18 Oct 2019 | Model 3 Prices And Availability Change, Ford Creates Virtual Charging Network and SUVs Are Major Polluters
Tesla’s Model 3 Receives More Range | Tesla Model Y Prototype Spotted In Washington | Tesla Gets Approval To Start Manufacturing In China | Tesla’s China Plant Is Hooked Up To State Grid Power Supply
Phase 2 Of Tesla Gigafactory 3 | Ford Transit Custom Plug-In Hybrid | LG Chem Sees Electric Vehicles Accounting For 15% Of All Car Sales In 2024 | Ford Introduces North America’s Largest Ev Charging Network | Surging SUV Demand Is Canceling Out The Environmental Benefit From Electric Cars
Show #614
Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Friday 18th 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.
CLOSER LOOK AT THE XC40 RECHARGE
A reminder about the 249 mile, 78kWh battery with 75kWh usable, Volvo XC40.
A fun tidbit from The Verge: "Interestingly enough, the battery almost ended up being much weaker, with fewer cells and less capacity, than what was eventually decided upon. According to Henrik Green, Volvo’s chief technology officer, the company’s engineers were halfway through the XC40 Recharge’s development cycle when something big happened in the EV space that threw them for a loop: the unveiling of the Model 3. When Volvo learned that the Model 3 would have a range of over 300 miles, the company’s engineers set to work to do what they could to increase their own range by upgrading the vehicle’s battery. “We decided to go for a bigger size than we originally thought,” Green said. That meant contacting the automaker’s battery suppliers, South Korea’s LG Chem and CTAL in China, to add modules to its battery to improve the performance. If customers wanted electric cars with bigger batteries and longer ranges, then Volvo would have to deliver, he said. “That was not a fun decision,” Green added, “being adamant about quality and everything about producing vehicles, doing that very late in the program was super critical.”"
https://www.theverge.com/2019/10/17/20917697/volvo-xc40-recharge-electric-ev-photos-hands-on
TESLA’S AFFORDABLE MODEL 3 RECEIVES MORE RANGE AND UPDATED PRICE
Tesla recently added an additional 10 miles of range to the Model 3 Standard Range Plus, allowing one of the company’s most affordable vehicles to travel 250 miles on a single charge. The update comes amid Tesla’s revised delivery window for its vehicles." says Teslarati: "The Model 3 Standard Range Plus’ range boost comes at a price, with Tesla increasing the cost of the vehicle by $500. Yet, despite this, the Model 3 remains a super reasonable buy at $39,490. In addition to the additional range and increase in pricing for the Model 3 Standard Range Plus, Tesla has revised its estimated delivery timelines for its vehicles. The Standard Range Plus and Long Range Model 3, for example, now have an estimated 6-10 weeks for delivery, while the Performance variant now requires 8-10 weeks before the vehicle is ready to be handed over. Vehicles now require an extremely affordable $100 as a non-refundable deposit for its entire electric vehicle lineup. Tesla’s Solid Black paint, which used to cost $750, has also been adjusted to $1,000."
https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-model-3-standard-range-boost-price-update/
UK pricing, according to AutoExpress: "Tesla has raised the price of the Model 3, in the car’s third price-change in the last six months. Prices for the base-model Standard Range Plus and mid-tier Long Range variant have increased by roughly £1,000 to £38,500 and £47,000 respectively. The flagship Model 3 Performance has increased by around £2,000 to £52,000."
https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/tesla/model-3/106152/tesla-model-3-prices-raised-across-the-range
TESLA MODEL Y PROTOTYPE SPOTTED IN WASHINGTON
The Tesla Model Y prototype sightings continue and now a Model Y has been spotted in the state of Washington – indicating the likely start of long-distance testing." says electrek: "Now a Model Y prototype, which appears to be the same one spotted in Fremont yesterday, was spotted at a Supercharger station in Vancouver, Washington (via Shamus Johnson on Twitter). The Tesla Supercharger in Vancouver, Washington is 668 miles away from Fremont, which could mean that Tesla is starting to long-distance test some pre-production Model Y prototypes. Tesla vehicles generally go through an extensive test program in different conditions and climates for at least a year ahead of production."
https://electrek.co/2019/10/17/tesla-model-y-prototype-spotted-long-distance-testing/
TESLA GETS APPROVAL TO START MANUFACTURING IN CHINA
"Tesla Inc was added to a government list of approved automotive manufacturers, China’s industry ministry said on Thursday, as it granted the electric-vehicle maker a certificate it needs to start production in the country." reports Reuters: "The list was published by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. This means “the green light is fully given to Tesla for production in China,” said Yale Zhang, head of the Shanghai-based consultancy Automotive Foresight. Tesla can start production any time, he said. Tesla intends to produce at least 1,000 Model 3s a week from the Shanghai factory by the end of this year, as it tries to boost sales in the world’s biggest auto market and avoid higher import tariffs imposed on U.S. cars."
TESLA’S CHINA PLANT IS HOOKED UP TO STATE GRID POWER SUPPLY
"Tesla Inc.’s first Chinese car factory is officially plugged in." according to Bloomberg: "State Grid Corp of China has opened the first transmission line in a power connection project that increases electricity supply to the Tesla plant to a level required for preliminary production, according to a statement from the Chinese company’s Shanghai branch. State Grid said it will eventually increase the power supply eightfold for the factory to run at capacity. State Grid said the project - involving 55 kilometers of cables and about 17 kilometers of ducts - was among the quickest it has completed, taking only six months."
PHASE 2 OF TESLA GIGAFACTORY 3
"According to a report by China’s Global Times, Tesla has completed construction of the parts of its Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai that will be dedicated to producing automobiles. Now it has begun work on “phase 2” of the factory, which will house a battery manufacturing facility." says CleanTechnica: "Feng Shiming, a veteran analyst for the Chinese auto industry analyst, tells the Global Times he has heard from Tesla employees at GF3 that the first batch of vehicle batteries for the Model 3 will be fully assembled as of October 30. He predicts that mass production at the Shanghai factory will not start until after the Spring Festival holidays in January next year. The factory built in the first phase will merely assemble parts shipped from the US, Feng says."
FORD TRANSIT CUSTOM PLUG-IN HYBRID
"Underpinning the Transit PHEV is Ford’s popular 1.0-litre EcoBoost petrol engine, which is paired to a 92.9kW electric motor. The total output is 124bhp and 355Nm of torque. Interestingly Ford describes the engine as a ‘range extender’ – suggesting that they expect drivers to just use electric power for lots of the time. A 13.6kWh battery allows for a claimed 35 miles of electric range." says the website carkeys: "Our only gripe is that as soon as the electricity runs out, you’re left with an engine that lacks the punch to move a van of this size. The CVT automatic transmission is perfectly acceptable but not particularly smooth or refined."
From ford.co.uk: "The engine does not directly drive the wheels, instead it helps charge Transit’s on-board batteries on the go. Ford is targeting a zero emission range of 31 miles from a full charge – more than enough for most city delivery rounds. If the operator needs to travel further in between charging stops, the EcoBoost engine chips in to top the batteries up."
https://www.ford.co.uk/shop/specialist-sales/fleet/phev/fords-plug-in-hybrid-electric
LG CHEM SEES ELECTRIC VEHICLES ACCOUNTING FOR 15% OF ALL CAR SALES IN 2024
"South Korea’s LG Chem, one of the leading electric vehicle (EV) battery makers, expects global sales of EVs to grow more than five-fold from 2018 levels to account for about 15% of global vehicle sales in 2024, it said on Thursday." reports Reuters UK: "Speaking at a conference in Seoul, LG Chem’s battery chief Kim Jong-hyun said tighter regulations in Europe and China, especially from next year, and the rise of autonomous vehicles and ride-sharing services would serve as “catalysts for the explosive growth” of EVs."
FORD INTRODUCES NORTH AMERICA’S LARGEST EV CHARGING NETWORK
Ford is giving future all-electric vehicle customers the confidence to enjoy a hassle-free electric lifestyle. By providing easy access to more electric vehicle public charging stations in North America than any other automaker.
Ford is providing two years of complimentary access to North America’s largest network – the FordPass Charging Network – for easy and convenient pay-as-you-drive charging. The FordPass Charging Network includes more than 12,000 charging stations with more than 35,000 plugs, making public chargers as common as some of the most popular pharmacy or coffee chains.
Ford is working with Greenlots to bring together multiple charging providers to develop the FordPass Charging Network, making it easy for customers to find and pay for charging all through FordPass or their vehicle’s screen.
https://electriccarsreport.com/2019/10/ford-introduces-north-americas-largest-ev-charging-network/
SURGING SUV DEMAND IS CANCELING OUT THE ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFIT FROM ELECTRIC CARS
"If worldwide demand for SUVs continues to grow at its current pace, the carbon emissions from these larger vehicles will outweigh the benefits from electric vehicles, a new study from the International Energy Agency found. The number of SUVs on the road around the world grew from 35 million in 2010 to over 200 million last year, representing 60% of the increase in the global car fleet over the 8-year period." according to CNBC: "From 2010 - 2018, SUVs were the second-largest contributor to the global increase in carbon emissions behind the power sector, the study found. This places SUVs ahead of trucks and aviation in terms of carbon footprint"
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