Back in August 2011, David Finnegan, Ford‘s electrified vehicles marketing manager, said:

“For the first few months of production, we will be concentrating on California and New York. Our dealers in those areas will be the first to have their retail orders scheduled and receive the Focus Electric. We will be rolling out to the remainder of our initial markets starting in Spring 2012.”

Last week, Wesley Sherwood, Ford Motors said:

“We are still on track to ramp up Focus Electric retail production and availability in the first half of this year followed by 16 additional markets later this year. We are not providing specific sales projections but continue to believe all-electric vehicles will be a small portion of the electrified vehicle mix for some time. Our initial orders are in line with this projection.”

Mike Tinskey, the Ford Global Electric Vehicle Infrastructure associate director told MLive that 2012 Ford Focus Electric won’t be available outside of California, New York and New Jersey until the fourth quarter of 2012. He also said that the electric hatchback should start becoming available in 19 major markets around September.

Those 19 major markets include Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Orlando, Phoenix, Portland, Raleigh Durham, Richmond, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Tucson and Washington, D.C.

And that leaves us to draw a sad conclusion: For most customers, the wait for a new 2012 Ford Focus Electric will be a little longer than they’d initially hoped.

Volkswagen plans to begin production of electric vehicles at its two Chinese joint ventures, FAW Volkswagen and Shanghai Volkswagen by 2014. The plan is to be producing 100,000 units a year by 2018 as Volkswagen tries to help China cut pollution and reduce its dependence on oil.

Karl-Thomas Neumann, the Volkswagen China president and chief executive said:

“E-vehicles have so far been limited by cost batteries, and a lack of economies of scale and models considered appealing to car buyers and they were needed to reduce China’s pollution and reliance on oil. I am convinced e-vehicles will be a success in China because I think it is desperately needed”

The Chinese central government has declared the electric vehicle industry a top priority, earmarking $1.5 billion per year for the next 10 years to become one of the leading producers of clean vehicles. It has named 25 cities including Beijing, Hangzhou, Shanghai and Shenzhen to lead the migration to green vehicles.

Nissan Leaf will be available for short term hire in London through partner Europcar.

Guillaume Cartier, Nissan‘s vice president for sales operations said:

“There are two distinct reasons for joining forces with Europcar to introduce Nissan Leaf to the short term rental market. The first is obvious: with its absence of tailpipe emissions and an outstanding driving pleasure, the Nissan Leaf is the perfect car for the inner city. The second is for drivers currently unsure whether an EV is suitable for their needs. By renting a Nissan Leaf and living with it in real world conditions they can evaluate the car in their own time.”

The Nissan Leaf has 110 mile range, which is more than 90% of UK commuters drive in a day.

Europcar will recharge it free of charge, even waiving the standard service fee usually made for vehicle refuelling, just to make hiring the Nissan Leaf simpler for customers.

Customers can also call a Nissan Hotline with any queries they might have about the vehicle, and, at the end of the hire every customer will be surveyed by Europcar to help shape future generations of Nissan electric vehicles.

Ken McCall, managing director, Europcar UK Group said:

“Hiring a Nissan Leaf could be the ideal option for motorists keen to reduce their fuel costs and avoid congestion charges. At the forefront of electric vehicle technology, it fits perfectly with our philosophy of pioneering sustainable car hire solutions, giving customers a real choice when it comes to car hire.”

Honda recently delivered 2013 Fit EV battery-electric vehicles to Google Inc. and Stanford University as a part of the Honda Electric Vehicle Demonstration Program.  Along with the city of Torrance, California, each participant is now conducting general testing as well as providing specific feedback related to the future introduction of electric cars.  The Honda Electric Vehicle Demonstration Program participants are the first recipients of the 2013 Fit EV in the United States.

Steve Center, vice president of the Environmental Business Development Office at American Honda said:

“The goal of the Honda Electric Vehicle Demonstration Program is to better understand the challenges and opportunities associated with the advancement in battery-electric technology. Honda has a long history with electric vehicles beginning with the introduction of our first battery-electric car, the EV Plus, nearly 15 years ago. Honda’s experience and the unique feedback that Google, Stanford University and the city of Torrance will provide will be valuable to the future introduction of battery-electric technology.”

Honda launched the 2013 Fit EV at the 2011 Los Angeles Auto Show and announced plans to begin leasing the 123 city-mile per charge 1 battery-electric commuter vehicle to customers in select California and Oregon markets during the summer of 2012 with a rollout to east coast markets planned for Spring 2013. Equipped with a 20-kWh lithium-ion battery and 92- kW coaxial electric motor, the Fit EV battery can be fully recharged in as little as 3 hours when connected to a 240-volt circuit.

The delivery of the Fit EV to Google Inc. was marked by an employee ride and drive. Google will now use the Fit EV as a part of its G-Fleet, an employee car-sharing service that features numerous plug-in vehicles. Google’s participation in the Honda Electric Vehicle Demonstration Program will involve analysis of vehicle usage including CO2 reduction, energy consumption on a miles/kWh basis and overall energy cost.

Over the past year, Honda has collaborated Stanford University professors, researchers and students from several departments including Mechanical Engineering and Psychology through various seminars and classes. The year-long collaboration resulted in a research direction on how to study the psychological and physical reactions of using battery-electric vehicles and how these reactions differ when driving a traditional gasoline-powered vehicle.

With the Fit EV now at Stanford University, the research team will use both the battery-electric vehicle and a gasoline-powered Fit to test their theories. Successful methodology implementation will yield a goal of not only decreasing anxiety associated with new technology, but also increasing joy in the driving experience. Ultimately, the research results will help Honda to better understand customer acceptance of battery-electric vehicles and how to overcome physiological obstacles associated with the adoption of new technologies.

source: hondanews.com

Tesla Motors‘ Chairman and CEO Elon Musk recently said that he’s decided to hold up on a replacement Roadster until the company launches its “Gen 3″ electric car, a smaller, less-expensive EV for the mass market.

In an interview for InsideLine.com after the global unveiling of the upcoming Tesla Model X crossover utility vehicle, Elon Musk said that his goal is to have a third-generation Tesla ready for market by early 2015.

Elon Musk also said:

“I have to be careful here, this is our aspiration, not a definite date.”

Spy photographers have spotted BMW testing a prototype version of the upcoming BMW i3 electric hatchback in northern Sweden in extreme winter conditions.