14 Apr 2020 | Renault killing off combustion cars to focus on EVs
Ford F-150 Hybrid Not A PHEV According To Tweet | Tesla asks landlords for rent reduction | Groupe Renault kills off combustion cars to focus on EVs in China | Audi Q4 E-Tron spotted testing | Tesla Model Y Teardown Reveals Oil Filters | Tesla courted for Cybertruck Gigafactory in Missouri | Tesla to build own maps using fleet data | Small low carbon tech is better for decarbonization | World’s first electric RV can now go 249 miles on one charge | New electric Corsa-e now available with Vauxhall Connec
Show #748
Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Tuesday 14th April 2020. It’s Martyn Lee here and I go through every EV story so you don't have to.
Welcome to a new PATREON EXECUTIVE PRODUCER IAN (WATTIE) WATKINS
2021 FORD F-150 HYBRID WON’T BE A PLUG-IN HYBRID ACCORDING TO FORD
Mike Levine (@mrlevine) is the Product Communication Manager for Ford North America, said on a Tweet response to a Car and Driver story about the “laughable” range of 10 mpgs from the Ford F-150 PHEV: “Ford has never said the next F-150 will include a plug-in hybrid.”
@mrlevine: “What Ford has said is that the F-150 and Explorer rear-wheel drive hybrids both share a crazy smart 10-speed modular hybrid transmission sharing 90% of its parts with the non-hybrid 10-speed.”
Jimmy at TorqueNews says: "With the electric assist motor and the modular hybrid transmission, this could also increase the towing capability of the 2021 Ford F-150 hybrid. How much of an increase? Well that’s hard to say. But if the Explorer Hybrid was able to pick up an additional 1,500 lbs. in towing then so could the F-150."
https://www.torquenews.com/9539/2021-ford-f-150-hybrid-won-t-be-plug-hybrid-according-ford
TESLA ASKS LANDLORDS FOR RENT REDUCTION DURING CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC
"Tesla has reportedly asked landlords for rent discounts as it tries to cut costs during the coronavirus crisis." writes the NEw York Post: "Silicon Valley-based Tesla told landlords that it wants to talk about options so it “can continue to partner and work together to ensure a continued and mutually beneficial relationship,” according to the paper. The company has said it primarily leases space for its offices, service centers, retail locations and other parts of its operations."
https://nypost.com/2020/04/14/tesla-asks-landlords-for-rent-reduction-during-coronavirus-pandemic/
GROUPE RENAULT KILLS OF COMBUSTION CARS TO FOCUS ON EVS IN CHINA
"French automaker Renault said Tuesday that it would start building only electric vehicles for China's huge passenger car market, dropping conventional internal combustion engines as well as its joint venture with local manufacturer Dongfeng." reports Econommic Times: "To bolster its all-electric push, Renault said it will "reinforce" its eGT venture, also formed with Dongfeng as well as Renault's Japanese alliance partner Nissan, to further development of its City K-ZE model, a low-cost crossover vehicle that Renault plans to launch in Europe next year."
The Group’s EV business will be developed through the two existing joint ventures: eGT New Energy Automotive Co., Ltd (eGT) and Jiangxi Jiangling Group Electric Vehicle Co. Ltd (JMEV). With 860,000 electric vehicles sold in China in 2019, China is by far the largest EV market in the world. EV sales are expected to reach 25% of the Chinese market by 2030. " says New Mobility: "Groupe Renault expects to reinforce its partnership with Nissan and Dongfeng within eGT to make K-ZE a worldwide car. A derivative for Europe based on “Dacia Spring” concept will be sold from 2021."
Francois Provost, chairman of the China region for Renault: "“We are opening a new chapter in China. We will concentrate on electric vehicles and light commercial vehicles, the two main drivers for future clean mobility and more efficiently leverage our relationship with Nissan”
https://www.newmobility.global/e-mobility/groupe-renault-focus-evs-china/
AUDI Q4 E-TRON SPOTTED TESTING UNDER A VW SKIN
"A new series of spy shots depicting what appears at first blush to be Volkswagen's new ID.4 crossover tell us that Audi's engineers hard at work on the next all-electric member of its crossover and SUV lineup. Sure, it would be easy to dismiss this as just another VW tagging along with some Audi test mules, but the ID.4 has already been spotted in the wild with effectively no camouflage. This mule, on the other hand, is heavily disguised (using Audi's favorite vinyl wrap style) and is wearing Ingolstadt plates." reports Yahoo News: "Audi claimed its concept would pack an 82-kWh battery capable of delivering approximately 280 miles of range (by WLTP measurement). These specs are similar to what we know about the VW ID.4" Expect dual motors, of course for Quattro, and 125kW rapid charging.
https://ph.news.yahoo.com/audi-q4-e-tron-spotted-134600705.html
TESLA MODEL Y TEARDOWN REVEALS OIL FILTERS ATTACHED TO ITS MOTORS
"One of the main arguments in favor of electric cars is that they have much easier maintenance than combustion-engined competitors. Fewer parts and most of them not so prone to wear are the explanations. Yet, the Model Y teardown process carried on by Munro & Associates revealed that the Tesla electric motors have a component that combustion engines also have, and that needs to be replaced quite often: an oil filter." reports Gus at InsideEVs: "Just make no mistake: electric motors do not need oil, so the filter is for the integrated gearbox units, not for the motors. We just wonder how often these filters must be replaced."
TESLA COURTED WITH $1 BILLION INCENTIVE FOR CYBERTRUCK GIGAFACTORY IN MISSOURI
"Recent reports from Missouri reveal that Joplin is offering a $1 billion package to Tesla if the electric car maker decides to build its upcoming Cybertruck Gigafactory in the city. The $1 billion package includes a massive 1,042-acre plot of land at a 50% discount, a 100% tax break for 12 years, and generous state incentives." according to Teslarati: "If Tesla’s previous facilities are any indication, the Cybertruck Gigafactory could employ up to 7,000 people from the area, making it a valuable contributor to the state’s economy."
https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-1-billion-incentive-cybertruck-gigafactory-missouri/
TESLA WILL BUILD ITS OWN MAPS USING DRIVING DATA FROM THE FLEET
"Tesla CEO Elon Musk just confirmed on Twitter that the Smart Summon feature in the future will use the GPS points from the maps/navigation data generated by the Tesla fleet cars that have previously been at that location, in order to further refine this feature" reports XAutoWorld@: "Tesla currently uses Google Maps as the base and to pin-point the points of interests but the navigation data and routing engine are provided by another software company named MapBox which has been working on these projects for about a decade now.In 2018 MapBox acquired the routing engine named ‘Vallhalla‘, the is now part of the core API MapBox provides to users and enterprise clients like Tesla, Facebook, and many more. MapBox claims they gather data from millions of devices that their application is a part of and they reach at least 600 million people a month."
https://www.xautoworld.com/tesla/smart-summon-tesla-maps-data/
SMALL LOW CARBON TECH IS BETTER FOR DECARBONIZATION
"Low carbon technologies that are relatively small in scale, more affordable and can be mass deployed are more likely to enable a faster transition to net zero emissions than high cost mega-projects, a new academic study released this week has argued." says Green Biz: "The study, published the journal Science, highlights the benefits of prioritizing smaller technologies such as heat pumps, solar panels and electric bikes to drive decarbonization, in comparison to more costly, large-scale solutions such as nuclear power plants and carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects. While it cautions that smaller scale green technologies are "not a panacea" as they cannot substitute larger alternatives in all circumstances — such as for long haul flights or industrial processes — the study nevertheless found smaller systems carried lower investment risks as well as greater scope for improvements in both cost and performance."
WORLD’S FIRST FULLY ELECTRIC RV CAN NOW GO 249 MILES ON ONE CHARGE
"Eight months ago, the world’s first completely electric motorhome debuted at a German trade show. With a range of 124 miles, the camper showed that while the RV industry continues to work towards more eco-friendly designs, the big limitation is range." according to Curbed.com: "Now, that same zero-emissions RV is on the market with a longer range and interior photos, to boot. Real life testing will be necessary to see how close drivers can get to the newly advertised range of 249 miles, but that’s a lot more than the recently announced Winnebago Industries commercial RV that only has a range of 85-125 miles per charge. The camper most similar to the Iridium EV is probably the Nissan e-NV200, a zero-emission, factory-built camper that’s completely electric. But this pop-up camper isn’t a full-size motorhome, and it also comes with a 124-mile range before it needs to charge."
https://www.curbed.com/2019/9/17/20870863/electric-rv-for-sale-camper-motorhome-iridium-dusseldorf
NEW ELECTRIC CORSA-E NOW AVAILABLE WITH VAUXHALL CONNECT
"Vauxhall has announced that its new Corsa-e EV is now available with the firm’s enhanced connected services tool. The firm’s first electric car is now offered with ‘Vauxhall Connect’, which allows owners and drivers of the battery-powered hatch to see charging information and grant other remote services." reports CarKeys.co.uk: "Just a few of the services being introduced include a ‘digital key’, which allows for remote locking and unlocking for up to five users, along with a function that can beep the horn and flash the lights away from your car to help find it in a car park. The Corsa-e’s large 50kWh battery allows for a claimed 209-mile electric range."
https://www.carkeys.co.uk/news/new-electric-corsa-e-now-available-with-vauxhall-connect
QUESTION OF THE WEEK
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