31 May 2019 | Lower Price Chinese-Made Model 3 On Sale, New Lotus Type 130 EV Coming Soon and Germany Extends EV Support
Kia Recalls More Than 5,000 Niro Hybrids | Tesla Promotes Lower Priced China-Made Model 3 In Sales Push | Tesla’s China Website Overwhelmed | Tesla Model 3 Available In Australia, New Zealand, Japan And Ireland | Rhode Island Regulators Approve 400 Megawatt Wind Power | Great Britain Records Two Weeks Of Coal-Free Electricity Generation | Lotus To Reveal Type 130 Electric Car | Germany Extends Electric Vehicle Support Scheme | Bill Gates To Launch New €100 Million Clean Energy Fund
Show #488
Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Friday 31st May 2019. It’s Martyn Lee here and I go through every EV story to save you time.
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KIA RECALLS MORE THAN 5,000 NIRO HYBRIDS
"Kia has recalled more than 5,000 Niro hybrid and plug-in hybrid models due to an electrical relay that could overheat." reports Automotive Management: "Affected versions of the crossover alternative fuel vehicle (AFV) - those built between November 2016 and September 2017 - will be inspected at dealerships and the faulty relays will be replaced at no cost to customers. The fault was identified as part of Kia’s on-going research and development programme. A recall for a similar fault was issued in the USA in October, where 27,000 vehicles were deemed to be at higher risk of fire, the Korean manufacturer revealed in a statement issued today (May 31)."
TESLA PROMOTES LOWER PRICED CHINA-MADE MODEL 3 IN SALES PUSH
"Tesla Inc said on Friday it would price its China-made Model 3 vehicles from 328,000 yuan ($47,529), 13% cheaper than those it currently imports as it pushes sales in the fast growing market." according to Reuters: "It also said buyers will only need to put down a deposit of 20,000 yuan and that financing options on offer meant that monthly payment instalments will start from 1,100 yuan. Pictures of the Shanghai plant posted on Tesla’s social-media account showed construction of its main section was nearly done. The company also held a recruitment event this week for car manufacturing and logistics workers."
TESLA’S CHINA WEBSITE GETS OVERWHELMED
Simon at Teslarati said: "Starting at RMB 328,000 (~$47,400), the locally-made vehicle is RMB 49,000 (~$7,000) cheaper than the US-made Model 3 SR+’s price, which was listed at RMB 377,000 (~$54,500). Immediately after pre-orders opened, Tesla enthusiasts in China noticed that the company’s official website was significantly getting slower. It did not take long before Tesla’s official Weibo account posted an update apologizing for the slowdowns in its official site. According to the electric car maker, the first order for the Made-in-China Model 3 was completed within 3 minutes after reservations were opened, and more orders followed soon after. While a number of Chinese social media users expressed their disappointment at the higher-than-expected starting price of the Gigafactory 3-produced Model 3, the vehicle’s launch was nonetheless met with widespread support from the Tesla and electric car community. Overall, it appears that the large amounts of traffic that drowned Tesla China’s website shows but a hint of the interest surrounding the vehicle from the country’s car buying public."
Tesla said: "The first order (was) completed within 3 minutes of the reservation opening. Due to extreme high demand of the Chinese-made Model 3 on the official website of Tesla, the traffic is too large; please be patient. Or please visit stores"
https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-china-website-crashes-model-3-pre-orders-gigafactory-3/
TESLA MODEL 3 NOW AVAILABLE IN AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND, JAPAN AND IRELAND
From @Tesla: "We *do not* want to alarm anyone, but Model 3 is now available to order in Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Ireland and Macau at http://Tesla.com . You know what to do: https://ts.la/2Mhz4NH"
"The launch comes less than a month after the company launched the Model 3 in the UK. Now, Tesla's most affordable car is available in all major right-hand drive markets. " reports Mashable: "Pricing for the Model 3 varies depending on the market. In Australia, for example, the car starts at 66,000 AUD ($45,620), In Japan, the car starts at 5,110,000 yen ($46,986), and in Ireland, it starts at 48,900 euro ($54,537). In all of these new markets, only two options are available — the Standard Range Plus with Partial Premium Interior, and the Performance variant with Premium Interior."
https://mashable.com/article/tesla-model-3-australia-ireland-japan
RHODE ISLAND REGULATORS APPROVE 400 MEGAWATT REVOLUTION WIND POWER PURCHASE AGREEMENT
"On Tuesday, Rhode Island regulators approved a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with DWW REV I, LLC — a joint venture between Ørsted US Offshore Wind and Eversource — for the power generated from the 400 megawatt (MW) Revolution Wind offshore wind project. says Clean Technica: "he approved PPA is for 400 MW generated by from 704 MW Revolution Wind offshore wind project — which will deliver 400 MW to Rhode Island and 304 MW to Connecticut. Revolution Wind is expected to begin local construction work as early as 2020, with offshore installation beginning in 2022 and completion and operation expected for some time in 2023."
GREAT BRITAIN RECORDS TWO WEEKS OF COAL-FREE ELECTRICITY GENERATION
"Great Britain has hit a new power milestone – lasting for a fortnight without using any coal power to generate electricity for the first time since the industrial revolution." writes THe Guardian today: "The system which supplies electricity across England, Scotland and Wales went for two weeks without coal at 3:12pm BST precisely, according to the National Grid Electricity System Operator. Coal has been used for electricity generation since 1882, when a plant opened in Holborn, London. However in 2018 the fuel made up just 5% of Britain’s electricity generation, a big decline from about 40% in 2012. The British record for solar power has also been beaten this month. On 14 May the country generated 25% of its power from the sun."
LOTUS TO REVEAL TYPE 130 ELECTRIC CAR
"Lotus has confirmed that Type 130, the brand’s first all-new model in more than a decade, will be revealed to the world’s media at an exclusive event in Central London on 16th July." according to Renewable Energy Mag: "Following first confirmation of the project in April at the Shanghai International Auto Show, several hundred potential owners have come forward to express their interest in the new car. Today, the company announces that a maximum of just 130 examples will be available to own – representing the number of Lotus ‘Types’ introduced during the brand’s 71-year history. Lotus also confirms today that Type 130 will be built at Hethel in Norfolk, the brand’s headquarters since 1966."
GERMANY EXTENDS ELECTRIC VEHICLE SUPPORT SCHEME UNTIL 2020
"Germany will extend for another year a bonus scheme to encourage people to buy electric cars, Die Welt reported on Thursday (30 May), another sign of Berlin’s eagerness to support a sector in which it lags US and Asian rivals." says euractiv.com: "The newspaper said the cash-for-clunkers bonus, first introduced as a stimulus measure after the post-2008 economic slowdown6, would be extended until 2020, with buyers getting up to €4,000 cashback on some kinds of electric cars. When introduced, the scheme served a dual purpose of stimulating the economy and getting dirtier older vehicles off the roads by offering buyers a trade-in premium on a new car. The bonus scheme currently being extended, specifically targeting electric vehicles, was introduced for three years in 2016. It has been used 118,000 times since."
BILL GATES PARTNERS WITH EU TO LAUNCH NEW €100 MILLION CLEAN ENERGY FUND
"The European Commission, the European Investment Bank, and Breakthrough Energy Ventures chaired by Bill Gates, announced Wednesday the establishment of a new €100 million fund to support clean energy investments in Europe." according to Joshua Hill for CleanTechnica: "Breakthrough Energy Ventures Europe will invest in five major energy-related sectors whose efforts are essential to fighting climate change, including electricity, transportation, agriculture, manufacturing, and buildings. Investments are expected to begin in the second half of 2019 when European Union Member States and countries associated with Horizon 2020 will be eligible to apply for funding."
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