Toyota reveals plans for growth in Europe
By 2025, Toyota plans to meet about 70 per cent of its European sales with full hybrid cars, ten per cent with plug-in hybrids and another ten per cent with battery and fuel cell cars.
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Tesla completes Canadian Supercharger corridor
Tesla has completed a new supercharger corridor in Canada, which extends from Vancouver to Halifax. The expansion of Tesla’s own fast-charging network is to continue in 2020 – the company also plans to expand in Europe.
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Turkish JV presents plans for domestic EV production
In a ceremony attended by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the Turkish Automobile Joint Venture Group (TOGG) officially revealed two electric car prototypes. The electric compact sedan and the electric SUV are to be introduced to the market in 2022.
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Turkey: Karsan reveals electric bus with BMW batteries
The Turkish manufacturer Karsan has presented a battery-electric version of its 8-meter bus of type Atak. As with a previous model, Karsan relies on batteries from BMW’ electric car i3.
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Otokar’s first electric bus is ready to roll in 2020
Turkish bus manufacturer Otokar presented its first all-electric 12-meter bus at the UITP Summit, which will be available in Europe next year. The company is now already taking part in the first tenders.
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Turkey: Temsa has made two new electric buses
The Turkish bus manufacturer Temsa presented two new electric bus models at the UITP Global Public Transport Summit in Stockholm: the Avenue Electron and MD 9 electriCITY.
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Turkey details national electric car project
Turkish Industry Minister Mustafa Varank announced that the first electric car produced in Turkey will have a range of 500 km and will be launched in the second half of 2022. A prototype will apparently be presented at the end of this year.
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Have you ever heard of the Tesla electric bus?
As if the news of Tesla boss Elon Musk smoking pot live on air has not been bizarre enough, this reaction trumps all others.
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Fjord 1 orders seven electric ferries from Havyard
Norwegian ferry operator Fjord 1 has signed contracts for the construction of seven electric ferries with the Havyard Group. The ferries are scheduled to begin operation in early 2020 in Norway.
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Turkish consortium reveals plans for 3 new EV models
Three electric cars made in Turkey have been announced by the Turkish Automobile Joint Venture Group, a consortium of the country’s largest manufactures and companies tasked with setting up domestic car production by the government.
Read moreVW, Turkey, Volvo, Oslo, DeLorean, Nissan.
VW to delay electrification in China? The VW C-Coupe GTE, initially scheduled to launch in China in 2016, is postponed until early 2017. The PHEV concept was introduced at the Auto Shanghai earlier this year in a bid to start an electric offensive in the far east. Looks like the expansion has been set back on the agenda, electric or not, as Volkswagen tries to clean up its (diesel) act in the U.S. and in Europe.
carnewschina.com
More EVs for Turkey: Turkey’s Hacettepe University in Ankara presents two electric cars. The EVT S1 prototype has 104 kW, weighs only 1,050 kg and can thus drive about 300 km on a single charge. 1,000 units are expected to be produced in the first batch. Yet, the university’s R&D zone Teknokent built a second prototype of a Smart-like EV named Teo accompanied by a drone called Avipod.
dailysabah.com (EVT S1), dailysabah.com (Teo)
Serial electric bus: Volvo presents its new electric bus in 12-metre configuration for series production at the Busworld in Kortrijk, Belgium. The Volvo 7900 Electric has been tested successfully in Gothenburg since summer and is thus ready to launch in 2016.
volvobuses.com, transportengineer.org.uk
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Oslo is to ban cars from its centre by 2019 as it looks to reduce greenhouse gases by 50% by 2020. Part of the plan is to build more bicycle lanes, subsidise the purchase of electric bicycles and reduce automobile traffic over the capital as a whole. No exemption for electric cars from the ban has been proposed, but the Norwegian vision sees EVs as the only remaining cars in the country comes 2030.
theguardian.com, channelnewsasia.com
Back to the future: Die hard fans of the cult movie starring Michael J. Fox as time traveller Marty McFly know that his arrival from the future is scheduled in two days. To make him feel welcome, Belfast’s Queen’s University updated the DeLorean DMC-12 as it converted it to electric. The future is now.
qub.ac.uk, belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Nissan Leaf review: Indeed, the new 30-kWh battery that provides the Leaf with 155 miles of range reduces range anxiety considerably. Yet, it does not make the electric car itself any more exciting but gives it a rather hefty price tag, British Mark Nichol finds.
autoexpress.co.uk
Volkswagen, Aston Martin, Toyota, Turkey, Audi, Hero Electric.
New e-poch for VW: Volkswagen comes up with concrete measures in an attempt to disperse the smelly fumes of dieselgate. VW’s new product strategy includes increased electrification. The MQB platform will be redesigned to accomodate longer range PHEV, EVs and mild hybrids. Additionally, a ‘Modular Electric Toolkit’ (MEB) will be developed to become the standard architecture for electric passenger cars and light commercial vehicles. VW further confirmed to make the next-gen Phaeton electric only.
greencarcongress.com, worldcarfans.com, volkswagen-media-services.com
Aston Martin electrifies as it prepares the all-electric version of the Rapide with up to 735 kW, set for launch by the end of 2017, CEO Andy Palmer announced. It will be followed by an electric DBX.
bloomberg.com
Prius update: Toyota’s latest Prius will give consumers the choice between a lithium-ion or a new nickel-metal hydride hybrid battery. Optionally, the E-Four system turns the Prius into an AWD. Sales will start this December in Japan.
greencarcongress.com, toyota.co.jp
Turkish EV: Turkey has officially presented the first three prototypes of its national cars. While the models wear camouflage, it is apparent that the design was strongly “inspired” by Cadillac. Two versions are electric with one featuring a range extender. Production is planned for 2019.
hurriyetdailynews.com
A3 electrified: German Auto Bild previews the upcoming A3. By 2019 it will become available as a plug-in hybrid with 220 hp. A mild hybrid version is planned as well.
autobild.de (in German)
Electric two-wheeler: India’s Hero Electric has launched a new electric scooter. The E-Sprint reaches a top speed of 45 kph and claims a range of up to 80 kilometres in eco mode.
indianautosblog.com
Tesla, Japan, Tata Motors, Turkey, Romania, GLM.
Tesla earns perfect score: Consumer Reports has given Tesla’s Model S P85D a more than perfect score of 103 points on a 100-point scale, saying that the high-performance electric sedan broke CR’s ratings system and “performed better than any other car ever has.” The rating comes about two years after Consumer Reports gave the base version of the Model S a near perfect score of 99 points.
greencarreports.com, cnbc.com, consumerreports.org
Japan to extend EV incentives? The Japanese government is considering extending tax breaks for environmentally friendly vehicles by one year through the end of March 2017. Customers who purchase electric and hybrid cars by the end of March next year, could be given a tax break of between 50 and 75 percent in the following year, with the degree of tax breaks depending on fuel efficiency.
globalpost.com
Range-extended EV from India? Tata Motors may launch its Megapixel car in January of next year. The Megapixel range-extended electric vehicle concept was first shown at the Geneva Motor Show in 2012 and has four independent electric motors, powering each wheel.
zeenews.india.com, dnaindia.com
Turkey pushes EV production: The Scientific and Technological Research Council has completed three prototypes of the planned electric and hybrid cars from Turkey, which will now be tested. A fourth prototype will be completed within the next few months.
dailysabah.com
EV subsidies in Romania: The Romanian government has increased voucher values for electric cars. Buyers of all-electric cars will now receive vouchers of 20,000 RON (5,071 dollars) instead of 12,000 RON, while plug-in hybrid cars will benefit from a 5,000 RON subsidy (1,268 dollars).
romania-insider.com
GLM closes new funding round: Japanese Green Lord Motors (GLM) says it has raised 1.7bn yen (14m dollars) for its Tommykaira ZZ electric sports car. The investment will be used to expand domestic sales operations and to develop a left-hand drive version for foreign markets.
japantimes.co.jp, techinasia.com, businessgreen.com
BMW, VW & SAIC, Turkey, Netherlands, France, Volvo.
US-made Tesla fighter by BMW? In an exclusive report, German WirtschaftsWoche writes that BMW is planning an all-electric SUV to take on the Model X. According to the article based on company sources, the i-SUV will be built at the US plant in Spartanburg, which the new BMW head Harald Krüger wants to expand into the largest BMW production plant worldwide by investing around 1 billion euros. However, the production of the all-electric SUV still needs to be approved by the BMW Board.
wiwo.de (in German)
Volkswagen EVs made in China: The Volkswagen Group has signed an agreement with its Chinese partner SAIC to expand the main plant of their joint venture Shanghai Volkswagen (SVW) in Anting near Shanghai to support the production of all-electric and plug-in hybrid models. Over the next four years, VW plans to localise more than 15 different electric models in China. The company said that it will also intensify its local research in the fields of fuel cells and plug-in hybrid vehicles.
greencarcongress.com, volkswagen-media-services.com
EVs from Turkey: Daily Sabah has the news that EVs made in Turkey (we reported) are getting closer to production. Actually, there will be two different EVs – one all-electric model and one with a range-extender. The first test drives will be made in August and production is said to kick off in 2016.
dailysabah.com
Auto associations calls for EV subsidies: Similar to what we reported German lawmakers did, a Dutch coalition of ANWB, BOVAG, Natuur & Milieu and RAI sent a proposal to the cabinet calling for tax breaks on EVs, less market distortion, greater simplicity of regulation and more incentives for producers of electric cars. The subsidies should also include hybrids and fuel-cell cars, the organisations say.
nltimes.nl
France marks EVs: Environmental Minister Ségolène Royal announced that starting in January 2016, cars will receive different coloured stickers, giving less polluting vehicles certain advantages on the road. There will be a total of six colours and all-electric cars will be marked with a blue sticker.
yahoo.com (in German), lexpress.fr (in French)
Next Volvo to debut in Detroit? Volvo´s S90, the successor of the S80, will allegedly be presented at the 2016 Detroit motor show. The sedan is said to feature most of the engines available in the XC90, including the plug-in hybrid, and will most likeley be followed by a V90 wagon model.
worldcarfans.com
Volkswagen, Proton, Govecs, Turkey, Kazakhstan.
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
Audi, Solvay, Toshiba, Turkey.
Audi hopes to win the race with an electrified quattro four-wheel drive, which will be featured in the 2014 R18 e-tron racecar. The power distribution to the wheels of Audi’s diesel-hybrid is controlled purely electronically, with the front-wheel drive components integrated in the vehicles monocoque. Recuperated energy is stored in the new flywheel energy storage system. Audi will compete in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) with two R18.
hybridcars.com, electriccarsreport.com
Greener energy storage: Chemical firm Solvay wants to replace organic solvents with water during the production of cathodes for lithium-ion batteries. A pilot production facility is set to open its doors next year. The research is part of LIFE+GLEE project and in part funded by the EU.
solvayplastics.com (project website)
Vroom goes the EV: Toshiba’s TB2909FNG chip imitates the sounds of a conventional combustion engine to make quiet electric cars louder. The company refers to a 2011 EU resolution amendment that would require EVs to be equipped with ‘acoustic vehicle alerting systems’ (AVAS).
electronicsweekly.com
Turkey wants to build own EVs: According to the national newspaper ‘Sabah,’ plans to form a brand that specialises in electric mobility are becoming more concrete. Ten technological concepts for the first Turkish-produced electric vehicles are being considered, but only one will be able to receive the 33 million euros (45.8 million dollars) in government funding.
emobilitaetonline.de (in German), sabah.com.tr (in Turkish)
