23 Jan 2019 | The Car Of The Year Is Electric, Tesla Rolls Back Price Increases and Daimler To Make Batteries In Poland
What Car? Car Of The Year Awards | Daimler Add Battery Factory In Poland | Audi Providing 50 E-Tron Shuttles At World Economic Forum | Tesla Rolls Back Supercharger Price Increases To Appease Owners
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Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Wednesday 23rd January 2019. It’s Martyn Lee here and I’ve been through every EV story I can find today, and picked out the ones I think you need to know about.
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. And welcome to the party our newest member of the gang – and Producer of the show on Patreon - EDUARD PERTÍÑEZ
WHAT CAR? NAMES KIA-ENIRO AS 'CAR OF THE YEAR'
- One of the curiosities of any car of the year award is how forward looking they are, and so yes it's amusing that a car which has delivered less than 1,000 in Europe can officially be the best car. But let's not understate the importance of a major magazine putting an electric car top of the pile.
- So I'll start with the big one, the overall car of the. The Kia e-Niro.
- As the editor Steve Huntingford says: "there are almost 4000 variations of around 400 cars listed in the data section at the back of this magazine, but after 12 months of testing we've whittled them down to the best in each class, with one of those standing out above all others as our 2019 Car Of The Year".
- So why did it win? They said: "The BMW 3 SERIES would have made a worthy overall winner, having overcome a former Car of the Year to take class honours, while the Citroën Berlingo and Cupra Ateca were also strong contenders. However, those cars have had the misfortune to be launched in the same year as Kia’s game-changing e-Niro. Put simply, the e-Niro beats its rivals via knockout rather than on points, because it’s the first sensibly priced electric car that can fit into most people’s lives. Its huge real-world range helps, allowing you to get to where you’re going without any fear that you’ll end up stranded by the roadside. But it also makes a very practical family car, comes loaded with luxuries and strikes just the right balance of comfort and composure. In short, the Kia e-Niro is a stunning achievement."
- Winner - Less Than £30,000 Renault Zoe: "Our 2017 ELECTRIC Car of the Year remains a compelling proposition two years on – and that’s some achievement, given the pace at which things are moving in this class. Chief among the Renault Zoe’s appeal is still its low price. But unlike other sub-£25k pure electric options, such as the Smart Fortwo EQ, you don’t have to put up with a feeble range. In fact, in our Real Range tests, the Zoe outperformed many much pricier options by managing 146 miles on a full charge. You can opt to buy the Zoe outright (that’s the ‘i’ model), but we reckon you’re better off buying just the car and leasing the battery from Renault. Why? Well, you’ll pay a much smaller up-front cost, and you’ll also benefit from a lifetime battery warranty, so you won’t need to worry about the potential of a huge bill in the future if the car’s range starts to tail off due to battery degradation. We’d go for the R110 model over the Q90 version for three reasons: it’s a bit cheaper and faster, plus you get a slightly longer range. The only downside is it’ll take you 1hr 40min to recharge from 0-80% via a 43kW rapid charger; the Q90 can manage that in 1hr 5min."
- Winner More THan £60,000 - Jaguar I-PACE EV400 S: "Tesla has made this price point its own over the past five years, so it’s a measure of Jaguar’s achievement that it has managed to topple the American brand at the first time of trying. The Jaguar I-Pace has all the ingredients you’d expect from a £64,000 Jaguar – and more. It’s fantastic to drive, unnervingly quick (0-60mph takes 4.5sec) and has an interior that’s far more impressive to look at and touch than those in Jaguar’s regular models. It also delivers a better real-world range than Tesla’s Model S 75D and is cheaper to buy. If you want your I-Pace dripping with luxuries (and we wouldn’t blame you), SE or even HSE trim is worth a look, but entry-level S trim makes the most sense. You don’t need to bother with optional air suspension, although you’ll probably want to pick a couple of creature comforts from the options list. Yes, it’s still pricey, and yes, it’s a shame there’s no Tesla-style 120kW Supercharger network to recharge your I-Pace in 30-odd minutes. But it is compatible with the new 100kW charging points that are just starting to appear, so an 80% charge within 45 minutes will soon be possible."
- Winner Best Hybrid - Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid
- Winner Plug In Hybrid = Volvo XC90 T8
- Winner What Car? Reader Award 2019 - "Judging by the crowds that packed Honda’s stand at the 2017 Frankfurt motor show, the Urban EV was a popular car from its very first outing – so popular, in fact, that Honda confirmed a production version of the concept before the dust had even settled. What Car? readers clearly can’t get enough of it, either, because the Urban EV garnered almost eight times as many votes as our second-placed car. Put simply, it’s by far the car you’re most excited about seeing in 2019. And so you should be, because the Urban EV is shaping up to be a true game-changer for Honda. It’s the brand’s first electric car to be sold in Europe, and with it being shorter than its Jazz stablemate yet potentially even more spacious inside, as well as having an electric range of around 155 miles, it will be ideally suited to city streets. There’s a large digital screen for the instruments and infotainment system, plus smaller screens that show feeds from two cameras mounted on the car’s exterior in place of door mirrors."
DAIMLER ADD BATTERY FACTORY IN POLAND
- In the course of the electric initiative Mercedes-Benz Cars will build a battery factory at the polish site in Jawor and thus extend the global battery production network of up to nine factories.
- Markus Schäfer, Member of the Divisional Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Cars: "“We will electrify the complete portfolio until 2022 and will be able to offer in each segment various electrified alternatives to our customers. This includes more than ten pure electric vehicles. We will produce batteries on our own, what we consider a significant success factor in the era of electric mobility. After the production of high-tech engines, we will establish additional future technology in Poland. The battery factory in Jawor is the second largest investment at this new Mercedes-Benz site.”
- With the construction of a battery factory on the existing ground at the site approximately 300 new jobs will be created. The battery assembly will be equipped with cutting-edge technologies. The series production of batteries for vehicles of the product and technology brand EQ is slated at the beginning of the next decade.
- They say: "Daimler is buying the cells on the world market and is instructing the suppliers to produce based on special specifications. In this way, the company is securing itself the best possible technology. With the purchase of battery cells for more than 20 billion euros, the company is establishing the preconditions for the consistent change towards an electrical future"
AUDI PROVIDING 50 E-TRON SHUTTLES AT WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM
- "Audi, as the exclusive shuttle partner for World Economic Forum in Davos since 1987, is providing a fleet of 50 e-tron electric cars for shuttle service. This year World Economic Forum takes place on January 22 to 25." reports Mark Kane at InsideEVs.com: "The cars are powered by green electricity, through specially installed charging station with IONITY DC fast chargers and AC charging stands. On top of that is a 1.14 MWh/700 kW energy storage system in the form of mobile charging containers."
https://insideevs.com/audi-50-e-tron-shuttles-world-economic-forum-in-davos/
TESLA ROLLS BACK SUPERCHARGER PRICE INCREASES TO APPEASE OWNERS
- Staying with InsdieEVs: "According to Electrek’s analysis, Tesla hoped to increase average pricing for Supercharging by some 33 percent as a whole. This number is not specific to all markets, since the automaker planned to adjust pricing based on local electricity costs, as well as area-based demand." says Steven Loveday: "Some were even going so far as to do the math, which showed that Supercharging could end up costing nearly as much as gassing up in some markets. Additionally, charging at some other non-Tesla stations could be cheaper. The truth of the matter is if people cancel their reservations due to this adaptation, Tesla could be in a much more dire situation. So, the money gained by increasing rates could easily be lost due to decreasing sales. Obviously, Tesla took notice of the contention on social media and forums, likely crunched some numbers, and decided that this plan is not going to work. Less than a week later, the automaker decided to dial back the price hike by some 10 percent worldwide."
https://insideevs.com/tesla-rolls-back-supercharger-price-increases/
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