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Showing posts with label Electric Cars. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Electric Cars. Show all posts

February 4, 2020

The Netherlands will give citizens up to Euro 4,000 ($4,400) for buying new electric vehicles

The Netherlands will support greener forms of transport this year by giving drivers money towards the cost of a new electric vehicle (EV). This goes for private buyers of both new and used cars.
 
According to a report from Dutch news organization RTL

 if you live in the Netherlands and buy a new electric car after July 1 this year, you could receive €4,000 ($4,425) towards its cost from the government. If you buy a used, second-hand EV, you could be eligible for €2,000 ($2,211).

Click here to check out the listing and prices of electric cars in the Netherlands
 

June 3, 2019

Car Industry - Electric Cars : Aiways could be first Chinese-brand EV sold in Europe - by Echo Huang

China’s automakers have long wanted to expand beyond their home market. While they’ve made a little progress in Southeast Asia and Africa, they’ve had scant success in developed markets like the US and Europe.

That isn’t stopping Aiways, an electric-vehicle startup based in Shanghai, from trying. The four-year-old company recently told Quartz it plans to offer its flagship car, the U5, in Germany, France, Switzerland, Norway, and the Netherlands next spring. If all goes to plan, Aiways will become the first Chinese-brand electric car offered in Europe.

The company’s strategy involves skipping dealerships and offering consumers direct online sales and leasing. That will help it reduce costs and compete with traditional gas guzzlers, Alexander Klose, vice president for overseas operation, told the Financial Times (paywall). The U5, he added, will be priced at less than €40,000 ($44,700).

  Read more at: Aiways could be first Chinese-brand EV sold in Europe — Quartz

August 18, 2016

Climate change - alternative energy: Netherlands on brink of banning sale of petrol-fuelled cars - by J. Staufenberg

Europe appears poised to continue its move towards cutting fossil fuel use as the Netherlands joins a host of nations looking to pass innovative green energy laws.

The Dutch government has set a date for parliament to host a roundtable discussion that could see the sale of petrol- and diesel-fuelled cars banned by 2025.

If the measures proposed by the Labour Party in March are finally passed, it would join Norway and Denmark in making a concerted move to develop its electric car industry.

It comes after Germany saw all of its power supplied by renewable energies such as solar and wind power on one day in May as the economic powerhouse continues to phase out nuclear energy and fossil fuels.

And outside Europe, both India and China have demanded that citizens use their cars on alternate days only to reduce the exhaust fume production which is causing serious health problems for the populations of both nations.

The consensus-oriented parties of the Netherlands are set to consider a total ban on petrol and diesel cars in a debate on 13 October.

Richard Smokers, principle adviser in sustainable transport at the Dutch renewable technology company TNO, said the Dutch government was committed to meeting the Paris climate change agreement to reduce greenhouse emissions to 80 per cent less than the 1990 level. The plan requires the majority of passenger cars to be run on CO2-free energy by 2050.

"Dutch cities still have some problems to meet existing EU air quality standards and have formulated ambitions to improve air quality beyond these standards," he told The Independent, adding that the government had at the same time been reluctant to implement strict policies on the environment.

"The current government embraces long term targets and strives at meeting EU requirements, but is hesistant about proposing 'strong' policy measures.

"Instead it prefers to facilitate and stimulate initiatives from stakeholders in society."

If the law to ban the sale of new fossil-fuel cars by 2025 passes, a significant move will have been made towards phasing out all petrol and diesel cars by 2035, added Dr Smokers.

Read more: Climate change: Netherlands on brink of banning sale of petrol-fuelled cars | Climate Change | Environment | The Independent

August 10, 2016

The Netherlands - Alternative energy: Beautiful solar-powered car chargers keep the Netherlands moving

Ever since I started driving an electric car, I've been surprised by just how little I need or care about having a charging network available to me. But I have a driveway. And a second car. For the one-car families and/or those who live in apartments, a reliable charging network would go a long way toward making electric cars a more attractive and practical option.

In the Netherlands, just such a network is already emerging. Fastned has already built 50 beautiful solar-powered chargers and they are aiming for 200 in the very near future. Robert Llewellyn of Fully Charged paid one charging station a visit, and he chatted with company founder Bart Lubbers about their plans for the future.

A few points worthy of note:

    *The solar panels create enough charge for about three cars. The rest comes from a contract with wind power generators.
    *The charging stations are built with expansion in mind. The one in the video currently has two chargers, but there's room for six more.
    *Fastned offers several pricing options and plans, including monthly fees and lower Kwh rates for people charging regularly, and no monthly fee but higher Kwh rates for people needing to charge only occasionally.

Lubbers also shares that the company eventually plans to add shops/coffee shops/bathroom facilities etc. This really does look like a smart approach to electric vehicle charging infrastructure. Now I kind of wish we had something like this in my neighborhood, even though I don't really need it...

Read more: Beautiful solar-powered car chargers keep the Netherlands moving : TreeHugger

April 15, 2016

EU Car Industry Goes Electric and prices are dropping: Netherlands looks to ban all non-electric cars by 2025 - by S. Hinckley

VW E-GOLF Electric
By 2025, the Netherlands may only allow electric vehicles on the road.

A majority of elected officials in the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Parliament, supported a motion proposed by the Labor Party (PvdA) to ban all diesel and petroleum cars from the Dutch market starting in 2025. If enacted, this proposal would allow existing fossil fuel-powered cars to stay on the road until they died, but when it comes to new sales, only electric cars would be permitted.

"We are ambitious, perhaps other parties are less so," PvdA leader Diederik Samsom told the local NL Times.
Renault Zoe  - Electric

While it is still unclear whether or not the motion will pass, some electric enthusiasts see the proposal as progress all the same. This law would not only affect Dutch drivers, but would also require more electric vehicle output from car manufacturers, and potentially destigmatize electric vehicles as a niche purchase.

"One big thing that's preventing more people from buying [electric cars] is awareness – people just don't know about them," Joel Levin, executive director of Plug In America, tells The Christian Science Monitor in a phone interview Thursday. "It is a pretty big shift for how you think about your car."

Fiat -500 Electric
But this proposal doesn't mean that the Netherlands is a model of energy efficiency – yet. Rather, it's one of the most carbon-intensive countries in the European Union, according to a 2015 study by Deloitte. Natural gas and petroleum make up the majority of the Netherland's energy resources at 41 and 42 percent respectively, with solid fuels coming in third at 10 percent and finally renewable energies making up five percent of the overall energy mix.

In 2012, the transportation sector consumed the most energy of all sources, constituting 29 percent of all consumption in the Netherlands.

In the United States, by comparison, transportation represents 27 percent of the country's consumption, according to a 2015 report from the Energy Information Administration.

BMW -i3 Electric
This isn't the first time that the Netherlands has announced an ambitious energy-saving goal in transportation technology.

The Dutch energy company Eneco, partnering with VIVENS rail companies, announced a plan in 2015 to make a fleet of trains powered entirely by wind energy within the next three years. And for almost a year now, the Netherlands has boasted the world's first solar road, a bike path made of solar panels that generates enough electricity to power a small home for a year.

The Netherlands has also announced plans to pave roads with recycled plastic, which they market as durable and low maintenance, with a smaller environmental impact than asphalt production.

Mercedes B-Class Electric
And while these proposals may be more experimental, advocates say electric vehicles have real potential.
"For people who are aware [of electric cars], there are a few myths," Mr. Levin says. Primarily, many people have the misconception that electric vehicles are expensive, slow, unsafe, and inconvenient.

"They are not fancy cars for rich people – there are many affordable ones. And if you compare apples to apples, the total coast of ownership is very competitive," he explains.

Along with these myths, there are also a lot of positives that gas or diesel-powered cars don't experience. "Apart from any environmental benefits, they are a pleasure to drive, there is tremendous power," he says. "And maintenance is low – there is no engine, so if you change the brakes and batteries, nothing really could go wrong."

Charging is easy, he adds; it can be done at home overnight. "People worry about running out of power, but the [drivers] that run out of power are the same ones that run out of gas."

Almere-digest

February 18, 2014

European Car Industry - Alternative Energy: 1,000 European EV Quick Chargers Energized - by Philippe Crowe

Nissan has announced the milestone of 1,000 CHAdeMO quick chargers installed in Europe has been reached.

The 1,000th EV charging station was installed at Roadchef Clacket Lane Services in Surrey, UK.
The fast charging unit can recharge the batteries of compatible electric vehicles from zero to 80 percent charge in 30 minutes, and at zero cost.

Nissan said the installation of the fastest type of chargers dramatically increases the uptake and usage of electric vehicles. In Norway, Europe’s biggest EV market, the number of electric vehicles using the E18 highway increased eight fold in an 18 month period after a CHAdeMO quick charger was installed on the route.

The latest charger has been installed in collaboration with Ecotricity, a UK green energy specialist. The location south of London on the M25 motorway, considered one of the busiest in Europe, allows drivers west of London easy access to Kent and onwards into Europe“.

This is a huge landmark for zero-emission mobility, allowing a range of EVs, including the Nissan Leaf and forthcoming Nissan e-NV200 electric van, to quickly extend their journeys,” said Director of Electric Vehicles, Nissan Europe, Jean Pierre Diernaz. “The UK charging network is expanding rapidly and through our partner Ecotricity, customers are able to ‘refuel’ their car for free with wind and solar generated electricity.”

According to Nissan, this latest charger is part of a network of 195 chargers in the UK, which is forming electric corridors across the country, linking major towns and cities. In the UK, Nissan has been working with partners including IKEA, Moto, Roadchef, Welcome Break and Nissan dealers to create this rapidly growing network with 124 quick chargers installed in 2013.

Nissan explained the rate of installation of CHAdeMO quick chargers across Europe rose sharply in 2013, hugely increasing access for its Nissan Leaf customers. In 2010 there were just 16 quick charging points; this rose to 155 a year later and 540 in 2012. The 1,000 mark in 2013 will be dwarfed by the end of 2014 with over 1,800 quick charger points expected.

Investment in this Euope-wide development of infrastructure comes from Nissan and a multitude of partners in the energy field, including the Swiss multinational power company ABB, French quick charger manufacturers DBT, and the Portuguese EFACEC Corporation.

Read more: 1,000 European EV Quick Chargers Energized - HybridCars.com