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Alstom offering fully electric bus tours in Italy

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Aptis, the 100% electric bus from Alstom, is in Italy, after touring Spain, France, Belgium, Holland and Germany. The tour started from Florence, in the splendid setting of the Basilica of Santa Maria Novella. It will tour six Italian cities up until May.

Aptis will be in passenger service in the Tuscan capital, free of charge, for 13 days and will be operated in collaboration with ATAF. It will cover seven different circuits, from the centre to the periphery.

Since the prototype was presented in March 2017, more than 40,000 kilometres have been covered in real operating conditions by four test vehicles in Europe.

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Volkswagen opens electric platform to third parties

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The Volkswagen Group is opening its Modular Electric Toolkit (MEB) to other manufacturers.

It says the purpose is to achieve a significant reduction in the cost of e-mobility through the widest possible deployment of the MEB and the associated economies of scale, thus enabling broad access to individual mobility to continue in future.

The Volkswagen Group is currently projecting a first wave of some 15 million pure electric vehicles based on the MEB.

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GM launches e-bike range 

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GM has announced the name of its new ebike brand, ARĪV. The brand includes two ebikes: the Meld, a compact eBike, and the Merge, a folding ebike.

The name ARĪV was selected as part of a global crowdsourcing campaign announced in November 2018.

ARĪV eBikes are launching first in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands, due to the popularity of lithium-ion battery-powered eBikes in those markets. ARĪV ebikes are scheduled to begin to be shipped to customers in Q2 of 2019.

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BP invests in Chinese electric vehicle charging platform

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BP Ventures has invested in PowerShare, a leading integrated hardware and software solutions provider for electric vehicle (EV) charging in China.

The investment is part of PowerShare’s Series A round, which was led by BP Ventures and draws support from DETONG Capital Partners, a leading private equity firm in China.

PowerShare provides an online platform that connects EV drivers, charge point operators and power suppliers, streamlining the charging experience from locating a charge point through to paying for the power supply.

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Honda will premiere its new electric vehicle prototype at 2019 Geneva Motor Show

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Honda has confirmed the global premiere of a prototype version of its new electric vehicle will be shown at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2019.

Honda’s new electric vehicle is developed with a focus on functionality and purpose and the prototype sketch demonstrates this through its clean, simple and unique design. The image highlights a clear link to Honda’s Urban EV Concept initially shown at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show.

The debut is a further demonstration of Honda’s ‘Electric Vision’, a commitment that two thirds of European sales will feature electrified technology by 2025. A mass production version of the car will be on sale later in the year.

Alstom’s electric bus Aptis goes on test in Spain

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Alstom is sending Aptis on a six-week roadshow in Spain to be tested, together with local transport companies, in Barcelona, Madrid and Vigo.

The first operational test starts in January in the Barcelona Metropolitan Area, before going to Madrid on the 4th of February. The roadshow will then continue in Vigo from 14 to 22 February.

The tests conducted in the customer depots as well as under real operating conditions are designed to evaluate the specific characteristics of Aptis in a new urban setting, its charging system, its autonomy, and its insertion performance in traffic, following the first successful tests in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany.

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Aisin and Denso to form electric vehicle driving module joint venture

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Aisin Seiki Co., Ltd. and Denso Corporation have formally agreed to form a new company to develop and sell driving modules used for electric vehicles.

The new company is named BluE Nexus and will be established in April* 2019. In August 2018, Aisin and Denso first announced their basic agreement to establish a joint venture.

Electrification requires a driving module package that consists of transaxles, motor-generators, and inverters, which are key components needed for both partially and fully electric vehicles.

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FedEx acquires 1,000 Chanje electric vehicles

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FedEx Corp. is expanding its fleet to add 1,000 Chanje V8100 electric delivery vehicles, buying 100 of the vehicles from Chanje Energy Inc and leasing 900 from Ryder System, Inc.

The purpose-built electric vehicles will be operated by FedEx Express for commercial and residential pick-up and delivery services in the United States.

The vehicles are manufactured by FDG in Hangzhou, China, and purchased through Chanje Energy Inc., the company’s subsidiary for global business. Ryder System, Inc. will provide support services for all of the vehicles.

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Volvo to introduce all-electric trucks in North America

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Volvo Trucks will introduce all-electric truck demonstrators in California next year, and commercialise them in North America in 2020, as part of a partnership between the Volvo Group, California’s South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD), and industry leaders in transportation and electrical charging infrastructure.

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has preliminarily awarded $44.8 million to SCAQMD for the Volvo Lights (Low Impact Green Heavy Transport Solutions) project.

The Volvo Lights project will involve 16 partners, and transform freight operations at the facilities of two of the United States’ top trucking fleets.

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ZF claims broadest portfolio of hybrid and electric drive solutions

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ZF claims to now offer the broadest range of hybrid and all-electric drive solutions for almost every vehicle segment.

In 2008, ZF was the first company in Europe to volume-produce hybrid modules – a technology that reduces CO2 emissions by up to 70 percent compared to vehicles with combustion engines.

In the meantime, many manufacturers are now producing a variety of car models equipped with the 8-speed plug-in hybrid transmission (8P) that features a longitudinally-mounted drive.

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