It may sound futuristic, but according to Siemens there will soon be a time when trucks are powered via overhead electric wires (pictured).

Speaking at the EVS26 event in Los Angeles, Daryl Dulaney, the CEO of Siemens Infrastructure & Cities, described how a number of pilot projects are being planned for Los Angeles and Long Beach and that the technology could be expanded through cities.

Dulaney commented that trucks are largely to blame for vehicle emissions and with freight transportation expected to double by 2050 and oil resources depleting, carbon dioxide emissions could jump by 30 per cent due to freight transport alone.

Now Siemens is developing an array of supporting technology, including: hardware, software, drives and infrastructure. It will complement the ELFA traction hybrid drive system which will save more than 30 per cent in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.

It states that all that is needed is a hybrid-electric truck with built-in technology that could automatically switch to electric mode when they detect the overhead power lines.

BYD is expanding far beyond China’s borders – as soon it will be arriving in Canada.

That’s because the city of Windsor, in Ontario, has agreed to buy up to 10 of BYD’s 40ft electric buses (pictured), with the possibility that they may be manufactured in the region in the future too.

The launch will actually serve roads in both Canada and the USA because Transit Windsor runs in Canada and in Detroit.

According to Windsor Mayor Eddie Francis, the city hopes to be a pioneer for the commercialisation of energy products, including electric buses. BYD meanwhile is working on certification testing in North America with plans to increase fleet sales and deliveries after the first Windsor bus deliveries. So far it has delivered more than 300 all-electric buses worldwide and has orders for more than 1,300 more during 2012 making it the largest electric bus manufacturer in the world.

In addition, BYD is working with Enwin Utilities in the hopes of repurposing the Windsor bus batteries into energy storage stations when the buses are retired after a lifespan of 12-15 years.

The EVS26 event in Los Angeles will see eight of the world’s leading automakers join forces to demonstrate a single-port DC fast charging system that is meant to make it easier and faster than ever to charge electric vehicles.

Giants of the motoring world, Audi, BMW, Chrysler, Daimler, Ford, General Motors, Porsche and Volkswagen will support the harmonised single-port fast charging approach, which is known as DC-fast charging with a Combined Charging System (pictured), in both the USA and Europe.

The system uses one-phase AC charging; as well as fast three-phase AC charging, DC charging at home; and an ultra-fast DC charging system for public stations. It will allow customers to charge at most existing charging stations irrespective of the power source.

Its design came from collaborative review and analysis of a number of existing charging strategies, as well as the preferences of US and European customers. The Charging System was developed for all vehicle markets in an effort to create a uniform standard.

It has been chosen by the Society of International Engineers because of its fast charging and harmonisation. It is expected to be available commercially at the end of the year, with vehicles using the technology to be available in 2013. In addition, the International Society of Automotive Engineers picked the Combined Charging System as a standard that will incrementally extend type-one AC charging – it is expected to be published during the summer. Meanwhile, the European Association of Vehicle Manufacturers selected the system as an AC/DC charging interface that will be implemented into all new vehicle types from 2017 onwards.

After the bombshell this week that Tata has ditched plans to introduce an electric car model into the UK (see story), Tata has revealed more details of its future plans for alternative-fuel vehicles in the country, as the Indian firm continues to build its presence here.

Plans to launch the Indica Vista EV have indeed been ditched, and test models, some of which took part in the recently completed CABLED trial in the West Midlands (see story), are now expected to be given to Tata employees for twelve months as part of further tests. Despite this, the Indian car giant, which owns the British brands Jaguar and Land Rover, has no plans to launch an electric car in the UK until 2015 at the earliest.

Electric commercial in production

However, Tata has already gone into with its new ACE electric commercial vehicle, which it unveiled at the Commercial Vehicle Show in Birmingham last week.

Currently the firm is making around ten vehicles a week of the new model at its production facilities in Coventry, with strong demand reported for the model. With a payload of up to 500kg, the Ace EV is designed in four derivatives; Chassis Cab, Drop Side Mini Truck, Box van and Tipper with optional cage.

Just 3,800mm long, the Ace EV is designed for workplace operation and benefits from a tight turning circle of 8.6 metres. It has a maximum speed of 25mph and a range of 30 miles.

There are plans for a second electric commercial vehicle to be launched next year.

Tata also has produced prototype hydrogen fuel cell vehicles based on the Indica car model, which are currently being tested in the West Midlands. The hydrogen-fuelled cars have a range of around 300 miles to a full tank and are believed to have a top speed that exceeds that of the old battery-powered Indica Vista EVs (which had a top speed of 71mph).

Electric car maker ECOmove has won a prestigious award for its QBEAK electric vehicle concept, which is planned for production from 2013.

The Danish manufacturer behind the design has been awarded the sought-after ‘2012 European Electric Vehicles Early Stage Investment Opportunity Award’ from internationally renown research firm Frost & Sullivan.

ECOmove received the award after rating highly in the five measured criteria: experience and expertise of management team, sustainable competitive advantage, service and maintenance, market growth and positioning and product differentiation capabilities.

Just 3 metres long, the QBEAK features enough interior space for up to six individual seats. Using lightweight structure technology developed by specialist firm inrekor, the model is capable of a range of up to 186 miles on a single charge. Using an inrekor-built chassis, built from a core of ARPRO^®; a lightweight material sandwiched between layers of aluminium, inrekor reduced the weight of the model’s core structure by 30 per cent.

Weighing just 425kg, the model uses two 35.4 kW electric motors, which propel it to a top speed of 75 miles per hour.

Back in March, Prince Charles and Duchess Camilla inspected the at VIA University College. as part of an official visit to Denmark.

The model is planned for launch next year.

Freddy Page-Roberts of inrekor commented: “It is rare but highly rewarding to be in a partnership with a company such as ECOmove that shares our passion for improved environmental performance while at the same time delivering impressive performance levels. We are delighted that the QBEAK has been recognised through these prestigious awards – this is testament to all of the hard work and state-of-the art resources that have gone into the concept.”

More details on the model are available at en.ecomove.dk

What will it take for an electric vehicle revolution to occur on our roads? According to a study by the University of Oxford (logo, pictured), there needs to be policy support, industry investment and wide changes in consumer behaviour.

Yes it’s not just about offering energy saving and emission reductions with battery electric vehicles: Dr Martino Tran, the lead author of the publication, believes incentivising purchases is vital for early adoption.

He states that electric vehicles are likely to provide only a niche market during the next 20 years – and this will need to be assisted by policies that provide free charging using renewable energy publicly; while investors will also need to be prepared for under-utilisation of charging infrastructure until the market catches up.

The report outlines that industry has a key role to play – by exploring new business models. Currently, electric vehicles are shown as a complete purchase including the vehicle and lease of the battery: but other models could include shared ownership or pay-as-you-go schemes.

It also states that more attention should be paid to short-range city electric vehicles and the chance to reduce range anxiety with public charging points and battery swap stations.

In terms of consumer adoption, it highlights that while many reports suggest consumers could be incentivised to buy electric vehicles, other results show that they need to be cost competitive with internal combustion engine vehicles. This suggests that consumers may not be fully aware of the links between fuel efficiency and CO2 emissions and that there are “important market failures” in terms of consumer decision making when it comes to fuel economy.

From e-scooters (pictured) to e-motorcycles and e-bicycles – the day of the electric two-wheel vehicle is upon us: at least if a recent report by Pike Research is to be believed.

It suggests that the vehicles will enjoy robust growth and reach 65million units a year worldwide by 2018. China is expected to be the key sales market – with annual sales to reach more than 60million units in the same year. Cumulatively, this means Chinese sales of the vehicles will account for 355million vehicles by 2018.

The report notes that sales are particularly strong in China, India and other Southeast Asian nations because of their fuel efficiency and ease of use in congested traffic.

Rural areas are said to be the main target area in developing countries with incumbent players teaming with supply chain vendors to establish market leadership.

It is expected that lead-acid batteries will be the main primary storage technology; while lithium-ion batteries will account for a growing share. Lead-acid will remain the battery choice for most Chinese manufacturers; whereas in Japan, there will be a different rate of adoption of lithium-ion batteries because consumers expect higher quality and durability in terms of battery performance.

The Electric Vehicle Symposium, which is due to kick off in Los Angeles on May 7, will be the setting for Toyota to reveal the new RAV4 electric vehicle.

It will follow on from the second generation of the Toyota RAV4 EV (pictured), which was first unveiled back at the Los Angeles Motor Show in 2010. Since then, Toyota built around 35 of the vehicles for demonstration and evaluation with Tesla Motors providing the batteries and other electric car components.

Now Toyota will put the new RAV4 EV on sale this year – it will be sold to both the general public and fleet users.

Electric vehicles are an ‘attractive and viable means of urban transportation’-that’s the unanimous conclusion of participants in the  UK’s largest ever public trial of electric vehicles.

As a 27 month study, involving some 110 vehicles and drivers, draws to a close this week, the Coventry and Birmingham Low Emission Demonstrators (CABLED) programme prepares to reveal the details of its findings.

Data from the West Midlands-based trial shows a clear trend in drivers travelling longer journeys over a time – indicating their increased confidence and reduced range anxiety as their familiarity with their vehicle’s capabilities and the location of charging infrastructure grows.

However, in analysing some 640,000 miles driven in the electric models, it was found that most journeys (75 per cent) lasted less than 20 minutes and only 2 per cent used more than 50 per cent of the battery’s charge – demonstrating that for the majority of drivers, who don’t need to cover longer distances, a return journey to be made without the need for recharging.

In relation to charging the electric cars, CABLED data showed that the average charge time was between 2-3 hours. This was an average energy transfer of 5kWh per day, costing around 30-80p (depending upon tariff) which is only slightly more energy than a washer dryer.

Cars involved in the trial included the Nissan LEAF, Mitsubishi i-MiEV, smart fortwo electric, Citroen C1 EV’ie and Tata Indica Vista EV- the last of which has been controversially cancelled for full market launch (see story).

The data also showed that drivers were motivated to recharge whenever convenient, with GPS trackers revealing that the vehicles were parked for over 97 per cent of the time (more than 23 hours each day) -ample opportunity for them to be plugged-in and recharged.

Andrew Everett, Head of Transport at the Technology Strategy Board, said: "While analysis of the eight trials that make up the Ultra Low Carbon Vehicle Demonstrator programme is on-going, CABLED’s examination of driver behaviour, vehicle use and performance shows that people are adapting to electric vehicles and find their use both viable and attractive.  Such findings will help to inform and support both future R&D and decisions relating to infrastructure planning by policy makers."

The CABLED consortium is expected to publish a report containing its full findings next month.

It was once considered an upstart company in the electric vehicle sector – but now CODA Holdings is so well-established that it is able to make striking new partnerships.

The latest is a contract that has just been signed with the Great Wall Motors Company. Together, the companies will develop a low-cost, entry-level battery electric vehicle for worldwide distribution.

The co-developed electric vehicle will be the second in CODA’s portfolio, following on from the CODA Sedan (pictured) – and it aims to be the most affordable electric vehicle on the market with a price that is comparable to entry level cars with internal combustion engines.

It is believed that the electric car will be the perfect blend between CODA’s battery technology; and the expertise of Great Wall Motors as the fastest growing automotive producer in China. It delivered nearly 500,000 vehicles worldwide last year.

Now it is expected that the products will be developed by both companies in research facilities in Los Angeles, California and Baoding, China.