Austria goes back to the future
Vienna is famous for its horse-drawn “Fiaker” carriages. Now the electric utility company Wien Energie is introducing a similar-but-different specimen that lacks one very visible detail: the horses.
Weiterlesen
IEC plans unified standards for electric scooters
A newly founded Technical Committee of the international electrotechnical standardisation organisation IEC will develop uniform standards for electric pedal scooters, monowheels and electric kick scooters starting in autumn this year.
Weiterlesen
Austria: Auto club ÖAMTC launches e-scooter sharing
Austria’s largest automobile association ÖAMTC has rolled out their own electric scooter sharing. People in Vienna can now rent 150 light electric vehicles with another 15 being available in Graz. The ‘easy way’ service works via mobile app.
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Push for EV charging infrastructure in Vienna
Austrian utility Wien Energie has begun the expansion of its network of public chargers in Vienna. Another 1,000 EV charging stations are scheduled for installation until 2020.
WeiterlesenVienna, Maven Gig, Oregon, Fremont, Swindon.
Self-driving shuttles in Vienna: If someone has mastered the sweet life, it is the Austrian capital and so it may not come as a surprise that its public transport may soon be autonomous and electric. From 2018, Wiener Linien wants to try out two mini buses from French Navya, with up to eleven real passengers. The pilot ‘auto.Bus Seestadt’ is supported by AIT (Austrian Institute of Technology), TÜV Austria and Siemens AG Österreich as well as traffic safety institutions. If no major disruptions occur, the shuttles will enter service from 2019.
orf.at (in German)
GM embraces Gig Economy: Maven Gig is a new option for GM’s car sharing service. It now allows users to hire a Bolt for 229 dollars a week and to use it to pick up passengers through Uber, Lyft and other hail-ride apps. San Diego is the first testing ground before Maven Gig will move on to congest Los Angeles and San Francisco later this year.
carscoops.com
EV sales incentives: Oregon may pay car dealers 250 dollars per electric car they sell to residents of the state. The bill under consideration would set aside a 1m dollar fund.
chargedevs.com
Home to Tesla, the City of Fremont decided to require solar panels and EV charging wiring for all new housing developments. California aims to to have homes built to a “zero net energy” level by 2020.
eastbaytimes.com
Swindon tries hydrogen: Two Toyota Mirais and one Hyundai iX35 have been delivered to three businesses in Swindon. They build a car pool for employees of Arval, Nationwide and The National Trust as part of the town’s Hydrogen Hub project.
fleetnews.co.uk
eGUTS, Vienna, Liverpool, New York, Bay Area, Utah.
E-mobility in Danube region: EU project eGUTS (Electric and Green Urban Transport Systems) has launched and unites 22 partners in the search for standards that foster electric transport across the Danube region. Eight cities will share feasibility studies in the form of pilots that will look at charging infrastructure, electric car sharing, parking policies as well as develop and test the eGUTS app. The EU funds the project with 1.5m euros until June 2019.
oe-journal.at (in German), interreg-danube.eu (project website)
Diesel is not welcome in cities any longer with the latest example being Vienna and Liverpool. The Austrian capital is currently marking areas and districts, where diesel vehicles will be banned once fine particle pollution hits high levels. Meanwhile Liverpool wants to ban diesel entirely from 2022. The city looks to create a “clean air zone” which will result in restrictions on diesel vehicles on all roads and also could involve refusing to offer new licenses to diesel cabs.
kurier.at (Vienna, in German), liverpoolecho.co.uk (Liverpool)
New York to launch EV rebate: The state of New York plans to start its own incentive scheme this April. Electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles will thus be eligible for an up to 2,000 dollar rebate. It took the state some time as the money was already earmarked last year.
electrek.co, nbcnewyork.com, usnews.com
5m dollars for EV charging infrastructure have been made available in the Bay Area. The 2017 funding cycle of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District is calling on businesses, nonprofits, and public agencies to install electric vehicle charging stations through the “Charge! Program” that wants to establish a network for public use.
sfexaminer.com
EV credit cut off: Utah’s House of Representatives has decided against extending the state’s tax credit for electric vehicles in a vote that could have seen an extension until 2022. The measure failed by a very narrow margin of 37-38.
utilitydive.com
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IKEA, Vienna, Hamburg, ITM Power, Panasonic.
IKEA charges Norway: The furniture company announced that it will equip all of its stores in Norway with fast-chargers, starting with its location in Slependen. IKEA has already launched similar initiatives in Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Canada and the U.S.
gas2.org
Vienna plans 1,000 chargers: The installation of the first 500 will start mid-2017 in the 2nd and 16th district of the Austrian capital. Over the following two years, the network will then grow step by step to reach 1,000 units. How much it will cost to plug in is still being discussed. But EVs will not have to pay a parking fee while charging.
wien.orf.at, vienna.at (articles in German)
Last mile innovations: With project SMILE (Smart Last Mile Logistics), Hamburg is looking to become a European model region for sustainable and clean package deliveries. Businesses and the city of Hamburg presented a number of intelligent last mile delivery systems, including the use of electric vehicles. The proposals will now be implemented step by step.
verkehrsrundschau.de, hamburg.de (articles in German)
New kind of pump: ITM Power is installing the UK’s first hydrogen fuelling pump at an existing petrol station. The Shell station is located along the M40 in Beaconsfield and will go into service early 2017.
fleetnews.co.uk
Green fleet: Panasonic says it was able to cut its fleet’s emissions by 37.5 percent in the UK since 2008. The company employs 19 plug-in and ten pure hybrids in the country, which together make up about 20 percent of the fleet. Another three PHEVs have already been ordered.
fleetnews.co.uk
Vienna, Kangoo Z.E., Toyota, Massachusetts, Kansas City.
Long electric buses for Vienna: The Austrian capital is looking to modernise its public transport fleet and kicked off a second tender. The result will be announced in spring 2017, and will for the first time include 12-metre buses with electric drivetrains. How many was not announced.
wien.gv.at (in German)
Kangoo Z.E. with H2 range-extender: About a year ago, three British companies came together to offer fleet operators a Renault transporter with fuel cell range extender (we reported). Some 32 models have already been sold, also because the REx adds an extra 400 km of range.
gasworld.com
Toyota Mirai international: Europcar UK has added the fuel cell vehicle to its fleets of its newly acquired Brunel chauffeur business, using money from the recently received Office of Low Emission Vehicles grant. Meanwhile, Toyota is looking to offer a few units of the Mirai in United Arab Emirates, now that Air Liquide has been charged with setting up a first H2 fuelling pump in Dubai.
fleetnews.co.uk (Europcar), albawaba.com (UAE)
EV quota for government agencies: The Massachusetts Senate passed a measure requiring a quarter of all new vehicles purchased for [some] government agencies to be electric by 2025. The new bill also lays the foundation for cities to dedicated parking stalls for EVs only.
wickedlocal.com
Kansas eyes EVs: Kansas City International Airport is looking to purchase four electric buses from BYD. A final decision, however, won’t be made until after Thanksgiving, so in the last week of November.
kansascity.com
BMW, Vienna, Beijing, Bangkok, Fukushima.
Solar home charging: BMW partners with Loxone to introduce solar charging stations with smart home integration in the DACH region, as well as the UK, the Netherlands and Czech Republic. The so-called E-Mobility Starter Kit is said to be open to any EV manufacturer and costs 599 euros with solar charging already installed. The Wallbox Pro will cost an additional 2,200 euros.
wiwo.de (in German)
Zero-emission delivery: Austria’s postal service is adding more electric vehicles to its 1,111 strong fleet, bringing the number to 1,300. In Vienna alone, 90 EVs will be added to enable a 100 percent emission free delivery of mail and newspapers by the end of the year.
ots.at (in German)
6,000 EV charging stations will be erected in Beijing this year. The 5,880 smaller EV charging stations will supply urban areas while another 14 large stations will go up at service stops along highways, utility Beijing Electric Power announced.
chinadaily.com.cn
Electric bus in Bangkok: An electric bus by BYD is to serve in the Thai capital during a three month trial. If successful, Bangkok will replace 200 of its 3,183 conventional buses with electric ones, and plans to eventually electrify the whole fleet.
automotiveworld.com
H2 for Fukushima: The nuclearly devastated Japanese prefecture turns to hydrogen production from renewable sources. The ‘Fukushima new energy society initiative’ will produce enough energy to power about 10,000 fuel cell vehicles, which will also be used during the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
the-japan-news.com, japantimes.co.jp
Vienna, Seattle, McAllen, Tanger Outlets.
Vienna calling: The Austrian capital is moving forward with its plans to introduce 250 all-electric taxis by 2017 (we reported), investing a total of three million euros in subsidies. The first 120 taxis running on electricity are scheduled to hit the streets of Vienna in March 2016 and can be charged free of cost for one year. 50 taxi drivers have registered for the scheme up to now.
orf.at, heute.at (articles in German)
Seattle electrifies: Five new trolley buses by New Flyer have hit Seattle streets yesterday. In addition, King County Metro Transit is also testing battery-electric buses. If tryouts succeed, Metro has an option to buy no less than 200 e-buses from Proterra to replace diesel-fueled buses.
seattletimes.com
Inductive charging in Texas: Texan city McAllen has purchased two electric buses. They are expected to arrive at the end of the month and will be the first ones in Texas to be charged wirelessly.
valleycentral.com, insideevs.com
Mission accomplished: Tanger Outlets has completed its planned installation of charging stations at 23 U.S. locations. ChargePoint Networks has developed and will maintain the charging network.
pennlive.com
Vienna, BluePointLondon, Yorkshire, Addison Lee, ClimateCars.
Viennese electric cabs: Some 250 electric taxis will roam the Austrian capital within the next few years, 120 of which will go into service in 2016. The project is shared between taxi firms and research institutions like TU Vienna and the Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT). Companies willing to chauffeur electrically will receive up to 8,000 euros for the acquisition of each EV and charge for free for a year at Wien Energie chargers.
wien.orf.at (in German)
More control: EV charging points in three London boroughs Kensington & Chelsea, Hackney, and Greenwich will now be in in the care of BluePointLondon, the operator of Source London. BluePoint is now responsible for managing 110 EV charging points in the British capital.
electriccarsreport.com
Electric buses in Britain: More electric buses will go into service in Yorkshire, where a new all-electric bus fleet has been introduced at Monks Cross Park&Ride. Operator First Bus received a 566,000-pound grant from the Department for Transport towards its investment in six electric buses by Optare.
transportengineer.org.uk, optare.com
Eco chauffeur service merger: Addison Lee announced the acquisition of ClimateCars, a London-based passenger car service operating a fleet of hybrid vehicles. Addison Lee started its eco fleet with 350 hybrids this February and hopes to strengthen its offering through the takeover.
fleetworld.co.uk
A new electric car club has started in British Harbury with two Renault Zoe. The French EVs are provided together with E-Car Club and can be hired and paid for by the hour, while membership is for life. The Harbury initiative is funded by a grant from the Department for Transport.
nextgreencar.com
Vienna, The New Motion & Eseye, Washington, Tesla, Austria.
Eurovision Song Contest: 120 hybrid and six all-electric Tesla taxis will be on the road during the singing competition in Vienna later this week. ESC organiser ORF and the cab office 40100 are cooperating on the effort. All taxis can be ordered via the European-wide app taxi.eu.
vienna.at, futurezone.at (articles in German)
The New Motion and Eseye will work together, with the latter offering connectivity services such as services required for payment and charging credit. According to Eseye, its mobile network-agnostic Multi IMSI AnyNet SIM allows for reliable mobile network coverage even in the most remote locations.
energy.agwired.com
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EV charging for all: Washington Governor Jay Inslee has signed a bill, allowing utilities to rate-base investments in EV infrastructure. That means there will be no initial cost for the buyer. Republican state Rep. Chad Magendanz, who sponsored the bill, compared it to the simplicity of ordering a cable modem.
insideevs.com, greentechmedia.com
The world’s biggest Supercharger is currently being built in north-west Italy, near the borders with France and Switzerland. A total of 14 chargers will be available for Tesla drivers – and as always, free of charge.
insideevs.com, evobsession.com
Austria invests: With its programme “klimaaktiv mobil,” Austria wants to financially support companies and municipals when buying an EV. The country will sponsor electric taxis with 6,000 euros, electric transporters with up to 20,000 euros and fast-charging stations with up to 10,000 euros.
ots.at (in German)
UK, Sydney, Vienna, Tesla, PlugShare.
Stabilising the grid: A new project funded by the UK government with 9.5 million pounds hopes to increase local voltage by installing high-performance power electronic converters. One reason is the increasing number of EVs on the Isle. The project is a collaborative effort between Western Power, Schneider Electric, Anvil Semiconductors, Turbo Power Systems, Aston University and Exception EMS.
edie.ne, renewableenergyfocus.com
Sydney Airport looks into electrification: The international airport wants to replace six diesel-powered shuttle buses with electric ones and is currently looking for a manufacturer. Key criteria are operational efficiency and passenger comfort.
finchannel.com
Vienna cooperation: The Austrian capital will integrate the carsharing scheme DriveNow in the “Wien-Mobilkarte” (Vienna mobility card). Despite earlier rumours, there will be no BMW i3 added to the DriveNow fleet in Vienna for now, due to the lack of public charging there.
derstandard.at (in German)
Tesla in Asia: Teslarati published a screenshot showing Tesla destination chargers across Asia, showing Tesla steadily expanding its network. Still, charging infrastructure is an issue, and the story of a Chinese man who sold his Tesla because of a lack of chargers sums up current challenges there.
teslarati.com
Free charging: A recent report by PlugShare shows that 63 percent of public chargers across the U.S. are free to use. In areas with restricted access, such as charging spots reserved for employees or customers only, 76 percent of stations are free of charge.
plugshare.com (report) via chargedevs.com
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DriveNow, Vienna, Oldham, Tesla CHAdeMO adapter, Warrington, Fujian.
Official DriveNow launch in London: The carsharing scheme has hit the roads in the UK capital, featuring 240 cars (BMW 1 series and Mini Countryman). Beginning early next year, the free-floating service will also include 30 BMW i3. It is the first service of its kind in London.
standard.co.uk, businessinsider.com
Electric taxis in Vienna: Four Tesla taxis are already in service in Austria´s capital provided by the company “Öko-Taxi”, which plans to add another 16 Tesla taxis. The city of Vienna recently agreed to increase the share of all-electric taxis by 2025.
kurier.at (in German)
Oldham extends e-fleet: Oldham Council added two Nissan e-NV200 to its fleet. They join eight Nissan Leaf that are used as pool vehicles across the borough in north-west England by Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service and Greater Manchester Police.
fleetnews.co.uk
CHAdeMO adapter delivered: The official status on Tesla’s website is still that the adapter is “coming soon”. But after Tesla has slashed the price by more than half to 450 dollars, Inside EVs decided to order one – and has now received it.
insideevs.com
11th Supercharger for the UK: The Tesla charger opened in Warrington in North-England. It was installed at the at The Park Royal hotel, part of the QHotels group, which already has Superchargers at two other locations. More are said to be installed at the group’s hotels next year.
bdaily.co.uk
Fast-chargers for Fujian: The Chinese province plans to install 60 rapid chargers with an output of 120 kW at petrol stations throughout the province next year. All stations will have two charge points.
whatsonxiamen.com
Hertz, Vienna, Minnesota, E-Bike region Stuttgart.
Hertz joins Zem2All: The rental car company has announced its cooperation with Spanish utility provider Endesa in Spain’s demonstration project Zem2All (Zero Emissions Mobility To All). Hertz will rent out the Nissan Leaf from its stations in Malaga and the city’s airport. The Zem2All initiative has rolled out 160 charge points and electric vehicles in Malaga with another 40 being in the pipeline.
autorentalnews.com, puregreencars.com
Electric carsharing for Vienna: Porsche Holding Salzburg announced its plan to roll-out electric carsharing in the Austrian capital. Within the coming weeks, the company will make several VW E-UPs available to students taking part in the ‘Campus Carsharing’ project. By 2015, Europe’s biggest car dealer wants to extend the rental service to all Viennese.
krone.at (in German)
Discount during off-peak hours: Minnesota is the first state in the U.S. to make it compulsory for investor-owned utilities to offer customers discounted rates when charging their EV outside peak hours (4pm – 8pm). The energy companies have time until next year to adjust their tariffs.
transportevolved.com, green.autoblog.com
E-Bike region Stuttgart: Five counties around the south-German city of Stuttgart have now put together a 400-kilometres track specifically designed for pedelecs. Along the signposted and rather hilly e-bike path, rental stations, workshops and charging stations can be found. The region is hoping to accommodate and attract for the ever-growing segment of electric bicycle travellers.
e-bike-region-stuttgart.de (website in German)
Clean City Alliance, Vienna, Tusker, California.
Opportunity charging: The Clean City Alliance (CCA) has just been launched by the Schunk Group, Heliox and Alliander Mobility Services. It is set to speed up the electrification of public transport by replacing diesel with electric buses and investing into fast charging infrastructure. CAC will further work with public transport authorities as well as manufacturers in all of Europe.
cleancityalliance.nl
Smart city of Vienna: The mayor of the Austrian capital presented the Smart City Wien framework. If confirmed by the municipal council in June, the plan could help to halve the number of cars on Vienna’s streets by 2030. By 2050, only vehicles with alternative drives would be allowed to enter the inner city.
Link (in German), smartcity.wien.at (the initiative’s website
Leading by example: All top executives of British Tusker are now driving electrically. Three of four directors chose the BMW i3, one a Nissan Leaf. The company also installed four charging points at its new office in Hertfordshire.
fleetnews.co.uk
A new H2 station opened in southern California: The latest addition to the cluster stands at California State University’s Hydrogen Research and Fueling Facility, which is not too far from Los Angeles. Nine out of a total of eleven H2 stations are clustered in the south of the Sunshine State.
green.autoblog.com, greencarreports.com
The New Motion, RAC, eConnect Cars, Vienna, Japan.
Dutch taking over Berlin: The New Motion (TNM) from the Netherlands has installed the first four EV charging stations at Berlin shopping malls run by ECE which has 189 malls all over Europe. The charging cooperation is set to be expanded to other shopping centres in Germany the coming months.
emobilitaetonline.de (in German)
Recharge to the rescue: UK’s breakdown service provider, RAC, is launching its first mobile electric charging system today. The new EVRescue system can deliver around 15 miles of range to an electric vehicle stranded with an empty battery in less than half an hour.
thegreencarwebsite.co.uk
EV with a driver: The chauffeur service Comfort Executive now cooperates with eConnect Cars to offer its customers an electric vehicle option. Both companies are based in London. eConnect Cars is a start-up which provides business customers with Nissan Leafs.
fleetnews.co.uk
E-Bike charger erected: In Vienna, two solar charging stations for electric bicycles have been erected by SEW Eurodrive. They accompany another eight EV chargers which are part of the Intercharge network in the Austrian capital.
leisure.at (in German)
Sales in Japan: A total of 2,421 plug-in cars have been sold in Japan last month, a little less than in the same month a year ago (3,466). The Nissan Leaf was the favourite among buyers and sold 1,201 times with the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV following in its wake with 736 units.
ev-sales.blogspot.co.uk
ABB, Denza, Netherlands, Berlin, Vienna, Liberty E-care, Nissan.
ABB-chargers for Denza: BYD and Daimler’s joint venture, BYD Daimler New Technology (BDNT), authorised ABB to develop DC home fast-chargers for its Chinese consumers. The wall chargers can be monitored and controlled remotely with a mobile app and will be sold through Denza dealerships later this year. The Denza itself will debut at Beijing Auto Show with its launch being due soon after.
chinacartimes.com, greencarcongress.com, technologicvehicles.com (Launch)
Dutch EV sales: After an EV incentive running out in December last year had caused a run on electric cars in the Netherlands, things were back to normal in January. Overall 370 PHEV were sold with 34 of them being fully electric. Almost half of those were BMW i3.
evobsession.com
E-mail in its most literal sense is the subject of a new trial by Deutsche Post DHL and the Technical University of Berlin beginning in March. 20 electric delivery vans will deliver mail during the day while being charged over night. The test is part of the ‘Smart e-User’ project with the objective to fully integrate EVs into daily city logistics.
idw-online.de (In German)
Vienna’s electric buses have already driven more than 200,000 kilometres without major problems. The public transport authority of the Austrian capital is now looking into testing 12-metre electric buses. The current 12 ‘Citybuses’ mainly serve the 2A line and have become a tourist attraction. The Citybus is charged via overhead cable at terminals and its batteries can be pre-heated before starting in winter.
derstandard.at (In German)
Liberty e-care: Liberty Electric Cars has now launched its after sales program in France. First introduced in 2011 in the UK, ‘Liberty E-care’ covers services for the Ford Transit E-Connect, Citroen EV1, I-Moving range, and others.
electriccarsreport.com
Nissan charge pass: Nissan signed a partnership with French Green Park Solution for the start-up’s Kiwhi Pass. This card can be used at many charging stations in France thus enabling Nissan EV drivers to roam more freely in the future.
motornature.com