22 Apr 2019 | Ford Beats Emissions Rules With Hybrids, BMW iX3 Seen Testing and Hyundai Introduces Adjustable Performance Tech
Consumers Are Choosing Brands That Support The Earth | Tesla Autonomy Day | VW I.D. Neo Hatchback Prototype Spied Electrifying The Snow | First Drive: MG eZS To Be New EV Price Leader | Ford Counts On Hybrids To Comply With Stricter European Emission Targets | 2020 Bmw iX3 Electric Suv Spotted In Munich | Hyundai Motor Group Introduces Smartphone-Based EV Performance Control Technology | Every Electric Vehicle In The U.S. Ranked By Speed
Show #451
Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Monday 22nd 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.
There was a new record set today here in the UK, 90 hours and 45 minutes is the longest coal free run in Britain since the industrial revolution, beating the previous record in April 2018. Not since we first started burning coal industrially have we gone longer without turning on a coal powered plant. Thank you to everyone in the UK with solar on their roof, and to everyone involved in the UK renewables industry. It means a lot to me personally to know all the EV miles I’ve done this weekend haven’t been powered by coal, wherever I’ve charged.
From EarthDay.org: “Nature’s gifts to our planet are the millions of species that we know and love, and many more that remain to be discovered. Unfortunately, human beings have irrevocably upset the balance of nature and, as a result, the world is facing the greatest rate of extinction since we lost the dinosaurs more than 60 million years ago. But unlike the fate of the dinosaurs, the rapid extinction of species in our world today is the result of human activity. The unprecedented global destruction and rapid reduction of plant and wildlife populations are directly linked to causes driven by human activity: climate change, deforestation, habitat loss, trafficking and poaching, unsustainable agriculture, pollution and pesticides to name a few. The impacts are far reaching. If we do not act now, extinction may be humanity’s most enduring legacy."
CONSUMERS ARE CHOOSING BRANDS THAT SUPPORT THE EARTH
- "More than ever, consumers have become the swinging voters of product success. Most people are choosing companies that take a stand on important social, cultural, environmental and political issues." reports Forbes today: "That’s according to an online survey of nearly 30,000 people by Accenture Strategy, conducted across 35 countries between August and October 2018. Homing in on cars, Accenture Strategy investigated electric vehicle (EV) adoption and conducted a separate survey of 6,000 people. They found that the cost of EV batteries fell by more than 80% over just six years, which made the purchase price of battery-powered vehicles comparable to combustion engine cars. The report concluded that EVs are poised to overtake conventional cars by the year 2040. Consumers reported that environmental concerns would be their primary motivator to purchase EVs, followed by long term cost saving opportunities offered in comparison to traditional cars."
TESLA AUTONOMY DAY
- "Tesla is holding its Autonomy Day today, with the company inviting investors to its headquarters in Palo Alto, CA to get a deep dive into the company’s full self-driving initiatives." says Simon at Teslarati: "During the event, Tesla will be sharing its full self-driving roadmap to attendees. Several key executives involved in the company’s autonomous driving project such as CEO Elon Musk, VP of Engineering Stuart Bowers, VP of Hardware Engineering Pete Bannon, and Sr. Director of AI Andrej Karpathy will be addressing the event’s attendees as well. Investors will also have the opportunity to experience test rides in vehicles that are equipped with Autopilot and Full Self-Driving features that are yet to be released."
- Tesla says: "Tesla is making significant progress in the development of its autonomous driving software and hardware, including our FSD computer, which is currently in production and which will enable full-self driving via future over-the-air software updates. With a number of very exciting developments coming in the weeks and months ahead, Tesla will host investors on the morning of April 19th at our headquarters in Palo Alto to provide a deep dive into our self-driving technology and road map.”
https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-autonomy-day-livestream-updates/
VW I.D. NEO HATCHBACK PROTOTYPE SPIED ELECTRIFYING THE SNOW
- "Volkswagen has an electric hatchback in the works for its I.D. lineup. We haven’t seen very much of it, but our spy photographers recently caught a prototype testing in the snowy north." according to Motor1.com: "Our colleagues and all-around electric pros at InsideEVs tell us the VeeDub should have a range upwards of 342 miles (550 kilometers), utilizing a 150 kW motor. That will be the launch vehicle, but a lower-end model with approximately 205 miles (330km) of range should arrive within a couple of years."
https://www.motor1.com/news/345949/vw-neo-hatchback-prototype-spied/
FIRST DRIVE: MG eZS TO BE NEW EV PRICE LEADER
- "MG WILL target a circa-$30,000 before on-road costs pricetag for its upcoming eZS all-electric small SUV, which could make it Australia’s cheapest emissions-free model when it hits showrooms sometime in the next 12 months." reports goauto.com.au: "Currently, Hyundai’s $44,990 Ioniq Electric Elite small car is the country’s most affordable all-electric vehicle (EV), while the MG eZS will compete directly against the South Korean brand’s Kona Electric small SUV that kicks off from $59,990. The electric version of the ZS will also sit atop MG’s small SUV line-up, with the Soul variant opening the range at $20,990 and the Essence priced at $23,990. ully charged, its 44.5kWh battery has a claimed range of 335km under the outdated New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) testing protocol. On the road last week for an exclusive drive, the MG ZS EV showed it not only paves a new road for EVs, but has impressive economy of ownership attributes for a broad range of buyers, including those who may not have previously considered an EV."
FORD COUNTS ON HYBRIDS TO COMPLY WITH STRICTER EUROPEAN EMISSION TARGETS
- "Ford of Europe says that its coming broader range of hybrid models will permit it to comply with stricter European Union emission targets set for 2020-21 without the risk of paying fines." according to Automotive News Europe: "Many other automakers — led by the region’s largest player, the Volkswagen Group — are preparing an offensive of battery-powered vehicles that comply to meet the EU's latest CO2 emissions reduction targets. Ford will take a different route, counting more — like Toyota — on hybrids rather than battery electric vehicles. Ford is ramping up its launch of hybrids — with a special emphasis on plug-in hybrids such as the new Kuga compact crossover. Under an EU credit system favoring plug-in vehicles, any car emitting less than 50g/km of CO2 will count as two vehicles in 2020, 1.67 vehicles in 2021, 1.33 in 2022 and one by 2023." To help tackle climate change, the EU has mandated automakers selling cars in Europe to reduce industrywide fleet CO2 emissions to 95 grams per km by 2021 from 120 g/km last year. Each automaker has a different target based on the average mass of its vehicles. Ford of Europe’s 2021 target is 95.4 g/km, according to calculations by PA Consulting in Germany."
https://europe.autonews.com/automakers/ford-counts-hybrids-comply-stricter-european-emission-targets
2020 BMW IX3 ELECTRIC SUV SPOTTED IN MUNICH
- "BMW’s first ever fully-electric SUV was just spotted in Munich during typical testing sessions. The EV SUV based on the BMW X3 will arrive in 2020 and will not only be the brand’s first electric SUV, but also built on a platform that covers all aspects of mobility – internal combustion, plug-in hybrid and electric." writes BWMBLog today: "The new EV will be built atop the same platform as the current X3 which has been designed from the get go to accommodate an electric drivetrain. The iX3 will bring BMW’s new battery and powertrain technology which will be a 70 kWh battery pack, more than double the current biggest BMW battery – the 33 kWh pack in the new i3. "
https://www.bmwblog.com/2019/04/21/2020-bmw-ix3-electric-suv-spotted-in-munich/
HYUNDAI MOTOR GROUP INTRODUCES SMARTPHONE-BASED EV PERFORMANCE CONTROL TECHNOLOGY
- Hyundai Motor Group has developed smartphone-EV pairing-based performance adjustment technology which allows users to customize primary functions through a smartphone application—an industry-first innovation.
- Drivers can use this technology to adjust seven performance features including the maximum torque output of the motor, acceleration and deceleration abilities, regenerative braking capacity, maximum speed limit, responsiveness, and energy use on climate control.
- The application provides optimized settings for a designated destination by analyzing the remaining distance and electric energy requirement. It can also accommodate sportier driving by recommending tailored performance settings.
https://www.greencarcongress.com/2019/04/20190422-hmg.html
EVERY ELECTRIC VEHICLE IN THE U.S. RANKED BY SPEED
- "To celebrate Earth Day 2019, we looked at all the BEV (battery electric vehicles) on the market today and ranked them according to their zero-60 times, using top speed as a tiebreaker when necessary. While this might not be the greenest use of electricity out there, it is ridiculously fun."
- The Top 3 places are, as you'd imagine, the Model S, then X then Model 3. In 4th was the Jaguar I-PACE Zero-60: 4.5 seconds, Top speed: 124 mph.
https://www.motoringresearch.com/car-news/every-2019-us-electric-vehicle-ranked-by-speed/
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