14 Feb 2020 | Uber Users Willing To Pay Extra To Ride In An EV
China’s January EV Sales Slump | Tesla Becomes One Of China’s Top Local Electric Car Producers In January | Entry Level Audi e-tron 50 On Sale In UK | Dacia EV Officially Announced For 2021-2022 Launch | Tesla Forces Drivers To Take Software Updates | Uber Users Willing To Pay Extra To Ride In An EV | Tesla Giga New York To Host “Company Talk” In April | Nidec To Invest $1.8 Billion In Three Electric Motor Plants For EVs | Indian Oil Goes For Metal-Air Batteries With Phinergy | New York Goes ‘All
Show #697
Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Friday 14th February 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.
CHINA’S JANUARY EV SALES SLUMP
"China reported a double-digit decrease in electric vehicle (EV) sales for a sixth consecutive month in January, and warned that the Covid-19 outbreak was weighing on automakers already under significant pressure." reports Technode.com: "January sales of new energy vehicle (NEVs), which include all-electric and plug-in hybrid cars, plunged 54.4% from a year earlier to 44,000 units, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said Thursday. The association mainly attributed the sales decline to the week-long Spring Festival holiday, which began earlier than usual this year. The number of working days in January was five days fewer than the last year.
The outbreak had a limited impact on the market in January as Spring Festival historically produces a lull in sales, though CAAM warned that it would have a bigger near-term effect on the country’s auto industry than the 2003 SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) outbreak. The outbreak has also brought the entire auto supply chain to a halt, triggering widespread part shortages, as local manufacturers were forced to extend downtime during an extended holiday.
https://technode.com/2020/02/14/china-january-ev-sales-2020/
TESLA BECOMES ONE OF CHINA’S TOP LOCAL ELECTRIC CAR PRODUCERS IN JANUARY
"January was a big month for Tesla’s Giga Shanghai, with Made-in-China Model 3 production hitting its stride following trial manufacturing runs at the end of 2019. Reports indicate that Giga Shanghai was able to build over 2,600 units of the Made-in-China Model 3 in January, despite the company stopping operations for the Chinese New Year, and later, the coronavirus outbreak." writes Joey for Teslarati: "With a rate of 2,625 Made-in-China (MIC) Model 3s produced before the Lunar New Year holiday on January 25th, it appears that Tesla was indeed producing about 1,000 units of the all-electric sedan per week when the year started."
The Top 5 is BYD, BAIC/BJEV, SAIC VW, GAC and Tesla.
https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-made-in-china-model-3-giga-shanghai/
Tomorrow on a Saturday Special we'll hear from our man in China, it's former guest Rupert Mitchell. Rupert is Chief Strategy Officer for WM Motor http://www.wm-motor.com/en/. They sell the EX5 and EX6, they are highly connected long range SUVs. We'll talking about the Chinese market, manufacturing their cars because WM have their own manufacturing unlike others, charging and payments.
ENTRY LEVEL AUDI E-TRON 50 QUATTRO ON SALE IN THE UK
the e-tron 50, which is now available for UK ordering priced from £59,900 ($77,870) OTR.
WLTP-ratified range of up to 190 miles, with new Technik, Sport and S line specification options that sit below the most lavishly equipped Launch Edition. Its battery has a 71 kWh capacity, and delivers its energy via a newly calibrated drivetrain incorporating an electric motor on each axle with a combined output of 230kW.
Director of Audi UK Andrew Doyle. “Our research has shown that on a daily basis many prospective buyers will cover significantly less than the 190-mile maximum achievable in the e-tron 50 on a full charge, so for them this more accessible yet no less accomplished variant makes perfect sense. It is also notable for introducing attractive new specification options, including the ever popular S line, that will roll out across the e-tron range in the longer term.”
The Launch Edition also incorporates a comfort remote preconditioning system, which is a higher functioning version of the remote preconditioning system fitted as standard elsewhere in the range. Where that enables the driver to use the myAudi app to remotely activate the primary heating and ventilation system so that it reaches the temperature that was programmed when the vehicle was last driven, the more advanced version also permits remote adjustment of the desired temperature and can also control seat heating and ventilation, steering wheel heating (if fitted) and window heating.
AUDI’S EV POINT MAN MAKES HIS CASE AT CHICAGO AUTO SHOW
"Cody Thacker, a former U.S. Marine Corps lawyer now heading Audi of America’s ambitious electric-vehicle initiative, lays out a case as to why EVs ultimately should win the hearts and minds of consumers (and dealers)." says Wards Auto: "There is a joy of driving EVs because of their driving dynamics, quickness and quietness; it’s a more serene experience. By 2025, a third of Audi’s product portfolio will be electric. Two years ago, the conversations with dealers were different, There was more pushback. Now, dealers are seeing the value. We want to get them comfortable enough to take that leap of faith. It’s something we’re all trying to figure out."
https://www.wardsauto.com/chicago-auto-show/audi-s-ev-point-man-makes-his-case-chicago-auto-show
DACIA EV OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCED FOR 2021-2022 LAUNCH
"Tucked away in a lengthy document about Groupe Renault’s 2019 financial results is an interesting product roadmap regarding plans about electrification. It features the already launched Renault Zoe and the recently announced plug-in hybrid variants of the Captur, and Megane, along with the Clio regular hybrid, but there are also nine other models hiding under covers." says Motor1.com:"One is a plug-in hybrid version of an existing model while another is a non-plug-in-hybrid variant of a current Renault. Six are new additions to the range, including the first car to ride on the CMF-EV platform developed specifically for zero-emissions cars. In addition, the Twingo Z.E. is listed for a 2020 release. “Dacia Urban City Car” listed in the BEV category alongside the aforementioned CMF-EV-based model. It’s scheduled to come out in the 2021-2022 timeframe. the car could end up as a European variant of the Renault City K-ZE launched in China last year. As a matter of fact, Renault said not too long ago that it would “announce a variant of K-ZE, adapted to Europe, as an entry point into zero-emissions-in-use mobility.”
https://www.motor1.com/news/398674/dacia-ev-confirmed-2021-2022-launch/
TESLA FORCES DRIVERS TO TAKE SOFTWARE UPDATES
Now it looks like those Tesla owners who have been resisting new software updates might not have much of a choice to accept them anymore. Several Tesla owners with vehicles on older software versions are reporting having received the following in-car message from Tesla: "In order to maintain compatibility with and access to connected vehicle features, this vehicle requires a software update to at least version 2019.40.2.3. If not updated prior to 1-May-2020, this vehicle may no longer be able to receive over-the-air software updates, access the Tesla Mobile App & associated features, utilize voice commands, receive streaming media content, and other connectivity dependent features may be impacted."
https://electrek.co/2020/02/14/tesla-force-software-updates-owners-resisting-them/
EUROPEAN TAXI AND UBER USERS WILLING TO PAY EXTRA TO RIDE IN AN EV
"A new YouGov online poll found that 52 percent of taxi and Uber customers in seven European countries are willing to pay 15-20 euro cents (16-22 cents US) more per kilometer for a ride in an EV. Sixty percent of people aged 18-24 said they were willing to pay the extra fee for an EV. In Paris and Brussels, 59 percent and 57 percent of citizens, respectively, said they were willing to pay more for an EV ride." reports Charged EVs magazine.
https://chargedevs.com/newswire/european-taxi-and-uber-users-willing-to-pay-extra-to-ride-in-an-ev/
TESLA GIGA NEW YORK TO HOST “COMPANY TALK” IN APRIL
@elonmusk: "Tesla April company talk will be from our Giga New York factory, where we make SolarGlass & several other products. Will also offer customer & media tours."
From TEslarati: "Tesla produces it’s solar roof tiles, branded as Solarglass Roof, at the Buffalo, New York factory. The company has a goal to manufacture approximately 1000 solar roofs per week, and will focus customer installations on California before expanding to the rest of the United States and eventually to overseas markets. Tesla has also reportedly been hiring hundreds of employees for its Buffalo facility in a bid to ramp up production at Giga New York and increase focus on its solar business."
https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-giga-new-york-company-talk-event-date-april/
NIDEC TO INVEST $1.8 BILLION IN THREE ELECTRIC MOTOR PLANTS FOR EVS
"Nidec intends to invest some 200 billion yen ($1.8 billion) in EV powertrains push, which will result in the manufacturing capacity of millions of electric motors for cars." according to InsideEVs: "The company already produces some 3 billion electric motors annually for all kinds of applications, but those are actually often tiny machines. The traction motors, on the other hand, are a new branch.
The investment will be divided into three plants:
Dalian, China: from 2021, 100 billion yen ($910 million) investment (up from 55 billion yen planed initially), 3.6 million electric motors annually
Poland: from fiscal 2021, 50 billion yen ($455 million) investment, 2.4 million electric motors annually
Mexico: from fiscal 2023, 50 billion yen ($455 million) investment, 2.4 million electric motors annually"
It's expected that by 2030 the demand for EV electric motors will increase to 30 million annually (some vehicles will be equipped with 2, 3 or 4 motors).
Nidec hopes that it will capture up to 35% of the market (from 4% currently)!"
https://insideevs.com/news/398006/nidec-three-electric-motor-plants-evs/
NEW YORK GOES ‘ALL IN’ ON EVS
Mayor Bill de Blasio delivered his seventh State of the City Address, unveiling his administration’s progressive vision for a carbon-free future." says NGT News: "the mayor recently issued two executive orders that address this growing need to combat the effects of climate change. One order called for the electrification of the city’s fleet, and the second prohibits projects that aim to expand fossil fuel infrastructure projects. The mayor has issued an executive order to have all on-road vehicles in the fleet be plug-in electric by 2040. By 2025, 4,000 vehicles will be replaced or converted to electric. By 2040, the entire city fleet will be fully electric. The city will stop any new infrastructure, such as power plant expansions, pipelines or terminals, from expanding the use of fossil fuels."
https://ngtnews.com/mayer-bill-de-blasio-enacts-two-executive-orders-to-electrify-new-york
INDIAN OIL GOES FOR METAL-AIR BATTERIES WITH PHINERGY
"After it was announced last year that Indian Oil Corp (IOC) wants to start production of battery cells for electric cars in cooperation with a foreign company, the state-owned IOC is now officially giving details." according to electrive.com: "Now, according to Indian Oil Company, both companies are also already holding talks with vehicle manufacturers on the introduction of aluminium-air batteries in three-wheeled electric vehicles, cars and buses. Last year, it was already announced that the state-owned IOC intends to start production of battery cells for electric cars in cooperation with a foreign company."
https://www.electrive.com/2020/02/13/indian-oil-announces-first-battery-production-plan-details/
NEW QUESTION OF THE WEEK
The MYEV.com Question Of The Week…
I’m thinking of driving to Italy, 1028 miles and 17 hours. Channel Tunnel to France, skirt the bottom of Switzerland, northern Italy past Milan and onto Pisa. What’s the longest EV road trip you’ve done or WOULD you do?
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