Category Archives: Electric Cars

News and reviews of the latest electric cars (full electrics and plug-in hybrids).

Tesla – “Capable Of Greatness” Commercial

Electric Cars, Model S, Tesla

Many thanks to Elon Musk for the inspiration of a better world for all of humanity, and the inspirational words of Carl Sagan, one of my favorite astronomers and philosophers.

“We were hunters and foragers, the frontier was everywhere. We were bounded only by the earth and the ocean and the sky. The open road still softly calls. Our little tarraquest globe is the madhouse of those hundred, thousand, millions of worlds. We who cannot even put our own planetary home in order, riven with rivalries and hatreds; are we to venture out into space?

By the time we are ready to settle even the nearest other planetary systems, we will have changed. The simple passage of so many generations will have changed us. Necessity will have changed us. We’re an adaptable species. It will not be we who reach Alpha Centauri and the other nearby stars, it will be a species very like us, but with more of our strengths and fewer of our weaknesses. More confident, far seeing, capable, and prudent.

For all our failings, despite our limitations and fallabilities, we humans are capable of greatness.

What new wonders undreamt of in our time will we have wrought in another generation and another? How far will our nomadic species have wandered by the end of the next century and the next millennium? Our remote descendants safely arrayed on many worlds through the solar system and beyond, will be unified. By their common heritage, by their regard for their home planet, and by the knowledge that whatever other life may be, the only humans in all the universe, come from Earth. They will gaze up and strain to find the Blue Dot in their skies. They will marvel at how vulnerable the repository of all our potential once was.

How perilous our infancy. How humble our beginnings. How many rivers we had to cross before we found our way.” – Carl Sagan

Car exhaust pollution (Image: Wikipedia)

Britain’s diesel drivers ‘should pay up to £800 more in road tax’

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

Study shows that large number of diesel vehicles exceed emissions limits; pressure to reduce environmental impact spurs support for new tax structure

The first year rate of Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) for new diesel cars should be raised by up to £800 to help reduce emissions, according to Policy Exchange.

Car exhaust pollution (Image: Wikipedia)
Car exhaust pollution (Image: Wikipedia)

The think tank is proposing HM Treasury increase the first year VED rate for new diesels to reflect the greater air pollution caused, in a bid to encourage people to buy lower emission alternatives such as petrol, hybrid or electric cars, instead. Based on a 50% decrease in diesel car sales, the increase in VED would raise around £500 million a year in additional taxes.

A study launched in January as part of a response to the VW ‘dieselgate’ scandal, found that a large number of diesel vehicles were breaking official emissions limits, despite actually following testing processes.

Richard Howard, head of environment and energy at Policy Exchange, said:

“Air pollution is overwhelmingly a diesel problem. The CO2 advantage of diesels has now been eliminated with data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders showing that, in 2013, CO2 emissions from new petrol cars were lower than those of diesel cars (on a sales-weighted basis).

“Euro 5 diesel cars sold as recently as 2014 perform no better in terms of NOx emissions than Euro 1 diesels sold in the 1990s. Despite this, Government policies continue to promote diesel vehicles. Consequently, diesel cars have increased from 14% of the car fleet in Britain in 2001, to 36% today. While the latest Euro 6 diesel cars show some improvement over Euro 5, on average they still emit six times more NOx than the latest petrol vehicles.”

A diesel scrappage scheme is also being proposed to provide grants for drivers who trade in their old diesel car or van for a lower emission vehicle.

Read more: Autocar

Renault could soon offer multiple battery options for the ZOE, as Nissan and Tesla offer for their electric vehicles

Renault hints at 200-mile battery option for ZOE and Kangoo

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

Renault is planning to offer a range of battery capacities for its electric vehicles in the near future, enabling drivers to choose between long range and low cost to suit their needs.

Renault could soon offer multiple battery options for the ZOE, as Nissan and Tesla offer for their electric vehicles
Renault could soon offer multiple battery options for the ZOE, as Nissan and Tesla offer for their electric vehicles

Eric Feunteun, Head of Renault Electric Vehicles, said the company is working to improve energy density through better cell chemistry, to provide longer-range batteries within the same physical space – just as Nissan has recently started offering two versions of the LEAF, and Tesla has multiple options on the Model S and Model X.

“If you ask somebody if they want a larger range the answer is, of course, yes,” he explained. “Then when you move from emotion to facts, and you have a choice between 100 and 200 miles, and the cars with difference prices, the reaction becomes more rational. Some would definitely need the 200, either because they have less constraint in terms of cost or because they use it for 200. Others say they have enough with 100, and they can manage with it.

“I think two routes that will open, not only for Renault but for the market. One focusing on range, one route focusing on cost of ownership. The two routes are important, especially when you consider in the long term that the incentives might be reduced, so that’s how we see the future.”

Read more: EV Fleet World

BMW 2 Series Active Tourer 225xe Sport plug-in hybrid car

First drive: BMW 2 Series Active Tourer 225xe Sport

2 Series Active Tourer PHEV, BMW, Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment

Review

BMW 2 Series Active Tourer 225xe Sport plug-in hybrid car
BMW 2 Series Active Tourer 225xe Sport plug-in hybrid car

Fleet operators who want their vehicles to reflect greater concern for the environment are expected to boost sales of the BMW 2 Series Active Tourer.

With its petrol engine supplemented by an electric motor, the new plug-in hybrid model will have strong appeal in the corporate sector, believes Ian Wasp, product manager for BMW UK.

“Since its introduction at the end of 2014, the Active Tourer has become something of a segment benchmark and our pure electric i3 model has also been a great success over the same period,” he said.

“This new product puts them both together in a car that offers a best-of-both-worlds solution for the growing number of companies who want to combine high efficiency transport with green credentials.

“Potential savings for fleet operators are phenomenal because trips of up to 25 miles can be completed in EV mode, and as more businesses are keen to show their customers they care about environmental issues, we are confident our car will tap into this new corporate desire.”

Available from April, the model is the first premium hybrid in its market segment and the only plug-in car to feature an on-demand electric all-drive system.

Read more: Fleet News

Volvo XC90 T8 (Image: Volvo)

Guide to plug-in grant changes

Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment

Now that changes to the UK Government’s Plug-in Car Grant and Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme have come into place and everything has settled down, Next Green Car has taken a look at what the market has done to react. This guide will explain what it means now to buy a plug-in car in the UK and charge it at home.

Volvo XC90 T8 (Image: Volvo)
Volvo XC90 T8 Plugin Hybrid (Image: Volvo)

Before the changes came into effect, there were predictions that different manufacturers would offer prices with varying degrees of discount to customers. Some could have passed on all of the reduction in funding to customers, others absorbed some of the price change with buyers picking up the rest, and a few able to bang the drum loudly by absorbing all of the extra cost themselves.

Unfortunately, companies have passed on the cut in grants directly to customers who now pay more for both their cars and home charge points than in February 2016. It must be said that this is hardly unexpected or unfair considering that margins are tight and the car manufacturers and charge point installers have businesses to run rather than charities.

It must be remembered too that the grants were effectively paid to the manufacturer rather than the customer – with buyers quoted an on-the-road (OTR) price for cars, and fully fitted cost for charge points, subject to the grant.

However, there did seem to be an opportunity for someone to mount a PR coup and capture a large share of customers by absorbing some of the grant cuts themselves. It hasn’t happened though, so we have rounded up what cuts in funding have been made, and what effect that has had.

Read more: Next Green Car

Renault becomes the Official Car Partner of the Eden Sessions

Renault becomes the Official Car Partner of the Eden Sessions

Electric Cars, Electric Vans, Kangoo Z.E., News, Reviews and Comment, Renault, Renault, ZOE
  • Partnership allows Renault to reach new audiences through music and showcase electric vehicle line-up
  • ZOE and Twizy to be used around the Eden Project during the Eden Sessions
  • Renault was Europe’s leading EV manufacturer in 2015
Renault becomes the Official Car Partner of the Eden Sessions
Renault becomes the Official Car Partner of the Eden Sessions

Renault has become the Official Car Partner of the Eden Sessions in a deal with the Eden Project in Cornwall.

Renault will use the sponsorship to demonstrate and promote their Z.E. electric vehicle range, including the ZOE and Twizy models, and to reach new audiences in the South West and beyond.

Rita Broe, Marketing Director, Eden Project, said:

“This is a great partnership for Eden, and for the Sessions. We are keen to promote the benefits of electric vehicles in reducing carbon emissions, and look forward to working with Renault to do that in a fun and engaging way.

“This year looks set to be one of the best Sessions seasons ever and we are delighted Renault will be part of it.”

James Boyer, Marketing Director, Renault UK, said:

“As electric vehicle market leaders in Europe, we are passionate about our zero tailpipe emissions vehicles and the great benefits they have for the environment, air quality, running costs and driver enjoyment.  Partnering with the Eden Sessions is a great fit for Renault, something we are very excited about and we look forward to showcasing our Z.E. electric range to Eden concert goers over the summer months.”

The Eden Sessions are a series of outdoor gigs at the Eden Project, featuring some of the best acts in the world playing against the backdrop of Eden’s famous Biomes. The 2016 Eden Sessions will see Lionel Richie (June 14 and 15 – both sold out), Tom Jones (June 26 – sold out) and Jess Glynne (July 14 – sold out) each play shows against the backdrop of Eden’s world-famous Biomes. More acts will be announced in the coming weeks.  The Eden Sessions enter their fifteenth year in 2016.

The Eden Sessions has its own free-to-view online TV channel (www.youtube.com/edensessionstv) featuring regularly-updated videos of some of the gigs’ finest shows.

Eden has long been a supporter of electric cars and has hosted events to showcase some of the ground-breaking vehicles now available. The project also has charging points for electric cars available for its visitors.

Renault is the leader in EV sales in Europe – ZOE is Europe’s best-selling all-electric passenger car and the Kangoo Van Z.E. is the best-selling electric LCV.  The award-winning Renault Z.E. range consists of the ZOE hatchback, the Twizy – a fun, distinctive, urban runaround and the Kangoo Van Z.E. – a commercial vehicle that is identical to a normal Kangoo Van but with all the advantages of an EV, including no tailpipe emissions.  In 2015, UK sales of the ZOE more than doubled compared to 2014 to 2,053 vehicles. Renault is a pioneer of the electric vehicle market with more than 83,000 EVs sold worldwide to date.

Source: Renault Press

New Renault ZOE from £157 per month fuel included

Blog, Electric Cars, Renault, ZOE

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