Volkswagen reports that, even before the launch of the new ID.3 EV this summer, demand for electrified Volkswagen products has increased in Germany. Every second order for the up! model series is for the fully electric version, with around 20,000 orders received over the first three months of this year.... Read more →

The decline of the European new car market has continued throughout February. According to JATO Dynamics data, 1,063,264 units were registered last month, compared to 1,143,852 in February 2019. This equates to a decline of 7.0%, as last month saw the lowest number of registrations since 2015, when only 955,113... Read more →

INEOS, a leading chemcial manufacturer, announced it will build a UK factory to produce 1 million bottles of hand sanitizer per month within 10 days and will replicate this in Germany. These will be produced according to World Health Organisation specifications and be specifically designed to kill bacteria and viruses.... Read more →

The European Environment Agency’s (EEA) data confirm large decreases in air pollutant concentrations—of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentrations in particular—largely due to reduced traffic and other activities, especially in major cities under lockdown measures. Reductions of around half have been seen in some locations. The EEA’s data are measured hourly, on... Read more →

Solaris has secured another contract for the delivery of electric buses on the Polish market. The city of Bolesławiec has ordered two electric 8.9m buses and two stationary chargers. Worth a gross of nearly 4.8 million PLN (US$1.1 million), the contract will be carried out in February 2021. Two Urbino... Read more →

The European Commission (EC) presented a broad new European Industrial Strategy to help Europe’s industry lead the transition towards climate neutrality and digital leadership. The Strategy sets out the key drivers of Europe’s industrial transformation and proposes a comprehensive set of future actions, including a Clean Hydrogen Alliance to accelerate... Read more →

After a large increase of new vehicle registrations in Europe in December 2019, volumes for January decreased, marking another month of transition for the complex new car market. A total of 1,138,057 new passenger cars were registered in Europe in January 2020, representing a decline of 7.6% from January 2019,... Read more →

In addition to the European car market recording tepid growth in 2019, CO2 emissions have continued to increase, despite new regulation designed to curtail this, according to JATO Dynamics. Last year, the volume-weighted average CO2 emissions for European markets were at their highest recorded levels since 2014. According to data... Read more →

Irizar e-mobility will provide nine 18-meter (59-foot) articulated electric buses to In-de-City-Bus GmbH (ICB) Frankfurt (Germany), in addition to nine interoperable slow charge stations for their garages. With 560 kWh of stored energy and a range of 220 to 250 km (137 to 155 miles), the latest generation of Iriziar... Read more →

Belgium-based Punch Group has acquired GM’s propulsion engineering center in Turin, Italy. The transaction between the two companies includes an engineering services agreement (ESA) to support GM’s global product programs through the end of 2021. Since 2005, Turin has served as a global center of excellence for diesel propulsion systems... Read more →

BAE Systems has been selected by Alexander Dennis Limited (ADL) and the Republic of Ireland’s National Transport Authority (NTA) to supply up to 600 electric power and propulsion systems for its new fleet of buses in Ireland. The selection includes an initial order for 100 systems. The Series-ER system (earlier... Read more →

Two hydrogen mobility projects led by Air Liquide—Hype and HyAMMED—were selected in January 2020 by ADEME (French Environment & Energy Management Agency) as part of the second closing of its “Hydrogen Mobility Ecosystems” call for proposals. Hype is developing the world’s first fleet of hydrogen-powered taxis. Launched during the 2015... Read more →

Porsche Leipzig is expanding the charging infrastructure for electric vehicles in central Germany with a new charging park called Porsche Turbo Charging. The total capacity of the facility, which includes six internal quick charging points, is 7 MW. Porsche Leipzig currently has Europe’s most powerful rapid-charging park, which is operated... Read more →

Norwegian wholesaler ASKO is deploying two battery electric Scania distribution trucks in its operations in Oslo, Norway. This pilot marks another milestone in the cooperation regarding electrified solutions for heavy transport between Scania and ASKO. Asko is also piloting the use of hydrogen fuel-cell trucks with Scania. (Earlier post.) The... Read more →

The all-new Honda Jazz features efficient and responsive performance delivered by e:HEV hybrid technology as standard. The Jazz e:HEV plays a key role in Honda’s commitment that 100% of its mainstream European sales will feature electrified powertrains by 2022. The car will be available across Europe in summer 2020, with... Read more →

In Germany (the largest car market in Europe), the 2020 registration year started with 246,300 newly registered passenger cars—7.3% less than in January 2019, according to figures from the German KBA (Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt). However, alternative drive types increased significantly in the reporting month. Source: KBA. With 7,492 new vehicles, the number... Read more →

In the last quarter of 2019, EU demand for diesel cars further decreased, dropping to 29.5% of new-car registrations, according to data from ACEA, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association. Gasoline cars accounted for 57.3% of the EU market, while electrically‐chargeable vehicles (ECV) made up 4.4% of total new car sales... Read more →

A new report by the European Environment Agency (EEA) finds that, taken together with public transport, walking and cycling for short city journeys provide the greatest benefits for both human health and the environment in urban areas. The introduction and rapid uptake of app-based vehicle sharing schemes can also have... Read more →

The European Commission (EC) last week approved an increase in state funding by €300 million (US$332 million) for the purchase of electric buses in Germany in accordance with EU state aid rules. The German aid scheme will apply until the end of 2021 and is intended to cover the additional... Read more →

Norwegian wholesaler Asko is among the first to operate a goods vehicle that runs on hydrogen, thanks to a collaborative effort by research scientists and industry. SINTEF, one of Europe’s largest independent research organizations, has been working with Asko and hydrogen fuel for almost ten years with the aim of... Read more →

Energy major Total, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Saft, and Groupe PSA with Opel, intend to establish a joint venture named Automotive Cell Company (ACC) to develop EV battery manufacturing in Europe. The project will leverage cutting-edge R&D, notably provided by Saft, in order to produce EV batteries starting in 2023.... Read more →

Solaris has won a tender for the delivery of three articulated electric buses to the operator SWB in Bonn. The Urbino 18 electric buses feature the new generation of Solaris High Energy+ batteries. Pursuant to the agreement, the Solaris buses will be put into service this year. A key condition... Read more →

In a working paper for the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), a team from UC Berkeley, UC Santa Barbara and Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) calculates that the social cost of the phase out of nuclear electricity production in Germany is approximately $12 billion per year. More than 70% of... Read more →

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 →