A new European Joint Research Center (JRC) analysis on the deployment of electric vehicles (EV) in Europe concludes that although the sector evolved significantly between 2010 and 2017, progress is still small to be characterized as full-scale commercialization. In 2010, electric vehicles still represented a niche market. Since then, the... Read more →

Progress on increasing the use of renewable energy and improving energy efficiency is slowing across the European Union, putting at risk the EU’s ability to achieve its energy and emissions reduction targets. Rising energy consumption, particularly in the transport sector, is to blame for the slowdown, according to preliminary data... Read more →

Battery electric cars emit less greenhouse gases and air pollutants over their entire life cycle than petrol and diesel cars, according to a European Environment Agency (EEA) report. Promoting renewable energy and circular economy—including the shared use of vehicles and product design that supports reuse and recycling—will help maximize the... Read more →

The coming electric vehicle boom will significantly increase the demand for cobalt in the EU and globally. As a result, demand is expected to exceed supply already in 2020 and the EU must take steps to boost supply and curb demand without hindering the growth in electric vehicles, according to... Read more →

Following Zwickau, Volkswagen intends to change its plants at Emden and Hanover in Germany over to the production of electric vehicles. After Zwickau, Volkswagen is therefore establishing its second e-mobility center in Germany in Lower Saxony. At a works meeting held on Wednesday in Emden, HR Board Member Gunnar Kilian... Read more →

The European Parliament approved binding 2030 target for renewables (32%) and an indicative target on energy efficiency (32.5%) that will play a crucial role in meeting the EU’s climate goals. Parliament on Tuesday confirmed the provisional agreement reached with the Council in June on energy efficiency (434 votes to 104... Read more →

The European Parliament has backed plans for trucks to cut CO2 emissions by 2030. MEPs adopted a higher target (35%) than the European Commission (30%) for new trucks to reduce the EU’s greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, with an intermediate target of 20% by 2025. Manufacturers will also have to... Read more →

The number of battery-electric buses ordered in Europe more than doubled in 2017 compared to 2016, reaching 1,031 vehicles, according to a new analysis by environmental NGO Transport & Environment. T&E estimates this to be equivalent to around 9% market share of new registrations in 2018. The are currently about... Read more →

At the beginning of the third quarter, the BMW Group signed a long-term contract with the Chinese company Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL) to supply battery cells with a value of four billion euros. The award of this contract was a decisive factor in CATL’s decision to build an... Read more →

In response what it said is widespread interest from European customers, Nikola Motor Company has designed a hydrogen-electric truck for European markets. Reservations for the Nikola Tre (means “Three” in Norwegian) are now open at www.nikolamotor.com/tre. Guests at Nikola World in Phoenix in April 2019 will be able to view... Read more →

Earlier this month, members of the European Parliament’s Environment Committee proposed a higher target (35%) than the European Commission (30%) for new heavy-duty trucks to reduce EU greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, with an intermediate target of 20% by 2025. Manufacturers will also have to ensure that zero- and low-emission... Read more →

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across the European Union rose slightly in 2017, mostly because of the transport sector. Preliminary estimates published in the European Environment Agency’s (EEA) annual trends and projections assessments show a 0.6% emissions increase in 2017 from 2016. This limited increase means that the EU is still... Read more →

Air pollution and transportation noise are both associated with an increased risk of heart attacks. However, studies on air pollution which do not take into account traffic noise tend to overestimate the long-term effect of air pollution on heart attacks, according to a study conducted by the Swiss Tropical and... Read more →

The European car market recorded the highest monthly decline of the last decade in September 2018, as 1.12 million vehicles were registered—343,000 less than in September 2017, according to figures from JATO Dynamics. The drop follows August’s inflated results, which were boosted by an increase in business registrations and stock... Read more →

Nouryon (formerly AkzoNobel Specialty Chemicals), Tata Steel and the Port of Amsterdam have joined together to study the feasibility of a large green hydrogen cluster in the Amsterdam region. The three parties consider green hydrogen as vital for reaching climate targets and building a more circular economy—e.g., by combining it... Read more →

The Volkswagen Group rolled out a new diesel swapping program in Germany. Environmental incentives for scrappage of Euro-1 to Euro-4 diesel vehicles of any make are again being offered by some of the Group’s brands throughout Germany. Vehicle keepers in the 14 cities classified by the federal government as having... Read more →

The BMW Group, Northvolt and Umicore have formed a joint technology consortium in order to work closely together on the continued development of a complete and sustainable value chain for battery cells for electrified vehicles in Europe. The chief objective is to make battery cells sustainable by establishing a closed... Read more →

Ford has begun production of the Deutsche Post StreetScooter WORK XL electric van at its European HQ in Cologne, Germany. Based on a Transit chassis, produced at the Ford Otosan joint venture plant in Kocaeli, Turkey, the medium-sized electric delivery van is fitted with a battery-electric drivetrain and a body... Read more →

The European Council agreed on setting a target of a 35% average reduction in CO2 emissions form new cars by 2030. This position is a basis on which to begin talks with the European Parliament, which just came out with its own target of 40% by 2030 (earlier post). The... Read more →

EMT, the transport company of the Spanish capital Madrid, is set to receive another 276 Mercedes-Benz Citaro NGT urban buses with natural gas drive in the next two years. This will be the fourth major order from Madrid in quick succession. EMT placed its first order two years ago for... Read more →

Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) approved a proposal which would set a higher target for reducing EU fleet-wide emissions for new cars by 2030 of 40% (compared to the EU Commission’s 30%; year of reference 2021) with an intermediate target of 20% by 2025. Similar targets are set for... Read more →

Ford will enhance the fuel-efficient Mondeo Hybrid gasoline-electric vehicle range—including the introduction of the first Mondeo Hybrid wagon variant—from 2019. The new Mondeo Hybrid wagon will enable customers who require greater load-carrying capability to benefit from the efficiency and refinement of an electric powertrain in many driving scenarios, while maintaining... Read more →

ŠKODA, a member of the Volkswagen Group, is unveiling the VISION RS plug-in hybrid concept at the Paris Motor Show. The study provides the first glimpses of the next evolutionary stage of ŠKODA’s sporty RS models and the design of a future compact vehicle. ŠKODA is also demonstrating the use... Read more →

At IAA Commercial Vehicles, Dutch truck manufacturer DAF—a division of Paccar—is showcasing the LF Electric, CF Electric and CF Hybrid Innovation trucks. vocational product range that set the standard in quality, low operating cost and vehicle performance. The DAF LF series if for distribution transport, while the versatile CF is... Read more →

Toyota announced that it will provide its hydrogen fuel cell technology to Caetanobus SA in Portugal. Toyota will supply its fuel cell systems, including fuel cell stacks, hydrogen tanks and other key components to Caetanobus SA—the Portuguese bus engineering and production company—to build hydrogen fuel cell city buses. The first... Read more →

A new study by MIT researchers, published this month in Atmospheric Environment, finds that in Europe, 10 major auto manufacturers produced diesel cars, sold between 2000 and 2015, that generate up to 16 times more NOx emissions on the road than in regulatory tests—a level that exceeds European limits but... Read more →

During the IAA 2018 from 20th to 27th September 2018 in Hanover, MAN will present a fully electric eTruck solo distributor chassis with a swap body frame and a 6x2 axle configuration. The 26-tonne truck, based on the MAN TGM, incorporates batteries that can be installed under the cab and... Read more →

The A35 Brebemi autostrada in northern Italy will become the latest location for road electrification technology, and Scania trucks fitted with Siemens pantographs and power connections are in line to carry out the initial trials. The trucks receive electricity from a pantograph power collector that is mounted on the frame... Read more →

Maxus is presenting a range of zero emission EV80 battery electric vans at the 67th IAA Commercial Vehicles show in Hannover. The light commercial vehicle manufacturer, a subsidiary of China’s largest vehicle manufacturer SAIC Motor, is also announcing LeasePlan as its exclusive partner in Europe, as it prepares for its... Read more →

Ford revealed the production version of the new Transit Custom plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) at IAA Commercial Vehicle show in Hannover, Germany. The Transit Custom PHEV targets an all-electric driving range of 50 kilometers (31 miles), and uses the multi-award-winning Ford 1.0-liter EcoBoost gasoline engine as a range extender... Read more →

In Europe, Ford has enhanced the S-MAX sports activity vehicle and Galaxy people mover to deliver more fuel efficiency, performance and refinement. The Ford S-MAX and Galaxy models are now offered for the first time with Ford’s 2.0-liter EcoBlue diesel engine featuring power outputs from 120 PS to 240 PS... Read more →

Ford will present its latest generation of connected and electrified Transit products at the IAA Commercial Vehicle show in Hannover, Germany, from 20-27 September 2018. Ford’s Transit Custom plug-in hybrid (PHEV) will make its show debut in production form, and the new Transit with a segment-first 48-volt mild hybrid (mHEV)... Read more →

At the Paris motor show in October, Toyota will introduce the Corolla Touring Sports. Joining the new hatchback first revealed in Geneva earlier this year, the new Toyota Corolla Touring Sports features a dynamic design which differentiates between the sporting, compact and dynamic hatchback and the sleek, refined and versatile... Read more →

The Center for Electrochemical Energy Storage Ulm & Karlsruhe (CELEST), the largest German research platform for electrochemical, comprising research into Li-ion batteries, post-Li technologies, fuel cells, and redox-flow batteries, has begun operation. CELEST combines finding-oriented research with close-to-practice development and innovative production technology. CELEST pools the know-how of 29 institutes... Read more →

The European FCH JU-funded project INN-BALANCE (INNovative Cost Improvements for BALANCE of Plant Components of Automotive PEMFC Systems) partners are tasked with developing a new generation of highly-efficient fuel cell Balance of Plant (BoP) components. These components are intended to support an innovative fuel cell system and hence greatly improve... Read more →

New analysis by IHS Markit suggests that automakers failing to meet 2021 fleet CO2 emissions compliance for passenger vehicles sold in the European Union (EU) could be fined more than €14 billion (US$16 billion) in 2021. Legislators in the European Union (EU) are imposing a new passenger car fleet CO2... Read more →

JATO Dynamics’ latest findings on the impact of WLTP on the automotive market indicate that re-homologation to the WLTP test cycle is having a more significant impact than previously thought on NEDC-correlated values obtained under WLTP, which are calculated using co2mpas (the model developed to convert WLTP CO2 measurements to... Read more →

The European car market recorded its best H1 performance of the century, with 8.6 million car registrations between January and June—a year-on-year increase of 2.7%. Despite uncertainty in the UK, where the market was down 6.3% on H1 2017, the growth recorded in Germany, France and Spain allowed the overall... Read more →

The UK Department for Transport launched a consultation on whether and how it should introduce E10 fuel—which contains more bioethanol than traditional gasoline—to the UK market. We have launched this consultation in order to understand the impact of E10 on the UK market better, and to ensure that drivers are... Read more →

The Chinese EV battery manufacturer Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd. (CATL) is building its first plant outside of China in Thuringia, Germany. The focus of the 14 GWh plant is on the automated production and intelligent production of batteries. CATL develops battery systems for global customers in EV, HEV and PHEV... Read more →

The City of Paris and Groupe Renault announced their intention to share their expertise and skills to develop electric mobility for Parisians, Île-de-France residents and visitors. The partnership will result in short-, medium- and long-term actions in favor of the development of connected and autonomous electric vehicles. As a first... Read more →

Railway industry company CAF has entered into an agreement to acquire Solaris Bus & Coach, a global supplier of conventional and electric buses with presence in over 700 cities in 32 countries. With a 2017 turnover of close to €450 million, it has production plants in Poland in the cities... Read more →

German startup I SEE Electric Trucks GmbH is building electric versions of the Opel Vivaro and Opel Movano. The company already has more than 25 model variants available, with two battery sizes—40 kWh and 55 kWh—offering range of up to more than 200 km (124 miles). Electric heating is standard;... Read more →

A new study by the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) finds that the affordability of electric cars remains a strong deterrent for customers across the EU, along with lack of infrastructure and lack of investment in infrastructure. The analysis, which compares national data on the market uptake of electrically-chargeable vehicles... Read more →

The Swiss company ecovolta is building a fully automated Li-Ion battery pack assembly plant in Schwyz with an annual capacity of 200 MWh. This will make it one of the largest such plants in Europe after its launch in September 2018. The construction principle used by ecovolta enables the flexible... Read more →

Andreas Scheuer, German Federal Minister of Transport and Digital Infrastructure, announced the award of around €50 million (US$58 million) in funding for 31 municipal electric mobility projects under the “Clean Air 2017-2020 emergency program”. This means that a total of more than 420 cars, well over 100 buses, around 110... Read more →

The New Hyundai Tucson for Europe, which enters production this month, will be equipped with a fuel-efficient 48 V mild hybrid powertrain. It is the first model in the company’s line-up to offer the new technology. Production of the new compact SUV starts in June 2018, to be launched in... Read more →

Toyota Motor is introducing a mid-lifecycle model change for the AYGO, its successful A-segment entry in the European market. In 2017, AYGO was amongst the top sellers of the A-segment with more than 85,000 units sold, and a segment share of 6.6%. Launched in 2005 for Europe, the first generation... Read more →

As of July 2018, all BMW gasoline and plug-in hybrid models available in Germany will be fitted as standard with a gasoline particulate filter (GPF) and thus will comply with the exhaust standard Euro 6d-TEMP. BluePerformance Technology including SCR catalytic converter with AdBlue injection has been a standard feature of... Read more →

France-based ARTS Energy, a manufacturer of battery-based energy storage solutions using a variety of chemistries, is entering the hybrid-electric vehicle and very high power application markets via a strategic partnership with Hunan Copower EV Battery Co, a subsidiary of the Corun Group. ARTS Energy currently serves the solar, defense &... Read more →