Maarten Vinkhuyzen, Author at CleanTechnica

The 2024 European Car Of The Year Is The Renault Scenic

Mon, 26 Feb 2024 22:40:04 +0000

What makes a European Car of the Year? First, it should be new on the market in the 12 months prior to the date of the title. However, I do not know whether that is the 12 months prior to 2024 in the name of the title, or the 12 ... [continued]

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Fastned: More Money In, Less Money Out

Tue, 26 Sep 2023 15:55:19 +0000

Positive Cash Flow for Fastned In the recent H1-2023 financial report from Fastned, there was one news item I had been waiting for. I knew it was coming, it was unavoidable, and it would be a huge line to cross. That item was positive cash flow that enables Fastned to ... [continued]

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The XEV YOYO Is The Real Electric Urban Runaround

Tue, 26 Sep 2023 11:25:12 +0000

XEV is an Italian startup that has designed the real urban runaround. It is a lightweight electric two-seater. It is perfect for city driving at up to 50 km/h (31 mph). Accelerating to 60 km/h (37 mph) is possible, but not sporty. For visiting the countryside, the country roads outside ... [continued]

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Renault Scenic — The Return Of An Icon

Sat, 23 Sep 2023 21:29:24 +0000

When the Renault Scenic was launched over 25 years ago, it was a sensation. It became an icon instantaneously. It was the first of a new class of cars — the small family car, a mini MPV based on a normal sedan underpinning. Later, the term “crossover” came into vogue. ... [continued]

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Why EV Batteries Keep Getting Cheaper & Cleaner

Mon, 18 Sep 2023 00:05:47 +0000

There are still many people in the automotive industry and many policymakers who hold doubts about the future of fully battery electric vehicles (BEV). They do not know why EV batteries keep getting cheaper and cleaner, and they do not see why they will become truly abundant. The thought is ... [continued]

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We Need A Cash For Stinkers Program

Mon, 28 Aug 2023 16:35:10 +0000

Just like the Cash for Clunkers program during the financial crisis, a “Cash for Stinkers” program is needed to battle the climate crisis. Cash for Clunkers was designed to increase new car sales and, in the meantime, put more fuel-efficient vehicles on the road. Similarly, Cash for Stinkers’ goal would ... [continued]

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XPeng P7 Sedan — First Impression

Sun, 27 Aug 2023 16:47:41 +0000

After a year of preparations, XPeng is ready to start deliveries of its vehicles in Europe. Initially, there was a careful start in Norway with the XPeng P7 sedan and the XPeng G9 SUV. Now, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg are next. The rest of Europe will follow, ... [continued]

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Guided by Fear of the Unknown — Ship Ablaze, The BEV Has Done It

Fri, 28 Jul 2023 22:45:31 +0000

Guided by fear of the unknown, the news about a ship ablaze is that the BEV aboard is the cause or likely cause. And only better news sources are not convinced that the BEV must be the cause. Just beyond the Dutch coasts, in the shipping lane north of the ... [continued]

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Volvo EX30 Introduction — By The Numbers

Wed, 14 Jun 2023 16:39:44 +0000

This introduction of the Volvo EX30, by the numbers, tries to add some perspective to this new model — showing what this new model is and what it is not. When presented to the world, it was described in superlatives and adjectives. In the presentation, there were few concrete facts. ... [continued]

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Introducing the Fisker Ocean — I Am Sold

Thu, 01 Jun 2023 01:30:52 +0000

The Fisker Ocean surprised me. I am sold. When sitting in a show model at the Nordic EV Summit in Oslo, I expected to sit in an SUV starting at around $100,000 (€94,000). Now I see price ranges of $37,500 to $76,000, or for me in the Dutch market, €42,000 ... [continued]

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In A Decarbonized World, Will Freedom Of Mobility Be Affordable To A Happy Few Only?

Thu, 04 May 2023 11:40:08 +0000

The question “In a Decarbonized World, Will Freedom of Mobility Be Affordable to a Happy Few Only?” was the topic of the first Freedom of Mobility Forum debate. This was a debate between intelligent, well informed, very opinionated people who regretfully used the debate to talk about their mobility-related hobby-horses ... [continued]

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The World Is Headed To 70% BEV Sales By 2030

Tue, 02 May 2023 23:01:38 +0000

That the world is headed to 70% BEV sales by 2030 is likely. It is based on the expectations of some carmakers and some simple math. I got to thinking about it after reading the article by Steve Hanley “IEA Predicts Electric Vehicle Sales Will Rise 35% This Year.” It ... [continued]

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Fastned, Grow As Fast As You Can — Avoid Making Profits As Long As You Can

Sat, 15 Apr 2023 08:00:32 +0000

Fastned annual report 2022 was so good it makes me eager for the 2023 report.

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1st Quarter Dutch BEV Sales Above Expectations, 25.5% Market Share

Wed, 12 Apr 2023 03:08:18 +0000

Traditionally, Dutch BEV sales show a spike in the last quarter of the year. This is followed by a trench in the first quarter. Sales of fossil fuel vehicles follow the opposite trend. Low sales in the last quarter followed by high sales in the first quarter. The current quarter ... [continued]

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Maarten Reviews 13 Top New-ish Electric Vehicles In Europe

Mon, 10 Apr 2023 03:57:02 +0000

The European fully electric car market saw many new models in 2020 and the start of 2021. This was a result of the new EU regulation on Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE). I’ve been trying to explore and test drive as many of these as possible. Here’s a quick summary ... [continued]

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Tesla Master Plan Part III Is Published … & Misunderstood

Sat, 08 Apr 2023 03:36:37 +0000

On the website of our our colleagues at Inside EVs, I encountered an article about Tesla Master Plan III. Thanks, Dan Mihalascu, I was not yet aware of the publication before that. But I am sorry to pop the bubble. The two pages you focus on are misinterpreted, just like ... [continued]

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Kia EV6 Introduction

Fri, 07 Apr 2023 18:13:57 +0000

In our ongoing review of top electric cars available in Europe, here’s a short summary of the Kia EV6 and its specs. Intro Long, long ago in a country far, far away, two carmakers believing in fairytales about the future of the automotive industry (like all other carmakers were) designed ... [continued]

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European Charging Infrastructure A Long Way From Great

Tue, 07 Mar 2023 05:10:27 +0000

Looking at the charging infrastructure in Europe is not something that makes me happy. A new website shows just how bad the situation is. I live in the Netherlands. That is the world’s charging paradise. Norway has the most fully electric cars, but charging electric cars is least problematic for ... [continued]

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Minority German Party Tries To Block EU Rule To Go 100% BEV By 2035

Sun, 05 Mar 2023 17:30:14 +0000

While Volkswagen Group plans to go all electric by 2033 in the EU, some German drivers and BMW would like to keep their tailpipe polluters. After agreeing to the EU regulation to ban internal combustion light vehicles by 2035, the FDP, the smallest member of the German governing coalition, is ... [continued]

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Tesla Investor Day Epilogue: Why There Was No News

Thu, 02 Mar 2023 14:03:45 +0000

Before the much awaited Tesla Investor Day on March the 1, 2023, in Austin, Texas, there was much speculation about the revelations that would come from Tesla and Elon Musk. On all previous such occasions, like Battery Day and AI Days, we were served with a clear state of development ... [continued]

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Tesla Secret Masterplan #3 Leaking Event

Thu, 02 Mar 2023 02:34:59 +0000

Tesla had an Investor Day event at its gigafactory in Austin, TX, today. Somehow, during this event, Secret Master Plan #3 got leaked to some people. It even appeared on a website that did not understand the nondisclosure agreement (NDA). Or is there some ambiguity in “secret.” The writer says ... [continued]

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Dutch BEV Sales Back On Growth Trajectory — 89% Growth

Thu, 02 Mar 2023 01:38:00 +0000

After the stagnation during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic and the following supply chain problems, Dutch BEV sales are back on a growth trajectory. The annual end-of-year spike caused by the lowering of incentives of previous years was hardly present due to very small incentive adjustments. As a consequence, ... [continued]

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Volkswagen ID.5 Introduction

Thu, 02 Feb 2023 04:50:55 +0000

I am among the simple minds that think the ID.5 should have been called the ID.4 sportback or ID.4 coupe. I think that is much clearer to the public. A higher number signals a bigger car. The ID.5 should have been the number for the ID.# successor to the VW ... [continued]

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BMW iX Introduction

Tue, 31 Jan 2023 10:00:34 +0000

The BMW iX got the introduction as the iX to tell the world BMW’s serious in making real BEVs for its best selling SUV models. Now there is an iX1 and an iX3 that are not really freshly designed fully electric models. The iX is a blank sheet design, but ... [continued]

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BMW i4 Introduction

Tue, 31 Jan 2023 06:00:05 +0000

After an early start with the i3 and i8, BMW thought that it could win the competition with Tesla with its fantastic PHEVs. The company learned otherwise, and after a few conversion jobs, like the iX3, it now has clean-sheet BEV designs. The i4 and iX are the first results ... [continued]

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Cupra Born Introduction

Mon, 30 Jan 2023 21:10:33 +0000

The Cupra Born needs an introduction. It is a new brand with a new model. Cupra is really a sub-brand of SEAT, one of the Volkswagen Group brands. SEAT is a brand for younger, more fun loving customers — at least, judging by the marketing materials. Cupra is its sporty ... [continued]

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NIO ES8 Review — 1st impressions

Mon, 30 Jan 2023 00:56:03 +0000

I wrote a long article about NIO in the summer 2022. I had visited NIO and the NIO House in Oslo in the spring. While most of the visit was a conference about NIO, the next day we did have the opportunity to drive and use the battery swap station ... [continued]

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Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV Introduction

Sat, 28 Jan 2023 21:57:17 +0000

With the Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV introduction, we see the newest branch on the growing tree of fully electric EQx cars. As one can expect of an S-Class Mercedes, the EQS is big. It looks in no way anything like the sleek, elegant EQS saloon of which I wrote a 1st ... [continued]

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Mercedes-Benz EQB Introduction

Fri, 27 Jan 2023 20:48:45 +0000

The Mercedes-Benz EQB is called a crossover SUV (a body type that used to be called an MPV). You could say it has a bit more ground clearance and a little less head room than an MPV, and it is based on the GLB, so it is an SUV. But ... [continued]

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An Automatic Transmission BEVs Can Really Use

Thu, 19 Jan 2023 04:57:06 +0000

When visiting the IAA transportation auto show in Hanover, Germany, I saw an old friend. On the stand of Bosch, there was this tiny part with an opened interior — the way they sometimes show the inner workings of machinery. Doubting my eye, I lowered my head to look closer, ... [continued]

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100 Best Selling BEVs in 10 European Countries

Sun, 08 Jan 2023 22:09:07 +0000

By Maarten Vinkhuyzen and Zach Shahan Because we never have enough statistics, here’s another list of top selling electric vehicles — this one showing the 100 best selling BEVs in 10 European countries (combined) in 2022. We thought it would be a bit fun to look deeper down the roster ... [continued]

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Renault’s Hydrogen Fantasy Debunked

Tue, 03 Jan 2023 19:35:39 +0000

Renault’s hydrogen concept car is a fantasy that needs to be debunked. The concept is to make a c-segment MPV / SUV with a smallish battery (40kWh) and a hydrogen fuel cell range extender that can add an extra 500 miles of range using a 15 kW fuel cell. This ... [continued]

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Renault Megane E-Tech Electric Review — 1st Impressions

Tue, 03 Jan 2023 03:50:43 +0000

Renault does not need an introduction. It started working towards electric mobility in earnest over two decades ago. Yep, that is before Tesla was founded. At the gatherings of the Earth’s mighty, like the famous one in Davos, its CEO was announced as “Mister EV.” Its Zoe model was the ... [continued]

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Volvo C40 Recharge Review — 1st Impressions

Mon, 02 Jan 2023 19:55:04 +0000

As the first “mainstream” automaker to commit to going to an all-electric lineup in 2017, when the company announced that all new vehicles introduced from 2019 onward would have an all-electric variant, Volvo was one of the leaders of the current EV transition. Currently, every Volvo sold in North America ... [continued]

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MG5 Station Wagon EV Long Range Review — 1st Impressions

Mon, 02 Jan 2023 01:08:41 +0000

MG is an old British sports car brand. It was famous for its open two-seat roadsters. It was born at Morris Garage in the 1920s, one of the many Morris companies dealing with making, selling, and servicing cars and car parts. It merged into Morris Group, Austin-Morris, British Leyland, and ... [continued]

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Awesome Dutch BEV Sales in 2023

Sat, 31 Dec 2022 23:45:59 +0000

For our European readers, this is not news, but for many of our North American readers, this is still a bit of a mystery. Two-thirds of Dutch new car sales are company cars of the benefit in kind (BiK) type. These normally have a contract period of 3 to 4 ... [continued]

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BYD Atto 3 Review — 1st Impressions

Thu, 29 Dec 2022 17:40:16 +0000

BYD Atto 3 — Intro This BYD Atto 3 review is about the export version of China’s BYD Yuan Plus. BYD is a Chinese conglomerate that started out as a battery maker. It diversified into carmaking, and when the EV revolution started, BYD was among the first to convert some ... [continued]

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Mercedes EQS Review — Maarten’s 1st Impressions

Thu, 29 Dec 2022 15:58:13 +0000

The Mercedes S-Class does not need an introduction. For half a century, it has been the top-of-the-line mode from the Mercedes-Benz group of models. It is the “mass-market” luxury car segment just below Rolls-Royce, Bentley, and the likes. The S-Class is the first generation that brings new Mercedes-Benz options and ... [continued]

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Shockingly Incompetent Car Journalists Are Choosing European Car Of The Year 2023

Thu, 29 Dec 2022 03:41:06 +0000

The crème de la crème of European car journalists have made a shortlist for the 2023 European Car of the Year competition, demonstrating that they are a bunch of shockingly incompetent car journalists. What they did was look at buggies to compete with the T-Ford in the market a century ... [continued]

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Mercedes-Benz eVito Review — 1st Impressions

Sat, 10 Dec 2022 18:15:42 +0000

In Europe, vans are essentially what pickup trucks are in the USA. We even had a period with double-cabin trucks with smallish cargo space that were used as private cars, before the SUV/CUV craze made them a better alternative. Not having vans from Audi, BMW, or Porsche, the vans from ... [continued]

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European Company Car Market Goes Green

Thu, 08 Dec 2022 17:02:28 +0000

In Europe, the company car market is a lot bigger than in the USA. What the market is in China, I honestly do not know, so this article is for our European and North American readers. For historical reasons, good or bad, there is a huge company car market in ... [continued]

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The Airline Industry Is Greenwashing Its Reaction To Climate Crisis

Wed, 07 Dec 2022 16:15:44 +0000

In the EU, the discussion started to bring all flights departing from EU airfields under the ETS (Emission Trading System), the EU-wide carbon tax on CO2 produced by industries. Currently, only the airline industry’s flights departing to a destination within the EU are under the ETS system. By bringing all ... [continued]

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Why I Voted For The Ford F-150 Lightning For CleanTechnica Car Of The Year

Sat, 12 Nov 2022 13:30:53 +0000

We are in the last days of the CleanTechnica Car of the Year election. When I heard that Ford was going to create a battery-electric F-150, I thought it shifted the EV world. A day later I heard Rachel Maddow, in her own unique way, make about the same argument. ... [continued]

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Fastned Grows Too Fast

Fri, 21 Oct 2022 14:02:34 +0000

(Readers be warned, this article contains some “tongue in cheek” lines) Last Tuesday, Oct. the 11th, Fastned published its 3rd quarter results. The slides are here, and the webcast is available for replay here. As preparation, I visited some investor advice sites. That was probably a stupid thing to do. ... [continued]

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Renault Twingo ZE First Impressions — Good Looking Second Car

Fri, 21 Oct 2022 03:56:59 +0000

First, a comment for our American readers. What many American readers don’t realize when reading reviews by Europeans about European fully electric cars is the big difference between European ICE vehicles and American ICE vehicles. In Europe, most drivers, especially those from smaller cars, will only have experience with manual ... [continued]

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