27 Nov 2018 | Rivian Unveils Incredible Pick-Up Truck, Audi GT Sedan Previewed and Nissan Delays 60kWh LEAF Launch

Electric Start-Up Rivian Unveils Pick-Up Truck | Porsche Taycan Platform For Audi's Model S Competitor | Elon Musk Interview: Weeks From Failure | Nissan Postpones Launch Of 60kWh Leaf E-Plus | GM Cancels Volt

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Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Tuesday 27th November 2018. It’s Martyn Lee here and I’ve been through EV story today so you don’t have to.

 

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ELECTRIC START-UP RIVIAN UNVEILS PICK-UP TRUCK

• This first story was sent to me earlier today by two people, Mike Jelfs on Twitter, and Miles Bardell from Bloomington Illinois. Miles said "Rivian bought Mitsubishi's 2.4million sq ft plant here for $16m, I hope Rivian's products will put pressure on Tesla as well as traditional automakers".
• "American electric car start-up Rivian has revealed its first model, a go-anywhere pick-up truck called the R1T. The five-seat R1T has been revealed ahead of the Los Angeles motor show, where it will be joined later in the week by a closely related seven-seat SUV called the R1S. Rivian's battery pack is mounted in the floor of its platform. In the R1T, it will be good for a 300-mile range with a 130kWh capacity or up to 400 miles with the 180kWh 'mega pack'. A base-level 105kWh model will follow within twelve months of launch. The R1T's flat floor is also reinforced with carbonfibre and Kevlar to protect its battery pack, while it has achieved a five-star crash test safety rating in the US." according to Autocar.
• InsideEVs says: " It can sprint from zero to 60 mph in 3 seconds or to 100mph in 7 seconds. The R1T can also tow a whopping 11,000 pounds. To top it off, four independent 147kW motors control 3,500 Nm of grounded torque to each wheel and provide a combined output of 14,000 Nm of torque and some 800 horsepower. To top it off, four independent 147kW motors control 3,500 Nm of grounded torque to each wheel and provide a combined output of 14,000 Nm of torque and some 800 horsepower."
• Jalopnik revel in: "A glorious frunk that can fit a huge cooler and duffel bag with ease. Rivian’s skateboard-based design (think of it as a battery on wheels) allows for some entertaining use of space and the company takes full advantage of this. There are enough hidey-holes to satisfy even the most accessorized outdoorsy person, including a tunnel storage unit ahead of the back wheels big enough for your snowboard. Plus, the hatch door of that doubles as a seat. The large bed is wide enough to store a sheet of plywood, comes with a cover as well as customizable cross bars and roof rails that owners can move or switch at any time."
• According to AutoBlog: "Rivian spent years developing this electric-vehicle-specific chassis to underpin all of its vehicles, which for now only include its truck and soon-to-be revealed SUV. It's made out of aluminum and high-strength steels and is capable of fitting the 180 kWh battery pack we mentioned earlier — Rivian won't reveal its battery supplier yet. Because the battery pack is placed under the floor, it has the lowest center of gravity of any truck on the market. Weight distribution is also a sports car-like 52/48 split front to rear. Ride quality for the truck looks promising — it uses a multi-link rear and double A-arm front suspension design, and Rivian claims it will handle well. Helping it do that both on road and off is an air suspension at all four corners. It's capable of raising the vehicle over five inches from its road driving height when you want the extra ground clearance or are heading into the trails. USB and USB Type-C ports are literally everywhere you look around the interior. Rivian even hid some in the back of the front headrests for rear seat passengers to use. You can plug-in if you're sitting on the tailgate too because there are four USB ports plus a 110V outlet for a fridge to keep your beverages cold. Part of the beauty of having an electric truck is the ability to use it as a generator to power literally anything you want when camping. Want to microwave something real quick? Just plug it in and start cooking. Utility is one of the biggest things Rivian stressed in its press briefing. You can use your truck as an air compressor by fitting up a hose to an outlet in the bed. It uses the air from the air suspension system."
• Rivian released a statement: "Pricing starts at $61,500 after Federal Tax credit. Deliveries of the R1T begin in late 2020. Fully-equipped vehicles with the highest performance level and largest battery pack will enter production first. Our 180 kWh pack (400+ miles range) and 135 kWh pack will be available at launch, with the base variant (230+ miles range) to follow within 12 months of the start of production. Rivian is now accepting preorders for a refundable deposit of $1,000. More information is available at www.rivian.com"

 

• Let me say - Ford could have released this truck. There is nothing stopping Ford, not the good designers, or good engineers, or scale to have done this. It's a lack of will and desire to do it. They don't WANT to be first, and that's their call. Akin perhaps to Apple products, they’re very rarely first to market yet they do just fine.

 

https://insideevs.com/rivian-r1t-electric-pickup-truck-world-debut/

 

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/motor-shows-la-motor-show/electric-start-rivian-unveils-pick-truck-rival-tesla

 

https://jalopnik.com/rivian-r1t-the-electric-pickup-with-a-front-trunk-that-1830646607

 

PORSCHE TAYCAN PLATFORM FOR AUDI'S MODEL S COMPETITOR

• "Audi said it was bringing its E-Tron GT concept car to the L.A. Auto Show, but now we have some teaser images of what is claimed to be the E-Tron GT sedan. The pictures popped up on Germany's Bild" reports Zac Palmer for Autoblog: "It's not exactly clear from Bild's report if these images are for a concept or a production car, but it does claim the E-Tron GT Sedan will be ready for the market in 2020. It will have a 100 kWh battery pack, good for 248 miles of range. Acceleration to 62 mph is set to happen in under 4 seconds as well. Perhaps the most interesting tidbit of information Bild gleaned is that the E-Tron GT sedan will be built on the Porsche Taycan platform. Think of it like an electric Audi A7."

 

ELON MUSK INTERVIEW: WEEKS FROM FAILURE

• There was an HBO interview with Elon Musk over the weekend and I've pulled some key quotes'
• "“Tesla faced a severe threat of death due to the Model 3 production ramp. Essentially, the company was bleeding money like crazy and if we didn’t solve these problems over a short period of time we would die. It was extremely difficult.”"

 

• On sleeping at the factory and 120 working weeks: ""It hurts my brain and my heart," Musk said. "It hurts. It is not recommended for anyone. I just did it because if I didn't do it ... there was a good chance Tesla would die."

 

• “How do we ensure that the future constitutes the sum of the will of humanity?” he asked. “And so, if we have billions of people with high bandwidth link to the AI extension of themselves, it would actually make everyone hyper-smart.”

 

• And on man & machine bonding as one, some sort of neural link to plug a computer into your brain: "“You kind of have this already in a weird way,” he said. “You have a digital tertiary layer in the form of your phone, your computers, your watch. You basically have these computing devices that form a tertiary layer on your cognition already."

 

NISSAN POSTPONES LAUNCH OF 60-KWH LEAF E-PLUS

• More fallout from the Carlos Ghosn story which happened this time last week: "The higher-performance, longer-range LEAF was expected soon, but Nissan now says it will delay the launch until this Ghosn issue is cleared up. According to the latest news, the longer-range Nissan LEAF (with a 60 kWh battery), which was expected to be launched a year after the introduction of the base second-generation LEAF with 40 kWh battery, is postponed." says Mark for InsideEVs.com: “Nissan called off the launch of a high-performance Leaf electric car, cancelling Nov. 28 events in Yokohama and Amsterdam.”

 

• My thoughts are confused on this: a product launch could change the narrative away from Carlos Ghosn and his arrest. Do it now to in two weeks, the press will still make the link. They probably would in 6 months! Maybe Nissan isn't ready? I think that's doubtful. Are the board not keen because EV's aren’t as profitable as we know Carlos Ghosn was both a force to be reckoned with AND a big EV fan? Well that's possible. Maybe it's a wise PR move, because as soon as 60kWh is officially announced it can't be good for 40kWh orders. I think the longer this delay goes on for, the more i think we need to worry. And that make me sad for a former leader in the EV space. I saw someone sum up today's news, and whatever corporate culture led to the arrest last week, as a massive Nissan fumble. I really hope it's not.

 

https://insideevs.com/nissan-postpones-launch-60-kwh-leaf-e-plus/

 

GM CANCEL VOLT

• "GM announced today a major restructuring that will involve “doubling” the company’s investment in electric and self-driving cars, but they will pay for it by shutting down factories and laying off thousands of workers. The company has also confirmed that the Chevy Volt will be discontinued." says Fred at Electrek: "The restructuring announced today is coming at a high cost for GM employees. The company confirmed that they will be laying off almost 15,000 employees and closing down 5 factories (3 assembly plants and 2 powertrain plants). A GM spokesperson also confirmed to Electrek that Chevy Volt production will be discontinued by March 2019. Past rumors have indicated that a Crossover could replace the Volt, though that was considered to be years out."
• With no confirmed home for the Tesla Semi to be built, or indeed the Tesla Pickup or Model Y, any closure of a plant has to be of interest for them to acquire.

 

https://electrek.co/2018/11/26/gm-chevy-volt-factory-shutdown-electric-investmet/

 

 

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