15 Apr 2020 | Virus lockdown gives us a taste of a fully electric future
First carmakers reopen factories in Europe | Mercedes EQE Spied In Testing In Snow | Tesla’s Octovalve Enabled 10% Increase In Range For he Model Y | Hyundai Kona Electric Sales Up Above 5,000 Per Month | Minnesota, New Mexico to adopt California ZEV rules | Chevy Bolt EV recall | The electric Mini SE crushes its EPA range estimate in our real-world test | Lucid Motors’ EV factory starts to take shape | Coronavirus lockdown gives us a taste of a fully electric future
Show #749
Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Wednesday 15th April 2020. It’s Martyn Lee here and I go through every EV story so you don't have to.
COVID-19: FIRST CARMAKERS REOPEN FACTORIES IN EUROPE
"Following the pandemic closure of production facilities around the globe, first carmakers are carefully reopening the plants to begin making cars and components again. We will update the electric vehicle-related reopenings continuously here." reports electrive: "Now that the Hyundai plant in Nošovice is going back to production, the European production of the Kona Electric can continue. This had only just started in March a few days before the shutdown, but the European arm of the South Korean company still managed to deliver the first vehicles."
https://www.electrive.com/2020/04/14/hyundai-and-audi-start-production-again/
MERCEDES EQE SPIED IN MOTION TESTING IN THE SNOW
"A new spy video catches a fleet of Mercedes-Benz EQE electric sedans testing on a snowy road. Oddly, there's a Volvo leading the pack in some of the shots. " says Chris Bruce for Motor1.com: "These EQEs wear heavy camouflage, including many placeholder components on the body that further conceal the sedan's shape. In front, the EV wears a smooth nose that is a familiar feature from other vehicles in the EQ family like the EQC. There's a tiny vertical strip of camouflage on the headlights that make us wonder if the designers are considering a split layout like older examples of the E-Class. The EQE will reportedly feature a powertrain with an electric motor on each axle. They're combined output will be around 402 horsepower (300 kilowatts) and 564 pound-feet (765 Newton-meters). The batteries should offer upwards of 373 miles (600 kilometers) of range. The EQE will sit under the EQS in Mercedes forthcoming electric vehicle lineup."
https://www.motor1.com/news/409573/mercedes-benz-eqe-spy-video/
TESLA’S OCTOVALVE ENABLED A STAGGERING 10% INCREASE IN RANGE FOR THE MODEL Y
"In their latest podcast, Third Row Tesla talked with Elon Musk and Sandy Munro about some of the innovations Tesla brought to bear in optimizing the design of the Tesla Model 3. " reports Kyle Field for Clean Technica: "To start things off, they dove into the new Octovalve in the Tesla Model Y that upgrades the heat pump in the Model Y to enable the larger, heavier vehicle to achieve a range that’s comparable to the Model 3. The improvements in the new heat pump in the Tesla Model Y translates to a staggering 10% improvement in efficiency. The result of Tesla’s efforts was a new valve system called the Octovalve that is paired with a completely redesigned heat pump."
HYUNDAI KONA ELECTRIC SALES UP ABOVE 5,000 PER MONTH AGAIN
"In March, Hyundai managed to bring back its global plug-in electric car sales closer to its peak results - above 8,000 per month, including 5,000 Kona Electric.
According to the official stats, the company sold 8,079 units (up 0.1% year-over-year), which is 5.0% of total sales volume." according to InsideEVs: "Hyundai Kona Electric – 5,053 (1,391 in South Korea), Hyundai IONIQ Electric – 2,025, Hyundai IONIQ Plug-In – 1,011"
https://insideevs.com/news/409501/hyundai-kona-electric-sales-march-2020/
MINNESOTA, NEW MEXICO, AND OTHER STATES ARE POISED TO ADOPT CALIFORNIA ZEV RULES
"Last month, Washington State became the 12th state to adopt California’s zero-emissions mandate. Next up: Minnesota and New Mexico, with Colorado and Ohio not far behind." says Bradley for Electrek: "That would make 13 states and counting that follow California clean-air rules for cars instead of the weakened standards rolled out by the Trump administration last month. The number could grow to 23 me-too ZEV states. That’s how many states in fall 2019 sued to block the Trump administration from undoing California’s authority to set strict car pollution rules. The entire balance of power regarding emissions rules is shifting before our eyes. The so-called California ZEV states could soon govern emissions rules for a bigger chunk of the American auto market than the EPA."
2019-2020 CHEVY BOLT EV RECALL: ROLLING DOWN THE REAR WINDOW COULD OPEN THE DOOR
"General Motors has issued a recall for certain 2019 and 2020 Chevrolet Bolt EV electric cars due to a very odd potential malfunction that could cause rear doors to open while driving. Door-handle cables in the 897 affected vehicles may be too long, according to a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recall notice." says Green Car Reports: "When the rear window is opened, it may contact and damage the door-handle cable, according to the notice. If the cable is sufficiently damaged from repeated window opening, it may cause the door to open unexpectedly."
THE ELECTRIC MINI SE CRUSHES ITS EPA RANGE ESTIMATE IN OUR REAL-WORLD TEST
Autoblog has been driving the Mini Electric, their reviewer says:" After 3 hours and 40 minutes, I roll into my driveway with 32 battery miles and 32% charge left over. The Mini SE’s trip odometer says I’ve driven 105.7 miles. Tack on the remaining miles and you get a final projected range of 137.7 miles. That’s 27.7 miles and 25.2% better than the EPA rating. Next morning, the range meter said once again that a full charge was good for no more than 110 miles."
https://www.autoblog.com/2020/04/14/mini-se-electric-car-range-test/
LUCID MOTORS’ EV FACTORY STARTS TO TAKE SHAPE
"Four months after breaking ground, the Lucid Motors factory in Arizona sits — its new roof and sign emblazoned on its side— waiting for construction to resume." writes Tech Crunch: "The electric vehicle company released Tuesday new photos of the factory located off Interstate 10 between Phoenix and Tucson. Construction was “well ahead of schedule” when Gov. Doug Ducey imposed a stay-at-home order due to COVID 19. Despite the pause in construction, Lucid Motors doesn’t expect a significant delay in its completion even with current events. Tooling and machinery for the factory was “well underway” before the current crisis, according to the company. Lucid Motors’ latest timeline was to start production of the Air, beginning in late 2020. In 2018, Lucid Motors secured $1 billion in funding from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund. Lucid said at the time that the $1 billion in funding would be used to complete engineering development and testing of the Lucid Air, construct its factory in Arizona, begin the global rollout of its retail strategy starting in North America and enter production."
https://techcrunch.com/2020/04/14/lucid-motors-ev-factory-starts-to-take-shape/
CORONAVIRUS LOCKDOWN GIVES US A TASTE OF A FULLY ELECTRIC FUTURE
"More people are considering switching to electric vehicles thanks to improved air conditions during the pandemic. With less air pollution being documented due to the COVID-19 lockdown, more people are realising the benefits of moving away from petrol and diesel cars according to a study by Venson Automotive Solutions." so says Euronews: "Of the participants surveyed by Venson, 45 per cent agreed that the vast improvement in air quality at the current time had made them reconsider owning an electric car (EV) in the future. Another 17 per cent said that it had reaffirmed their decision to buy an electric car. The global pandemic has given us a taste of the future we could achieve if emissions targets were reached. Urban centres like New York have seen a “sharp reduction” in carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and methane emissions. With more than half of the world’s population in lockdown, the coronavirus lockdown has even cleared the air in India’s megacities where air pollution often reaches dangerously high levels."
QUESTION OF THE WEEK
How can the EV industry help people get into driving electric cars as soon as this is all over?
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