Running on Empty: There’s a Lot to Like about Hydrogen, If You Can Find It
Fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) buyers can drive solo in HOV lanes, receive $4500 (or $7000 if they're in a low-income bracket) from the California Clean Vehicle Rebate Project, and take advantage of a federal tax credit of up to $8000.
Deals and incentives abound, but if you're driving any of the 9000-plus fuel-cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) that call California home, you better be good with logistics. In a state that covers more than 163,000 square miles, there are currently only 45 hydrogen stations, and they don't always have enough fuel for everyone who needs it.
This problem began in June 2019, when a hydrogen production facility in Santa Clara caught fire, disrupting supply in the Bay Area and Southern California. More recently, the big freeze in Texas, where much hydrogen comes from, left many California stations bereft.
Read the article at Car and Driver.
Once ‘Green’ Plug-in Hybrid Cars Suddenly Look Like Dinosaurs in Europe
Remember when plug-in hybrid cars were the go-to technology for the climate-conscious driver?
Turns out, they’re not good for the environment, according to some experts, and they could be phased out by carmakers in the face of tougher European rules.
Julia Poliscanova, senior director for vehicles and e-mobility at European NGO Transport & Environment, said its own research showed that when driven in combustion-engine mode, hybrids’ CO2 emissions were higher than conventional cars’ - they’re heavier than combustion-only cars so used more fuel. “From the perspective of environment and climate, today’s plug-in hybrid technology is worse than what it is replacing.”
Read the article at Reuters.
LeasePlan USA Partners with ChargePoint to Enable Fleets to Electrify
The two companies have entered into an agreement to accelerate transition to EVs across company fleets.
LeasePlan USA, a global leader in fleet management and driver mobility services, and ChargePoint, a leading electric vehicle (EV) charging network, have announced an agreement to enable the accelerated transition to EVs across company fleets.
Together in partnership, LeasePlan and ChargePoint will provide software, networked EV charging hardware, and services with end-to-end support from installation to deployment and management for LeasePlan clients to help make the transition to electric more seamless.
Kenworth Launches New Medium-duty Product Lineup
Kenworth last week introduced a new medium-duty conventional truck lineup ranging from Class 5 to light Class 8 during a major virtual product reveal.
Kevin Baney, Kenworth general manager and PACCAR vice president, noted, “Our new lineup sets the industry standard for quality, performance, reliability and durability throughout the many diverse, medium-duty applications in the U.S. and Canadian markets.
“These Kenworth models possess excellent versatility and maneuverability, spacious 2.1-meter-wide cab, exceptional visibility and driver-focused ergonomics, and new PACCAR TX-8 transmission. Our new medium-duty trucks are an impressive addition to the World’s Best product line.”
eDriving and Global Road Safety Partnership Launch “Triple Threat” Resources
eDrivingSM and Global Road Safety Partnership (GRSP), have launched a comprehensive campaign with complimentary manager- and driver-focused resources to help organizations protect drivers against the “Triple Threat” of Speeding, Distraction and Fatigue.
While all three are already well-known high-risk driving behaviors that present serious risk to all road users, eDriving and GRSP are raising awareness around the fact that, when combined, the “Triple Threat” of Speeding, Distraction and Fatigue is too dangerous to ignore.
