29 Mar 2019 | Kia Soul EV 2020 Reviewed, $13k Lightning Strike and Porsche Taycan Enters Final Testing Phase

Kia Soul EV 2020 Reviews | Lightning Introduces The All-New $13k Strike | 10,000 Electric Cars Registered In Norway This Month: Half Are Tesla | Progressive Brakes Added To Model 3 | Porsche Taycan Enters Final Testing Phase Ahead Of September Reveal | Interview With Ford’s Chief Of Electrification | Nissan Completes Sale Of Battery Business To Envision Group

Show #429.

 

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Read today’s show notes on https://www.evnewsdaily.com

 

Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Friday 29th March 2019. It’s Martyn Lee here and I’ve been through every EV story I could find today, and picked out the best ones 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.

 

Hello to two new patrons of the show. Welcome to CLIFF BATES and PRODUCER GEOFF GATES

 

KIA SOUL EV 2020 REVIEWS

• CNET says: ”As for the all-important driving range, the Soul EV is extremely competitive. The EPA officially rates the Soul EV at 243 miles of range, which bests the Chevrolet Bolt (238 miles), Kia Niro EV (239 miles) and Nissan Leaf Plus (226 miles). Only the Hyundai Kona Electric can go farther than the Soul, with its EPA-rated 258-mile range. Paddles on the steering wheel activate different levels of brake regeneration, with the maximum Level 3 offering for the sort of one-pedal EV driving characteristics that many people (myself included) love. That said, the Soul won't regeneratively brake to a complete stop like some other EVs, though if you press the Auto Hold button on the center console, you can let go of the brake when you're stationary."

 

• Autocar were impressed by the tech: "Adaptive cruise control and lane following afford a useful amount of autonomy in heavy traffic, there’s an extensive suite of electronic safety systems, a head-up display and various features designed to maximise the battery pack. These include cooling and heating the 64kWh battery with liquid rather than air, while a button enables you to control heat or chill only the driver’s portion of the cabin if you’re one-up and need to eke. An in-built heat pump recovers waste heat from the coolant, while driving modes that include Eco and Eco Plus help. If you want one, your chief issue will be the wait – orders for the e-Niro stretch to 2020, and the Soul EV does not go on sale until late this year. But by that time, Kia’s plans to increase production of its EV powertrain may well have been realised."

 

• Steve Fowler at AutoExpress: "We’re big fans of the Soul EV’s bigger brother, the eNiro, so it stands to reason that we’d love the similarly–powered new Soul, too. However, the Soul seems have a more youthful spirit and more character, in keeping with the car’s slightly smaller size and funkier design. And Kia hopes it will be cheaper than the eNiro. A lot can happen between now and when the first cars arrive at the end of the year, but Kia would like it if the first cars could come in at just under £30,000 including the current government EV incentive."

 

LIGHTNING INTRODUCES THE ALL-NEW $13K STRIKE

• "After two months of teasing, Lightning Motorcycles has finally lifted the veil off the all-new Strike, its long-range, low-price model." Says Sabrina at RideApart.com: "Lightning announced that the model will be available with three battery options. The entry-level “Strike Standard” receives a 10kWh battery with an estimated range of 70 miles on the highway and 100 miles in the city—this is the model the manufacturer has been announcing at the highly appealing price point of $12,998. The “Strike Mid-Range” is powered by a 15 kWh battery able to power the vehicle on 105 highway miles and 150 city miles. This version of the Strike has been priced at $16,998. Last but not least is the long-range “Strike Carbon Edition” which 20 kWh battery allows the bike to travel up to the much-advertised 200 miles in the city—this version is offered at $19,998. It isn’t the under-$13k price Lightning has been teasing for two months, but it is still a lot more affordable than a number of electric motorcycles currently on the market.Lightning is expected to start rolling the first Strikes out of production in July 2019 in the United States, starting with the top of the line Strike Carbon Edition. The company will announce its plan for international expansion later this year."

 

https://www.rideapart.com/articles/315837/lightning-strike-electric-motorcycle-launch/

 

10,000 ELECTRIC CARS REGISTERED IN NORWAY THIS MONTH: HALF ARE TESLA

• "According to the latest registration data (as of the end of March 28, 2019), new all-electric car registrations in Norway already reached 10,000 for the month (probably including a three-digit number of imported used BEVs). The official results will be announced inthe first days of April, but it’s already certain that we are watching a groundbreaking record of records." Reports Mark Kane for InsideEVs.com: "The biggest splash in March was done by Tesla, which reportedly noted 5,000 registrations, including over 4,500 Tesla Model 3. It was just 4,000 recently! With many new compelling plug-in models on the horizon, Norway could be just a year or two from almost entirely switching to electric cars."

 

https://insideevs.com/10000-bev-registered-norway-half-tesla/

 

PROGRESSIVE BRAKES ADDED TO MODEL 3

• New release notes for Model 3 in Europe: "If you are driving over 50 km/h and brake forcefully, the brake lights will now flash quickly to warn other drivers that your car is rapidly slowing down,” reads the description for Tesla’s Dynamic Brake Lights feature. In addition to flashing the tail lights in situations that call for unexpected heavy braking, the vehicle will also flash its hazard lights. If your car stops completely, the hazard warning lights will flash until you press the accelerator or manually press the hazard warning lights button to turn them off."

 

PORSCHE TAYCAN ENTERS FINAL TESTING PHASE AHEAD OF SEPTEMBER REVEAL

• Simon at Teslarati has the lowdown on the final testing stages of the Porsche Taycan: "Porsche engineers are currently taking advantage of the summer in the Southern Hemisphere to test the Taycan’s driving dynamics in warm temperatures. At the same time, teams from the company are also testing the vehicle in Scandinavia, just a few miles away from the Arctic Circle, to evaluate the electric car’s performance in frigid temperatures. Porsche notes that the Taycan’s testing spans 30 countries, in temperatures that range from -35 to 50 degree Celcius (-31F to 122F). Porsche initially plans to start the Taycan’s production at 20,000 units per year, though positive reception from reservation holders have encouraged the company to raise its estimates for the all-electric car’s manufacturing. The Taycan will be capable of sprinting from 0-60 mph in under 3.5 seconds and have a range of over 300 miles on one charge. The all-electric car is designed to support 350 kW charging, making it possible to replenish over 60 miles of range in just 4 minutes."

 

The most significant facts from the Taycan testing phase:

 

Overall distance covered: Approximately six million kilometres, of which two million were endurance run kilometres

Countries: A total of 30, including the USA, China, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Finland

Temperatures: From minus 35 to plus 50 degree Celsius

Air humidity: From 20 to 100 per cent

Altitude: From 85 metres below to 3,000 metres above sea level

Charging cycles: Over 100,000 using various charging technologies across the globe

Development team: Around 1,000 test drivers, technicians and engineers

 

https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-tsla-q1-2019-model-3-estimates-excessive-negativity/

 

EXCLUSIVE: INTERVIEW WITH FORD’S CHIEF OF ELECTRIFICATION

• Bradley at InsideEvs.com has been talking to Ford's Ted Cannis. "Cannis confirmed that Ford’s crossover EV will have at least 300 miles of range in E.P.A. testing, but he declined to commit to target numbers for horsepower or acceleration. Cannis said that “most interest from consumers [for EVs] is in performance vehicles.” When asked how Ford is striking the balance between power and driving range, he conveniently replied, “We will not sacrifice either. The company will continue to include hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and pure EV in its electrification portfolio. For regions and specific customers not wanting to go “cold turkey” (as he put it) on combustion, hybrids with and without a plug will serve their needs. Talks with Volkswagen about sharing EV platforms and tech are focused on filling in gaps in overseas markets. “We’re looking at efficiencies around the world so we can get more scale,” he said. Cannis mentioned the impact of local incentives on EV adoption.”

 

https://insideevs.com/interview-ford-chief-electrification/

 

NISSAN COMPLETES SALE OF BATTERY BUSINESS TO ENVISION GROUP

• Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. has completed the previously announced sale of its electric battery operations and production facilities to Envision Group, a world-leading digital energy company.
• Under the deal, Envision has completed the acquisition of Nissan subsidiary Automotive Energy Supply Corporation and battery manufacturing operations in Smyrna, Tennessee, owned by Nissan North America Inc. (NNA), and in Sunderland, England, owned by Nissan Motor Manufacturing (UK) Ltd. (NMUK).

 

• Envision has also acquired Nissan’s Japanese battery development and production engineering operations located in Oppama, Atsugi and Zama.

 

• The workforce at all facilities covered by the deal will continue to be employed. The headquarters and development centers of the business will remain in Japan.

 

 

COMMUNITY

And thanks to MYEV.com they’ve set us another Question Of The Week. Keep your comments coming in on email and YouTube…

 

If EV’s are going to cost more than ICE cars in the short term, how much more of a premium are you willing to pay (if any?)

 

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