EU: Electric car sales accelerate as Europe turns away from diesel

Europeans bought as many hybrid cars as they did diesel in Europe in 2021 for the first time as the European Commission presses forward with its intention to ban the sale of petrol and diesel vehicles by 2035.

Sales of non-rechargeable hybrids - vehicles that run on fuel but also have an electric component that reduces consumption - were up 60% on the previous year and amounted to almost 20% of the total market share.

That is on a par with ordinary diesel vehicles, sales of which fell by 31% across the continent, according to the Association of European Manufacturers (ACEA).

Read more at: Electric car sales accelerate as Europe turns away from diesel | Euronews

Aircraft Industry: Rolls-Royce says its all-electric aircraft 'is world's fastest'

Rolls-Royce believes its Spirit of Innovation plane could be the world's fastest all-electric aircraft.

The firm - whose aerospace headquarters are based in Derby - said the plane reached a top speed of 387.4 mph (623 km/h) during test runs at an experimental aircraft testing site.

Read more at: Rolls-Royce says its all-electric aircraft 'is world's fastest' - BBC News

EU Automobile Industry:New battery-electric vehicles take 5.7% share in Europe in Q1; hybrids 18.4%, gasoline 42.2% , diesel 23.2%

In the first quarter of 2021, hybrid electric vehicles made up 18.4% of total passenger car sales in the EU, almost doubling their market share in a year, according to data from the European Association of Automobile Manufacturers (ACEA). Demand for electrically-chargeable cars also increased in Q1: battery-electric vehicles made up 5.7% of all new cars, while plug-in hybrids accounted for 8.2% of EU registrations.

Sales of traditional fossil-fuel cars continued to decrease in the European Union, although gasoline and diesel still made up 65.4% of the car market.

Read more at: New battery-electric vehicles take 5.7% share in Europe in Q1; hybrids 18.4%, gasoline 42.2% , diesel 23.2% - Green Car Congress

USA - Alternative Energy: Turn off the gas: is America ready to embrace electric vehicles?

In Detroit, auto plants have for decades churned out trucks built with Motor City steel and fueled by gasoline. But this week’s rollout of the Ford F-150 Lightning electric truck offered a vision of the future in America’s automotive heartland: aluminum-clad pickups running off of electric powertrains with lithium batteries.

An electric model of the nation’s best-selling vehicle at an accessible $40,000 has the potential to shift the auto industry’s course, and do more to advance the transportation sector’s electrification than any recent development, analysts say.

Read more at Turn off the gas: is America ready to embrace electric vehicles? | Automotive industry | The Guardian

EU Automobile Inbdustry: EIB ups financing for Fiat Chrysler's electric vehicles to 800 million euros

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has increased to almost 800 million euros ($949 million) its funding to Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) FCHA.MI to support production of electric and hybrid vehicles, they said in a joint statement.

Investments to manufacture battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles will be mainly directed at FCA plants located in southern Italy, supporting employment and compliance with the strictest environmental criteria.

Read more: 
EIB ups financing for Fiat Chrysler's electric vehicles to 800 million euros | Reuters

Automobile industry: Exclusive: Volkswagen to buy 20% of Chinese battery maker Guoxuan amid electric push

VW Hatchback electric

Volkswagen AG is set to take a 20% stake in Chinese electric vehicle battery maker Guoxuan High-tech Co Ltd, two sources told Reuters, as the German firm accelerates its electric push into the world’s largest auto market.

The deal would mark Volkswagen’s first direct ownership in a Chinese battery maker and comes as the Wolfsburg-based automaker strives to meet a goal of selling 1.5 million new energy vehicles (NEVs) a year in China by 2025, including plug-in hybrid cars.

The top foreign automaker in China plans to acquire the stake in Shenzhen-listed Guoxuan via a discounted private share placement in the coming weeks, the two sources with knowledge of the matter said. Based on Guoxuan’s market capitalization of $2.8 billion, a 20% stake in the company at present is worth about $560 million.

The deal’s details have been mostly finalized and the two firms are waiting for new Chinese regulatory rules on private share placements that will provide a more flexible pricing mechanism and shorter lock-up periods for majority shareholders, said one of the people, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Read more: Exclusive: Volkswagen to buy 20% of Chinese battery maker Guoxuan amid electric push - sources - Reuters

European Aircraft Industry: Airbus electric plane makes history by flying over English Channel

AP Photo

The E-fan electric plane of European planemaker Airbus has made history by being the first battery-operated electric plane to fly over the English Channel.

Flying from Lydd, England, to Calais, France, recently, the environmentally-friendly plane which operates on batteries only, uses no oil or water. Thanks to that feature the 20-foot long, 1300-pound jet releases absolutely no emissions.

Several companies in different countries are trying to develop electric planes in hopes of offering a fuel-free and emissions-free flight alternative for the future.

Earlier, pilot Hugues Duval flew from Dover, England, to Calais on a two-engine, one-seat Cricri plane, which weighs about 100 kilograms (220 pounds). He said reached 150 kilometers (90 miles) an hour on his 52-kilometer (31-mile) journey.

Duval told The Associated Press that his successful flight was a "relief" and an "important moment" after years of developing the plane and flying it over land.

Airbus' E-fan took its maiden voyage in March 2014, and has taken off 100 times since, its latest at Paris's International Air Show last month. Airbus aims to put the two-seater on the market in 2017, targeting sales at training facilities for entry-level pilots.

Read more: Airbus electric plane makes history by flying over English Channel - Daily Sabah