GLOBAL ROUNDUP // NEWS
Country digest
What has been making the headlines in HEV TCP member countries?
🇦🇹 AUSTRIA
- Volkswagen's $492M investment to develop Scout EVs in Austria.
- Largest EV automated charging project launches in Austria
🇧🇪 BELGIUM
- Volvo expands EV production of the EX30 to Belgium
- Expanding charging network in Brussels, with plans underway to install 1,200 new charging points by 2024
🇨🇦 CANADA
- Rethinking EV charging strategy as Canada considers a shift in its strategy for building EV charging stations.
- New mines needed for EV metals to meet domestic demand in Canada and the US China.
🇨🇳 CHINA
- Record exports to EU as China surpasses the $2 billion mark, triggering an EU investigation into alleged subsidies to Chinese EV makers.
- Battery swapping partnership as Chinese automakers Nio and Geely sign a strategic partnership.
🇩🇰 DENMARK
- EV tax rise delayed in Denmark as part of a budget deal.
- Danfoss e-truck fleet expands as Volvo delivers three heavy-duty line-haul electric trucks.
🇫🇮 FINLAND
- End of EV charging subsidies announced in Finland.
- New battery materials factory announced as Chinese firm Ningbo Shanshan plans to build a €1.3 billion battery-materials factory in Finland.
🇧🇱 FRANCE
- France introduces changes to electric car grants and aims to discourage the buying of Chinese EVs through strategic measures.
- New funding for EV charging announced, with France aiming to have over 400,000 charging points on its road network by 2030, including 50,000 fast charging points.
🇩🇪 GERMANY
- €1.8 billion allocated to commercial charging station operators by the German Government for building 8,000 new fast charging points.
- Fast-charging is to be mandated at 80% of service stations, as Germany announces plans to become the first country in Europe to introduce this new law.
🇮🇪 IRELAND
- Ireland plans to abolish toll discounts for electric and low-emission vehicles by the end of 2023, impacting the cost incentives for EV users.
- Almost half of all newly-registered vehicles in Ireland are electric or hybrid.
🇮🇹 ITALY
- Stellantis opens its first Battery Technology Centre in Italy, highlighting the country's role in advancing EV technology.
- Joint venture for installing EV charging stations across service areas in Italy is launched by Italian petrol pumps group IP and Macquarie Capital.
🇳🇴 NORWAY
- Volkswagen announces EV-only strategy for Norway, confirming that new combustion-powered models will not be available from 2024.
- Huge phosphate deposits are discovered in Norway, potentially supplying materials for EV batteries for the next 50 years.
🇰🇷 REPUBLIC OF KOREA
- Polestar 4 vehicles to be produced in Busan, with Polestar, Geely Group, and Renault Korea Motors announcing collaborative efforts in the electric vehicle sector.
- Temporary subsidies to boost EV sales are introduced by the Korean government amid a slowdown in the market.
🇪🇸 SPAIN
- Spain extends its EV subsidy of up to €9,000 by seven months, encouraging continued adoption of electric vehicles.
- €100 million of EU subsidies for electric battery assembly lines and three gigafactories in Spain.
🇸🇪 SWEDEN
- NorthVolt announces a new sodium-ion battery that could remove global dependence on lithium, cobalt and nickel.
- BBC visit an electric road demonstration project in southern Sweden.
🇨🇠SWITZERLAND
- Tax exemption for EVs to be removed from 2024 by the Swiss Federal Council.
- Partial driving bans for electric cars in the event of a power shortage is considered in an ordinance by the Swiss Federal Council, leading to rumours of an EV driving ban.
🇧🇶 THE NETHERLANDS
- €125 million subsidies to promote hydrogen-powered transport allocated by the Netherlands government.
- Ride-share cars as a grid battery to be demonstrated in a world-first programme in Utrecht.
🇬🇧 UNITED KINGDOM
- New ZEV mandate enters into law, postponing the proposed 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 5-years.
- Nissan triples its investment in EV production in the UK, delivering up to £2 billion to produce two new electric vehicle models in Sunderland.
🇺🇸 UNITED STATES
- $100 million to repair and replace EV charging infrastructure announced by the Biden-Harris Administration.
- Temporary exemption from new regulations for battery materials sourced from abroad considered by the US government.
- Standardized Minimum Required Error Codes proposed for the North American EV charging ecosystem.