2009/09/17
Frankfurt finally gives the electric car some visibility
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The motor show allows the electric car into the citizen debate.
Hit of the week
Frankfurt Motor Show has given the electric car great visibility and the online media have finally grabbed hold of the subject. Web surfers have therefore finally been giving their opinion on the question. However, it’s on the more specialised forums that the surfers are the most interested. "In my opinion there are real improvements in these models, in terms of aerodynamics, weight, rolling resistance and the engine, but these changes could have been made a very long time ago." considers a web surfer on the econologie forum.
The English-speaking blogosphere is also impatient, particularly with Carlos Ghosn’s ambition to make Renault "the world leader of zero-emission vehicles"(Sufiy). Earth2Tech notes that Renault has "plowed ahead with its quest for domination of the global electric vehicle market, unveiling four new models.”
Sites dedicated to cars, such as cartech.fr, are also abandoning the generalist treatment of the "electric trend" in order to turn their attention more specifically to new products. The website thus shows the 4 models presented by Renault which "like to think they’re the spearhead of the new spirit of the diamond marque. The "créateur d’automobile" is finished, replaced with "Drive the change" and a state of mind centred around a reduction of consumption and of CO2 emissions. The Renault-Nissan Group wants the first place, globally, in the electric car market, so, after the Nissan Leaf shown in Japan in August, it’s therefore Renault’s turn to contribute this segment."
A helping hand for electric
As for Actu environnement, it’s turned its attention to the resolutions and initiatives of the French Post Office, partner of the Sustainable Mobility Week: "With the set-up of the Business Journey Plans to facilitate the home-work journeys of colleagues, the promotion of car pools, the use of new electric vehicles for the collection and delivery of letters and parcels, the training of 60,000 drivers in fuel-efficient driving and road safety, the French Post Office demonstrates that it has made fruitful commitments to sustainable mobility."
In the US, the State of California has renewed a measure that gave the thumbs up to electric and hybrid cars. HybridReview specifies that these vehicles will be able to use lanes that are usually reserved for car pools, in which traffic is generally low. This could be enough to motivate those who are stuck in traffic jams to change their behaviour and to invest in clean cars.
European Mobility Week
This week devoted to sustainable mobility has started a real buzz on the green net. Websites that are not accustomed to this subject have published columns dedicated to the event: l'entreprise.com mentions three car pool websites envoituresimone, ecotrajet and covoiturage.com.
English blog Environmental-Expert highlights for its part how this week "… underlines the importance of local level efforts to tackle climate change and improve quality of life through the promotion of alternative transport modes to the car such as cycling, walking, and public transport as well as schemes such car-sharing and car-pooling."
Néoplanète proposes podcasts from experts, whereas planètevivante introduces the three networks of European towns that are responsible for co-ordinating the campaign: "Eurocities, a network of major European cities, Energie-Cités, an association of European local authorities promoting local sustainable energy policies and Climate Alliance, the Climate Alliance of European Cities with the Indigenous Rainforest Peoples, form the central consortium."
Finally, Business Ile de France has announced a conference on hydrogen which will take place within the framework of the Forum for Sustainable Mobility on the 20th and 21st October in Porte de Versailles, Paris "At a time when Renault is taking a strategic policy turn towards full electric, is hydrogen still to be found in transport manufacturers’ development projects? "
The Macif report
For the third year running, Macif, in partnership with the Ministry for Ecology, Energy, Sustainable Development and the Sea, has published its barometer of sustainable mobility. The blog Séquovia considers the results. It turns out that, despite the recession, "the protection of the environment remains a preoccupation, one of absolute priority, for 51% of the French."
The survey reveals notably that sustainable transport is an increasingly recognised notion even if respondents claimed that the impetus should come from the authorities and constructors. "For 85% of the French, the local authorities responsible for transport are the entity best positioned to contribute to the development of alternative means of transport. 72% think that the State also has a role to play in the matter (an increase of 2 percentage points compared with 2008). Other sustainable transport protagonists cited were transport operators (particularly among rural respondents, at 79%), car manufacturers (55%) and insurers (38%)".
