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Electric vehicles: are they for real or just a fad? Can they satisfy the needs of the daily commuter? Can they match the performance we’ve come to expect from their fossil fuel driven counterparts? With the arrival of the Nissan Leaf and the much-hyped Chevrolet Volt, electric vehicles are back on centre stage after a […]
October 27, 2011
As electric cars started rolling out in the past year, major car companies staked a claim on a single specific type of battery-powered car technology. Each argued that its technology—ranging from conventional hybrid to plug-in hybrid to pure electric vehicle—is by far the best approach, and the others are fatally flawed. But with today’s announcement […]
October 27, 2011
Share Electric Car Industry Tainted by the “Solyndra Effect” By John Gartner · October 26, 2011 The cleantech industry as a whole, and the electric vehicle industry in particular, have been in the news nearly every day since Solyndra went bust, and not in a good way. The media and blogosphere are repeatedly asking the […]
October 27, 2011
via plugincars.com
October 24, 2011
European electric vehicle congress One of the pillars of the European Commission’s policy to lower greenhouse gas emissions from transport and to reduce oil dependency is the strategy on alternative motor fuels to substitute 20% of the fossil fuel by 2020. In this framework, battery, hybrid and fuel cell electric vehicles will play an important role. Exchange […]
October 24, 2011
RUESSELSHEIM — General Motors’ Opel/Vauxhall division wants to position itself as leader in electric cars, the unit’s sales and marketing chief Alain Visser said. “We want the Opel brand to be the market leader in electric mobility,” Visser told Automotive News Europe in an interview. With the debut of the Ampera plug-in hybrid car next […]
October 24, 2011
TOKYO — Japanese auto giant Nissan is aiming to sell 1.5 million electric vehicles around the world by 2016, the company said Monday, as it looks to capitalise on growing demand for green products. Japan’s second-largest automaker behind Toyota said it wants to be the world’s largest player in so-called “zero-emission vehicles”, including a new […]
October 20, 2011
Electric vehicles are giving automakers a boost in marketing appeal. Although sales haven’t exactly been electrifying, the vehicles are helping auto companies draw more shoppers to their showrooms, something that would not have happened without the curiosity over the new autos. “There is such a halo effect,” said Oliver Hazimeh, an automotive industry consultant at […]
October 20, 2011
One reason why auto companies are rolling out comparatively low-volume electric cars is to get buyers into showrooms they might have otherwise ignored. The strategy appears to be working for Chevrolet, which makes the Volt plug-in hybrid sedan and Nissan, manufacturer of the all-electric Leaf. Through the first nine months of this year, Chevrolet has […]
October 20, 2011
Hitachi will create 60 jobs to make lithium-ion battery packs at its Mercer County plant, the company and government officials announced Monday. The new manufacturing capability will represent a $12 million investment, according to a release from Gov. Steve Beshear’s office. Hitachi, which also has a plant in Berea, just completed construction of a 153,000-square-foot […]
October 20, 2011
TOKYO, Oct 18, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (tokyo:6503) announced today that it has begun full-scale tests of smart grid and related smart-community technologies at the company’s production sites in Japan. The aim of the project is to develop and test products including commercial systems, equipment and solutions for annual sales worth 1.3 […]
October 19, 2011
THE new Peugeot 3008 HYbrid4, the world’s first full diesel electric hybrid, will be launched in Ireland in December 2011, in time for January 2012. The environmentally friendly, ground-breaking car introduces a combination of diesel and electric power and delivers a real breakthrough in technology and driving performance. Available to pre-order in Ireland from 1st […]
October 19, 2011
Toyota Motor Europe has signed a three-year agreement with a French firm for the European-wide take-back and sustainable recycling of nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) batteries used in electric vehicles (EVs). The agreement with the Société Nouvelle d’Affinage des Métaux (SNAM) will run from 2011 to 2014. Toyota has sold some 370,000 Toyota and Lexus full-hybrid vehicles […]
October 19, 2011
The objective of the ceremony was to promote the sales of electric vehicles in Jinhua City through government financial subsidies to consumers who purchase Kandi pure EV. China Subsidies to 3,000 Kandi Pure Energy Vehicles by Jinhua City and Zhejiang Province Kandi Technologies, Corp. (the ‘Company’ or ‘Kandi’) (NASDAQ: KNDI), a leading Chinese supplier of […]
October 19, 2011
In an effort to promote use of electric vehicles and bring down pollution and boost efficiency the need of the hour are efficient and convenient charging stations for these vehicles. Now ABB group has announced that they are the first such company to recognize this need and have set about installing charging stations in Austria. […]
October 19, 2011
Suzuki Motor Corp accused Volkswagen of withholding hybrid technology it had promised to share, triggering an exchange of legal threats in the increasingly acrimonious spat over their two-year-old alliance. Japan’s Suzuki has served VW with a notice of breach of contract, demanding the German company give it access to key technologies within weeks. Unless it […]
October 19, 2011
Rolling out pay-as-you-go electric vehicle charging schemes is the key to getting consumers to switch to green transport, a leading organisation has claimed. Manufacturer Elektromotive has welcomed the announcement that a privately-funded charging network will be rolled out across Britain over the next year. It has predicted that the introduction of 4,000 charging points across […]
October 19, 2011
Toyota, in cooperation with the Tokyo Institute of Technology and the High Energy Accelerator Research Organization, has developed a prototype battery that can be processed into sheet form. The battery has up to five times the energy storage capacity of existing Li-ion batteries, the Nikkei reported Monday. The new battery is based on a solid […]
October 19, 2011
The Hertz Corporation announced the addition of the Ford Transit Connect Electric van into Hertz’s fleet. The five Hertz units will be deployed mid-November at multiple locations as part of Hertz Entertainment Services and Hertz on Demand car sharing. “Hertz Entertainment Services and Hertz on Demand customers have unique vehicle needs and the Transit Connect […]
October 19, 2011
Cobalt Technologies and Rhodia jointly to develop bagasse-based bio n-butanol market in Latin America 19 October 2011 Cobalt Technologies, a developer of next generation bio-based chemicals and Rhodia, a specialty chemical company, executed a Memorandum of Understanding setting the basis for a strategic alliance to develop bio n-butanol refineries throughout Latin America. Under the terms […]
October 19, 2011
Lately, we’ve seen a lot of new charging networks spring up around the world devoted to getting electric car owners the power they need to keep their cars charged up. But a U.K. based, government-backed charging infrastructure company has outraged electric car owners by suggesting that its network of member-only level 2 charging stations aren’t […]
October 19, 2011
Standing on the edge of the Salton Sea in southern California’s sun-blasted Imperial Valley, Luka Erceg surveys a Mad Max landscape—head-high mud volcanoes, hulking geothermal power plants shooting steam into a pale-blue sky and the rotting corpses of tilapia, mouths agape, stranded on a saline shore that sits 227 feet below sea level. The air […]
October 18, 2011
Ford researchers will demonstrate smart electrification technology that uses cloud-based computing and data to optimize a plug-in hybrid’s powertrain efficiency at the 18th World Congress on Intelligent Transport Systems. At the Google I/O conference in May, Ford introduced its research and innovation into using the cloud to predict driver behavior in order to optimize vehicle […]
October 18, 2011
When it comes to electric cars, many have said that it is the emerging economies, not shackled by convention, that will lead the way in electric car uptake. But a recent report by Ernst & Young suggests that it is Europe that will become the first mass market for EVs (see story). The report details […]
October 18, 2011
Seven Reasons to Believe Electric Cars Are Getting in Gear Sunday was National Plug In Day. Missed it? So did just about everyone else in America. For a few thousand people, though, it was a chance to stand up and shout, “I drive an electric car and I’m not half as crazy as you think […]
October 18, 2011
Renault shows electric in Lisbon Renault chose Portugal to stage the presentation to the world press their electric models Fluence Kangoo ZE and ZE, refers to the Matador Records Bulletin magazine. The presentation to the press started on September 29 and lasts until mid-November, with vehicles traveling between Lisbon (Airport) and Cascais (Hotel Onyria). Journalists […]
October 18, 2011
Increased worldwide interest in electric-vehicle (EV) deployment has led many researchers to consider the effects wide-scale adoption will have on the electric grid. Most experts have concluded that there is enough generation and transmission capacity to accommodate the expected number of EVs, at least in the near term. However, the distribution system could present a […]
October 18, 2011
Encouraging government incentives and green energy initiatives are expected to make China the world leader in electric vehicles in the near future. One of China’s intentions is to reduce urban pollution and decrease its dependence on oil. The Bedford Report examines the outlook for the industrial electric equipment industry and provides equity research on Harbin […]
October 18, 2011
Vigix Key Resume: La future citadine électrique de la division parallèle de BMW, la branche « i » lancé en 2007 pour élaborer des solutions de mobilité durables, est confirmée pour une commercialisation en 2013. Cette BMW i3, initialement appelée MegaCity, sera proposée en version tout électrique lors de son lancement, mais une version épaulée par un […]
October 17, 2011
Electric vehicles (EVs) fitted with small battery packs are more environmentally friendly than EVs fitted with large battery packs, according to a recent study conducted by researchers at Pittsburgh-based Carnegie Mellon University. Plug-in vehicles with small battery packs and hybrid-electric vehicles (HEVs) that don’t plug in can reduce life cycle impacts from air emissions and […]
October 17, 2011
An energy-storing membrane promises greater cost-effectiveness in delivering energy compared to existing batteries. Dr Xie Xian Ning from the National University of Singapore’s Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Initiative and his team developed the soft, foldable membrane using a polystyrene-based polymer. When sandwiched between two charged metal plates it can store charge at 0.2 farads per square […]
October 17, 2011
Car Charging Group Files Patents for Inductive Charging Solutions for Electric Vehicles Car Charging Group, a supplier of charging services for electric vehicles, declared that it has submitted two separate patent applications for inductive wireless charging for electric vehicles. Electric car charging station. Credit: Car Charging Group The first patent is for an inductive charging […]
October 17, 2011
Auto parts supplier Johnson Controls Inc. said it overestimated demand for its automotive batteries and will spend much of the next year working down its inventories. Chief Financial Officer Bruce McDonald admitted that the Milwaukee, Wis., company “took [its] eye off the ball” concerning its inventories, which ballooned by nearly 50% between mid-2010 and June […]
October 17, 2011
650 Opel Ampera electric car will be available as leasing electric cars in 12 European countries. LeasePlan, Opel sign agreement on electric vehicles Opel Ampera, the electric car badge of the German subsidiary of GM, will be available for leasing from November throughout Europe thanks to an agreement between Opel and LeasePlan, one of Europe’s […]
October 17, 2011
Seven of the world’s largest vehicle manufacturers have agreed on a standard design for their electric vehicle fast-charge systems. Audi, BMW, Daimler, Ford, General Motors, Porsche and Volkswagen have agreed to a harmonised, single-port fast-charging design to be integrated into all EVs sold in Europe and the US. The combined port integrates every charging scenario […]
October 17, 2011
When McDonald’s franchisee Tom Wolf built his latest restaurant in Huntington, W. Va., late last year, he installed two chargers for all-electric cars so customers could juice their batteries while eating. So far, the charging station has been used a few times. Electric-Vehicle Charging Stations “It’s for the future,” says Mr. Wolf, who spent $6,385 […]
October 17, 2011
Volvo has already confirmed that its upcoming V60 Plug-In Hybrid will be sold in the U.S., albeit in gasoline-electric form whereas the rest of the world will get diesel-electric versions, but now the automaker has given us a rough timeline of when it might finally appear in showrooms. Volvo has announced today that the V60 […]
October 17, 2011
KALAMAZOO–Dr. In-Soo Suh will speak at 10:30 a.m. Friday, Oct. 21, in Room D-132 of the Engineering and Applied Sciences Building at Western Michigan University on “An Overview of Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology OLEV Technology: On-Road Dynamic Charging for EV.” The lecture is free and open to the public. Suh will discuss how, despite […]
October 16, 2011
Will fuel-saving gadgets like turbochargers hinder plug-in vehicle adoption? Posted on October 16, 2011 by ELECTRIC VEHICLE POST 0 In the global battle to reduce emissions, automakers have made considerable strides in boosting the fuel efficiency of internal combustion engines thanks to fuel-saving gadgets like turbochargers. Craig Balis, vice-president of engineers at Honeywell Turbo Technologies, told […]
October 16, 2011
Anybody who says “They havent yet failed – because they havent yet started” only has to check out the short and born-to-fail history of Hydrogen Cars, circa 1998-2005. During that opportunity window for a wonderful new car which would save oil and could save the planet, only badly intentioned and cynical members of the human […]
October 16, 2011
In the global battle to reduce emissions, automakers have made considerable strides in boosting the fuel efficiency of internal combustion engines thanks to fuel-saving gadgets like turbochargers. Craig Balis, vice-president of engineers at Honeywell Turbo Technologies, told Reuters: The turbocharger is a green technology in the sense that it’s helping cut emissions and raise fuel […]
October 16, 2011
When Chris Paine pulls his Chevrolet Volt into a Culver City parking lot and plugs it into the solar-powered public charging station, two other electric vehicles are already there: a low-slung Tesla Roadster and a hatchback Nissan Leaf. Just five years ago, the director of “Who Killed the Electric Car?” wouldn’t have believed such a […]
October 15, 2011
The looming challenge of how to deal with hundreds of thousands of used lithium batteries produced to power electric car is on the Brussels “to do” list, EU sources say. “It’s on our radar,” an EU official told EurActiv. “But we are just starting this approach and our difficulty and challenge is to prioritise, because […]
October 15, 2011
ARMONK, N.Y. and ZURICH, Oct. 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — IBM Research (NYSE: IBM) today announced that it has teamed with EKZ, the electricity utility provider of the Canton of Zurich in Switzerland, on a new pilot project that will allow consumers to conveniently charge electric vehicles and monitor their energy costs, using mobile devices. […]
Electric Vehicle Post 
October 27, 2011
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