11 May 2018 | Chargepoint Reveal 2MW Charger, Tesla Video Breaks The Internet and Solar Panels For All New California New Builds
Episode 116, May 10, 2018, 11:01 PM
17 Experts Explain Everyone Will Be Driving Electric Vehicles | Ford Expands PHEV Transit To Valencia | California Will Require Solar Panels On New Homes | Auto Express Rides In Mercedes EQ C | Magna International Reports Record Net Income And Sales | Japan's Panasonic Sees 11.7 Percent Profit Increase | Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Sector To Gather This Summer | Chargepoint Unveils New 2-MW Charger | Tesla Model S And Model X To ‘Soon’ Work With Keyless And Smartphone Entry | Tesla “All Hands” V
Friday 11th May 2018.
17 EXPERTS EXPLAIN EVERYONE WILL BE DRIVING ELECTRIC VEHICLES
- The website Interesting Engineering have done a neat bit of research online, they've compiled quotes from 17 leading experts on the subject of EVs.
- I'll put a link in the show notes but some of my highlights include James Dyson who says "I believed that electrically powered vehicles would solve the vehicle pollution problem."
- Ferrari CEO Sergio Marchionone says" "If there is an electric supercar to be built, then Ferrari will be the first." Someone should tell Rimac.
- Maurizio Reggiani is the Lamborghini Head of R&D said: "I want to go one, two, three laps without having to stop and recharge after every lap.", as their first electric supercar pins it's hopes on supercapacitor technology.
- Renault Nissan Mitsubihi CEO Carlos Ghosn has said: ""The time is right for electric cars - in fact the time is critical." and he should know, his group sold half a million EVs in 2017.
- And how could I not include this quote: ""We will not stop until every car on the road is electric." - Elon Musk
FORD EXPANDS PHEV TRANSIT TO VALENCIA
- The famous Transit van from Ford has been on trial in London for some time with a petrol powered, 1 litre engine working as a range extender to charge batteries, and next the trial heads to Valencia.
- Ford has announced they’re working with the regional and city government of Valencia to assess air the effects of reduced air pollution from commercial vehicles, with an all electric range of 50km or 31 miles.
- Ford need to catch up by their own admission, indeed i follow one person who I won't name on here but is reasonably high up in Ford UK, often jumping into conversations on Twitter in order to criticise and talk down EVs. I'm surprised he isn't a bit more guarded but perhaps his bosses at Ford either don't know, or care, or maybe agree.
- It's widely accepted this move to EVs will see winners and losers, and there must be a worry from more progressive people at Ford that they're currently outside the EV party.
- However at the very top of the company Ford remain resolute in electrifying. Steven Armstrong, president and CEO, Ford of EMEA said: "As no two cities are alike, it is vital that we look at the mobility issue from a variety of perspectives. Our research in Valencia will help us gain a meaningful understanding of the benefits that small and medium fleets running primarily on electric power can bring."
https://www.just-auto.com/news/ford-expands-phev-to-valencia_id182540.aspx
CALIFORNIA WILL REQUIRE SOLAR PANELS ON NEW HOMES
- The rumours yesterday turned out to be correct, and California did indeed vote to include solar on all new homes. That's 100,000 customers every year who will buy a new house and have solar ready to go.
- It comes into effect from January 1st 2020 and the California Energy Commission voted unanimously to push it through after a two year study on the background of the policy. It could generate 200 megawatts of extra power every year for the grid, which is on top of the 858 megawatts of solar which was added to existing homes last year.
- It could be just one of the reasons Tesla stock jumped yesterday, as those who fully understand Tesla is an energy company first, and a car maker second, saw the long term upside for Tesla.
- The key for me is that it will make it as normal as kitchen song or a bathroom suite, it just becomes something that houses now come with.
- Whilst it will add to the cost of the home, with the research suggesting it's around 8-12,000 dollars, homeowners will same of monthly electricity costs. Plus home builders who bulk order panels will surely further drive down the cost.
AUTO EXPRESS RIDES IN MERCEDES EQ C
- Following Fully Charged riding in the Mercedes EQ C, other organisations who were under embargo have now revealed details, like Autocar. And they also point out my observation, or possible criticism, that it's built on the GLC-Class chassis and not a custom platform like the Jaguar I-PACE. That means it looks a lot like a conventional SUV but all that space up front for an ICE remains.
- The same will be true for the BMW iX3 though, as it's based on the X3 platform.
- The Autocar article gets more details out. Such as how the two motors will work together. Mercedes concept is that the front motor does most of the heavy lifting and operates on it's own most of the time. Then when you need performance, the rear motor joins in. Even though that's clever, i still don't understand yet how that one innovation would give a 70kWh pack a range of 310 miles or 500km. It's not even close to anything currently on sale or coming soon.
- The EQ C will ride on the E-Class Estate's self-levelling suspension though will make it waft. Very soon the Jaguar I-PACE will be fighting for buyers with the EQ C, the Audi e-tron Quattro and the BMW iX3 as well as the cheapest Tesla Model X - all quite similar SUV segment cars.
MAGNA INTERNATIONAL REPORTS RECORD NET INCOME AND SALES
- Talking of the Jaguar: "Global auto parts giant Magna International posted record net income of $660 million in the first quarter of 2018, up 14 per cent from a year ago." reports Autonews.com. Magna are making the I-PACE under contract rather than Jag themselves. "In March, Automotive News Europe reported that Magna also will build two new sports cars jointly developed by BMW and Toyota. Magna declined to comment."
JAPAN'S PANASONIC SEES 11.7 PERCENT PROFIT INCREASE
- Reuters reports that: "Panasonic, the exclusive battery cell supplier for Tesla Inc’s (TSLA.O) mass-market Model 3 electric car, forecast profit of 425 billion yen ($3.87 billion), from 380.54 billion yen a year prior."
- And in other news today, Panasonic and Tesla look to strengthen their battery relationship by working together on Tesla's first Chinese Gigafactory, which will include every step of the process under one massive roof - from cell production to final car assembly.
ELECTRIC VEHICLE INFRASTRUCTURE SECTOR TO GATHER THIS SUMMER
- "The EV Infrastructure Summit, organised by Clean Energy News’ publisher Solar Media, is to be held between 3 – 4 July 2018 at London’s America Square Conference Centre, and will bring together all the major stakeholders in EV charging infrastructure." Clean Energy News say that: "The event is the only EV-focused event in Europe that has been specifically designed around cities, local authorities, workplaces and commercial carpark owners and operators, areas which will be integral to furthering the transition to clean transport."
CHARGEPOINT UNVEILS NEW 2-MW CHARGER FOR ELECTRIC AIRCRAFT AND SEMI-TRUCKS
- How fast is REALLY fast for charging? When it's 2MW. That's what Chargepoint unveiled as a solution to get a lot of juice into electric aircraft and large trucks. Those kind of speeds mean you need a super large battery to cope with them, the kind of battery you'd see in a Tesla Semi Truck maybe?
- Chargepoint said "“The ChargePoint engineering team focused on several key elements in developing the new design. To meet performance requirements, up to four BMS interfaces and four 500-amp delivery circuits are needed. Each delivery circuit will have a voltage range from 200 to 1000 volts. To facilitate autonomous data and vehicle performance payload offload, a provision for high speed data transfer was also included. Designed to be used in heavy vehicle applications, the connector must be rugged and able to withstand the rigors of frequent use, while also being easy to insert and remove.”
TESLA MODEL S X TO WORK WITH KEYLESS/SMARTPHONE ENTRY LIKE MODEL 3
- I love a good promise from Elon Musk, and the latest is that the Model S and X will get keyless entry like the Model 3.
- In a story by Fred at Electrek, some good news for those who prefer to use their mobile app to enter their car.
- And in a related note, I took some heat from people on Twitter yesterday for saying that Tesla are the only car maker with a software dev team on overdrive, making your cars better every day. The opposing view is that a proper car maker, wh atever that is, would have the code finished by the time they release the car. But i don't agree, in a situation like this is was never foreseen for the Model S and X.
I’d love to spread the word about electric cars so, if you can, share this somebody who might be interested.
You can listen to every previous episode of this podcast on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, YouTube, TuneIn, Stitcher, and the blog https://www.evnewsdaily.com/ – remember to subscribe, which means you don’t have to think about downloading the show each day, plus you get it first and free and automatically.
It would mean a lot if you could take 2mins to leave a quick review on whichever platform you download the podcast.
And if you have an Amazon Echo, download our Alexa Skill, search for EV News Daily and add it as a flash briefing.
Come and say hi on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter just search EV News Daily, have a wonderful day, and I'll catch you tomorrow.
CONNECT WITH ME!