The 2015 Freeride E has been officially launched in Saalbach/Hinterglemm, Austria. The ultra-innovative, electrically powered offroad machine, will be available in two versions and reach the dealers in a matter of weeks. The machines will cost around £10,000.
A partnership of Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) manufacturers have joined forces through the European Union’s TEN-T programme to create a multi-standard and inter-operable charging network through the United Kingdom and Ireland. As well as helping to finance the €7+ million scheme, the consortium is providing other members of the project with the benefit of its […]
History was made this weekend (14 September) as the world’s first ever fully-electric single-seater race took place in Beijing, marking the successful season opener of the FIA Formula E Championship. The race – Beijing Evergrande Spring ePrix – was held on a spectacular temporary race track built around the city’s iconic Olympic ‘Bird’s Nest’ Stadium and […]
Professor Gordon Murray today teamed up with Innovate UK Chief Executive Iain Gray CBE to reveal Yamaha’s Formula One inspired MOTIV.e car to UK audiences at LCV ’14. The all-electric car, first unveiled to the world at last year’s Tokyo Motor Show, emerged from its covers on Wednesday 10 September on the Innovate UK stand at the CENEX event held at Millbrook.
A month from now, 40 electric racing cars will line up on the grid at the inaugural Formula E Championship race in Beijing. Each of the tyres that take to the track on 13 September will be fitted with identical tyres that were specifically developed for the competition. In a Michelin-hosted Q&A session, the company’s motorsport director Pascal Couasnon explains that the decision that all cars should run on Pilot Sport EV tyres was not simply a strategic option in technology terms; he says it was also an obvious choice.
Scientists from the University of Leicester will be taking to the streets in electric vehicles (EVs) fitted with specialised air monitoring sensors, with the intention of measuring the extent of air pollution in city environments. The Air Quality Group at the University of Leicester has collaborated with Cenex, the UK’s First Centre of Excellence for Low Carbon and Fuel Cell technologies, who specialise in bringing new low and zero emission vehicle technologies to the UK roads.
Bridgestone has put its money where its mouth is by adding a number of all-electric BMW i3 vehicles to the car pool attached to its European headquarters near Brussels, and by equipping the headquarters site with recharging points. The tyre maker says the presence of electric vehicles in its fleet underlines its faith in the concept of sustainable mobility.
Bridgestone has formed a technical partnership with Belgian motorcycle brand Saroléa, designer of the Saroléa SP7 electric superbike that was shown for the first time during the Speed Trophy at Belgium’s Mettet circuit on 26 April. The deal will see Bridgestone provide technical support and tyre expertise for Saroléa’s track testing and racing plans, which for 2014 include the TT Zero Challenge at the Isle of Man TT series and the FIM eRoadRacing world cup series.
As the May issue of Tyres & Accessories went to press, the government shared details of how its Office of Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) is going to spend its £500 million funding allowance. For its part, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) duly welcomed the half a billion pound funding boost for low emission vehicles, characterising the move as part of a wider campaign to make the UK “a leader in the development and take-up of low emission vehicles”. Clearly this is on the political and commercial agendas (at least as far as the automotive manufacturers are concerned), but what does this all mean for the tyre business in general? And, with this year’s Tyre Retail feature published from page 26 of this issue, what does this mean for garages and tyre retail in particular?
The RAC report it is launching its first mobile electric charging system at GreenFleet Scotland to cater for the UK’s expanding electric vehicle (EV) market which now consists of more than 9,000 vehicles. A standard RAC diesel VW Transporter van has been fully equipped with an Evrescue, totally portable fast charging unit which can deliver around 15 miles of range to a stricken electric vehicle in less than half an hour. Equivalent to a ‘gallon of electricity’, the RAC believes this should be sufficient to get the driver safely on their way home or to the nearest charging point.
BYD’s second-generation dual-mode, plug-in high performance hybrid electric saloon car, the Qin, has set a second record month of sales in February. Trends in March now make it ‘China’s Best-Selling Electric Vehicle’ according to China’s National Passenger Car Association. The Qin, in renamed form, is expected to spearhead BYD sales in the European consumer market in the coming years.
The latest generation of low rolling resistance tyres can pat themselves on the back – they have played a role in enabling the UK car parc to reach, and pass, the 2015 EU-wide average emission target of 130g/km CO2. According to the ‘New Car CO2 Report 2014’ published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) today, the average new car in the UK now emits 128.3g/km CO2 – a 3.6 per cent decrease over last year.
Two of South Korea’s three tyre makers have developed tyres specifically for fitment on the Soul EV, the first electric car produced by Kia. The Korean manufacturer says Kumho Tire and Nexen Tire have developed low rolling resistance 205/60R16 tyres for the vehicle, which debuts at the Geneva Motor Show this week. These reduce rolling resistance by ten per cent without impacting on ride comfort, handling, NVH or braking distance, says Kia.
Remember when you were 10 and Scalextric was top of your Christmas list? Then you’ll love this: Renault has produced a viral video showing off its electric cars competing in a life-size Scalextric race around central London. Electric vehicles are no strangers to motorsport – either in full-size racing, as Renault will show with its partners in 2014 with the FIA Formula E championship, or in miniature in the form of the ever-popular skirting-board scarring Scalextric models. Drawing inspiration from these two ends of the spectrum, Renault’s team hatched the idea to take things one step further and race two full-size ZOEs on a Scalextric track.
We’ve found a forwarding address for Mr. and Mrs. Fussy: According to the results of the J.D. Power Asia Pacific 2013 Japan Original Equipment Tire Customer Satisfaction Index (OE-TSI), vehicle owners in Japan expect the tyres that come with their new vehicle to be “perfect”. J.D. Power shares that “even a single problem with their factory-equipped tyres has a significant impact on their satisfaction.”
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