08 Oct 2018 | Dashcam Improvements Coming For Tesla, Big Battery Investment In China and Electric Cars A Headache For Insurers

More Trouble For Faraday Future| Tesla To Improve Dashcam And Add More Cameras | SK Innovation To Invest $354 Mln In EV Battery Parts Plant In China | Mercedes Will Make EV Batteries In Alabama | Management Musical Chairs As Gm Shuffles Pack Ahead Of Electrification | Autonomous Cars Tough For Insurers | UK: Axe Falls On Green Subsidies

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Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Monday 8th October 2018. It’s Martyn Lee here and I’ve been through EV story today so you don’t have to.

 

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.

 

Thank you to yet another Patreon Executive Producer. You are the man BRIAN WEATHERALL.

 

Update and correction: last week I told you about this story:  "According to a senior BMW executive, Klaus Frölich, Lithium-ion cells that can store the standard 1 kWh unit of electrical energy cost $170 to $250 (€100 to €150).“It’s very simple,” says Frölich. In EVs with 90 to 100kWh battery packs, the cell cost alone will be $17,000 to $25,000.“

 

Dr Max Holland dropped me a line, he writes for Clean Technica amongst other things, and has become my go-to person for fact checking and accuracy on some things. He says "Martyn, it was an Australian article. AUD$170 = USD$120. So his figures are not totally incorrect". and "in fact Frölich gave the figures as 100Euro to-150Euro then the Australian journalists translated currencies and further inflated the figures a bit." And he sent me a better, more accurate article.

 

"“If you read in the press that if you have full-scale 1kWh of battery capacity, it will cost you between €100 and €150 ($A160-$240). This means if you (have) these cars with 90-100kWh, the cell cost will be €10,000 to €15,000 ($A16,000-$24,000). You can produce whole (ICE) cars only with the cost of the battery. Mr Froehlich said it was unlikely “that an electrified vehicle will cost the same as a combustion engine car”, adding that too much fast charging of an EV could have a negative impact on batteries. You have to change your attitude if you are driving a battery electric vehicle,” he said."

 

And on the subject of 48volt hybrids: "All combustion engines by 2025 need 48 volts or something for fuel consumption. That is the reason why I am not investing too much in the first generation that is belt-driven alternator, 8-10kW. Of course they do not offer a lot of functionality. So I am working on the second generation. I see it beyond 2022. I am working on it. They will have bigger battery of 48-volt. They will include the e-motor in the transmission. And they will generate more than 20kW."

 

https://www.goauto.com.au/news/bmw/paris-show-bmw-rsquo-s-commits-to-mild-hybrids-across-range/2018-10-03/75818.html

 

 

AUTO FIRM FARADAY FUTURE WANTS TO SCRAP STAKE SALE TO EVERGRANDE HEALTH

• "Faraday Future, a start-up that is developing electric vehicles, is seeking arbitration to terminate a deal to sell a 45 percent stake to China’s Evergrande Health Industry Group Ltd, the healthcare firm said on Sunday." according to a report from Reuters coming out of Hong Kong late this evening on Sunday night "Evergrande Health, a subsidiary of property developer China Evergrande Group, said in June it would buy 45 percent of Faraday Future. Evergrande said it had agreed to buy Season Smart Ltd, owner of 45 percent of Faraday Future, for $860.2 million. It also said it agreed to pay Faraday Future $1.2 billion in two equal instalments, due in 2019 and 2020. Evergrande said in Sunday’s stock exchange filing it had paid Faraday Future $700 million in July. It said this amount was paid at [Faraday Future's] request, after the firm had spent Smart Season’s initial investment of $800 million."
• And from The Verge: "The new financial trouble comes at a critical time for Faraday Future. The company has spent all of 2018 retooling a factory in Hanford, California, where it plans to manufacture its first car, an ultra-premium electric SUV called the FF91, by the end of the year. Even that process has stumbled, though, as The Verge learned that the company’s first and only preproduction version of the car — the first thing to be made at the Hanford facility — caught fire in late September."

 

https://uk.reuters.com/article/everg-health-lawsuit-faraday-future/auto-firm-faraday-future-wants-to-scrap-stake-sale-to-evergrande-health-filing-idUKL4N1WN099

 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/faraday-future-ceo-accused-of-trying-to-break-investor-deal-after-spending-24800-million/ar-BBO48Nh

 

TESLA TO IMPROVE DASHCAM AND ADD MORE CAMERAS

• Tesla drivers who have downloaded Software 9.0 may have tried out the new dashcam features, and some feel the quality isn't yet matching those third party systems you can buy. There's also a bit of a rigmorole with a USB bit and formatting it a certain way, which doesn't seem like 'The TEsla Way' - it's very faffy. The opposite of hose easy their cars usally are to use.
• Elon has tweeted: "Actually, it’s 1 of 3 forward cameras in rear view mirror assembly. External cameras will auto-activate in future if car is damaged while parked."
• And whilst some people will still prefer an externally bought camera, at least thieves wont be breaking into your car to steal you camera as it's part of the car! Meanwhile others who have AP2.0 hardware are still angry they can't get access to it.

 

S.KOREA'S SK INNOVATION TO INVEST $354 MLN IN EV BATTERY PARTS PLANT IN CHINA

• "South Korea’s SK Innovation said on Sunday it plans to invest 400 billion won ($354 million) to build a plant for key parts of electric car batteries in China as part of its effort to better compete in the world’s largest electric vehicle (EV) market." according to a Reuters report today: "The plant will make separators for lithium ion batteries and ceramic coating. Construction is expected to begin early next year in the southeastern city of Changzhou, with production starting in the second half of 2020, the company said. SK Innovation currently runs a factory in South Korea that produces the materials, which ensure stability and bolster power output."

 

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-opec-qatar-crude/oil-market-is-balanced-says-qatar-energy-minister-idUSKCN1MH0LN

 

MERCEDES WILL MAKE EV BATTERIES IN ALABAMA

• "Daimler's Mercedes-Benz facility in Tuscaloosa, Alabama is getting a $1 billion upgrade, and it includes building a new battery factory for its future electric vehicles. According to the automaker, the plant will manufacture batteries for Benz's EQ line of EVs, starting with its first electric SUV, the EQC" according to Engadget: "Since part of that billion will go towards the creation of manufacturing plants for the cars themselves, it only makes sense that Daimler wants to build their batteries in the same location. Alabama won't be the only place where Daimler manufactures EQ electric vehicles and batteries, though. It's building eight production facilities in various places around the world, along with eight battery factories. It previously announced Bangkok and Beijing as two of the other locations where it plans to build a battery plant, and the automaker already has one in Kamenz, Germany."
• Mercedes-Benz board member Markus Schäfer: "The widely export oriented Mercedes-Benz plant in Tuscaloosa is a high-tech production facility with a successful history and an exciting future in terms of our brand in the United States. We aim to play a pioneering role in the development of e-mobility and are well prepared to accomplish this mission. One year ago, we have announced $1 billion investment in Tuscaloosa mostly for the production of electric SUVs and a battery plant. We are bringing electric mobility for Mercedes-Benz to the United States..."

 

https://www.engadget.com/2018/10/06/mercedes-ev-batteries-alabama/

 

MANAGEMENT MUSICAL CHAIRS AS GM SHUFFLES PACK AHEAD OF ELECTRIFICATION

• From InsideEVs: "Pamela Fletcher, former GM Vice President of Global Electric Vehicle Programs, from October 1 took on a new role of Vice President of Innovation (directly under CEO Mary Barra). Fletcher’s duties will be taken over by Fletcher’s boss Doug Parks, Vice President of Autonomous and Electric Vehicle Programs."
• Michael Ableson moves from GM’s Vice President of Global Strategy to a new position of Vice President of Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (under Fletcher).
• Doug Parks said: "“Ableson will lead GM’s efforts in developing necessary partnerships or identifying incentives and investments that could lead to a more fleshed-out EV charging infrastructure. This effort is designed to “remove a critical barrier to acceptance of electrification”

 

https://insideevs.com/gm-shuffles-ev-leaders-electrification-push/

 

AUTONOMOUS CARS TOUGH FOR INSURERS

• Meanwhile, Patreon supporter Cesar Trujillo dropped me a note to enquire as to whether I see many autonomous car stories when researching EVs.
• One of those concerns is insurance: "France-headquartered Alliance Partners, one of the world’s leading assistance and insurance companies, gets half its business from cars." reports Times Of India. Alliance said: "People own fewer cars these days. More and more cars are going electric. They have fewer moving parts and therefore are less prone to breakdowns, which means less business for us. It gets more complicated when you have both autonomous and non-autonomous cars on the road. Across the world, more and more consumers are becoming less attached to assets. For instance, the young generation don’t want to own cars. They want mobility solutions like in the case of Uber or Ola. They want to share their car with other riders.”

 

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/autonomous-cars-evs-making-life-tough-for-insurers-allianz-boss/

 

UK: AXE FALLS ON GREEN SUBSIDIES

• In the Observer here in the UK, which is a weekly newspaper on Sundays: "Consumers are given a discount of up to £4,500 when they buy a green vehicle that qualifies under the “plug-in grant” scheme for low-emission vehicles. However, ministers have warned the Treasury that the tight budget for the scheme means large cuts will have to be made. Under current proposals, the maximum grant would fall to £3,500, while the grant of up to £2,500 for hybrid plug-in vehicles would be abolished altogether. A cap is also being considered, which would mean only cars worth up to £60,000 would be eligible for the scheme."
• Given the chance to reply, the Treasury declined to comment. A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “The Road to Zero Strategy sets out a clear path for the country to be a world leader in the clean transport revolution, including continuing to ensure the tax system incentivises the purchase of the cleanest vehicles.”

 

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/oct/07/electric-car-prices-to-soar-low-emission-vehicles--subsidies-philip-hammond-budget

 

A message from Neil E Roberts: "Could you mention the next Sussex EVs Meetup on the 14th October at 1pm at Billingshurst library car park? Full details are on https://www.sussexevs.co.uk/index.php/events/ would be even better if you could make it!"

 

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