10 Jan 2019 | Tesla Discontinue 75kWh Model S & X, Grab Ride Sharing Buys 200 Electric Konas and Ford Will Electrify Every Model

Final Thoughts On New Leaf | Tesla Will Stop Selling Model S And X Cars With 75kWh Batteries | VW Is Setting Up Electric Car Charging Stations In China | Tesla Gets Love From German Auto Executive | Grab Roll Out 200 Hyundai Konas | Musk Says New Tesla Roadster Will Fly | Marrakesh Formula E This Weekend | Ford Says Formula E An Option For The Future | Honda Delays Its Urban Ev To 2020, Report Says | Ford Europe Will Electrify Every Model | Motorsport Live Gets Fans Closer To The Action

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Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Thursday 10th 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.

 

Welcome to a new Executive Producer of the podcast DARREN SANT thank you being part of the Patreon family.

 

FINAL THOUGHTS ON NEW LEAF

• Cost & Availability vs Bolt / Kia / Hyundai / Model 3
• Battery - why use AESC?
• Production - 5000 for Europe

 

TESLA WILL STOP SELLING MODEL S AND X CARS WITH 75KWH BATTERIES

• The Model S and X just got a whole lot more expensive, said the headlines today. Which might be if you look it a certain way. "Elon Musk has announced that his company will stop taking orders for the 75kWh versions of the Model S and Model X after January 13th. He didn't directly explain the move, but said "yes" when a Twitter user asked if Tesla was moving away from its longstanding use of battery capacity numbers to denote variants." reports Engadget: "If the starter Model S and X models disappeared with no rough equivalent in place, that would raise the starter prices by $15,000 or more, to $84,750 (from $66,750) and $87,950 (from $72,950) respectively."
• But why do that? Could it be they just weren't selling many of them? Would they prefer a base S & X buyer to buy a top spec'd Model 3 because they make more margin? Tesla are unquestionably better at making cars now.
• com say they have a possible answer: "The most logical reasoning for the discontinuation is that Tesla is taking down its 75 kWh pack line to upgrade to a cheaper/more efficient architecture that can handle the V3 Supercharger. Since the 100D’s are Tesla’s highest margin vehicles, Tesla will be able to decrease their cost substantially because Tesla no longer has to cover the lower margin 75D’s in its sales mix." writes Dan Zorilla.
• My thought: they need to update the S& X, both inside and out, plus under the skin. Carry on making 100kWh packs for now, and change some 18650 production at Giga to 2170. Then introduce a Standard Range and a Long Range S & X. The lines will be more efficient, Tesla will make a better margin, the cells will charge quicker and the largest pack size could go to something like 120 or 125kWh. Gigafactory plays a huge part in this, and you know my favourite topic is to bang on about the effect of Tesla Grohmann Automation!

 

https://www.engadget.com/2019/01/09/tesla-to-stop-selling-75kwh-model-s-x/

 

https://insideevs.com/tesla-model-s-x-discontinuation-analysis/

 

VW IS SETTING UP ELECTRIC CAR CHARGING STATIONS IN CHINA

• "Volkswagen AG is setting up a network of fast-charging stations in China with local partners as part of its multibillion-dollar push to boost electric-vehicle sales in the world’s largest market, people familiar with the matter said." according to Bloomberg today: "Talks for the venture are near completion and it is scheduled to be set up in the first half of this year, the people said. SAIC Motor Corp., another VW partner, is ready to get on board, with more Chinese auto and battery makers expected to join in future, the people said."

 

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-01-10/vw-is-said-to-set-up-china-venture-for-charging-electric-cars?utm_content=business&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=socialflow-organic&cmpid=socialflow-twitter-business&utm_medium=social

 

TESLA’S GETS SOME LOVE FROM GERMAN AUTO EXECUTIVE

• According to Teslarati: "Gigafactory 1’s battery production capabilities...achieved an annualized run rate of 20 GWh last year .For BMW Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board Manfred Schoch, Tesla’s long-term play on electric car batteries was a strategic decision. In a recent interview with German publication Manager Magazin, the BMW executive remarked that Tesla’s high investments for Gigafactory 1 are well-spent. Schoch also praised Elon Musk’s decision to closely collaborate with Panasonic early on to produce batteries at a large scale."
• He said: "“Tesla controls the entire value chain; they understood electromobility. Our board members should finally deal more intensively with this gentleman, who should have been bankrupt by now. In the (auto) industry, too much is complained, and too much is declared impossible."

 

https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-ev-batteries-gigafactory-bmw-manfred-schoch/

 

GRAB SAYS 'RIGHT TIME' TO INTRODUCE ELECTRIC VEHICLES, SET TO ROLL OUT 200 HYUNDAI KONAS

• "Ride-hailing firm Grab is set to roll out 200 electric vehicles (EVs) into Singapore's streets progressively from Friday (Jan 11)." reports Channel News Asia: "Having purchased 200 Hyundai Kona 64 kWH electric cars, Grab will release an initial batch of 20 vehicles on Friday with the rest being introduced over the next few weeks, head of the company's car leasing service GrabRentals, Kau Yi Ming said in an interview with local media."

 

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/grab-says-right-time-to-introduce-electric-vehicles-set-to-roll-11105376

 

ELON MUSK SAYS NEW TESLA ROADSTER WILL FLY

• "Elon Musk released a new message “The new Roadster will actually do something like this” with an attached animation of a futuristic (“Back To The Future”) vehicle with some kind of rocket boosters" says Mark Kane over at InsideEVs.com.
• Elon tweeted: "Will use SpaceX cold gas thruster system with ultra high pressure air in a composite over-wrapped pressure vessel in place of the 2 rear seats."

 

https://insideevs.com/elon-musk-new-tesla-roadster-fly/

 

MARRAKESH FORMULA E THIS WEEKEND

• The Formula E season spans the years, it's the 2018-19 season but we only had one race before New Year. So it's 2019 now and time for race 2, in Africa and Marrakesh.
• At the first race there was rain in Saudi Arabia and confusion over how to race by the new rules, so it confused the pack a bit. This weekend we'll see who is real out ahead. We'll see the debut of former F1 star Pascal Wehrlein too.

 

• It's 8am Pacific, 11am Eastern and 4pm UK on Saturday.

 

FORD SAYS FORMULA E AN OPTION FOR THE FUTURE

• Mark Rushbrook, global head of Ford Performance Motorsports, told Motorsport.com that FE was "still on the sheet of paper we are looking at" as it considers an entry into what he called "electrified motorsport". His comments come a year after Ford was engaged in high-level talks with FE and appeared close to signing up for the series. Rushbrook insisted that there is "still room" for Ford on the FE grid even though it will hit its 12-team, 24-car capacity with the arrival of Porsche in season six in 2019/20. The US manufacturer is evaluating its future in motorsport as it looks beyond its present commitment to the Ford GT programme, which is confirmed until the end of the 2018/19 WEC and the 2019 IMSA season.

 

https://www.motorsport.com/formula-e/news/ford-entry-formula-e-possible/4321373/

 

HONDA DELAYS ITS FUN RETRO-LOOKING ALL-ELECTRIC VEHICLE TO 2020, REPORT SAYS

• A new report about the Honda Urban EV from Electrek says: "Honda’s first next-gen all-electric vehicle was supposed to go on sale this year, but the production has been pushed to “early 2020", the report claims that Honda is planning to show two iterations of the vehicle before starting production. They say that the Japanese automaker plans to unveil a new version of the concept at the Geneva auto show in March and then the production version at the Frankfurt show."

 

https://electrek.co/2019/01/10/honda-delays-fun-retro-looking-all-electric-vehicle-2020/

 

FORD EUROPE WILL ELECTRIFY EVERY MODEL

• Ford says: "Every Ford nameplate from the all-new Ford Focus onwards will include an electrified option. This includes new nameplates and new versions of existing vehicles. From Fiesta to Transit, either a mild-hybrid, full-hybrid, plug-in hybrid or full battery electric option will be offered, delivering one of the most encompassing line-ups of electrified options for European customers."

 

MOTORSPORT LIVE TO GET FANS CLOSER TO THE ACTION

• "Motorsport Network is making good on its promise to get fans closer to the action with the launch of Motorsport Live this year – a dedicated and expert global ticketing & travel operation that will provide a full service for fans wanting to take their passion for the sport to the trackside."
• "Motorsport Live’s end-to-end promise means its service spans all aspects of race attendance, from ticketing to travel, and on arrival at venues, a variety of options to provide a rich experience for fans from grandstands to immersive fan villages that often benefit from appearances from drivers, riders and team personnel."
• "From launch, Motorsport Live will offer its customers experience and valuable insight in building trips and itineraries to F1, MotoGP and WEC races, with a commitment to extend these options to include many other series, events, and championships in the near future."

 

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 an ICE driver says to you they’re EV curious and asks the best thing about EVs, what is the one thing you should tell them…

 

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