03 Mar 2020 | Hyundai Ramps Up Kona Electric Production
Volkswagen ID.4 Electric SUV Will Go On Sale In 2021 | Dacia Spring Electric Unveiled | Fiat 500e Debuts With 118 Horsepower, 199-Mile Range | Automobili Pininfarina | Unveils Battista Anniversario Electric Hypercar | Hyundai Ramps Up Kona Electric Production For Europe; Will It Ease Availability In The Us? | Tesla Model S And X Get MCU Retrofits | Free2move Officially Announces Citroën Ami Car Sharing In Paris | The World Is Facing An Air Pollution Pandemic
Show #715
Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Tuesday 3rd March 2020. It’s Martyn Lee here and I go through every EV story to save you time.
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.
VOLKSWAGEN ID.4 ELECTRIC SUV WILL GO ON SALE IN 2021
The ID. CROZZ showcar evolves into its series production version, the ID.4. Volkswagen is forging ahead with its electric mobility strategy by providing a detailed insight into the brand’s first all-electric SUV during a webcast following the cancellation of the Geneva Motor Show. The new ID.4 will be launched this year. “We will produce and sell the ID.4 in Europe, China and the U.S..” The ID.4 will initially be launched with rear-wheel drive, while an electric all-wheel drive version will be added to the portfolio at a later date.
DACIA SPRING ELECTRIC UNVEILED
What do you call a Renault City K-ZE in China which is being sold elsewhere? The Dacia Spring Electric. If you haven't heard of Dacia they're known for cars like the Duster and Sandero. The 100% all-electric city car focuses on the essentials, combining simplicity, reliability, and accessibility. The production version of the Dacia Spring Electric will be available in the first half of 2021, with a range of more than 124 miles (based on WLTP test procedure). Could this even undercut the VW e-Up, SEAT Mii ELectric and Skoda CityGo iV trio in terms of price?
FIAT 500E DEBUTS WITH 118 HORSEPOWER, 199-MILE RANGE
A new era begins for the Fiat 500 with this, the new fully electric version that was designed from the ground up to be an EV. The Fiat 500e won't replace the current model, however. This is a completely new project and will be built in Turin, while the current-generation Fiat 500 with internal combustion power and hybrid powertrains will continue to be manufactured in Poland." says Motor1: "While its proportions look virtually identical to the current model, the new 500e is slightly larger overall. Length and width increase by 2.3 inches (6 centimeters) while the wheelbase is nearly an inch longer (2 cm). The instrument panel is replaced by a 7-inch digital screen. The steering wheel cut in the lower part and the area between the seats, and the flat floor offers a bit more interior space for passengers. the new 500e uses a single electric motor with a 42 kWh battery pack to get around town. The motor develops 118 horsepower (88 kilowatts) which Fiat says can send the 500e to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 9.0 seconds. Flat out, the electric Fiat will reach 93 mph (150 km/h) and if you're judicious with the throttle, it offers a range of 199 miles per Euro-spec WLTP standards. When it's time for a charge, the 500e can reclaim 80 percent of its range in 35 minutes using an 85 kW charger. The new Fiat 500e can be ordered today in Euro markets, with a special launch edition available at a starting price of €37,500. "
https://www.motor1.com/news/402135/new-fiat-500e-debuts
AUTOMOBILI PININFARINA UNVEILS BATTISTA ANNIVERSARIO ELECTRIC HYPERCAR
Automobili Pininfarina has unveiled the ultimate expression of the world’s first luxury pure-electric hyper GT, the Battista Anniversario.
The Battista Anniversario celebrates 90 years since Battista ‘Pinin’ Farina created the legendary Pininfarina coachbuilder and design house, and is the most powerful sports car ever to be designed and built in Italy.
Just five will be created, each priced from €2.6 million.
Its carbon fibre monocoque chassis and body provide the strong foundation and backbone of the hyper GT, with its four electric motors generating 1,900 hp and 2,300 Nm torque, apportioned to each wheel by the most advanced torque vectoring system. This delivers a level of performance that is unachievable today in any road-legal sports car with an internal combustion engine. Faster than a current Formula 1 car in the sub-two second 0-100 km/h sprint, the Battista accelerates from 0 to 300 km/h in less than 12 seconds.
These levels of performance are delivered alongside a zero-emissions range of over 500 km (310 miles), thanks to the car’s 120 kWh battery pack.
HYUNDAI RAMPS UP KONA ELECTRIC PRODUCTION FOR EUROPE; WILL IT EASE AVAILABILITY IN THE US?
That's the question asked by Bengt Halvorson at Green Car Reports: "Hyundai created one of the most appealing affordable long-range electric vehicles yet—its Kona Electric crossover—and then has faced widespread criticism for limiting supply well below demand in the U.S. and Europe. Starting in March, it will ramp up production of the Kona Electric at its manufacturing plant in the Czech Republic—to about 30,000 EVs in the first year. Hyundai claims the move will help it become the “biggest provider of zero-emission vehicles in Europe”—with a total of 80,000 units annually available in 2020, more than tripling the current volume ceiling for the model in Europe. Battery supply for the Kona Electric will also be localized to Europe, which Hyundai said “guarantees a stable supply with a reduced distance to the plant as well as a fixed amount of batteries needed for the production of Kona Electric.”"
TESLA MODEL S AND X GET MCU RETROFITS
Tesla has announced that it will now begin offering MCU retrofit options for older vehicles built before the company rolled out its newer, faster infotainment unit. With this, Tesla has ensured that older Model S and X will retain, if not improve, their resale values, which are already quite impressive on their own right." reports Simon at Teslarati: "The differences between the features of Tesla’s MCU1, which is equipped with an NVIDIA Tegra-3 chip, and the company’s MCU2, which is fitted with a more powerful x86_64 processor, are subtle. However, later features such as the Tesla Arcade and Tesla Theater were compatible only with the newer, faster units. Once equipped with Tesla’s MCU2, older vehicles will gain full access to the company’s most recent features. This essentially updates MCU1-equipped Model S and X to such a degree that they are almost on par with the company’s newest vehicles. A Tesla Model X 75D with Full Self-Driving and an MCU1, for example, can be upgraded to a vehicle with Tesla Theater and the latest FSD preview visuals for $2,500. These improvements, of course, raises the value of Tesla’s older vehicles. "
Apart from...the radio. But you'll have NEtflix and Youtube.
For ALL customers, Infotainment Upgrade ADDS or REMOVES support for:
- adds: 5GHz Wi-Fi networks
- adds: YouTube, Netflix, Hulu, Twitch, Caraoke, and TRAX
- adds: Beach Buggy Racing 2, Cuphead and Stardew Valley
- removes: AM, FM and Sirius XM
For FSD customers (i.e. those who have the new FSD computer), the Infotainment Upgrade ADDS support for:
- Enhanced Driving Visualization
- Records from all cameras for DashCam
- Records from all cameras for Sentry
- Infotainment Upgrade comes with Four (4) Year, Unlimited Mile Warranty (see pic below for details)
I wonder if your Tesla breaks under warranty, and it has MCU1, if you get the new upgrade for fre?
https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-mcu1-upgrade-boosts-model-s-x-resale-values/
FREE2MOVE OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCES CITROËN AMI CAR SHARING IN PARIS
"PSA Group's car-sharing arm Free2Move, soon will make use of its all-new specialized car-sharing machine, the Citroën Ami." says InsideEVs: "An undisclosed number of Ami (but probably in the hundreds) will be offered in Paris, France from Spring 2020 - just in time to compete with Renault's ZITY car sharing in Paris (500 ZOE)."
Without a subscription, rental costs €0.39 per minute, €18 for the first hour (then €9 per hour for any additional hours) and €60 per day.
https://insideevs.com/news/401793/free2move-citroen-ami-car-sharing-paris/
THE WORLD IS FACING AN AIR POLLUTION PANDEMIC
"While the world is rightfully concerned about COVID-19 turning into a full-blown pandemic in the coming days, scientists say another pandemic has already been underway, with much less attention" reports Fast Comapany: "for years, bringing with it cardiovascular and respiratory diseases and causing nearly 10 million premature deaths just last year. The cause, according to a study published today by the European Society of Cardiology, is air pollution, mostly from human-made sources, and it’s having dire public health effects worldwide. Globally, two-thirds of all premature pollution deaths are attributable to human-made pollution, which is mainly fossil-fuel related. That means 5.5 million deaths worldwide a year are potentially avoidable, the researchers say."
https://www.fastcompany.com/90470467/the-world-is-facing-an-air-pollution-pandemic
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