10 June 2020 | BMW ready to start production of iX3
Tesla Is Having Trouble Scaling The Model Y | Tesla Model Y demand might be weak | Lordstown Motors to unveil Endurance electric truck this month | GM CEO Mary Barra predicts mass electrification will take decades | Tesla V3 Supercharger Test | MG E-Motion has its production version revealed | BMW ready to start production of iX3 | Electric WRX kit could make 2021 competition debut | German public electric car charging network grows 60% | UK Power Networks launches EV charger surgery for councils
Show #805
Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Wednesday 10th June 2020. 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.
TESLA IS HAVING TROUBLE SCALING THE MODEL Y
"The Model Y went into production just before the pandemic forced Tesla to shut down its Fremont factory. Now that the factory is back to work, Tesla had hoped to ramp up Model Y production as well. But not everything has gone to plan. And CEO Elon Musk is once again taking to the factory floor to see if he can fix problems himself." Says Jalopnik: "It’s always unclear whether Elon taking to the factory floors actually helps—it seems distracting, if nothing else, if you’re trying to focus on your work and the billionaire CEO of the company is wandering around observing things. But whether it’s a publicity stunt or not—or maybe Elon’s just bored—these factory tours always just seem to come and go, and production rolls on."
As per Bloomberg: "Tesla Inc.’s Elon Musk told employees the electric-car maker is having issues boosting output of its new Model Y crossover and said he’ll be walking the assembly line on a weekly basis to troubleshoot production snafus."
Elon in an email on Saturday: “It is extremely important for us to ramp up Model Y production and minimize rectification needs. I want you to know that it really makes a difference to Tesla right now. Model Y, especially GA (stands for General Assembly), is the top priority for both production and manufacturing engineering. GA4 (stands for General Assembly Line 4) is also top priority for facility improvements. For those working in GA4, thank you for bearing with tough conditions. Will get better fast. I will be walking the line personally every week. We are doing reasonably well with S, X, and 3, but there are production and supply chain ramp challenges with Model Y, as is always the case with new products."
Teslarati reports: "The current production line where the Model Y is built is GA4, which is an outdoor tent that sits next to the Fremont facility. Previously, the Model 3 was constructed on this line and was eventually built 5,000 sedans a week. Much like the Model Y’s current roadblocks, the Model 3 also encountered problems at the beginning of its eventually-successful ramp up stage."
https://jalopnik.com/tesla-is-having-trouble-scaling-the-model-y-1843969100
TESLA MODEL Y DEMAND MIGHT BE WEAK
"It's possible Tesla faces weaker than expected demand for the Model Y SUV as the company now includes the vehicle in its referral program." Says Roadshow by CNET: "Seeing the Model Y show up so soon after production and deliveries started is, frankly, kind of surprising. The whole concept is to reward the Tesla owner referring a new buyer and each receives 1,000 miles worth of free Supercharger station use. Then, hopefully, enough current owners flip new buyers into Teslas to help create more demand. In contrast to the Model Y's very early addition to the referral program, the Model 3 didn't show up until one year after deliveries started"
LORDSTOWN MOTORS TO UNVEIL ENDURANCE ELECTRIC TRUCK THIS MONTH
"Lordstown Motors is making good on its promise to unveil the Endurance electric pickup truck this summer, announcing that its maiden product will be introduced during a company meeting the week of June 22, video of which will be released to the public by month’s end." Reports Autoblog: "Integration work has also begun on areas like the body shop, general assembly, motor lines and paint shop, with demolition of around 200,000 square feet to make space for lines to build the battery and motors. The Detroit Free Press recently reported that Lordstown currently employs around 70 people, mostly engineers, and including a team of 20 who work in a design studio in Ford’s backyard in Dearborn, Mich. making clay models of future vehicles, with the remainder working on retooling the plant. The goal is to make 30 pre-production versions of the Endurance by December."
https://www.autoblog.com/2020/06/09/lordstown-motors-endurance-unveiling-june/
GM CEO MARY BARRA PREDICTS MASS ELECTRIFICATION WILL TAKE DECADES
"Mary Barra, the firm's CEO, conceded that battery-powered cars won't fully replace their gasoline-burning counterparts for several decades. She stressed the shift is ongoing, but she hinted it will be slower than many assume." Says Autoblog.
"Leadership Live with David Rubenstein," a talk show aired by Bloomberg Television: "We believe the transition will happen over time, It will happen in a little bit longer period, but it will happen"
https://www.autoblog.com/2020/06/09/mary-barra-gm-electric-vehicle-timeline-decades/
TESLA V3 SUPERCHARGER TEST
"We know Tesla's new V3 Superchargers can deliver up to 250 kW to Model 3's, but until now, we hadn't recorded a charging session ourselves to see exactly what the charging curve looks like." Says Tom Molougney for InsideEVs: "I had the perfect opportunity to do so this weekend, as I was conducting a 70-mph range test on my 2019 Tesla Model 3 and would be draining the battery down to zero. There's only one V3 Supercharger site open in New Jersey, and it's right off the NJ Turnpike. During the charging session, the vehicle reached 250 kW at the 5% SOC point and held it until the SOC reached 24%. That's similar to how Porsche manages the Taycan's charging curve, as it too begins to ramp down the power once the car is at 25% SOC. While charging on the V3 Supercharger, I reached 50% SOC in only thirteen minutes, and the car was still accepting 120 kW at that point. It took 28 minutes to reach 80% and the charge rate has slowed down to 54 kW at that point. Had I continued to let the car charge to 100% it would have taken longer for the last 20% than it took to get to 80%. "
https://insideevs.com/news/427836/tesla-model-3-v3-supercharging-test/
MG E-MOTION HAS ITS PRODUCTION VERSION REVEALED BY PATENT IMAGES
" Presented in 2017, the electric coupe was expected to premiere in 2020. With the COVID-19 pandemics and MG’s silence, we thought it was going to be postponed. Yet, the guys at Cochespias.net found Chinese patent images that reveal the production version of the E-Motion." Says MSN: "With that, the new electric coupe front end lost character and looks very much like an Aston Martin. The dashboard image allows us to see that the E-Motion will have a giant heads-up display. Around the cluster, flat surfaces suggest a massive screen for controlling the infotainment system, air conditioning, and other car functions – either that or a bizarre design. If the car can still preserve the 500 km (311 mi) of range and the acceleration time of less than 4 seconds the MG E-Motion may repeat the ZS EV success."
BMW READY TO START PRODUCTION OF IX3 AT CHINESE PLANT
"BMW's iX3 is scheduled to enter production in late summer, the automaker said Tuesday. The battery-electric version of the popular X3 crossover SUV will be built exclusively at a plant in Shenyang, China, which is run by a joint venture between BMW and local partner Brilliance." Reports Motor Authority: "The plant is currently building pre-production iX3s but will soon make the switch to customer examples. Both the iX3 and regular X3 will be built on the same line. BMW will start deliveries of the iX3 in China and Europe later this year but doesn't plan to sell it in the United States. Instead, U.S. customers seeking an electric BMW crossover will have to wait until the larger iNext arrives in 2021.The production version is expected to come with 74 kilowatt-hours of battery capacity, which is lower than what rivals are already packing. For example, the Audi E-Tron and Jaguar I-Pace come with with 95- and 90-kwh batteries, respectively. It means the iX3's range could be considerably lower than 200 miles if measured by the EPA, which could be one of the reasons BMW has decided not to sell the iX3 here."
https://www.motorauthority.com/news/1117634_bmw-ready-to-start-production-of-ix3-at-chinese-plant
ELECTRIC WRX KIT COULD MAKE 2021 COMPETITION DEBUT
"Austrian firm Kreisel won the tender to produce and supply the electric kits for World RX's revised electric strategy last October, but the introduction of electric cars at the sport's top level has been postponed a year due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic." Says motorsport.com: "The four-wheel drive, twin-motor 500 kW kit will be built into a Skoda Fabia R5 chassis (called the Fabia REX), in a collaboration with the Baumschlager Rallye Racing squad run by three-time Janner Rally winner Raimund Baumschlager. The kit will run a single-speed transmission, produced by British firm Xtrac. While the 52.65kWh battery's safety features will be the same as those used in the World Rally Championship's hybrid switch for 2022, for which Kreisel will also be involved in supplying together with Compact Dynamics GmbH, the WRC machines will not use the same battery as the World RX Supercars"
They said: ""We have our own charging system which makes it possible for us to charge the battery in 18 minutes, so this means in a normal service period in a conventional rally of 20 - 30 mins, you can recharge the full battery"
GERMAN PUBLIC ELECTRIC CAR CHARGING NETWORK GROWS 60%
"Germany's public network for electric vehicles expanded by 10,000 charging spots, an increase of nearly 60 percent, in the last year, the country's electricity lobby said on Monday." According to Automotive News Europe: "As part of the country's stimulus package unveiled last week, 2.5 billion euros ($2.8 billion) have been earmarked specifically to build out electric charging spots and battery cell technology. Around 280,000 electric vehicles or plug-in hybrids are currently registered in Germany. Existing public infrastructure can cater for 440,000 cars."
https://europe.autonews.com/automakers/german-public-electric-car-charging-network-grows-60
UK POWER NETWORKS LAUNCHES EV CHARGER SURGERY FOR COUNCILS
"UK Power Networks says its new electric vehicle charging surgery for local councils could save them millions of pounds by matching chargepoints with network capacity." according to The Energyst: "UKPN said its connections team undertakes a detailed analysis of where a local authority plans to install charge points, and suggests the most cost-effective alternative locations."
QUESTION OF THE WEEK
How far does a plug-in hybrid need to drive on EV power only?
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