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Recharge Wrap-up: Big Oil fails at renewable fuel, scientists study air with EVs, plug-in Panamera sales

Big Oil companies help keep renewable fuels out of your tank, a new report shows. No surprise there, right? The Renewable Fuels Association published a report card grading the country's largest retail gasoline chains on fuel offerings like E85 and E15. The report gave failing grades, with less than one percent of stations offering E15 or E85, to "Big Five" companies Exxon, BP, ConocoPhillips, Chevron and Shell, among other oil company and convenience/grocery store brands. The only major oil companies that didn't get an "F" were Valero (D), Cenex (B), and Marathon (A-). The eight companies that scored an A+ had at least 25 percent of their stations offering E85 or E15. Read more at Domestic Fuel.Leicester scientists are studying local air pollution using EVs. Beginning July 4, University of Leicester researchers began driving electric vehicles kitted out with special sensors to monitor air quality throughout the city (similar to how California does it). Now their emissions-free daily driving duties double as data collection for their studies. "By monitoring air quality as a seamless part of our daily transport system, we are providing a cost-effective way to help inform future policy and operational systems," says the University's Dr. Roland Leigh. Read more at Fleet News. "There is no doubt electric cars are the future." – Nissan's Andy Palmer Nissan is exploring the idea of taking its Leaf EV to India, but a lack of charging options is an obstacle. According to Nissan's chief planning officer Andy Palmer, "There is no doubt electric cars are the future. The product is there, what we need is infrastructure. Charging is a big challenge." Though Nissan stopped short of saying it (this time), this could possibly mean working with Mahindra, which said it is open to collaborating with other companies concerning EVs. Learn more in this article from the Hindustan Times and know that India is rolling out a plan to encourage the production and adoption of EVs. The National Electric Mobility Mission Plan will get over $2 billion in funding, and some of that will go toward creating a charging infrastructure (you hear that, Nissan?). This is good news for EV manufacturers, India's economy and people who enjoy breathing clean air. Read more at The Financial Express.Porsche has reported a significant sales increase, part of which is due to demand for the Panamera S E-Hybrid.

To survive in India, a diminished Nissan bets big on a small SUV

NEW DELHI — By any measure, Nissan has had a dreadful run in India. A push to revive its lower-end Datsun brand flopped, sales have slumped 60% over the past five years, and its sole plant in the country is operating way below capacity. But the amount of money and energy that Nissan — battered by scandal and expecting a record $4.5 billion annual operating loss worldwide — will spend to turn its fortunes around in India will hinge on the sales of one vehicle, its new Magnite compact SUV. The SUV may also determine how much heft Nissan will wield as it and alliance partner Renault thrash out their respective roles in the Indian market. Unveiled this month and due to be launched either late this year or early 2021, the Magnite will be Nissan's first new vehicle in India in two years. It's expected to have a 1.0-liter three-cylinder engine with 72 horsepower, and a turbocharged version of that engine making 100 horsepower. It will have features such as an 8-inch touchscreen, cruise control, and a 360-degree camera. Moreover, it will be just one of three Nissan-branded models in the market after two others were pulled in April when tougher emission rules kicked in. "Magnite will buy Nissan a couple of years to figure out a plan for India and the SUV's success will determine whether it invests more or scales down operations," said one source. A second source called the sport-utility vehicle Nissan's "last hope" to revive the brand in India. Japan's No. 2 automaker has, however, no plans to withdraw from India, where it has invested over $800 million, and discussions about strategy are ongoing, the sources said. They were not authorized to speak to media and declined to be identified. The Datsun brand is likely to be phased out as part of a global overhaul, they added. Nissan's only other models in India are three Datsun cars. Nissan said in a statement to Reuters it is committed to the Indian market and has a well-defined strategy for "a sustainable and profitable business". It declined to comment on sales goals for the Magnite.   Who will lead? Nissan's internal plans call for sales of 1,500 to 2,000 Magnites a month, the first source said — which if realized would exceed the average India monthly sales it achieved last business year with seven models. The SUV will be priced "aggressively," the sources said without elaborating.

Norway about to run out of EV incentives; plan to be reviewed

As electric vehicle advocates in Norway may ready to celebrate, executives over at Tesla Motors and Nissan may be preparing for a healthy bawl. That's because Norway, whose financial support of plug-in vehicle use have pushed the country to the forefront of plug-in vehicle adoption, is about to reach its government-imposed threshold for electric vehicle and plug-in vehicle incentives, Hybrid Cars says. Two years early, in fact. Norway's perks for EVs and PHEVs include free access to bus lanes, highway tolls, ferries and parking, not to mention a big tax rebate. As a result, the country is less than 250 units away from hitting its 50,000-vehicle limit for those perks, which were initially estimated to expire in 2017. In fact, last month, more than 25 percent of the four new cars sold in Norway were plug-in vehicles. The government is now saying it will review the incentives and put forward a new plan in the next budget, which is due in May. Late last year, Nissan put out a video saying that electric vehicles had about a 15-percent new-vehicle market share in Norway, and that the Japanese automaker had sold more than 15,000 all-electric Leaf vehicles in the country since starting sales there in 2011. Last spring, The Wall Street Journal reported that the Tesla Model S broke Norway's all-time monthly sales record for a single model in March 2014, with almost 1,500 Model S vehicles sold. This is for a country whose population is less than that of Colorado. Whether those days will soon be gone remains in question. Advocates will push for some sort of extension on the perks, but opponents in government say the incentives have cost the country as much as $500 million a year in tax revenue. News Source: Hybrid CarsImage Credit: Elbilforeningen/Flickr Government/Legal Green Nissan Tesla Electric incentives government incentives