Electric Cars
On Tuesday, the Swedish company Volvo said joining a growing number of carmakers planning to phase out fossil-fuel engines by the end of this decade.
The transition to selling only electric cars will allow Volvo "to meet the expectations of our customers and be a part of the solution when it comes to fighting climate change," he added. Europe has imposed aggressive targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles, and carmakers face huge potential fines if they do not comply.
The carmaker said 50% of its global sales should be fully-electric cars by 2025 and the other half hybrid models.
The car manufacturer Jaguar has announced its intention to become an all-electric car brand by 2025.
Under the motto "Reimagine", the company has announced a fundamental change in strategy. The future is to be contested with e-mobility and fuel cell drives. This will cost the company a lot, with annual costs of around 2.8 billion euros for the changeover.
Norway has become the first country in the world to sell more electric cars than those powered by petrol, diesel or hybrid engines. Battery Electric vehicles made up a record 54.3% of all new cars sold in 2020. Fully electric vehicles are exempt from tax in Norway.
In 2021 the Austrian government will provide 40 million euros in funding for electric cars. This was announced by Environment and Transport Minister Leonore Gewessler on Sunday.
In the years 2019 and 2020, a total of 93 million euros - together with the automobile importers - were available. As the APA (Austrian Press Agency) stated, these funds have now been almost completely exhausted. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the ministry had increased the subsidy per e-car from 3000 to 5000 euros.
In September 9,560 new electric cars have been registered in Norway making it 61.5% of the total number of car registrations in that month.
Since the beginning of the year, 48,175 electric cars have been registered in the country. Volkswagen is leading in newly registered cars with 1,989 VW ID.3 in September followed by 1,116 registrations of the Tesla Model 3.
Honda, the engine partner for Red Bull and Scuderia AlphaTauri, announced Friday it has decided to conclude its participation in the Formula 1 at the end of the 2021 season.
Honda explained the move as a result of the transformation of the car industry away from internal combustion engines and its purse of "carbon neutrality by 2050".
In a press release on its site, Honda concluded with "Motorsports activities are in Honda's DNA, and therefore Honda will continue to be passionate about taking on challenges and striving to become No. 1 in all categories of racing in which Honda participates."
The ride-sharing provider Lyft has announced that it plans on transitioning to electric or zero-emission vehicles by 2030. They stated that "100 percent" are the goal and according to the co-founder and president, John Zimmer "Now more than ever, we need to work together to create cleaner, healthier, and more equitable communities". Lyft did not close how much the project will cost.
CATL, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd, the world's largest manufacturer of car batteries for electric vehicles has announced production readiness of a breakthrough battery.
The chairman of the company that supplies Tesla and Volkswagen has announced that it has created a battery that lasts over 1.2 million miles and can run for 16 years.
As part of the countries economic recovery plan from the Covid-19 pandemic, Germany has announced that it aims to boost the usage and sales of electric cars. One planned measure will require all petrol stations to offer charging options for electric vehicles.