EV news Round-up: October 2024

In this issue: Norway's EV sales outnumber petrol for the first time, Blackpool becomes host to the UK's fastest EV charger and much more.

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White van drivers are the most green-conscious according to studies

Peugeot has been questioning the UK's van drivers about their environmental credentials following the release of the new E-Partner, E-Expert and E-Boxer, and their findings came out with some interesting results.

It turns out (despite what some might think) that white van drivers appear to be more climate change conscious than car drivers with over three-quarters of the surveyed drivers stating that they went electric for environmental reasons.

They're also more likely to adopt greener practices such as cycling or walking more often, turning off their engine in traffic jams and using their vehicles in eco mode if it has one.

EVs outnumber ICE vehicles in Norway

Norway's goal of becoming the first country to end the sale of new petrol and diesel cars looks to be on track as its Department of Transport reveals that electric vehicles have outsold petrol cars for the first time ever.

Despite diesel remaining Norway's most popular fuel choice amongst private car buyers, the number of electric vehicles registered in the country stood at 754,303, nearly 400 more than the 753,905 petrol vehicles registered.

Norway's strong interest in electric cars is primarily boosted by a number of incentives the Norwegian government has in place such as tax incentives, free travel in cities and the abundance of public chargers that offer free charging.

Kia EV6 gets a midlife facelift

Arguably, the EV6 still looks great for its age but that hasn't stopped Kia from giving it a mild facelift.

On the outside, the new EV6 looks almost identical to the old one until you get to the front where you'll find a sleek new headlight design layout as well as a new air vent under the license plate. There's also new alloy wheel designs for you to choose from if you're buying new.

Hop inside the cabin and you'll find that not much has changed here either except for the steering wheel, which looks similar to the one found on the upcoming EV3. The new steering wheel now also features hands-on detection, which will likely be a love or hate feature amongst drivers.

Going into the specs however, is where you'll find what Kia has been working on the most. Instead of a 77.4kWh battery found on the old EV6 (which was by no means a bad battery size), you get a new 84kWh battery which boosts the car's range from 328 miles to 362 miles. It charges faster at a rapid charger too, as it can now accept a charging rate of up to 350kW, allowing the EV6 to charge from 10 to 80% in under 20 minutes.

Trim levels remain the same as the old model (Air, GT-Line or GT-Line S) and start at £45,575.

Renault's performance PHEV comes out of hiding

Renault's Rafale now comes with a plug-in hybrid option that starts at £45,695 and comes with some performance-based additions from the French car maker's performance arm, Alpine.

Under the bonnet lies a 300hp powertrain with a 22kW battery and an additional 136hp rear axle-mounted electric motor, which enables the new Rafel to zoom from 0-62mph in just 6.4 seconds - that's a full 2.5 seconds quicker than its non-plug-in hybrid sibling. It does this all whilst offering an all-electric range of 65 miles.

Charging the new Rafel Phev using a dedicated home charging point should take just under 3 hours.

Polestar unveils plug and charge to make public charging even easier

Polestar 3 Drivers will soon be able to start a charge session at a public charging point without having to tap their payment card on a reader or use an app thanks to plug and charge support being rolled out. Allowing the vehicle to act as a digital wallet, compatible Polestar cars will be able to exchange payment details with the charging network as soon as the driver plugs in.

Although plug and charge is still in its infancy, Polestar claims that there are over 9,500 charging stations around the UK that support the technology with IONITY and Mer being the forerunners of rolling out support. Polestar 3 customers can access this feature through the app with support for the 2 and 4 to be rolled out later this year.

Want to know more about Plug and Charge? We have an article that explains all you need to know!

Blackpool becomes home to the UK's fastest EV charger

Credit: Lancashire post

A Shell Petrol station on Preston New Road in Blackpool has become home to the UK's first 480kW EV Charger, the fastest rapid charger in the country to date.

The charger is so fast in fact that it's also the first charge point to earn the title 'hyper rapid' by Zap-Map. While this 'hyper rapid' charger might seem impressive, there's actually no electric car on the market that supports its monstrously high charging speed. In fact, the only car that even comes slightly close to supporting the charge speed is the Lotus Electre, which can charge at a rate of up to 350kW.

To see how close your vehicle comes to charging at 480kW be sure to check out our electric car database.