Musk Owns Social Media, Five Go Wild In Norway and Porsche Cayenne Hybrid | 25 Mar 2018
Episode 67, Mar 25, 2018, 12:01 AM
Elon Says “Slow Down” To Focus On Quality | Five EVs Tested In The Harsh Weather Of Norway | Isolated Reports Of LEAF Rapid Charing Issues | Next Gen Porsche Cayenne Hybrid | Cobalt Nickel Batteries | UK LEAFs Could Power 300,000 Homes
Sunday 25th March 2018.
TESLA ‘SLOW DOWN’
- Elon Musk is having a killer week on social media. Well, Twitter. That would be because just joined the #deletefacebook movement and axed both the Tesla and SpaceX pages.
- Next he has been busy responding to comments and his mentions. The most recent being a response to an Electrek story within minutes of it going live.
- Electrek said Tesla is: “experiencing capacity issues so they are instead going through Gothenburg port and having to use more trucks to move the cars to its stores and service centres. According to several media reportsin Norway, over half a dozen of those trucks have been stopped by the authorities for a variety of safety reasons during inspections and one of the trucks that wasn’t stopped ended up in an accident. According to registration data, Tesla delivered only just over 300 vehicles in Norway during the first two months of the year, but it already delivered almost 1,000 vehicles in March with still one week to go.
- However then Electrek has to update the article as Elon directly replied to their article, despite Tesla’s already having issued an official statement. Elon said: “I have just asked our team to slow down deliveries. It is clear that we are exceeding the local logistics capacity due to batch build and delivery. Customer happiness & safety matter more than a few extra cars this quarter.”
- So can we read anything into “a few extra cars”. Does that mean they’re working hard to meet earnings call targets, or just that it’s the usual end of quarter increase?
FIVE EVS COLD WEATHER TESTED IN NORWAY
- The Norwegian EV Association has tested five electric cars in winter weather to see how they coped. The cars they tested were the BMW i3, Hyundai Ioniq Electric, 2018 Nissan Leaf, Opel Ampera-e (aka Chevrolet Bolt EV) and Volkswagen e-Golf.
- Greencarreports noted: “The conclusion of the test drivers was that "none of the cars is best for all" drivers. The best car for an individual driver will depend on how it's used, and that buyer's tastes and desire for comfort and amenities. That said, the "most discussed" cars during the test were the Chevy Bolt EV-derived Opel Ampera-e and the Hyundai Ioniq Electric. The South Korean car, the testers noted, delivered almost as much effective range in cold weather as the new-generation Nissan Leaf (despite the difference in their EPA-rated ranges: 124 miles vs 151 miles). A further factor in the Hyundai's favour was its ability to fast-charge at up to 100 kilowatts under certain circumstances, higher than the 50-kw limit on the rest of the cars, including the new 2018 Leaf.
- And a side note on the LEAF, this week has seen Youtube videos of drivers who, after a couple of rapid charges, found the Battery Management System (BMS) slowing down their charge rates. With 20,000 new LEAFs sold you have to remember it’s a handful of people but, as they’re often EV enthusiasts, they also know a lot about what they’re talking about. I’m not going to comment as I have no first hand experience of it, but we’ll wait for a response from Nissan.
NEXT PORSCHE CAYENNE HYBRID ON VIDEO
- Porsche has confirmed in a Youtube video that the Cayenne will return in hybrid form, as part of their new redesigned model. Digitaltrends say: “expect the Cayenne to use the same plug-in hybrid powertrains offered in the Panamera. That means the standard model will get the setup from the Panamera 4 E-Hybrid, including a 2.9-liter twin-turbocharged V6 and eight speed dual-clutch transmission with integrated electric motor”
COBALT-NICKEL BATTERY
- According to New Scientist Magazine, German company BASF is also working on improved cobalt-nickel battery technology that will provide the sought-after experience of a charging station that works as quickly as a gas fill-up and which provides roughly 300 miles of range in a standard EV. “You will be able to recharge your electric sports car in the time it takes to drink a coffee, then drive 500 kilometers before needing to top up,” the magazine reported. When an EV requires no more investment in time and planning than a gas-powered car, and costs far less to operate, it will become a true game-changer for the automobile industry. It’s not here yet, but people all over the world are working on it and making progress.
EVS COULD POWER 300,000 UK HOMES
- Energy provider OVO published a report which, according to Renewable Energy Magazine: “Based on the number of Nissan LEAF electric cars on UK roads at present, the research found that new vehicle-to-grid chargers could enable the cars’ owners to contribute more than 114 MW to the National Grid at any time; enough to power approximately 300,000 homes. The research further showed that 38 percent of UK adults that own or intend to purchase a car in the next 12 months and were not aware that you could purchase this type of charger, would be more likely to buy an electric vehicle if they could use their car as a virtual power station.”
- And that’s interesting, because you can’t. It doesn’t matter if 100% of people were aware of V2G, I can’t pop down the shops and buy a box which runs my house from my LEAF.
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