.com

More EVs from India: Mahindra Reva is looking at bringing more electric cars to market. Apart from new versions of the e2o (we reported), the Verito, Maximo and Gio models will be electrified soon, Mahindra CEO Chetan Maini announced.
newindianexpress.com

ZAP to double EV production: The Sino-American ZAP Jonway is concentrating its production in China on EVs and away from petrol-powered cars. The move follows the Chinese government’s decision to foster electric transport (we reported). ZAP plans to introduce new models by October.
prnewswire.com

ForFour Electric Drive confirmed: Smart has confirmed that it will issue an electric version of its small city car that sits four, but not before 2016. Until then, the Smart ED of 2013 will remain the Daimler subsidiary’s only EV currently in production.
worldcarfans.com

Electric Mini around the corner? According to Automotive News an electric or hybrid version of the Mini could be issued as early as next year. The platform of the 2015 Mini Cooper provides for all types of drives and BMW has gathered experience with the electric Mini E demonstration cars.
autonews.com, transportevolved.com

NRG tightens bond with FuelCell Energy: NRG Energy is investing 35 million dollars in stocks of the fuel cell power plant provider. Furthermore, a 40-million dollar revolving construction and term loan facility for FuelCell Energy will be established by NRG.
greencarcongress.com

Mar 19, 2014 - 10:05 am

Mahindra Reva, Chevy Volt, Kienbaum, FEDDZ, Tesla.

Mahindra Reva eyes European market: The electric car manufacturer will introduce its e20 in the UK and Norway by the end of the year. Mahindra Reva said it is looking for new markets with EV incentives, after it was welcomed with open arms in Nepal at the end of 2013 and in Bhutan just a few weeks ago.
financialexpress.com, indianautosblog.com

What’s known about the next-gen Chevy Volt: ‘Green Car Reports’ bets on a new Volt in 2016 instead of 2015, saying the main reason for a new version will be to bring down production cost. One of the new and improved features will most likely be an extended electric range.
greencarreports.com

A quarter electric: German management consultancy Kienbaum suggests that EVs will hold 25 percent of the market share in Germany by 2025. Still, the study forecasts that the country will fall short of its goal of having 1 million EVs on the roads by 2020 – it is more likely to be around 800,000.
greencarcongress.com

— Text Ad —
The MobiliTec Test Track is your opportunity to put sustainable mobility theory into good-fun practice. So climb into one the test cars – there’s a whole range to choose from, including hybrids and fuel-cell models – and find out for yourself what tomorrow’s mobility feels like. Operated in partnership with TÜV NORD, the track offers 15,000 square meters (over 161,400 sq. ft) of open-air space for your test- driving pleasure. Good ride! www.hannovermesse.de

E-moped with cargo space: The German-build FEDDZ features an 11.5 kg removable lithium-ion battery enabling a range of up to 200 kilometres. Above that, designers have built in a 25-litre cargo space into the frame – plenty of room for some cargo.
technologicvehicles.com (plus video)

Will Tesla be successful in China? Forbes analyses the reasons why the Model S might not be as successful in China as on other markets. Simply due to the fact that there is practically no recharge infrastructure and no policy support. Moreover, erecting Superchargers to supply free green energy to future drivers would be another challenge considering the state-owned electricity grid powered almost entirely be coal.
forbes.com