Germany

Daimler announced today an important €500 million ($543.5 million) investment in a new battery factory in Kamenz, Germany, through its ACCUmotive subsidiary. The company already has a relatively small battery plant at the location, but it purchased 20 hectares of land adjacent to the existing plant and plans to build a new factory to produce li-ion batteries for the electric vehicles of its Mercedes and Smart brands.

To be clear, two years ago, ACCUmotive invested about €100 million to expand the current plant, which now has 20,000 square meters (~215,000 sq-ft) of production aera, but this new investment is for an entirely new factory of 40,000 square meters (~430,500 sq-ft) of production space.
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The German ministries of economics, transport and environment reportedly agreed on a new incentive program for electric vehicles that will include a €5,000 discount at the purchase starting July 1st.
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Germany-based solar energy component supplier Memodo confirmed having received a large shipment of Tesla Powerwalls this week and that installations will start soon.

Memodo CEO Daniel Schmitt claims that his company is the first Tesla Energy distributor to receive the new home battery pack in Germany and he shared the picture seen below.
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Germany joined the International Zero-Emission Vehicle Alliance (ZEV Alliance) last month and committed to make all passenger vehicles emission-free by 2050. Today, Reuters reports what seems to be the government’s intention to make the first actionable move toward the ZEV Alliance’s goal.
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Germany is the thirteenth government to join the International Zero-Emission Vehicle Alliance, which aims at making all passenger vehicles emission-free by 2050. The group made the announcement Thursday at the UN global climate talks in Paris.

The governments now participating in the ZEV Alliance include the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands and Norway in Europe; California, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Vermont in the United States; and Québec in Canada.
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Sonnenbatterie is the leader in home energy storage in Europe. The company is expected to represent a serious competitor to ‘Tesla Energy’ in Germany, which the automaker sees as an important market for energy storage due to the popularity of renewable energy in the country. Tesla’s head in Germany, as well as several managers, defected to Sonnenbattarie earlier this summer – hinting at a possible rivalry between the two companies.

At a press conference in Berlin today, Sonnenbatterie announced a new home battery pack, as well as a new solar panel/battery package and everyone want to know how it fares against Tesla’s Powerwall.
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Tesla CEO Elon Musk described the Gigafactory in Nevada as a product, calling it the “Gigafactory 1” – implying there will eventually be a “Gigafactory 2”. This second battery factory could end up being built in Germany according to comments made earlier today by Vice-Chancellor and Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel.
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Based on registration data, Tesla delivered 121 Model S’s in Germany last month, which brings the year-to-date total to 1,212 cars versus 593 during the same period in 2014. 
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Earlier this year, Tesla’s head in Germany, Philipp Schroeder, left the company to join his former employer: Sonnenbatterie. Tesla quickly replaced Schroeder with its sales chief in Switzerland, but now we learn through Wirschafts Woche that 6 Tesla managers in the country followed Schroeder to the energy storage system maker.
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From 9to5Toys.com:

We’ve covered our fair share of electric bikes and transportation here at Electrek. Although interest is rapidly increasing here in the United States, the idea of going purely electric in any area of our lives still seems largely intimidating for some.

Thankfully, new projects are popping up each day that make that transition friendlier than ever before. The latest of which comes from Germany’s Mellow Boards. This customizable electric skateboard system can be added to an existing deck or purchased as a pre-assembled longboard. With its arguably affordable price point and modern design, Mellow Boards is set to take off.

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BMW’s MINI brand has been expected to come out with a battery-powered vehicle for a long time now. In 2009, when BMW was first working on its “i” program, which eventually resulted in the i3 and i8, the company produced a few hundreds “MINI E” to test its electric drivetrain technology, but the vehicle never made it to a wide release.

During the Frankfurt Motor Show, Auto Express spoke with MINI’s product management chief Ralph Mahler who didn’t rule out an electric MINI, but it wouldn’t be for anytime soon…
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From 9to5Toys.com:

How does going 35mph on a surfboard sound? No, it’s not a gadget in the upcoming James Bond film. J-Force, out of Germany, has developed a new electric powered board that puts out substantial power and is completely controlled by a wearable glove.

It doesn’t just stop there, J-Force also has a gorgeous new Jet Ski that produces zero-emissions and promises to be a much friendlier alternative to traditional gas operated watercraft. We have the full details below on both models.

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During a press conference today in Germany, Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed that Tesla is in talks with “some [auto] manufacturers” to share the Supercharger Network.

In the past, Tesla confirmed being opened to the idea of sharing its extensive network of fast charging stations, which now operates over 2,900 chargers at over 500 locations around the world, but until now, we couldn’t confirm that any automaker showed interest in the offer.
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Germany is in the spotlight of the automotive industry as the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show is coming to an end. While we are sorting through vehicle registration data, we decided to take a look at the top-selling electric vehicles in Germany. Unsurprisingly, the BMW i3 is the best-selling all-electric vehicle in its home turf, but sales are down 27% year over year while Tesla’s Model S is gaining market shares by growing sales 84% based on registration data.
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Last week we reported on Artega unveiling the Scalo, an all-electric sports car concept unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show, today we’ll give you a brief overview of another EV concept unveiled at the show by the German automaker: The Karo.

The Karo is an electric quad-bike concept aimed at complying to driver license and insurance requirements for young people.
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During a visit in Berlin at the end of the month, Tesla CEO Elon Musk is scheduled to meet Sigmar Gabriel, German Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy, for a public conversation titled “Economy for Tomorrow”.  The CEO’s visit in Germany coincides with the popular Frankfurt Motor Show (IAA), which runs from the 17th to 27th of September.

Tesla is not expected to bring anything new to the Frankfurt Motor Show considering the company’s predilection for unveiling products at their own events instead of at industry shows…
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In an interview with German magazine Auto Motor und Sport, Daimler’s chief of research and development Thomas Weber confirmed the company is currently working on a next generation electric vehicle with a range of “400 to 500 km” (250 to 310 miles).

Daimler already sells a few electric vehicles, like EV versions of the Smart or the Mercedes B class, but the automaker as yet to build a fully electric vehicle from the ground up. It’s not entirely clear from Weber’s comments if the concept will be a completely new electric platform, but it sounds more likely than not…
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Apple and BMW have engaged in negotiations over Apple’s interest in using BMW’s i3 electric cars as a basis for its own electric car project, according to a new report from German publication…

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Last night after the market closed Tesla disclosed that the German Federal Motor Transport Authority (KRAFTFAHRT-BUNDESAMT) cleared Tesla of manufacturer-related defects in the three fires in recent months.  “Therefore, no further measures under the German Product Safety Act [Produktsicherheitsgesetz (ProdSG)] are deemed necessary.”

The assumption on Wall Street is that if the German Motor Transport Authority cleared Tesla, so would the NHTSA. German automotive standards are generally considered more stringent (and efficient) than that of the US.

Analysts jumped on the news and dialed the stock up.  The market responded with a 20 point gain after opening up 6 points and steady growth throughout the day.

Analyst’s words follow:
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