Mercedes EV Platform Charges Faster Than You Think | 28 July 2021

Episode 1159,   Jul 28, 2021, 12:00 AM

Today’s big EV stories:
• Amazon rolls out its first electric delivery vehicles in Metro Detroit
• Revel to launch Tesla taxis in NYC after row with city regulators
• Troubled EV company Lordstown Motors gets $400M lifeline
• Tesla banks on Shanghai Gigafactory 3, its ‘primary vehicle export hub’
• Exelon Joins Electric Highway Coalition; Encourages EV Adoption
• Samsung SDI confirms 1st battery cell plant in US
• Blink Charging will install dozens of EV chargers along Florida highways
• Mercedes-Benz EQS Charging Analysis Reveals It's Faster Than Plaid
• EQA 250 causes headaches for Mercedes-Benz Korea
• Electric car charging prices 'must be fair' say MPs
• Mer partners with Octopus Energy for new roaming partnership
• BMW installed 4,350 charging points to date

Show #1159.

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Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Wednesday 28th July. 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.

AMAZON ROLLS OUT ITS FIRST ELECTRIC DELIVERY VEHICLES IN METRO DETROIT

- The new Amazon electric delivery vehicle started making runs out of the Pontiac hub this week. There are currently three of them and staffers are getting trained on how to use them and the new in-vehicle systems on the roads of Oakland, Macomb and Genesee counties. The vehicles are Rivian pre-production electric trucks built at the Rivian Engineering Center in Plymouth.


REVEL TO LAUNCH TESLA TAXIS IN NYC AFTER ROW WITH CITY REGULATORS

- Controversial scooter startup Revel plans to launch its fleet of Tesla taxis in Manhattan next week after a heated battle with New York City regulators.   The service will launch next Monday and provide rides in 50 Model Y Teslas in Manhattan south of 42nd Street.

- Revel — whose ubiquitous blue scooters drew controversy last year after a trio of fatal accidents in New York — is able to launch the service due to an apparent change of heart by New York’s Taxi and Limousine Commission.

- On June 22, however, the TLC threw a wrench into the company’s plans when it issued an emergency rule change eliminating that exemption, a move that baffled observers including Tesla CEO Elon Musk.



But because Revel had initially sent its Tesla taxi paperwork for TLC approval in March — months before the rule change — the TLC ultimately decided to approve the company’s plan, a Revel spokesperson told The Post.

- Demand for Revel’s service has soared amid sky-high ride-share fares and a dire shortage of taxis, with 50,000 New Yorkers on a waitlist to use the service, the company said.

- Revel expects at least 15 Teslas to be in service next Monday and all 50 to be on the streets within three weeks. The company says its Tesla taxi service, which uses full time workers rather than contractors, is intended to be an ethical and eco-friendly competitor to Uber and Lyft


TROUBLED EV COMPANY LORDSTOWN MOTORS GETS $400M LIFELINE

- Five weeks after Lordstown Motors issued a warning that it might not have enough funds to bring its electric pickup truck to market, a hedge fund managed by investment firm Yorkville Advisors has agreed to buy $400 million worth of shares over a three-year period

- The tumult within Lordstown Motors, which has resulted in the resignation of its CEO and CTO, has put the company at risk of failing. This new agreement could allow Lordstown to continue by providing the much-needed capital required to produce its first electric vehicle.

- Lordstown execs dug themselves into a deeper hole by attempting to calm investors a day after its CEO and CTO resigned with statements that they had binding orders from customers that would fund limited production of its electric pickup truck through May 2022. The company retracted those statements within days.


TESLA BANKS ON SHANGHAI GIGAFACTORY 3, ITS ‘PRIMARY VEHICLE EXPORT HUB’

- Tesla is relying on its Shanghai factory to meet global demand for its vehicles, as its other plants grapple with shortages of automotive chips and other car components.

- it had completed the transition of its US$2 billion Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai into a plant for deliveries around the world, 20 months after its inauguration in December 2019.

- Carmakers based in China have avoided the worst of the global shortage of semiconductors by virtue of an early recovery in production and sales after Beijing successfully contained its Covid-19 pandemic. This allowed them to secure supply of car components earlier than their global peers.

· Highlighted Source : https://share.getliner.com/IcGGv/

EXELON JOINS ELECTRIC HIGHWAY COALITION; ENCOURAGES EV ADOPTION

- Exelon, a Fortune 100 energy company, announced today a commitment to join the Electric Highway Coalition, a partnership among 14 U.S. utilities to create a seamless network of rapid electric vehicle charging stations connecting major highway systems, stretching from the Atlantic Coast through the Midwest, South and into the Gulf and Central Plains regions.

- The members of the EHC have agreed to work together to ensure efficient and effective fast charging deployment plans that enable long distance EV travel, avoid duplication and complement existing corridor fast charging sites. Sites initially will be located less than 100 miles apart on major roadways. Additionally, each site will have at least two charging stations with universal vehicle compatibility and at least 100 kilowatts of output per station


SAMSUNG SDI CONFIRMS 1ST BATTERY CELL PLANT IN US

- Samsung SDI forecast the automotive chip shortage issue won't disrupt its scheduled electric vehicle (EV) battery production, as carmakers are aggressively shifting their business strategies to sell more EVs to meet stricter environmental regulations, the battery-making arm of Samsung Group said Tuesday.

- The shortages come as chipmakers have given priority to chips for IT devices and home appliances, which have been in robust demand due to the pandemic.

- The chip shortage issue will have a limited impact on our performance as carmakers prioritize EV production to meet environmental regulations

- Son Michael, senior vice president of the company, also confirmed that it will establish a battery manufacturing plant in the United States as battery cell makers are urged to set up factories there to take advantage of tax benefits. Under the United States―Mexico―Canada Agreement (USMCA) that took effect in 2020, cars that have 75 percent North American components can avoid tariffs starting from 2025.


BLINK CHARGING WILL INSTALL DOZENS OF EV CHARGERS ALONG FLORIDA HIGHWAYS

Original Source : https://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/inno/stories/fundings/2021/07/27/blink-charging-electric-vehicle-chargers-florida.html



MERCEDES-BENZ EQS CHARGING ANALYSIS REVEALS IT'S FASTER THAN PLAID

- According to the chart, the peak charging power is almost 207 kW, which is a little bit more than in the specs (up to 200 kW).
Starting at around 4-5% SOC, power very quickly increases to the peak level and remains flat at up to over 25% SOC. Then the power decreases gently to about 115 kW at 80% SOC, which is really a very nice charging curve.

- The average power in the very important range from 20% to 80% SOC is 155 kW, which is 75% of the peak value.
Those are very good numbers, but the best thing is how consistent the charging is over the entire session:

- The net battery capacity of 107.8 kWh stands for about 94% of the total battery capacity (if our guess about 115 kWh is correct).


EQA 250 CAUSES HEADACHES FOR MERCEDES-BENZ KOREA

- Mercedes-Benz Korea is having a major headache with its new electric vehicle (EV) called the New EQA 250, because the Korean government has yet to categorize the automobile as an EV, thus excluding prospective buyers from receiving a reduction in acquisition taxes.

- According to industry sources, the Mercedes Benz EQA EV, which was released in mid-July, has yet to be included in the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's designated EV category which was updated last month. The exclusion exempts buyers of the EQA from receiving a 1.4 million won eco-friendly vehicle tax benefit.

- To be categorized as an EV by the ministry, a vehicle needs to have a minimum 5.0km/kWh energy consumption rate for a small sedan and over 5.0km/kWh for mid to large sedans with a minimum driving range of 150km on a single charge.



ELECTRIC CAR CHARGING PRICES 'MUST BE FAIR' SAY MPS

- People must be protected from excessive pricing for public electric car charging, MPs have said. Charging an electric car at home is much cheaper than using public charge points.

- The government also needs to make charging infrastructure accessible and reliable, and make sure people in rural areas have equal access, the MPs added.

- Property developers should also be required to provide public charging points, and councils should make sure charging infrastructure is built, the MPs added.

- Graeme Cooper, head of future markets at National Grid, said that the energy network operator was "working with government to map out where critical grid capacity is needed to enable the faster roll out of charging points".


MER PARTNERS WITH OCTOPUS ENERGY FOR NEW ROAMING PARTNERSHIP
 


BMW INSTALLED 4,350 CHARGING POINTS TO DATE



VW-BACKED QUANTUMSCAPE TESTING A 10-LAYER SOLID-STATE BATTERY CELL


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