22 Apr 2020 | Tesla’s 3 Billion Miles Of Autopilot
Volkswagen ID.3 Production Coming Back Online Tomorrow | Chinese EV start-up Byton furloughs staff | 2020 Porsche Taycan 4S First Drive - Forget 203 miles. Autoblog easily got 300 | Tesla drops a bunch of new Autopilot data, 3 billion miles and more | Range Rover Evoque and Land Rover Discovery Sport plug-in hybrids revealed | Electric awards issue of Top Ger Mag | Mercedes-Benz Ceases Production Of Hydrogen GLC F-Cell FCV | Seoul Is Subsidizing 700 Electric Taxis
Show #756
Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Wednesday 22nd April 2020. It’s Martyn Lee here and I go through every EV story so you don't have to.
Welcome to two Patreon supporters! Well a half welcome…MARTY YOUNG is now an EXECUTIVE PRODUCER of this podcast. And welcome to SSHADE as a new PRODUCER.
VOLKSWAGEN ID.3 PRODUCTION COMING BACK ONLINE TOMORROW
"After over a month break (since March 20), Volkswagen ID.3 production in Zwickau, Germany will restart tomorrow (April 23) as the German manufacturer gradually adapts to the new reality." says InsideEVs: "The company was making "over 100" ID.3 per day before the coronavirus outbreak and we assume that thousands were already produced. The latest news is clear about the planned market launch this Summer - no change here. Frankly, there would be no point to delay anything as there are customers who placed orders and many of the 30,000 1ST cars were already produced. The only missing piece of the puzzle for Volkswagen is probably the software for the ID.3, but as the company multiple times reiterated the Summer launch date, we assume they are sure it will be ready by then."
They will start with 30-50 cars a day.
VW says: "Vehicles built will be equipped with whatever version of the software suite is current at the corresponding time of their production and prior to their delivery to customers in summer will receive the latest version. Subsequent to the market launch the digital functions will then continue to be updated in regular increments in the following months"
Jurgen Stackmann, Member of the Board of Management Volkswagen Brand for Sales, Marketing & After Sales put a video out on Twitter [audio]
https://insideevs.com/news/412880/vw-id3-production-back-online-tomorrow/
CHINESE EV START-UP BYTON FURLOUGHS STAFF
"Electric vehicle start-up Byton has put hundreds of its team in the US on furlough, following lay-offs in China last year and planned pay cuts, as disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic threaten to derail the commercial release of its first car." says South China MOrning Post: "Byton initiated the series of cost-reduction measures this week amid efforts to put on track its main operations in Nanjing, capital of eastern coastal Jiangsu province, where production of the M-Byte electric sport utility vehicle (SUV) is based. More than 200 workers are affected by the temporary work stoppage at Byton’s North American headquarters in Santa Clara, California – a research and development base focused on software design, with about 450 staff. The M-Byte was expected to initially release in mainland China, the world’s biggest car market, later this year. That would be followed by the car’s commercial launch in the US and Europe by the second half of 2021."
2020 PORSCHE TAYCAN 4S FIRST DRIVE - FORGET 203 MILES. AUTOBLOG EASILY GOT 300
From Dan at Autoblog who has his regular test route: "The 2020 Porsche Taycan 4S covered 213.5 miles this time, and it finished the day with 87 miles left over. Those figures add up to an astounding projected range of 300.5 miles — a full 48% and a whopping 97.5 miles better than its rating. This doesn’t just back up my prior result, it underlines it and makes it bold. The Taycan, be it the Turbo or now 4S, can grossly exceed its EPA ratings while driving in a normal manner." Autoblog writes: "This result in the Taycan 4S is possible because all early-build cars are being made with the larger 93.4-kilowatt-hour (kWh) battery option that is the standard offering on Turbo models. These early 4S cars also come with a glass roof and an intelligent home charge cord, bringing the starting price up to $114,340 with destination included. The true base 4S and its 79.2-kWh battery won’t be built for some time, so we won’t know its official range (172-175, I’m guessing) until later. But we do know it’ll have a normal steel roof and will start at $105,150."
The charge port flat is a good old push/release door like most cars or even fossil cars. No fancy swipe with your finger.
https://www.autoblog.com/2020/04/22/2020-porsche-taycan-4s-first-drive/
TESLA DROPS A BUNCH OF NEW AUTOPILOT DATA, 3 BILLION MILES AND MORE
"Tesla’s head of AI, Andrej Karpathy, released a bunch of new data about Autopilot and its features in a new presentation." reports electrek: "In November 2018, after 4 years of Autopilot, Tesla owners reached the first billion miles driven with Autopilot activated. Now less than two years later, Tesla’s fleet has now added 2 billion more miles for a total of 3 billion miles on Autopilot. The new information was released by Andrej Karpathy, Tesla’s head of AI and computer vision, in a new presentation at the Scaled Machine Learning Conference. It was held at the end of February, but a video of the presentation was just released. Out of the 3 billion miles on Autopilot, 1 billion were driven using Navigate on Autopilot, which is able to pass slower cars and take off-ramp exits by changing lanes."
https://electrek.co/2020/04/22/tesla-autopilot-data-3-billion-miles/
RANGE ROVER EVOQUE AND LAND ROVER DISCOVERY SPORT PLUG-IN HYBRIDS REVEALED
"Land Rover has revealed a new plug-in hybrid powertrain that will be found in both the Range Rover Evoque and Discovery Sport. Both of these models have been completely redesigned in the last 24 months, but had so far only been available with a range of four-cylinder petrol and diesel Ingenium engines." writes evo.co.uk: "The new powertrain is made up from a new 197bhp turbocharged three-cylinder petrol engine paired with a 108bhp electric motor that’s mounted on the rear axle. the new plug-in the most powerful version of both on sale. It’s also the fastest of each, reaching 62mph in 6.4sec (0.2sec faster than the Evoque P300). Unlike Land Rover’s traditional mechanically linked all-wheel-drive system found in most variants, power in these P300e models is sent from each of the power units to their relevant axles only, with no mechanical connection between the axles."
15kWh battery, 41 miles on electric, 84 mph.
ELECTRIC AWARDS ISSUE OF TOP GER MAG
" in this month’s issue of TG magazine we’re celebrating the very best electrified cars the world has to offer. Take the Koenigsegg Gemera, with its 600bhp three-cylinder, twin-turbo engine supported by three electric motors that produce a further 1,100bhp – now that’s our kind of hybrid. This month we’ve not only picked out the ten best electric cars in the world, but we’ve also rated every single EV on sale in the UK today."
Kona Electric has been acknowledged as the Best Small Family Car in the inaugural TopGear Electric Awards, after it showcased it’s strengths on a 1000 mile road trip across 9 European countries. The New Renault ZOE has been awarded the Best Supermini Award.
MERCEDES-BENZ CEASES PRODUCTION OF HYDROGEN GLC F-CELL FCV
"Mercedes-Benz has reportedly pulled the plug on the hydrogen fuel cell version of its GLC, called the GLC F-Cell. Back in 2017, the manufacturer announced the FCV’s arrival with great aplomb, first vehicles were handed over to certain customers in October 2019 and it officially became available for order in the spring of 2019." says InsideEVs: "Some examples were sold to Germany’s National Organization Hydrogen (NOW) and H2 Mobility, as well as several regional ministries and the German railway service, Deutsche Bahn. The goal was for it to be leased to people living in cities where hydrogen fueling station infrastructure was more developed"
https://insideevs.com/news/412248/mercedes-glc-f-cell-production-stop/
SEOUL IS SUBSIDIZING 700 ELECTRIC TAXIS
"South Korea’s capital, Seoul, is purchasing 700 electric taxis. This subsidy is worth 18.2 million won (around $15,000) per EV, far more than the 12.7 million ($10,300) subsidy for buying an EV for personal use. Seoul is making foreign manufacturers, not only Korean brands, eligible for funding." according to Clean Technica: "Taxi companies in Seoul will be able to choose from 19 different models from 7 manufacturers. These include the Tesla Model S, Tesla Model 3, Jaguar I-PACE, and Nissan Leaf. The city notes that the high mileage of 440 kilometers daily for taxis if electrified will significantly improve air quality."
https://cleantechnica.com/2020/04/22/seoul-is-subsidizing-700-electric-taxis/
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