Bombardier, Type 2, Toyota, IDTechEx.

Inductive Bus: In the German city of Brunswick, a new electric bus has now entered regular service. Operator Braunschweiger Verkehrs AG says, that so called Emil is the first inductively charged e-bus in scheduled service worldwide. It will serve on the highly frequented loop line M19. By 2015, Emil will be joined by more of his kind to serve the line with e-buses only. So far, two stops feature inductive charging developed by Bombardier and TU Braunschweig university.
braunschweiger-zeitung.de (in German), braunschweiger-verkehrs-ag.de (photos)

German standard for Europe: The Type 2 (three-phase AC) connector has been officially named the standard for the European Union, reports German news agency dpa with reference to the EU council of ministers. The Type 2 connector, also known as Mennekes plug gets already used for a while in European-built cars such as the BMW i3, Renault Zoe, Volvo V60 PHEV or Smart electric drive. Even Tesla’s European version of the Model S comes with a Type 2 intlet.
spiegel.de (in German), wiwo.de (in German)

Toyota presents TS040 Hybrid: The Japanese have unveiled their race car for the 2014 FIA World Endurance Championship. The TS040 comes with a combination of a V8 engine and two electric motors. Together they got 735 kW and will unfold their full power at the 2014 FIA World Endurance Championship.
greencarcongress.com, toyotahybridracing.com

Study tip: IDTechEx analysed the global activities of 140+ lithium battery manufacturers and predicts that by 2024, li-ion batteries for electric and hybrid vehicles will make up more than half of the total market volume.
idtechex.com, prnewswire.com