In urban transportation, electric buses are no longer a rarity. The Global Public Transport Summit (GPTS), the meeting of the international public transport scene, is expected to boost the industry further because there has never been so much “E” before.
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The Dutch public transport operator Qbuzz has placed an order with Belgium’s Van Hool. The bus manufacturer shall deliver 54 electric buses from the new A-series. This is the second significant e-bus order QBuzz has placed in less than a week.
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The Belgian manufacturer Van Hool has presented a new bus series with four different vehicle lengths (12, 13, 18 and 24 metres), which will be offered exclusively with zero-emission drive systems (battery, fuel cell and overhead line).
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The Nordic public transport operator Nobina has ordered 21 battery-electric double-articulated tram buses of the type Exqui.City in the 24-metre version from the Belgian manufacturer Van Hool. These will be used in the public transport system of the Swedish city of Malmö from mid-2022.
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The Flemish public transport company De Lijn has ordered 60 electric buses from Van Hool and VDL for delivery from the fourth quarter of next year. The order for the necessary charging infrastructure goes in equal parts to the two suppliers Spie-Ekoenergetyka and Heliox.
Read moreLong-distance buses with battery-electric drives are still a rare species but the Belgian commercial vehicle manufacturer Van Hool pushed zero-emission evolution forward with a double-decker coach with purely electric drive. The TDX25E is supposed to have a range of up to 500 kilometres and has been created for the North American market.
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The battery system manufacturer Akasol has signed a framework agreement with a major bus and commercial vehicle manufacturer from Belgium with a total volume in the mid-double-digit million euro range.
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Belgian bus manufacturer Van Hool will deliver six 18-metre electric buses to the transport authority of the Italian city of Pescara from mid-2022, while three more could follow. The buses also feature technology from a German supplier.
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Ballard Power Systems has received a follow-up order from the Belgian bus manufacturer Van Hool. This involves the delivery of further fuel cell modules for ten H2 buses, which are to be used from 2022 as part of the JIVE 2 support program in Emmen, the Netherlands.
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Belgian bus manufacturer Van Hool has launched sales of its battery-electric coach for the North American market that was unveiled in 2019. The first example of the Van Hool CX45E has now been shipped to the USA, with ten more CX45Es to follow in the first half of 2021.
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Denmark’s first fuel cell buses went into operation this month in Aalborg. The three Van Hool A330s with technology from Ballard are used on lines 17 and 72 and were co-financed by the EU project 3Emotion.
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In Germany, Cologne-region public transport operator Regionalverkehr Köln (RVK) has increased its fuel cell bus fleet with hydrogen buses from Solaris. From 2021, 15 Solaris hydrogen fuel cell buses will be successively integrated into RVK’s fleet.
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The first hydrogen-powered Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system has gone live in Pau, in the south of France. It is called Fébus and launched with the roll-out of a fleet of eight 18m Van Hool Exqui-City FC buses, serving a special six km route.
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The Belgian bus manufacturer Van Hool has just announced two electric world premieres for Busworld Europe in October. The CX45E is a purely electrically powered coach for the North American market and the Exqui.City 18 FC is an 18-metre-long articulated tram bus with hydrogen drive.
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The US electric bus manufacturer Proterra is now officially offering its technologies to other OEMs under the name Proterra Powered. The product range includes electric drives as well as battery and charging systems.
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The public transport operator Qbuzz has ordered 20 fuel cell buses from the Belgian manufacturer Van Hool for use in the Dutch provinces of Groningen and Drente. An order was also placed for a hydrogen fuel station.
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The Belgian busmaker Van Hool says it is the largest trambus order in its history as the Norwegian city of Trondheim orders 58 hybrid vehicles. The 24 metre long blend of a bus and a streetcar is to arrive in Norway by mid-2019.
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The German cities of Cologne and Wuppertal have ordered a total of 40 hydrogen buses from Belgian Van Hool. Deliveries are to start in spring 2019. Cologne will receive 30 H2 buses with Wuppertal taking the remaining ten. The order is part of the EU JIVE project.
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Fine fuel cell concepts: Toyota will showcase hydrogen concepts at its home run in Tokyo this November. One is the Fine Comfort Ride, itself a carrier of not only fuel cell technology but autonomous driving capability as well. Its drives sit in the wheels and a load of hydrogen is said to last for a 1,000 kilometres while the sleek mini van can transport up to six persons. Also on display in Japan’s capital will be the Sora, Toyota’s first ever fuel cell bus that is set to go on sale next year. More than a 100 Sora are also booked to chauffeur visitors during the 2020 Olympics around Tokyo and will likely leave a lasting impression with their LED lights and stereoscopic shape.
carscoops.com, toyota.co.jp (Fine-Comfort Ride), carscoops.com, toyota.co.jp (Sora)
Polestar part 2: 640 million euros have been freed by Geely and Volvo to bolster their electric Polestar label. And that is only for the first phase which includes setting up production in Chengdu China. Five all-electric models are scheduled for launch throughout 2021, following the Polestar 1 PHEV (we reported).
electriccarsreport.com, media.volvocars.com
Is this the Leaf SUV? Could be, after all it is expected to make an entrance at the Tokyo Motor Show later this month. A short teaser film evokes a sense of silhouette but is otherwise dubbed to outline “the future of Nissan Intelligent Mobility.”
youtube.com via insideevs.com, autoblog.com
No credits for Model 3: Supercharging was never supposed to be free for those opting for the economy Tesla or at least not entirely. Turns out, that fast-charging will cost from day one as the annual credit of 400 kWh Model S and X users get nowadays won’t apply to the Model 3. The credit translates to about 4 – 5 full charges or 1,500 kilometres so future Model 3 drivers better hope for that new CCS plug we mentioned a few days ago.
electrek.co
Faster charging and more range are the two outstanding features of Zero Motorcycles’ 2018 series. Batteries now come with 10 percent more capacity and there is the option for a range-extending Power Tank that can deliver a city range of more than 200 miles. New too is the 6kW Charge Tank that increases charging time at a standard household outlet sixfold.
motorcycle.com, carolenash.com
Van Hool goes exquisite with its first 24 metre electric bus powered by IMC technology from Kiepe Electric. The EXQUI.CITY T that is on show at the Busworld in Belgium can thus hook on the overhead wire where available but also roam freely on battery power.
automotiveworld.com, knorr-bremse.de
E-carsharing in Beijing: Leshi Internet Information & Technology affiliate, LeShare, has launched an EV carsharing service in Beijing. They are servicing 60 areas in the city with 200 vehicles, all of which are from Chinese brands, including BYD, Chery, JAC, Beijing Auto, and Geely. The company is planning to expand to six more cities and 3,000 vehicles in total by the end of 2016.
asia.nikkei.com
Tesla valet service launched: Tesla’s park and charge valet app has finished its test run (we reported) and is now officially available for owners in NYC and San Francisco. App developer Luxe is offering subscriptions to their Tesla services for a monthly fee.
electrek.co
Van Hool e-trambus: Manufacturer Van Hool will showcase their first fully electric trambus, Exqui.City, at the Transports Public 2016 trade fair in Paris next month. The 120 km range trambus is 18.61 m long and can carry up to 107 passengers. Fast-charging can take as little as ten minutes via a pantograph. Hamburg, Germany, has already ordered two units.
masstransit.network
Solar carports in South Africa: BMW South Africa has set to begin rolling out solar carport charging stations for electric and plug-in vehicles in July. The carports, produced by Sunworks, average 3.6 kW of solar power and are hooked up to the BMW i Wallbox. Carports can be ordered as home or office chargers.
techfinancials.co.za
EV funding in Dundee: The city council of Dundee, Scotland, has approved over 1.8m pounds for improving local EV infrastructure, starting with one charging point in the city centre and two in outlying areas. Part of the funds will also go toward charging points for commuters in the surrounding council areas.
thecourier.co.uk
Charging offensive in India: The country may be considering a private-public partnership to set up a charging points at petrol stations across India. That would mean some 500,000 new chargers that could initially be subsidised. If India really goes through with its plan, it could become an electric mobility hotspot.
newindianexpress.com
Heathrow charges ahead: The London airport announced that it will invest some 2m pounds to set up 135 new EV charging stations. Heathrow already counts 21 charge points, as well as 150 electric vehicles in its fleet.
edie.net, youtube.com (Video)
H2 Buses for London: Transport for London (TfL) has ordered two fuel cell buses from Belgian manufacturer Van Hool. The buses will be used on line RV1 in the city centre.
vanhool.be
Ohio goes H2: The Stark Area Regional Transit Authority (SARTA) in Stark County, Ohio, wants to commission seven fuel cell buses by the end of next year. The company has already begun building a H2 filling station outside of its headquarters.
cantonrep.com
Electric tea delivery: Indian retail chain Chai Point kicked off its delivery service Chai-on-Call, using more than 60 electric scooters to deliver tea in the cities of Bangalore, Delhi and Hyderabad. Chai Points already plans to expand the service to Mumbai an Chennai.
financialexpress.com
Derbyshire plugs in: Eight hospitals in the UK county now have charging points, which are all open to the public. The purchase and installation were funded by the Government’s Office for Low Emission Vehicles.
buxtonadvertiser.co.uk
Rebates in Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania residents can now receive up to 2,000 dollars in rebates if they choose to purchase an ‘alternative fuel vehicle’. All-electric cars are eligible for the full 2,000 dollars, while hybrids including plug-ins, natural gas, propane or hydrogen-powered cars qualify for a rebate of 1,000 dollars.
prnewswire.com
Chargepoint places: Infrastructure provider Chargepoint partners with retailers and hotels to help them promote exclusive offers for EV drivers on the Chargepoint platform.
chargedevs.com
Thuringia electrified: The eMobilityCity network consisting of 17 companies and universities wants to deploy 300 vehicles, 150 charging points and tangible marketing and sales concepts in Erfurt, Germany. Starting in January, fleet owners are to be targeted with full service packages, including i.e. vehicles and charging station. The initiative hopes for 70 new EVs in Erfurt by September.
jenapolis.de, emobilitycity.de (articles in German)
E-buses for Sardinia: The first of 14 electric trolley buses from Van Hool and Vossloh Kiepe have been delivered to Cagliari’s public transportation services. Four models are equipped with a fully electric powertrain and traction batteries; the other buses feature a diesel generator that is used to produce electricity.
pressebox.de (in German)
Fast charging in New Zealand: Z Energy will install three new fast charging stations in Auckland, two in Wellington and one in Christchurch by the end of February. The stations are supplied by Charge.net.nz and will offer 100 percent renewable energy, at least at night.
stuff.co.nz
Joint e-bus innovation: Van Hool, Bombardier and battery maker Leclanché introduced a new electric bus in Belgium. It is charged wirelessly at the bus depot via Bombardier’s charging system. Three buses were handed over to the Flanders public transport company De Lijn to undergo real world testing. The project was part of the ‘living lab for electric vehicles programme’ by the Flemish ministry for innovation.
leclanche.eu, hln.be (in Dutch)
More efficient: ZF presents the EcoLife automatic transmission with start/stop function at the Busworld show. The company also improved the AVE 130 electric low-floor axle as it increased power of the two electric motors from 120 to 125 kW each. By losing the conventional drive and propeller shaft in the rear, more space for passengers was created.
zf.com
Swap, stack, and plug: Start-up Verd2Go from Kansas City tries to find backers to warm up the battery swap idea once more. Different from Better Place however, Verd2Go batteries can be requested in smaller stacks so they can be used in anything from a mobile to a PEV.
autoblog.com, indiegogo.com
High voltage testing: Sakor presents testing technologies for electric and hybrid vehicles and batteries at the Automotive Testing Expo in the USA. Testing covers standards as well as simulations.
greencarcongress.com
Most clicked link on Monday was Volkswagen’s quite humorous full page advertisement in major Dutch newspapers to apologize for equipping its diesel cars with cheating software.
nltimes.nl
EU supports H2 buses: Belgium bus OEM Van Hool has signed an agreement with the Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU), which is financing the deployment of 21 fuel cell buses. These will be powered by Ballard Ballard FCvelocity-HD7 modules.
greencarcongress.com, ballard.com
E-Buses and chargers for Sweden: Siemens and Volvo have signed a deal, saying they will work together to supply electrified bus systems to cities. In 2015, Volvo will deliver hybrid and all-electric buses to the Swedish cities of Stockholm and Gothenburg, while Siemens will set up fast-chargers there with a charging capacity of up to 300 kW.
volvogroup.com
Electric scooter sharing in Berlin: Berlin-based start-up eMio will kick off its electric “Share-a-Scooter” programme in the German capital in March. Following the testing phase, 200 electric scooters will be up for sharing in the centre of Berlin. The two-wheelers can be booked per app and are free floating.
emio-sharing.de, emo-berlin.de (articles in German)
New electric Smarts for San Diego: Carsharing provider Car2go is renewing and increasing the size of its fleet in the Californian city, bringing in 400 new electric Smarts. These will replace 350 models from 2010. According to the company, it counts over 33,000 customers and over 1 million trips in San Diego since the scheme launched in 2011.
timesofsandiego.com, cnn.com
“Get Current” will be the name of a new initiative launched in Georgia, USA. Utility provider Georgia Power Co. has earmarked 12 million dollars that it will spend on erecting 50 new public charging stations, as well as on subsidies for the installation of private chargers.
bizjournals.com
San Diego wants cleaner cabs: The U.S. city launched a 360,000 dollar incentive programme to get taxi drivers to switch from petrol to hybrid. Taxi owners will receive up to 4,000 dollars for the purchase of a new hybrid or alternative fuel vehicle and will also pay reduced airport fees.
kpbs.org
Four e-taxis for Spain: Nissan delivered four electric taxis to Spain’s two largest cities. Three e-NV200 will go into service in Barcelona and one Nissan Leaf will chauffeur guests around the city of Madrid.
thegreencarwebsite.co.uk, hybridcars.com, electriccarsreport.com
Service centre for hydrogen buses: Next month, Van Hool and partner Ballard Power System will open a Service and Parts Centre for fuel cell buses in Belgium. “ESPACE” will mainly service Van Hool buses that feature Ballard technology. By the end of 2014, there are expected to be 27 of these fuel cell buses in operation in five European cities.
greencarcongress.com
Dundee gets two fast-chargers: The city council earmarked 22,000 pounds (35,300 USD) for the installation, paid for with a Transport Scotland grant. The council hopes the new 22 kW charging stations will encourage more people to drive electrically.
thecourier.co.uk
Corby makes room for EVs: Corby borough council in Northamptonshire has set up five parking bays for electric vehicles adjacent to charging points at a car park in the city centre. A measure the city took, seeing that sales of plug-vehicles are growing.
airqualitynews.com, northantstelegraph.co.uk
Real Estate electrified: Dendrow Estate Agents in London has three Nissan Leafs in their fleet. And while this video sets out to talk about some of the issues, there do not seem to be any – just benefits. But then, the video was produced by no other than the carmaker itself.
youtube.com
Hyundai for European Parliament: For the third consecutive year, the European Commission-backed Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU) has chosen the ix35 FCV as a demonstrator. It will be driven by Members of the European Parliament and other EU officials.
hybridcars.com
Van Hool H2 bus: RVK is the first public transport operator in Germany to use Van Hool’s A330 FC fuel-cell buses. The 150 kW fuel-cell together with a Li-ion buffer battery powers two electric motors with 85 kW each. Two of these prototypes will be put in regular service on routes in the cities of Hürth and Brühl.
newstix.de (in German)
Chargers for Connecticut: SemaConnect secured a contract to supply its EV charging stations to the town of Bethel. The new level-2 stations will help extend the state’s current network, with 50 of Connecticut’s 169 communities already offering electric vehicle charging.
automotive-business-review.com
