17 Jan 2019 | Mercedes-Benz EQB For 2020, BMW 7 Series Plug In and Kia EV Sales Surge
Update On China 2018 Sales | Mercedes-Benz Is Planning Smaller Suv Ev This Year | Updated BMW 7 Series Gets Gigantic Grille | Porsche Starts Preparing Its Zuffenhausen Site For Taycan | VW Considering Electric Land Rover Rival | Kia Plug-In Electric Car Sales In Europe Surge To 4.4% Of Total Volume | Volvo Invests In High Power Wireless Charging
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Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Thursday 17th 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.
UPDATE ON CHINA 2018 SALES
- From Matthias Schmidt @auto_schmidt "788,000 pure electric passenger vehicles sold in China last year or just over 3% mix of the passenger car market. Just under 200,000 pure electric passenger cars were registered in Western Europe during the same period according to own provisional data."
MERCEDES-BENZ IS PLANNING SMALLER SUV EV THIS YEAR
- Greg Kable at Autocar is full of the speculation, but is he right? "The upcoming Mercedes-Benz GLB SUV will feature a pure-electric EQ B version alongside petrol, diesel and petrol-electric hybrid powertrains. The EQ B, sitting underneath the recently revealed EQ C, promises a range of up to 310 miles and will feature an aerodynamically optimised GLB-based body, according to factory insiders. The new Mercedes-Benz SUV, which goes under the internal codename X247, has been conceived as a direct rival to the Audi Q3, BMW X1 and Lexus NX. It will be priced and positioned above the existing GLA crossover hatchback when it goes on sale in the UK early next year, following a planned unveiling at the Frankfurt motor show in September."
https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/new-mercedes-glb-suv-feature-all-electric-eq-b-version
UPDATED BMW 7 SERIES GETS GIGANTIC GRILLE
- The drivetrain you'll be interested in: The turbo 3.0-liter six-cylinder and electric motor with a combined 389 hp (745e) a plug in hybrid. "To celebrate its fifth birthday, the current-generation BMW 7 Series went out and got a nose job for the 2020 model year. The automaker claims the twin-kidney grille on its flagship sedan encompasses 40 percent more surface area than before, and it's likely the only thing people will discuss regarding the 7 Series" according to Cars.com: "The plug-in hybrid 745e, meanwhile, swaps last year's turbocharged four-cylinder for a turbo six-cylinder, which pairs with a transmission-integrated electric motor for maximum system output of 389 hp and 442 pounds-feet of torque. The motor gets power from a higher-capacity battery, now rated at 12.0 kilowatt-hours versus the outgoing 740e's 9.2 kwh. That may increase the 745e's all-electric range versus the 740e's EPA-rated 14 miles, and it should doubtless raise the car's eligible plug-in federal tax credit versus its current $4,668. As of this writing, both the range and tax credits on the 745e have yet to be published."
PORSCHE STARTS PREPARING ITS ZUFFENHAUSEN SITE FOR TAYCAN
- "Porsche is setting the stage for the ramp of one of its most important vehicles to date — the Taycan — the veteran carmaker’s first all-electric car." reports Simon Alvarez for Teslarati: "The Taycan is expected to start production sometime in 2019, and to ensure that its facilities are ready for the vehicle, projects are now underway in Porsche’s Zuffenhausen facility, which will house the manufacturing line for the electric sedan. The company describes the construction of the structure as a balancing act, considering that the facility must be completed while the production of the 911, Boxster, and Cayman are continuing their usual output. As noted by Porsche CEO Olliver Blume, for one, the company has logged almost 3,000 Taycan reservations in Norway alone. That’s a country where Porsche sells about 600 vehicles per year on average."
https://www.teslarati.com/porsche-taycan-production-ramp-zuffenhausen-site/
VW CONSIDERING ELECTRIC LAND ROVER RIVAL
- "Michael Jost, Head of Strategy at Volkswagen, said in Autobild’s interview that the company is considering an all-electric true off-road capable SUV, which would be similar to the Land Rover Defender. Jost notes that there are no production models in such segment. The designers were apparently commissioned to draw sketches now." according to a Mark Kane piece for InsideEVs.com: "We must add that off-road ready vehicles will appear on the market in the near-future, as the electric drivetrain is a perfect solution for such driving (provided you can afford a huge battery). Rivian R1S or Bollinger B1 are just examples of what’s coming. Volkswagen probably will be able to build a big SUV using its general MEB platform in top configuration (over 100 kWh battery and dual motor all-wheel drive drivetrain). Having a universal platform not only enables VW to consider such cars, but even incentives to do it, as the development costs will spread out over more models."
https://insideevs.com/vw-considering-electric-land-rover-rival/
KIA PLUG-IN ELECTRIC CAR SALES IN EUROPE SURGE TO 4.4% OF TOTAL VOLUME
- Sent to me by listener Tom Rafferty. "Kia happily announced its tenth consecutive year of growth of car sales in Europe by 4.7% to 494,304. The year 2018 was especially good for electrified models (including hybrids), which closed with 58,029 sales (up 36.0% year-over-year) at a share of 11.7% (1/8 of total volume)." and all thanks to InsideEVs for keeping their eyes on the sales numbers: "Kia Niro PHEV & e-Niro.
- Thanks to electrification, Kia Niro became the 5th best-selling model in 2018 for Kia in Europe. Among 45,255 sales (up 33.6%) over 22% were plug-ins: Niro Hybrid – 34,642. Niro Plug-In Hybrid – 9,951. e-Niro: 662 (introduced in December 2018). The Kia Soul EV is awaiting upgrade in 2019 to the new longer-range generation. In 2018, Kia sold a record 6,402 Soul EVs (up 12.0%), which is more than the gasoline and diesel Soul combined."
https://insideevs.com/kias-plug-in-car-sales-europe/
VOLVO INVESTS IN HIGH POWER WIRELESS CHARGING
- Finally from electrive: "The Swedes’ financial arm, the Volvo Group Venture Capital AB, say they made an investment in Momentum Dynamics and their high power inductive charging technology. The start-up of Philadelphia is working towards 200+kW to charge heavier electric vehicles with no connection needed."
- "Moreover, Momentum Dynamics apparently has now opened the order books for the second generation of their system that is capable to deliver 300 kW. In reply to our request for comment, Stefan Söderling [Investment Director at Volvo Group Venture Capital] specified the technology as “designed to offer 75 kW per module” so that four models generate said 300 kW. He added though that “we can at this stage not comment if it (inductive charging) may be used in future products or applications” by the Volvo Group."
https://www.electrive.com/2019/01/15/volvo-invests-in-high-power-wireless-charging/
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