EDTA - This Week in EV-Motoring

Media Watch:

Battery Stimulus Scramble
Forbes
June 8, 2009

As many as 50 battery makers are applying for a piece of the $2 billion available for electric-vehicle batteries.
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Toyota: hybrids best 'green' car for some time
Associated Press
June 4, 2009

A Toyota executive overseeing research said a battery breakthrough is needed for electric vehicles to become mainstream, and hybrids will remain the best "green" car choice for some time.
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Volvo aims to be market leader in plug-in hybrid technology
The Hamilton Spectator
June 4, 2009

Volvo Cars continues to focus heavily on advanced green technology and is now taking another major step forward in keeping with the company's over-riding vision - DRIVe Towards Zero. A joint project with Swedish energy supplier Vattenfall is prompting the production of battery-powered Volvos featuring plug-in hybrid technology as early as 2012.
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Toyota Industries to sell rechargers for hybrids
Asia Pulse
June 4, 2009

Toyota Industries Corp. will start selling rechargers for plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles in July. The recharger is designed for installation at commercial facilities, such as supermarkets, and in public places, such as parking lots.
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BASF Corp. wants to build Elyria plant for hybrid-car battery components
Cleveland Plain Dealer
June 4, 2009

BASF Corp. says it wants to put a cutting-edge facility in Elyria that would make chemicals to be used in electric and hybrid car batteries.
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Chinese-made Coda electric sedan looks to plug in to U.S. market
Autoweek.com
June 3, 2009

The Chinese-made, four-door, five-seat sedan has everything from Bluetooth and navigation to an iPod dock and a finished interior. The car will sticker for $45,000 when it goes on sale in fall 2010, but federal and state rebates could lower that to the mid-$30,000 range.
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Fleets to get plug-in hybrid
Evening Herald
June 3, 2009

Toyota will lease over 150 units of its next generation Plug-in Hybrid Vehicle to selected fleet customers across Europe as part of a three-year program. The first wave will be deployed to Strasbourg, France later this year with other markets following suit by mid-2010.
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Segway Introduces New Patroller Models With Greater Visibility for Police, Security, and Emergency Response
Health Business Week
June 2, 2009

Segway Inc. announced the availability of two new Patroller models. The Patroller models are identifiable by their highly reflective surfaces and an integrated lighting system. Additional product enhancements include a newly designed LeanSteer frame, a front bag specifically designed to carry officers' cargo, and an upper shield for affixing the organization's insignia.
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New Parking Enforcement Vehicles
US State News
June 3, 2009

The City of Boston's Parking Enforcement Officers will soon be patrolling their routes on neighborhood streets with the help of small, electric vehicles.
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Volvo collaborates with Vattenfall
Auto Business News
June 2, 2009

Volvo Car Corporation is collaborating with Vattenfall, a Sweden-based energy company, to produce plug-in hybrid vehicles by 2012.
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Neighborhood Electric Vehicles Market Grows, But Still a Niche
Reuters
June 2, 2009

The NEV market has been quietly growing over the past few years, and it is likely to continue for the next couple of years. Helping to spur this growth has been the development of U.S. communities centered around these vehicles (places like Peachtree, GA, Celebration, FL, Playa Vista, CA, and others). Local governments and corporations have also been discovering the usefulness of NEVs.
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Yazaki builds tough connector for charging electric cars fast
Asia Pulse
June 2, 2009

Yazaki Corp. has developed a special long-life connector for use in quickly recharging electric cars. The connector is designed to support quick-charging systems that operate on 500 volts, recharging the vehicle in about 20 minutes rather than the eight hours taken using standard voltage. It can be attached and detached more than 10,000 times.
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Lithium-ion battery maker seeks U.S. funds for Mass. plant
Greenwire
June 1, 2009

Boston-Power Inc. is seeking federal stimulus money to build a Massachusetts plant that would make lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles, notebook computers and other applications. The 455,000-square-foot factory slated for Auburn, about 50 miles southwest of Boston, would create about 2,600 direct and indirect jobs.
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City transit service to add hybrid 'trolleys'
The Clover Herald
June 1, 2009

The Charlottesville Transit Service will soon be adding hybrid buses to its 38-bus fleet, a first for the service as it tries to use more fuel-efficient technology. "It's a cleaner bus than we have today," said Bill Watterson, CTS' transit manager.
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Van maker's first to win EU-wide sales approval
Birmingham Post
June 1, 2009

Electric van maker Modec looks set to become the first in the sector to get approval to sell its vehicles throughout the European Union without the need for approval by individual countries.
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Saving the Plug-In Hybrid, Part II
East Bay Express
June 1, 2009

The California Air Resources Board voted 6-2 to allow small companies to convert up to fifty Toyota Priuses into plug-in hybrids before having to undergo expensive emissions testing.
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Industry Press Releases:

Coda Automotive Unveils Mainstream All-Electric Sedan
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Azure Dynamics Partners with Champion Bus
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Valence Signs MOU with Siemens to Develop Batteries Compatible with Siemens' Marine Hybrid Propulsion Systems
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2009 Tesla Motors Delivers 500th Roadster
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First European Clean Mobility Center Installs Coulomb Technologies Networked ChargePoint Stations for Electrical Vehicles
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Rampart Casino Unveils Coulomb Charging Station for Electric Vehicles
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Volvo Cars and Vattenfall to develop new plug-in hybrid
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Protonex receives additional $500K to extend capabilities of unmanned aerial vehicle propulsion systems
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