Posted on Friday 21 September 2018 by CarTakeBack

There has been lots of development happening regarding electric vehicles (EVs) recently, as the world continues to focus on sustainability and cleaner air. We take a look at some of the stand out things that have happened in the past few months.

Sales Increase

Europe saw a 30% rise in the sale of electric vehicles in July, continuing the boom in the EV industry. This has had a knock on effect of oil demand decreasing in places like Norway, where the uptake of electric cars by the public has brought a 2.9% drop in gasoline sales. In China, there was a whopping increase in sales of 64%!

Dyson to Test Electric Car

Last month Dyson revealed their plans to build a 10 mile test track on a disused airfield in Wiltshire, England, for their electric car designs, saying they hope to start selling their "radical" electric car from 2021. Though no prototypes have been built yet, they are investing a total of £200m in the Hullavington site, with buildings for staff to work and tests to take place, in addition to the track.

The chief executive of Dyson, Jim Rowan has said "We are now firmly focused on the next stage of our automotive project strengthening our credentials as a global research and development organisation", predicting that Hullavington will become a "World-class vehicle testing campus".

Solar Charging Cars

A German start-up company, Sono Motors, have added solar panels to their electric vehicle, called the Sion. The solar panels allow the car to have its charge topped up whilst driving, and according to Sono Motors, actually cost less to integrate onto the car's body than it does to have a traditional paint job!

They have added the panels to almost every external surface of the car because the cost is cheaper than having painted sides, and it provides more opportunity for charging the car during the winter months, when the sun is lower in the sky.

Automated and Electric Vehicles Act

On July 19th the UK had the Automated and Electric Vehicles (AEV) Act passed through Parliament. The Act will see a big improvement in the availability of charge points for electric cars, giving the Government powers to ensure motorway service stations are upgraded to have numerous charge points, and mayors will be able to request installations at petrol stations in their areas.

In a positive move for motorists, the AEV Act will also make sure that all public charge points are compatible with every EV, that the prices are standardised, their reliability is governed, and will bring automated vehicle insurance up to date.