GreenCharge app is available for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch devices for $9.99 – the average cost of charging an electric car for a week.

GreenCharge is a must-have utility for electric car owners and those considering one.

The app provides real time charging information by syncing directly with a compatible electric vehicle such as a Nissan LEAF or Chevrolet Volt. In addition, GreenCharge is the first and only app to connect driving data with local energy pricing to give personalized data about the cost of operating an electric car.

Electric car owners can also see the environmental impact of driving in terms of carbon offset. By providing this information, GreenCharge empowers EV owners and enthusiasts alike to better understand and communicate the advantages of electric vehicles.

With the GreenCharge app, users can:

- Seamlessly sync data from their Nissan LEAF or Chevrolet Volt
- Test out a demonstration vehicle to simulate driving and cost information if considering purchasing an electric car
- Get real time charging, battery, and range information for their electric cars
- See their daily, weekly, and monthly driving broken down by mileage and price
- Share their daily, weekly, and monthly driving information on Twitter and Facebook, or via email
- See how many pounds of CO2 emissions they have offset by driving an electric vehicle instead of a gasoline vehicle
- Compare savings from their electric vehicle to a traditional gasoline vehicle

For more information visit greenchargeapp.com.

Twenty one electric car sites, branded Z.E. Expert, are now live and ready to offer the full range of sales and after-sales services for Renault’s electric car customers, with each one having benefited from a comprehensive sales staff training, site upgrade and infrastructure program.

Each dealership will be able to handle potential EV customer questions, as well as offer advice on making the most of the benefits of running one, including the essential environmental and financial factors to take into account. Trained Z.E. sales specialists, a minimum of two per showroom, will also be on hand to guide interested private and business customers through funding and charging options, as well as battery hire plans to allay any potential concerns over powertrain replacement costs and performance.

All Z.E. Expert sites have a Kangoo Van Z.E. demonstrator, so that members of the public can experience for themselves the smooth, silent and serene feeling of driving an electric car.

On the service side, workshop staff at each site – a service manager and two technicians – have undergone specialist training so that they can address the demands of the new technology and become familiar with the new tools they have been provided with. The dealerships have also purchased specialist ramps and equipment to deal with the service and maintenance of its electric cars, which attract no benefit-in-kind taxation and 100% capital write-down allowance in the first year, as well as being Congestion Charge and VED exempt.

Additionally, Z.E Expert dealers have invested substantially in three new Chargemaster charging points with UK preferred partner, British Gas – one each for the workshop, demonstrator area and car park. The charging point in the car park will be accessible for all customers to use. There will also be a dummy domestic charging point in the showroom to provide demonstrations to customers.

Commenting on the launch of the first set of Renault Z.E. Expert sites, Thierry Sybord, Managing Director, Renault UK, said, “I’m delighted to see so many of our dealers embracing this new era of electric transport. With a full range of four fully-electric models set to launch in the UK in less than one year, we have high hopes for our Z.E. range. I’m sure our Z.E. Expert dealers will reap the rewards on both sales and after-sales and we look forward to charging ahead with them in the months and years ahead as we seek to attract as many electric car buyers as possible.”

Supporting the on-site facilities, Renault has launched a series of other resources to help would-be-EV drivers become fully au-fait with the facts of living with a Z.E. product. Among them are expert Z.E. Live text chat or one-way video, including video guides via www.renault-ze.com, plus a UK freephone service on 08000 72 33 72.

All Renault dealers outside of the 21 specialists have been given a Z.E. induction and will also be able to handle enquiries and refer customers to a suitable member of the Z.E. Expert dealer network.

A switchable battery electric car today drove out from the experience center, marking Guangzhou as the starting point for EV network infrastructure in the five Southern provinces served by CSG.

The Switchable Electric Car Experience Center in Guangzhou is the first fully automated battery switch facility in the five provinces of southern China. The Switchable Electric Car Experience Center covers 1,900 square meters, and is an important component of Guangzhou’s efforts to promote new energy vehicles.

In March, CSG and Better Place signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement in Guangzhou to develop EV infrastructure in China.  After extensive research, development and planning, CSG announced in July that it would follow a centralized, open, and government-led but enterprise-guided approach in providing energy for EVs. The company’s strategy has battery switch at its core combined with centralized EV charging. CSG will promote the development of national technical standards and build a smart EV network.

CSG has signed EV infrastructure agreements with Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, and other provinces. The company has also signed similar cooperative agreements with Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Nanning, Haikou, and other cities.

CSG has 14 EV charging stations in its network, with 2,901 charging poles in operation, and 206,000 kWh of usage over 45,000 charge cycles from January to November 2011. During the “12th Five Year” plan period and under the government’s leadership, CSG will localize smart EV network infrastructure for the Chinese market and meet the needs of the five southern provinces to support development of the EV industry.

The ceremony to celebrate the delivery of the 1,000th i-MiEV was held in Oslo on December 5 in the presence of Mr. Erik Solheim, Norway’s Minister of Environment and Development.

In Norway, electric car buyers can receive substantial incentives while installation of charging infrastructure is spreading fast.

Since its launch in Norway in January 2011, the i-MiEV has maintained the top spot in total sales volume of compact (A-segment) vehicles, including gasoline vehicles. This performance is a proof that the i-MiEV is a practical vehicle that can serve the demands of Norwegian consumers.

Mitsubishi i-MiEV is powered by a full-electric AC permanent magnet synchronous motor, delivering 49 kW (66 horsepower) at 2,500 – 8,000 rpm and 180 Nm of torque from 0 to 2,000 rpm. The car has a 16 kWh lithium-ion battery pack that recharges in 7 hours at 200 volts / 15 amps. It takes twice that long at 100 volts. The i-MiEV’s battery can also be “quick charged” at quick-charge stations which are currently being established throughout Japan. Charge with a quick-charger gun takes approximately 30 minutes for an 80% charge.

The i-MiEV’s maximum speed is 81 mph, with a range of roughly 100 miles on the Japanese test cycle, and 75 miles on the US cycle.

The move comes four years after the Vélib’ bike-hire scheme was introduced and will see 250 Bluecars on Monday. By next year it is planned that the service will see 3,000 electric Bluecars stationed at more than 1,000 locations across the city.

The Bluecar electric car is a collaboration of Italian car designer Pininfarina and French conglomerate Groupe Bollore, which which supplied the propulsion technology for its drivetrain.

The original Bluecar concept was powered by a lithium metal polymer (LMP) battery and was capable of a 155 mile range.

Standard subscriptions cost 10 euros a day ($13.5) a day, 15 euros ($20) a week, and 144 euros ($195) a year. Beyond that, the hourly fees run from four euros to nine euros based on the rental plan – and users’ cards can be charged in case of damage to the vehicles.

Some 2,000 people have already registered for Autolib’ accounts, and curious city officials from places like Guangzhou, China, or Rio de Janeiro have traveled to Paris to check it out.

Bollore says that at least 80,000 subscribers are needed for the program to be profitable.

This is the 32nd year that the Car of the Year Japan awards has been held, and it is the first time in its long history that an electric car has won this prestigious award.

The award committee, which is made up of about 60 motor experts from motor magazines and media organizations, said the Leaf was extremely practical and had helped popularize electric vehicles.

Nissan Leaf also won the 2011-2012 Japan Automotive Hall of Fame (JAHFA) Car of the Year and 2011-2012 JAHFA Car Design of the Year awards.

Since its launch on the market at the end of last year, some 20,000 units have been sold, notably in Japan and in the US.

The motor experts also selected Mercedes-Benz Japan Co.’s C-class sedan/station wagon as the Import Car of the Year.

Electric cars with cutting-edge green technology and vehicles remote-controlled by smartphones have been a star feature at this year’s show, which runs till December 11 and features 179 exhibitors from a dozen countries.

Aptera Motors CEO Paul Wilbur said in a statement that the company had gained conditional approval for a $150 million loan from the U.S. Department of Energy, but it was unable to raise the $80 million in private investment needed to close that financing for its first product, a mid-sized sedan.

Wilbur said the company had abandoned work on the 2e and was instead pursuing a more conventional midsize four-door sedan capable of carrying five people. Design studies and test mules were built, he said.

Here is his statement in full:

After years of focused effort to bring our products to the market, Aptera Motors is closing its doors, effective today. This is a difficult time for everyone connected with our company because we have never been closer to realizing our vision. Unfortunately, though, we are out of resources.

The ATVM loan would have provided funding for the development and commercialization of a five-passenger, midsized sedan (similar to a Toyota Camry) that would be base priced at less than $30,000 and deliver more than a 190 mile per gallon equivalent. The concept of this vehicle had been in place since the very beginning of Aptera, and we had been wholly focused on its development for the last year. The last remaining hurdle was finding new funds to match the DOE loan.

We were so optimistic that the company would move forward that we were in discussions to reactivate a mothballed automotive plant in Moraine, Ohio. In the past months we had engaged with the labor union that operated that facility to discuss the hiring of 1,400 new job opportunities. These jobs would have reactivated talented workers who had been dismissed when the facility was closed.

We were well on the way to satisfying the vision of efficiency on which the company was founded and we are confident that with time and capital we could still achieve our goal. The Aptera formula: aerodynamics plus light weight design (through composites) delivered efficiency of 206 EPA miles per gallon in tests at Argonne National Labs. That wasn’t a simulation; it was real measured performance. Despite that promise of efficiency, this challenged market – specifically large private investors – did not have an appetite to lead an investment for the perceived low volume return of our three-wheeled vehicle. So we reprioritized our product plan to four-door sedans, which also cost us time.

Paul Wilbur
President and CEO
Aptera Motors

SEAT plans the launch of its first electric plug-in hybrid car in 2015, to be followed a year later by an all-electric car.

The announcement of the launch of the first electric cars coincides with the start of the biggest new product offensive SEAT has known.

The company will launch four new models over the next 12 months, the first being SEAT’s smart new urban vehicle – the Mii.

The Altea XL Electric Ecomotive electric car
The Altea XL Electric Ecomotive blazes the trail for electromobility in Spain.  As with all its vehicles, SEAT guarantees driving pleasure with an engine producing 115 hp (85 kW) and 270 Nm of torque.  This translates into a limited top speed of 135 kph.  With its roomy passenger compartment and generous boot, the electric Altea XL is equally suitable for family transport or company use.

By intelligent location of the batteries under the rear seats and the boot, there is no intrusion into the passenger compartment.  A sophisticated regeneration system with adjustable braking torque optimises energy use.  And when the electric Altea XL is parked in the sun, rooftop photovoltaic cells recirculate fresh air inside the passenger compartment, reducing the energy needed afterwards by the climate control system.

The Leon TwinDrive Ecomotive plug-in hybrid
The new SEAT Leon TwinDrive Ecomotive is a concept in the field of plug-in hybrids, combining the advantage of emission-free driving with the range of a traditional internal combustion engine-equipped vehicle.

In full electric mode the TwinDrive has a range of 52 kilometers (32 miles), with a top speed of 120 km/h (75 mph).  In combined mode (electrical plus combustion) the consumption forecast is only 1.7 liters of fuel and 18.5 kWh per 100 kilometers (138 mpg US), the equivalent of a rock-bottom 39 g/km of CO2, with a top speed of 170 km/h (106 mph).

This association, comprising 19 major French private companies and the public sector, has committed to ordering a minimum of 3,074 Peugeot iOn electric cars over a 4-year period.

The largest volumes will go to EDF (875 units), SPIE (400 units), VEOLIA (360 units), UGAP (300 units) and BOUYGUES (299 units), etc.

The 2-seater version of the 100% electric Peugeot iOn satisfied the tender criteria in respect of the technical value, running costs and eco-friendly performances.

To ensure service quality, the Peugeot network is making 324 business centers available for maintenance of these electric vehicles.

The first units will be delivered in early 2012.

With 2,500 orders in Europe already at end October, Peugeot is on course to hit its sales targets. In France, Peugeot enjoys a 32% share of the electric car market.

Last month, UGAP has also place an order for 15,637 Kangoo Van Z.E. electric vans.

GM did not disclose how the jobs break down between new and retained.

The plant in suburban Detroit has 679 total employees, most of whom produce transmissions for the Chevrolet Traverse, Buick Enclave and GMC Acadia crossovers and the Chevrolet Malibu sedan.

The 2.1 million square-foot plant, equivalent to the area of 15 city blocks, produced more than 338,000 transmissions in 2010.

“While we aren’t sharing many details about this product, I can tell you that this investment demonstrates how GM, working with our UAW partners, continues to innovate and bring new electrification solutions to our customers,” Gerald Johnson, GM’s manufacturing manager, said in a statement.

A summary of GM’s new four-year labor pact with the UAW — released by the union last month — said 360 jobs will be added at the plant for a new transmission that was originally slated to built in Mexico.

The union says the project and jobs were brought to the U.S. plant during negotiations for the new contract.