28 Oct 2019 | Mini Cooper SE Gets USA Pricing, Cheap Renault City EV and Ford’s Clever Hybrid Tech
Tesla To Unlock Extended Range For Wildfires | Tesla Cuts Price Of Solar And Powerwall Installations For People Affected By Wildfires | General Motors Sides With Trump | Mini Cooper Se Electric Car Starts As Low As $17,900 | Renault’s K-Ze Offered China Heads To Europe | World’s Largest Storage Battery — 2.5 Gwh | Ford Of Europe Piloting Geofencing And Blockchain Technology | The First Gas Station To Convert To An EV”-Charging Station In America
Show #624
Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Monday 28th October 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.
TESLA TO UNLOCK EXTENDED RANGE FOR WILDFIRES
"Tesla owners living in areas affected by the ongoing CA wildfires will be able to tap into the maximum range offered by their vehicles, even if they purchased trims that feature a software-limited battery pack. The update was confirmed by CEO Elon Musk on Twitter Monday morning." says Simon at Teslarati: " owners of electric cars such as the Model S 40, Model S 60, and Model S 70 will be able to gain extra range for their electric cars. This is made possible by Tesla equipping the vehicles with a larger battery pack that is software-locked. The Model S 40, for example, is equipped with a 60 kWh battery that’s software-limited to 40 kWh. Tesla is yet to confirm if the Standard Range Model 3 will also have its full battery capacity unlocked. Musk’s recent tweet seems to confirm that free unlimited Supercharging will also be enabled for owners in areas that are affected by the ongoing CA wildfires. "
https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-range-upgrade-ca-wildfires-elon-musk/
TESLA CUTS PRICE OF SOLAR AND POWERWALL INSTALLATIONS FOR PEOPLE AFFECTED BY WILDFIRES
"Elon Musk says that Tesla is focusing installations for people affected by the California wildfires: “Apologies to those waiting for Solar/Powerwall outside California, as we are prioritizing those affected by wildfires.” The CEO even said that they are offering $1,000 discounts to them" according to Electrek: "Musk has especially been talking about the capacity to avoid power outages by combining solar power with Powerwall battery packs. The CEO says that Tesla Energy is becoming a distributed global utility and it could outgrow its automotive business."
GENERAL MOTORS SIDES WITH TRUMP
"General Motors, Fiat Chrysler and Toyota say the reason they’re backing the Trump administration in its assault on California’s decades-old campaign to reduce auto emissions is to avoid fragmenting the industry in search of a single national environmental standard." reports The LA TImes: " Those companies and the coalition, which includes such other manufacturers as Subaru, Hyundai, Mazda and Nissan, filed a brief for the defense — that is, the Trump administration — in a lawsuit challenging its effort to roll back existing auto emission and mileage standards."
https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2019-10-29/automakers-trump-emissions
MINI COOPER SE ELECTRIC CAR PRICES FOR US MARKET
"MINI was one of the first auto manufacturers to offer a battery electric version of a production car. In 2009, it began leasing its MINI E, a modified version of the popular MINI Cooper, in selected US markets. That car had an EPA range of 100 miles" according to Steve Hanley for CleanTechnica: "Now the battery electric MINI Cooper SE is ready for its debut in world markets and the company has just announced its starting price in the US will be $29,900 plus $850 shipping and handling. The first cars will reach dealers in America in March of 2020. With federal, state, and local incentives, a new MINI Cooper SE could cost as little as $17,900 and come with special privileges such as access to HOV lanes during commuting hours."
https://cleantechnica.com/2019/10/28/mini-cooper-se-electric-car-prices-for-us-market-announced/
MINI COOPER SE ELECTRIC CAR STARTS AS LOW AS $17,900
Meanwhile electrek notes: "When BMW unveiled the production version of the electric Mini Cooper SE earlier this year, some people were disappointed by the fact that the vehicle was based on the older BMW i3 electric platform. It’s equipped with the i3’s older 32.6 kWh battery pack, which Mini says is good for a range of 235 to 270 km (146-168 miles) based on the WLTP cycle. It means closer to 130 miles on the EPA cycle. The battery pack is limited to 50 kW DC fast-charging and it feeds a 135 kW/184 hp motor."
https://electrek.co/2019/10/28/mini-cooper-se-electric-car-price-us/
RENAULT’S K-ZE OFFERED CHINA HEADS TO EUROPE
"Renault is planning a modified version of the City K-ZE small electric car offered at competitive prices in China for the European market. However, the price for Europe is still unclear, as is the brand under which the K-ZE will be sold in Europe." says Electrive: " it is most likely that the European version of the City K-ZE will be offered by the Renault brand Dacia. Renault presented the K-ZE at the Shanghai Motor Show in April, and the car has been on sale since September for 61,800 yuan, the equivalent of just under 7,900 euros. It has an engine power of 33 kW, a torque of 125 Nm and a 26.8 kWh rechargeable battery"
https://www.electrive.com/2019/10/28/renaults-k-ze-offered-china-heads-to-europe/
WORLD’S LARGEST STORAGE BATTERY — 2.5 GWH
A site on Vernon Avenue in Queens, New York, once was home to 16 gas powered peaker plants. Only 2 remain in operation today. Soon, all of them will be demolished to make room for a 316 MW/2528 MWh storage battery that will be the largest in the world. The proposal to build the new facility was approved last week by the New York Public Service Commission." reports CleanTechnica: "The proposed storage project will consist of 136 battery storage and inverter units, 64 of which will be double stacked on the property."
FORD OF EUROPE PILOTING GEOFENCING AND BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY
"Ford is extending its European plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) trial to Cologne. The study, which is also testing Ford PHEVs on the streets of London and Valencia, Spain, aims to better analyse and show the real-world benefits of such vehicles for the environment and for commercial vehicle owners and operators." says Green Car Congress: "Each of the 10 PHEVs in the 12-month Cologne trial features the FordPass Connect on-board cellular modem, and a plug-in device which enables the geofencing and blockchain capabilities. Whenever a trial vehicle enters a controlled zone, its electric-drive mode is triggered and the zero-emission driving green miles are documented. The emissions mode and time that vehicles enter or leave a controlled zone are recorded to a secure distributed ledger—a blockchain—ensuring emissions data is safely stored and shared among relevant parties including city authorities and the vehicle or fleet owners."
https://www.greencarcongress.com/2019/10/20191028-ford.html
THE FIRST GAS STATION TO CONVERT TO AN EV-CHARGING STATION IN AMERICA
From Jalopnik: "About a month ago, RS Automotive opened in Takoma Park, Maryland, as the first U.S. gas station that’s been converted fully to an EV charging station, reports NPR. Its owner, Depeswar Doley, has kept the station looking largely the same as a regular gas station, so sometimes there’s confusion from drivers who pull up with their internal combustion engine cars, looking to fill up."
“A lot of them pull up and get upset”
https://jalopnik.com/this-is-the-first-gas-station-to-convert-to-an-ev-charg-1839412347
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