Tesla Model Y Spotted With Revolutionary Production Pieces | 12 Jan 2021
Mercedes EQA and EQB Updates | Tesla China Sold Almost 24,000 Giga Shanghai Made Model 3 in December | Tesla Model S & X Resumes Production | Tesla Model Y Spotted With Single-Piece Rear Cast Section | BYD ADL Partnership Accelerates Electrification | McLaren Racing signs agreement granting option to join Formula E for Gen3 | Guoxuan unveils a cobalt-free LFP pouch battery cell with 212 Wh/kg | Battery Pack Prices Cited Below $100/kWh for the First Time in 2020, While Market Average Sits at $137/kWh
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On today’s podcast:
- Mercedes EQA and EQB Updates
- Tesla China Sold Almost 24,000 Giga Shanghai Made Model 3 in December
- Tesla Model S & X Resumes Production
- Tesla Model Y Spotted With Single-Piece Rear Cast Section
- BYD ADL Partnership Accelerates Electrification
- McLaren Racing signs agreement granting option to join Formula E for Gen3
- Guoxuan unveils a cobalt-free LFP pouch battery cell with 212 Wh/kg
- Battery Pack Prices Cited Below $100/kWh for the First Time in 2020, While Market Average Sits at $137/kWh
Show #960
Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Tuesday 12th January. 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.
I mentioned a new Patron on Sunday but I missed off his company name. Doh! So welcome to LegacyEV as a supporter. Mavrick said: “We are simplifying the EV conversion process by making deals with all the smaller manufacturers of EV parts and components to sell them on our platform using our team of design engineers to help people make sure they are pairing the right components to give their vehicle the performance they are striving for.”
MERCEDES EQA AND EQB UPDATES
"The Mercedes-Benz EQA’s official reveal is surely just around the corner, but one of our spy shooters just caught a pair of them driving around with hardly any camouflage. Last we glimpsed Mercedes’ electric version of the GLA, both the front and rear were completely shrouded in blue wrapping. Today, there’s hardly any left." says Autoblog: "What we knew all along is still true: The EQA is basically going to look like the GLA, but with a few changes to indicate its electric powertrain. Mercedes could be going for a full-width rear taillight in an effort to make the EQA visually different. That’d make it similar to the EQC and tie in with the EQ family look — we already know the EQS is getting the full -width taillight treatment. The official reveal was meant to happen in 2020, but rumors suggest Covid-19 pushed its launch back to 2021. At the model’s current state of camouflage dress, we suspect it’ll be revealed any day now."
EQA is like a small SUV crossover, a hatchback on stilts, VW ID4/Skoda Enyaq/TEsla Model Y. I am epecting a late Jan reveal.
And InsideEVs has some footage from the EQB, although it's sunny and Germany is currentyl cold and snowy! "Mercedes-Benz wants to make sure the EQB will have a brilliant performance if that is the case. What better way to ensure that than Nürburgring Nordschleife tests?" The EQB will be based on the GLB as much as the EQC derives from the GLC, and the EQA will seize the GLA structure. The first car designed to be electric from the German brand will probably be the EQS. Expect it to be the first Mercedes-Benz to present a frunk. The EQB is said to have a range of 499 kilometers (310 miles), and it will be presented in 2021."
EQA, EQB, EQC (out already), EQV (out already), EQE and EQS (both in sedan and SUV shades).
https://www.autoblog.com/2021/01/11/mercedes-benz-eqa-spy-photos/
https://insideevs.com/news/465446/mercedes-benz-eqb-testing-nurburgring-nordschleife/
TESLA CHINA SOLD ALMOST 24,000 GIGA SHANGHAI MADE MODEL 3 IN DECEMBER
"Tesla set a new record in December, registering nearly 24,000 vehicles and accounting for over 11% of all retail sales of new energy passenger vehicles in December." reports TEsmanian: "Retail sales of new energy passenger cars in China reached 206,000 units in December, up 58.1% year-on-year, and 20.8% more than in November. In December, the electric vehicle market showed a sharp increase in sales of both expensive and budget models."
TESLA MODEL S & X RESUMES PRODUCTION
"Tesla’s flagship sedan and SUV, both of which paved the way for the harbinger of automotive disruption that is the Model 3, seem poised for a comeback after an 18-day break. As hinted at in a previously leaked Elon Musk email last month, the Fremont Factory’s Model S and Model X production lines are resuming operations today, January 11, 2021, following a shutdown that started on Christmas Eve, December 24, 2020. " says TEslarati: "Neither Elon Musk nor Tesla itself has posted any information indicating that a new Model S and Model X “refresh” are coming, but clues about changes coming to the two flagship vehicles have been observed over the past few months."
https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-model-s-model-x-resume-production/
TESLA MODEL Y SPOTTED WITH SINGLE-PIECE REAR CAST SECTION
"Tesla has started production of the Model Y with a massive single-piece rear casting, according to a picture of a new unit of the electric SUV. It’s the automaker’s latest move into massive casting techniques." reports electrek: "This new strategy is enabled by a new giant casting machine, the biggest in the world, that Tesla acquired, and subsequently ordered many more machines. From starting production, we didn’t know how quickly Tesla would be able to use the new part in production Model Y vehicles. Now we can confirm that the new single-casting rear underbody is in new Model Y vehicles. The owner of a Model Y produced in late December removed the lining of his trunk for the installation of a third-party accessory and could see the new part"
The casting machine (the Giga Press) is built in Italy by Idra Group. Yesterday another Giga Press was delivered to Giga Berlin.
One of the comments says: "There's no doubt that replacing numerous parts with a single casting is great from an inventory and assembly standpoint. From a design engineer's perspective, though, it tends to lock in the design because modifications to tooling is prohibitively expensive. I sure hope they're happy with the location of every boss and mounting point, because they aren't getting changed until they need to replace the tool due to wear."
https://electrek.co/2021/01/11/tesla-starts-production-model-y-massive-single-piece-rear-casting/
BYD ADL PARTNERSHIP ACCELERATES ELECTRIFICATION
Alexander Dennis Limited (“ADL”) and BYD UK jointly announced today that ADL and BYD will commence the design and assembly of chassis for the BYD ADL partnership’s electric single and double deck buses for the British market, ensuring completed vehicles are built in the UK.
Since it began in 2015, the partnership has gone from strength to strength, with over 500 electric buses delivered or on order. They have clocked up a combined over 16 million emission-free miles of reliable service in London as well as numerous towns and cities across the UK.
MCLAREN RACING SIGNS AGREEMENT GRANTING OPTION TO JOIN FORMULA E FOR GEN3
McLaren Racing and Formula E announced they have signed an agreement granting McLaren Racing an option to enter the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship when Formula E’s Gen3 kicks off in Season 9.
McLaren Racing has formalised its interest in joining Formula E’s team and manufacturer line-up from the new Gen3 era.
GUOXUAN UNVEILS A COBALT-FREE LFP POUCH BATTERY CELL WITH 212 WH/KG
"Guoxuan is a Chinese battery cell maker known for producing the most energy-dense cobalt-free LFP (LiFePO4) battery cells. Late last year this manufacturer reached a record-breaking energy density of 212 Wh/kg for a LFP battery cell, made with a LFP cathode and a silicon anode. Now, Guoxuan is providing more details about this pouch battery cell." says PushEVs: "Moreover, Guoxuan has the goal of reaching 230 Wh/kg already during this year and 260 Wh/kg in 2022.Being an inherently safe battery chemistry, battery packs made with LFP (LiFePO4) cells don’t require much safety equipment, such as metal firewalls between cells or a complex TMS (Thermal Management System). This means that the GCTPR (gravimetric cell-to-pack ratio) for this battery chemistry is higher than what we have with NCM or NCA battery packs."
https://pushevs.com/2021/01/10/guoxuan-unveils-a-cobalt-free-lfp-pouch-battery-cell-with-212-wh-kg/
BATTERY PACK PRICES CITED BELOW $100/KWH FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 2020, WHILE MARKET AVERAGE SITS AT $137/KWH
"Lithium-ion battery pack prices, which were above $1,100 per kilowatt-hour in 2010, have fallen 89% in real terms to $137/kWh in 2020. By 2023, average prices will be close to $100/kWh, according to the latest forecast from research company BloombergNEF (BNEF)." says BNEF.com: "Battery electric vehicle (BEV) pack prices are $126/kWh on a volume-weighted average basis. At the cell level, average BEV prices were just $100/kWh. This indicates that on average, the battery pack portion of the total price accounts for 21%. Leading battery manufacturers are now enjoying gross margins of up to 20% and their plants are operating at utilization rates over 85%. Maintaining high utilization rates is key to reducing cell and pack prices. If utilization rates are low, then equipment and building depreciation costs are spread over fewer kilowatt-hours of manufactured cells."
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