Green cars are all the rage in the motoring Press with every motor show seemingly devoted to exciting new concepts and talks about establishing fuel efficient cars to prompt a resurgence in a flagging market. Why, hybrids have even increased their market share to more than three per cent. However, it seems that in some areas green cars are not catching on so quickly. In particular, electric cars are failing to get off the ground in Dublin with reports that only two NICE Mega City vehicles ... read more

 The German federal government has outlined its plans for a greener future - with plans to put one million electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles on to the roads by 2020. According to figures produced by the European Automobile Manufacturer’s Association (ACEA) there was a total vehicle fleet of around 49.7million in 2006. Now Germany hopes to become a lead market for electric mobility and hopes that by providing electric cars from renewable sources it can create a sustainable form of ... read more

 Only an elite group of manufacturers will benefit from the UK’s £50 million Low Carbon Vehicle Procurement Program, but one of them may be Smith Electric Vehicles (SEV). The scheme, which aims to jump-start sales of low-carbon vehicles for use in public sector fleets, and is funded by the Department for Transport, has shortlisted the group among its second stage list. The company is a division of the Tanfield Group, the world’s largest manufacturer of road-using electric vans ... read more

 When you think of green hotspots around the world, Arkansas is unlikely to feature on the list. However, students at Hendrix College in the state have firmly caught the green bug. Students and staff have been making huge strides towards green living by implementing geothermal heating in dorms and offering a major in environmental studies. Now, they are introducing electric cars on the grounds. Speaking about the decision to bring electric cars to the college, Mark Scott, director of media ... read more

 It is the biggest deal in the company’s history - Korean car maker CT&T has broken into the US market, and it has the boys in blue to thank. Police departments in San Diego, California, and several other cities have agreed to buy 4,000 of the company’s four-wheel drive E-zone vehicles at a total cost of around $50 million. The electric car, which was only developed by CT&T earlier this year, can move at speeds of 34.2mph and may make a good alternative for low-speed city ... read more

 Some green car concepts seem a little too good to be true. Take the Renault ZE Concept for example. It boasts some unique (or should that be bizarre) features including solar panels in the roof, bodywork that resembles a Thermos flask to keep the driver warm or cool and a scooter in the boot. Surely this is the stuff of a designer’s vivid imagination that will never see the light of day, right? Well, the ZE Concept is actually scheduled to come to life in just three years time and is ... read more

 It’s not easy to make any of the news coming out of General Motors (GM) sound good at the moment - but the company is making no mistake about reaffirming its commitment to the flagship Chevrolet Volt. The Volt is widely seen as the future of GM and the vehicle on which the company is pinning most of its hopes as it reels from the global economic crisis. As such GM’s vice chairman Bob Lutz has moved quickly to assure prospective customers that production of the Volt is proceeding ... read more

 A partnership has formed to begin research on a collaboration of electric-drive systems. Daimler AG and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology will work together on the field of power electronics and electric machines, along with control systems and electrical energy storage systems. Known as the e-drive Project House, the idea is to attract further scientific institutes and co-operation partners to extend the research. They hope to secure a leading role in the field of alternative drive ... read more

 The future of electric cars in California has received another boost as plans were confirmed for a $1 billion network of recharging stations to be dotted along the San Francisco Bay area. Palo Alto-based Better Place announced the deal along with San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums and San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed. It is hoped that the charging stations will be installed in homes, businesses, Government buildings and parking lots by 2012. If successful, the Bay area ... read more

 The US state of Oregon is perhaps second only to California in its efforts to make the US a greener place to live. Having already attempted to lure Chinese electric car manufacturer BYD Auto to the state, an agreement with Japanese car maker Nissan has now been confirmed. Speaking at the Los Angeles Auto Show, Carlos Ghosn confirmed an agreement with Oregon that could see the introduction of the Renault Nissan Alliance’s plug-in electric cars in the state in 2010. Portland General ... read more