China to boost electric cars with 30% Government EV fleet

The BYD E6 EV (pictured) will benefit from China’s push on EVs The UK government has just announced its commitment to use electric cars for its own vehicles in an effort to boost the take-up of EVs, but China is going even further. China has ordered government officials to start buying electric cars (that means BEVs, plug-in hybrids and hydrogen fuel cell cars) in a big way, with instructions that 30 per cent of government cars must fall in to the ‘New Energy’ category by 2017, and an even higher percentage going forward. The aim is to cut pollution, and China expects to have 5 million New Energy cars on the road by 2020 and it is urging it government agencies and some city governments to start buying New Energy vehicles from Chinese makers like BYD and SDAIC, but also instructing them to build more charging stations and supporting infrastructure.

Fiat at the Geneva Motor Show – Abarth Punto EVO

The Abarth Punto EVO - Geneva bound Fiat’s hot Herberts – Abarth – don’t just have the Abarth 500C Convertible to stick on their stand at Geneva, they also have a tweaked and sorted Punto EVO – the Abarth Punto EVO – to get the attention of show-goers. The performance division of Fiat have stuck a bigger turbo on the Punto EVO which ups the output to 165bhp and drops the 0-60mph time to 7.7 seconds. But economy and emissions don’t seem to suffer with the EVO managing 47mpg and emissions of 142g/km.

A look at Chevrolet future products

Based on Chevrolet's vehicle launches over the past few years, a casual observer might not know that General Motors' bow-tie brand still makes trucks. Well-received entries such as the Cruze compact and Sonic subcompact have helped transcend Chevy's image as a trucks-and-sports-cars brand. In coming months, the transformation of Chevy's car lineup will continue with the launches of the Spark minicar, two new engines in the redesigned Malibu and the long-awaited next-generation Impala, due early next year.