27 May 2019 | Mega Merger Takes A Step Forward, VW Might Need To Re-Think A Battery Contract and Russia’s EV Plan
Tesla Announces Surprise For China: To Be Shown On May 31 | Fiat-Renault Mega-Merger Is Born Of Desperation | VW To Rework $56 Billion Battery Push On Samsung Deal Risk | An Electric Car Will Replace Audi Tt, Confirms The Manufacturer | Russian Engineers To Develop Power Unit For Marussia-Based Electric Car
Show #484
Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Monday 27th May 2019. It’s Martyn Lee here and I go through every EV story to save you time.
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TESLA ANNOUNCES SURPRISE FOR CHINA: TO BE SHOWN ON MAY 31
- "Tesla published an enigmatic announcement of an upcoming surprise on its Weibo social media channel for the Chinese market." reveals InsideEVs: "The date indicates Friday May 31, 2019, while the release only in the Chinese media suggests it's specific to China. Is this a new electric car or a new version of Model 3? Or maybe something related to the Tesla Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai? A new, faster-charging setup for the Chinese market, or maybe a new feature dedicated to China?"
https://insideevs.com/news/351662/tesla-surprise-china-may-31/
FIAT-RENAULT MEGA-MERGER IS BORN OF DESPERATION
- "Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV said it hopes to merge with Renault SA to form the world’s third-largest carmaker (or by far the largest if you include Renault’s alliance partner Nissan, which arguably one should)." says Bloomberg today: "Due to its limited financial resources, Fiat is a laggard in electric vehicles while Renault is an acknowledged leader. But thanks to its acquired Jeep and Ram brands, Fiat has a very profitable truck and SUV business in the U.S. By contrast, Fiat’s Europea n operations are hardly profitable, which may explain why it picked Renault as a potential merger partner"
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2019-05-27/fiat-renault-merger-is-born-of-desperation
- "The combined business would sell approximately 8.7 million vehicles annually, would be a world leader in EV technologies, premium brands, SUVs, pickup trucks and light commercial vehicles and would have a broader and more balanced global presence than either company on a standalone basis," FCA said in a statement Monday.
- Meanwhile Green Car Reports writes: "FCA's interest in the deal could include Renault's significant investments in EV development, which FCA has sorely lagged. Under former CEO Carlos Ghosn, Renault quickly adopted electrification and has become Europe's largest EV manufacturer, by sales. By contrast, FCA's vehicle portfolio has recently focused on big, heavy vehicles with little electrification—and no clear timetable for their deployment in markets where EVs are increasingly becoming mandatory. In Europe alone, FCA has paid hundreds of millions for emissions credits to offset their big, thirsty vehicle lineup."
VW TO REWORK $56 BILLION BATTERY PUSH ON SAMSUNG DEAL RISK
- "Volkswagen AG is making changes to its battery-purchasing plan worth about 50 billion euros ($56 billion) over concerns one if its supply deals, with Samsung SDI Co. Ltd., might unravel, according to people familiar with the matter." again this story coming from Bloomberg today: "Samsung initially agreed to deliver batteries for just over 20 gigawatt hours, enough to power 200,000 cars with 100 kilowatt hour packs, before different views on production volume and schedule emerged during detailed negotiations, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the talks are confidential. The impasse cut pledged supplies to less than 5 gigawatt hours, they said."
- And electrive says: "Volkswagen’s need for cells is immense in view of the target set in its Roadmap E with 50 new all-electric vehicles by 2025. At this point, the Wolfsburg company says it needs a battery capacity of more than 150 GWh per year. This corresponds to an annual capacity of at least four Gigafactorys on the Tesla scale, which is now regarded as a sort of industry standard."
https://www.electrive.com/2019/05/27/volkswagens-battery-supply-may-be-in-trouble/
AN ELECTRIC CAR WILL REPLACE AUDI TT, CONFIRMS THE MANUFACTURER
- "As hinted by the CEO in March, the Audi TT sports car is going away. The replacement will be an “emotive” electric car." according to The Supercar Blog.com: "While the Audi TT had a crucial role to play in building the Audi brand in global markets during its 21-year-long life, the change in customer trends and buying patterns made the compact sports car less appealing to the target audience of young buyers."
https://www.thesupercarblog.com/an-electric-car-will-replace-audi-tt-confirms-the-manufacturer/
RUSSIAN ENGINEERS TO DEVELOP POWER UNIT FOR MARUSSIA-BASED ELECTRIC CAR
- "Engineers from Novosibirsk State Technical University (NSTU) will develop a power unit for the electric car based on the Russian-made sports car Marussia." according to taas.com: "The work will take a year and a half. In the process, the internal-combustion engine will be replaced with a heavy energy-efficient power unit, lithium-ion batteries will be fixed on the electric car being created and the control system will be synthetized. General Director of Spektr company Andrey Bratenkov said that six Marussia cars have been delivered to Novosibirsk."
http://tass.com/science/1060234
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