01 June 2018 | Canadian Model 3 Delivery Storm, London Cab Maker Reveals Van and Panasonic/Tesla Go Cobalt Free
Black Cab Maker LEVC Reveals Plug-In Hybrid Van | Hyundai Kona EV Gets Norwegian Details | Canada's First Big Delivery Of Tesla's Model 3 Like 'Christmas Morning' For Some Owners | Vattenfall To Launch InCharge In Great Britain In June 2018 | EV Charging Infrastructure Set For Major Boost With New London Taskforce | Tesla Battery Manufacturer Panasonic To Develop Cobalt-Free EV Batteries
It’s Friday 1st 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.
BLACK CAB MAKER LEVC REVEALS PLUG-IN HYBRID VAN
- London Electric Vehicle Company has unveiled its plug-in hybrid van, a sister to the range-extended TX black cab.
- "Its vehicle will not focus on “last-mile delivery” but instead will provide the link between out of town distribution centres and city destinations" say Autocar. “Our segment is vans that undertake 100 miles a day, a role currently filled by 1-tonne medium-size diesel vans,” said LEVC. "The light commercial vehicle will be built at LEVC’s £325m factory in Warwickshire, alongside the range-extended EV cab. The purpose-built facility was opened last year as the UK’s first dedicated site for electric vehicle production."
- Autocar add: "The van will use the same powertrain as the TX taxi, an advanced battery electric set-up with a 1.3-litre petrol generator. This range-extender technology gives the TX a range of more than 400 miles and it can run for more than 70 miles on electric power only. It can charge its depleted battery to almost full in 20 minutes via a rapid charger, in two hours with a fast charger and in about eight to ten hours on a trickle charger. Similar figures are expected for the van, although are likely to be slightly less given the vehicle's extra weight."
HYUNDAI KONA EV GETS NORWEGIAN PRICE
- I saw a tweet yesterday from EV authority Christina Bu all about the Hyundai Kona in Norway - so with the help of Google Translate i got the gist of the article. And then a couple of hours later it would have been easier to read the Electrek article!
- "The Kona is supposed to get 482 kilometers (WLTP) of range which equates to just under 300 miles. The long-range Kona will have a similar amount of horsepower as the Chevy Bolt at just over 200hp or 150kW which should propel the heavier car to 60mph in around 7.6 seconds. Kona production has already started and the first customers should start receiving them in July. Hyundai is limiting deliveries to 2500 in Norway this year, a far cry from the 20,000 people on the waiting list."
CANADA'S FIRST BIG DELIVERY OF TESLA'S MODEL 3 LIKE 'CHRISTMAS MORNING' FOR SOME OWNERS
- It has been described as Christmas morning for Model 3 reservation holders! "The first large-scale delivery of Tesla’s much-anticipated Model 3 sedan has arrived in Canada, ending months of waiting for anxious owners who based their purchase on nothing more than online specs and photos." reports CTV: "Teslarati reported that roughly 300 examples of the Model 3 were spotted in a Toronto parking lot on Wednesday.
- Some who were taking delivery in Toronto were told by Tesla that they were attempting 200 deliveries per day. However some reports online today pointed at there being a lack of Tesla staff to handle how much work is involved, as Tesla pursue an aggressive delivery schedule.
VATTENFALL TO LAUNCH INCHARGE IN GREAT BRITAIN IN JUNE 2018
- Vattenfall, the Swedish energy group, is to make an ambitious first move into the British electric vehicle charging market next month with the launch of InCharge, its “any-driver-can-use” infrastructure concept.
- Building on its electric vehicle (EV) lead in north western Europe, Vattenfall hopes to have its first, or partners’ first charging poles installed during the second half of 2018. Vattenfall is also targeting the domestic market allowing drivers to charge easily at home, at work and in public.
- Vattenfall will allow any EV to charge at any Vattenfall InCharge charging point on a pay-as-you-go basis. Vattenfall will also promote roaming agreements with other charge point operators or driver service providers, unusual in Great Britain but increasingly common in northern Europe.
- The head of Vattenfall e-mobility Tomas Björnsson said today that the combination of Vattenfall’s investment plans and smart solutions for home, office and destination charging will boost confidence in the young British EV market, increase competition, help tackle drivers’ range anxiety, support clean air zones in Britain’s cities and ultimately bring down cost to British drivers. He goes on to say that a more open network is a ‘must’ if GB’s EV potential is to be realised.
EV CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE SET FOR MAJOR BOOST WITH NEW LONDON TASKFORCE
- "London mayor Sadiq Khan is bidding to avoid a potential electric vehicle charger deficit in the capital with the launch of a new taskforce." according to Sam Sheehan in Autocar: "Khan’s newly announced Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Taskforce includes 16 organisations, with representatives from business, energy and infrastructure, as well as the Government and London boroughs, to focus on improving the city’s charging infrastructure. The group’s arrival comes as the UK’s plug-in vehicle market has seen unprecedented rates of growth. Last month, plug-in car sales (including full EVs and plug-in hybrids) surged by 50%, pushing the UK electrified fleet beyond 200,000 vehicles."
TESLA BATTERY MANUFACTURER PANASONIC TO DEVELOP COBALT-FREE EV BATTERIES
- If you were picking up the free financial paper in the UK, CityAM, you'd have seen: "Panasonic has said it plans to start development of electric vehicle (EV) batteries without using cobalt due to the production component's high price and scarcity."
- Kenji Tamura, chief of Panasonic's automotive battery business, said: “We have already cut down cobalt usage substantially. We are aiming to achieve zero usage in the near future, and development is underway.” At a meeting yesterday, the chief of automotive business Yoshio Ito said that Panasonic and Tesla had agreed to boost production of battery cells as Tesla aims to increase production of the Model 3 to 5,000 units per week by the end of June.
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