14 Nov 2019 | Ford Mustang Mach-E Teaser, Lucid Begin Factory Construction and Why Did Tesla Choose Berlin
Ford Ad For Mustang Mach-E | Lucid Motors Confirms EV Production In Arizona | Volkswagen Breaks Ground On Expansion For Electric Vehicle Production In U.S. | German States Have Been Courting Tesla | Major Battery Storage Facility Planned In Goleta | Tesla Plans New Massive V3 Supercharger Station Connecting L.A. To Phoenix | Tesla Secures Manufacturing License For Gigafactory 3 | L.A Adds Hundreds Of EV Chargers To Streetlights
Show #640
Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Thursday 14th November 2019. 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.
FORD AD FOR MUSTANG MACH-E
[audio]
"Ford’s upcoming battery-electric crossover SUV won’t just feature Mustang-inspired styling, it’ll also wear the famed sports car’s name. Officially christened Mustang Mach-E, the Blue Oval’s latest EV is due to show its face this Sunday, November 17th." says Greg Fink for Motor1.com: "Ford will live-stream the reveal of the new model with the assistance of actor Idris Elba, who's set to join the Mach-E on stage. If prospective buyers like what Ford shows, they can then head over to Ford.com at the end of the reveal (which is slated to come to a close at 9:30 PM EST) and reserve a Mustang Mach-E by submitting a $500 refundable deposit"
And as the car won't have a manual gearbox, with EV's being as easy to drive as an automatic, they're missing a trick if they don't call it a Mach E Auto.
https://www.motor1.com/news/382153/ford-mustang-mach-e-ev-crossover-name/
LUCID MOTORS, CONFIRMS LUXURY EV PRODUCTION IN ARIZONA
"After almost three years, the Tesla competitor has finally confirmed that the local Planning and Zoning Commission of the Arizona city approved its multi-year site plan on Nov. 6. Land grading has already begun in September, and the company estimates that production will start before the end of 2020." reports IBTimes.com: "Atieva, the parent company of Lucid, couldn't get the funding to get Lucid Air, the premier electric vehicle (EV) that the company unveiled back in 2016, in the line of production. But with a $1 billion investment from Saudi Arabia through the kingdom's sovereign wealth fund in 2018, issues concerning its eventual roll-out dissolved."
https://www.ibtimes.com/tesla-competitor-lucid-motors-confirms-luxury-ev-production-arizona-2863689
VOLKSWAGEN BREAKS GROUND ON EXPANSION FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLE PRODUCTION IN UNITED STATES
Volkswagen of America today marked the start of construction for its electric vehicle production facility. The Chattanooga site, where production begins in 2022, will be Volkswagen’s North American assembly base for electric vehicles.
Volkswagen began long-range EV production earlier this month in Zwickau, Germany, and will then roll out assembly worldwide, including in Anting and Foshan, in China, in 2020 and in the German cities of Emden and Hanover by 2022. The Chattanooga site will be VW’s North-American hub for EV manufacturing.
Volkswagen’s investment of about $800 million in the Chattanooga facility will require the addition of about 1,000 jobs. The production version of the ID. CROZZ will initially be assembled in Zwickau. Production of that vehicle is set to begin in Chattanooga in 2022.
GERMAN STATES HAVE BEEN COURTING TESLA
There's a great analysis of the Gigafactory 4 decision from Bloomberg reporters.
"Ramona Pop [a mayor of Berlin and Senator for Economy, Energy and Enterprises] responded with a two-page letter that waxed lyrical about Musk as a pioneer and visionary and offered financial sweeteners to attract him to a city bustling with a vibrant tech scene and a network of auto research institutes." says Bloomberg: "Two federal states that border France also touted their virtues. he European Gigafactory would sit on the outskirts of Berlin, with an additional engineering and design center within the city limits. Labor costs in eastern Germany are generally lower than in the traditional engineering hubs in the southern part of the country."
But is labor cost the real issue here? As per Reuters: "While the average combustion engine takes 3.5 hours to make, and the average transmission requires 2.7 hours of assembly, an electric motor takes only about 1 hour to assemble, consultants at Alix Partners said in their Global Automotive Outlook study. Today the biggest cost factor is still battery packs, which amount to between 30% and 50% of the cost of an electric vehicle."
Back to Bloomberg: "The area where Tesla plans to put the factory, called Gruenheide just east of Berlin in the state of Brandenburg, provides quick access via the Autobahn and a link to public transport. It’s a site that BMW had considered before choosing the city of Leipzig a few hours south for a new factory in 2001. The government in Brandenburg, one of five federal states in the former communist east, also lobbied hard to win over Musk, offering at least 100 million euros in aid."
Reuters reports on the financial aid being given to all auto makers to ensure GErmany's dominance: "German carmakers and suppliers are tapping in to a 1 billion euro ($1.10 billion) fund set up by Germany to increase battery cell production and are further aided by a government-funded research facility to increase battery cell development know-how."
And the key section from the Bloomberg piece: "Musk had a demand that was as clear as it was hard to execute for notoriously bureaucratic Germans: to build the site as swiftly as the one in Shanghai, according to Brandenburg’s economy minister, Joerg Steinbach.";
We know all future Gigafactories will be all-in-one solutions, they will make the battery, the powertrains and stamp the vehicles. We know it will be MOdel Y for Germany.
MAJOR BATTERY STORAGE FACILITY PLANNED IN GOLETA
"the 60-megawatt set of lithium-ion Megapacks — utility-scale batteries that have 60 percent more energy density than the Powerpack — would store power and return it to the grid when needed." reports the Santa Barbara Independent: "SoCal Edison turned to storage after the proposed Puente natural gas power plant in Oxnard was denied by the California Energy Commission in 2017. Goleta’s existing Ellwood peaker plant, like many gas-powered plants, faces retirement. Smaller 10- and 20-megawatt battery storage facilities are planned in Carpinteria, Ventura, and a second one in Goleta."
https://www.independent.com/2019/11/13/major-battery-storage-facility-planned-in-goleta/
TESLA PLANS NEW MASSIVE V3 SUPERCHARGER STATION CONNECTING LA TO PHX
"Tesla has promised to incrementally roll out more Supercharging stations over time, with specific emphasis on its new V3 technology, reportedly in the process of starting construction on a huge, 28-stall Supercharger station that will connect Los Angeles to Phoenix." reports Steven Loveday at InsideEVs"
https://insideevs.com/news/382042/tesla-plans-v3-supercharger-station-la-phx/
And from BuffaloXpress.com: "The Tesla Supercharger station in Kettleman City between San Francisco and Los Angeles and isn’t Tesla’s most significant on the earth. However, it’s the largest within the US, and it’s the most representative of Tesla’s vision for charging stations. It’s equipped with not solely 40 Supercharger stalls but in addition batteries, solar arrays, and even a lounge for Tesla owners. The brand new Supercharger V3 stalls ought to make the trip a little bit faster with nearly twice the power output than the V2 chargers."
http://buffaloxpress.com/telsa-to-upgrade-its-largest-supercharger-station-with-v3-technology/4106/
TESLA SECURES MANUFACTURING LICENSE FOR GIGAFACTORY 3
"Tesla has been able to get its manufacturing license for Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai, China. With Tesla already demonstrating Chinese produced Model 3s to the Chinese press, this step is seen as the last official hurdle before Tesla officially begins production and starts the process of ramping up consumer cars “Made in China.” says CleanTechnica: "Media outlet SINA reports that MIIT has agreed to allow Tesla (Shanghai) Co. Ltd. to be a pure electric passenger car manufacturer."
LA ADDS HUNDREDS OF EV CHARGERS TO STREETLIGHTS
"The City of Los Angeles has installed EV charging stations directly attached to more than 130 streetlight poles. Hundreds more are planned. The streamlined solution to electric-car charging has been deployed in major European cities but not so much yet in America." according to Bradley at Electrek: "The city’s conversion of street lights to energy-efficient LEDs made the EV solution possible. The fee for charging is typically $1 to $2 per hour. Parking is free. The stations are operated by charging network companies familiar to EV drivers, such as ChargePoint, EVGo, Flo, and GreenLots."
Angelica Frias, Smart City Strategist for City of Los Angeles tells us more [audio]
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