08 Feb 2020 | Tesla's Wild Week
GM Teases Modular EV Platform | Tesla's Wild Week | Zoe With 345,000km On Clock Still Has Near Perfect Battery | Volvo Xc40 Recharge Plug-In Hybrid T5 2020 Review | Experts Uncover Deep Flaws In Efficiency Tests For Plug-In Hybrid Vehicles | U.S. House Democrats Propose Electric Vehicle Charging Network
Show #691
Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Saturday 8th February 2020. It’s Martyn Lee here and I go through every EV story to save you time.
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GM TEASES MODULAR EV PLATFORM
"General Motors has unveiled an updated electric vehicle roadmap. Originally shown in 2017, the latest roadmap is largely unchanged except for the addition of an electric pickup truck. That shouldn’t be too surprising as GMC recently announced the HUMMER EV will be introduced on May 20th and go on sale in the fall of 2021." reports CarScoops: "GM confirmed the first vehicle to ride on their all-new electric vehicle platform will be a crossover from Cadillac. As we exclusively reported last month, it will use the same architecture that underpins the Cruise Origin. GM teased their modular electric vehicle platform. The company didn’t say much about it, but noted it allows for larger footprints and a lower height. It will also feature an all-new battery system which has a higher energy density and a “high-power” DC fast charging capability. While a lot remains unknown, we can expect upcoming electric vehicles to have a range of at least 300 miles (483 km). GM CEO Mary Barra has previously described that distance as the “sweet spot” and noted the 2020 Bolt isn’t too far from it as the model can travel 259 miles (417 km) on a single charge."
TESLA'S WILD WEEK
"Tesla’s (TSLA) wild stock ride began Monday with a whopping 20% increase to $780 per share. That was followed by a 17% price spike Tuesday, sending prices near the $1000 dollar mark. Year-to-date that’s a 170% increase in Tesla’s share price, and a quadrupling since its low of $178 in June 2019." says Forbes: "Even after a 17% correction Wednesday the company is still up 71% on the year – sitting at $755 per share as of this writing. Tesla has now overtaken Volkswagen, General Motors, Daimler, and Ford, only trailing Toyota in total market capitalization. About half of the nation’s EVs are located in California, where a state mandate for zero emission vehicles is helping to drive demand. EV adoption is driving investment in battery technology, which leads to increased battery performance and reduced costs. Average market prices for battery packs have plunged from $1,100/kWh in 2010 to $156/kWh in 2019, an 87% fall in real terms according to Bloomberg."
ZOE WITH 345,000KM ON CLOCK STILL HAS NEAR PERFECT BATTERY
"An all-electric Renault Zoe with an impressive 345,000 kilometres on the clock has caught our attention this week – not due to the distance it has been driven, but because of the apparently near perfect state of its battery." according to The Driven.io: "But in an interesting video shared by the “official” Renault Zoe owners club on Twitter on Monday, a Turkish Youtuber Erdem Çizmecioğulları has shown that one Zoe electric hatchback has been 345,000km and its battery is still going strong. Using an OBD2 device which allows access to the battery data via a smartphone app, the 2017 Renault Zoe shows the 96% state of health, and an 82.1% usable state of charge giving 41kWh usable capacity from the vehicle’s original 52kWh."
eRally Motorsport: "We've been thrashing the hell out of our eRally Zoe and it's still 100% Soh, according to CLIP after it's BMS update."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=6&v=0Dcj5foFdyQ
VOLVO XC40 RECHARGE PLUG-IN HYBRID T5 2020 REVIEW
"The XC40 Recharge Plug-in Hybrid T5, to give it its full name, completes the Swedish firm’s goal of offering a plug-in version of every model in its line-up. It’s also the first Volvo to use the new Recharge branding" writes James Attwood for Autocar: "While Volvo’s other plug-in models, built on the SPA architecture, feature an electric motor that drives the rear wheels, the XC40 twins the three-cylinder 1.5-litre engine with a front-mounted electric motor, powering the front wheels only. Both motors are driven through a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox. unlike some plug-ins, the XC40 has the same boot capacity as the regular version. But the moment the XC40 accelerates from standstill on a soothing push of electric power, there’s no doubt that a hybrid powertrain propels the car. The reason the boot is unaffected is because the whole powertrain is located under the bonnet. The three-cylinder engine produces 178bhp, with the electric motor adding 80bhp. The electric unit draws power from a 10.7kWh lithium ion battery, which is located in the central drivetrain tunnel of the car, and allows for a claimed 31 miles of electric-only running."
EXPERTS UNCOVER DEEP FLAWS IN EFFICIENCY TESTS FOR PLUG-IN HYBRID VEHICLES
"Studies have shown hybrid cars, which run on plug-in electric batteries and a combustion engine, could produce three times more carbon dioxide than thought and use up to three times more fuel. Studies by the UK's Emissions Analytics and a 2018 academic study in Norway, among others, have shown that tests performed on the plug-in hybrid vehicles failed to take into account driving habits." repotrs The National.ae: "They found drivers were far more likely to neglect to charge their cars than was accounted for in laboratory testing. This, combined with the fact that the cars have a range of up to only 40 kilometres when properly charged, meant drivers were often failing to use the battery at all. In effect, many vehicles were emitting more gas and using more fuel than they would have with a normal combustion engine, because of the extra weight of a battery. Nick Molden, chief executive and founder of Emissions Analytics, told The National the problem was not of companies misleading the public, but that they were legally required to carry out their tests in laboratory settings."
PaulTan.org said: "A study conducted by The Miles Consultancy, a fuel management firm, found that vehicles produced by BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi, and Volkswagen often returned fuel consumption figures that are up to three times higher than advertised. In fact, 187 regularly-charged BMW PHEVs were audited, and the average fuel economy is only 42 mpg (6.7 litres per 100 km) versus the claimed figure of 137 mpg (2.1 litres per 100 km). Experts such as Paul Hollick, the managing director of The Miles Consultancy, questioned whether some plug-in hybrid cars ever get to see a charging cable. “In a lot of cases, we see PHEVs never being charged, doing longer drives and this is not a good fit for a lot of car users,” he said.e of the UK’s most popular electrified cars is the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, but Emissions Analytics boss Nick Molden said “the problem is the official figures are very sensitive to assumptions about how PHEVs are being charged and driven.”"
https://paultan.org/2020/02/07/phevs-consume-3-times-more-fuel-in-the-real-world/
U.S. HOUSE DEMOCRATS PROPOSE ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING NETWORK
"Two U.S. lawmakers on Thursday unveiled legislation that would create a nationwide electric vehicle (EV) charging network to promote the shift from gasoline-powered vehicles and reduce greenhouse gas emissions." reports Reuters: "Democratic Representatives Andy Levin and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez released legislation dubbed the "EV Freedom Act" to create a network of high-speed charging stations within five years along the public roads of the national highway system in the United States at a U.S. Capitol press conference. The 18-page bill reviewed by Reuters notes a lack of charging stations poses a significant barrier to higher electric vehicle sales. Levin said creating a new fleet of charging stations nationwide will be expensive but will create good paying jobs. A separate bill introduced this week by Representative Yvette Clark and others would focus on increasing access to EV charging stations in low-income and disadvantaged communities. Former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg would require all new cars by 2035 be electric and would build a highway charging network with the goal of a station every 50 miles (80 km)."
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/u-house-democrats-want-create-141229757.html
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