Europe
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The Volkswagen diesel scandal has largely fallen out of the public eye in the U.S., as VW and Audi buy back and modify roughly half a million noncompliant vehicles sold from 2009 through 2016. In Germany, meanwhile, the major sellers of diesel vehicles—not only VW Group but also Mercedes, Opel, and Fiat—have agreed to modify 5 million newer diesels now on the road to reduce their emissions. They'll also offer four-figure trade-in bounties to encourage owners of the dirtiest diesels still on the road, those sold under Euro 4 rules before 2009, to trade them in for scrapping and buy...
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German Chancellor Merkel rejects electric-car quotas for Europe: 'not well thought out'
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the country's leader, has detailed why she believes electric-car quotas are not a viable answer to emission and other issues plaguing Europe. Merkel, a member of the conservative Christian Democratic Union, instead urged a much bigger-picture strategy, rather than a...
Sean Szymkowski -
VW, Mercedes, Opel, Fiat launch buybacks of dirtiest diesels in Europe
Almost two years ago, the Volkswagen diesel emission scandal burst into public view, and nothing has been quite the same since then. The news that VW Group engineers had deliberately cheated on eight years of emission tests for the "clean diesels" sold by Volkswagen, Audi, and Porsche sent...
John Voelcker -
Porsche prototype 350-kw electric car fast-charging station installed
Porsche has big plans to expand the capability of the Combined Charging System (CCS) DC standard into much higher voltages to allow much faster electric-car charging. Now, it's completed a first step: at the brand's new branch office in Berlin-Adlershof, Porsche has installed a prototype...
Sean Szymkowski -
UK to ban diesel, gasoline car sales by 2040; follows France, Norway, Holland bans
The United Kingdom will follow in the footsteps of some European countries as it announced plans to ban the sale of gasoline- and diesel-powered cars by the year 2040. The initiative closely follows a similar announcement from France, which also declared 2040 as the year it will phase out...
Sean Szymkowski -
European commissioner warns against cities' diesel bans, fears market collapse
The warning came even before last week's plans for updates to 9 million European diesel cars by German luxury makers Audi and Mercedes-Benz were announced. In a letter sent to the transport ministers of European Union countries, EU industry commissioner Elzbieta Bienkowska warned that proposed bans...
John Voelcker -
Mini, despite being owned by BMW since 1994, has long been a decidedly British brand. But both employees and fans worried that its British roots might be overlooked as a decision on where Mini's electric car is to be built closed in. Most Mini production takes place at the brand's Oxford plant in England, but both supply-chain factors and Brexit had led BMW board members to consider producing the electric Mini elsewhere. DON'T MISS: Electric Mini officially confirmed by BMW CEO, also electric BMW X3 In early July, Reuters reported that Mini and BMW would decide by September on a production...
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EU investigating diesel collusion among Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Porsche, VW: report
As numerous political probes over the years have famously shown, once investigators dig into the circumstances around an alleged crime, anything can happen. The September 2015 announcement by the EPA that VW Group engineers had admitted to deliberate cheating on U.S. emission tests of the company's...
John Voelcker -
European electric and plug-in hybrid sales for Jan-May 2017
Another month, and another round of European electric car sales data is ready for dissemination. Electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles continue to earn a healthy share of the European car market, and it's clear there's still a definitive electric car for Europeans. That is the...
Sean Szymkowski -
Renault Zoe still dominates Europe electric-car sales; longer range boosts sales
Ask a North American driver to name companies that make electric cars, and you'll probably hear Tesla, maybe Nissan, and perhaps Chevy or BMW or Toyota. Chinese drivers may be more likely to say BYD (and perhaps Tesla), but Europeans will likely name Renault. (And Tesla.) The Renault Zoe, now in...
John Voelcker -
Even BMW's hometown may ban older diesel cars
Diesel-powered vehicles are facing a tough road ahead as more European cities move to ban older, dirtier, oil-burning cars. Diesel has long been the preferred fuel of European drivers thanks to its efficiency and lower carbon dioxide levels. However, mounting research has shown diesel-powered cars...
Sean Szymkowski -
European electric and plug-in hybrid sales for Jan-April 2017
Electric vehicle sales are holding steady in Europe; the latest sales data shows popular battery electric vehicles remain popular. Plug-in hybrids continue to hold their own as well, according to data aggregated from numerous individual national markets. The Renault Zoe, in particular, continues to...
Sean Szymkowski -
Deutsche Post, the German mail service, has long hoped to replace its fleet of 30,000 internal-combustion delivery vans with electric vehicles. In 2014, it bought the company Street Scooter, which has since built thousands of small car-sized electric delivery vans. Now Deutsche Post has announced it is partnering with Ford to put a larger all-electric van into production, based on the Transit van chassis and cab. DON'T MISS: Germans to build own unique electric vans for postal service (Apr 2016) The Ford Transit chassis will be fitted with an all-electric drivetrain, along with a van body...
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UBS study predicts electric-car cost parity in Europe could arrive by 2018
With the prospect of multiple long-range electric cars hitting the market over the next few years, the prediction market is in full swing. Battery costs have fallen faster than predicted eight years ago, and virtually every carmaker plans to introduce at least one battery-electric vehicle with 200...
John Voelcker -
Real-world diesel emission study shows latest standards must be applied to heavy trucks
When a major lobbying group issues a statement replying to an academic study the same day that study first hits the media, you know it's major. On Monday, the Diesel Technology Forum responded to an article in Nature with a statement that supported "improved real-world testing" of diesel emissions...
John Voelcker -
Romania doubles electric-car subsidies, adds 'cash for clunkers' program
In recent years, governments have increasingly worked to encourage the sales of plug-in electric vehicles. Incentive programs for the purchase of a low-emission vehicle have been adopted across the world. The amounts granted and the mechanisms vary according to the individual program, but the goal...
John Voelcker -
European electric and plug-in hybrid sales for Jan-Mar 2017
The first quarter of 2017 is now behind us, which means we get to take a peek at the European plug-in electric vehicle sale numbers. The year-to-date numbers show a significant growth in sales for most electric models, according to the recent European Alternative Fuels Observatory report. The...
John Voelcker -
Europe diesel sales sag slightly, continuing trend since 2012
Despite efforts by Chevrolet to step into the void left by Volkswagen, sales of diesel passenger vehicles in the U.S. may have been permanently crippled by the VW diesel emission scandal. In Europe, however, diesel has been entrenched for decades as roughly 50 percent of the market. Even before the...
John Voelcker -
If plug-in electric cars and trucks receive purchase incentives from national and state governments, what about electric bicycles? That's just what a recent report from the European Cyclists Federation suggests. It recommends directing purchase incentives and infrastructure subsidies towards electrically assisted bicycles, known as e-bikes. DON’T MISS: Electric cars vs bicycles: which has a higher carbon footprint? The Electromobility For All Report focuses on the German market for so-called e-mobility: it says fewer than 26,000 electric cars are on the road today, despite having...
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London's $27 entry charge for pre-2016 diesel cars to start April 2019
For more than 13 years, London has collected a stiff charge from motor vehicles entering the congested core of the city during weekday business hours. Known as the congestion charge, the fee of £11.50 a day, or $14.50 (£10 with automatic payment, or $12.50) is levied from 6 am to 7 pm...
John Voelcker -
Modified European VW diesels 'undrivable,' say some owners
Most of the Volkswagen and Audi diesel cars sold in the U.S. from 2009 through 2015 are likely to be bought back from their owners, probably leaving fewer than 100,000 on U.S. roads. That's not the case in Europe, where the impacts of the Volkswagen diesel emission scandal are still playing out...
John Voelcker -
Germany, Austria electric-car charging networks improve, fast
Two adjacent European countries are stepping up efforts to improve their public electric-car charging infrastructure. Initiatives in Germany and Austria should see major improvements to charging networks in a short period of time, as both countries aggressively promote electric cars in an effort to...
Stephen Edelstein -
Europe's emission limits, small cars far from global mainstream: is this why GM sold Opel?
At the 2017 Geneva auto show, General Motors announced the sale of its entire European operations—comprising factories and the Opel and Vauxhall brands—to PSA Peugeot Citroën. German Opel and its British Vauxhall sibling have represented GM's main presence in Europe for decades...
Stephen Edelstein -
French prosecutors to investigate Fiat Chrysler for 'aggravated cheating' on diesel emissions
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles continues to be dogged by allegations that it cheated on various diesel-emissions tests. In the U.S., the company faces two lawsuits alleging that diesel vehicles use "defeat device" software to circumvent emissions tests in a similar manner to Volkswagen's cheating TDI...
Stephen Edelstein