12 May 2019 | Tesla Opens European Lounge, Mercedes EQC On Sale In UK and Question of The Week Answers
BEV Share In Western Europe Exceeds 2%: 300,000 To Be Sold In 2019 | Elonroad EV Charging System To Get First Trial In Sweden | Switzerland: Tesla Opens Charging Park With Lounge | This Bmw I8 Roadster Is The New Formula E Safety Car | Mercedes' New Eqc Electric Suv Priced Under £66,000 In Uk | Question Of The Week
Show #469
Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Sunday 12th May 2019. It’s Martyn Lee here and I’ve been through every EV story I could find today to save you time.
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BEV SHARE IN WESTERN EUROPE EXCEEDS 2%: 300,000 TO BE SOLD IN 2019
- "Sales of all-electric cars in Western Europe are growing strongly and so far this year the BEV market share is slightly exceeding 2%, compared to less than 1.5% in the record year of 2018." says Mark Kane for InsideEVs: "With more than 100,000 in the first four months, Western Europe is also on track for more than 300,000 sales in 2019. Industry analyst Matthias Schmidt (schmidtmatthias.de) points out that April was the 6th consecutive month of sales above 20,000. Hopefully, with new models on the market, the growth will continue."
- Every 50th new car registered in the region now pure EV.
https://insideevs.com/news/348893/bev-share-europe-300000-sold-2019/
ELONROAD EV CHARGING SYSTEM TO GET FIRST TRIAL IN SWEDEN
- "Sweden is about to begin installing the first kilometer of Elonroad track along a heavily used bus route to recharge electric buses as they drive." says CleanTechnica: "The rail system itself is easy to install. Since it rests on top of the pavement, no asphalt or concrete needs to be dug up. “If [a car] drives one kilometer on our electric road, it can drive another two kilometers on the energy it charged from our road. So it makes a total of three kilometers of driving. But you only pay for one kilometer of [installation].” All that is needed is adding a contacter device to the underside of any electric vehicle to charge while driving. The advantages of the system are many. Assuming the Elonroad system is widely available, EVs could charge as they drive, which means they wouldn’t need such large batteries as they do today. Researchers at Lund University estimate the Elonroad systems could permit electric cars to use 80% smaller batteries."
https://cleantechnica.com/2019/05/12/elonroad-ev-charging-system-to-get-first-trial-in-sweden/
SWITZERLAND: TESLA OPENS CHARGING PARK WITH LOUNGE
- "Tesla has opened its 18th and to date largest supercharger location in Switzerland in Dietikon near Zurich. The special thing about it: In addition to 24 charging slots, it offers the first EV lounge in Europe. Previously, the Californians had only pushed the construction of lounges in the USA in combination with charging parks." writes electrive.com: "With the new Swiss location, Tesla is now beginning to implement its lounge concept in Europe as well. The lounge offers a play and painting area for children, table football and console games as well as pull-up bars, a sofa and a dining area. When the weather is fine, an outdoor area is also accessible. Food can be bought from a vending machine."
- Hi to Rene Schneider: "Took this pictures today, the really big Tesla charging hub (biggest in Switzerland?) looks finished - literally 50 Meters from my office, outside of Zurich, in the industrial section of the town of Dietikon. Interesting that Tesla goes away from a few roadside chargers to these big spots with - here 24 superchargers."
https://www.electrive.com/2019/05/12/switzerland-tesla-opens-charging-park-with-lounge/
THIS BMW I8 ROADSTER IS THE NEW FORMULA E SAFETY CAR
- "BMW has shown the new official safety car for the Formula E championship. Unveiled at the Yacht Club de Monaco, the safety car is based on a BMW i8 Roadster that has gone through some modifications." says autoblog today: "BMW says the vehicle's center of gravity is 15 millimeters lower, and that no major structural modifications were needed in the customization, as the Roadster is reportedly stiff enough for safety car duty. The aerodynamics package has been tailored for the occasion, with a front splitter and a rear wing, and above the latter stands the light bar. The brakes are M Carbon Ceramic and the car benefits from the addition of an FIA-approved roll bar – just in case. BMW says the i8 Roadster is the world's first open-cockpit Safety Car, too."
https://www.autoblog.com/2019/05/12/bmw-i8-roadster-formula-e-safety-car/
MERCEDES' NEW EQC ELECTRIC SUV PRICED UNDER £66,000 IN UK
- "Mercedes-Benz’s new electric SUV - the EQC - has gone on sale in the UK with prices starting at £65,640." reports James for InsideEVs: "Powered by an 80 kWh lithium-ion battery, the Jaguar I-Pace and Audi e-tron rival will arrive in the UK in July boasting a 259-mile range and 402 bhp. That means it’ll tackle the sprint to 62 mph in a smidge over five seconds, while the top speed is 111 mph. The sub-£66k asking price buys you the ‘base’ variant - the EQC 400 Sport - which comes with a reversing camera, heated seats and 19-inch wheels, as well as two 10.25-inch screens that sit side-by-side. One of the two digital displays replaces conventional dials, while the other acts as the in-car infotainment screen. However, working in tandem with Mercedes’ MBUX system, the two can be customized to display pretty much whatever the driver or passengers would like.
https://insideevs.com/news/348780/mercedes-new-eqc-electric-suv-priced-under-66000-in-uk/
QUESTION OF THE WEEK
NEIL E ROBERTS FROM SUSSEX EVs
I've always loved 80s and 90s concept car styling so from a looks perspective, I am all for EVs looking futuristic and pushing the boundaries of design. Always room for sensible looking cars though. Relating to equipment. The whole EV package makes doing things differently, a real possibility. This is a great way to show why an EV is indeed the future. There are better ways of doing the things we've always done
Mark Bullock, Mississippi
I'm all for the multitude of bells and whistles in the current crop of EVs, but would like a button to push that would configure the EV to a driver's favorite settings, or at least a "Button-for-Dummies" that could be used for the sometimes Luddites that inhabit our households.
John Fruhwirth
Yes, I am totally in favour of having EVs stand out from ICE cars.
Electrification needs all of the visibility and publicity we can give them.
There is nothing like having them stand out on the road to catch as many eyeballs and head turns as possible.
We have to get people thinking electric as quickly as possible to overcome the enormous amount of FUD being promulgated by the oil industry and the legacy car makers and their dealers.
RAJEEV NARAYAN
I see no reason for mainstream EVs to delay incorporating new features, just to keep some customers “comfortable” I say this because I have been teaching my daughter to drive in my Chevy Bolt, and although she struggles with the usual things new teenage drivers do, the one thing she has no issues with is the technology. She effortlessly configures the information screens, Bluetooth settings, apple car play, as though it was second nature. When I explained that EVs can receive over the air updates, she was not surprised and simply said “well how else would they do it?” EVs in the U.S. will supposedly achieve cost parity with ICE cars by about 2023 and are projected to really take off around that time, by then she will be 23. People her age and perhaps 5-10 years older than her will be buying their 1st and second cars by then. I suspect they will have not have many issues adapting to new technology.
NEIL
Qotw there is a space for both. Cars that celebrate being electric would generally be aimed at the younger or more tech inclined market. Those cars that are more traditional in controls would be aimed at the older more conservative market. Obviously that is a generalisation, but it makes my point - as long as there is a EV for everyone then everyone will drive electric.see Teslas mission statement for more details.
COMMUNITY
And thanks to MYEV.com they’ve set us another Question Of The Week. Keep your comments coming in on email and YouTube…
What’s more important – hardware or software?
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