05 June 2018 | Jaguar I-PACE Reviews Are In, Gigafactory Expands and Nissan LEAF Sells Every 10 Minutes
Jaguar I-PACE Reviews: The Good, Bad And Ugly | Texas Brings Back Rebates For Electric Cars| Tesla Gigafactory 1 Expands With Massive New Lot As Site Activity Increases | VARTA Storage To Launch Smart Energy Storage System “Pulse” | A New Nissan Leaf Sold Every 10 Minutes | China’s Automaker Protean Electric Closes $40m Series E Round | Tata Motors Sharpens Focus On Electric Mobility | Enphase Energy Names Former Tesla Executive As CFO
It’s Tuesday 5th June 2018 and this is your EV News Daily. Good morning, good afternoon and good evening! Wherever you're listening around the world, a very warm welcome from London, UK. Here is today’s news about electric cars and the future of transport. My name is Martyn Lee and I go through every EV article online so you don’t have to.
JAGUAR I-PACE REVIEWS: THE GOOD, BAD AND UGLY
- I love it when an embargo is lifted because all the reviews for the same car hit the internet at the same time. And so was the case yesterday when the first batch of Jaguar I-PACE reviews went online. I've picked out some of the best lines and quotes but do check out Electrek who compiled the 20 best videos online to watch. Those earlier reviewers were all shipped out to Portugal where I gather there will be a few more waves of reviews over the coming weeks. The reviews are in all conditions, so on road, off road and even in 20 inches of water.
- A quick stat check: the I-PACE starts at $69,500 and has an EPA range of 240 miles or 298 on WLTP. 0-60 is coming in at 4.7 seconds in the reviews and 0-100 in 11 seconds.
- One thing every review has in common: they all compare it to Tesla. I think that's for several reasons, firstly it IS a competitor in that it has a battery and is relatively expensive. The difference here is that Tesla wears it's Silicon Valley heritage as a badge of honour, whereas Jaguar Land Rover wear their off-roading ability as a badge of honour, so I do see the I-PACE and Model X sitting happily together in the same marketplace and not necessarily cannibalising each other as much as some people think.
- Autocar rave about the interior build quality being better than Tesla, the handling, the including of buttons rather than one large touchscreen and the off-roading ability. They said: "We've tried this car in ridiculous places; through a riverbed, because it can wade 500mm [19.7 inches]; and up a steep gravel hill, where an electric four-wheel drive system shows huge potential...and on a race circuit."
- The buttons and knobs were also loved by Top Gear.
- Oh and even more knob love from Pocket Lint: "Having everything touch screen might sound more futuristic, but it's not always the best approach when eyes-on-the-road driving should come first. "Tesla, BMW, Audi et al should be very worried indeed, because Jaguar has just pulled off the coup of the year with the I-Pace. Right now, this is the EV we would choose to buy before any other."
- Caradvice say it did four hot laps on a track and showed no signs of power degradation.
- Auto Express says: "Jaguar has succeeded in not only creating the best electric car on sale but perhaps one of the most exciting cars you can buy. From the way it looks to the way it drives the I-Pace is a real game changer for Jaguar and electric cars overall. The ride could be softer and brakes more responsive but as a first attempt at an EV Jaguar has nailed it. Still thinking of ordering a Tesla?"
- Deliveries will be this month in Europe, the US in Quarter 3 and China in Sep/Oct time.
TEXAS BRINGS BACK REBATES FOR ELECTRIC CARS
- Well they've been away for three years but now they're back - Texas is putting their EV rebates back on the table. They apply to PHEVs, full BEVs and Fuel Cell cars (good luck with that as none are on sale in Texas!) plus some niche CNG and LPG cars.
- Dallas News broke the story with plug in cars getting a $2,500 purchase rebate, applicable to whether you walk into the showroom with cash or looking to sign a lease.
- if you're interested, the rebate scheme starts on 1st Sep and ends by May 31 2019 OR when the funding runs out, whichever is sooner.
- The last time Texas ran this scheme they handed out EV rebates on 1,896 vehicles. And even more good news for Texan EV owners, you are flush with EV chargers because the state has been forward thinking with regards to zero emission vehicles, with 997 public EV charging stations to choose from.
TESLA GIGAFACTORY 1 EXPANDS WITH MASSIVE NEW LOT AS SITE ACTIVITY INCREASES
- "Aerial photographs obtained by Teslarati have revealed that Tesla’s expansive new parking lot in Gigafactory 1 is practically complete" according to Simon Alvarez who has been studying the latest images he received on 5 days ago. He notices: "Tesla is done overlaying its new lot with asphalt, and numerous electric posts now stand in the area. Tesla started moving the land north of Gigafactory 1 sometime in March. As noted by avid members of the r/TeslaMotors community then, the new parking lot appears to be around 2,000 x 1,500 ft (roughly 600 m x 470 m)" Check out the pics on Teslarati for the scale of this parking lot.
VARTA STORAGE TO LAUNCH SMART ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEM “PULSE” AT EXCLUSIVE UK EVENT
- "VARTA Storage is set to enter the UK market with smart energy storage system – the VARTA pulse", Solar Magazine says: "The domestic energy system will be unveiled in the UK for the first time...on the 6th June 2018. Available in two power classes; 3.3 kWh and 6.5 kWh and designed to be “plug & play”, the VARTA pulse can be installed in as little as 30 minutes provided the relevant services are available – setting it apart from competitor products. Its high flexibility and connectivity makes it seamless integrate able into smart home systems."
A NEW NISSAN LEAF SOLD EVERY 10 MINUTES
- Nissan is celebrating the 100,000th delivery of the LEAF car this month in Europe, in a move hailed as a victory for electric mobility. Globally, over 320,000 Nissan LEAF have been sold, making it the most sold EV in the world" according to a Nissan Press Release yesterday: "With now more than 37,000 new LEAF ordered in Europe, one new Nissan LEAF is sold every 10 minutes in Europe to customers looking to switch to innovative and zero-emission technology."
- "European Nissan LEAF customers have now driven over 2 billion kilometres and saved over 300,000 tonnes of CO2. They also boast a 92% customer satisfaction rate – more than any other Nissan model."
CHINA’S AUTOMAKER PROTEAN ELECTRIC CLOSES $40M SERIES E ROUND
- "Chinese automaker Protean Electric has closed a $40 million equity investment in its series E funding round led by Shenzhen-listed Weifu High-Technology Group" reports Deal Street Asia: "Founded in 2008, Protean Electric has operations in the United Kingdom, Shanghai and the U.S., as well as a manufacturing plant in Tianjin, China. The company designs, develops and manufactures ProteanDrive, a full integrated in-while drive solution. It also plays a major role in the hybrid and electric vehicle market.
TATA MOTORS SHARPENS FOCUS ON ELECTRIC MOBILITY
- Heading to India next and Tata Motors has announced the appointment of Shailesh Chandra to lead the company’s electric mobility business.
- “Tata Motors is optimistic about the future of electric vehicles and would play a leading role in the electric mobility evolution in the country. We will also leverage on the capabilities of other Tata Group companies to develop the full ecosystem and fast track the adoption of e-mobility,” said Guenter Butschek, chief executive officer and managing director, Tata Motors
ENPHASE ENERGY NAMES FORMER TESLA EXECUTIVE AS CFO
- Reuters spotted that a former Tesla Exec has turned up at Enphase: "Solar inverter maker Enphase Energy (Nasdaq: ENPH) on Monday named former Tesla executive Eric Branderiz as its Chief Financial Officer."
- Enphase are most famous for their micro inverters, describing themselves as a "Worldwide leader in Microinverters, AC home battery storage, smart solar monitoring technologies, and now integrated AC Modules from top PV manufacturers" They recently launched their IQ 7 Series. They say "with the IQ 7 series, we also introduce the Enphase IQ 7X, a 320-watt, high-power microinverter built for 96-cell modules."
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