23 May 2019 | Unlimited Supercharging Is Back, Apple Made Serious Bid For Tesla In 2013 and Truck Drivers Don’t See EVs As Good Enough
Tesla Brings Back Free Unlimited Supercharging | Jeff Bezos ‘Very Excited’ About The Auto Industry | Apple Said To Have Made 'Serious Bid' To Acquire Tesla | Continental’s Smart Heater Chooses Between Battery And Passengers | Truck Drivers Don’t Think EVs Are Up To Heavy Hauling | Drone Video Shows Tesla's Gigafactory 3 Nearing Completion | Robert Llewelyn Calls On Industry To Tackle EV ‘FUD’ | Land Rover Unveils New Discovery Sport | 2019 Audi E-Tron First Drive
Show #480
Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Thursday 23rd May 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 BRINGS BACK FREE UNLIMITED SUPERCHARGING
- "Tesla is now again bringing back free Unlimited Supercharging as a way to sell some inventory cars after the upgraded drivetrain." reports Fred @ Electrek: "For a while, ‘Free Unlimited Supercharging’ was also linked to Tesla’s owner referral program, but the automaker has since ended the program. When relaunching the referral program earlier this year, Tesla again used free Supercharging as an incentive but only with credits for 1,000 miles (5,000 miles until the end of the month). Now, Tesla is bringing back the full Free Unlimited Supercharging as an incentive separate from the referral program. It applies to “new inventory” Model S and Model X vehicles that are not equipped with the recently announced hardware upgrade"
https://electrek.co/2019/05/21/tesla-free-supercharging-sell-inventory-cars/
JEFF BEZOS TELLS EMPLOYEES HE’S ‘VERY EXCITED’ ABOUT THE AUTO INDUSTRY
- "At an all-hands staff meeting in March, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos told employees that he’s fascinated by the recent developments in the auto industry, adding that it was one of the main reasons why Amazon led a $700 million investment in electric vehicle start-up Rivian in February." in this story only coming to light now thanks to CNBC: "Bezos’ comments give a rare glimpse into his interest in the auto industry, which Amazon entered in February through its investments in Rivian and another self-driving tech start-up, Aurora. Investing in autonomous technology could eventually help Amazon offer faster and cheaper delivery, as well as automation in other areas, like its cashier-free grocery stores."
- “If you think about the auto industry right now, there’s so many things going on with Uber-ization, electrification, the connected car — so it’s a fascinating industry,” Bezos said according to a recording of the meeting CNBC has heard. “It’s going to be something very interesting to watch and participate in, and I’m very excited about that whole industry.”
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/21/jeff-bezos-to-employees-very-excited-about-auto-industry.html
APPLE SAID TO HAVE MADE 'SERIOUS BID' TO ACQUIRE TESLA
- "It has long been rumored that Apple plans to compete in the electric vehicle market in some capacity, ranging from supplying other automakers with underlying technologies to developing its own vehicle entirely, and new information suggests that Apple may have been eyeing a major acquisition to boost its efforts." according to MacRumours.com: "Namely, Apple is said to have made a "serious bid" for Tesla around 2013, offering around $240 per share. That's according to Craig Irwin, a senior analyst at investment firm Roth Capital Partners, who said he has "complete confidence" in this information, but he doesn't know if the bid reached a "formal paperwork stage. Tesla had 114.5 million shares outstanding as of January 31, 2013, and that number increased throughout the year, so Apple's bid would have totaled at least $27.4 billion at the time. Now, the electric vehicle maker's shares are trading around the $203 mark, well below Apple's reported bid years ago. "
https://www.macrumors.com/2019/05/21/apple-tesla-serious-acquisition-bid/
NEXT GEN INNOVATORS INVITED TO DESIGN EV CHARGE POINTS
- "A new competition for seven to 19 year-olds to design the electric vehicle (EV) charging points of the future has been launched. The ‘Eco Innovators’ competition, which aims to inspire young people to use their creative and engineering skills, is calling on students to submit their creative designs for public EV charge points." reports Energy Live News: "Winners of each of the two age categories will have their designs made into real-life prototypes with support from industry experts. Their charging points will also be displayed at the EV Experience Centre in Milton Keynes. The competition – announced at the launch of the Engineering: Take a Closer Look campaign, continuing the success from the Year of Engineering in 2018 and celebrating the world and wonder of engineering – closes on 18th October 2019."
CONTINENTAL’S SMART HEATER CHOOSES BETWEEN BATTERY AND PASSENGERS
- "Continental has unveiled details of its ‘smart heater’ system that will decide when to heat up an EV’s battery instead of the car’s occupants." according to Paul at TU Auto: "The system is a bid to alleviate the issues with lithium-ion battery performance falling off a cliff every time the temperatures dip below freezing. Continental explained at the 32nd Electric Vehicle Symposium (EVS32) in Lyon that the system will monitor when the battery pack needs the heat more than the car’s driver and passengers to maintain a usable working range. The smart heater can help to either heat up the cabin or the battery pack when it is too cold for the battery to accept electric energy from recuperation from regenerative braking. For that purpose the smart heater will turn electricity into heat that is available for appropriate use. "
https://www.tu-auto.com/continentals-smart-heater-chooses-between-battery-and-passengers/
TRUCK DRIVERS DON’T THINK EVS ARE UP TO HEAVY HAULING
- "Manufacturers are rushing head-long into the production of ZEV (zero-emission vehicle) trucks. Ford has invested US$500-million in startup Rivian, which plans to produce an EV pickup by the end of 2021." according to The Globe And Mail: "Ory Parks has travelled the continent, driving heavy trucks for 47 years. The resident of Odessa, Sask., has put 1.7 million kilometres on his latest truck – a diesel-powered 2006 Kenworth W900 – hauling loads of up to 18,000 kilograms mostly across the Prairie provinces of Canada. And there is one thing he knows for certain. He will never buy an EV truck. Drivers say they don’t believe electric vehicles (EVs) can produce the sustained power needed to haul big loads long distances. And worse, Parks says, when you need to refill the batteries, “It would take you half a day to recharge it.”
DRONE VIDEO SHOWS TESLA'S GIGAFACTORY 3 NEARING COMPLETION
- "Tesla is moving impressively fast with the building of its Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai, China. The company just announced the deal about seven months ago and only about five months ago did they secure the land." picks up InterestingEngineering.com: "But by the looks of this drone video posted by YouTuber Jason Yang, the factory seems to be nearing completion. Tesla has already unveiled a rendering of what the plant is supposed to look like. The new drone footage shows that it is getting very close to that. The video is proof that Elon Musk may just achieve his super ambitious goals."
ROBERT LLEWELYN CALLS ON INDUSTRY TO TACKLE EV ‘FUD’
- "Actor and electric vehicle (EV) advocate Robert Llewellyn has called for more people to speak out against what he calls the “fear, uncertainty and doubt” (fud) surrounding EVs." says Utility Week: "Speaking at Utility Week Live in Birmingham [he] said it was a “total fabrication” to suggest the vehicles are not ready for mass take-up."
- “An important point is 60 per cent of UK households have somewhere off the street to park a car, therefore 60 per cent of us could have an electric car today with no trouble. All the reports you hear on the BBC, in the Daily Mail, on the radio about them not being ready yet, they don’t have the range, they are all utter total fabrication. It is incredibly easy to live with and use an electric car, in fact that has become my job now, to try and undermine that constant flow of fud – fear, uncertainty and doubt, the three easiest things to spread about new technology. FUD was used about asbestos, it was used about catalytic converters, about unleaded petrol, about smoking, it delays and delays and delays the change."
https://utilityweek.co.uk/red-dwarf-star-calls-industry-tackle-ev-fud/
LAND ROVER UNVEILS NEW DISCOVERY SPORT
- "Land Rover has revealed the new Discovery Sport, which is available to order now priced from £31,575." says Fleet NEws: "The new platform allows for the introduction of 48-volt mild hybrid electric vehicle (MHEV) powertrains on Discovery Sport. First launched on the new Range Rover Evoque, the system uses an engine-mounted belt-integrated starter generator to harvest energy normally lost during deceleration and stores it in an under-floor battery. At speeds below 11mph, the engine can shut off when the driver applies the brakes, before redeploying the stored energy to assist the engine under acceleration to reduce fuel consumption. A more efficient plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) variant will also join the range later in 2019."
https://www.fleetnews.co.uk/news/manufacturer-news/2019/05/21/land-rover-unveils-new-discovery-sport
2019 AUDI E-TRON FIRST DRIVE
- "Another hallmark of Teslas that has little to do with their EV nature is their ability to evolve, improve and add features via wireless updates — an advantage that remains broadly underestimated. The e-tron doesn’t have this capability." concludes cars.com: In the real world, the e-tron’s zero-to-60 mph in 5.5 seconds is overkill — yet the Model X is quicker. The e-tron has little in the way of special screens, and none of the surprise-and-delight features and Easter eggs of Teslas that probably shouldn’t matter but to some consumers definitely do. Ditto for styling. The Model X is awkward from some angles, but it’s distinctive and its Falcon Wing doors are known to stop traffic. If anything, the I-Pace is the one that’s dared to challenge the Model X on its own turf with distinctive styling and quicker acceleration."
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