European sales of cars powered by alternative energy sources rose 39 percent last year as Toyota Motor Corp pushed hybrid models and Renault SA extended the driving range on the latest version of its all-electric Zoe.
Customers bought 953,355 autos that run on systems including batteries, electric-gasoline or diesel motors, fuel cells or natural gas last year, the Brussels-based European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association said yesterday in a statement.
Combined demand for full hybrid cars, which can operate on either conventional fuel or self-charged battery power, and mild hybrids, which use an electric motor to help the combustion engine run more efficiently, surged 52 percent.
Sales of all-electric models jumped 49 percent.
The growth far outpaced the European car market’s 3.3 percent gain last year, suggesting consumers are warming to the models added by Toyota, Renault and competitors.
Still, the alternative systems powered only 6.1 percent of the 15.6 million autos sold across the region last year, an increase from 4.5 percent in 2016.
Battery-powered cars had a 0.9 percent market share last year.
EU regulators are requiring the auto industry to reduce carbon-dioxide emissions from vehicle exhausts to limit greenhouse gases. Customers have been reluctant to buy all-electric autos because of concerns about how long battery recharging takes and the short distances the cars can travel compared with gasoline or diesel models.
Renault improved the Zoe’s range on a full charge by 67 percent to 400km.
Toyota has up to now focused on hybrid technology and last month it said that sales of the models jumped 38 percent in Europe last year to account for 41 percent of its deliveries there.
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”
Sales in the retail, and food and beverage sectors last month continued to rise, increasing 0.7 percent and 13.6 percent respectively from a year earlier, setting record highs for the month of March, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Sales in the wholesale sector also grew last month by 4.6 annually, mainly due to the business opportunities for emerging applications related to artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing technologies, the ministry said in a report. The ministry forecast that retail, and food and beverage sales this month would retain their growth momentum as the former would benefit from Tomb Sweeping Day
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