Fisker EV Deal With Foxconn Includes U.S. Factory | 15 May 2021

On today’s podcast:

·       Engineering Explained vs Tesla 0-60mph Claims

·       Follow up to Texas EV Bill - also, Saskatchewan

·       Mercedes EQS SUV Spied With Familiar Interior

·       Fisker EV Deal With Foxconn Includes U.S. Factory

·       Battery giant Sonnen launches electric vehicle subscription service in Australia

·       New York City EVs

·       5 things to know about the future of electric vehicles

 

Show #1083

 

Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Saturday 15th May. It’s Martyn Lee here and I go through every EV story so you don't have to.

Thank you to MYEV.com for helping make this show, they’ve built the first marketplace specifically for Electric Vehicles. It’s a totally free marketplace that simplifies the buying and selling process, and help you learn about EVs along the way too.

 

"The popular YouTube channel Engineering Explained has a problem with Tesla's claim that the Model S Plaid and Plaid Plus can accelerate from 0 to 60 miles per hour in under 2 seconds. The issue at the heart of the problem is the fact that Tesla uses "rollout" to achieve the claimed sub-2-second 0 to 60 times for the New Model S Plaid and Plaid+. In other words, it's not 0 to 60 mph, it's more like 6 to 60 mph since the Plaid and Plaid Plus will likely have accelerated to 6 mph by the time they have traveled the one-foot rollout and Tesla's stopwatch starts." says Tom Moloughney for InsideEVs: "The three arguments being: Most people don't even know what rollout is - and they shouldn't have to. He finds it deceiving that the information is hidden in the detail section, and not shown on the main Model S order page. Tesla doesn't use the same method of recording 0-60 times for the less expensive models."

 

 

 

"On April 20, 2021, the Government of Saskatchewan introduced Bill 34 to create a new annual road use charge of $150 for passenger EVs registered in the province. In a recent press release, the provincial government announced that the increasing number of EVs contribute to the wear and tear on provincial roads, and the EV owners are currently not contributing to the maintenance of the roads through the provincial fuel tax because EVs do not consume conventional fossil fuels."

 

At the moment will affect around 500 owners.

 

 

"now that the sedan is unwrapped, we can easily see a very similar design for the grille and headlights on the SUV. Even with cladding under the wrap at the grille, there's no missing that big, grinning face and cab-forward design Mercedes made such a big deal about at the EQS debut" says Motor1.com: "Despite the sedan's recent debut, we aren't expecting to see the SUV break cover anytime soon. Mercedes is on track to have 10 electric vehicles in its stable by the end of 2022 and the EQS SUV will likely come towards the end of that run, possibly debuting late this year or the first half of next year as a 2023 model."

 

Mercedes’s design chief, Gordon Wagener recently discussed the EQS and upcoming EQE SUV’s design brief with Auto Express, saying: “They will look different in a similar way as I describe the EQS. They will be more seamless, more integrated, more aerodynamic, more futuristic looking, so it will be a new type of SUV.” " according to Auto Express: "The EQS SUV should also adopt Mercedes’s Level 3 autonomous driving technology, which will allow the car to drive itself with limited driver supervision at speeds up to 37mph, when in slow-moving motorway traffic. The UK Government also recently legalised such systems for use on the road, meaning there’s no longer any road-blocks for British buyers."

 

 

 

Fisker Inc.’s existing agreement to develop an electric vehicle with Foxconn Technology Group will now include a factory in the U.S. The joint project -- codenamed Project PEAR -- is targeting a start of production in the U.S. by the fourth quarter of 2023, the companies said in a statement Thursday.  Foxconn has an EV platform that will be used to launch two light vehicles in the fourth quarter of this year, Chairman Young Liu said in February. The company has also inked a manufacturing deal with Chinese startup Byton Ltd. and been among a coterie of suppliers and assemblers linked with a potential Apple Inc. car." says Bloomberg: "Fisker and Foxconn will jointly invest in Project PEAR -- short for Personal Electric Automotive Revolution -- with each company taking proceeds if the launch is successful. Spending on the partnership will be hefty. Liu told analysts on Friday that building 10,000 cars per month in the U.S. will require $1 billion of capital expenditure, though he declined to elaborate on how the two companies will split the costs. The companies said the jointly developed vehicle will be priced below $30,000."

 

 

"Global battery giant Sonnen has jumped into Australia’s nascent – and important – electric vehicle subscription market, offering its home battery storage customers the choice of six different EVs, including the Tesla Model 3, for up to $447 a week.  it will offer a menu of five fully electric cars and one plug-in hybrid, all 2020 models. The list includes the MG ZS, the Nissan Leaf, the Hyundai IONIQ Elite – both the plug-in hybrid and battery electric versions, the Hyundai Kona, and the Model 3 from one of Sonnen’s key home battery storage rivals, Tesla." says TheDriven.io: "Sonnen’s pay-as-you-go subscription model offers flexibility – no lock-in contracts and members can stop or swap with two weeks notice – with the weekly subscription cost covering registration, insurance, maintenance, servicing and roadside assistance."

 

 

 

from Anne Barnard at NYT, a look at some of the EVs being used in the city:

 

"The city already has one all-electric garbage truck and 27 hybrid sweepers. The new sweeper, which will travel 7,000 miles per year, will reduce planet-warming emissions by 89 metric tons in its lifetime, the amount 19 cars spew in a year, sanitation officials say."

 

"The city’s first all-electric school bus started running a route in central Brooklyn last month, after Mayor Bill de Blasio announced plans to make all school buses electric within 14 years."

 

"Another 600 off-road city vehicles, used mostly in parks, are either fully electric or solar."

 

"There are 13 all-electric taxis out of 13,587 in the city. Out of more than 103,000 licensed ride-sharing vehicles, fewer than 300 were all-electric as of mid-2020."

 

 

 

1. There were 11 million registered electric vehicles on the road at the end of last year 10 million of these were cars. 

2. Electric car buying remained high in the face of the pandemic. Electric car registrations were up 41% in 2020, despite a 16% drop in overall car sales across the world.

3. Consumer and government spending on electric cars rose in 2020. A rise in the number of different EV car models available in the market to 370 and the falling cost of batteries saw consumers spend 50% more on electric cars in 2020, to the tune of $120 billion

4. Electric bus and truck registrations also increased within the world’s largest markets Across China, Europe and North America these rises were mainly due to municipal governments imposing greater emission reductions on commercial vehicles operating within their towns and cities.

5. Widespread EV adoption could significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions The IEA says mass adoption has the potential to cut emissions by more than one-third by 2030 under the existing ‘stated’ green policies.

 

 

 

A recent survey – which I highly questioned and disagreed with – claimed 1 in 5 EV owners went back to piston power.  I have never heard anything like a 20% rate of EV drivers being unhappy with electric. Would you ever go back? Yes, No and tell me why!

 

Email me your thoughts and I’ll read them out on Sunday – hello@evnewsdaily.com

 

It would mean a lot if you could take 2mins to leave a quick review on whichever platform you download the podcast.