UK defence giant BAE Systems to axe almost 2,000 jobs

Yahoo – AFP, October 10, 2017

BAE faces slowing demand for the Eurofighter Typhoon jet, developed with the
 help of Italy's Finmeccanica and Airbus as part of a European consortium (AFP
Photo/SAUL LOEB)

London (AFP) - British military equipment maker BAE Systems said Tuesday it plans to cut almost 2,000 jobs, mainly owing to weaker demand for Hawk and Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets.

There will be cutbacks in BAE's military, maritime and intelligence services divisions under moves to streamline the group overall.

"To ensure production continuity at competitive costs... and based on the profile of currently contracted and expected aircraft deliveries, actions continue to be taken to reduce the group's current Typhoon and Hawk production rates," BAE said in a trading update.

"As a result, the group has today announced a proposal to reduce the workforce of the military air and information business by up to 1,400 roles."

Those job losses will fall across five sites over the next three years, including Warton and Samlesbury in northwestern England, where Eurofighter warplanes are assembled.

Approximately 375 redundancies will also hit BAE's maritime servicing and support business, mainly affecting Portsmouth on the south coast.

The company's cyber intelligence business in London and nearby Guildford will lose about 150 jobs.

BAE faces slowing demand for the Eurofighter Typhoon jet, developed with the help of Italy's Finmeccanica and Airbus as part of a European consortium.

At the same time, the group is easing back Hawk production ahead of an expected order from Qatar.

Most of the military air job cuts will go in 2018 and 2019, while BAE plans to achieve as many voluntary redundancies as possible.

"The organisational changes we are announcing today accelerate our evolution to a more streamlined... organisation, with a sharper competitive edge and a renewed focus on technology," wrote BAE chief executive Charles Woodburn.

"These actions will further strengthen our company as we deliver our strategy in a changing environment."

BAE's share price was down 0.2 percent in late morning deals on London's rising stock market following the announcement.

"Those actions are necessary and the right thing to do for our company, but unfortunately include proposed redundancies at a number of operations," Woodburn added.

"I recognise this will be difficult news for some of our employees."

Britain's biggest trade union Unite blasted the announcement as a "short-sighted" move that would hurt the country's defence capability.

"These planned job cuts will not only undermine Britain's sovereign defence capability, but devastate communities across the UK who rely on these skilled jobs and the hope of a decent future they give to future generations," said Unite assistant general secretary, Steve Turner.

"These devastatingly short-sighted cuts will harm communities, jobs and skills."

Epic world solar car race begins in Australia

Yahoo – AFP, October 8, 2017

An epic 3,000-kilometre (1,860-mile) solar car race across the desert heart of
Australia designed to showcase new technology that could one day help
develop commercial vehicles got underway Sunday. (AFP Photo/Scott Barbour)

Sydney (AFP) - An epic 3,000-kilometre (1,860-mile) solar car race across the desert heart of Australia designed to showcase new technology that could one day help develop commercial vehicles got underway Sunday.

The World Solar Challenge, first run in 1987 and last held in 2015, began in a high-tech, futuristic flurry from Darwin's State Square.

Dutch team Nuon is aiming to defend its title but Belgium's Punch Powertrain led the 41 cars -- powered by the sun and mostly developed by universities or corporations -- off on the punishing journey south to Adelaide after a surprise win in Saturday's time trial.

"We knew our car was good but we never expected pole because there are a lot of competitors over here, a lot of very fast looking cars," team manager Joachin Verheyen told reporters.

The event has become one of the world’s foremost innovation challenges with teams looking to demonstrate designs that could one day lead to commercially available solar-powered vehicles for passengers.

Google co-founder Larry Page and Tesla co-founder J B Straubel are past competitors who credit the event in influencing their careers.

The main action will be the streamlined Challenger class -- slick, single seat aerodynamic vehicles built for sustained endurance and total energy efficiency.

Crews are allowed to drive between 8am and 5pm each day and simply set up 

camp wherever their car pulls off the road at the end of the day. The first car to 

cross the line in Adelaide is the winner. (AFP Photo/Scott Barbour)

Dutch team Nuon crossed the finish line first two years ago, taking 33.03 hours to make the punishing trip ahead of Japan's Tokai University, the 2011 winner, in a nail-biting climax.

Both teams are again in the hunt this year, with cars from the United States, Australia, Malaysia, India and South Africa among competitors up against them.

There is also a Cruiser class which aims to showcase solar technology for mainstream vehicles that are more practical for day-to-day use.

Entrants come from Hong Kong, Singapore and even Iran.

"Of course, the point of this challenge is not just to go fast, or to develop technology that will never reach the mainstream," said event director Chris Selwood.

"Our founder, Hans Tholstrup, and competitors past and present, are all determined to make sustainable, energy positive, solar electric cars and renewable technology a reality."

Teams are allowed to store a small amount of energy but the majority of their power has to come from the sun and their vehicle's kinetic forces.

Crews are allowed to drive between 8am and 5pm each day and simply set up camp wherever their car pulls off the road at the end of the day. The first car to cross the line in Adelaide is the winner.

There are seven checkpoints along the route where drivers can get updates on their standings, the weather, and do basic maintenance -- clearing any debris from the car and adjusting tyre pressure.

Pile in, kids: Amsterdam gets electric family car sharing

DutchNews, October 5, 2017

Photo: Hyundai

Hyundai has launched an electric family car-sharing service in Amsterdam, reports the Volkskrant on Thursday. 

Frank Meijer, director of Hyundai Eco Car & Mobility, told the paper that they had chosen the Dutch capital to launch this new service, due to its high number of public charging points, high parking costs, and public receptiveness to car sharing. 

The idea is that anyone wanting to hire a car finds it from an on-street location via a smartphone app, using this to pay and open the doors. The Ioniq electric car costs 25 cents per minute, or 12 euros an hour and registration – which will cost 10 euros – is free within two weeks of the launch. 

According to a Hyundai press release online, ‘Amsterdam has more than 2,200 public charging points and the best infrastructure for electric cars in Europe. 

The new cars can take five people and their baggage, and go 280 kilometers thanks to a better battery than earlier electric car models. 

In an initial phase, 100 cars will be put on the streets, Meijer told the Volkskrant. ‘We will learn, and look at the business case.’ 

Car sharing firms such as Snappcar and Zipcar believe that in future many more people will use shared vehicles, allowing the overall number of cars in Europe to decrease. 

But academics such as Dr Gonçalo Homem de Almeida Correia, a specialist in sustainable transport at Delft University of Technology, has said that a lot depends on the attitudes of authorities, and that ‘a good public transport system can do much for the sustainability of a city’ than vehicle sharing.

Verstappen wins Malaysian F1 Grand Prix in Sepang swansong

Yahoo – AFP, Daniel HICKS, Oct 1, 2017

Red Bull's Dutch driver Max Verstappen (C) celebrates on the podium after winning
the Malaysian Formula One Grand Prix in Sepang on October 1, 2017 as second-placed
Lewis Hamilton (L) and Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo (R) look on (AFP Photo/
MANAN VATSYAYANA)

Sepang (Malaysia) (AFP) - Red Bull's Max Verstappen won the final running of the Malaysian Grand Prix on Sunday as Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton finished second to extend his championship lead over Sebastian Vettel to 34 points.

Verstappen, who celebrated his 20th birthday a day earlier, overtook pole-sitter Hamilton on lap four before clinching the second victory of his career and first this season.

Mercedes driver Hamilton finished second with Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo third and Vettel, who started at the back of the grid, fourth.

With five races to go, Hamilton is edging ever closer to the title but Ferrari had a weekend to forget, after Kimi Raikkonen didn't even make the starting grid and Vettel lost a rear wheel in a bizarre smash after the finish line.

Verstappen won by nearly 13 seconds from Hamilton to embellish what has been a tough season after he failed to finish seven races and only once reached the podium.

"The car was unbelievable, if I had to speed up I could. It was a very tough race and incredible to win," said the Dutchman.

Hamilton admitted the Mercedes had been second-best. "Big congratulations to Max and happy birthday, he did a fantastic job today," he said.

"The race was a tough one, obviously they just had the upper hand on us today... I feel good but I think we have some work to do with the car. Obviously we didn't have the pace this weekend."

Verstappen's Red Bull team-mate Ricciardo fought off a strong challenge from Vettel, who had started from the back following engine problems in qualifying.

"Seb came really quick at the end and I thought he was going to be a handful," said Ricciardo. "But he only had one strong attack and then we were able to pull away."

Ferrari's fortunes had dimmed when Kimi Raikkonen's car suffered a turbo failure before the start.

He was pushed back to the pit and the race was over before it had even begun for the former world champion, who had enjoyed his maiden win at Sepang in 2003.

'We ran out of tyres'

"Obviously we had some issue. I don't think any of us know what it is exactly. I'm pretty certain I would have had a very good car today," a disappointed Raikkonen told reporters.

Vettel, who led the championship until just a month ago, now has only five races left to overhaul Hamilton's big lead, starting next week in Japan.

"I think we have a very good car. If we start ahead, we win the race," he said. "We had a little bit of sniff at the podium but unfortunately we ran out of tyres."

Once past Hamilton, Verstappen started to pull away and by lap 14 he had a seven-second cushion.

Vettel was picking off the back markers with ease courtesy of his second new engine of the weekend, and emerged in fourth in front of Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas after they both pitted for new tyres.

As the top four entered the final 10 laps of the 56, Vettel set a new race lap record of 1min 33.864sec, smashing Juan Pablo Montoya's 2004 mark of 1:34.223, and was closing fast on Ricciardo's exhaust pipe.

Vettel made one daring attempt to grab the last podium spot up the inside of Ricciardo at the end of the pit straight with seven laps to go.

But the Australian closed him off and Vettel was forced to drop back and settle for fourth as his front tyres started to degrade.

The drama didn't end there as on his slow-down lap, Vettel collided with the Williams of Lance Stroll which left his Ferrari with one rear wheel on top of his car.

"That's impossible," Vettel thundered over the radio. "Stroll wasn't looking where he was going!"

It was the 19th and last Malaysian Grand Prix at steamy Sepang.

The race will disappear from the calendar after Malaysia's government decided it would no longer cover the $67 million a year cost of staging the loss-making event.

Max Verstappen celebrates his first Grand Prix win, taking the top spot in Spain
 on May 15, 2016 and becoming the youngest ever Formula One winner at 18 years
of age (AFP Photo/Lluis Gene)

Related Articles:

Verstappen becomes youngest ever F1 winner in Spain

"The Energy of the Future" - Dec 7, 2014 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (Text version)

“… The New 'Message' from Space

Let me tell you what the message is that is being communicated: Unlock to 44 percent! This is the message: The Human race has passed the marker and is ready for the next step in evolution. I am talking about the old soul. You are the ones who will be first to get this message. It is you, and some of your "old soul" children, who are starting to feel and accept this!

Let me tell you in this lesson today that the first thing that this unlocking will begin to create is what we're going to call Akashic acuity. You're going to start remembering, and it's about time. Can you celebrate this? It's about time that when you're born you don't start from scratch, in the dark, and doing everything all over again. Instead, you remember!

I want to talk to some individuals who are listening to this and are in this room. Have your grandchildren had the audacity to tell you who they used to be? Don't raise your hand; I know you're here. They feel it, and they know it, and out of the mouths of these babes come the most profound information that this planet has ever heard! They knew who they were! Some will point their fingers at you and say, “Don't you remember? I was your mum in another life.” That's a bit disconcerting, isn't it?

I want you to remember one of the premises of incarnation, the one that we have given you over and over. You incarnate in family groups. There's a reason for this, so there is comfort and joy. It's so you don't have to learn the energy of each related person, all over again, each time. The energies of the family stay together and you can accomplish more that way. There's always a benevolent reason for these things. Every single attribute of the esoteric system of life, whether it's your grids or reincarnation, is benevolent. Did you hear that? It's a beautiful system, and not random. It's not about judgment; it's not about punishment. It is, instead, about the love of God for you, and what I'm about to tell you is what is changing is energy.

Akashic Acuity

So we have established that you are moving into this new radiation, and we have established that it intersects the sun. The sun blasts your magnetic field with it (via the solar wind) and the magnetic field talks to your DNA. Suddenly, there is the potential some of your DNA is being unlocked. The attributes of unlocking Akashic acuity will help you to remember who you've been. Now, with this remembrance comes energy - not about who you were, but rather it gives you the energy of what you did. I don't mean physically; I mean energetically and mentally. Old souls carry with them experience. When you look into the eyes of a child, you're going to see wisdom just waiting to break out. Dear ones, these children are different. They are not going to go through what you did! They have a whole new set of issues, and most of their issues are trying to navigate the old issues you create for them!

There's something we brought up in a former channelling called the wisdom factor. Now, the wisdom factor is caused by Akashic acuity. After living Human life over and over, you start remembering the wisdom that you have gained through these past lifetimes. You don't necessarily remember who you were, but rather the fact that you were at all and the experiences you had. Imagine a child coming into the planet knowing how to read? Imagine a child coming into the planet knowing not to touch something hot? Where did it come from? You're going to see more of this, and a feeling of "been there, done that".

Akashic acuity is remembrance of experience during past lifetimes. As the child grows, that remembrance becomes pure wisdom. As the child starts to awaken and the pineal opens, something else happens. The grid starts talking to the child through the DNA, and in the grid is also the information from the time capsules we spoke about in past channellings. The time capsules start feeding the planet with increased wisdom and knowledge. You don't have to reincarnate to awaken even further! Akashic acuity means suddenly Humans know more than other children have in the past - much more. …”

Saudi university to open driving school for women

Yahoo – AFP, October 1, 2017

A Saudi woman drives her car along a street in the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah,
 on September 27, 2017 (AFP Photo/Reem BAESHEN)

Riyadh (AFP) - A university in Saudi Arabia has said it will open a driving school for women, in a first for the ultra-conservative country after a ban on women driving was lifted.

"Princess Nourah University is preparing to set up a driving school in cooperation with the relevant authorities," the women's university said on Saturday.

"This is the first such announcement following this week's order by King Salman to allow women to drive," it said.

Saudi Arabia on Tuesday said it would allow driving permits for women under a royal decree to take effect in June, sparking euphoria and disbelief among activists who long fought the ban.

The Gulf kingdom was the only country in the world to ban women from taking the wheel, and it was seen globally as a symbol of repression in the Gulf kingdom.

Princess Nourah University says it has more than 60,000 female students in Riyadh and other cities.

Tuesday's decision is expected to push women into the workforce and boost car sales, especially in the coming months before a scheduled imposition of a government value-added tax in January 2018.

Car makers including Nissan, Chevrolet and Ford have rushed to congratulate Saudi women, as millions of women are expected to hit the road in the kingdom in coming years.

Related Articles:

Saudi Arabia to allow women to drive: state media

Saudi to allow women into stadium for national day

Saudi police question woman who wore miniskirt in video

Fury at Saudi election to UN women's rights group

"Listening to the Voice of Spirit" (2) - Feb 20, 2016 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (DNA Efficiency is on average at 35 percent now) - (Text version)

“… With free choice, the percentage of DNA efficiently started to go down as humanity grew. As soon as the DNA started to lose percentage, the gender balance was dysfunctional. If you want to have a test of any society, anywhere on the planet, and you want to know the DNA percentage number [consciousness quota] as a society, there's an easy test: How do they perceive and treat their women? The higher the DNA functionality, the more the feminine divine is honored. This is the test! Different cultures create different DNA consciousness, even at the same time on the planet. So you can have a culture on Earth at 25 percent and one at 37 - and if you did, they would indeed clash. …”

“… You're at 35. There's an equality here, you're starting to see the dark and light, and it's changing everything. You take a look at history and you've come a long way, but it took a long time to get here. Dear ones, we've seen this process before and the snowball is rolling. There isn't anything in the way that's going to stop it. In the path of this snowball of higher consciousness are all kinds of things that will be run over and perish. Part of this is what you call "the establishment". Watch for some very big established things to fall over! The snowball will simply knock them down. …”

Modi, Abe get India's first bullet train going as ties deepen

Yahoo – AFP, Jalees ANDRABI, September 13, 2017

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japan's Shinzo Abe shake hands in front
of a Shinkansen bullet train during a 2016 meeting in Kobe (AFP Photo/JIJI PRESS)

New Delhi (AFP) - As India's premier Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe prepare to break ground on the country's first bullet train project Thursday, experts say the collaboration could signal a massive leap for its overburdened and deadly railways.

India's colonial-era rail network carries some 22 million passengers daily, making it one of the busiest in the world. But it is also among the most dangerous.

A government report published in 2012 said almost 15,000 people were killed every year in rail accidents, describing the deaths as an annual "massacre" due mainly to poor safety standards.

Modi has pledged to invest billions of dollars to modernise the country's crumbling railway infrastructure, which is plagued by delays, and the bullet train was one of his key election promises ahead of a landslide victory in 2014.

As New Delhi and Tokyo seek to forge closer ties to combat China's growing regional influence, the project offers a diplomatic and economic boost.

The premiers will lay the foundation for the bullet train network in the western city of Ahmedabad -- connecting Modi's home state of Gujarat with India's financial capital Mumbai.

Japan is a pioneer in high-speed rail transport -- with its Shinkansen bullet train ranked among the fastest in the world.

With projected top speeds of up to 350 kilometres (217 miles) an hour -- more than double the maximum speed offered by the fastest trains operating in India -- it will reduce travel time between the two cities from eight hours to at most three-and-a-half hours.

The new train, which will have a capacity of 750 passengers, is also expected to be safer than the country's creaking rail network, the world's fourth largest by distance.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (right) and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi 

visit Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad, on September 13, 2017 (AFP Photo/

PRAKASH SINGH)

'Balance China's hegemony'

Modi recently replaced his railway minister after a series of derailments, including one last month in which at least 23 people were killed in northern Uttar Pradesh state. Nearly 150 died in a similar accident in November.

The agreement for the 508-kilometre network was signed in 2016, with plans to make it operational by December 2023.

Nearly 85 percent of the total project cost of $19 billion will be provided by Tokyo in soft loans, with repayment over 50 years.

Abe's visit to Ahmedabad comes ahead of Modi's 67th birthday on Sunday and many have dubbed it as part of his practice of "birthday diplomacy".

The right-wing Hindu nationalist leader hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping in Gujarat on his birthday in 2014.

"India's relation with Japan is designed to balance China's hegemony," Rajrishi Singhal, a Mumbai-based independent policy consultant, told AFP.

India's crumbling rail infrastructure is in desperate need of modernisation, with 

a report in 2012 describing the 15,000 deaths on the network each year as a 

'massacre' (AFP Photo)

The two countries have close security ties and hold regular joint military exercises.

A proposed joint investment of billions of dollars in Africa is set to be the cornerstone of the relationship, Singhal said.

"India truly values the relationship with Japan and we look forward to further boosting our bilateral ties in a wide range of sectors," Modi tweeted Tuesday.

There are more than 1,500 Japanese companies in India, including auto major Suzuki, the largest car maker in the country.

The success of Suzuki and others transformed India's auto industry, which employs millions today.

Experts are pinning similar hopes on the bullet train project.

"Just like Suzuki changed India's car market and brought millions of jobs, the bullet train will change the entire industry," Singhal said.

With fossil fuel bans, e-cars shift into higher gear

Yahoo – AFP, Tangi QUEMENER, September 11, 2017

Chinese companies are betting big on electric cars, like the 'LeSEE' concept car
internet company LeEco Holdings Ltd unveiled in last year. (AFP Photo/STR)

Frankfurt am Main (AFP) - Beijing's announcement that it is considering joining France and Britain in banning petrol and diesel cars from its smog-clogged roads promises to accelerate a push towards electric vehicles -- a race in which Chinese carmakers have everything to gain.

As the global auto industry braces for a shake up, here's what you need to know.

What's it all about?

While France and Britain have said they plan to outlaw sales of new diesel and petrol cars by 2040, Beijing has not yet set a date for its proposed ban.

But if China, the world's largest car market, turns its back on fossil-fuel powered cars, it could change the auto industry forever.

With annual sales of some 24 million vehicles, China is home to one in every four new cars on the planet. By 2024, analysts at AlixPartners forecast sales will climb to 42 million annually, accounting for 36 percent of the global market.

By comparison, France and Britain each record sales of some two million new cars per year.

"If China says no more ICE (internal combustion engine), the rest of the world will follow because the rest of the world can't lose China's market. It's too big," says Bill Russo, managing director of Gao Feng Advisory Group in Shanghai.

The mooted driving bans promise to be a hot topic of discussion at the Frankfurt International Motor Show (IAA) this week, Europe's top industry showcase.

What does it mean for carmakers in China?

By law, foreign carmakers are required to team up with Chinese companies if they want to do business in the country.

With China also mulling quotas for electric vehicles -- another move that could jolt the industry, traditional auto giants from Europe, the United States and Japan have no time to waste in expanding their ranges of hybrid and electric cars, experts say.

The benefit from electric cars will depend in part how electricity is generated. 

(AFP Photo/FRED DUFOUR)

"European carmakers will have to step up their efforts in electric vehicles if they don't want to be chased out of the market, because their current offerings are insufficient," says analyst Stefan Bratzel, head of Germany's Center of Automotive Management.

Electric cars only account for 1.7 percent of total sales in China at the moment, but spurred by government incentives the figure has been growing steadily and could skyrocket in coming years.

Chinese carmakers have bet big on the cleaner engines of the future, and account for 96 percent of electric vehicles sold in the country -- compared to a market share of just 43 percent in the traditional car sector.

Anticipating the industry revolution, Chinese firms already dominate the production of electric motors and batteries. "This poses a real problem for the European industry," says Laurent Petizon of AlixPartners.

The era of the combustion engine "will end on a time schedule where China can assure itself that its own domestic carmakers are capable of delivering the solution they would like to see on the road," Russo predicts.

Is this good news for the environment?

Not necessarily. While pedestrians and cyclists in pollution-plagued mega-cities may breathe easier around the purring of electric cars, how 'green' the vehicles are depends on how clean the manufacturing process was.

In China, fossil fuel plants with their climate-altering carbon emissions still power the bulk of the country's factories.

Promising to clean up its act, the government has said it wants 20 percent of Chinese power consumption to come from low-emission energy by 2030, up from 11 percent currently.

In France, which derives 75 percent of its energy from nuclear power, a massive switch towards electric cars would theoretically translate in a significant reduction of harmful carbon emissions.

Any electric car boom will also bring scrutiny to the environmental footprint of battery production, from the extraction of raw materials like lithium to the complex recycling of toxic components.

Graph illustrating the rising trend in sales of #electricvehicles worldwide since 2012, with China leading the way https://t.co/7gwKpElsyQ pic.twitter.com/Rd4Elnail5

— AFP news agency (@AFP) September 13, 2017

Daimler to offer electrified versions of all Mercedes 'by 2022'

Yahoo – AFP,  11 September 2017

Every Daimler will have its electric or hybrid version

The world's largest luxury carmaker Daimler plans to offer an electric or hybrid version of every Mercedes-Benz model within five years, its chief executive said Monday.

"By 2022, we'll have the entire Mercedes-Benz product portfolio in electrified version as well, to offer a maximum of choices for our consumers," CEO Dieter Zetsche told investors. "The time is right."

Daimler's announcement comes as the IAA international car show gets underway in Frankfurt this week, where more than 200 new cars will have their world premiere.

The change will mean more than 50 vehicles bearing the Mercedes three-pointed star boast all-electric or hybrid drive.

With ever-more-capacious batteries and falling costs, it was "realistic to expect that by 2025, an electric driveline could be in the range of the cost of a combustion engine driveline," Zetsche said.

Meanwhile, Daimler will only offer fully electric versions of its Smart city cars by 2020 -- "the first conventional car brand that will offer its entire portfolio with e-drive only," he added.

The electric transformation at Daimler won't happen at the flick of a switch.

Executives aim to find some 4.0 billion euros ($4.8 billion) of savings to maintain the 10-percent margin Daimler achieved in 2016 and 2017 -- despite lower profitability from electric cars.

Electric vehicles only offer "half the margin of an ordinary car," financial director Frank Lindenberg said.

But Germany's automakers have been rattled by a diesel emissions cheating scandal, which has so far cost the world's largest car firm Volkswagen more than 20 billion euros.

Suspicion has since fallen on other manufacturers, including Daimler.

And executives and politicians have scrambled to avoid draconian measures to reduce air pollution, including mooted diesel driving bans in some cities.

While the worst appears averted for now, most in Germany agree combustion engines are living on borrowed time as a "bridge technology" to future emissions-free vehicles.

European economic heavyweights France and Britain announced this year they plan to ban combustion engines from 2040.

And a surprise announcement from China -- the world's biggest car market -- that it was mulling a ban of its own has ramped up the pressure for carmakers, although Beijing has yet to name a firm date.

Electric cars catch on in Dutch company lease fleets

DutchNews, September 7, 2017

Part of the HaskoningDHV fleet. Photo: Royal HaskoningDHV

Large companies in the Netherlands are moving over to electric cars, according to a report in the Financieele Daglad on Thursday. 

Engineering group Royal HaskoningDHV said on Thursday that its fleet of 500 leased cars would be 100% electric by 2021. Energy companies Nuon and Eneco are also moving towards an all-electric fleet while phone, TV and internet company KPN will have only cars which operate on biogas, hydrogen or electricity from 2025. 

Sales of fully-electric cars severely lag behind those of conventional vehicles. in the first six months of this year, 240,000 cars running on petrol, diesel or LPG were sold in the Netherlands, compared to only 3,634 all-electric cars. 

Nevertheless electric car sales were up 90% on the 2016 period.

Related Article:

Dutch state has two weeks to publish clean air plan, court rules

Post-Harvey Houston faces a car crunch

MSN – AFP, Thomas B. Shea, 6 Sep 2017

As Houston residents contend with flooded homes and lost belongings in the upheaval left in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, many face another urgent priority: getting a new car.

Having a vehicle is a necessity in the sprawling Texas metropolis with few public transportation options.

But as many as a half million cars were washed away or irreparably deluged after the storm dumped a year's worth of water on the city in a matter of days.

Local auto dealerships that survived the storm are reporting brisk business as Harvey's victims seek an essential tool for traversing a city that was built for the automobile and features two massive highway loops that surround the downtown.

"There is a high demand going on now," said Ezequiel Zepeda, a salesman at Houston Direct Auto, a used car company.

Zepeda these days is juggling a torrent of incoming calls and a perpetually full voice mail from residents as well as from workers with non-governmental groups and rescue organizations such as the Red Cross.

"I had a couple come in earlier and both of them bought a vehicle, which doesn't happen often," he told AFP. "I have customers even before I get to work."

Prices of cars have held steady for those already in Zepeda's lot prior to Harvey because many became wet, but did not suffer damage. But Zepeda has boosted prices on many vehicles acquired after the storm due to spiking demand.

More car casualties than Katrina

Major hurricanes like Harvey usually result in numerous car losses, but the toll is expected to be even bigger than other catastrophic storms in recent years.

Appraisal firm Black Book estimates about 500,000 cars will need to be replaced due to Harvey, double the more than the 250,000 hit by Hurricane Sandy in the New York region in 2012, and the 200,000 pummeled by Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf coast in 2005, according to Cox Automotive.

That could give Detroit a boost at a time when the American car industry is feeling the effects of a cooling North American auto boom. But analysts do not expect to see the impact immediately in car industry financials.

"When it does occur, (it) is likely to be greater than was the case with Sandy, because more vehicles are estimated to have been damaged this time around," said Ryan Brinkman, an auto industry analyst at JPMorgan Chase.

Around 150,000 people already have notified insurers of losses, but far more filings are expected, according to the Insurance Council of Texas.

"It might take weeks for victims to be compensated because of the inability to reach or even locate some vehicles," said Mark Hanna, a spokesman for the Insurance Council of Texas, who estimates the total economic impact at $2 billion.

Typical insurance policies allow holders to purchase a small car if their vehicle is damaged in a storm, or receive reimbursement for a rental, Hanna said.

Rental car giant Avis has waived late and extension fees in the hurricane-ravaged area.

"We are moving vehicles into the affected areas as quickly as possible to increase inventory to meet our customers' needs," said Katie McCall, a spokeswoman at Avis Budget Group.

Ford is offering $1,000 rebates for the purchase of new cars.

Some will go without

Unsurprisingly, car purchases are easiest for those buyers who don't need to line up financing, or await an insurance payout.

"If there's a cash deal, I show them the vehicle, they sign the contract and 45 minutes later they walk out the door with the vehicle," said Zepeda.

But some Houstonians will no doubt go carless as they await insurance payouts while putting any available cash into vital home repairs.

"There will be thousands that will be unable to replace their cars immediately," said Andrea French, executive director of TAG Houston, a non-governmental organization that advocates for more public transit solutions.

That could boost the odds that more consumers opt to go into the "black market" of used cars that are not insured, which already accounts for about 15 percent of the Texas market, she said.

Former VW engineer gets 40 months in 'dieselgate' scandal

Yahoo – AFP, August 25, 2017

A US court on Friday sentenced a former Volkswagen engineer to nearly three
and a half years in prison for his role in the company's emissions cheating
scandal (AFP Photo/PAUL J. RICHARDS)

Detroit (AFP) - A US court on Friday sentenced a former Volkswagen engineer to nearly three and a half years in prison for his role in the company's emissions cheating scandal.

James Robert Liang was sentenced to 40 months in prison and ordered to pay a $200,000 fine after pleading guilty to charges he conspired to defraud the United States and violate the Clean Air Act, the court announced.

The sentencing comes several weeks after former VW executive Oliver Schmidt pleaded guilty to fraud and conspiracy charges in the "dieselgate" matter, which has brought one of the world's to auto makers into disgrace.

Liang was also ordered to serve two years of supervised release upon his release from prison, according to a spokesman for the US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

However, US authorities may choose to deport Liang to Germany once he is released, the spokesman said.

The sentence was significantly harsher than what prosecutors had recommended.

In exchange for Liang's cooperation, Justice Department officials had recommended a sentence of only three years and a fine of just $20,000.

A lawyer for Liang had instead asked for a year of probation and home confinement, noting that Liang's cooperation had resulted in criminal charges against three other defendants.

Liang pleaded guilty in September to a role in a nine-year conspiracy to develop devices that hid emissions harmful nitrogen oxide during pollution tests on Volkswagen's diesel-power cars.

The company has set aside more than $24 billion to cover the fines and compensation in the scandal, in which it admitted in 2015 to equipping about 11 million cars worldwide with so-called defeat devices to mask emissions.