In the UK Kia has launched its charging service KiaCharge. This gives the brand’s BEV- and PHEV-drivers access to more than 13,900 charge points across the UK, meaning access to around 68 per cent of the public charging network from a single account.

Northern Irish bus manufacturer Wrightbus has selected Voith as its exclusive partner to supply the electric drive system for the second generation of its battery-electric and fuel cell buses for Europe.

BYD and its British partner ADL have announced a half-metre shorter version of their all-electric Enviro400EV double-decker bus. With its more compact wheelbase, the 10.3-metre-long model increases the manoeuvrability of the e-double-decker.

The British energy supply company Centrica is pushing ahead with the electrification of its fleet. The conversion of the entire fleet to electric vehicles is to take place by 2025, five years earlier than previously planned.

Arrival announced that it will begin trials of its zero-emission bus with transport operator First Bus. The trials, which will see Arrival buses navigating existing First Bus routes in the UK, will begin this autumn.

Major UK bus operator McGill’s has announced a £17.5million investment in all-electric buses. The company ordered a total of 35 e-buses from different suppliers to serve routes in the cities of Glasgow and Dundee in Scotland.

Today the EV100 initiative from the Climate Group published their annual ‘EV100 Progress and Insights Report’ showing an exponential uptake of EVs in fleets and an unprecedented roll-out of charging infrastructure. We talked to Sandra Roling, who heads the EV100 at the Climate Group, about the challenges still facing EV100 members and some of the […]

The Scottish Government has just awarded over £633,000 to support 45 e-bike projects across the country. The government has also awarded £210,000 to test new ways of improving accessibility across ChargePlace Scotland’s electric vehicle charging network. 

The ‘green’ number plates recently introduced in the UK and meant for electric vehicles can be illegally bought by petrol and diesel owners for just £20 due to a checks loophole.

The Israeli electric mobility startup Ree Automotive is investing 92 million US dollars in a new ‘Engineering Centre of Excellence’ in England, at MIRA Technology Park in Warwickshire.

In addition to the cell factory planned by Britishvolt, another battery ‘gigafactory’ could be built in England at the airport of the industrial city of Coventry. The Coventry city council announced intentions to develop corresponding plans together with Coventry Airport.

The first hydrogen ambulance will come to London later this year built by conversion specialist Ulemco. Named Zerro (short for Zero Emission Rapid Response Operations), Ulemco teams up with Lyra Electronics, Ocado and Promech Technologies for realising the fuel-cell-range-extended EV.

Volkswagen UK has opened the order books for the VW ID.3 Pro, bringing the electric hatchback’s base price to £28,670, after the £3,000 PiCG. It differs from the introductory Pro Performance version that was among the first opening of orders.

The US electric car startup Rivian, supported by Amazon and Ford, is looking for European locations for a new plant. Germany, the United Kingdom and Hungary are among the countries under discussion, sources close to the matter said.

Statkraft makes another acquisition in the field of charging infrastructure: The Norwegian state-owned energy company announces the takeover of 51 per cent of the shares of the Swedish provider Bee Charging Solutions. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2021.

In the UK, Pod Point has just announced that they will be expanding their existing agreement with Lidl stores with the installation 50 more fast chargers than originally envisaged. This means that the total number should soon be 350 fast chargers in total.

In the UK, the upcoming Battery Industrialisation Centre (UKBIC) in Coventry has revealed that the facility’s Module and Pack suite of specialist battery manufacturing equipment is now operational.

AMTE Power announces its listing on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) on the London Stock Exchange and expects trading to begin in March. AMTE Power is a UK developer and manufacturer of lithium-ion battery cells for speciality markets and among those looking to build capacity in Britain.

British EV subscription service Onto continues on building the fleet as the company adds Hyundai electric cars to the fleet. They join a base of electric vehicles from PSA but also Tesla, BMW and Jaguar.

Allstar Business Solutions, a provider of fuel cards in the UK, has agreed on a new partnership with Gronn Kontakt, an EV charging company owned by Statkraft. The deal means that Allstar has added a further 110 charge points to the network and coincides with the launch of a new EV charge payment card.

Mercedes is opening the order books for its EQA compact electric vehicle, which they unveiled two weeks ago. The first models will arrive at dealers in the spring. So far we know list prices in Germany for the EQA 250 with 140 kW battery.

UK-based Watt Electric Vehicle Company has designed a novel platform designed for niche vehicle manufacturers. Called PACES, for ‘Passenger And Commercial EV Skateboard’, it is flexible, scalable, lightweight and cost-effective, according to Watt.

As Mazda launches the UK sales of the MX-30, they have added the fully-electric SUV, to their UK-wide scrappage scheme. Customers can save up to £1,000 off the new Mazda battery-electric vehicle and receive a charger when trading in their previous car.

The British Government has announced another £70 million funding, which now concerns all three charge point schemes.

Smart is releasing a special model of the EQ Fortwo Coupé to dealers during the second quarter of 2021. The special model called Edition Bluedawn is painted in a striking matt blue that Daimler calls ‘Velvet Blue’.

Nissan has launched a special edition of its Leaf electric model to celebrate its 10th anniversary. The Nissan Leaf10 has some fresh looks and gadgetry, but the drive and battery remain the same.

Ford is expanding its business partnership with BP by adding BP pulse, the British public charging network, to the Ford Pass.

Buyers in Britain may now order the VW ID.4 1ST Edition with series models to follow. The ID.4 1ST Edition comes for £37,800 after the plug-in grant is applied, and is expected to arrive in dealerships in March.

In the UK, the West Midlands will get a boost to its electric vehicle infrastructure, following Warwickshire County Council’s award of a £584,000 contract to BP pulse. The former BP Chargemaster will install over 100 charge points across the region.

The British hotel chain Premier Inn has commissioned the energy group Engie to supply up to 1,000 fast charging points for electric cars. They plan to set up 600 charging points with more than 50 kW capacity at 300 hotels within the next three years.