25 July 2018 | Audi Electric Motors Just Started Production, More Tesla Model 3 Performance Reviews Published and Another New Chinese EV Startup
Episode 191, Jul 24, 2018, 11:01 PM
Audi e-tron Gets Closer | Three More Model 3 Performance Reviews | Hyundai Kona: Great Long-Range All-Around EV | Chinese Luxury EV Startup Gyon Launches Next Month In L.A. | carboncounter.com
Read today’s show notes on https://www.evnewsdaily.com
Well good morning, good afternoon and good evening, wherever you are in the world, hello and welcome to the Wednesday 25th July edition of EV News Daily. It’s Martyn Lee here with the news you need to know about electric cars and the move towards sustainable transport.
AUDI E-TRON GETS CLOSER
- We're now just over a month away from the official launch of the Audi e-tron Crossover, the first fully electric Audi and the first of the e-tron range.
- Reuters report "The e-tron crossover will be revealed Aug. 30 in Brussels and will have a range of about 240 miles. Audi CEO Rupert Stadler quoted the price in Germany as 80,000 euros (about $95,000) — that's compared to 77,850 euros for the entry-model Jaguar I-Pace S AWD and 92,230 euros for the entry-level Tesla Model X 75D."
- Sometimes on here I get bit of kickback for being positive of ALL electric car makers, and especially when those large legacy auto makers are being forced into it by Tesla, because we know they can operate at scale when they want. And Audi in Hungary is one example, where 6,000 employees produce about 9,000 engines each day for 32 production plants of the Volkswagen Group, that's almost 2million combustion engines in 2017. If they turn their focus to EVs it would be huge news.
- And from the VW Press Office: "On Tuesday, series production of electric motors officially started in Győr. The company has invested a double digit million amount to set up the motor production facility. Approximately 100 people are employed in this new area at present. For the production of electric motors, Audi Hungaria installed the innovative production equipment and islands within just one year. The departments for the development of electric motors and for production planning cooperated closely with the prototype manufacturing/ production technology centre in Győr to develop the required expertise. The current production capacity is for approximately 400 electric axle motors each day and can be gradually increased. At present, about 100 people are employed in this new area, to be increased to more than 130 by the end of the year. Production is with one‑shift operation, but will soon change to three shifts."
- "The electric motor from Győr offers numerous new features. With the stator – one of the core components of the motor – the aim is to insert as much of the thin enamelled copper wire as possible into the casing: the tighter the winding, the more efficient the power delivery. A new winding and inserting centre at Audi Hungaria makes it possible to wind the optimal amount of enamelled copper wire particularly compactly and then insert it into the casing. The electric axle consists of other large components such as the power electronics, which are located in their own housing, the gearing and two flange shafts that transmit the power to the wheels. The employees produce two electric axle drive systems for each Audi e-tron, as both the front and rear axles are driven – in good quattro tradition."
https://www.volkswagenag.com/en/news/2018/07/Audi_Hungaria.html
THREE MORE MODEL 3 PERFORMANCE REVIEWS
- CNET's Kyle Hyatt: "the moment you mash the accelerator a whole new sensation hits, and it's immediately apparent what you're getting for the (considerable) added price. based on these early impressions, the Performance seems to be exactly what we expected all along: an experience not dissimilar from the standard Model 3, just a heck of a lot quicker."
- MotorTrend: "Even with four aboard, the Model 3 DMP surged ahead so startlingly that it stopped conversation. Except maybe for an uttered "Oh my god." I braked pretty hard and arched up the on-ramp toward the freeway. It was a flourish more akin to swiping a navigation route on your phone than driving a car on the actual road. In maybe 120 wheel revolutions, a high-performance hierarchy has been rattled. The European marques perennially atop the sport sedan podium are about to have trapdoors release beneath them. Although nothing has fundamentally changed with the car's steering or suspension (besides an imperceptible but CG-lowering 5-10mm drop in ride height), the dual motor and all-wheel drive give the compact Tesla a tensed, hair-trigger potency for leaping ahead or around whatever's in the way. It's pure jungle cat."
- Mark Vaughn, West Coast Editor for Autoweek: "Controlling all that power on its way to the wheels is a new vehicle dynamic control (VDC) system. Tesla no longer uses Bosch VDC but has instead made its own. Tesla says this allows engineers to more precisely tune the distribution of torque front and rear as well as side-to-side. Acceleration is strong; thrilling, even. It’s still unclear whether you have to do that chemically ridiculous 30-minute pre-conditioning drill to get the 3.5-second 0-60 figure, but whatever figure I was experiencing was impressing the heck out of me."
https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/auto/2018-tesla-model-3-performance/preview/
https://www.motortrend.com/cars/tesla/model-3/2018/2018-tesla-model-3-dual-motor-performance-review/
http://autoweek.com/article/car-reviews/first-drive-tesla-model-3-performance
HYUNDAI KONA: GREAT LONG-RANGE, ALL-AROUND EV
- "The long anticipated Hyundai Kona EV, with a battery capacity up to 64 kWh, is now starting to arrive in the hands of customers and testers. It appears to be everything EV fans have hoped for, and more. If you want one, get your order in ASAP!" writes Max Holland for CleanTechnica: "Hyundai is only planning for 30,000 units per year in the near term. Most of the exports are currently going to Europe, and won’t be arriving in the US till later in 2018. Pricing for the long-range, 64 kWh version varies by market, but starts from around €34,000/US$40,000 equivalent in Norway (NKR 326,000), €39,000 in Germany, £36,000 in the UK, or €42,000 in France. US pricing will emerge towards the end of 2018. Incentives in some markets will effectively reduce these prices further. In Norway, at this price, the 64 kWh Kona is a similar cost to the Bolt/Ampera-e."
- Clean Technica say the charge speed is 80kW, and I thought it was 100kW. Checking the official Hyundai website says: "Charge Time / Quick Charge (DC) (connected to 100 kW DC fast charger). Approx. 54 min up to 80% state of charge"
CHINESE LUXURY EV STARTUP GYON LAUNCHES NEXT MONTH IN L.A.
- "Another new Chinese electric car brand is on the way, called Gyon. Bankrolled by Sitech, itself an electric car brand under pioneering Chinese car manufacturer FAW, Gyon will launch during the summer. "
KIA KX3 EV: CRETA-BASED ELECTRIC CAR SPOTTED
- "Images of the Kia KX3 EV have surfaced online. The Creta-based electric vehicle (EV) is rumoured to go on sale by the end of 2018 in China." according to Team BHP.com: "The KX3 in the all-electric guise is expected to be powered by an 109 BHP electric motor with a claimed top speed of 150 km/h. It gets a 45.2 KWh lithium-ion battery, however its maximum range is not yet known."
https://www.team-bhp.com/news/kia-kx3-ev-creta-based-electric-car-spotted
- MIT published a useful tool for comparing life cycle emissions (gCO2/mile) and TCO of different vehicle types. The plot area shows more than 100 popular new car models in the U.S. Move over each data point to get more information (on a touch device, tap). The x axis shows the lifetime cost of each vehicle per mile driven. The y axis shows the greenhouse gas emissions of each vehicle per mile driven. We include emissions from producing the different fuels and vehicles. Our results show that you don't have to pay more for a low-carbon-emitting vehicle.
- While the average greenhouse gas emissions of all cars are more than 50% higher than the 2030 target, most hybrid and electric vehicles meet that target today, with today's electricity mix. Greenhouse gas emissions from electricity production in California are half the U.S. average, and it shows. Emissions from electric vehicles drop below the 2040 climate target.
- Using a combination of low electricity emissions, high fuel prices, and a high share of city driving, we can construct a best case scenario for electric vehicles (EVs), where EVs are cheaper than comparable combustion engine vehicles.
- We can also do the opposite, choosing conditions that favour combustion engine cars. Even so, electric vehicles emit less than comparable combustion engine vehicles. Disabling the federal tax refunds and low fuel prices do make EVs quite pricey compared to gasoline cars though."
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