Renewable Revolution

Sales of electric and hybrid cars in Norway outpaced those running on fossil fuels last year, cementing the country’s position as a global leader in the push to restrict vehicle emissions.

Norway, a major oil exporter, would seem an unlikely champion of newer, cleaner-running vehicles. But the country offers generous incentives that make electric cars cheaper to buy, and provides additional benefits once the vehicles are on the road.

Countries around the world have ramped up their promotion of hybrid and electric cars. As China tries to improve air quality and dominate new vehicle technology, the government there wants one in five cars sold to run on alternative fuels by 2025. France and Britain plan to end the sale of gasoline- and diesel-powered cars by 2040.

Norway is ahead of the rest of the world. About 52 percent of the new cars sold in the country last year ran on new forms of fuel, according the data released on Thursday by Norway’s Road Traffic Advisory Board, OFV. The share of diesel cars, which were once considered more environmentally friendly but are now in the spotlight for their noxious emissions, fell sharply.

“This trend will only increase,” Oyvind Solberg Thorsen, OFV’s director, said in a statement. “This is good for both road safety and the environment.”

Sales of electric cars could have been even higher, according to Christina Bu, secretary general of the Norwegian Electric Vehicle Association, but some buyers continued to hold out for newer models like Tesla’s Model 3.

Although electric vehicles make up a just small portion of the global market now, automakers — including those, like Tesla, that produce only electric models, and giants like Volkswagen — have bet billions of dollars that such vehicles will soon be as cheap and ubiquitous as conventional cars. Investments in charging stations and other technology connected to electric vehicles are also increasing.

General Motors and Ford Motor have said they will shift their focus to electric models, while carmakers like Volvo have moved to phase out the internal combustion engine entirely. Joining the fray are entrepreneurs like James Dyson who have their own plans to build electric vehicles.

As the market grows, makers of electric cars are facing difficulties. Tesla has lagged in its production of the Model 3, its first mass-market offering. And a slump in overall car sales in the United States could put a crimp in the expansion of electric vehicles.

Norway, which wants to phase out diesel and gasoline cars by 2025 , offers a counterexample.

The country’s embrace of electric cars has been hastened by hefty government subsidies and tax breaks that make the technology more affordable. The authorities have expanded the nationwide network of charging stations. They also offer electric car drivers a bevy of other benefits: cheaper parking, the use of bus lanes for car-poolers during rush hours, and exemptions from the vast majority of road tolls.

As a result, electric cars — identified by license plates that begin with the letters EL or EK — are a common sight. Teslas can frequently be seen on Norwegian roads, particularly in affluent parts of Oslo, the capital. Charging stations are relatively easy to find in major cities.

“I had been wanting an electric car for a long time for environmental reasons, but they were expensive,” said Zanete Anderson Lilley, a senior adviser in Norway at the World Wildlife Fund, an environmental advocacy organization. Ms. Lilley eventually bought a Kia Soul, a small five-door electric car, for about 200,000 kroner, or around $24,600, last summer.

“If it wasn’t for the subsidies, I guess most people would still choose fuel,” she added.

Despite the growth of electric cars, the vehicles, and the government’s support for them, are not universally popular.

Last year, Norway’s conservative government proposed paring back the various forms of tax relief for electric cars. But the plans attracted criticism and have not made headway.

Ms. Bu, of the Norwegian Electric Vehicle Association, said such a move would create “great uncertainty at a time when increasing numbers of Norwegians are convinced that electric cars are something for them.”

For Adam Curylo, a bus driver who lives in Baerum, near Oslo, with his wife and son, electric cars have limitations. Mr. Curylo, a native of Poland, bought a Nissan Leaf electric car because it meant he could avoid paying road tolls. Although it functioned well in city driving, he was frustrated by the lack of charging points in more rural areas.

“I hate it — it is neither pleasurable nor practical,” he said. “We have it just because it is cheaper to use at the moment.”

“Electric cars are just a temporary solution,” Mr. Curylo added, “they are not the future.”

http://Https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/04/business/energy-environment/norway-electric-hybrid-cars.html

January 20th, 2018 by Nicolas Zart


Article with several pictures: ✨

https://cleantechnica.com/2018/01/20/alibabas-xiaopeng-bets-entire-fortune-another-tesla-killer/

California will work to put five million zero-emission cars on its roads by 2030, Governor Jerry Brown announced last week. An executive order signed by Brown on Friday outlines a $2.5 billion electric vehicle initiative for the next eight years, including directives to build an additional 250,000 charging stations and increased rebates to encourage consumers to buy electric cars.

California currently has around 350,000 electric vehicles on its roads, and Governor Brown's previous target was to see 1.5 million vehicles by 2025.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-autos-emissions-california/california-looks-to-ramp-up-electric-vehicle-sales-idUSKBN1FF2XG

Joshua Pritt , driving Chevy Volts since December 2011.

Answered Tue  Jan 30, 2018

Simple . Electric cars have near zero maintenance. Rotate the tires once or twice a year, refill the wiper fluid, and replace wiper blades every year or so.

If you have a liquid cooled battery like the Chevy Bolt or Tesla you have to check and flush and fill if needed every 100k miles or so. This will eat into their bottom line since most of the profit from selling gas cars comes from the many years of oil changes, gasket replacements, tune ups, fuel injector cleaning, belt and hose replacements, on and on and on forever until it finally all falls apart.

Tesla has gathered so many millions of miles of data from their fleet of cars on the road they have a really good idea how long their electric motors should last. That's why they guarantee their new Tesla Semi truck for one million miles! 💫

Tesla Semi Truck: 500-Mile Range, 1 Million Mile Guarantee


Electric vehicles and the future of auto service

https://www.quora.com/Why-cant-other-automakers-besides-Tesla-make-an-EV-with-a-300-mile-range

February 5th, 2018 by James Ayre

SNIPPET:

As part of a push to become one of the top auto manufacturers operating in the country, Nissan will be pumping 60 billion yuan ($9.5 billion) into its operations in China over the next 5 years, company execs have revealed.

The plan, reportedly, is to focus on plug-in electric vehicles and on the Venucia, Nissan, and Infiniti brands — with the intent being to boost local sales volume to 2.6 million vehicles a year by 2022 — in cooperation with its local joint-venture partner Dongfeng Group. Currently Nissan sells around 1.5 million vehicles a year in China (the world’s largest auto market).

The new “Triple One”✨ strategy will presumably see sales of a rebranded version of the new Nissan Leaf as a focus, but reportedly there will also be an attempt to increase the sale of commercial light-duty vans, trucks, etc.

Full article:

https://cleantechnica.com/2018/02/05/nissan-pumping-9-5-billion-chinas-auto-market-next-5-years-focusing-evs/

Motorcycle Top   

Published on Nov 18, 2017

PCX ELECTRIC is an electric scooter equipped with Honda's unique high-output electric motor that aims to produce more harmonious mobility in urban traffic, and a removable Honda Mobile Power Pack. 🌞 


While sharing the same basic design as the Hybrid PCX, this all-electric motor design emphasizes the EV components, and with a special hugger fender around the motor, pursues a clean and sophisticated image.

The white-dominated color scheme with blue and black accents makes for a clean and sophisticated look, neatly coordinated with Honda's Honda Mobile Power Pack coloring. Honda PCX Electric is scheduled to begin releasing and go on sale in 2018 in Asia including Japan.

John Voelcker

Feb 12, 2018

SNIPPET:

Most shoppers seem to view visiting a franchised auto dealer to negotiate the purchase or lease of a new car with a distinct lack of enthusiasm.

In fact, as electric-car driver Douglas Kerr notes, the process is often compared to having a cavity filled.

Kerr has now leased or bought four separate electric cars, and he has some advice on reducing the pain.

What follows are his words, lightly edited by Green Car Reports for clarity and style.

Full article:

https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1115260_how-to-buy-or-lease-an-electric-car-advice-from-owner-whos-done-it-four-times