Spanish Presidency plans to boost electric vehicles
Brussels, 15 February 2010 – After an informal two days meeting of EU competitiveness ministers on 9 February, the Spanish EU presidency has announced its intention to boost the Electric Vehicles industry in Europe.
The meeting concluded that EVs are the future of transport and the EU should draft a European strategy to address the obstacles facing their implementation. This strategy could be adopted during next spring's competitiveness council.
Miguel Sebastián, Spanish Minister of Industry, stated that “it is no exaggeration” to say that the electric vehicle “has been born today in Europe”.
In preparation for this meeting, the Spanish EU Presidency presented a discussion paper that puts forward several issues for discussion by the delegations. Download (.pdf 1MB).
Highlights
The discussion paper is very positive about Electric Vehicles (EVs), stressing that "Hybrid and electric vehicles will play a big role in tomorrow's mobility". It addresses EVs in the broad sense, including pure electric, hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and extended-range electric vehicles.
The paper draws a brief and informed analysis of the potential, opportunities and challenges that are likely to arise from an increase in battery-powered mobility. It covers the main issues and seeks to establish broad political understanding concerning action required at the European level, noting that clear European guidelines are necessary to ensure consistency between member states. Read our abstract...
AVERE, the European Association for Battery, Hybrid and Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles, and Going-Electric, the European Association for Battery Electric Vehicles, congratulate the Spanish EU Presidency for this excellent initiative towards a common European strategy on electric vehicles.
The associations underline that future measures following this announcement should favour a uniform penetration of electric vehicles across Europe, benefitting both the industry and the environment.
In addition, they would like to highlight some points that are often overlooked and now need to be taken into account when elaborating a European EV strategy:
While several EV technologies may bring some environmental improvements, the associations clearly favour two technologies:
Pure electric vehicles, also called Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs), are the most sustainable technology. But they are mostly suitable for relatively short distances, such as daily commuting and urban trips, which represent about 80% of the mileage driven worldwide by cars. More information...
Extended-Range Electric Vehicles (EREVs), such as the upcoming Opel Ampera, are BEVs complemented with a small engine powering an on-board generator that turns on once the batteries are empty. They are very sustainable because they can fully operate in electric mode over short distances (80% of the mileage) while producing less emissions that equivalent fuel cars during long trips (20% of the mileage). More information...
There are many good reasons for promoting the use of very small light cars: their emissions and energy consumption are lower, and they occupy less space in traffic and parking, thereby reducing congestion.
The associations therefore advocate that new EU categories of vehicle homologation should be created for very small electric cars that are confined by design to daily commuting and urban driving.
Regarding charging infrastructure, governments should first concentrate on making it possible for EV drivers to charge close to where they live.
Once batteries are capable of charging in less than 15 min, BEVs will be able to compete on long trips.
Only will then will it be worth installing fast charging stations on road networks. More information...
Notes to Editors
AVERE, the European Association for Battery, Hybrid and Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles, is a non-profit association, founded in 1978, comprised of members including Users, Associations, Public Bodies, Research & Development, Vehicle and Equipment Manufacturers, and Electricity Utilities.
The mission of AVERE is to promote the use of Electric Vehicles and to rationalize the efforts of its members in scientific and technological development. www.avere.org
Going-Electric, the European Association for Battery Electric Vehicles (AISBL), is a Brussels-based international non-profit association of businesses, associations, NGOs and individuals, promoting Electric Vehicles (EVs) in Europe as the most sustainable motorised road vehicles.
The mission of Going-Electric is to be the voice of all EV stakeholders towards a European legislative framework enabling a European leadership in EV production and commercialisation. www.going-electric.org
For more information, please contact:
Jacques de Selliers, Managing Director of Going-Electric:
+32 475 55 20 26,
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Robert Stüssi MSc, President of AVERE:
+351 96 86 900 30, rstussi@gmail.com
