As part of the EU funded project Esprit in Scotland (Easily Distributed Personal Rapid Transit) a compact, space-saving sharing system was developed with small EVs designed for short rides in heavily frequented areas.
Weiterlesen
The Scottish government has several e-mobility investments coming up: 15 million pounds (€16.6 million euros) will be invested into the set up of 1,500 new charging locations, and a subsidy of 1.7 million pounds (€1.9 million) will support the acquisition of more than 100 new “green” buses.
Weiterlesen
Public property is subject to vandalism and charging stations make no exception but this site in Scotland proves a curious case.
Weiterlesen– ADVERTISEMENT –
The Scottish government has increased funding to programmes that bring them closer to their goal to finish all sales of combustion engine vehicles by 2032. Hence the budget for the Low Carbon Transport Loan has risen from £8m to £20m for 2018/19 with new schemes being introduced.
Weiterlesen
Scotland’s Ferguson Shipbuilders have managed to secure funding through the EU project HySeas III. With partners such as the Ballard or DLR and from different European countries they will build the world’s first sea going ferry running on fuel cells powered by hydrogen from renewables.
Weiterlesen
The Scottish government wants to start an e-bike revolution as it allocates more than a million pounds in funding for electric bicycles and pedal-assist cargo bikes. The money will be made available in form of loans and grants.
Weiterlesen– ADVERTISEMENT –
The Scottish cities of Dundee and Aberdeen will be participating in the recently introduced European H2-bus project JIVE 2, which plans to bring another 152 fuel cell buses to 14 cities by 2023.
Weiterlesen
The ChargePlace Scotland network is growing as eVolt UK installs two of its new rapid charging units at two petrol stations by Euro Garages. Further units may be added in the future depending on how demand develops.
Weiterlesen
Scotland’s national transport agency publishes specifications regarding the country’s plan to phase out the need for combustion-powered cars by 2032. In September it was Nicola Sturgeon, head of the Scottish government, who announced this ambition.
WeiterlesenGermany turns to Japan to get its fix on fuel cell vehicles, namely 185 Toyota Mirai, that are co-funded with 3.2m euros through the NIP fund. The first hydrogen cars from the so-called ZeroE project will reportedly be deployed in Hamburg’s new CleverShuttle programme. The destination of the remaining 165 Mirai has yet to be disclosed.
now-gmbh.de
Hamburgs seems savvy when it comes to funding for e-mobility initiatives. A new scheme called Efficiency Hamburg, wants to populate the port town with 500 plug-in vehicles, cars and vans alike. Businesses and the authorities can register with Alphabet to receive funding from a total of 1.5m euros.
alphabet.com
On track to electrification: Scotland’s biggest train stations will soon offer EV charging. The first 4 of a total of 100 charging points have been installed with Uphall, Bathgate, East Kilbride and Johnstone already live. They are free to use but require a ChargePlace Scotland card to activate the device.
pressandjournal.co.uk, eveningtimes.co.uk
BT to electrify fleet: British Telecom has announced plans to exchange most of its cars with electric or hybrid ones but wants to switch gradually all throughout 2030. It’s UK fleet entails about 30,000 vehicles.
businessgreen.com
Korea is almost California: The Korea Expressway Corporation will halve the road toll for electric vehicles and fuel cell cars on expressways across the country by next Monday. The discount is valid until 2020 and an extension depends on the number of eco-friendly cars by then.
kbs.co.kr
60m for Scotland’s energy transition: The Scottish government has launched a 60m pound fund reserved for innovations that will help its transition to a low carbon society. This includes a switch to electric vehicles – Scotland wants to ban sales of ICE by 2032 reportedly – and respective charging infrastructure. The latter may be partially paid for from the new fund. Further measure include the introduction of low emission zones as well as a ban of the worst gas guzzlers in Glasgow from late 2018 and in Aberdeen and Dundee by 2020.
cleanenergynews.co.uk, thelondoneconomic.com, scotsman.com (low emission zones)
Funding for 1,100 electric vans: Germany’s Ministry of the Environment will top up its programme for zero emission deliveries (‘CO2-freie Zustellung’) with 7.7m euros, bringing the total funding available to 17m euros. Enough to support another 1,100 StreetScooter vans built by Deutsche Post DHL to deliver parcels and mail in cities with high levels of air pollution. The decision follows the second so-called diesel summit and already 1,100 electric vans had been funded previously. In total, Deutsche Post operates 3,400 StreetScooters in Germany today.
bmub.bund.de (in German)
Kiwis in EVs are on the freeway literally since Auckland has agreed to open 11 priority bypass lanes on busy State Highways by late September. The California-style move is part of a one year trial by New Zealand’s transport agency (NZTA) and existing owners will be sent a sticker that allows access.
tvnz.co.nz
Riding electric in Carolina: Clemson Area Transit (CATbus) has purchased ten electric buses and related charging infrastructure from Proterra. They will join another six e-buses already in operation and further CATbus’ plan to build a 100 percent electric fleet.
prnewswire.com
Scotland to ban new petrol and diesel cars in 2032: The Scottish government turns out to be even more ambitious than the British cabinet, which plans to ban sales of cars with combustion engines from 2040, as reported. Nicola Sturgeon, head of the Scottish government, has announced now that her country intends to reach this aim 8 years earlier. In order to prepare the shift towards zero-emission vehicles, the cabinet suggests to “massively expand” charging points and set up pilot projects to encourage uptake of EVs, e.g. to make the A9 Scotland’s first fully electric-enabled road.
scotsman.com, independent.co.uk
Details about Detroit Electric’s line-up: The EV maker has confirmed its plan to launch three new all-electric models, showing now also their silhouette. First model to hit the stores will be a supercar in 2018, followed by a crossover in 2019 and a saloon in 2021. Production capacity shall reach 1,000 units of the supercar and 50,000 units of each of the other two models per year. In terms of range, the trio is said to reach at least 500km.
autocar.co.uk
Leaf-based SUV by 2019? Nissan intends to put a new electric crossover on display at the Tokyo Motor Show in October, Autocar has learnt. It shall be based on the second-gen Leaf, unveiled this week, and hit the roads by 2019. Additionally, the new Leaf could be offered in a performance version, spiced up through a Nismo styling pack, the website reports further. On top, first driving reports emerged, analysing and evaluating the new Leaf’s performance.
autocar.co.uk (SUV), autocar.co.uk (Nismo), autoblog.com, autocar.co.uk (driving reviews)
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EVS30 in Stuttgart: New standards in electromobility From 9th to 11th October 2017 the entire electromobility industry will meet in Stuttgart for the EVS30. Find out about latest trends as well as applications of the electric drive train – at the exhibition or in the international conference. Don’t miss EVS30 and also visit the co-located events BATTERY+STORAGE and f-cell.
www.evs30.org
VW to present updated I.D. Crozz: After having introduced its EV concept I.D. Crozz at the Shanghai Auto Show in April, Volkswagen says it will show now an enhanced and closer to serial production version of the SUV coupe to the audience in Frankfurt. Following the I.D., the I.D. Crozz is VW’s second EV serial model based on the MEB platform, as reported. Launch is scheduled for end 2020 or early 2021.
volkswagen-media-services.com
Specs about Honda’s CR-V Hybrid: Ahead of the CR-V Hybrid prototype’s debut at the IAA in Frankfurt, Honda has published first pictures and spec details. Thus, the model’s i-MMD (Intelligent Multi-Mode Drive) system couples an electric propulsion motor, a 2.0-liter gasoline engine and a separate electric generator motor. The prototype also previews the upcoming CR-V model for the European market due in 2018.
greencarcongress.com, carscoops.com
China’s list of eligible EVs: A new document published by the Chinese government lists 486 EVs and PHEV models that are approved for state subsidies. 417 of them are fully-electrified vehicles. Among the companies with particularly many eligible cars are first of all domestic manufacturer, e.g. BAIC, BYD, SAIC, Chery and Dongfeng.
shanghaidaily.com
Berlin buzzes with electric scooters of a new kind as Emmy (formerly eMio) adds the eSchwalbe by Govecs. 450 units of the legendary GDR two-wheeler will join the fleet for all to share from the end of July, thus increasing Emmy’s pack to a 1,000 electric scooters in the German capital. There, the rental scooter market has become tough for the eMio pioneers since Bosch’s Coup. The latter already operates a 1,000 strong fleet in Berlin and had recently expanded to Paris.
electrive.net (in German)
Accelerating EV sharing: A smartphone is all you need to rent an electric car from Car2Go in Stuttgart, Amsterdam and Madrid. All three cities are EV only for Daimler’s car sharing service and clients can now search, reserve and rent the 1,400 cars via app. The phone doubles as key as well and Daimler hopes the process to be much faster than before.
daimler.com (in German)
Six BMW i3 have arrived in Scotland to serve the Scottish Shepherd Chartered Surveyors. They are just six in a fleet of 140 cars but it is a beginning.
fleetnews.co.uk
Fee for PEVs: West Virginia got a new law that charges electric and hybrid vehicles 200 and 100 dollars respectively per year. The registration fee is part of a road funding bill to go into effect on July, 1.
pluginsites.org, insideevs.com
Scotland boosts electric transport: 8.2m pounds in funding for electric and low carbon vehicles have just been made available through the Scottish government. Individuals and businesses may apply for interest-free loans and for the first time electric motorbikes, scooters and trucks can be obtained through the fund as well.
fleetworld.co.uk, smarthighways.net
Autonomy drive: GM has added another 130 Chevy Bolt to the self-driving fleets in San Francisco, Scottsdale and Detroit. The numbers now add up to 180 and GM praises itself as mass producer of autonomous EV for the GM Cruise project, formerly the Cruise Automation start-up.
autoblog.com, electrek.co
SoCal ports climate-friendly: The mayors of Los Angeles and Long Beach signed a joint declaration for zero emissions goods movement at their twin ports of San Pedro Bay. The Clean Air Action Plan (CAAP) will also include an electric drayage truck pilot programme and clean tech investments.
portoflosangeles.org, greencarcongress.com
China EV rental firm raises 22m: PonyCar has raised 22m dollars in Series B funding led by Huiyou and Oppo. The EV rental platform runs operations in Shenzhen and Guangzhou and has deployed about 2,000 electric cars as well as hundreds of EV charging stops.
dealstreetasia.com
Rebate for PHEV: Utility Burlington has added plug-in hybrids to its EV incentive scheme, reportedly started two weeks ago. The 600 dollar rebate will be available to customers through the end of 2017.
vermontbiz.com
Hybrid bus fleet in Scotland: Dundee and Angus now count seven more hybrid double deckers to carry its populace around the Kirriemuir, Forfar and Brechin. They join Stagecoach’s other 18 hybrid coaches. To the cost of 2.1m pounds, the Scottish Green Bus Fund has contributed 300,000 GBP.
bbc.co.uk
BMWs motorcycle section is busy as well and has now electrified the police force in Gijón, Spain. Ten members of the “policía” now ride the C Evolution electric scooters when on patrol.
prestigeelectriccar.com, bmwgroup.com (both in Spanish)
More electric news reached us from Spain where Telefonica has reached a deal with Peugeot and Alphabet to add ten EVs to the Movistar Spain Operations and Network fleet. Starting this April, six electric Peugeot Partner Tepee vans will be deployed in Madrid and four in Barcelona.
telecompaper.com
Bank and charge: Scotiabank said it will install over 30 EV charging stations at select branches across Ontario. They complement the bank’s EcoLiving Auto Loan Program, which provides preferential financing for electric, hybrid and clean diesel vehicles. The latter term may need an update.
theglobeandmail.com
BMW is to electrify America as it teams up with the National Park Foundation and its services as well as the DoE to erect up to 100 EV charging stations at the nature reserves. The first stations have been inaugurated at the Thomas Edison National Historical Park in New Jersey.
greencarcongress.com, insideevs.com
Canada extends fast-charging: The Canadian government wants to raise 120m dollars to further develop the nationwide infrastructure for electric vehicles in the current year. One of the first projects is the installation of ten EV quick charging stations along the Trans-Canada Highway. The initiative will cost for 335,000 dollars in the New Brunswick province and is run together with local NB Power utility.
cbc.ca, newswire.ca
Charging Scotland: The ScotRail Alliance announced to implement charging places with two EV charging points each at 50 train stations across the country. The infrastructure project is scheduled for September and shall be completed by November. As the train operator oversees 359 stops, every 7th will be EV ready by then.
theedinburghreporter.co.uk
Electrified police cars: The police of the Czech Republic started a six month trial with eleven BMW i3, some with range extender. Three of them will be on patrol in Prague and the rest in other cities.
bmwblog.com
Shop & charge: German energy provider EWE wants to install 60 EV charging stations next to Edeka supermarkets in northwest Germany. EWE thus is to double the amount of its currently 120 charging stations by the end of this year and will begin at an Edeka centre in Friedrichsfehn.
industr.com (in German)
Tata shows electric buses: The Indian manufacturer presented a whole series of buses with alternative drivetrains. Next to the Starbus Electric and Starbus Hybrid, available in nine and twelve metres, Tata also unveiled the country’s first fuel-cell-powered bus. The only bad news: there are no concrete production plans.
indiatimes.com
Scotland outlines climate goals: The Scottish government announced that it wants to lower CO2 emissions by 66 percent by 2032 (compared to 1990). The climate plan also outlines that 40 percent of individual cars and transporters, as well as 50 percent of public buses will need to be electrified until then. 30 percent of public ferries will also receive a hybrid drivetrain in the next 25 years.
theguardian.com, climateactionprogramme.org
e-Golf for Japan: According to Nikkei, the German carmaker wants to introduce its EV to Japan in June or July. It would be VW’s first all-electric undertaking in the country and is also part of a move to repair its image damaged by the diesel scandal.
nikkei.com
The mothership: Daimler invested in company Starship Technologies, taking part in a 16.5m euro financing round. Starship develops ground-based, autonomous delivery robots that could be featured in Daimlers (all-electric) delivery vans in the future. A mothership concept combining the two had already been shown in September.
greencarcongress.com, roboticstrends.com
Chevrolet Bolt review: The Chevy Bolt feels a lot like a normal car at first glance, Darrell Etherington from Tech Crunch writes. “But it feels fast, and fun.” Especially when turning on the regenerative breaking, “the car’s character really starts to shine through.” Etherington concludes that the Bolt ist he first EV he would consider owning.
techcrunch.com (with video)
Subsidy update from China: According to Reuters, the Chinese government has published a new list of electric and hybrid cars eligible for subsidies. It contains 185 models so far and will be amended at a later date. It now also includes cars with batteries from LG Chem and Samsung SDI, which were excluded in 2016.
reuters.com
Subaru XV as hybrid: Subaru will premier its second generation XV at the Geneva Motor Show. So far, the XV is only offered as a hybrid in Japan and the U.S., but will now also debut in Europe. The platform, on which the XV is based, would also allow for a pure EV model.
autocar.co.uk
BYD increases output: The Chinese manufacturer wants to increase production of electric and hybrid vehicles this year in order to cut cost. The reason is that the Chinese government has lowered subsidies by about 20 percent. A loss that the company now needs to compensate by slashing production cost by about 5-10 percent.
chinadaily.com.cn
Scotland to ban combustion engines? To reach the country’s CO2 reduction goals, a new strategy paper suggests setting up an energy task force that will ban all diesel and petrol cars from cities by 2025. The government is expected to publish the draft next week. To what point the energy task force will be mentioned remains to be seen.
dailyrecord.co.uk
New Outlander priced: Mitsubishi UK now offers the new generation of the plug-in variant starting at 34,749 pounds (before the 2,500 pound subsidy). The new model comes with an “EV Priority Mode” and shorter charging times.
electriccarsreport.com
Kia Niro Hybrid gets price tag: The car will start at 22,890 dollars in the U.S. and will already roll to dealerships there in the first three months of 2017. Pricing for higher trim levels nor the destination charged were announced so far.
hybridcars.com
Petrol-free Scotland: Transport in Scotland may be free from fossil fuel cars by 2050. The government set new climate and energy targets, which include traffic. More than half a billion pounds will go to energy efficiency measures for the next 12 months in a bid to combat fuel poverty. Emissions shall be cut by 50 percent by 2020 as Scotland looks to cover its entire energy needs by renewables then.
energylivenews.com
1m USD for EV marketing: Drive Oregon will receive almost 1m dollar in funding from the DoE over three years. The advocacy group will set up an EV showroom right across from the Electric Avenue in Portland. Apart from test rides, Drive Oregon will also travel the state for EV showcases.
greencarreports.com
Powering electric buses: BAE Systems found a new client in Solaris. The Polish firm agreed to use BAE’s hybrid electric drive in its vehicles and is the 7th bus maker joining the club, says BAE.
businesswire.com
Hybrid truck to travel north: Norwegian TINE has ordered a hybrid Nikola One truck. As the hybrid vehicle is only set for the U.S. launch later this year, Norway will have to wait two to three years for delivery. TINE aims to decrease its emissions by 75 percent in 2020.
dairyreporter.com
The New Motion starts in UK: The Dutch mobility service and charge point provider will introduce its full range of products in the UK at the Low Carbon Vehicle Event 2016 in September. TNM sees the British market as having much potential, as 1.5 percent of new cars there are electric.
evfleetworld.co.uk
New stations for Scotland: Company Evolt announced nine new charge points in Western Scotland and the Ile of Mull. Two of the chargers have a maximum charging capacity of 22 kW, the remaining seven either 43 kW AC or 50 kW DC. They are the Council’s first publicly available charging stations.
fleetnews.co.uk
Ontario readies for emobility: The Canadian province wants to install about 500 EV charging stations at 250 locations by March 2017. The undertaking is funded with 20m dollars by the Green Investment Fund Ontario.
cbc.ca, ontario.ca
Albuquerque looks to go EV: The city in New Mexico, USA, is about to sign a deal for 18 electric buses with manufacturer BYD. The 60-foot-long buses could sport a “60s diner” look in honour of Route 66.
abqjournal.com
Washington plugs in: Utility Avista has gotten the green light and will begin installing 272 EV chargers in homes, at work and public places in the U.S. state of Washington. The company wants to spend about 3m dollars on the pilot programme – money it is looking to earn back with future electricity rates.
spokesman.com
Electric Circuit grows: The Canadian network announced the installation of another eleven rapid-chargers in the regions of Gaspésie and Bas-Saint-Laurent that will be commissioned this summer. The Electric Circuit includes some 690 public chargers, including 41 fast-chargers.
newswire.ca
New H2 lighthouse project: As part of the six-year, EU-funded project Hydrogen Mobility Europe 2 (H2ME 2), 37 partners want to get no less than 1,230 fuel cell vehicles on the road and erect 20 hydrogen filling stations. The H2ME 2 is the extension of the H2ME 1 project, launched in 2015, which wants to deploy 325 fuel cell vehicles and set up 29 H2 fuelling stations.
h2me.eu
Combo-package for home chargers: RWE announced the unveiling of a system that will connect solar panels with an intelligent charging management system for EVs at the Intersolar next week. The package includes a solar power system from Heckert or Aleo, a battery storage system form Homepower Storage flex, the management system RWE Smarthome, as well as a wallbox for EVs.
pv-magazine.de, iwr.de (articles in German)
Pushing EV uptake: Scotland earmarked 7.8m pounds to offer interest free loans to anyone interested in buying an EV. Individuals can qualify for up to 35,000 pounds, business for up to 100,000 pounds. Loan applications will be accepted through March 31th, 2017, or until the funds run out.
energylivenews.com
Evo Car Share expands: The Canadian provider expanded its operating area in Vancouver and added 750 Toyota Prius to its fleet. Evo Car Share is the city’s only provider that has a full fleet of hybrid vehicles.
autorentalnews.com
Zero for police: The Maple Valley Police Department in the U.S. state of Washington has bought to motorcycles from Zero. The vehicles will mostly be used by officers on duty in parks.
maplevalleyreporter.com
Radical climate action is needed in Scotland if the country wants to reach its CO2 reduction targets, a report from the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) found. The independent expert panel suggested that by 2030, 65 percent of all new cars and vans will need to be electric.
thirdforcenews.org.uk
e-Golf to reach far: The next e-Golf will boast “considerably” more range, Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess confirmed. In terms of electric transport, he sees VW pushing BEVs further but without giving up diesel vehicles quite yet – despite the rigging scandal and the on-going global recalls.
nzz.ch (in German)
Toyota tease: A shiny tail of what is believed to be a yet unseen Prius version appeared on the internet ahead of the New York Motor Show. All Toyota revealed is that the new vehicle belongs to the Prius family and that it adds more “mechanical marvel.”
autocar.co.uk, carscoops.com, worldcarfans.com
Brabus treat: The Tesla Model S got a make-over by German tuning legend Brabus that usually pimps Mercedes. Its Tesla body kit improves aerodynamics and features a spoiler. Options to customise the interior are available as well.
business-standard.com
Indian EV for the UK: Mahindra will bring its electric e2o to England by April for less than 13,000 pounds. It will go on sale first in London, followed by Birmingham, Bristol, and Milton Keynes and can be ordered solely online for home delivery.
standard.co.uk
Chinese electric limousine: Hawtai Auto launches the iEV230 in China. It comes with an average range of 230km and 39.2 kWh battery for a starting price of 123,500 yuan (about 19,000 dollars) including subsidies. Next month, the xEV260 electric SUV is to follow.
carnewschina.com
EV boost in Scotland: Scottish motorists will be able to take out an interest-free loan of up to 50,000 pounds (100,000 pounds for businesses) to buy a hybrid or electric vehicle under a new fund from the Energy Saving Trust. In addition, full grant funding is currently available through the ChargePlace Scotland programme for electric car drivers to install a charge point in their home.
clickgreen.org.uk, scotsman.com
EV boost in Tasmania: Tasmania’s electric car industry is driving forward with the official launch of an electric vehicle association. Currently, there are about 120 registered EVs in Tasmania and there are plans to build up 40 to 50 charging stations in the state.
abc.net.au
Columbia electrifies: The City of Columbia, Missouri has ordered four electric buses from BYD. The first bus to be delivered in September will be a full-size 40-foot transit bus, followed by three 30-foot low floor transit buses in December.
electriccarsreport.com
New Leviton charger: Leviton unveiled its Evr-Green 320 Level 2 charging station. The device, which is capable of providing 32 amps at 208 or 240 volts AC with a maximum output of 7.7 kW, claims to display an improved installation process and to reduce the charge time of next-gen SAE J1772 plug-ins.
electriccarsreport.com
Full service mobility: Belgian LeasePlan will offer the Mobility Card to its customers this June. The card gives business travellers access to any form of transport, be it via car, tram or bike share and also enables electric car charging. Multimodal travel will thus also include employees without a lease car.
fleetnews.co.uk
Electric bus test: The German city of Hanover will start an electric bus trial next year. Three Solaris buses are to serve line 100/200 and will be charged at the depot overnight as well as juicing up via the Tram’s overhead lines. If the test is successful, the whole fleet of 130 diesel and hybrid buses could be replaced over time, despite the 600,000-dollar price tag on the Solaris buses.
heise.de (in German)
Scottish ICEing: EV incentives have been working well in Scotland as the country is experiencing Norwegian-like circumstances. EV drivers are complaining about hybrid vehicles blocking charging stations – without even being plugged in. Clearly, more infrastructure is needed.
heraldscotland.com
Electric garbage truck test: Sacramento County will start a trial with two electric waste collection trucks by Californian TransPower next year. The trucks will be provided for free in the first two years to get an overview of operational costs. After that the County might buy the EVs at a reduced rate.
sacbee.com
Hybrid privilege: The Government of Pakistan is thinking about lowering import duties for hybrid vehicles by another ten percent. Already, a 50-percent duty discount applies to hybrid vehicles.
thenews.com.pk
Green eMotion project concludes: After working with 42 partners in ten demo regions in the past four years, the EU’s flagship project draws to a close. One of the main conclusions is that public charging infrastructure can only be profitable when used frequently and in combination with other services.
greenemotion-project.eu (summary), greenemotion-project.eu (results)
28 hybrid buses for Budapest: Volvo’s 7900 Articulated Hybrid buses by have begun operating in the Hungarian capital. Their fuel consumption is about 30 percent lower compared to the bus’ diesel equivalent. Volvo says this is its largest single order for the Volvo 7900 Articulated Hybrid to date.
volvobuses.com
Scotland invests in electric cars: The country’s government shows that it is serious about phasing out all petrol-powered cars from its roads by 2025. It launched the “Switched on Fleets” initiative, earmarking 2.5 million pounds in funding for public fleets who want to go electric. Some 200 EVs are already being used by Scottish local Authorities.
clickgreen.org.uk, scotland.gov.uk
The apparently first all-electric bus fleet has gone into service in Seneca, South Carolina, USA. The six Proterra buses each have a price tag of 900,000 dollars, but are expected to pay for their extra cost in the reduction of fuel expenses within 12 years and to have a life expectancy of 18 years.
usatoday.com, greenvilleonline.com
E-taxis in Blackpool: Taxi company Premier Cabs has introduced its 12-car-strong fleet of Nissan Leaf, which will operate in and around the British city. Moreover, Premier Cabs wants to replace more of its 170 vehicles with the Nissan Leaf and the Nissan e-NV200 van in the coming months.
fleetnews.co.uk, .nextgreencar.com, electriccarsreport.com
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Industry Studies and Papers for Electric Mobility: Stay up to date on the latest research and check out our industry studies section, where we catalog new publications by and for the electric mobility sector. If you want to find out more, just click here: electrive.com/industry-studies
More EV charging points than filling stations: Nissan says that with 40,000 chargers for electric cars installed in Japan (including private ones), the country now counts more charging points than petrol stations (34,000).
electric-vehiclenews.com, bloomberg.com (video)
EU supports deployment of quick chargers: The European Union’s Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) scheme is funding the project with eight million euros. The aim to set up a total of 155 rapid-charging stations along major European corridors.
kfz-betrieb.vogel.de (in German)
Faster chargers for Tampa Bay: Nissan plans to build up seven new fast-charging stations around the Tampa Bay area. The first one has already been installed, the six other fast chargers should be up and running by the end of March.
tampabay.com
Charging demand in Scotland is low, recently published figures by the RAC foundation suggest. In August of last year, 45 percent of the country’s 482-unit ChargePlace Scotland were not even used once. Although, the around 1,100 EVs clocked 2,885 individual charging sessions with the busiest station being the one at Janet Brougham House, a care home in Dundee.
bbc.co.uk, stv.tv
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Industry Studies and Papers for Electric Mobility: Stay up to date on the latest research and check out our industry studies section, where we catalog new publications by and for the electric mobility sector. If you want to find out more, just click here: electrive.com/industry-studies
Munich supports EVs: The Bavarian capital wants to launch a 23 million euro programme to fund the adaptation of electric cars. Individuals will receive a 2,500 euro grant when they buy an EV. Businesses will even get 4,000 euros. 500,000 euros will be reserved for electrifying the city’s fleet, and the number of installed charge points will be increased to 2,000 by 2017, according to the announcement.
sueddeutsche.de (in German)
Transport Scotland funds EV expansion: Giving one million pounds in funding, the organisation adds a total of 50 EVs to Car Clubs in Scotland. 20 EVs will be available from City Car Club branches in Edinburgh and Glasgow and smaller car club chains across Scotland will share another 30 EVs.
heraldscotland.com
Volvo plug-in buses premiere: “Hamburger Hochbahn” officially presented the new Volvo 7900 Electric Hybrid, three of which will enter service in the northern German city in December. The plug-in buses will be rapid-charged by Siemens technology.
innovations-report.de (in German)
Boston rides hybrid: The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) has rolled out the first of 60 hybrid buses by New Flyer. The other 59 buses are expected to be delivered by the end of March and will replace the outdated bus fleet in Boston.
metro.us
Alternative fuel at Chicago Airport: The Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA) called on Clean Energy Fuels to build a 4,000 square meter “Alternative-Fuel station” at the O’Hare airport. It will feature EV charging points, as well as compressed natural gas and biodiesel.
aviationnews.net, nacsonline.com
No charge to charge goes Germany: Nissan now introduces free of charge charging in Germany where the programme runs under the rather descriptive name ‘Freistrom für alle.’ The Japanese carmaker offers free charging at all its dealerships, regardless of the make, as long users don’t occupy the charging spot longer than necessary and only during opening times. Depending on the outlet, standard sockets, Type 2 or CHAdeMO chargers are available. Dealers are offered financial support to erect more chargers.
presseportal.de (in German)
CCS coverage in Europe: According to ccs-map.eu, there are more than 400 CCS fast chargers available in Europe at the moment, covering one third of the continent. The biggest expansion is seen in the UK while France and Italy are only now starting to charge up.
insideevs.com
PlugSurfing expands its coverage: The Berlin-based company now offers access to an additional 10,000 charging points in the Netherlands, including stations from Nuon, Essent, Eneco, ANWB, Greenflux and The New Motion. PlugSurfing describes it as an important step in connection EV infrastructure across Europe.
plugsurfing.com (in Englisch), plugsurfing.com (in Dutch)
Saving ones own: The Scottish Government has ordered a new hybrid ferry from Ferguson Marine Engineering. Without the 12.3-million pound (19.9m dollar) contract, the Scottish ship builder would be threatened with closure. The diesel-hybrid ferry is the third that is built by Ferguson for ferry operator CalMac and is set to enter service in late 2016.
pressandjournal.co.uk
Charge and fly: Piedmont Triad International Airport in North Carolina now has installed four charge points. This makes it the only airport offering EV charging in the region. Rejoicing the electric car is for free while parking fees still apply.
wfmynews2.com
Campus charging: The California State University Los Angeles now has a total of 15 EV charging points on its campus. The start of the project dates back to 2010 and has recently received a grant from the Department of Energy to fund more stations.
csulauniversitytimes.com
Call for charging solutions: In the country’s first “Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) competition,” the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) is calling for ideas for charging solutions for multi-story as well as underground car parks. The winner will receive 200,000 euros (271,700 dollars) to develop a prototype.
businessandleadership.com, siliconrepublic.com
50 charging points and growing: UK city of Sunderland is investing 500 million pounds (857m dollars) in getting people to switch from petrol to electricity. Money will flow into research, as well as into the extension of the city’s charging network – already one of the best in the country. The goal is to become a national hub for the low carbon economy.
sunderlandecho.com
Scotland gets three new public charging stations: The new locations are funded by the Scottish Government through Transport Scotland. While the charge point in Dumfries most likely is a DC quick charger, the sites in Annan and Castle Douglas seem to offer AC charging only.
gallowaygazette.co.uk
EmiD kick-off: The showcase project “Electric mobility in Dresden” (EmiD) is headed by Fraunhofer Institute IVI and is supported by the city of Dresden, the Technical University of Dresden and local government bodies. Together, they have purchased and will test an electric fleet consisting of 16 electric vehicles to find out what is keeping people from using electric cars.
saena.de, elektromobilitaet-verbindet.de (both in German)
Free electric bike trial: In Newcastle and Gateshead, a new rental e-bike scheme is proving extremely popular. The project is part of the ‘Go Smarter’ campaign by the ‘Tyne and Wear Integrated Transport Authority’ and aims to get employees of participating companies to switch their car for a pedelec.
thegreencarwebsite.co.uk, gosmarter.co.uk
Blackpool tests electric cab: Premier Cars has got the council licensing a Nissan Leaf as a taxi for a two-weeks trial. If the electric car proves suitable as a cab, the taxi company will look into buying up to six cars soon with more to follow in the future.
blackpoolgazette.co.uk
EVs for Scotland’s car clubs: Transport Scotland is giving one million pounds (1.7m dollars) to the Carplus charity. The money will be spend on purchasing about 40 EVs for Scottish car clubs and is supported by the ‘Developing Car Clubs in Scotland’ (DCCS) programme.
thegreencarwebsite.co.uk
Subsidy lottery: To foster its goal of becoming an all zero emission vehicle island by 2030, the South Korean Jeju Island is holding draws for EV purchase subsidies. The latest lotterie saw 226 residents selected out of 1,654 hopeful applicants.
insideevs.com
Tesla taxi for a day: Together, Uber and Tesla will be promoting electric cars in Shanghai this Wednesday for a day. When booking a cab with the taxi app, a few lucky costumers will be picked up in a Model S and offered a 15-minute test drive. To top it off, the journey will be free as well.
cnet.com
