London to add 68 electric double-decker buses to its fleet
Even the iconic London Bus is about to go electric with 68 electric buses being added to the fleet.
[Charles Morris - 3 July 2018 - ChargedEVs, Newswire]
Meanwhile, in Wellington, the launch of their first electric buses will be happening by July 5th.
[Geoff Dobson - 4 July 2018 - EV Talk]
WEL Networks opens new rapid charger at Hampton Downs
WEL Networks has taken its tally of electric vehicle (EV) fast chargers in the Waikato to six, with the latest going live at Hampton Downs this week.
The new EV fast charger is the first of its kind at the popular motorsport complex and is located in the Gate 1 carpark.
“There has been a great level of interest from our manufacture-based clients who increasingly want to show off the latest technology in their products. It will not only allow them to demonstrate the EV technology in the normal context of road driving, but also show off the performance levels of the technology by making use of the tracks here at Hampton Downs," says Hampton Downs Track Manager, Elton Goonan.
WEL Networks has previously installed fast chargers at Maui Street, Caro Street and Waikato Innovation Park in Hamilton, as well as on Wayside Road in Te Kauwhata and Bow Street in Raglan.
[WEL Networks - 28 June 2018]
Free plug-in and charge stations for Electric Vehicles at Auckland City carparks
Auckland Transport and leading electric vehicle charging provider, ChargeNet NZ, have formed a strategic partnership to install the first 27 of a network of 60 conveniently located free standard electric vehicle charging stations around Auckland.
[Shawn Moody - ChargeNet NZ - 27 Jun 2018]
ChargeNet NZ Needs Help From Wellington EV Owners
One in four Wellington residents have no garage so must park on the street
The Wellington Council says one in four Wellington residents have no garage so must park on the street — that’s a significant hurdle to Wellington EV ownership.
There are currently over a thousand EVs registered in the capital city and this number is growing fast. These EVs are going to need somewhere to charge and ChargeNet NZ wants to make street charging accessible to those who can't charge at home.
"If you’re an EV owner in Wellington (or would like to own one soon) we’d love you to take a couple minutes before July 13 to make an online submission to the Wellington City Council and show support for the installation of a network of convenient on-street chargers for residents," says Shawn Moodie of solPR.
"It’s all part of the plan by us and the Council, with support from EECA, to turn our capital city into a low carbon city with cleaner air and a healthier and more enjoyable environment. There’s a lot to love about EVs. They’re cheaper to run (only 15% of the cost of running an equivalent sized petrol vehicle), good for the environment, and fun to drive but without proper charging infrastructure in place Wellington is going to fall behind the rest of the country. ..."
[Shawn Moodie - ChargeNet NZ - 26 June 2018]
Finally a Luxury Customisable Motorcycle with CCS Charging
With a massive 15kWh Li-ion battry, Italian Volt's new "Lacama" Motorcyle offers a 200 km range and can be recharged from 0 to 100% with a Level 2 AC 6 kW charger, or in just 40 minutes using a DC fast charge CCS standard.
[Micah Toll - Electrek - 25 Jun 2018]
Franklin Drivers Invited
For Goodness Grocer owners Stephanie Martin and partner Karl Kippenberger, the rising cost of fuel meant the decision to switch to electric came as a "no brainer".
[James Baker - Waikato Times - 25 June 2018]
For those of you interested in making the switch from petrol to EV, PlugNDrive and Goodness Grocer will be holding an open day on June 30 from 11am to 2pm at Goodness Grocer's store in lower King Street, Pukekohe.
Will California Reach 10% EV Sales Market Share By December 2018?
While EVs are still being purchased primarily by “green” and early-adopting consumers, media coverage continues to grow and is generally shifting from a “If?” EVs will go mainstream to “When?”
California reached an impressive 7.83% EV market share of new vehicle registrations for the month of April 2018. Could California reach 10% by the end of 2018? In short, yes.
[Loren McDonald - EV Adoption - 23 June 2018]
Tesla Semi Glides Across Golden Gate Bridge
Tesla recently shared a short video clip of the silver Semi stealthily gliding over the Golden Gate Bridge while hauling a trailer on the way to Santa Rosa, CA.
[Simon Alvarez - Teslarati - 21 June 2018]
Audi e-tron quattro electric SUV to have ‘intelligent charging functions’ optimised for solar
Several electric automakers are venturing into the energy generation aspect of charging electric vehicles. Tesla is leading the charge after its acquisition of SolarCity.
Now several other automakers are getting on board and Audi is partnering with SMA Solar Technology to have ‘intelligent charging functions’ optimized for solar in the upcoming e-tron quattro electric SUV.
In an effort to improve vehicle aerodynamic performance, Audi is introducing an option of “virtual exterior mirrors”, which consists of replacing the mirrors with cameras that will display what they see on OLED displays in the transition between the instrument panel and door.
[Courtesy of Fred Lambert - Electrek - June 18, 2018]