Europe
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European electric and plug-in hybrid sales for Jan 2017
It's a new year, and that means a reset of the tally of European electric-car sales. In January, the top-selling European-market electric car of 2016 maintained its status for one more month. The Renault Zoe accumulated 2,602 sales in the first month of the year. DON'T MISS: Nissan e-NV200 beats...
Stephen Edelstein -
Half of Norway's new-car sales are now hybrids or electrics
Norway has achieved yet another milestone in electric-car sales. The Scandinavian country may be the friendliest for electric cars in the world, thanks to a combination of aggressive incentives, well-developed charging infrastructure, and a citizenry committed to lowering carbon emissions. Thanks...
Stephen Edelstein -
Honda: hybrids, plug-ins, fuel cells to be two-thirds of Europe sales by 2025
Honda's green-car strategy for the next decade or so appears to be coming into greater focus. In place of its previous mild hybrids, the Japanese automaker is planning to produce much higher volumes of its two-motor hybrid powertrain, as seen first in the Accord Hybrid mid-size sedan. It also...
Stephen Edelstein -
Northvolt: $4 billion electric-car battery plant planned for Sweden by former Tesla execs
Tesla is currently ramping up lithium-ion battery cell production at its U.S. "Gigafactory" near Reno, Nevada. But the automaker has discussed plans for at least one additional Gigafactory, presumably to meet demand for battery cells related to large-scale electric-car production outside the U.S...
Stephen Edelstein -
GM sells Opel; is plan to switch to electric cars by 2030 now in limbo?
GM said today it will sell its European Opel division to PSA Peugeot Citroën, the French parent of the Citroën, DS and Peugeot brands, for 2.2 billion euros (approximately $2.33 billion). Among the questions surrounding the sale—which includes the U.K.-market Vauxhall brand—is...
Stephen Edelstein -
As automakers produce electric cars in greater numbers, public charging infrastructure will become even more crucial to lure new buyers and convince them the cars can be practical. Some automakers have already invested in charging infrastructure, while others are just starting to contemplate public charging stations for the electric cars they plan to launch. As it prepares a major expansion of electric-car sales, Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler has now invested in charging network ChargePoint. DON'T MISS: Tesla plans major U.S. expansion of Supercharger fast-charging Daimler led an investment...
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Shell hedges bets, adds hydrogen fuel to 1st U.K. station
Anticipating a possible decrease in fossil-fuel consumption from the mass deployment of zero-emission vehicles, one of the world's largest oil companies is hedging its bets. Royal Dutch Shell is becoming increasingly involved in hydrogen fueling infrastructure, which will be needed if fuel-cell...
Stephen Edelstein -
Daimler to build large electric semi truck; Urban e-Truck results good so far
Following successful trials, Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler plans to produce a small run of all-electric large commercial trucks for the European market. These trucks will be made available to a small number of European test customers for 12-month trials, with the deliveries slated to begin later...
Stephen Edelstein -
Wind energy capacity in Europe now exceeds total coal output
While homeowners are more familiar with photovoltaic solar panels, large-scale wind power is an increasingly important part of the growth in renewable energy. For the first time, the total installed capacity of wind energy in Europe now exceeds the total output of electric powerplants fueled with...
John Voelcker -
Diesel sales in Europe will fall close to zero within 10 years: prediction
In the U.S., the Volkswagen diesel scandal was a case of an automaker betraying the trust of more than half a million owners. But in the Europe, the issue of diesel emissions looms far larger yet. Diesels have represented roughly half of European car sales for decades, their good fuel economy being...
Stephen Edelstein -
European electric and plug-in hybrid sales for Jan-Dec 2016
The Renault Zoe closed out 2016 as the best-selling electric car in Europe. While the Nissan Leaf continues to lead in worldwide sales, the smaller electric car from Nissan's alliance partner has remained on top in its home market. These consistent performances have cemented the Renault-Nissan...
Stephen Edelstein -
If electric cars are adopted by mass-market buyers in years to come, that will lead over time to notably lower oil consumption. So what are oil companies doing to prepare for that possible outcome? Some continue to doubt whether electric cars will constitute a serious threat to their business in the coming decades—but others are branching out into fields beyond fossil fuels. DON'T MISS: Exxon says coal will endure; other analyses beg to differ ExxonMobil takes a fairly dismissive view of electric cars, predicting in a recent report that they will only account for 10 percent of U.S...
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Strong demand for Opel Ampera-e in Norway moves up launch date
Just as the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV electric car is launching in North America, its European cousin is beginning deliveries across the Atlantic. In Europe, General Motors markets the U.S.-built Bolt EV as virtually identical Opel Ampera-e under its German Opel brand. An example of what is known in...
Stephen Edelstein -
Shell fuel stations in U.K., Netherlands to add electric-car charging
Electric cars are often touted as a way to avoid gas stations. But electric-car drivers in certain European countries will soon be going to them to charge. That's because a pair of European oil companies plan to add electric-car charging at certain fuel stations. CHECK OUT: Electric-Car Charging...
Stephen Edelstein -
The original biofuel for motor vehicles: wood (and why we don't use it today)
When it comes to alternative fuels, the discussion usually centers around compressed natural gas, or biofuels like ethanol or biodiesel. But before the concept of low-carbon or carbon-neutral fuels even existed, a few early makers and desperate drivers tried something completely different. They...
Stephen Edelstein -
EU cracks down as diesel scandal exposes lax tests country by country
The Volkswagen diesel scandal has led to much greater scrutiny on the methods regulatory agencies use to test vehicle emissions, particularly in Europe. Even before news of Volkswagen's diesel "defeat device" software broke, the European fuel-economy testing cycle was known to be overly optimistic...
Stephen Edelstein -
Offshore wind energy in U.K. far ahead of lower-cost target
The winds of change are blowing harder in the U.K. The price of energy generated by offshore wind farms has been falling steadily, and ahead of schedule too. Costs have fallen 32 percent since 2012, bringing them below a target of £100 per megawatt-hour previously set by the U.K. government...
Stephen Edelstein -
Government officials in Germany seeking to express national pride in their choice of vehicle have no shortage of options. The established German luxury brands offer many models that frequently serve in the capacity of official vehicle for an elected official. Indeed, given Germany's considerable investment in its auto industry, using a German car seems almost obligatory. DON'T MISS: German government worries carmakers vulnerable to electric-car onslaught (Dec 2016) But one environment minister thinks otherwise. Johannes Remmel—environment minister for the German state of North...
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Ford to test plug-in hybrid Transit Custom van in London
Earlier this month, Ford announced a host of new electrified vehicles, including prototype and production hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and battery-electric models. Before its planned 2019 production launch, one of those vehicles will soon begin testing in London. It's a plug-in hybrid version of the...
Stephen Edelstein -
French target Renault, Brits query Fiat, over diesel emissions
The past week has not been a particularly pleasant one for advocates of diesel cars. Volkswagen agreed to plead guilty to criminal counts related to its diesel-emissions cheating and pay $4.3 billion in fines, while U.S. prosecutors arrested one of the company's executives and indicted five more...
Stephen Edelstein -
European electric and plug-in hybrid sales for Jan-Nov 2016
In the waning months of 2016, no dramatic changes occurred in European plug-in electric car sales. The established players remained on top of the sales charts, in virtually the same sequence seen in previous months. The Renault Zoe was again the best-selling electric car in Europe between January...
Stephen Edelstein -
All Dutch electric trains now running on 100-percent renewable energy
While modern electric cars have only been available in large numbers for a few years, electric trains have been commonplace for some time. As with electric cars, the source of the electricity used to power these trains impacts their overall carbon footprint. The cleaner an energy source, the...
Stephen Edelstein -
UK moves ahead on lower-carbon power to end coal use by 2025
Low-carbon energy use in the U.K. is up, and the government hopes to phase out coal by 2025.
Stephen Edelstein