It looks like European automakers are winning their battle against the proposed European Union limits on automotive CO₂ emissions. While the European Commission had proposed a limit of 120 g/km for the vehicle fleet by 2012, manufacturers where claiming the limit was too aggressive. The members of parliament apparently agreed, with the Industry and Energy Committee voting 35-21 to slow things down. Instead of having the entire fleet meet the requirement, only 60 percent of vehicles will have to pass the new threshold in 2012. Over the next several years, through 2015, the rest of the vehicles will meet the standard as well. Extremely low emission vehicles with less than 50 g/km of CO₂ will also be given extra credit counting as 1.5 vehicles in the sales weighted averaging. All electric vehicles will count as three cars until 2015. In a further move sure to make environmentalists apoplectic, the fines for exceeding the limits were slashed from the EC's proposed €95 per gram of CO₂ over the limit to €40 per gram.

[Source: Euractiv.com]

We like the idea of electric bicycles and, apparently, the world does too. We've known that electric bicycles have become extremely popular in China but new numbers reveal they're really starting to catch on in Western countries too. In America, for example, where we have rising fuel costs and an aging population, sales almost doubled to reach 10,000 in 2007. Though they say it's partly because of an increased line-up, Amazon.com is reporting a whopping 6,000 percent increase this summer from a year ago.

In Europe, where bicycle culture has traditionally been pretty strong, demand for battery-powered rides is also on the rise. France matched America's pace in 2007 with 10,000. And while sales in Germany reached 60,000 last year, they expect to double that number this year. As you might imagine, the Netherlands had no problem representin' with 89,000 in 2007 and will likely reach 121,000 by the end of this year.

If you're in the market for a new light-weight ride you'll find a wide range of manufacturers out there with varying quality. The cheapest bikes use lead-acid batteries and you can pick them up for a few hundred bucks. Lithium ion batteries are finding their way into more bikes and, although they might be more expensive (from $1,500 to ridiculous), they offer lighter weight and longer ranges. Happy trails.

[Source: Business Week]

While airlines and automakers struggle to minimize their losses as fuel prices keep climbing, at least one transportation company is thriving. French rail operator, SNCF, scored a profit of over $1.7 billion in 2007 and expects to do even better this year. SNCF operates the TGV trains that routinely travel at speeds up to 200 mph in commercial service. Unlike here in the US, rail companies in Europe and Asia have actually invested in the infrastructure and equipment to make train travel fast and reliable. Admittedly, in the days of cheap fuel, Americans had little interest in trains, but maybe they need to reconsider.

Air travel in the age of the TSA and $145/barrel oil is anything but fast and efficient. And flyers are getting squeezed more and more. For example, US Airways announced that it will remove in-flight entertainment systems from domestic aircraft to save 500lbs. Furthermore, every airline is now charging fees for checked bags and just about everything else. As a result, European travelers are hopping on the train in ever greater numbers, with SNCF expecting an increase of 8 percent this year to 80 million passenger trips. Too bad we have no such viable option here in the US. Unless you live in the Northeast, where the the Amtrak Acela runs between Boston and Washington, D.C., train travel really isn't an alternative to flying or driving on short or medium distance trips for most Americans. For longer distances, trains make no sense in the U.S. from a time and cost standpoint, particularly for business travelers, for whom those two factors are critically important.

[Source: The Guardian]

Greenpeace

Everybody's favorite pre-historic family was arrested today in Brussels, Belgium. A group of protesters from Greenpeace dressed in Flintstones-style garb were taken into custody today as they approached the European Parliament building. The EU parliament is about to start debating the legislation that would impose carbon dioxide emissions limits on automakers. The European Commission had recommended rules with hefty fines for non-compliance and fleet average emissions limited to 130g/km by 2012. Under pressure from ACEA, the European automakers association, the parliament has moved to reduce the fines and stretch out the time-line for implementation. German automakers in particular are most opposed to the new rules and German legislators have vowed to protect their domestic industry. The Greenpeace protesters were opposed to the amount of influence the industry has had on the new regulations.

[Source: Reuters]

The German arguments to European Commission rules aimed at lowering average vehicle CO₂ emissions has been well covered. Because many of the major German brands make large, powerful vehicles, the German administration felt that they were being dealt with unfairly. France, for its part, has automakers which quite nearly complied with the proposed standards just as they were and did not want to see German automakers get any special treatment. Can't we all just get along? Maybe, since Automotive News is reporting that representatives from the two feuding nations have gotten together and are hashing out their differences. We don't have any details on just what changes are being suggested to the proposal, but an anonymous source claims that there are few sticking points left on the table. According to reports, France would like to see a deal made before June 9, when there is a meeting between Frech President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel scheduled in Bavaria. Stay tuned.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]

A few years back, the European Commission began drafting tough new standards to regulate the amount of CO₂ that vehicles sold in member states could emit -- and its been backing off ever since. While French and Italian company's had no problems at all with the proposed regulations of 120 g/km of carbon emissions, the German brands began protesting. Since then, the Commission has moved the proposals down quite a bit in order to appease the masses. One proposal would have the allowable CO₂ emissions based on the size of the vehicle, which would help the Germans, with their large, heavy and powerful vehicles, skirt around the toughest standards.

Naturally, Fiat Group CEO Sergio Marchionne isn't at all happy about these changes, saying, "This type of nonsense is clearly the result of political pressures that have been hard at work to protect particular participants in the European automotive market. Fiat as a group will not tolerate them and will do everything in its power to protect its economic interests in a manner consistent with the Commission's objective in substantially reducing CO₂ emissions." Because of the sliding curve of the latest proposal, makers of small and lightweight vehicles would be held to a higher standard than makers of large vehicles, which somehow seems rather backwards, wouldn't you say?

[Source: Automotive News Europe - sub. req'd]

The lawsuits and complaints in the green car industry are flying about non-stop these days. Porsche vs. London. Tesla vs. Fisker. Michael Papp's troubles. State-based emissions and fuel economy regulations in the U.S. Here's yet another to add to the list: The European Biodiesel Board (EBB) vs. American biodiesel producers.

According to the Northern Echo, the EBB has filed a complaint with the European Commission that claims that U.S. biodiesel poses unfair competition to inter-EU producers and asked for duties to be paid on imports of B99. The problem, the EBB says, is that American producers get U.S. subsidies when they make the biofuel and then also get European subsidies when they export it to Europe. In the Northern Echo's example, U.S. biodiesel is sold for half as much as domestic biodiesel in the UK.

[Source: Northern Echo]

As you might know, the EU has plans to make a 10 percent blend of biofuels mandatory in 2020. However, not everybody agrees that it's a good measure. In fact, lots of voices have been raised in warning about using biofuels to reduce our dependence on oil.

The U.S. (California in particular) is a leader in installing a smart grid, so vital to getting the most out of charging electric vehicles in a cheap and more green way. California may be leading, but they are certainly not running alone. There's Boulder, for one. And we covered the UK's pricey discussion earlier this month. Now Michael Setters, the director of Smart Electric News, puts the broader European efforts into perspective.

Saying there are a "host of initiatives across Europe" focusing on one day installing smart grids, Setters' article announces that "dramatic change is coming" to the European grid. He describes how the EDP is working on InovGrid, a project that combines the communication abilities of a smart grid with micro-generation, and how Iberdrole is busy with "a new open, public and non-proprietary telecom architecture to support not only smart metering functionality but also to progress towards the electricity networks of the future." Now, that's a good idea.

There are also initiatives coming in Ireland and from companies ZigBee, Pepco, Gazprom, Siemens and eMeter about the smart grid in Europe. Someone's going to have to spend time and money on this, as the International Energy Agency (IEA) estimated that over $16 trillion (U.S.) will be spent around the world between 2003 and 2030 on designing, building and installing smart grids.

[Source: RenewableEnergyWorld]

Despite the fact that European buyers have a penchant for choosing diesels over hybrids (and everything else for that matter), Chinese manufacturer BYD (Build Your Dreams) is planning on testing out the Euro-hybrid waters. Their hybrid sedan, which was shown off in Detroit at the Auto Show, uses ferrous batteries and features plug-in capabilities. The vehicle is capable of traveling on electricity alone for treks of up to 60 miles before the gasoline engine is required. Still, hybrid sales in China have yet to set the world on fire.

"Savings on running costs [in Europe] are higher than in China because of high European fuel prices," according to company president Wang Chuanfu. "The emphasis in Europe is on the environment. So we will first bring our hybrid models to Europe. Start of sales in 2010 would be ideal." Chuanfu also hints that European production is also a possibility for their line of vehicles. A video of the BYD FD DM PHEV is pasted after the break.

[Source: Automotive News China - sub. req'd.]

Photo by kadavy. Licensed under Creative Commons license 2.0.

Europeans don't monkey around when it comes to cigarette warning labels. Large print, simple messages, and impossible to avoid. Apparently, vehicle advertisements need to be a little more clear about the dangers the vehicle poses to the pocketbook and the environment.

Car ads that references a specific make and model, according to EU directive 1999/94/EC, which passed in December 1999, need to reveal fuel use and CO₂ emissions in way that is easy to read and prominent and "be easy to understand even on superficial contact." While some car advertisements in the EU and UK have come under fire for being misleading (see examples by Toyota and Lexus and Hummer), a researcher at a Belgian university found that almost every single car ad (99 percent) in the EU is illegal.

Examples of what car ads should look like and ways to voice your concern are available at this site, which was set up by ten environmental and greener car groups, including Greenpeace and the Alliance Against Urban 4x4s (4x4 is the British way of saying SUV).

[Source: The Economist, h/t to Jeroen V.]

It appears that our faithful readers from the old country will soon have a reason to bust out that sack full of euros stashed under their beds. Because of the falling value of the Yankee greenback in relation to the euro, Tesla has decided to move up their plans to sell its amazing electric sports car in Europe. Although the factory in England has started cranking them out, the entire production scheduled for this year has already been sold, so orders taken will be for the 2009 model.

Launching the car in Europe will mean that a whole different set of rules and regulations will need to be adhered to. Tesla's sales and marketing guy, Darryl Siry, is quoted by Innovation Beat, from whence I garnered this information, as saying, "Emissions regulations we have no problem meeting." I expect the other red tape to take a bit of time and effort.

Because they are seen to be particularly friendly to electric vehicles, Sweden and Norway (the Danes are going to be pissed!) have been selected as the initial markets where efforts will be concentrated. Tax incentives for more environmentally-sensitive cars will help defray the costs there though the chilly temperatures may make a small dent in the vehicle's overall range.

The exact date for the European introduction is expected to be announced in a couple of months though if it were me sitting on that sack of euros, I'd contact them soon to try and ensure a place in line.


*Update: Darryl Siry of Tesla left a comment to correct the article saying that while Norway and Northern Europe have been discussed as "attractive markets", they have not been chosen as "initial" markets and Tesla should be available in Europe more broadly. Good news.


[Source: Innovation Beat]

When I (an American) think about the Lexus brand, the first thing that comes to mind is not its hybrid option. In Europe, it seems Lexus and hybrid are synonymous because a Lexus official told the BBC, "Hybrid is Lexus brand defining technology." We have written about the increasing Lexus hybrid sales in Europe over the years and even the shocker that hybrid Lexus vehicles were outselling the gas versions 4-to-1 in Europe. Sainsbury's chief executive, Justin King, gave up his Maserati Quattroporte for a hybrid Lexus. Overall, though, Europeans still love diesel and aren't big fans of hybrids. Also, and you might find this hard to believe (he wrote sarcastically) but Europe already has one (or two?) luxury car brands.

So, why is the Lexus hybrid doing well in Europe when hybrids and even Lexus is not doing well? Complete lack of competition! "Only Lexus has hybrid, and we have three while others have yet to launch one" the Lexus company official said. Lexus was the only hybrid we could recommend to Yoko Ono when she lamented the lack of a comfortable hybrid because, as the BBC notes, Audi, BMW and Mercedes don't currently sell a hybrid.

So, word to GM and Ford (two companies apprehensive about hybrids in Europe), here's how you get hybrids to work in Europe: make them high-end. Diesel is "a more honest technology" than the hybrid system, said BMW's outgoing sales and marketing director, Stefan Krause. Still, we'd rather see a hybrid BMW on the sales lot than more concepts.



[Source: BBC News]

We got our first official look at Tata's Nano in January (and a very good unofficial look in December). Tata's Nano will make its international debut at this year's Geneva Motor Show but when will it go on sale in Europe? According to reports, Europe may have to wait up to four years for the cars to arrive. Meanwhile, Indians will be able to get a hold of the world's cheapest car the second half of this year.

According to Reuters, Girish Wagh, head of compact car projects at Tata Motors, told German magazine Focus, that Europe would get second-gen Nanos. "We will develop a successor model in four years time, which will meet the Euro 5 emission regulations and the crash standards in Europe," Wagh said. European safety upgrades, which should include air bags because India does not mandate them, will add an unknown amount to the $2,500 car. Second-gen Nanos are also expected to get 78 MPG.


[Source: Inside Line]