07 May 2020 | Skoda Enyaq iV Electric Will Be Their Most Powerful Car Ever
Skoda Enyaq iV Will Be THeir Most Powerful Car Ever | Volkswagen design boss: 'wrong' not to develop dedicated EVs | Fiat Boss reveals hinking behind electric Fiat 500 | Nissan Europe adds Voltia electric van to its range | Musk says Tesla Roadster is delayed until after Cybertruck | German EV Market Share At 8.5% In April | World’s Biggest Solar Plant to Deliver Power at Record-Low | Genius or internet troll? 54% of Tesla respondents believe Musk’s Twitter activity is harming the company
Show #771
Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Thursday 7th May 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.
SKODA ENYAQ IV TEASED AS THE COMPANY'S MOST POWERFUL CAR EVER
“While the pint-sized Citigo iV will go down in history as Skoda’s first EV, the Enyaq iV will actually be the first model to be developed right from the start as an electric vehicle. It will ride on the Volkswagen Group’s MEB platform and take the shape as Skoda’s variant of the VW ID.4. The Czech automaker is now kicking off the teaser campaign by sharing images of camouflaged prototypes depicting the zero-emissions SUV.” Reports Motor1: “The Enyaq will be available with a choice between three battery sizes, kicking off with the 55-kWh pack offering 340 kilometers (211 miles) of range per the WLTP cycle. This base version is rear-wheel drive and comes with a rear-mounted electric motor developing 146 horsepower (109 kW). Step up to the midrange model and you’ll get a larger 62-kWh battery with enough juice for 390 kilometers (242 miles), feeding a rear electric motor producing 177 hp (132 kW). If you want the longest range possible, the rear-wheel-drive variant with the 82-kWh battery is the one to get as it offers 311 miles (500 kilometers) between charges while producing 201 hp (150 kW) from its rear-mounted electric motor. Skoda has also engineered the Enyaq to accommodate an all-wheel-drive layout with dual electric motors, one in the front and one at the back, with either 261 hp (195 kW) or a punchy 302 hp (225 kW). The latter is effectively the company’s most powerful production car ever and is suitably going to be badged as an “RS” model. It will do the 0-62 mph (0-100 km/h) sprint in a respectable 6.2 seconds before topping out at 112 mph (180 km/h).”
https://www.motor1.com/news/420380/2021-skoda-enyaq-iv-teaser/
VOLKSWAGEN DESIGN BOSS: 'WRONG' NOT TO DEVELOP DEDICATED EVS
Volkswagen design chief Klaus Bischoff believes the freedom offered by electric technology means it would have been “the wrong decision” to develop vehicles with multiple powertrains rather than bespoke EVs such as the firm’s forthcoming ID 3.” According to Autocar: “The Volkswagen Group has developed the MEB platform as a dedicated electric architecture, which will be used for a range of ID-branded electric Volkswagens that will sit alongside its existing combustion-engined models. Sibling firms Audi, Seat and Skoda will also offer dedicated EVs built on the MEB platform.”
Klaus Bischoff : “The new architecture that electric vehicles offer gives designers the chance to come up with an entirely new design approach. We’re aiming for develop something that gives customers big advantages: a small footprint, big interior and fully digital architecture. To keep [an electric car] in the traditional space would have been the wrong decision. There is more freedom [with a bespoke EV] because the car’s architecture volume and proportions are different. With the internal combustion engine out of the game, you can really move the proportions and bodystyles and you have a lot more flexibility, particularly in terms of interior design."
https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/volkswagen-design-boss-wrong-not-develop-dedicated-evs
FIAT BOSS REVEALS THE THINKING BEHIND THE NEW ELECTRIC FIAT 500
"Olivier François, Fiat’s brand president, is bullish about the new arrival, not least because it has only been possible through significant development. Early on, Fiat realised that just adapting an existing car to be pure-electric wouldn’t work; the 500’s trademark focus on style and usability can accommodate electrification, as in the recently launched Hybrid edition, but not the extra battery capacity needed for an EV. And as a result, the new 500 really is new, from the ground up." writes Auto Express.
Olivier François: "This is not a Plan B. It is not a current platform that we’ve tweaked to accommodate some batteries. It’s all-new. And this little car, once again, is totally relevant. This is our urban Tesla. The thing we know is that we have a successful nameplate, It is a leader in Europe; people love it. What we don’t really know, what we have no visibility on, is future demand for electric vehicles. But we need to be ready. We know that demand for sure will explode, because of the regulations in city centres."
https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/fiat/500/352208/boss-reveals-thinking-behind-new-electric-fiat-500
NISSAN EUROPE ADDS VOLTIA ELECTRIC VAN TO ITS RANGE
"The Nissan e-NV200 XL Voltia is a conversion from Voltia. The specialists from Slovakia have converted an e-NV200 into a high roof transporter for this purpose. The body and loading area have been lengthened slightly towards the rear, while the roof behind the driver’s cab has been made considerably higher. This means that the XL version of the e-NV200 with eight cubic metres has a loading space twice as large as the basic model." reports electrive: "Voltia had already launched the conversion with the original 24 kWh version of the e-NV200, but the current models have the newer 40 kWh battery. According to Voltia, the vehicle has been optimised primarily for delivery on the last mile. So far the Slovakians have distributed the model on their own and sold it to the French parcel service Chronopost and the British logistics company Gnewt, for example."
https://www.electrive.com/2020/05/07/nissan-adds-voltia-electric-delivery-van-to-its-range/
MUSK SAYS TESLA ROADSTER IS DELAYED UNTIL AFTER CYBERTRUCK
"Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk said in a podcast interview released on Thursday that the company's planned Roadster sports car would take a backseat to the development of other vehicle models." according to Autoblog: "When Rogan asked when he could buy a Roadster, Musk responded he could not provide a date, but said other initiatives, including a ramp-up in production of sport utility vehicle Model Y and the construction of a vehicle factory in Berlin, were priorities. "Roadster is kind of like dessert," Musk said. "We gotta get the meat and potatoes and greens and stuff." Musk also said Tesla should produce the Cybertruck, a futuristic-looking light commercial vehicle, before working on the Roadster. Tesla announced the Roadster, a battery-powered four-seater, at the end of 2017 and at the time said the car would be faster than any street-legal production car. Musk in the past has said Roadster sales would begin after a revised version of its Model S sedan is released, which was widely expected to be at the end of 2020."
1:51:05 When is the Tesla Roadster and CyberTruck being released, and they talk about the future of Tesla
https://www.autoblog.com/2020/05/07/tesla-roadster-delayed-elon-musk/#slide-endcap
GENIUS OR INTERNET TROLL? 54% OF TESLA RESPONDENTS BELIEVE MUSK’S TWITTER ACTIVITY IS HARMING THE COMPANY
Blind, the anonymous professional network with over 3.5 million verified users, asked 50 Tesla employees two simple questions:
How do you think Elon Musk’s Twitter activity is affecting your company?
It is benefiting Tesla
It is not affecting Tesla
It is harming Tesla
In your opinion, Elon Musk is:
A genius
Misunderstood
An Internet troll
All of the above
None of the above
Key Findings:
53.7% of respondents believe Musk’s Twitter activity is harming the company
26.1% of Tesla respondents believe Elon Musk is a genius
10.9% of Tesla respondents believe Elon Musk is misunderstood
10.9% of Tesla respondents believe Elon Musk is an internet troll
43.5% of Tesla respondents believe Elon Musk is a combination of the three
Tech employees are known for having their compensation linked to company value/stock price. So while Elon’s Twitter activity does generate conversation and media coverage, the impact on stock price does raise the question of how those directly work for him and compensated as such think of the situation.
https://medium.com/@teamblind/genius-or-internet-troll-63a9c0a1161c
GERMAN EV MARKET SHARE AT 8.5% IN APRIL
"Germany saw the auto market drop 61% in April. While that doesn’t look good for the industry, it was much more resilient than the large neighboring markets of France and the UK. Market share of different powertrains was largely unchanged over recent months, with plug-in electric vehicles at 8.5% of passenger sales. Tesla was the only auto brand with increased sales year on year, up 10.4%." says Dr Max Holland for CleanTechnica. And whilst we don't have April data for models we do now have MArch model data, MOdel 3 way out front with 2034, then e-Golf 1524, ZOE 945 and e-tron 721.
WORLD’S BIGGEST SOLAR PLANT TO DELIVER POWER AT RECORD-LOW 1.35¢ PER KILOWATT-HOUR
"The two-gigawatt Al Dhafra project in Abu Dhabi, the world’s biggest single-site solar installation, is expected to deliver electricity at a record-low US1.35¢ per kilowatt-hour when it goes into service in 2022." reports energycentral.com: "The bid to the Abu Dhabi Power Corporation came from a consortium consisting of Électricité de France (EDF) and the projects division of Chinese manufacturer Jinko Solar, Greentech Media reports. Greentech notes that Gulf states “have had more than their share of record-low solar prices of late,” with a project in Dubai offering power at 1.7¢/kWh last November, then a Qatar project led by French colossal fossil Total and Japanese conglomerate Marubeni coming in at 1.6¢ in January. “Now, three months later, the record looks set to pass back to the United Arab Emirates,” the industry newsletter says."
QUESTION OF THE WEEK
…we take a break for a week and QotW is back on Sunday 10th May
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