Recent analysis by the European Environment Agency (EEA) has reported an increase in greenhouse gas emissions from passenger cars and heavy goods vehicles in line with the growth in transport volumes on Europe’s roads over the past two decades.
The EEA assessment ‘Decarbonising road transport — the role of vehicles, fuels and transport demand’ is part of the ‘Transport and environment reporting mechanism’ (TERM) series of annual assessments and focuses on greenhouse gases. According to EEA data, between 2000 and 2019, CO2 emissions from passenger cars in the 27 EU Member States increased by 5.8 %, while emissions from heavy goods vehicles increased by 5.5 %. This was due to growing transport volumes and despite advances in fuel efficiency and an increase in biofuel usage.
Passenger mobility and haulier preferences are yet to change in Europe. Both transport types have maintained and increased their volumes on the road systems, and the efficiency of vehicles’ CO2 emissions, and shifts to greener transport modes, need addressing.
Electric vehicles are set to play an important role in improving our air quality. Increasing the volume of these engine types will help to decarbonize passenger and freight logistics, although the EEA assessment reports that efficiency-gains are not the simple solution to the greenhouse gas problems. Ride-sharing, fuller cargo loads and encouraging the use of public transport, cycling and walking are also required to decarbonise Europe’s mobility system.
The Rapid Exchange of Information System is the EU rapid alert system for unsafe consumer products and the measures taken by the member states to deal with that safety problem. The Commission publishes a weekly overview of RAPEX notifications. Below you will find notifications relating to light electric vehicles. To consult the full details of a notification on the Commission’s website, just click on the week.
Model: 8577081, SC RIDE 900E Risk Type: Injuries Measures ordered by economic operators (to: Manufacturer): Withdrawal of the product from the market Measures ordered by economic operators (to: Distributor): Recall of the product from end users Date of entry into force 24/05/2022
Model: Mantis 10 : – GT – K800 – Lite – Limited – K2000 Mantis 8 : Lite – Origin – Plus – Up Risk Type: Electric shock, Fire, Injuries Measures ordered by public authorities (to: Importer): Recall of the product from end users
Comments Off on Micro launches configurator for its long-awaited Microlino
Pricing starts from CHF 14‘990 incl. VAT in Switzerland
Europe base price will be approximately EUR 12‘500 excluding VAT. Exact prices per country will be announced with the respective launch in that country
A fullyequipped Pioneer with a medium battery pack starts at CHF 20‘990 incl. VAT
Swiss customers have to make a refundable deposit of CHF 500 to secure their spot on the waiting list
Deposits in other markets will be launched step by step, depending on market entry in that country
First test drive events will be announced at the end of June
The Swiss company Micro has launched its long-awaited configurator today. The more than 30‘000 reservation holders are able to configure the vehicle starting from today. The Microlino marks a new product category between a motorbike and a car aimed to be a more eco-friendly and space-saving alternative to cars. With 12.5kW nominal power, 230l of trunk volume, and up to 230km of range, the Microlino is best in class in the European L7e and L6e vehicle categories. It also is the only vehicle in this category to have a unibody chassis, that improves quality, longevity, and safety compared to conventional tubular frames normally used in the L7e class.
But not just its design and the features are unique: due to the light weight that enables the use of a smaller battery, the Microlino has only about one-third of the carbon footprint of a conventional electric car. In addition, the Microlino is produced in Italy and 90% of its parts are produced in Europe, making its supply chain more sustainable. “This is why the Microlino is probably the most sustainable weather-protected vehicle in existence”, says founder Oliver Ouboter.
Along with the configurator, Micro is releasing the official list prices for the Microlino in Switzerland. Prices will start at 14‘990 CHF including VAT. In Europe, prices will start from approximately 12‘500 EUR excluding VAT. The exact list prices including VAT will be communicated closer to the official launch in the various countries. “Despite the challenges in the worldwide supply chain and multiplication in prices of certain raw materials and doubling in battery prices, we are satisfied to launch a premium and unique light electric vehicle at an affordable price“, says Co-Founder Merlin Ouboter.
The launch edition is called „Pioneer Series“ and is limited to 999 vehicles as an homage to Micro being founded in 1999, with the invention of the first Kickscooter. It is available in two colors only available in the Pioneer Series called Torino Aluminium and Atlantis Blue. All Pioneer Series will be equipped with the medium 10.5kWh battery pack with a range of up to 177km, the sunroof for the ultimate Summer feeling, Infinity-LED Lightbars with integrated blinkers front and rear, premium vegan leather and Alcantara interior, portable Bluetooth speakers, the storage pack and will each have a unique number visible on the inside. In addition, they will all come with an original Micro Kick scooter in the trunk to cover the last mile. The Pioneer Series will have a price of 20‘990 CHF including VAT or roughly 18‘500 EUR excluding VAT in European countries. “The Pioneer Series is for the true Pioneers that want to help make mobility more eco-friendly and space-saving. Because let’s face it: we have to make mobility not only electric but also lighter and smaller“, says Wim Ouboter, who founded Micro in 1999.
Swiss customers are asked to make a deposit of 500 CHF to secure their spot on the waiting list. Next, they will be selected based on their location, configuration, and reservation date to make their final order. Micro plans to do a series of test-drive events to make sure that as many customers as possible can test drive the Microlino. The exact dates and locations of these events will be announced at the end of June. By then, Micro will also give all details about the service and sales net in Switzerland. The first deliveries will take place from Micro‘s own brand center near Zurich this Summer.
Customers outside of Switzerland can for now use the configurator and make a reservation without a deposit. Once deliveries in a market are near, these customers to have to make a deposit to secure their spot in the waiting line. The next markets that will be launched are Germany and Italy. First deliveries for these two markets are expected by the end of 2022.
The company targets to produce up to 1500 vehicles this year in a factory that it is operating in Turin, Italy, together with its partner CECOMP. Eventually, the company will be able to produce up to 10,000 vehicles in this factory per year. “The demand that we see is huge and we are considering increasing our capacity even further in the future. For this year, we focus on quality, not quantity“, says Oliver Ouboter. The first customer deliveries in Switzerland will take place this summer, and German and Italian deliveries will start towards the end of 2022.
Studies have shown that those living in European cities have been subjected to premature deaths because of poor air quality. As a result, many European cities are putting measures in place to address the problems and reduce toxic emissions from vehicles to improve air quality and save lives.
The European Environment Agency (EEA) conducted the study and estimated that 307,000 people died prematurely in 2019 due to exposure to fine particulate matter. Respiratory issues, lung cancer, heart disease and strokes were reported risks from exposure to air pollution, most notably for residents living alongside dense traffic.
Cited by the EEA as “the biggest environmental health risk in Europe”, the health problems are put high on the agendas of local governments. Air quality standards are agreed in Brussels by national parliaments, but it is the public authorities who enforce them. Indeed, Thomas Lymes, a policy advisor with the city network, EUROCITIES, comments that “cutting air pollution is a matter of social justice for public authorities because people that are most affected by air pollution are households with low income that essentially live next to big urban roads and major transport corridors.”
Cutting pollution
European cities have put in place an array of directives to tackle the pollution issue. The removal of vehicles from city streets and promoting alternative means of transport are popular reactions. Cycling remains one of the main alternatives and many cities are expanding cycle networks; Paris aiming to be completely accessible by bicycle by 2026, for example. Bloomberg reported Paris’ quest to install 180 kilometres of cycle lanes, while Brussels is offering residents €900 to give up their car and instead, buy a bicycle, purchase a public transport pass, or join a car-sharing service.
Vehicles not meeting emissions standards are being charged £12.50 per day to drive into some parts of London in order to combat the city’s pollution issue. These Ultra-low Emission Zones will be expanded across the Capital by the end of 2023 to encourage alternatives, although emissions will not be completely eradicated even with the increased use of cleaner vehicles.
Non-exhaust particulate matter
Not so recognised are toxins from brakes and tyres, according to Matteo Barisione, a policy manager with the European Public Health Alliance. He also considers the uptake in larger vehicles to be problematic, commenting, “Decreasing the size and the mass of vehicles reduces harmful pollutant emissions as well as their CO2 emissions, life cycle ecological footprint, and road accident risks.”
Euro 7 rules
In-keeping with Barisione’s thinking, Euro 7, a forthcoming regulation setting EU vehicle pollution standards, is to include brake particles for the first time. Auto industry lobby group ACEA have welcomed this introduction but consider that more needs to be done with introducing the measurement procedure to reach a quantifiable result.
“ACEA does not oppose a regulation addressing brake wear particle emissions. However, a stable and representative test is a prerequisite for determining the real level of brake wear emissions, and subsequently for deciding on any appropriate limit levels,” an ACEA spokesperson told EURACTIV.
Car manufacturers have additionally raised concerns that changes made to braking systems may have an impact of their performance, although this has been quashed by Tallano, a French start-up that produces filters to remove brake dust. Founder Christophe Rocca-Serra told EURACTIV that, “Products like ours, which capture particles at source by suction, pose no risk to the effectiveness of brakes.”
Of course, increasing the use of electric vehicles will dramatically improve air quality when compared to regular internal combustion engines. Anna Krajinska, emission engineer with Transport & Environment, meticulously told EURACTIV, “For the sake of people’s health it is critical that all sources of particulate pollution from all vehicles are tackled as soon as possible.”
Approximately 1.5 million barrels of oil were displaced each day in 2021 due to Electric Vehicle usage. This quantity is slated to grow as EV uptake and usage continue to rise.
These new, tangible effects of EV uptake are helping to challenge the opinion that such vehicles are a niche climate technology. Over the past 6 years, the amount of oil displaced by EVs has doubled. Download the full report by BloombergNEF, here.
A key fact from the report that will be especially interesting to LEVA-EU readers states, “Two- and three-wheeled EVs accounted for 67% of the oil demand avoided in 2021,” attributed to rapid adoption in Asia. It can be assumed that the majority of these vehicles would be classified as Light Electric Vehicles.
Two- and three-wheeled EVs were followed by buses, which displaced 16% of total oil, and passenger vehicles, the fastest-growing segment, which displaced 13%.
The nationwide German Bike Monitor 2021 survey, which occurs every two years, has highlighted shifting attitudes towards cargo bikes within the population
The definition for a cargo bike used in the survey is as follows: “The cargo bike is a bicycle that is used to transport loads or people. Depending on the intended use, the basket/box is in the rider’s field of vision or in the rear area of the bike. Depending on the design, these bikes are equipped with two or three wheels.”
From this, participants were quizzed on various aspects of the cargo bike market. The representative survey now estimates over eight million potential cargo bike buyers in Germany alone, with double that figure showing interest in cargo bike-sharing services.
Awareness of cargo models has risen from 38% in 2017 to 63% in 2021, clearly indicating the growing market. Additionally, 2% of the population now use a cargo bike in their lives (1.2 million individuals).
An interesting question, newly added this year, regarded second-hand bikes. The cargo bike garnered the most interest of all bike models in this case. 35% of those interested in a cargo bike would prefer to buy pre-owned; for comparison, this figure falls to 14% when averaged between all bike types.
The final and particularly insightful section of the data explores the arguments against interest in cargo bikes; the reasoning for such disinterest was found to cover a range of issues. At 61 percent, having your own car will remain the most important argument against buying a cargo bike in 2021, this was followed by the bikes being ‘too bulky and unwieldy’ (36%), lack of parking/storage space (29%), skepticism about effectiveness (27%), and finally, the high price tag at 24%.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York, publisher of the global supply chain pressure index (GSCPI), has revealed the impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in its latest release.
The invasion added additional pressure to a global network that was already under strain. Pressure is now at an all-time high since the index’s creation in 1997. The scenario continues to develop as trade and payments with Russia and Belarus rapidly decrease in line with Western bank sanctions. This turn of events is a stark contrast to early 2022 predictions that pressure was beginning to equalise following Covid-19 disruption.
The GSCPI summarises 27 variables that impact global supply chain functioning, including measures such as cross-border and manufacturing costs. A score of 0 indicates that pressure is at an average level, and any positive increase indicates how many standard deviations the index is above average value, and vice versa. The value currently stands at 4.
In the LEV industry, where a product as a whole may be completely dependent on specific, independently sourced parts, this pressure increase could force some manufacturing to a standstill. As the global scenario continues its progression, the impact on the supply chain will be closely observed by many.
The newly published industry association RAI market research report shows only 923,000 bicycles and e-bikes sold in the Netherlands during 2021. In comparison, the 2020 figure stood at 1,098,000, equating to a 15.9% market shrink in 2021. This drop is attributed to current supply chain issues having a direct impact on product availability, triggering the record high drop in sales volume.
New paper provides comprehensive insight for the state of LEVs in the Netherlands
Countrywide, municipalities in the Netherlands are working to reduce car use in their cities. Ongoing challenges including climate change and city center densification have pushed policymakers to consider options with which to transform the way we fill our urban spaces, and how we move around these spaces. This white paper examines the state of play of a new category of vehicles that can play an important driving role in the mobility transition: light electric vehicles, or LEVs for short. What do we already know, and what is still unclear? What about sustainability, or regulations? Are partial concepts also commercially interesting? And how do LEVs add to the fun of being on the road?
Challenges of LEV transition are considered in three themes: business and service; people and technology; and policy and mobility. These broad categories are explored and connected through research, fact, and experiences collected within the LEV knowledge center. The final paper provides a comprehensive overview of the current state of affairs regarding micromobility, from which further developments can be understood and steered.
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