Europe

Europe’s attempt to make into law a 35% CO2 reduction goal for new cars to accelerate electric vehicle adoption is making some people show their true colors.

The head of VW, Herbert Diess, is using scare tactics against the new proposal while he claims that the German automaker is all-in with electric vehicles. Expand
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After the US government weakened its target to reduce emissions from new cars after pressure from the auto industry, now it’s Europe’s turn to be in a similar situation.

The European Council is pushing for a 35% reduction in CO2 emissions from new cars by 2030, which is not as aggressive as most countries have asked for after pressure from the German auto industry. Expand
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Electrek Green Energy Brief: A daily technical, financial, and political review/analysis of important green energy news.

Today on EGEB, the Chinese company Longi Solar had its record-breaking 60-cell bifacial shingling module certified by the China General Certification Center. Representatives of the European solar industry want the EU to end import duties on Chinese panels. China’s energy regulator want wind farms to get a better access to the electrical grid to curb power waste.

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Gas-powered scooters, much like fine wines, thin cigarettes and fresh baguettes, are one of those quintessentially European sights. But now that might be changing (for scooters, at least). And EVs could be the cause. Expand
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According to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association, alternative fuel vehicles (AFV’s) in the Europe Union are off to a very strong start in the first quarter of this year, increasing their numbers sold by 37.6% to 212,945 vehicles.

Hybrid vehicles (HEV) showed the biggest growth with 61.2% versus the same period last year, now counting 111,006 units. Electrically chargeable vehicles (ECV = BEV and plug-in hybrids) grew with 29.9% from 36,322 units sold in Q1, 2016 to 47,196 units in Q1, 2017. This includes 49% growth for “battery-only” (BEV’s) to 24,592 units sold and 13% growth for the plug-in hybrids (21,644 units). The U.S. market showed a similar growth of 49% for electric car sales to 40,700 units sold in the first quarter according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. The American car market is about 16% larger.

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Earlier this week, Germany’s Federal Office for Motor Vehicles (KBA) made Tesla owners nervous in Europe after it said that it wouldn’t approve a feature on the roads if it is described as ‘Beta’ following the debate over the use of the word to describe Tesla’s Autopilot features.

But Tesla gained European approval for the Autopilot system in the Netherlands, not in Germany, and the authority in the country is now saying that “no safety concerns” were found in the system, but they will be following the NHTSA evaluation in the US. Expand
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Tesla’s stock (TSLA) rallied last week following comments by Ron Baron. The rally didn’t last long after rumors of a potential problem with Tesla’s suspension started to spread quickly at the end of last week.

While the rumors have been mostly shut down at this point, Tesla’s stock is having difficulty recovering and a new report about the automaker’s sales in Europe is not helping. Expand
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Tesla officially launched the Model X online design studio in Europe today. Until now, it was only available to reservation holders or people in North America. Now you can configure the all-electric SUV and get accurate pricing information and a delivery timeline based on your location in Europe. Expand
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Last year, Tesla announced a restructuring of its sales leadership after it reassigned its Vice President of Global Sales and Service, Jerome Guillen, to a new role leading customer-satisfaction. Guillen later took a leave of absence from Tesla and the company hired Jon McNeill as President of Global Sales, but Tesla kept looking for new executives to lead sale operations in each of its main markets (NA, EU and Asia).

While Tesla filled the North American and Asian roles last year by hiring former Burberry executive Ganesh Srivats as Vice-President for North America Sales, and Ren Yuxiang as Vice-President for Asia-Pacific, now Electrek has learned that Tesla just filled the European role by hiring Willem Haitink, O’Neil CEO and former long-time Nike executive, to lead sales in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). Expand
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We have been talking about its imminent launch for weeks now, but finally it’s here. Tesla officially launched the ‘Destination Charging’ program in Europe with 150 new chargers this morning. You can see an excerpt of the new map above or the interactive map here. Expand
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Bjørn Nyland, a Tesla vlogger based in Norway, won a free Founders series Model X through Tesla’s referral program. The limited edition status of his car will make him one of the first owner in Europe and he now reports that his SUV finally entered production this week.

Several other European Model X reservation holders are now reporting having received confirmation that their vehicles entered the production phase this week. Expand
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Tesla CEO Elon Musk was in France earlier this year. During a special event for Tesla owners at the automaker’s French headquarters in Chambourcy, Musk reiterated that in the near future Tesla will need to establish some manufacturing capacity in Europe. But this time, he nonchalantly brought up the possibility to build its first European electric car factory in Alsace, a northeastern French region on the Rhine River plain bordering Germany and Switzerland.

The comment wasn’t really serious and Musk only brought it up as a potentially good option geographically speaking, but the comment certainly didn’t fall on deaf ears. Today, French Energy Minister Ségolène Royal said that she already suggested a site to Elon Musk and she will meet with “Tesla executives” later this month. Expand
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Tesla first announced the upcoming introduction of its Destination Charging network in Europe almost 6 months ago. At the time, Tesla said that the network was “coming soon“, but the automaker’s charger map is still showing no destination charger in Europe.

Now we received reports of hotels in Europe, especially Denmark, Sweden and Norway, where Tesla Wall Connectors have been installed or delivered. We hear that the program could launch as soon as next month with new locations.  Expand
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While Tesla is debuting the Model X in Europe this week at the Geneva Motor Show, the automaker invited Signature Model X reservation holders in Europe to configure their vehicle, and in doing so, it revealed the all-electric SUV’s European pricing.

Some early reservation holders are surprised by the price and took to the forums to discuss the situation, which varies country by country. Expand
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After quickly zipping by the camera near Audi HQ last month, the Tesla Model X is to debut at the Geneva International Motor show next month (March 3-13th) according to an email we’ve received and translated.

We are delighted to welcome you again this year on our stand at the motor show in Geneva. In addition to the Model S we provide for the first time the safest, most versatile and fastest SUV in history before – the Model X. 

It combines the practical advantages of an SUV with the high security and performance requirements of Tesla. The striking Falcon Wing-wing doors and seats for up to seven people make the Model X to a vehicle that is more practical in every respect than other SUVs.

Our Product Specialists will advise you on the latest product options and bring you the advantages of our technology closer.

A white Model X was also recently spotted in the Netherlands on Feb. 16th on the highway near Tesla’s Tilburg assembly facility as shown in the video below: Expand
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GM Chairman & CEO Mary Barra announced this week that the company’s European brand Opel will launch a version of the all-electric Bolt. The new vehicle will be called ‘Ampera-e’, keeping up with the automaker’s naming scheme since the Volt is called the Ampera in Europe. Expand
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We learned this weekend that the first Tesla Model X in Europe has been spotted near Munich, Germany. As Tesla is still getting through the production of the Model X for early reservation holders in America, it is surprising to see the vehicle in Europe and actually raises a few questions. Expand
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Tesla sent an email to Model S owners today to announce that the company is pushing an update with a new media app for Spotify’s music streaming service. Expand
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Tesla needs to deliver a record-breaking ~17,000 units in the last quarter of the year to achieve the low-end of its 2015 delivery guidance of  50,000-55,000 vehicles. Since the company now sells more cars in Europe than in North America or Asia, Model S deliveries in European markets are more important than ever.

Here’s our November 2015 look at Model S deliveries based on registration data in Tesla’s most important European markets: Expand
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After a successful launch in Asia, Gogoro will now try to introduce its electric “Smartscooters” to Europe starting with Amsterdam in early 2016. You can’t buy the Gogoro’s Smartscooter anywhere because they need to be supported by the company’s network of battery swapping stations (picture above). Expand
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