WeShare, Volkswagen and ŠKODA’s free-floating electric car sharing service, is to expand into seven more cities in Germany and other European countries in 2020. Prague and Hamburg in the spring are to be followed by Paris, Madrid, Budapest, Munich and Milan in the course of the year. In all these... Read more →

A consortium comprising Nouryon (formerly AkzoNobel Specialty Chemicals), Gasunie and four other partners will receive an €11-million European grant towards their proposed green hydrogen project in Delfzijl, the Netherlands. The project is a front-runner among several hydrogen initiatives aimed at cutting carbon emissions and will be a significant milestone in... Read more →

Toyota Motor Europe reported 2019 sales of 1,089,422 Toyota and Lexus vehicles, an increase of +5.2% from 2018. Total market share for the group rose to 5.3%, in a European market which was stable year on year. With more than 550,000 hybrid electric vehicles sold, representing 52% of the total... Read more →

Ford is investing €42 million (US$46.6 million) in its Valencia, Spain manufacturing plant to support the company’s electrification strategy with a state-of-the-art battery assembly facility in addition to new S-MAX Hybrid and Galaxy Hybrid models. Two new assembly lines will enable the advanced lithium-ion batteries that help power all-new Kuga... Read more →

Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Motors Corporation today made a strategic investment of €100 million (US $110 million) in a new partnership with Arrival, a UK-based electric vehicle startup (earlier post). Of the total investment, Hyundai will contribute €80 million; Kia €20 million. Through the partnership, Hyundai and Kia plan... Read more →

Amazon has ordered 40 StreetScooter WORK Box electric vans which will be deployed at its distribution center in Munich Daglfing. Complementing the vehicle order, StreetScooter has also installed 60 charging stations at the Amazon site. Streetscooter WORK Box van Amazon has also taken delivery of 10 Mercedes-Benz battery-electric eVito vans... Read more →

Testing of two popular Euro 6d-temp diesels by Ricardo, commissioned by the environmental NGO Transport & Environment (T&E), has found that the periodic regeneration of diesel particulate filters (DPFs) in the light-duty vehicles can generate spikes of particulate emissions of more than 1,000 times the normal rate. This results in... Read more →

ABB has received an order for a further 324, 350 kW high-power electric vehicle (EV) chargers from IONITY. The chargers are to be rolled out in 24 countries by the end of 2020 as part of the second phase of the IONITY network expansion. Financial details of the order were... Read more →

Germany’s Federal Minister of Transport and Digital Infrastructure Andreas Scheuer announced the founding of a new national control enter for charging infrastructure. The mission of the National Control Center is to ensure the swift and coordinated establishment of nationwide charging options in Germany. The automotive industry and the energy industry... Read more →

BYD has secured the largest single order to date for full battery-electric buses in Europe in a deal with Keolis Nederland BV, the Dutch subsidiary of global public transport provider, Keolis. The landmark order comprises 259 BYD eBuses scheduled for programmed delivery from next summer. For Keolis Nederland, BYD’s 8.7-meter... Read more →

The European Commission has approved under EU State aid rules an Important Project of Common European interest (IPCEI) jointly notified by Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Sweden to support research and innovation in the common European priority area of batteries. The seven Member States will provide in the... Read more →

IVECO, FPT Industrial and Nikola unveiled the maquette of the Nikola TRE battery-electric truck, the first vehicle resulting from the joint venture between CNH Industrial and Nikola, which involves the commercial vehicle brand and the powertrain specialist. (Earlier post.) The battery electric Nikola TRE, which is based on the IVECO... Read more →

Concentrations of the harmful NO2 pollutant across 30 major European cities could be reduced by up to 40% with the correct traffic policy measures, according to EU Joint Research Center (JRC) scientists. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution is the single largest environmental health risk in Europe.... Read more →

Plug Power Inc., a provider of hydrogen fuel cell systems and fueling solutions enabling e-mobility, announced a new agreement with Spanish hydrogen production and distributor Compañía Logística de Hidrocarburos (CLH). Through the agreement, CLH will develop hydrogen production assets and downstream markets in Spain, in the industrial, mobility and power... Read more →

Uber is adding more polluting car trips to already-clogged European cities such as London and Paris, new analysis by European NGOs suggests—contributing to air pollution and climate change and exploding the company’s sustainability claims. Data compiled by Euromonitor for European research and campaign group Transport & Environment (T&E) shows a... Read more →

Hyundai Motor’s Hydrogen Mobility Solution has won the second International Truck of the Year (IToY) Truck Innovation Award. Hyundai Motor Company and H2 Energy set up its joint venture (JV), Hyundai Hydrogen Mobility, in April 2019. (Earlier post.) The goal of the cooperation is to expand Europe’s hydrogen mobility ecosystem... Read more →

Honda is further accelerating its electrification plans for Europe by moving forward its goal for all of its European mainstream models to feature electrified powertrains by 2022. Announced during an Electric Vision event in Amsterdam, the new target is three years ahead of the previously announced 2025 goal. This acceleration... Read more →

Toyota Motor Europe reported strong performance continuing into the third quarter 2019 driven by new model introductions and increased demand for hybrid electric vehicles (HEV). The company announced Jan-Sep total vehicle sales of 838,691 units across the region in a declining market, reporting 3.1% growth year-on-year, showing an increase of... Read more →

Over the past five years, the number of electric buses in Europe has increased from around 200 to 2,200 vehicles, according to a report from Busworld. For 2019, Poland-based Solaris claims to have concluded the most contracts for the construction of electric buses. There are now some 800 electric-powered Solaris... Read more →

China-based Li-ion battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL) has begun construction of its first lithium-ion battery factory in Thuringia, a state in east-central Germany. CATL has developed partnerships with a number of European companies in the automobile industry including BMW, Volkswagen, Daimler, Volvo, and Bosch. Germany is home... Read more →

The European Environment Agency’s (EEA’s) “Air quality in Europe — 2019 report” shows that almost all Europeans living in cities are still exposed to air pollution levels that exceed the health-based air quality guidelines (AQGs) set by the World Health Organization (WHO). The new EEA analysis is based on the... Read more →

The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess whether Hungary's plans to grant €108 million of public support to Samsung SDI for investing in the expansion of its battery cell production facility in Göd (Hungary) is in line with EU rules on regional State aid. Public investment is... Read more →

The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), Hydrogen Europe and the International Road Transport Union (IRU) are jointly calling on European policy makers to ramp up investments in EU-wide hydrogen refueling infrastructure for fuel cell electric vehicles. Fuel cell vehicles can contribute positively to the overall decarboniZation agenda of the EU.... Read more →

The European Commission has begun work aimed at post-Euro 6 emission standards for on-road vehicles. The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT)—an independent nonprofit organization founded to provide unbiased research and technical and scientific analysis to environmental regulators—has pitched a paper into the pre-regulations mix. The paper highlights issues and... Read more →

As part of a new £500-million (US$617-million) investment in green technologies, the UK government will set up a £400-million (US$494-million) fund to help develop rapid charging infrastructure points for electric vehicles. The first £70 million is allocated for 3,000 charge points—more than doubling the number across the UK to 5,000.... Read more →

Kia Motors Company and Hyundai Motor Company,affiliated automotive companies for Hyundai Motor Group, have invested in IONITY, a joint venture established in 2017 between BMW Group, Daimler AG, Ford Motor Company, and Volkswagen Group with Porsche AG. The Hyundai Motor Group will obtain equal shares in IONITY as those of... Read more →

Despite continuing economic uncertainty and diminishing consumer confidence, the European car market registered growth in July 2019, as registrations were up by 1.2% to 1,325,600 units, according to JATO Dynamics. Although the growth was marginal, it marks a significant improvement on the drop seen in June, when registrations fell by... Read more →

The new Honda e EV features intuitive and advanced connectivity in a contemporary passenger cabin. The Honda e’s full-width digital dashboard, comprised of five integrated high-resolution color screens, is designed for effortless usability of the onboard connected apps and services. The Side Camera Mirror System screens are ergonomically placed at... Read more →

The European car market dropped in June 2019 as 1.49 million vehicles were registered—down by 7.9% on the same time last year, according to data from JATO. It was the biggest monthly drop so far in 2019, as only four out of the 27 markets included in JATO’s analysis posted... Read more →

Toyota Motor Europe (TME) reported half-year sales of 578,400 vehicles across the region, up 3.3% year-on-year and registering a 5.3% market share. Hybrids drove the strong performance between January and June 2019, with total hybrid sales of 303,400 units (+18% year-on-year), or 52% of the total. The first half of... Read more →

NVIDIA will lead the European Association of Automotive Suppliers (CLEPA) working group on highly connected automated vehicles. This group, which consists of European automotive suppliers, contributes to the development of new UNECE assessment methods for automated vehicles. In addition to CLEPA, NVIDIA also works with key international organizations formulating standards... Read more →

The Joint Research Center (JRC), the European Commission’s science and knowledge service, has released a report exploring the future of road transport, given the advent of automated, connected, low-carbon and shared mobility. The report shows how thes massive changes on the horizon caused by automation, connectivity, decarbonization and sharing, represent... Read more →

Volkswagen is entering the growing car sharing sector with the launch of WeShare in Berlin today. With 1,500 e-Golf vehicles, the Volkswagen brand is bringing onto the roads a 100% electric fleet; all the vehicles will be operated on green power. The e-Golfs will be followed by 500 additional e-up!... Read more →

According to provisional data published by the European Environment Agency (EEA), the average CO2 emissions from new passenger cars registered in the European Union (EU) in 2018 increased for the second consecutive year, reaching 120.4 grams of CO2 per kilometer. For the first time, the average CO2 emissions from new... Read more →

Registrations of pure electric, plug-in hybrid and hybrid cars totalled 94,000 units in 18 European markets in May 2019, counting for 7.1% of the total volume, up from 5.3% in May 2018, according to figures from JATO Dynamics. The majority of registrations came from hybrid vehicles, but the growth was... Read more →

On the sidelines of the G20 Ministerial Meeting on Energy Transitions and Global Environment for Sustainable Growth, US Deputy Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette; Japan’s Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry Hiroshige Seko; and European Union Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy Miguel Cañete signed a joint statement of future... Read more →

Volkswagen AG is investing some €900 million (US$1.019 billion) in joint battery activities with Northvolt AB. Part of the sum is intended for a joint venture with the Swedish battery cell producer, a further share will go directly to Northvolt AB. Part of the sum is an element of Northvolt’s... Read more →

Total greenhouse gas emissions in the European Union (EU) increased by 0.7% in 2017, according to latest official data published today by the European Environment Agency (EEA). Less coal was used to produce heat and electricity but this was offset by higher industrial and transport emissions, the latter increasing for... Read more →

At a press event yesterday in Berlin, Volkswagen launched pre-booking in Europe for the first model in its new full-electric ID. model family, the ID.3. One day later, Volkswagen reports that customer interest in the initial special edition of the EV—the ID.3 1ST, which is limited to 30,000 vehicles—is significantly... Read more →

Irizar has signed a contract for 15 zero emissions electric buses and charging infrastructure for Schaffhausen in Switzerland. The energy needed for the charging stations will be generated by the Rhine River as it passes through Schaffhausen. Irizar was awarded the supply contract for the first line of electric buses... Read more →

The European car market registered its seventh consecutive month of decline in March 2019, according to figures from JATO Dynamics. Ongoing political and economic uncertainty, including lack of clarity around Brexit, alongside consumer preoccupation with diesel bans in cities, meant that overall demand continued to decline. Last month, 19 of... Read more →

Volvo Cars is making its industry-first connected safety technology available across Europe as another step in its ambitions to improve traffic safety. The technology allows Volvo cars to communicate with each other and alert drivers of nearby slippery road conditions and hazards via a cloud based network. Hazard Light Alert... Read more →

Toyota Motor Europe (TME) sold 279,000 vehicles in the first three months of 2019, achieving a hybrid electric vehicle mix in excess of 50%—one year ahead of plan. With a year-on-year rise of 14%, hybrid models helped TME maintain sales in Q1 2019 in a declining market, pushing up TME... Read more →

Paris transport operator RATP is splitting an order for nearly 800 electric buses into three identical batches, in their minimum and maximum amounts, with HeuliezBus, Bluebus/Bolloré and Alstom/Alstom Aptis. The up to €400-million order is the result of a consultation launched in January 2018, the aim of which was to... Read more →

In a survey of 2,000 adults across the UK, Nissan’s research found that only 1 in 3 were aware of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) going live on 8 April—yet almost half of all respondents support the daily charge’s introduction. The ULEZ now operates 24 hours a day, 7... Read more →

All but three European car manufacturers met their specific emission targets in 2017, based on current European vehicle test rules. Nevertheless, average carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from new cars sold in the European Union in 2017 rose by 0.4g of CO2 per km from 2016, according to final data published... Read more →

Tesla’s Model 3 led the BEV and premium midsize sedan rankings in Europe in February, according to JATO Dynamics. The hotly anticipated car excelled during its first full month on the European market and became the best-selling BEV. The Model 3 quickly outsold other big players such as the Nissan... Read more →

The Volkswagen Group said that since August 2017, more than 300,000 old diesel vehicles to exhaust emissions standards Euro 1 to Euro 5 have been exchanged throughout the Group. The old diesels have been replaced by new or nearly new cars from the participating Group brands with efficient powertrains of... Read more →

The European Parliament, Council and Commission (the EU institutions) reached a provisional political agreement on the revised General Safety Regulation. As of 2022 a suite of 15 new safety technologies will become mandatory in European vehicles to protect passengers, pedestrians and cyclists. The European Commission expects that the proposed measures... Read more →

At a Ford “Go Further” experience in Amsterdam on 2 April, Ford will unveil Fiesta and Focus EcoBoost Hybrid models for Europe. The Fiesta EcoBoost Hybrid and Focus EcoBoost Hybrid will feature a mild-hybrid architecture with a belt-driven integrated starter/generator (BISG) replacing the standard alternator, enabling recovery and storage of... Read more →