BMW & Ford Invest In Solid State Batteries | 04 May 2021

Episode 1072,   May 04, 2021, 05:00 PM

Volkswagen ID.4 Survives Mexican 1000 Off-Road Race | VW plans to design its own computer chips | Tesla Avoiding Global Chip Shortage | Stellantis to hit emissions target without Tesla's help | BMW / Ford Invest In Solid State Batteries |Huawei deepens dive into EVs, seeks control of small automaker | Tesla steps up engagement with Chinese regulators | Germans discover lithium for 400 million EVs | Xpeng & NIO Sales Strong In April | Polestar 2 EV can now use your phone as a Digital Key

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On today’s podcast:

  • Volkswagen ID.4 Survives Mexican 1000 Off-Road Race
  • VW plans to design its own computer chips
  • Tesla Avoiding Global Chip Shortage
  • Stellantis to hit emissions target without Tesla's help
  • BMW / Ford Invest In Solid State Batteries
  • Huawei deepens dive into EVs, seeks control of small automaker
  • Tesla steps up engagement with Chinese regulators
  • Germans discover lithium for 400 million EVs
  • Xpeng & NIO Sales Strong In April
  • Polestar 2 EV can now use your phone as a Digital Key

 

 

 

Show #1072

 

Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Tuesday 4th May. It’s Martyn Lee here and I go through every EV story so you don't have to.

 

Thank you to MYEV.com for helping make this show, they’ve built the first marketplace specifically for Electric Vehicles. It’s a totally free marketplace that simplifies the buying and selling process, and help you learn about EVs along the way too.

 

VOLKSWAGEN ID.4 SURVIVES MEXICAN 1000 OFF-ROAD RACE

- Racer Tanner Foust has competed in countless long-distance off-road races, but after bringing the all-electric Volkswagen ID.4 home after the  National Off-Road Racing Association (NORRA) Mexican 1000 off-road event on the Baja Peninsula, he was surprised. This was the first time he and co-driver Emme Hall contested a 1,000-mile race without a single mechanical problem.

 

- the only electric vehicle entered in the event.

 

- To charge the ID.4 in the wilds of Baja, the Volkswagen team will use a portable biofuel generator powering a 50-kW portable fast charger. As the NORRA Mexico 1000 race will be run in loops due to COVID travel restrictions, the team will attempt to complete about 98 percent of the stages in the loop event without the need for recharging.

 

- The interior of the ID.4 has been stripped of features such as the HVAC system and modified with a roll cage, safety racing seats and supplemental screens for key data like battery temperature.

 

- Foust noted that their main issue was charge time; he and Hall could travel similar distances to their ICE counterparts, but they needed to wait longer to fill up the battery.

 

 

SOFTWARE, SOLAR ENERGY: THE RISKY CONVERSION PLAN FROM VW BOSS DIESS

- CEO Herbert Diess orders VW to launch the next revolution after electromobility : he wants to create the fully networked and self-steering vehicle with its own processors .The 2030 strategy , which the VW boss is currently working on, is intended to bring the group on a par with Tesla and Apple . But does the lucrative core business still attract enough attention ? Many in the company doubt this.In an interview with the Handelsblatt explained VW CEO Herbert Diess , why carmaker software and hardware need to understand

 

 

 

VW PLANS TO DESIGN ITS OWN COMPUTER CHIPS | AUTOBLOG

- Volkswagen did not plan to build semiconductors but wanted to own patents if possible, Diess said, adding that the group's software unit Cariad would develop the expertise and expand. 

It would not, however, give VW an edge in terms of supply, which has been an ongoing issue for automakers in the face of skyrocketing demand from virtually every manufacturing sector that utilizes electronic components.

 

- "Apple and Tesla have higher competence in terms of how semiconductors are defined,

 

 

 

HOW TESLA PIVOTED TO AVOID THE GLOBAL CHIP SHORTAGE THAT COULD LAST YEARS - ELECTREK

- “In Q1, we were able to navigate through global chip supply shortage issues in part by pivoting extremely quickly to new microcontrollers, while simultaneously developing firmware for new chips made by new suppliers.”

 

 

 

STELLANTIS TO HIT EMISSIONS TARGET WITHOUT TESLA'S HELP, SAYS CEO | REUTERS

- Stellantis expects to achieve its European carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions targets this year without environmental credits bought from Tesla, its CEO said in an interview published on Tuesday.

 

- FCA, which spent about 2 billion euros ($2.40 billion) to buy European and U.S. CO2 credits from electric vehicle maker Tesla over the 2019-2021

 

- we will autonomously meet carbon dioxide emission regulations as early as this year,” Stellantis boss Carlos Tavares said in the interview with French weekly Le Point.

 

- FCA will no longer have to pool with Tesla or anyone.”

 

- European regulations require all car manufacturers to reduce CO2 emissions for private vehicles to an average of 95 grams per kilometre this year.

 

 

 

BMW GROUP STRENGTHENS LEADERSHIP POSITION IN BATTERY TECHNOLOGY WITH INVESTMENT IN SOLID-STATE INNOVATOR SOLID POWER

 

- Solid Power, an

  industry-leading producer of all solid-state batteries for electric

  vehicles, today announced a $130 million Series B investment round led

  by the BMW Group, Ford Motor Company and Volta Energy Technologies.

 

- BMW Group

  and Ford aim to utilize Solid Power’s low-cost, high-energy all

  solid-state battery technology in forthcoming electric vehicles.

 

- Ted

  Miller, Ford’s manager of Electrification Subsystems and Power Supply

  Research. “By simplifying the design of solid-state versus lithium-ion

  batteries, we’ll be able to increase vehicle range, improve interior

  space and cargo volume, deliver lower costs and better value for

  customers and more efficiently integrate this kind of solid-state

  battery cell technology into existing lithium-ion cell production processes.”

 

- Solid Power’s truly

  all-solid cell designs achieve higher energy densities, are safer and

  are expected to cost less than today’s best-performing lithium-ion

  battery cells.

 

 

 

EXCLUSIVE HUAWEI DEEPENS DIVE INTO EVS, SEEKS CONTROL OF SMALL AUTOMAKER -sources | Reuters

- China’s Huawei Technologies is in talks to take control of a small domestic automaker’s electric vehicle unit, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said, a move that would be a strategic shift for the world’s largest telecom equipment maker.

 

- Huawei, which has been battered by U.S. sanctions, is in talks with Chongqing Sokon (601127.SS) to acquire a controlling stake in the latter's Chongqing Jinkang New Energy Automobile, said the sources.

 

- inkang counts U.S. EV brand Seres, formerly known as SF Motors, as its main asset.

 

- Huawei's foray into EVs comes as technology firms such as Xiaomi Corp (1810.HK) have been stepping up efforts in the world's biggest market for such vehicles, as Beijing heavily promotes greener vehicles to reduce carbon emissions.

 

- For months, Huawei has been deeply involved in the operation and manufacturing of the little-known Sokon and its loss-making Seres unit.Under the tie-up, Seres's first model, "Huawei Smart Selection" SF5, debuted at the Shanghai Auto Show and received over 3,000 orders within two days after the pre-sale started last week, according to Sere

 

- Huawei is selling sf5 vehicles in its stores across China including its online store VMall.com.

 

 

TESLA, UNDER SCRUTINY IN CHINA, STEPS UP ENGAGEMENT WITH REGULATORS, REPORT SAYS

- Tesla's change of strategy leading to more behind-the-scenes interaction with policymakers in Beijing compared to relatively little previously shows the seriousness with which the U.S. automaker views the setbacks in its second-biggest market.

 

- Manufacturers typically join such meetings in China, but unlike rivals including Toyota and General Motors, Tesla officials were largely absent from the closed-door gatherings, according to four people familiar with the matter.

 

- in past weeks, Tesla executives attended at least four policy discussions, on topics including auto data storage, vehicle-to-infrastructure communication technologies, car recycling and carbon emissions, the people said.

 

 

 

GERMANS DISCOVER ENOUGH LITHIUM IN THE RHINE RIVER VALLEY TO BUILD 400 MILLION EVS - SLASHGEAR

- Germany has announced that it has discovered significant lithium deposits beneath the Rhine River and plans to mine the critical material. According to authorities, the deposit beneath the river could hold enough to build 400 million electric cars.

 

- The lithium is in a molten state and is trapped inside underground springs of boiling water thousands of meters below the Rhine River. If the estimates of the size of the lithium deposit are accurate, it would be one of the world’s biggest deposits.

 

 

 

XPENG ALMOST QUADRUPLED EV SALES IN APRIL 2021

- Xpeng noted another 5,000+ electric car sales in a single month, quickly expanding its volume year-over-year.

Last month, the company delivered 5,147 EVs (up 285% year-over-year). Most of the growth comes from the addition of the second model - P7, which joined the G3 in June 2020.

Xpeng offers two models, the P7 and G3:

 

 

NIO EV SALES NEAR RECORD HIGH IN APRIL 2021

 

 

- NIO more than doubled its electric car sales in April to a near-record level despite the chip shortage affecting manufacturing.

Last month, the company delivered 7,102 EVs in China (a fourth 7,000+ result in the last five months), which is 125% more than a year ago and very close to March's record.

 

- ES6 (5-seat SUV): 3,163 (up 9% year-over-year)

EC6 coupe version of the ES6: 2,416 (new)

ES8 (7- or 6-seat SUV): 1,523

 

 

 

POLESTAR 2 EV CAN NOW USE YOUR PHONE AS A DIGITAL KEY - ROADSHOW

 

 

- The Polestar 2 EV can now use your smartphone as a Digital Key, replacing the wireless key fob to unlock and start the car. An over-the-air (OTA) update for the vehicle and an updated version of the Polestar app are required to make use of the beta functionality.

 

- The Polestar 2's Digital Key feature makes use of 18 Bluetooth sensors in and around the vehicle's interior and exterior to detect the owner's smartphone running the Polestar app. An encrypted handshake enables the vehicle and the device to authenticate and communicate and allows the vehicle to accurately detect the position of the phone.

 

- Once the Polestar 2 detects that the car is inside of the cabin, the EV can be started and driven away.

 

- In addition to the Digital Key beta framework, the Polestar mobile app has gained a bit more functionality when away from the Polestar 2. The app can now display the EV's battery and range status, remotely activate climate preconditioning and lock and unlock the doors.

 

 

 

 

QUESTION OF THE WEEK WITH EMOBILITYNORWAY.COM

 

EVs are connected cars. But, how much data are you willing to give up, and what are willing to rec...

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