Municipal German utility enters e-car manufacturing market

Municipal utility NEW from western Germany will join the growing ranks of e-car manufacturers, Florian Rinke writes in the Rheinische Post. The small utility has invested about 2.5 million euros in the company Share2Drive from Aachen, which has developed an e-car called Sven that could be ready for large-scale use by 2021, the article says. “We don’t want to become a carmaker, we just want to close a gap that currently exists in the market,” said NEW CEO Frank Kindervatter, adding that he hopes other utilities and transport providers would include Sven in their portfolio. Aachen also is home to other German e-car producers, namely transport van manufacturer Streetscooter and passenger car producer e.GO. 

For background, read the CLEW dossier The Energiewende and German carmakers.