News: Dublin taxi driver saves €6,500 by going electric

Using an electric taxi has saved taxi driver, Padraig Daly, approximately €6,500 over the last 18 months. The 100% electric Nissan LEAF which has been part of a trial between ESB ecars and National Radio Cabs (NRC) and has clocked up over 55,000km. The trial, to evaluate electric vehicles as part of the taxi industry, has been deemed so successful that it will be extended for another year.

News: General Motors stands by electric cars in the face of dismal sales

 

57,000 sales out of just over 14-million. That's how many electric cars sold in the United States last year, causing more than a few people to announce the second death of the electric car. But General Motors' US president Mark Reuss has come out fighting for the battery car, saying that he expects Americans to embrace the technology more and more. 

“The electric vehicle is not dead. We at GM believe that the public will accept and embrace electric vehicles. Some people already have" said Reuss at the Automotive News World Congress in Detroit. 

 He also promised that not only would the next generation of Chevrolet Volt, sold here as the Opel Ampera, have a greater battery range, it would also be thousands of dollars cheaper, as GM is now able to make batteries and electric drivetrains more efficiently. 

News: Cork & Dublin airports go electric

Cork and Dublin Airports have gone electric for their latest fleet purchase as part of the DAA’s commitment to reduce its carbon footprint.


The DAA (Dublin Airport Authority) has purchased nine electric Renault Kangoo mini-vans for use at Dublin and Cork airports, making the company one of the largest electric fleet operators in the country. DAA’s decision to opt for the nine electric vehicles will result in CO2 savings of more than 200,000kg over the lifetime of the vehicles, which is equivalent to planting more than 6,000 trees.
“With this investment, DAA has already become one of Ireland’s leading operators of electric vehicles, and we look forward to significantly expanding our electric fleet over the coming years,” said DAA’s Head of Sustainability, Mary Coveney.

DAA’s decision to opt for electric vehicles followed its participation in a programme supported by ESB ecars, which allowed the company to test drive a Kangoo Z.E. for a month to check its capabilities in a major international airport.

“The trial helped us build confidence throughout the organisation that buying electric vehicles wasn’t just good for the environment, but also made sense from an operational perspective,” said Ms Coveney. “Electric vehicles are perfect for an airport environment, as they have a range of 120km and will always be close to a main charging point.”

The new electric vehicles will be used on a daily basis in both airside and landside locations by DAA maintenance crews, and staff from its car park and terminal services departments.

Patrick Magee, Renault Ireland Sales & Network Director said he was delighted that DAA had chosen the Renault Kangoo Z.E. for its new electric fleet.

“The Kangoo Z.E. has been a very popular choice for both public and private businesses looking to reduce costs whilst helping the environment and it’s great to see the DAA take up the electric challenge,” Mr Magee said. “Renault is the only manufacturer to introduce a range of 100% electric vehicles, from the Kangoo Z.E. to the Fluence  Z.E. Saloon, the Twizy and the stylish compact hatch the ZOE which will both be launched in 2013”.

New issue of eDrive Magazine out now!

The latest issue of eDrive Magazine is online now, and it's still free for everyone to read. No paywalls around here...


This month, we've been testing the brilliant Mazda CX-5 and previewing the arrival of the all-important, all-new Mazda 6 saloon and estate, and looking behind the scenes at the clever, frugal SkyActiv technology that underpins both cars.

Plus, we've got an exclusive drive in Citroen's one-off Survolt electric race car and we've test driven two new cars from former budget brands that are good enough to have the premium players looking to their laurels; the new Skoda Rapid and the new Hyundai Santa Fe.

Plus, we've been speaking to McLaren Automotive MD Anthony Sheriff about the future of carbon fibre and finding out why the Road Safety Authority reckons that each driver needs an NCT as well as their cars.

All that and more in the new issue of eDrive Magazine, online now.

eDrive Magazine. No paper, no ink, no carbon and free, online, to all.

News: Honda to develop fuel-cell cars for Scandinavia

Today in Copenhagen Honda, along with Toyota, Nissan, and Hyundai, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with organisations from the Nordic Countries supporting the market introduction of fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) and hydrogen refuelling infrastructure between 2014 and 2017, further highlighting Honda’s commitment to fuel cell electric vehicles as the ultimate zero emission technology. 



Honda has been engaged in fuel cell Research & Development since the mid 1980s and has been at the forefront of the industry in both R&D and sales of this technology. Last month Honda announced an all-new fuel cell electric model for Japan, the U.S. and Europe to be launched from 2015. This new vehicle will showcase further technological advancements and significant cost reductions. 

The MoU signed today seeks to generate dialogue with public and private stakeholders in Norway, Sweden, Iceland and Denmark on accelerating the market introduction of FCEVs and follows an agreement signed by car manufacturers in Europe in 2009 which identified 2015 as a potential point for market introduction in regions where hydrogen refuelling is available. 

Commenting on Honda’s involvement in this project, Ken Kier, Executive Vice President, Honda Motor Europe said, “In 2002 Honda became the world’s first carmaker to put a fuel cell car on the road with regular customers, delivering the Honda FCX to fleet users in the United States and Japan. We want to continue to lead the way for fuel cell technology across the world including Europe. This MoU signifies that commitment.” 

The MoU was signed in the presence of the Danish Minister for Transport and the Director of the International Energy Agency, directorate of Sustainable Energy Policy and Technology at the 3GF conference in Copenhagen.

News: Electric SLS swooshes on track

The possible future of high-performance motoring, the all-electric Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG E-Cell, is seen here on the move for the first time since its Paris Motor Show debut.

Please do not adjust your set; yes we know that you would think there should be a meaty, beefy V8 engine note as the SLS swooshes past the camera on the twisty and fast Ascari race track in Spain, but of course the whole point is that there is no engine – instead the SLS E-Cell gets its 750bhp (!) and 1,000Nm f torque (!!!!) from four electric motors positioned just behind each wheel and fed juice from a stack of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries.

Price? Don't know yet but it sure won't be cheap. Still though, while normal SLS drivers are queuing up to put another €120 worth of four-star into their tanks, you can charge your E-Cell up for another 100km for about €2 a throw.

And yes, this is serious. Not just a pie-in-the-sky prototype. This is going on sale soon. 

News: german government may subsidise electric cars

 

Angela Merkel's government is considering a dramatic increase in the subsidies for buying an electric car, as German buyers continue to shun plug-in vehicles.

The German car market (although it dipped dramatically in September) was a healthy 2.1-million vehcile sales so far in 2012, but just over 2,000 of these were electric cars – 1 0.1% market share, and this despite Chancellor Merkel's previously stated goal to have one million electric cars on German roads by 2020.

Neighbouring France already gives electric car buyers a €5,000 kickback, and the Merkel government is mulling other options, such as a 10-year exemption from road tax. But recent developments, not only a falling car market and reduced consumer sentiment (which will make buyers more conservative and less likely to spend money on a battery car) but also Toyota's announcement that it's going to shun all-electric vehicles in favour of plugin hybrid development, will not make Frau Merkel's task any easier.

Any subsidy, if decided on, won't kick in until the back end of next year at the earliest, but Mercedes CEO Dieter Zetsche reckons that without it, the maximum possible market in Germany for electric cars is a mere 600,000 units.