Saboteur Arson Attack On Tesla Berlin | 26 May 2021

Show #1094.

 

Today’s big EV stories:

·       CUPRA Born Launched

·       Ford is developing electric Explorer SUV, two dedicated EV platforms for debut by 2025

·       Tesla phases out radar sensors, shifts to camera-ba sed Autopilot

·       Saboteur Arson Attack On Tesla Berlin

·       Ford will spend $30 billion on electric vehicles

·       BMW launches battery production for iX & i4

·       EVgo: Charging Station Use Returns To Normal

·       Nissan said to be in talks to build battery plant in UK

 

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Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Wednesday 26th 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 Cupra Born has been on the cusp of an official debut for a while, having been unveiled some weeks ago. We didn’t get a close look at it then because the unveiling didn’t go into exhaustive detail. Now, Cupra has finally given us close look we’ve been begging for, and it has revealed a familiar design with a cool twist." reports Jalopnik: "The slower of the two models will make about 148 horsepower and 229 lb-ft of torque. The second will make about 201 HP and the same torque. But there’s more: Cupra will offer an e-Boost performance pack that bumps up the output to around 228 HP. The e-Boost Borns will be available with either a 58 kWh or 77 kWh battery. When drivers configure their Born to include the e-Boost and come with the smaller 58 kWh battery, the Cupra can go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 6.6 seconds."

 

As for charging, Cupra says: "The high-performance EV can add an additional 100km [62 mi.] of range in as little as 7 minutes using a 125kW charging point, making typical journeys as simple and easy as if using a combustion engine vehicle. And even if the battery pack SOC [state of charge] is only 5% it can be replenished to 80% in as little as 35 minutes."

 

Going inside: "The steering wheel is one of the most striking features, having two buttons for switching between driving modes and selecting the CUPRA mode, and both have a great touch. The dashboard has a very good feel and the passenger side is topped with a similar inlay. The whole thing is adorned by two screens, a 12.0-inch one for the multimedia system and a smaller one for the digital instrument panel. In addition, the Head-Up Display with augmented reality contributes to the technological array." says Motor1: "The Dynamic Chassis Control (DCC), progressive steering, brakes, and ESC Sport mode for the stability control are all details that suggest this car will be very complete dynamically. We wait for UK pricing for CUPRA Born to be announced in the fourth quarter of 2021 with deliveries starting in early 2022."

 

 

 

"As part of a broad shift toward electric vehicles, Ford is developing two dedicated EV platforms—one for full-size pickup trucks and SUVs, the other for cars and smaller SUVs—for debut by 2025, the company confirmed Wednesday. The automaker's first batch of mass-market EVs largely relies on platforms adapted from internal-combustion models, or borrowed from other automakers. But its next wave of EV platforms will bring an electric Explorer, Ford confirmed Wednesday, along with the possibility of an electric Bronco." says Green Car Reports: "One of the Ford platforms will be a mid-size platform, supporting a wide range of rear- and all-wheel-drive vehicles ranging from crossovers to pickups, while the other larger platform will be designed for next-generation full-size pickups and SUVs."

 

 

"Tesla Inc. updated its website Tuesday to announce that Model 3 and Model Y cars built for North America and shipping this month will no longer be equipped with radar." according to Automotive News: "Musk has been famously opposed to lidar technology, which uses pulses of laser light to detect objects. He’s since soured on radar, which uses radio waves to do the same thing. Tesla’s sensor suite previously relied on radar as well as eight cameras. While Musk has said for several years he believes Tesla is on the verge of delivering Level 5 autonomy -- meaning its cars won’t require human intervention -- drivers have needed to keep their hands on the wheel when using Autopilot. Tesla raised more than $2 billion two years ago after Musk made several predictions about robotaxis that didn’t materialize. Many Tesla customers who have Autopilot say that the features get better over time as the company rolls out new software updates."

 

Tesla posted a blog update: 

 

We are continuing the transition to Tesla Vision, our camera-based Autopilot system. Beginning with deliveries in May 2021, Model 3 and Model Y vehicles built for the North American market will no longer be equipped with radar. Instead, these will be the first Tesla vehicles to rely on camera vision and neural net processing to deliver Autopilot, Full-Self Driving and certain active safety features. Customers who ordered before May 2021 and are matched to a car with Tesla Vision will be notified of the change through their Tesla Accounts prior to delivery.

 

For a short period during this transition, cars with Tesla Vision may be delivered with some features temporarily limited or inactive, including:

 

Autosteer will be limited to a maximum speed of 75 mph and a longer minimum following distance.

Smart Summon (if equipped) and Emergency Lane Departure Avoidance may be disabled at delivery."

 

And Elon Musk posted another updated timeline: "“Pure vision Autopilot is now rolling out in North America. There will be an update of this production release in 2 weeks, then FSD beta V9.0 (also pure vision) a week later.”"  So, mid June?

 

 

 

"German police are investigating whether a fire that broke out overnight at the construction site of Tesla's first European gigafactory had a political motive, after far-left activists claimed responsibility." reports Reuters: "The fire at Gruenheide in the eastern state of Brandenburg early on Wednesday morning damaged several power cables leading to the Tesla site and an area of around 3 square metres, said a spokesman for the LKA state criminal investigation office. The spokesman said arson was not being ruled out and investigators were examining a letter that circulated on social media during Wednesday which claimed responsibility. The letter, which was published on a radical left platform, said it had cut the power supply to the Tesla site by setting fire to six high-voltage cables above ground."

 

 

"Ford Motor said on Wednesday that it would increase spending on electric vehicles by about a third from its previous plans and expects E.V.s to make up 40 percent of its production by 2030, a big increase in its commitment to the electrification of cars and trucks." writes the New York Times: "The company intends to spend $30 billion in the five years ending in 2025, up from the previous target of $22 billion. It also said it had accepted 70,000 reservations for the F-150 Lightning, the electric version of its top-selling pickup truck. The increase in spending reflects new investments in better technology and production. Last week, Ford said it would form a joint venture with a South Korean company, SK Innovation, to manufacture battery cells at two plants in the United States for future Ford and Lincoln vehicles."

 

 

"BMW has started manufacturing the high-voltage batteries and battery modules used in the iX and i4 at the Competence Centre for E-Drive Production in Dingolfing. The capacity for the production of the electric motors at the site has also been increased." says electrive: "The batteries for the iX will remain in Dingolfing, where production of the electric SUV is scheduled to start “shortly”. The electric sedan i4 is to be built at the plant in Munich from autumn. At the same time, capacities for the production of the fifth-generation electric motor will be increased. This generation of motors has been produced for the iX3 in Dingolfing since 2020 and is then transported to the vehicle plant in Shenyang in China. In future, motors from this modular system will also be used in the iX and i4 and installed in the vehicles in Germany."

 

 

"This trend is consistent with data related to retail, travel, and automotive sector activity, and is a welcome sign of recovery as we emerge from the pandemic."

 

"Over the last 30 days, average daily throughput on EVgo’s network exceeded pre COVID-19 levels from late 2019 and early 2020. Further supporting the positive economic trajectory, EVgo recently announced achieving more than 250,000 customers on its charging network nationwide."

 

"Car giant Nissan is said to be in advanced negotiations with the UK government to build a huge electric car battery plant as part of an official push to make Britain the company’s largest electric vehicles (EVs) production hub outside Japan." says mining.com: "The potential factory, which would be built on the existing Sunderland site, is expected to support the production of 200,000 batteries a year and provide thousands of jobs,  FT reported."

 

 

 

 

 

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