16 Feb 2020 | Canada To Spend $8 Million On 160 DC Chargers
Canada To Spend $8 Million On 160 DC Chargers In Ontario | New Tesla Model S Long Range Plus Claims 390 Miles | EV Range-Topper Carves Out New Role For Kia | 2017 Nissan Leaf The Only EV To Receive Dependability Award | Porsche Delivers First Taycan 4S | Tesla Is Starting To Add Third-Party Charging Stations | Tesla Unlocks Rear Heated Seats For Model 3 SR And SR Plus | The UK's First Supply Of 1,500 VW ID.3 | Tesla Steps Into The Utility Space With New Grid Controller Patent | Question Of The Week
Show #699
Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Sunday 16th February 2020. It’s Martyn Lee here and I go through every EV story to save you time.
Welcome to new Producer KEVIN HEISLER
Welcome to new Producer JULIE
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.
CANADA TO SPEND $8 MILLION ON 160 DC CHARGERS IN ONTARIO
"There is a lot going on in Canada in terms of fast-charging infrastructure as Petro-Canada launched a coast-to-coast network, Tesla completed its coast-to-coast Supercharging highway and Electrify Canada is expanding." reports InsideEVs: "The latest news is that the Government of Canada will provide an additional $8 million CAD for more fast chargers in Ontario. The plan is to build 160 chargers at 73 locations, which would be $110,000 per site and $50,000 per charger on average. The investment is part of the strategic plan to switch to zero-emission vehicles by 2040. Natural Resources Canada so far provided support for more than 830 fast chargers (built or under construction)."
https://insideevs.com/news/398891/canada-8-million-160-chargers-ontario/
NEW TESLA MODEL S LONG RANGE PLUS CLAIMS 390 MILES
"A new Tesla Model S Long Range Plus variant has a claimed driving range of 390 miles, according to the Tesla website. There is also a Long Range Plus version of the Model X SUV, which is rated at 351 miles of range." says Car And Driver: "Tesla has not provided any details on how it added the additional range, and the only change we can see on the Model S is a new set of 19-inch standard wheels with a so-called Tempest design. We do know that there is some sort of software tweak involved, as Musk tweeted that the company will roll out a software update for existing Model S and Model X owners to unlock extra range."
Engadget says: "You could theoretically drive from New York City to Pittsburgh with enough battery life left to go on a brief tour. The Model X, meanwhile, is now estimated to drive 351 miles on a charge instead of the earlier 328 miles. The question is whether or not these improvements will translate to further gains for cars like the Model 3 and Model Y -- extra range at the high end only matters so much if just a fraction of Tesla's customers can see the benefits."
https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a30941743/tesla-model-s-long-range-plus/
https://www.engadget.com/2020/02/15/tesla-extends-model-s-x-range
EV RANGE-TOPPER CARVES OUT NEW ROLE FOR KIA
"A lofty, high-performance electric vehicle currently headed down the Kia product pipeline is, like all EVs, something of a gamble. For the mainstream Korean automaker, it’s also a departure." according to The Truth About Cars: "Kia marketing chief Carlos Lahoz called the model a halo. The Imagine, he said, is “as significant in showing our EV capability for the future as the Stinger was for showing how far Kia had progressed when it was launched.” Herrera has talked up the possibility of getting electric supercar builder Rimac on board, thus ensuring an excess of performance."
Autoblog said: "The extent of Rimac's involvement remains a mystery. Similarly, we don't know how Kia defines the term "super-high performance," and whether it alludes to straight-line speed, Tail of the Dragon-taming handling, or both. The architecture will be compatible with an 800-volt electrical system that charges the battery from 20% to 80% in 20 minutes"
https://www.autoblog.com/2020/02/14/kia-imagine-concept-taps-rimac/
2017 NISSAN LEAF THE ONLY EV TO RECEIVE DEPENDABILITY AWARD
Leading consumer advocate J.D. Power recognized the Nissan LEAF with top honors in their 2020 U.S. Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS).
Nissan LEAF ranked as the top performing non-premium vehicle and at the top of the compact car segment with a score of 83 problems experienced per 100 vehicles (PP100). The Nissan LEAF is the first pure electric vehicle to win an overall segment award in the history of the VDS study.
PORSCHE DELIVERS FIRST TAYCAN 4S
"Porsche has started deliveries of the Taycan 4S, the less expensive version starting at $104,000, of its new premium electric car." says Electrek: "Performance battery: a 79.2kWh pack with a total output of 390kW and a 225kW charging capacity. Performance battery Plus: a 93.4kWh pack, same as Turbo, but limited to 420kW versus 560kW for Turbo versions. It has a 270kW charging capacity. The smaller battery pack results in a range of 407 km (253 miles), and the bigger one should result in 463 km (288 miles) on a single charge based on the WLTP standard."
https://electrek.co/2020/02/14/porsche-delivers-first-taycan-4s/
TESLA IS STARTING TO ADD THIRD-PARTY CHARGING STATIONS
“This spring break, we have changed your navigation to show more charging options in Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland and Austria. Choose the charging symbol at the bottom right of your touch screen, scroll down and select a Supercharger, Destination Charger or public charger to add it to your route. Public chargers have different access requirements and you might need to download a app like Plugsurfing and create an account to make use of the charger. This functionality will be improved in future software updates and we will continuously add new chargers.”
TESLA UNLOCKS REAR HEATED SEATS FOR MODEL 3 SR AND SR PLUS
"Tesla is offering rear heated seats for the Model 3 Standard Range and Standard Range Plus as a $300 upgrade that can be activated through an over-the-air software update." says Joey at Teslarati: "The latest update follows a request by Tesla Model 3 owner who asked Elon Musk if a cold-weather OTA update can also activate the rear heated seats. Model 3 variants all have the necessary hardware for heated seats, enabling Tesla to easily manage feature activation through software. While rear heated seats were originally active on early Tesla Model 3 variants with the Partial Premium Interior and above, the company ultimately disabled the feature on Model 3 Standard Range and Standard Range Plus."
https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-model-3-rear-heated-seats-standard-range/
THE UK'S FIRST SUPPLY OF 1,500 VW ID.3
"If you have an order placed on Volkswagen's all-new electric car - or indent to put a deposit down soon - you might be waiting a while for it to arrive." reports ThisIsMoney.co.uk: "Alan Day Group, which was given just 35 of the first UK ID.3 deliveries, said its allocation was bought up within an hour of being made available online in May last year. These cars will be arriving with customers at the end of March - around the 28 or 29, This is Money has been told - as Volkswagen's ramps-up efforts to sell plug-in models to repair the damage to its reputation as a result of the diesel emissions cheating scandal."
TESLA STEPS INTO THE UTILITY SPACE WITH NEW GRID CONTROLLER PATENT
"This week, Tesla locked in a new patent for a distributed electrical grid management system, with capability to control everything from massive grid-scale energy storage installations down to your washing machine to keep everything humming along nicely." reports CleanTechnica: "The new patent is a natural extension of Tesla’s Grid Controller solution that manages grid-scale assets, but the new solution takes it a step further by folding in Tesla’s in-home solutions, and then some. The result proposed in the new patent is an end-to-end distributed grid management system with the capability to identify and manage assets on the grid, in businesses, and in homes as a means of balancing the grid more effectively. It leverages each asset on the grid as a part of the overall system."
QUESTION OF THE WEEK
JAN from EMOBILITYNORWAY.COM
We had our most extended EV road trip in the summer of 2018. We started in Halden in Norway. Went down the Swedish west coast to Gothenborg and took the ferry to Denmark for a party. Then we headed for Leipzig for visiting the BMW site there and look at the i3 and i8 production. Next stop was Prague before travelling to Munich for some talks whit Ionity and a visit at BMW Welt.
On our way to Italy, we drove through Austria and Switzerland before crossed the Stelvio Pass (2.757 m). When in Italy we visited Garda, Venezia, Firenze, Toscana and Genova before a short visit in Franch and Chamonix. On our trip home we also visited and charged in Luxembourg, Belgium and the Nederlands.
On our three weeks journey, we drove some 6500 km in 12 countries (included Norway). As a charging nerd, I tested charging my BMW i3 (94AH) in all the countries.
The largest barrier for travelling long distances in an EV is in our head.
DAVID PARTINGTON
The longest trip I ever did was 500miles each way from London to Dundee in my 24kwh Nissan Leaf back in December 2018. Each way, it took over 13 hours and 10 rapids to cover the 500miles - not really a journey for the faint hearted, definitely a bit of an adventure - but in some ways I can't wait to try it again, perhaps later on this year, and see if I can do it more quickly in the summer, and with the benefit of there being a lot more rapids in place now, which means you can take bigger 'bets' for each leg between charges.
JON KNODEL
The longest road trip I’ve done in my Tesla Model 3 RW Long Range was 550 miles each way. From Santa Barbara, CA to the northeast forests of California. A robust fast charging network is the cure for any “range anxiety” or adventure to remote forests! Charging was slowed since I went 100%, so I could have a climate control at night while our ICE car compadres bundled up I their tents and trailers. I did have to stop at a Gas station though... I accumulated so many bugs from driving California’s Central Valley my autopilot cameras and human cameras were blocked. I’m considering a few longer trips as well. Electrons know no limits!
Jim McLaren
When I had my Nissan Leaf I did a number of 400 mile road trips, but when I picked up my new Tesla Model 3, I decided I would be more adventurous. In November I set off on a 1200 mile journey from Falkirk, just outside Edinburgh and drove to Spain, ran the San Sebastian marathon, had a coffee and a sandwich then drove home again - sleeping in the car on the way. The abundance of Tesla supercharger stations made charging very easy and the level 2 autonomous features of the car meant that it did over 90% of the distance driven itself, taking a lot of the strain out the drive in what was mainly poor weather conditions.
ANDERS HOVE
Last year I did three 1000-mile EV trips on 3 continents to check out the charging infrastructure: in California, from Beijing to Inner Mongolia, and in Germany and France (the latter was the longest of the three). But this is evolving so quickly that I'd like to do it again.
I'm very interested in the route you are considering, since for my European trip I had considered going into Italy but it looked like charging infrastructure was a bit sparse. As well, on my European trip, EV renting was a bit inflexible, and my company required drop off at the same place as I rented the vehicle.
BRENT KINGSFORD
About six months after I bought my Chevy Bolt, I decided it was time to prove to myself that a quick 1200+ mile road trip from my house in Washington State to the University of Utah in Salt Lake City , Utah was possible. With a little help from Plug Share I mapped my route there and back. Despite a few charger issues, we made it there. After moving my son’s residence, we turned right back around and headed home. There were a few times I was worried about making it to the next ccs dc fast charger, but we did it.
JAMES DUBBEN
4 Months in to owning our Tesla M3 Dual Motor LR we set off across the USA.
Florida to Washington 2,508 miles in 3 days. 20 supercharger stops. Healthiest trip ever across the US.
Week with friends and family then 2 more weeks wandering across the west US seeing 10 National parks/monuments.
7,200 miles overall.
MARK WESTON
I took my then 3 week old Hyundai kona electric car last May from where I live just outside Waltham Abbey Essex to East Kilbride Scotland 398 miles each way. Being a novice I made some mistakes but realised that the public Charging I.e Highway Electric need to improve available charging stations and more of them.
MATTHEW BOOTH
I myself have driven 480Km each way from Northern Switzerland to Italy for our holiday, in my Jaguar iPace.
It's actually no different from driving a vehicle with ICE, other than it's quieter and more relaxing.
There are so many charging stations in Europe now it's not challenging at all.
Bill Miller
When we got our new 2018 BMW i3 in March, I convinced my reluctant wife that a long road trip in our new car would be “fun”! We traveled a sizable chunk of the SE USA taking our journey
through 6 states all of which were pretty unaware of the existence of EV’s. At that time the entire state of Alabama had zero public charging stations.
However, since about all car dealers had at least one EV on their list of available vehicles, they had installed a charging station. So our BMW was welcomed at all different brands of dealers. In fact a Nissan dealer offered to give us a courtesy ride to & back from a local restaurant for lunch while our car was charging.
MARK WALKER
I'm emailing to answer your question of the week. To date our longest EV trip has been from Parry Sound ON to Cornwall, ON, approximately 500 km. No issues for the most part, but we have to take different routes depending on whether we decide to charge and have an outing at a level 2, or just want to get there.
We have a EV Road trip planned for the summer, travelling from Parry Sound, ON to Prince Edward Island...