Alex Grant
Plug-in sales doubled in 2015, ACEA data shows
ACEA data shows 185,266 plug-ins registered across Western Europe and EFTA countries during 2015, compared to 91,409 units in 2014. Excluding LPG and CNG vehicles, plug-ins accounted for 45.1% of all alternatively-powered vehicles registered … Read More »
Mobile batteries could triple EV ranges this year
The Nomad, developed by Nomadic Power of Stuttgart, is a compact trailer with a rechargeable battery on board. Part funded by a €2m (£1.54m) European Commission grant, the company is targeting series-readiness by the … Read More »
Used EV batteries could cure charging problems
The E-STOR system, designed by Connected Energy, stores energy in batteries taken from end-of-life Renault electric vehicles, which are said still have considerable capacity despite being beyond their usable on-road lifespan. This could … Read More »
First Drive: Volvo XC90 T8 Twin Engine
The stats behind Volvo’s first plug-in hybrid SUV, the XC90 T8 Twin Engine, read like a recipe for success in upper-echelon company car fleets. So it should come as no surprise that it’s already … Read More »
Bracknell Forest deploys second electric vehicle
The council’s second electric vehicle, the van will be used by its couriers, who have a typical daily round of between 65 and 70 miles – well within the e-NV200’s range. Charging points … Read More »
Ireland's €7m rapid charge project completed
The €7m (£5.4m) project was completed working with BMW, Nissan, Renault and Volkswagen, and co-funded by the European Union, via the Trans European Transport Network (TEN-T), which aims to improve and establish sustainable links … Read More »
3,500 new charging points for Southern California
The California Public Utilities Commission, which authorised Southern California Edison to install 1,500 charging points in January, has now granted permission for San Diego Gas & Electric to launch a similar pilot. Set … Read More »
Road Test: Toyota Auris Hybrid Business Edition
Such is the familiarity and outward normality of the Auris Hybrid that, now in its sixth year on sale in the UK, it’s easy to overlook the role it’s played in exposing people to … Read More »
Honda Clarity Fuel Cell pricing announced
Due to launch in selected European markets later this year, the Clarity Fuel Cell is unique in that it packages the entire drivetrain and fuel cell stack in the space usually used by the … Read More »
Chargemaster planning London-wide rapid charging network
Chargemaster is to install a network of up to 200 rapid chargers at public car parks across London by the end of 2017, with approvals in place for the first 30 sites to go … Read More »
First Drive: Toyota RAV4 Hybrid
Still growing exponentially and beloved of company car drivers, the C-SUV segment is synonymous with diesel power, particularly in fleet. It’s a crowded sector and a tough one to crack, even following segment norms, … Read More »
Southern California to gain 1,500 charging points
The $22m (€20.2m) “Charge Ready” project is a pilot scheme aimed at investigating how infrastructure can improve adoption of plug-in vehicles, and was approved by the California Public Utilities Commission this week. CPE … Read More »
Intertek opens UK's largest EV and hybrid test centre
Run by global certification company Intertek, the expanded laboratory will employ 100 people locally. Facilities include battery simulators for testing long-range packs, emissions measurement equipment and six 1,000kW powertrain development test cells – even suitable … Read More »
Geneva debut for Hyundai's Prius rival
Due to be launched this summer, the Ioniq is the first car to be available with a choice of alternative drivetrains and no conventional petrol or diesel version. It shares its all-new platform with … Read More »
Toyota predicting diesel decline as hybrids gather pace
Over a quarter (26.4%) of Toyota’s 108,900 UK sales were hybrids last year, and the bulk of those were the Yaris and Auris which were the UK’s biggest-selling alternative fuel vehicles. This year, the … Read More »
Swansea University boosts its EV fleet
The University’s fleet, comprising two Renault Kangoo Z.E. vans, two Nissan LEAFs and an e-NV200s are used by branches of the University, such as Information Services and Systems, the College of Engineering, the student … Read More »
Audi hints at hydrogen power for 2018 electric SUV
The h-tron quattro concept is a large SUV similar to the e-tron quattro shown at the Frankfurt Motor Show last September, the latter was said to have previewed an electric production car due in … Read More »
New technology could eradicate EV battery fires
Published in the Nature Energy journal this week, the research was aimed at overcoming the issues of conventional safety shut-off systems which, in external applications, don’t work fast enough and, when fitted inside the … Read More »
Chevrolet reveals hot hatch performance for Bolt EV
This includes information about the performance available. The Bolt will produce 197bhp and 266 lb.ft of torque from its electric motor, enabling it to out-pace the BMW i3 to 60mph – said to take … Read More »
Tesla adds fully driverless parking via software update
Added during the Version 7.1 software update, the Summon function enables the Model S and Model X to drive autonomously, in a straight line for up to almost 12 metres, though it’s recommended that … Read More »
