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Volvo and Siemens rev up electric car venture

Swedish automaker Volvo Cars has teamed up with German industrial group Siemens to develop technology for electric vehicles, the companies announced said Wednesday.

Volvo and Siemens rev up electric car venture

“We are very happy to have Siemens as a partner. Their world-leading knowledge and experience will help bring the technology in our electric cars to a whole new level,” Volvo Cars CEO Stefan Jacoby said in a statement.

The two companies have formed a partnership that involves “extensive strategic cooperation” in electrical drive technology, power electronics and charging technology, a statement said.

The Volvo C30 electric car will serve as a test platform and early models will be on test tracks by the end of the year, it added.

By late 2012, Volvo is to deliver a test series of 200 vehicles to Siemens for testing under “real-life conditions.”

Financial details were not provided.

According to Jacoby, the companies hope to make quick progress working together.

“Our goal is to be the first with the latest electric motor technology,” he said, adding that the partnership increases Volvo’s chances of exploiting a “fast growing” market for electric cars.

“Both companies’ goals and core competencies in electric mobility are perfectly matched,” Siemens said, and the agreement provided the German group with a chance to take its electric drive technology to the auto market.

“Cooperation with Volvo is an important milestone in the development of top quality components and systems for electric cars subsequently intended for series production”, the statement quoted board member Siegfried Russwurm as saying.

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ELECTRIC CARS

Lower Danish taxes backed for home electric car charging

A commission appointed to facilitate conversion to electric cars in Denmark has said motorists should pay less tax for charging them at home.

Lower Danish taxes backed for home electric car charging
File photo: Emil Helms/Ritzau Scanpix

The so-called Car Commission (Bilkommission) has recommended that all private motorists should be offered a reduced tax rate on electricity of 0.8 øre per kilowatt hour when charging their vehicles.

Formed in 2019 to support efforts to increase the proportion of electric cars on Danish roads, the commission looks into how charging station infrastructure can be developed in a report released on Friday.

A previous report by the commission was released last year.

Under current rules, private consumers are allowed to pay the lower rate for electricity for use above 4000 kWh annually if their homes have pre-existing electric heating.

Homes on the heating grid or with gas heating are therefore likely to incur costs of 2,000-3,000 more annually if they charge electric cars at home, the report said.

As such, the commission has recommended a secondary meter for electricity consumption for charging cars.

However, the system could face difficulties enforcing and administrating, it said.

The cheapest way to charge an electric car is by using commercial charging stations, which are taxed at 0.4 øre per kWh.

That charged has been fixed until 2030 as part of reforms to Denmark’s car registration taxes designed to favour electric vehicles.

The commission said that this commercial advantage does not encourage motorists who drive more infrequently to switch to electric.

READ ALSO: How will Denmark's new transport proposal affect the cost of cars?

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