On the one year anniversary of DieselGate, Transport and Environment a lobby organisatiosn of local transprot authorities relaesed a report on actual emissions of Euro 5 and 6 cars; according to the report an estimated 29 million modern diesel cars are now in use in Europe of which  four in five sold between 2010 – 2014 meet the Euro 5 standard for NOx in the laboratory (180g/1,000km) but actually produce more than three times this level when driven on the road. The report states that “two-thirds of Euro 6 cars (most on sale since 2015) still produce more than three times the 80g/1,000km limit when driven on the road. More than two third of the “dirty” diesle cars 6 were sold in France, Germany, Italy and the UK., countries that alsoo approved most of the polluting diesel cars for sale.

France seems to be taking  note of its top ranking in the list of countries with the most polluting diesel cars as French government sources were alluding to higher fines and lower emissions thresholds for polluting cars:  the highest polluting cars will pay a penalty of €10,000. Carmakers will be fined if their emissions go above 127 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer, instead of the previous 131 grams. The extra €100 million that the government hopes to raise would go to support schemes for electric vehicles.

The Polish energy ministry revealed its ambition of 1 million electric cars on the road by 2025 as the city of Warsaw is investing in battery electric buses. Poland’s four biggest power producers – PGE, Tauron, Enea and Energa set up a joint venture ElectroMobilityPoland during this summer to promote the use of electric cars. It is not clear if this move paves the way for their transition from coal to renewable power or will just be to make better use of their baseload coal plants

Just before the Paris Motor show from October 1-12, 2016 all EV eyes turned from Tesla to GM on September 19, 2016 as GM announced  its Chrevolet Bolt EV model ahead of the launch of the comparable Tesla Model 3, foreseen for the beginning of next year. Range  383 km , price  $ 30K GM will put the BOLT on the European market under the name of Opel Ampere-e at an undisclosed date. BMW will present its longer range BMW i3 at the Paris Show:  the battery pack of the new BMW i3 (94 Ah Lithium ion cells) is 33 kWh, increasing the car’s range on a single charge from 190 to 300 kilometers / 118 – 186 miles (NEDC cycle), with a real-world range of up to 200 kilometers (124 miles( under certain weather conditions. In Paris VW will reduce glitzy presentations and Mercedes will unfold is electric SUV. FCEV models include the Toyota concept car (see photo) introducing Toyota’s view on urban mobility. Stay tuned for more FCEV spotting during the show!