21 May 2020 | Mazda starts production of MX-30 EV
Mazda starts production of MX-30 EV | First Shanghai-Made Tesla Model 3 Long Range Delivered Today | GMC teases Hummer EV's removable roof panels | Northvolt and Vattenfall partner on modular zero-emission power option offering | GM battery chief: 600-mile EVs viable, million-mile battery in sight | EU Commission considers 100 billion euro transport package | Motorsport UK announces new electrified vehicle regulations
Show #785
Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Thursday 21st May 2020. It’s Martyn Lee here and I go through every EV story so you don't have to.
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MAZDA STARTS PRODUCTION OF MX-30 EV
"On 19 May 2020, Mazda officially started production of its first all-electric model, the Mazda MX-30, which is expected to enter the European market in Autumn 2020 (early 2021 in the UK). There is no word about the market launch in the U.S." says Motor1.com: "This new compact crossover/SUV, equipped with e-Skyactiv drive, is produced at the Ujina plant No. 1 in Hiroshima, Japan. The initial First Edition version will be very well equipped, including: "a windscreen projecting head-up display, 8-way electric adjustable drivers’ seat, a colour 7-inch TFT dial display, a leather wrapped steering wheel and chrome trim accents." In Germany the price starts from €33,490 with 19% VAT, without subsidies, while in the UK it's £26,995 including £3,000 grant. With a relatively small 35.5 kWh battery, the Mazda MX-30 will have a range of about 124 miles (200 km) WLTP, which should be enough for some applications, but for sure not enough for the mainstream market. Mazda explains that the capacity is an optimum balance between the range and CO2 emissions from an LCA (Life-Cycle Assessment) perspective."
200 km (124 miles) of WLTP range
energy consumption of 19 kWh/100 km (62 miles) WLTP
35.5 kWh battery pack (prismatic cells, total nominal voltage of 355 V)
0-100 km/h (62 mph) in 9.7 seconds
top speed of 140 km/h (87 mph)
front-wheel drive (e-SKYACTIV powertrain)
AC synchronous motor: 107 kW (143 bhp) and 271 Nm
AC charging using 6.6 kW on-board charger
DC fast charging (CCS Combo) by 80% in 40 minutes (up to 50 kW)
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/mazda-starts-production-mx-30-182000179.html
FIRST SHANGHAI-MADE TESLA MODEL 3 LONG RANGE DELIVERED TODAY
"The news emerged from Chinese website The Paper. The Shanghai-made Tesla Model 3 Long Range is currently available in rear-wheel drive (RWD), and differs from the import Tesla Model 3s with distinctive Chinese badging (see image above). It has a 202 kW (281 hp) rear motor and a 77 kWh battery — fairly identical specs to the original US Model 3 Long Range RWD variant offered back in 2017–2018, but since discontinued. " writes CleanTechnica: "The current price of the Tesla Model 3 Long Range in China starts at 344,000 RMB (around ~$48,000) after subsidies, as per Tesla’s website. The entry level Shanghai-made Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus is priced from 272,550 RMB (~ $38,000) after subsidies. In related news, Tesla Shanghai is also on track to lift production volume to 4,000 Model 3s per week as soon as next month (June 2020). Model Y is planned to be ready for production in Shanghai from Q1 2021"
GMC TEASES HUMMER EV'S REMOVABLE ROOF PANELS
"Today was supposed to be the day that GM took the wraps off its GMC Hummer EV. We were told as much during the Super Bowl commercial, but GM revised it to an undecided future date, citing the coronavirus as the reason. Instead of the big reveal, we have a teaser. " says Autoblog: "The Hummer EV is going to feature removable roof panels, and now we get a better look at them. There are four roof panels and a front T-bar that come out of the truck. You can see what that looks like in the video at the top of this post. Comparisons to Jeep are obvious as the open-air experience is likely similar to the Gladiator and Wrangler with their hardtop roof panels removed."
https://www.autoblog.com/2020/05/20/gmc-hummer-ev-teaser-roof/
NORTHVOLT AND VATTENFALL PARTNER ON MODULAR ZERO-EMISSION POWER OPTION OFFERING
Northvolt and Vattenfall have announced a new battery energy storage solution that could provide a zero-emission alternative to running diesel generators on remote mine sites.
The Voltpack Mobile System is a rugged, highly modular lithium-ion battery system that can serve as a modular power supply solution to meet energy and power requirements of a wide variety of market scenarios, the companies said. Vattenfall will be the first to offer the battery unit to the market and has identified the need for sustainable solutions at industries, for microgrids, construction sites as well as for event organisers, the companies said. Voltpack Mobile System delivers up to 250 kW with a scalable capacity from 245 kWh to 1,225 kWh of available energy, according to the companies. Prime applications include powering remote electricity grids, reinforcing weak grids, supporting electric vehicle charging and delivering grid services such as balancing power, flexibility, or other ancillary services, they said.
GM BATTERY CHIEF: 600-MILE EVS VIABLE, MILLION-MILE BATTERY IN SIGHT
"Beyond a no-cameras showing in early March to analysts, dealers, and invited press, General Motors still hasn’t provided a first look at its next-generation electric vehicles—including the GMC Hummer EV and Cadillac Lyriq that are both due to go on sale before the end of 2021. " says Green Car Reports: "And as a new joint venture between GM and LG Chem, called Ultium Cells LLC, officially started clearing ground Tuesday for an Ohio battery factory that will supply the power packs for these upcoming electric vehicles, Tim Grewe, GM’s global electrification and battery systems director, was already eager to talk about what developments might arrive a few years after the plant ramps up. The cells the new facility will make are large-format pouch cells, following a NCMA (nickel cobalt manganese aluminum) chemistry that was developed within GM. Compared to existing NCM cells, they’re lower in cobalt content but add aluminum to the cathode structure for longer life.
He said: This is a giant leap forward on the road to low-cost batteries, and actually keeping the performance and keeping the range. We’ve reduced the cobalt content in these batteries that’s 70% compared to what’s in our Bolt EV today.One cell is used across all of our applications, all of our vehicles ensure that we can take the benefits of manufacturing scale and quality. So you can kind of think of it as 100-amp hours, which is a big number. It’s about the same as 20 small cylindrical cells that you may be familiar with. Instead of rolling those electrodes up and putting them individual cans, we lay them flat. And with that flatness, we then very securely weld them with robust joints, to have a long, single pouch. The beauty of the pouch cell is you have a plus side and a minus side, and you have two tabs that are connected or welded together with the electrodes. There’s 20 plus and minuses stacked together in that pouch. And so it was a fundamental strategy to say, well, how can you disassemble that and not have the cathode and the anode mixed together where you have to do some chemical process to separate those? You can disassemble this pouch cell very easily. You take the two tabs, and you pull apart. And your cathode is in your right hand, and your anode is in your left hand. And now you enabled low-cost recycling."
EU COMMISSION CONSIDERS 100 BILLION EURO TRANSPORT PACKAGE
"The EU Commission has apparently drawn up initial proposals for an economic and climate protection package in the transport sector worth up to 100 billion euros. Among other things, a purchase premium for ‘cleaner cars’ is planned. It is still disputed, however, which cars should be included." Reports Elective: "such a purchase premium could be financed with up to 20 billion euros over the next two years – from funds of two already existing EU programmes, i.e. not directly from the reconstruction packages currently under discussion. There are opposing opinions on what exactly constitutes clean cars. Apparently, under certain circumstances, consideration is being given to promoting cars that exceed the European limit of 95 grams of carbon dioxide emissions per kilometre."
https://www.electrive.com/2020/05/20/eu-commission-considers-100-billion-euro-transport-package/
MOTORSPORT UK ANNOUNCES NEW ELECTRIFIED VEHICLE REGULATIONS
"Full Electrified Vehicle technical and safety regulations have been issued for the first time by Motorsport UK, the country's motorsport governing body." Says Green Car reports: "Motorsport UK reckons it is the first motorsport national governing body to fully develop regulations in this area. The framework caters for all types of electrified vehicle, including full-electric, plug-in hybrid, and conventional hybrid. The regulations will allow Motorsport UK to create new categories for motorsport competition in future. Regulations will allow grassroots-level racing for standard production electric and electrified vehicles to compete unmodified in disciplines that allow standard road cars - for example, Sprint and Hill-climb road car categories, or Autotests and Autosolos."
https://www.nextgreencar.com/news/8914/motorsport-uk-announces-new-electrified-vehicle-regulations/
QUESTION OF THE WEEK
Should Dyson have continued to make a £150,000 EV, or should we only make EVs realistic? What’s wrong with making cars at a high price point?
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