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Auto manufacturers agree on specifications to connect electrically chargeable vehicles to the electricity grid
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Brussels, 24 June 2010 – The European automobile manufacturers have
defined joint specifications to connect electrically chargeable vehicles
to the electricity grid in a safe and user-friendly way.
The industry recommendations will enable the relevant EU standardisation
bodies to make rapid progress with defining a common interface between
the electricity infrastructure and vehicles throughout Europe. The
recommendations also provide decisive guidance to public authorities that
are planning investments in public charging spots.
“This is an important step towards the successful deployment of
electrically chargeable vehicles in Europe. A uniform and user-friendly
charging infrastructure is a prerequisite to build a market”, said Ivan
Hodac, Secretary-General of ACEA, the automobile industry’s trade
association in Brussels. “We want to avoid a situation where customers
have to carry a multitude of charging cables to use their vehicles in
different cities, regions and countries, just as we see today with items
like mobile phones.”
The European specifications could form the basis for a global standard.
Japanese and South Korean manufacturers have been closely involved in
developing the joint industry recommendations for the European market.
The joint specifications cover, in a first step, charging of passenger
cars and light commercial vehicles, both at home and at public charging
spots. During a transition period, customers will be enabled to use the
different plugs already on the market. A uniform solution will become
standard for all new vehicle types by 2017. The auto industry expects to
make recommendations for quick charging and heavy-duty vehicles shortly.
About ACEA
The European automotive industry is key to the strength and
competitiveness of Europe. The ACEA members are BMW Group, DAF Trucks,
Daimler, FIAT Group, Ford of Europe, General Motors Europe, Jaguar Land
Rover, MAN Nutzfahrzeuge, Porsche, PSA Peugeot Citroën, Renault, Scania,
Toyota Motor Europe, Volkswagen and Volvo. They provide direct employment
to more than 2.3 million people and indirectly support another 10 million
jobs. Annually, ACEA members invest over €26 billion in R&D, or 5% of
turnover.
Note to editors
Presently various field projects in relation to electrically chargeable
vehicles are in place across Europe and elsewhere in the world, and
broader market introduction will pick-up in 2011 and 2012. Most
stakeholders assume a realistic market share for electrically chargeable
vehicles in the range of 3 to 10% of new sales by 2020 to 2025, depending
on how quickly the most immediate challenges can be addressed.
The internal combustion engine using conventional fuels will still be the
dominant source of power in the coming decades. That is why progress must
also continue to increase the environmental performance of more
conventional propulsion systems as well as fuels, and the automotive
industry will sustain its efforts in this field. Government policies must
continue to include these CO2-efficient technologies and solutions in
their overall sustainable mobility policy approach.
Electrically chargeable vehicles include:
- Battery electric vehicles (BEV) with no other power source than the
battery
- Extended-range electric vehicles (EREV), which use battery as main
energy source for daily trips, but use a combustion engine driven
range-extender running on hydrocarbons to sustain the battery and to
overcome range limitations
- Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV), which use battery as main
energy source for daily trips, but run in common hybrid mode, with use of
the combustion engine running on hydrocarbons, after batteries are
depleted
For further information, please contact Sigrid de Vries, Director
Communications, ACEA +32 2 738 73 45 or sv@acea.be
Please also visit www.acea
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