Daily Archives: July 23, 2017

France will ‘ban all petrol and diesel vehicles by 2040’

Electric Cars, Energy and Climate Change, News, Reviews and Comment, Pollution

Environment minister unveils five-year-plan to fulfil country’s commitments under Paris Agreemen.

France plans to ban all petrol and diesel vehicles by 2040, the country’s new environment minister has announced.

Nicolas Hulot made the announcement as he unveiled a series of measures as part of newly elected President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to make the country carbon neutral by 2050.

Mr Hulot said he recognised the target would put pressure on France’s car manufacturers, but he said they currently had projects which

“can fulfil that promise”.

As part of the plan, poorer households will receive a premium so they can swap their polluting vehicles for clean alternatives.

The announcement comes after Volvo said on Wednesday it planned to build only electric and hybrid vehicles from 2019.

Speaking at a press conference, Mr Hulot told reporters France would stop using coal to produce electricity by 2022 and that up to €4bn of investments will help to boost energy efficiency.

The announcements are part of a five-year-plan to encourage clean energy and fulfil the country’s commitments under the Paris Agreement.

Mr Hulot said the government wanted to maintain the country’s “leadership” in climate policy.

“We want to demonstrate that fighting against climate change can lead to an improvement of French people’s daily lives,”

he said.

France is not the only country which aims to ban combustion-powered cars. The Netherlands and Norway previously said they wanted to get rid of petrol and diesel vehicles by 2025 and Germany and India announced similar plans ahead of 2030.

Reacting to the news, ClientEarth CEO James Thornton said: “This is a huge statement of intent from the French government and an example of how we’re likely to see exponential change in the coming years as governments grapple with the necessary changes we have to make for air quality and our climate.

“Coming hot on the heels of Volvo’s announcement yesterday, the outlook for the internal combustion engine is bleak. This is now clearly the direction of travel and industry players who are not on board will find themselves struggling before long.

“These moves should be heeded by other governments and industry, who need to act to protect us from air pollution in our towns and cities and help mitigate climate change.”

Read more: Independent

Cars we won’t regret going electric: Speed Matters

Electric Cars, ForTwo Electric, News, Reviews and Comment, Smart

Ditching internal combustion may be the best thing that ever happened to the Smart – could any other cars benefit?

What will the Goodwood Festival of Speed be like in 25 years’ time? Just as noisy and thick with the smell of tyre smoke and exhaust fumes I’d hope. And populated by our generation, misty-eyed at displays of the machinery of our youth being given a run out. Much as our parents may enjoy visits to volunteer branch lines to relive the glory days of steam or gaze in wonder at Spitfires looping the loop at air shows.

I’d expect there to be rather fewer internal combustion powered cars in the queues for the car parks though. A thought that struck me as I watched a Formula E car whistle past me at the Festival at the weekend. It was fast. But up against the mightiest examples of petrol-powered excess, an electric car was always going to suffer on the excitement stakes. An opinion perhaps not shared by the driver of the Rimac that very nearly ‘did a Hammond’ in front of the hospitality pavilions. But even that raised little more than a curious shrug from onlookers against the thunder of Jochen Mass power sliding a Mercedes W125 or the sound of the sky being ripped apart by an 8.4-litre McLaren M8F.

Will I be so nostalgic about the car I drive to the event though? Not sure. Accepted wisdom has it that electric cars are interesting. They can be fast – ludicrously so in the case of Tesla. But can they ever be better than their internal combustion equivalents? Does, for instance, the idea of an electric Porsche 911 fill you with hope? Or fear?

Read more: PistonHeads

Renault Zoe becomes first EV pool car for Slough Council

Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment, Renault, ZOE Z.E. 40

Slough Borough Council has purchased three Renault Zoe EV vehicles as staff pool cars.

The purchase follows Slough Borough Council’s ‘journey to clean air’ initiative, as part of its low emissions strategy.

The pool car scheme is part of Slough’s wider fleet challenge programme, providing ‘environmentally friendly’ solutions for staff travel to meetings, site inspections and client visits. This all helps towards Slough’s aim to decarbonise its fleet.

Leader of Slough Borough Council Cllr Sohail Munawar said:

“The fleet challenge is just one of the ways we are making a difference to our communities and our environment. By introducing a pool of both ultra-low emissions electric cars and e-bikes, we are moving towards that goal.

“Forty staff tried the Renault Zoe and the feedback was excellent. They found it easy to drive and the controls clear and simple to understand. The charging lead is easy to connect and the range the car offers makes it ideal as a pool car.

The three Zoe Dynamique iNav R90 Z.E.40 models were sourced through Renault Croydon and have been fitted with the optional rear-view parking camera.”

Groupe Renault UK’s national fleet manager Mark Potter said:

“We’re delighted that Slough Borough Council has chosen the Renault Zoe as its first electric pool car. The Zoe creates no emissions at the tailpipe, and with the 250-mile range (NEDC) available from its Z.E.40 battery, it will be able to complete return journeys across the borough without needing to stop and charge up again. We are sure staff will also enjoy its smooth, quiet performance and fun character.”

Source: FleetNews