Europe

Great Wall Motor has announced it will be next Chinese automaker to test out the market in Europe by launching an all-electric compact and plug-in hybrid EV (PHEV) SUV in 2022. The company shared the news at IAA Mobility in Munich today alongside plans to debut the EVs under its WEY brand and existing ORA marque, both under the Great Wall Umbrella.

As part of the European Green Deal, the EU has adopted a package of climate proposals they’re calling “fit for 55”. In it, Europe targets a 55% reduction in CO₂ by 2030 and full climate neutrality by 2050. To serve this goal, Europe plans to reduce new car emissions by 55% by 2030 and 100% by 2035 — which means no new emitting vehicles.

Tesla has started taking orders for Model Y throughout Europe. For current orders, estimated delivery is listed as September for Long Range models.

In contrast to original plans, the first Model Ys delivered to Europe will reportedly be produced in Tesla’s Shanghai Gigafactory.

The European Commission (EC) and the Batteries European Partnership Association (BEPA) have announced a memorandum of understanding to research and develop battery technologies for production in Europe. The co-programmed partnership is being called BATT4EU, and it’s aimed at bringing value and competitiveness to the EU’s battery chain.

Chinese EV automaker NIO announced it has received European Whole Vehicle Type Approval (EWVTA) for its flagship SUV, the ES8. This essential certification will allow for mass production of the NIO ES8, as well as license plate registration for all countries in the EU.

German electric utility company EnBW has announced it is implementing a flagship charging station at the Kamener Kreuz autobahn interchange. When complete, the 52 charging points will make it the largest public fast charging station in Europe, according to EnBW.

Electric cars will triple their market share in Europe this year as a result of EU car emissions targets, according to a new report released today from Transport & Environment (T&E), a European umbrella group for non-governmental organizations that work in transport and the environment, and promote sustainable transport in Europe.

The European Union’s statistical office estimates CO2 emissions in EU countries “significantly decreased” in 2018 compared to 2017.

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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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).
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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.
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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.
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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.
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