BMW Makes A Complete U-Turn on EV Philosophy
BMW Makes A U-Turn on EV Philosophy | BMW iX3 Review from Autocar | Norway marks 7,873 new electric cars sold in October | Tesla 2020.44 code hints at potential in-vehicle 5G connectivity | Tesla Parts Catalog updated to include new Model 3 heat pump | Swindon Powertrain Launches Classic Mini EV Conversion Kit | BEIS announces £183 funding round for electric vehicles and cleantech start-ups | China revs up for a new energy vehicle boom | Permanent magnet motor use increases despite rare-earth resources
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On today’s podcast:.
- BMW Makes A Does a Complete U-Turn on EV Philosophy
- BMW iX3 Review from Autocar
- Norway marks 7,873 new electric cars sold in October
- Tesla 2020.44 code hints at potential in-vehicle 5G connectivity
- Tesla Parts Catalog updated to include new Model 3 heat pump
- Swindon Powertrain Launches Classic Mini EV Conversion Kit
- BEIS announces £183 funding round for electric vehicles and cleantech start-ups
- China revs up for a new energy vehicle boom
- Permanent magnet motor use increases despite rare-earth resources
Show #923
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BMW MAKES A DOES A COMPLETE U-TURN ON EV PHILOSOPHY
"A week before unveiling the all-new iNext battery-electric vehicle, BMW said it will “realign” its strategy and begin developing a unique architecture solely for “electric drives,” rather than sharing the same platform for vehicles using both battery and conventional gas and diesel powertrains." writes Paul Eisenstein for The Detroit Bureau: "That’s a complete about face for the Bavarian marque which, in recent years, had hoped to save money and simplify manufacturing by coming up with common architectures that could roll off the same line. But it also marks a return to BMW’s original strategy when electrified models like the all-electric i3 city car and plug-in hybrid i8 sports car used unique platforms."
CEO Oliver Zipse said during BMW’s quarterly earnings presentation on Wednesday: "The aim is to create an overall optimum with the new architecture. We will realign our vehicle architecture from the middle of the decade. Our new cluster architecture is geared towards electric drives” exclusively. Our new plant in Hungary plays a key role here, Our new plant in Hungary plays a key role here. We anticipate that the demand for fully electric vehicles will continue to increase significantly from 2025 onwards. Exactly then – keyword timing – we will ignite phase III of our transformation.”
Compromise – battery location, battery thermal management, structural, production, cabin design (transmission tunnel), operation of the car, software, not needing space for ICE, fuel tank etc.
Short term pain. Everything from now until 2025 is implicitly not optimal.
https://www.thedetroitbureau.com/2020/11/bmw-does-a-complete-u-turn-on-its-ev-program/
BMW IX3 REVIEW FROM AUTOCAR
"The iX3 also dispenses with the earlier strategy that called for BMW’s electric models to be based on a dedicated aluminium structure called LifeDrive, as with the similarly named but largely unrelated i3, launched back in 2013. Instead, the new but familiarly styled electric SUV is based on the same CLAR platform as recently facelifted petrol, diesel and plug-in hybrid versions of the third-generation X3." writes Autrocar: "Another impressive aspect is the iX3’s advanced energy recuperation system, which offers the driver four modes: Low, Medium, High and Adaptive. In High mode, it allows one-pedal driving. Electric energy for the motor – a BMW unit produced at its Dingolfing factory in Germany – comes by way of a 74.0kWh lithium ion battery consisting of 10 modules and 188 individual prismatic cells supplied by Chinese battery specialist CATL. Mounted beneath the rear seat and within the floor of the boot, it is claimed to provide the new SUV with a range of between 280 and 285 miles on the WLTP test cycle."
https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/bmw/ix3/first-drives/bmw-ix3-2021-review
NORWAY MARKS 7,873 NEW ELECTRIC CARS SOLD IN OCTOBER
"In Norway, 7,873 new electric cars were registered in October. Electric cars accounted for 60.8 per cent of new passenger car registrations. With 2,475 units, the VW ID.3 was the most popular model across all drive types." reports electrive: "Compared to October 2019, this was an increase of 110.4 per cent. With 56,048 electric cars since the beginning of the year, the Norwegian electric car market is up on the figure for the same period last year (53,225), thanks in part to the last three strong months."
https://www.electrive.com/2020/11/03/norway-marks-7873-new-electric-cars-sold-in-october/
TESLA 2020.44 CODE HINTS AT POTENTIAL IN-VEHICLE 5G CONNECTIVITY
"Tesla owner-hacker @greentheonly has found breadcrumbs hinting at possible 5G connectivity coming to the EV automaker’s vehicles while sifting through the code of the company’s 2020.44 over-the-air software update. “Some additional breadcrumbs pointing at upcoming 5g modem support => connectivity suite update soon?” the noted Tesla hacker tweeted recently." erports Teslarati: "When asked if the refreshed 2021 Model 3 might have been upgraded with 5G equipment, the Tesla enthusiast said that the firmware in Model 3s before the refresh were not “enabled for 5G yet.” The Tesla community’s resident hacker also admitted that he had not personally seen a refreshed Model 3 yet. Later, Green added: “And there’s additional bandwidth usage monitoring added and a curious mothership option to ask cars to ‘collect hotspot info’- hotspot might really appear in foreseeable future?” Green’s recent observations suggest that Tesla may be preparing its vehicles for the 5G era, essentially future-proofing its electric cars."
https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-code-5g-connectivity-hotspot-update/
TESLA PARTS CATALOG UPDATED TO INCLUDE NEW MODEL 3 HEAT PUMP
"One of the biggest items upgraded in the refreshed Model 3, the new heat pump, has been added back to the online Parts Catalog. Before any official announcements were made by Tesla, the online Parts Catalog was updated to include a new “Cabin Hvac” system for cars manufactured after October 5, 2020. It appeared someone mistakenly added the information as it mysteriously disappeared a few hours later." says Drive TEsla Canada: "Now Tesla has re-added the Cabin Hvac (After October 5, 2020) section to its website, and it shares a number of parts with the Model Y. With winter fast approaching, we’ll no doubt see numerous tests of both the Model Y and now the Model 3 to see how range and efficiency are impacted in cold weather."
https://driveteslacanada.ca/model-3/tesla-parts-catalog-updated-to-include-new-model-3-heat-pump/
SWINDON POWERTRAIN LAUNCHES CLASSIC MINI EV CONVERSION KIT
"Swindon Powertrain is now offering a stand-alone electric 80kW continuous (120 kW peak), Classic Mini Kit, which can be used in isolation or in addition to a range of aftermarket Swindon Powertrain EV components such as 12 kWhr battery pack, motor controller, onboard charger and DC-DC converter. Suitable for classic car enthusiasts, specialists or EV conversion businesses that want to electrify a classic Mini, order books are now open with prices for the Classic Mini Kit starting at £8,850 + VAT and deliveries commencing from December 2020." says AutoFutures.tv: "Created in response to growing customer demand to electrify classic cars and original Minis in particular, Swindon Powertrain’s Classic Mini Kit has been designed to ensure that no vehicle modifications are required, the entire kit weighing just over 70 kg dry.Swindon Powertrain also offers a range of optional components including a purpose designed 12 kWhr battery pack, which fits under the original bonnet in place of the internal combustion engine, motor controller, onboard charger and DC-DC converter, speed sensor kit and cooling system pump, with orders books for these additional items also open."
https://www.autofutures.tv/2020/11/04/swindon-powertrain-launches-classic-mini-ev-conversion-kit/
BEIS ANNOUNCES £183 FUNDING ROUND FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLES AND CLEANTECH START-UPS
""The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has allocated new multi-million-pound funding pots to cleantech innovators, including companies developing AI for wind turbines and high-power batteries for electric cars." says edie.net: " £29m has been earmarked for projects creating a bigger market for second-life electric vehicle (EV) batteries; and the remaining £10m will be spent on improving automation technologies to improve EV charging. Recipients include Nissan, which will create automated charging infrastructure at its Sunderland manufacturing plant, and the BSA Company, which is developing a “true retro motorcycle” with a battery-powered engine."
CHINA REVS UP FOR A NEW ENERGY VEHICLE BOOM
"Sales of new energy vehicles or NEVs – that includes electric, plug-in hybrid and hydrogen-powered vehicles - are forecast to rise to 20% of overall new car sales in China by 2025 - a significant leap from the current 5%." says Yahoo News: "China’s State Council said the NEV industry in China - the world’s biggest auto market - has improved its technology and competitiveness, in a policy paper as part of the release of the country’s 14th five-year plan. It also said the Chinese government will improve the green car quota system to guide automakers to make more environmentally friendly vehicles after it ends NEV subsidies in two years, and boost NEV sales for public uses such as bus and trucks."
https://news.yahoo.com/china-revs-energy-vehicle-boom-105245580.html
DESPITE EFFORTS TO REDUCES RARE-EARTH USE, PERCENTAGE OF PERMANENT MAGNET-BASED EV MOTORS RISING
"While there has been much publicity and technical development towards rare-earth reduction in vehicle motors, in practice the market is seeing an increase in the number of permanent magnet motors." says Green Car Congress: "Permanent magnet motors typically have better efficiency during normal driving conditions than their alternatives, this in turn can result in improved driving range. For this reason, says IDTechEx, Tesla has transitioned from using copper induction motors in the Model S and X to using a permanent magnet motor in the Model 3 and Y (although dual motor variants use an ACIM on the front for a performance boost). Permanent magnets are typically made with rare-earth materials such as neodymium and dysprosium, which have a very geographically constrained supply chain. China accounts for the vast majority of rare-earth production worldwide and this has, in the past, led to huge price volatility."
https://www.greencarcongress.com/2020/11/20201104-pm.html
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