We Obsessively Cover the Green Scene…

For Hyundai, the fuel cell market is a global affair. Built in Korea and launching now in Europe, Hyundai's first production hydrogen vehicle is the ix35 Fuel Cell, a CUV that will be known as the Tucson Fuel Cell when it comes to the US. As hydrogen vehicles become more and more a real thing for Hyundai – and other automakers – we thought we'd ask how things look through the company's fuel cell prism. So we asked Miles Johnson, Hyundai's senior manager of midwest product public relations, to run us through the automaker's thoughts on building hydrogen cars for the US.

It's clear Hyundai firmly believes in hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs), despite two big hurdles: refueling infrastructure and cost. The company's first FCEV is expensive, but Johnson said that Hyundai is working on getting the price down to an "affordable price" as it gets ready for mass production and consumer retail "beyond 2015." FCEVs are getting a bit assist in Korea, where the government offers an incentive that cuts the "upgrade cost" in half. Governments in Europe are also providing financial assistance for FCEVs and refueling stations.

Johnson admits "infrastructure development in the US has been slow, thereby limiting any potential [FCEV] demand." To figure out how many H2 Tucsons to potentially bring to the US, Hyundai is currently "investigating potential demand ... in the US market, particularly in California, where most of the H2 refueling infrastructure development has taken place."

You can read Johnson's full brief below.

Getting Some Answers About This Often Confusing EV Program

The E-Tron name has been applied to at least a dozen concepts, test vehicles and rumors over the past four years.

If we take a quick look back in history, we realize that the first time Audi mentioned the name E-Tron to the public was all the way back in 2009. Back then, the name was applied to an entire concept car, called simply the E-Tron, which was an R8 converted to an electric vehicle with a big battery pack and some powerful electric motors. It was a supercar for the plug-in set, and it went over so well that Tony Stark drove one in Iron Man 3 this year. With that kind of publicity for the marquee E-Tron, it's confusing that the E-Tron name has been applied to a seemingly endless stream of concepts, test vehicles and rumors over the past four years. At least a dozen, by our count.

There was the original R8 E-Tron, an A3 Sportback E-Tron (EV and PHEV versions), the R18 E-Tron Quattro racecar, an all-electric A2 E-Tron concept, an A6 L E-Tron PHEV that was shown off in Beijing and rumors of A4 and Q7 E-Tron Quattros. Then we had the E-Tron spyder concept and the city E-Tron concept, as well as news of an A5 E-Tron Quattro plug-in hybrid. And then there's the A1 E-Tron plug-in hybrid that is being tested in Germany. Got all that?

Audi is finally getting ready to take the E-Tron name out of the movies and the auto show circuit and start putting plug-in cars in customer driveways. As it gears up for the launch of the first E-Tron – the A3 Sportback E-Tron, coming in 2014 – we flew to Berlin to find out what's taken so long, and what's coming next.

The Mia Electric three-seat minibus will debut in the UK this summer, and the cool thing is that the seats won't need to be switched for right-hand drive.

The made-in-France Mia, which debuted in 2010 and began service in a car-sharing program in France's Poitou-Charentes last year, will be imported to the UK by Venture Automotive Holdings Ltd. for fleet sales. The odd little EV, which has 16 horsepower and a 74-mile single-charge range from two Lithium Ion Phosphate (LiFePO4) batteries, is being promoted as a way for drivers to avoid London's Congestion Charge, which will allow plug-ins to be exempted from fees starting next month.

The funky little car has a single center driving seat in front (hence the right-hand drive non-issue) as well as sliding doors. Prices will start in the UK at £16,995 ($26,675 US). Check out Mia's press release below.

Think of it as a BMW-General Motors combo for the Combo. The two automakers have worked together to ensure that the BMW i3 and the Chevrolet Spark Electric will be the first two US vehicles to be compatible with the recently developed Society of Automotive Engineers' (SAE) so-called fast-charging "Combo" standard

Bimmer and the General collaborated on getting their upcoming EVs to conform to the fast-charging standard that will allow for both AC and DC charging in the same port. ABB and Eaton are among the component suppliers that worked on the new system.

BMW says the Combo system will allow for fast charging that will allow for the i3 to be 80 percent recharged in about 20 minutes. The i3 will be BMW's first production EV when deliveries start later this year, while Chevy is set to debut the Spark EV (pictured) this month.

Last fall, the SAE finalized the technical standards for the Combo system that's been embraced by US and European plug-in vehicle makers. Meanwhile, Japanese plug-in vehicle makers are backing the competing CHAdeMO standard, as you can read here. Check out BMW's press release and a video from GM below.

Former NBA great Shaquille O'Neal retired with a career scoring average of 23.7 points per game. And like Shaq's scoring average, the new-vehicle fleetwide fuel economy mpg number doesn't want to budge, either.

May was the third straight month that fleetwide fuel economy stayed at 23.7 miles per gallon, according to TrueCar. That's a monthly record, but year-over-year, fuel economy was up 0.6 mpg, with Nissan and Chrysler having particularly strong gains. As countries go, cars made in South Korea had a 27.2 mpg average last month while Americans came in at a global low of 21.9 mpg. Check out TrueCar's press release below.

In March, the US Environmental Protection Agency, using a different set of standards, reported that 2012 fleetwide fuel economy reached an annual record of 23.8 mpg, rising 1.4 mpg in the process.

Germany-based Bosch will install wireless charging stations at the homes of Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Volt drivers for about $3,000 each, implying that a wireless system is worth about $2,500 in convenience compared to cord systems, Plug In Cars says.

Bosch Automotive Service's installation of the 240-volt station, which will be made by Evatran, will include a wall unit, floor charger and vehicle adopter. The system allows wireless "induction" charging between a floor pad and a vehicle adapter. Bosch Power Max recently announced a conventional home charging system that costs $449. Bosch says it's developing wireless charging systems for other models as well, and is offering financing options that stretch for as far as five years.

Since early last year, Evatran has been joining up with public and private partners to get its Plugless Power wireless some notoriety. Last September, it reached an agreement with both Google and the Los Angeles Deptartment of Water and Power to test the wireless charging systems.

Green car enthusiasts may have assumed that French electric car-sharing service Autolib would show up stateside in a city like San Francisco, Austin or Portland, but notoriously green Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard had other ideas.

Led by Ballard, the racing city reached an agreement for Autolib to make its US debut in the Indiana capital as early as next year, Inside EVs writes. Autolib, which is owned by French conglomerate Bollore may have as many as 500 vehicles in the Indy car-sharing fleet and will invest about $35 million in the project.

Late last year, Mayor Greg Ballard signed an executive order that will push the city to replace its fleet with all hybrids and plug-in vehicles by as early as 2025. Replacing Indianapolis's police fleet with plug-ins is estimated to save about $10 million worth of fuel annually.

Last October, the European Investment Bank (EIB) loaned Bollore about $100 million to expand the car-sharing service through Paris. Autolib debuted in Paris in the fall of 2011 with its electric "Bluecars," charging users the equivalent of between $6 and $11 per half hour as well as an annual membership fee of about $200.

The crack of a rifle breaks the silence of the humid night. The four-strong, black-swathed team quickly mount their motorcycles and move off in the darkness toward the sound at breakneck speed. Invisible, almost silent, they quickly close the distance to the enemy. The element of surprise is on their side and justice is about to be meted out.

While this scenario might sound like something from the movies, it is now quite plausible. At least the quiet, fast motorcycling in the dark part, anyway. You see, working with the US Special Operations Forces, Zero Motorcycles has put together a machine that can provide super-stealthy mobility to soldiers in the field.

Based on its MX model, the Zero MMX has keyless operation, a military spec dash, switchable headlight and is pre-wired for infrared systems fore and aft. It's also able to ford through a meter (39.37 inches) of water and has a safety override and reserve power capabilities to help its rider get out of sticky situations. (Ok, we're not actually sure what safety override does, but it certainly sounds cool.)

Like the MX, the military model comes with battery pack swapping capability and all the power (54 horsepower, 68 lb-feet of torque) one is ever likely to need. It even retains its app-friendliness, allowing performance sculpting via Bluetooth. For more details on the bike, scroll on down for the official press release.

General Motors has no issues with the idea of better roads for Michigan, but when it comes to a special plug-in vehicle tax enacted to help pay for those repairs, the automaker is crying foul, Automotive News says.

At least eight US states either having passed or proposed a special electric vehicle tax. With Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder looking to raise another $1.2 billion a year for road-improvement funding, GM executive Brian O'Connell says an EV tax would be a bad idea, noting that such a tariff would unfairly penalize both the plug-in driver and the companies that make those vehicles.

Washington State, Virginia and Nebraska have all introduced new taxes, including Washington's $100 annual EV fee that was passed last year. Oregon may introduce per-mile taxes on EVs using GPS systems to track mileage.

It's fair that EV drivers pay for the roads they use, but the numbers remain small in comparison to the full fossil-fuel fleet. Through May, sales of the Chevrolet Volt extended-range plug-in in 2013 were up just 1.4 percent to 7,157 units. The Chevrolet Spark EV debuts this month and GM last month set a monthly lease rate of $199 a month for that model.

Tesla scored a big point in the "hard sell" column in North Carolina recently, when the chief executive of one of the states opposing direct-to-consumer vehicle sales got behind the wheel of a Model S electric vehicles, the Silicon Valley Business Journal says.

With Tesla lobbyists recently meeting with more than a dozen North Carolina lawmakers to plead their company's case, Governor Pat McCrory somehow ended up driving the all-electric sedan, which, judging by the stellar reviews for the car, is a good thing. Tesla Chief Elon Musk is preparing to talk to state legislators as well.

Last month, North Carolina lawmakers proposed a bill that would prevent automakers such as Tesla from selling cars to customers without going through third-party dealerships. The bill, backed by the North Carolina Automobile Dealers Association (NCADA), would stop Tesla from opening its planned showroom in the state and also bar Internet sales of the vehicle.

Texas, Massachusetts, Minnesota and New York are other states that have taken Tesla on in the automaker's effort to legalize direct sales. Tesla has argued that the nature of the all-electric vehicle would prevent traditional dealers from effectively selling electric vehicles.

Land Rover is expected to introduce a new diesel hybrid powertrain for use on the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport at the Frankfurt Motor Show later this year, and while our report last week indicated that these models wouldn't be sold here, Edmunds is reporting otherwise.

The stricter Euro 6 emissions regulations will be closer to what is required from diesel engines here in the US, which means that automakers will no longer have to develop a US-specific engine. Furthermore, Edmunds also says that sales of diesel cars and SUVs grew by 24 percent from 2010 to 2012, so this increased popularity could also play a big role in these vehicles being offered here. For Land Rover, it would pair its 3.0-liter diesel V6 with a version of the ZF eight-speed automatic transmission that uses an integrated electric motor.

The number of online calculators that can help plug-in drivers discover cost-to-drive savings compared to gasoline vehicles continues to grow. Yesterday, the EPA announced the eGallon device, which gives a broad overview of gas vs. electricity costs. Another new entrant is the more customizable Plugwiz, which promises to let you "discover the true costs of an electric vehicle."

The reason for that "true cost" line is because you can input all sorts of variables into Plugwiz – the plug-in vehicle make and model, what kind of charger you have at home, when you plan to charge, your gas car's mpg and more. Once you feed all the details in, Plugwiz will tell you how much you can save per month.

As cool as it is, Plugwiz would like some of your personal information (your email, but it doesn't require it), and it doesn't automatically draw down data on local average gas prices – which would be a nice feature – but there's still a lot of real usefulness here, especially since it can talk to your utility about price rates. You just input how much you pay a month for the calculator to make a comparison. A short statement from Plugwiz is available below.

Plugwiz is available on the California PEV Collaborative website. How much do/would you save?

So far this year (through the end of May), Ford sold 723 Focus Electrics in the US. Not a whole lot – especially compared to Nissan, which sold more than ten times that many Leafs (7,614). What's interesting is that Ford isn't going to immediately make a bunch of changes for the 2014 model year to try and push that number up. Not according to a report in The Detroit News, anyway.

Nancy Gioia, Ford's director of Global Electrification, told the News that Ford is happy with sales of the Focus EV. This makes sense, since company representatives have long said they never expected to sell many of them. Specifically, Gioia told the News, "We still see battery electric as niche. We think that by focusing on the plug-ins and that awareness, we actually end up benefiting both the hybrids and the plug-ins."

Despite the "niche" aspect, Ford isn't going to ignore the EV. To that end, Ford is also going to add more production capacity of its only EV, this time in Europe. The company announced today that it has started making the car in Saarlouis, Germany.

There are two main reasons the Leaf sales increased this year: local production (which resulted in a big price drop) and 2013 model year updates. Direct comparisons are difficult, since the Focus EV and the Leaf are on different parts in their lifecycles and we can expect improvements to the Focus down the road, but it'll be interesting to see if just adding one of those two factors will be enough to boost sales.

Read our Focus EV First Drive here and see the Saarlouis announcement below.

Nissan Europe would like to see sales of its Nissan Leaf go up – how unusual – and has brought in an experienced marketing executive to make it happen. Jean-Pierre Diernaz moved from Nissan's luxury brand Infiniti, where he served as director of marketing and communications, to become Nissan Europe's first director of electric vehicles for the region.

Diernaz started out in the car business in 1994 at Ford France and held a number of marketing executive positions with the company until moving over to Nissan Europe in June 2005. He became general manager of marketing communication in January 2007, and was credited with contributing to the successful ad campaign for the Qashqai crossover, Nissan's top-selling model in Europe. To increase EV sales, Nissan and Renault are open to trying out various niches like carsharing and fleets.

Nissan and Renault are playing a leading role in EV sales in Europe, but the numbers are still way below their expectations. Nissan increased the range and lowered the prices for the 2013 Leaf. Last year, it only sold 5,210 Leafs in Europe, which fell short of the 9,000 originally anticipated. Mr. Diernaz, meet your challenge.