Katie Melua sang about “9 million bicycles in Beijing” in a catchy yet irritating song that replays relentless in your head; perhaps she should revise the song lyrics to “there are 120 million electric bikes in China” considering the increasing popularity of the motorised 2-wheelers. According to estimates, 1 out of 5 bicycles in China has a battery, and the numbers are higher in urban areas.
It played out like a scene out of a thriller movie: Code names and secret meetings at remote locations; business suits conspiring together, all in the name of greed. It’s not a work of fiction though; this is real life.
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has announced their plans to contribute to a reported GBP100 million new research and development facility based at Warwick University. The National Automotive Campus (NAIC), as it will be called, is set to be opened by 2016 and it is here that JLR aims to create the next generation of vehicle technology.
The next time you rent a car in California, it could be an Electric Vehicle (EV). In fact, it could be a Tesla S Performance as Hertz, the international rent-a-car company, is now offering the range-topping Tesla in a couple of its Californian locations.
Automology’s columnist, MAC, continues to weigh in on ‘greener’ alternatives.
Not a lot of people know this, but good old Henry Ford ran his cars on ethanol and Rudolf Diesel fired his namesake engine with peanut oil. So, how come both became addicted to ‘rock oil’? To put it simply, they both discovered that with a little refining, you got a better bang for your buck from the stored sunshine in petroleum products.
This week has seen some significant developments for X-1R in mainland China. After being invited to visit a major Chinese vehicle manufacturer, X-1R Malaysia, the headquarters for the Asian region, has been given the green light to supply products for their manufacturing division and chain of 4S service centres in China.