Last August, Nissan, Mitsubishi Motors, Fuji Heavy Industries, and TEPCO started a preparatory committee. Then, TOYOTA joined the committee and the Association has been established with the five companies as its executive members.

As of today, 158 business entities and government bodies including 20 foreign companies are expected to join the Association, such as automakers, electric utilities, charger manufacturers, charging service providers, and other supporting groups.

The companies aim to make the technology the de facto global standard by promoting its use in markets in which they plan to roll out electric cars.

Electric cars are seen as one solution to meeting stricter environmental regulations because they have no tailpipe emissions. But they face hurdles such as costly batteries and a limited driving distance compared with conventional cars, as well as the lack of infrastructure to recharge when away from home.

CHAdeMO is going to promote the electric cars through the efforts of technical improvements of quick chargers, standardization activities of charging methods, and international extension of our knowledge related to quick-charger installations.

At the Geneva auto show last week, Audi unveiled the A1 e-tron, a nearly production-ready concept developed from its new A1 subcompact.

Although it has not yet officially announced production plans, Audi’s Michael Dick has revealed the A1 e-tron is very likely to hit showrooms after an anticipated three-year development phase.

The first e-tron, which debuted at the 2009 IAA in Frankfurt, is a near-series high-performance sports car with electric motors for all four wheels. The study shown at the Detroit Motor Show in 2010 is a lightweight, compact two-seater with two electric motors on the rear axle. At Geneva Motor Show, Audi showed an A1 e-tron.

New rumors are cropping up about a possible successor to the A2. The new A2 would likely be A1-based and use an electric powertrain, possibly sourced from the A1 e-tron concept.

”The strength of the electric car clearly lies in the urban mobility area, where the demand for emission-free local transportation will strongly increase,” said Michael Dick.

[source: Automotive News / Subscription required]

The decision will facilitate the early introduction of safe electric cars onto the roads of 41 countries.

The technical regulation was adopted at the World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations March session, which concludes Friday.

The World Forum is a subsidiary body of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, UNECE, which develops vehicle regulations aimed at increasing vehicle safety and environmental performance.

More than 50 countries, as well as vehicle manufacturers, consumers and road users, participate in the drafting of these regulations, which are adopted by representatives of the countries.

This change in UNECE Regulation No. 100 reflects the growing interest of both manufacturers and customers for electric and hybrid vehicles, as evidenced at the Geneva Motor Show this year.

It offers car manufacturers the legal instrument to put into the market passenger and commercial vehicles with greener standards, reducing the costs and delays associated with multiple approvals in various countries.

Electric vehicles operate at very high voltages, in the range of 500 volts, so regulators say it is essential to require protection against the risk of electric shocks.

The revised UNECE Regulation 100 will ensure the safety of electric cars by setting out how users of cars shall be protected from the high voltage parts of cars.

The regulation defines requirements on the practical use of electric cars, such as giving an indication to the driver that the electric engine is switched on. Silent electric engines otherwise cannot be heard and could therefore cause unwanted starting of the vehicle.

The regulation also requires safeguards to prevent electric cars from moving when being recharged.

The EU and Japan have already indicated that they intend to incorporate the new UNECE Regulation in their respective rules on technical standards for vehicles.

The list of Contracting Parties that apply UNECE Regulation No. 100 includes the 27 member states of the European Union, the European Union itself, as well as Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Malaysia, Montenegro, Norway, Russia, Serbia, Switzerland, Macedonia, Tunisia and Turkey.

The announcement came after two companies signed the Memorandum of Understanding on electric vehicles at the Frankfurt International Motor Show last September.

Europcar, Renault’s principal short-term rental partner in Europe, has given substance to the partnership agreement signed with Renault at the recent Frankfurt Motor Show to promote zero-emission mobility solutions.

Through a roll-out targeting its rental outlets in Europe’s largest cities, Europcar is set to offer its customers the new Renault Zero-Emission (Z.E.) range from 2011 in the European short-term rental market.

With electric cars, which produce zero emissions during use, Renault is preparing a breakthrough solution that provides sustainable mobility for all.  The four show-cars displayed at the Frankfurt Motor Show – Twizy Z.E. Concept, Zoë Z.E. Concept, Fluence Z.E. Concept and Kangoo Z.E. Concept – preview the electric vehicle range that will be launched in 2011 with three models:

- Fluence Z.E. – a family four-door saloon
- Twizy Z.E. – a small city car
- Kangoo Van Z.E. – a light commercial vehicle for fleets and business users

They will be followed in 2012 by Zoë Z.E. – a compact 4-meter 5-seater supermini.  After 2012, the Z.E. range will continue to expand into all segments to meet the needs of a diverse range of customers.

The announcement from the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) means that from January 2011, motorists will be entitled to a ‘Plug-In Car Grant’ of up to £5,000when buying an electric, plug-in hybrid or hydrogen fuel cell car meeting their safety, reliability, performance and warranty standards set by the Office for Low Emissions Vehicles (OLEV) in consultation with industry.

To be eligible for the hand-out cars would need to meet modern safety standards and have a large enough range and top speed to make them popular.

Only battery electric, plug-in hybrids with emissions of less than 75 g/km, or hydrogen fuel cell cars will be eligible for part of the 230 million pound total fund.

The electric vehicles must have a range of at least 70 miles, or 113 km, while hybrids must be able to run for at least 10 miles without using fuel, and all vehicles must be able to go faster than 60 miles per hour. The government also plans to spend 30 million pounds on a network of electric vehicle hubs, called Plugged-In Places, in car parks, supermarkets and selected streets.

Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon said: “Cutting road transport CO2 emissions is a key element to tackling climate change. Less than 0.1 per cent of the UK’s 26 million cars are electric, so there is a huge untapped potential to reduce emissions.