Recharge Wrap-up: Kia Niro caught at Nurburgring, Tesla & Ben & Jerry

The Kia Niro hybrid was spied testing at the Nürburgring. The prototype of the 2016 Niro — which originally appeared as a concept at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show — is heavily camouflaged, so it is hard to tell which exterior features have been carried over. Its plate is registered to a hybrid, but other powertrain details are unavailable (the concept was equipped with a 1.6-liter turbocharged engine and electric drive system good for 158 horsepower). When it goes on sale, positioned below the Soul in Kia’s lineup, it will only be available as a hybrid, with a plug-in hybrid version expected in later years. See the video above, and read more at Autoevolution and at Hybrid Cars.

A new report from IHS Automotive predicts the EV charger market to surpass 12.7 million units by 2020. In Japan, the number of EV charging stations has surpassed the number of gas stations. The Netherlands, UK and Norway are the leaders in EV chargers in Europe, while Germany and France are slow in their infrastructure growth, relative to their size. CHAdeMO is the more popular charging standard worldwide, but CCS is expected to close the gap. According to the report, PHEVs will become more abundant than BEVs in 2016, and will remain so for a while. Read more at Green Car Congress.

Kandi Electric Vehicles has signed a strategic agreement with telecommunications company ZTE Corporation and EV leasing company Zhejiang ZuoZhongYou Electric Vehicle Service (ZZY). The three groups will work together to improve Kandi’s “Micro Public Transportation (MPT)” carsharing program. They’ll collaborate on promotion, creating a research institute, doing research and development for wireless charging and making their operating system easier to use, among other endeavors. “We are excited to connect Kandi’s innovative MPT model with ZTE’s cutting-edge technologies,” says Kandi Chairman and CEO Hu Xiaoming. “By leveraging ZZY’s premium services, our goal is to accelerate MPT’s market penetration, maintain our leadership position and achieve greater success in China’s booming EV industry.” Read more in the press release below.

Ben & Jerry’s debuted a new ice cream flavor at the Tesla Motors factory in Fremont, CA. Tesla built a special Model S in honor of the event and the new flavor, which is called Save Our Swirled. The flavor was introduced to help promote awareness about climate change, and the front trunk of the Model S held a petition for attendees to sign from Ben & Jerry’s nonprofit partner, Avaaz. Pints of Save Our Swirled also include a link to the petition. So what exactly is the Save Our Swirled flavor? Ben & Jerry’s describes it as “Raspberry Ice Cream with Marshmallow & Raspberry Swirls & Dark & White Fudge Ice Cream Cones.” Climate change awareness has never sounded so delicious. Read more at Teslarati.