Illegally tuned BMW i8 can’t outrun the internet
German police recently confiscated a heavily-modified BMW i8 after the driver of the hybrid super sports car posted a video of himself doing 200 kph on a country road.
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Norway: Electric cars take 55.9% market share in March
Electric car sales in Norway continue the trend to take over market shares in strides. Pure battery-electric models show particular strength. Plug-in hybrid vehicles also continue to find favour across the country.
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Audi A8 won’t come as electric car
Audi is backing away from its initial idea of making its next-generation A8 sedan a battery-electric vehicle. Instead, the A8 will have a plug-in hybrid version with a more extended range.
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BMW Brilliance launches new factory construction
BMW Brilliance has begun construction of a new production facility on the existing Chinese plant site in Tiexi, a district of Shenyang in Liaoning Province. With the new plant, BMW Brilliance (BBA) intends to double production capacity at the site.
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BYD faces slumping profits
The Chinese electric car and battery manufacturer BYD has published its preliminary results for the 2019 fiscal year. At just under 121.8 billion yuan, sales were on a par with the previous year, but profits slumped by 42 per cent to around 1.6 billion yuan.
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Volkswagen is gearing up for PHEV business
In addition to its fully electric models in the ID. series, VW is also planning to roll out further plug-in hybrid versions of the combustion engine series. Before the end of this year, VW plans to present PHEV variants of the Arteon and Tiguan.
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China to extend EV subsidies
The Chinese government has announced that it will extend state subsidies and tax breaks for New Energy Vehicles (BEV, PHEV and FCEV) by two years until the end of 2022. Originally, the subsidies were to be terminated at the end of this year.
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European car lobby questions CO2 targets due to Covid-19
A coalition of European car lobby groups made up of manufacturers, suppliers, tyre manufacturers and dealers has written to the EU Commission requesting a relaxation of the schedule for vehicle CO2 targets against the background of the Corona crisis. At the same time, German manufacturers Volkswagen, Daimler and BMW emphasised that they want to retain […]
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BMW North America brings back 330e PHEVs
BMW of North America will release the 330e and 330e xDrive on the US market on 20 May. Prices for the plug-in-hybrid sedans in the States start at $44,550 for the 330e and $46,550 for the 330e xDrive.
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Sweden: marketshare for plug-in vehicles nears 25%
In Sweden, electric cars and plug-in hybrids achieved a market share of 24.3 per cent in February. The background to the new car registration boom is primarily a change in the Swedish subsidy system, which came into force at the turn of the year.
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Aston Martin reveals technical details to hybrid motor systems
After Aston Martin recently postponed plans for battery-electric cars, the British sports car manufacturer has now published more details of its electrification plans. These mainly focus on hybrid engines.
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JLR to convert Castle Bromwich to e-mobility centre
According to a media report, Jaguar Land Rover wants to expand its historic plant in Castle Bromwich into a production centre for electric vehicles. The first three models have also already been named.
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Mercedes-Benz to launch electric cars in India
Daimler has announced expansion plans on the Indian subcontinent. In the next two years, the German carmaker aims to release a total of ten electric vehicles as Mercedes in India, local media reports.
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Maserati postpones their BEV premiere
FCA subsidiary Maserati has postponed the presentation of its first electrified sports car until September 2020 due to the Covid 19 pandemic. Originally, the event was to take place in May. As a result, the relaunch of the brand has also been postponed.
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Porsche to invest billions more in electrification
Porsche is investing around 10 billion euros in the hybridisation, electrification and digitalisation of its vehicles by 2024 and, according to their statements, is “consistently expanding” the product range in the field of electric mobility.
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Nissan to electrify all product lines in Japan
Nissan is gearing up to electrify all new and redesigned models to hit the Japanese market starting in the fiscal year 2020 under tighter emissions rules, local media has learned. There is also news on the upcoming models.
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BMW confirms electric car in upcoming 7-series
BMW has now officially confirmed that the next-gen 7 Series will include a fully electric model for the first time but not exclusively as a BEV. However, there is still no official confirmation for the presumed battery-electric version for the 5-series.
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Serbia installs subsidies for most electrified vehicles
The Serbian government is introducing purchase premiums for electric and hybrid vehicles, including electric mopeds and motorcycles. The budget for the grants is one million euro this year.
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LEVC names their first electric transporter VN5
The Geely subsidiary LEVC has announced the name of its new e-transporter with range extender due for production this year. It’s called the VN5, where the number represents the five cubic meter load capacity. There are also further details about the van’s chassis.
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BMW launches eDrive Zones for plug-in hybrids
BMW has activated the eDrive Zones digital service for the first PHEV models. This is intended to allow cars to automatically switch to electric mode when entering a certain zone, such as inner cities.
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UK extends but lowers EV subsidies
The British government has extended its subsidies for electric cars but is again reducing the subsidy amount. For other electric vehicles, such as vans, trucks, taxis or motorcycles, the subsidy has been extended but the subsidy rates remain the same.
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Wolong & ZF officially launch joint venture
ZF Friedrichshafen and the Wolong Electric Group have officially sealed the foundation of their joint venture, which was agreed upon in November. The objective of the JV called Wolong ZF Automotive E-Motors Co Ltd is the development and production of electric motors and components.
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Singapore to now only purchase electrified buses
Starting immediately, the government of Singapore will only procure electric and hybrid buses from now on and aims is to completely electrify the bus fleet by 2040. Singapore’s bus fleets currently number around 5,400 vehicles.
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Porsche plans 900 more Destination Charging locations
Porsche has just announced that its charging network called Porsche Destination Charging is to grow by around 900 new locations by the end of this year. The network currently comprises 1,035 AC charging points in around 20 countries. Porsche customers with a Taycan or plug-in hybrid model may use these free of charge.
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Seat’s Cupra Formentor-SUV to come out as PHEV
Now that the new Leon and Cupra Leon will also be available as plug-in hybrids, Seat is now presenting the series version of the first vehicle developed exclusively for the performance brand Cupra: the Cupra Formentor SUV now available as a PHEV. The part-time electric car should be launched before the end of this year.
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Norway: 5,145 all-electric cars registered in February
5,145 new zero-emission cars were registered in Norway in February just past. The market share of purely electric cars in new passenger car registrations was thus 49.7 per cent. In total, including HEV and PHEV, 79.2 per cent of all newly registered cars in Norway had either an electric or hybrid drive. The Audi e-tron […]
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Škoda Octavia RS is to be a plug-in-hybrid
After Škoda presented the fourth generation of the Octavia in November with a plug-in hybrid for the first time, the Czech Volkswagen brand has now presented the Octavia RS iV, the first PHEV model in its RS family.
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Mercedes to offer more PHEVs in compact and e-class cars
Mercedes is now going to introduce the PHEV drive system already brought to the A- and B-Class to the other compact models. The CLA 250 e (as Coupé and Shooting Brake), and the GLA 250 e, should be available for order from spring onwards. In the future, the E-Class will be available in seven PHEV […]
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Mercedes launches A 250 e production
Mercedes-Benz has started production of the plug-in hybrid versions of the A-Class at its compact car plant in Rastatt. However, Mercedes does not specify when the vehicles will be delivered to customers.
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ZSW analysis shows global number of EVs at 7.9 million
In 2019, the worldwide stock of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles with battery-electric drives or with range extenders, as well as plug-in hybrid drives has increased to around 7.9 million, 2.3 million more than a year ago.
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