30 Apr 2019 | GM Confirms Electric Pickup, Faraday Future Gets Another Lifeline and A Tesla Powerwall For Everyone
General Motors Confirms Electric Pickup Truck Is Coming | Ev Maker Faraday Future Says It Procured An Additional $225 Million In Financing | Tesla Powerwalls Replace Conventional Meters In Vt With ‘Battery-As-A-Meter’ Solution | Rac To Add Emergency Electric Car Charging Mobile Units| Top Gear’s “Interesting” History With Tesla | Daimler Aims For 3 Mw Charging For Electric Trucks | Ses Water Starts Electric Van Trial With Eye On Vehicle-To-Grid
Show #459
Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Tuesday 30th April 2019. It’s Martyn Lee here and I’ve been through every EV story I could find today 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.
GENERAL MOTORS CONFIRMS ELECTRIC PICKUP TRUCK IS COMING
"General Motors CEO Mary Barra has just confirmed that the automaker is indeed readying an electric pickup truck to compete with the likes of the electric Ford F-150 and Rivian R1T." reports InsideEVs today: " As Barra stated, electric "full-size pickups" are indeed in the future plans for the automaker. No further details were provided. Therefore, we don't even know if the electric truck will be a Chevrolet, GMC or other make. It's all up in the air at the moment, aside from full confirmation that an electric truck is in the works. These surely are interesting times for electric vehicles and, more specifically, electric pickup trucks. We're now just around the corner from the launch of not one, but several all-new electric trucks."
EV MAKER FARADAY FUTURE SAYS IT PROCURED AN ADDITIONAL $225 MILLION IN FINANCING
"Embattled electric vehicle (EV) maker Faraday Future has received another lifeline in the wake of a dispute with Chinese real estate giant Evergrande—one of the startup’s major investors." according to TechNode today: "Faraday announced on Monday that it had received $225 million in bridge financing ahead of the company completing a $1.25 billion capital raise, which it expects to close this year. The latest financing, led by US-based asset management firm Birch Lake Associates, is aimed at helping to bring Faraday’s flagship FF91 SUV to market."
Meanwhile Engadget reports: ""As part of the vendor program, Birch Lake has also provided financing to FF for the company to pay all past due amounts for approximately 60 percent of FF's vendor base, including smaller vendors who are owed less than $20,000," the company wrote. Meanwhile, larger suppliers will be able to exchange unsecured debt for "trust interests" that will include a repayment schedule. To secure the financing, Faraday said it valued its intellectual property at $1.25 billion. The company plans to use The9's cash to build the V9 EV, a version of the Faraday FF91 for the Chinese market. It has promised to build 300,000 of the EVs per year by 2020, and said it has a growing fleet of FF91 pre-production test vehicles."
https://technode.com/2019/04/30/faraday-future-225-milllion-funding/
https://www.engadget.com/2019/04/30/faraday-future-another-cash-injection/
TESLA POWERWALLS REPLACE CONVENTIONAL METERS IN VT WITH ‘BATTERY-AS-A-METER’ SOLUTION
"Tesla Energy is taking part in a Vermont utility company’s efforts to push its customers towards sustainable energy solutions. Dubbed as the Resilient Home program, the initiative aims to bring Tesla Powerwalls to an initial 250 homes, all of which will be using the battery storage unit as backup power and as a replacement electric meter." writes Simon Alvarez for Teslarati "The program is being launched by Vermont-based Green Mountain Power, which prides itself for being one of the most climate-conscious utility companies in the United States. Customers who are part of the Resilient Home pilot will be able to acquire two Tesla Powerwall 2 units for $30 a month or a $3,000 upfront fee. Apart from allowing customers to get more benefits from wind and solar and providing backup power during outages, the Powerwall 2 units will also be measuring customers’ energy use, effectively replacing conventional meters."
Green Mountain Power CEO Mary Powell stated: "Our vision — our dream — is that there ends up being a battery in every home and business,"
https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-powerwall-vermont-battery-power-meter-solution/"
RAC TO ADD EMERGENCY ELECTRIC CAR CHARGING MOBILE UNITS
"RAC patrol vans will soon get portable electric car chargers to help vehicles that run out of battery at the roadside. The system, which was developed by the RAC and partner firm Original Ltd, is designed to give stranded electric vehicles (EVs) a “top up” that allows them to reach the nearest charging point. The “lightweight” EV Boost chargers can take power from a standard Euro 6 diesel patrol van and work with all Type 1 and Type 2 charging connectors. This, the RAC claims, allows the chargers to work with “99 percent of electric vehicles on UK roads today”.
TOP GEAR’S “INTERESTING” HISTORY WITH TESLA
CleanTEchnica looks at the love/hate relationship Top Gear has had over the years with EVs "Top Gear has had a bit of a rocky relationship with Tesla. Top Gear initially published a scathing review of the Tesla Roadster, with claims of premature failures, a range that didn’t come close to its rating, and exaggerated charging times. Former Top Gear host James May was even quoted as saying, “Battery powered electric cars will soon die altogether.” (Note: James May years later bought the BMW i3 and made it his daily commuter."
But as Chris Boylan says: "The Top Gear folks recently pitted a Model 3 Performance against a comparably priced BMW M3. Jack Rix, deputy editor at Top Gear, took both cars to Thunderhill Raceway in Northern California to run them through a series of tests to see which car is the better track performer. The tests included a straight quarter mile, a 0 to 100 MPH and back to 0 test, a timed lap around the track, and a drifting test to see if a Tesla could actually drift sideways, something that racing enthusiasts have criticized Teslas for their inability to do in the past."
DAIMLER AIMS FOR 3 MW CHARGING FOR ELECTRIC TRUCKS
"Daimler Trucks North America, in one of its job listings, seeks an eMobility Senior Engineer – Vehicle Charging Systems (L5), which would participate in the development of very high power charging systems for electric trucks at up to 3 MW." notes InsideEVs: "As the electric trucks will be equipped with a battery pack with capacity of an order of magnitude higher than in cars (500-1000 kWh compared to 50-100 kWh), it's reasonable to think that also the charging power will be 10-times higher (in cars the top seems to be 150-350 kW at the moment). Daimler's goal also seems to be in-line with the recent CharIN announcement about DC fast charging beyond 1 MW (potentially at up to 1,500 V and current of up to 3,000 A)."
SES WATER STARTS ELECTRIC VAN TRIAL WITH EYE ON VEHICLE-TO-GRID
"SES Water is trialling 10 Nissan e-NV200 vans, installing chargers at its head office and at a treatment works. The aim is to prove that EVs can be cost competitive with diesels and plot a route to broader deployment." says TheEnergyst: "The company will lease the vehicles, while Drax Group, parent company of SES’s renewable energy supplier Haven Power, will provide a package that includes the cost of electricity for charging, telematics and usage data. Drax also helped select charging infrastructure for the two sites and will provide maintenance and support services."
https://theenergyst.com/ses-water-evs-electric-vans-haven-power-v2g/
COMMUNITY
And thanks to MYEV.com they’ve set us another Question Of The Week. Keep your comments coming in on email and YouTube…
Is there a future for independent servicing in a world of EVs?
I want to say a heartfelt thank you to the 216 patrons of this podcast whose generosity means I get to keep making this show, which aims to entertain and inform thousands of listeners every day about a brighter future. By no means do you have to check out Patreon but if it’s something you’ve been thinking about, by all means look at patreon.com/evnewsdaily
PHIL ROBERTS / ELECTRIC FUTURE (PREMIUM PARTNER)
BRAD CROSBY (PREMIUM PARTNER)
DAVID ALLEN (PARTNER)
OEM AUDIO OF NEW ZEALAND AND EVPOWER.CO.NZ (PARTNER)
PAUL O’CONNER (PARTNER)
ALAN ROBSON (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
ALEX BANAHENE (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
ALEXANDER FRANK @ https://www.youtube.com/c/alexsuniverse42
ANDERS HOVE (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
ARILD GEIR SKAALSVEEN (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
ASHLEY HILL (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
BÅRD FJUKSTAD (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
BARRY PENISTON (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
BOB MUIR / GINGERCOMPUTERS.COM IN DUNDEE (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
BORISLAV BORISOV (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
BRENT KINGSFORD (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
BRIAN THOMPSON (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
BRIAN WEATHERALL (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
CESAR TRUJILLO (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
CHRIS BENSON (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
CHRIS HOPKINS (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
CRAIG COLES (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
CRAIG ROGERS (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
DAMIEN DAVIS (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
DARREN BYRD (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
DARREN SANT FROM YORKSHIRE EV CLUB (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
DAVE DEWSON (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
DAVID BARKMAN (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
DAVID FINCH (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
DAVID PARTINGTON (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
DAVID PRESCOTT (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
DERRICK LIKES (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
DIRK RUTSATZ (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
DON MCALLISTER / SCREENCASTSONLINE.COM (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
ENRICO STEPHAN-SCHILOW (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
FREDRIK ROVIK (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
FREEJOULE AKA JAMES (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
GEORGE CLARGO (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
JACK OAKLEY (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
JAMES STORR (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
JASON FAN (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
JEFF ERBES (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
JERRY ALLISON (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
JILL SMITH (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
JOHN BAILEY (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
JON AKA BEARDY MCBEARDFACE FROM KENT EVS (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
JON KNODEL (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
JON TIMMIS (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
JUAN GONZALEZ (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
KEN MORRIS (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
KEVIN MEYERSON (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
KIRIVAN YAM (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
LARS DAHLAGER (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
LAURENCE D ALLEN (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
LEO (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
LESZEK GRZYL (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
LOUIS HOPKIN (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
LUKE CULLEY (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
MARCEL LOHMANN (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
MARCEL WARD (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
MARTIN CROFT (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
MATT PISCIONE (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
MATTHEW ELLIS (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
MATTHEW GROOBY (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
MAZ SHAR (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
MIA OPPELSTRUP (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
MICHAEL PASTRONE (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
MIKE ROGERS (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
MIKE WINTER (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
NATHAN GORE-BROWN (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
NEIL E ROBERTS FROM SUSSEX EVS (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
OHAD ASTON (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
PAUL SEAGER-SMITH (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
PAUL STEPHENSON (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
PETE GLASS (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
PHIL MOUCHET (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
PHILIPPE CALVE (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
RAJ BADWAL (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
RAJEEV NARAYAN (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
RALPH JENSON (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
RENÉ SCHNEIDER (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
ROB COOLING / HTTP://WWW.APPLEDRIVING.CO.UK/ (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
RUPERT MITCHELL (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
SARAH MCCANN (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
SARI KANGASOJA (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
SEIKI PAYNE (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
STEVE JOHN (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
STUART HANNAH (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
THE LIMOUSINE LINE SYDNEY (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
TIM GUTTERIDGE (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
WALTER MACVANE (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
ZACK HURST (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
You can listen to all 458 previous episodes of this this for free, where you get your podcasts from, plus the blog https://www.evnewsdaily.com/ – remember to subscribe, which means you don’t have to think about downloading the show each day, plus you get it first and free and automatically.
It would mean a lot if you could take 2mins to leave a quick revie...