GM Bolt Owners Get More Range Via Recall | 30 Aug 2021
Episode 1195, Aug 30, 2021, 12:00 AM
Today’s big EV stories:
• GM Chevy Bolt EV battery fix could bring more range
• Chinese battery maker says it's ready to produce cobalt-free EV batteries
• SVOLT unveils cobalt-free battery
• Another Tesla reportedly using Autopilot hits a parked police car
• The plybertruck is a tesla cybertruck replica made with wooden panels
• Bipartisan Texas law smooths the path toward a more vibrant EV market
• Ideanomics to buy EV fleet maker Via Motors in $450M all-stock deal
• Audi Making Roads Safer With Deployment Of C-V2X Tech
• Audi CEO sees better odds of U.S. production as VW Group electrifies
• DS Automobiles to become a pure-electric brand from 2024 onwards
Show #1195.
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Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Monday 30th August. 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.
GM CHEVY BOLT EV BATTERY FIX COULD BRING MORE RANGE
- Owners of 2017-2019 Chevrolet Bolt EV models have had to contend with a reduced driving range for many months, as GM attempted to find a remedy for a battery related fire issue that culminated with a plan to replace all battery modules.
- Now GM has confirmed that it's stepping up by offering a significant range boost for those earlier Bolt EVs. In a communication to some owners sent over the weekend—spotted by friends of Green Car Reports—the automaker emphasized that the all-new lithium-ion battery modules installed in older Bolt EVs will offer “GM’s most advanced Bolt chemistry.”
- Their pending 8-percent boost in battery capacity is described as “resulting in a range improvement in equivalent driving conditions,” and includes a new 8-year/100,000-mile limited parts warranty covering the battery after the module replacement.
- Think of it this way: It’s not unusual to see 10 percent battery degradation after a few years of EV ownership. Now for the inconvenience, any range drop will be erased, and they’ll likely be getting more range than the cars did when new. For a company that’s depending on the reputation of its upcoming Ultium EVs for a decade of growth, that sounds like a smart move.
Original Source : https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1133416_gm-chevy-bolt-ev-battery-fix-could-bring-many-owners-more-range-than-they-originally-had
CHINESE BATTERY MAKER SAYS IT'S READY TO PRODUCE COBALT-FREE EV BATTERIES
- one problem with most electric vehicles: they depend on lithium-ion batteries made with heavy metals like cobalt
- A Chinese company called SVOLT claims it’s ready to start producing a cobalt-free battery at scale. At the Chengdu Motor Show, the firm showed off an 82.5KWh capacity power pack inside a vehicle from Chinese automaker Great Wall Motors. Under normal temperatures, SVOLT says its battery can deliver approximately 373 miles of range on a single charge and allow a car to accelerate from zero to 60 miles per hour in under five seconds.
Original Source : https://www.engadget.com/svolt-colbalt-free-battery-scale-production-234534595.html
SVOLT UNVEILS COBALT-FREE BATTERY, CLAIMING FIRST COMPANY TO REACH 'SERIES PRODUCTION'
- The company currently employs nearly 3,000 people worldwide, half of whom work in research and development (R&D). In fact, SVOLT has shared that over the past several years, it has dedicated 1,200 R&D personnel to cobalt-free batteries alone.
- According to a press release from SVOLT, the manufacturer unveiled what it calls “the world’s first cobalt-free battery pack to reach series production.”
- However, while SVOLT should be recognized for bringing its EV pack to production, it’s tough to justify its claim as the first.
For example, Tesla removed cobalt from its lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) batteries last year for the Standard Range Model 3 in China alongside CATL. Panasonic was also developing similar techniques alongside Tesla earlier this year.
Original Source : https://electrek.co/2021/08/30/svolt-unveils-cobalt-free-battery-claiming-first-company-to-reach-series-production/
ANOTHER TESLA REPORTEDLY USING AUTOPILOT HITS A PARKED POLICE CAR
- Another Tesla has hit an emergency vehicle, apparently while using the Autopilot driver-assist feature, adding to a problem that is already the subject of a federal safety probe.
- The Florida Highway Patrol reported the accident just before 5 in the morning Saturday along Interstate 4 in Orlando. No one was seriously injured in the crash, though the Tesla did narrowly miss hitting a state trooper as he left his car to assist another driver who had broken down on the highway.
- "The driver stated that [the Tesla] was in Autopilot mode," said the report from the Florida Highway Patrol.
THE PLYBERTRUCK IS A TESLA CYBERTRUCK REPLICA MADE WITH WOODEN PANELS
- since its unveiling in 2019, the tesla cybertruck has racked up a lot of interest with creatives around the world continuously dreaming up new iterations of the vehicle. with production pushed to 2022, the longing to have one has increased significantly among fans, inciting them to create their own version of the long-awaited truck. such is the case of the plybertruck, a cybertruck replica that ditches the car’s stainless steel body and replaces it with wood.
- the plybertruck by CJ cromwell was created to participate in the gambler 500 rally
- under the plybertruck’s wooden body there’s a first-generation acura MDX, as reported by carscoops. ‘so while it’s obviously not electric like the real cybertruck, we have no doubt that it met the $500 purchase cost cap,’
Original Source : https://www.designboom.com/technology/plybertruck-cybertruck-wooden-panels-08-30-2021/
BIPARTISAN TEXAS LAW SMOOTHS THE PATH TOWARD A MORE VIBRANT EV MARKET
- On September 1, a bill that helps businesses build a better, brighter future for electric vehicles in Texas will become state law.
- SB 1202, makes it possible for companies or individuals that own or operate equipment used solely for electric vehicle charging services to avoid being regulated as electric utilities or electric retail providers.
- Electric vehicle charging stations are different. EV owners are not reliant on any particular stand-alone charging station; they use any given charging station and have no further relationship with it after they depart. Any regulatory framework for charging stations should be tailored to what Texas regulators and drivers want from the nascent charging marketplace.
- The new law will help ease Texas EV owners’ worries about long distance travel — one of the most common barriers to EV ownership. Without the possibility of utility-style regulation, EV charging companies can now develop charging stations more quickly and extensively.
Original Source : https://blogs.edf.org/energyexchange/2021/08/30/bipartisan-texas-law-smooths-the-path-toward-a-more-vibrant-ev-market/
IDEANOMICS TO BUY EV FLEET MAKER VIA MOTORS IN $450M ALL-STOCK DEAL
- Ideanomics, a fintech and electric mobility firm based in New York, has added to its list of acquisitions: commercial electric vehicle manufacturer Via Motors (in an all-stock deal valued at $450 million).
- Ideanomics has been aggressively purchasing mobility businesses this year, as it seeks to build out vertically integrated offerings for fleet operators and transit authorities transitioning to electric vehicles.
- This year alone, Ideanomics has completed acquisitions of US Hybrid, a manufacturer of electric powertrain components and fuel cell engines; EV tractor maker Solectrac, which builds the only American-made electric tractor; Utah-based wireless charging company Wave
- Via designs and manufacturers electric vans and trucks for short- and middle-mile delivery, using a modular, “skateboard” style architecture across three vehicle models.
Original Source : https://techcrunch.com/2021/08/30/ideanomics-to-buy-ev-fleet-maker-via-motors-in-450m-all-stock-deal/
AUDI MAKING ROADS SAFER WITH DEPLOYMENT OF C-V2X TECH
- Audi's use of cellular vehicle-to-everything technology (C-V2X), which was announced in April and has now been tested in Alpharetta, Georgia
- C-V2X works by utilizing 4G LTE or 5G cellular networks, thereby transmitting wireless signals between cars, pedestrians' mobile devices, and objects like traffic lights. This way, a vehicle can obtain information about its surroundings and feed the driver with warnings to slow down if, for example, they entered a school zone.
- Audi worked with Qualcomm, a wireless technology company, and Commsignia, a software systems provider, to test C-V2X tech in a 2021 Audi e-tron Sportback.
AUDI CEO SEES BETTER ODDS OF U.S. PRODUCTION AS VW GROUP ELECTRIFIES
- Audi's chances of building vehicles in the U.S. are rising as parent Volkswagen Group electrifies its lineup, the premium brand's CEO, Markus Duesmann, said. VW Group's strategy to bring down the cost of electric vehicles involves developing common platforms to underpin models across its many brands to conserve costs.
- Since these architectures will be used all over the world, "the potential to put an Audi car, production-wise, into the U.S. is even higher than now," Duesmann said Friday on Bloomberg Television. "The likelihood of us producing in the U.S. is there."
- Last month, CEO Herbert Diess told Bloomberg TV that the company will decide this quarter on building more electric models in the country.
Original Source : https://europe.autonews.com/automakers/audi-ceo-sees-better-odds-us-production-vw-group-electrifies
DS AUTOMOBILES TO BECOME A PURE-ELECTRIC BRAND FROM 2024 ONWARDS
Original Source : https://electriccarsreport.com/2021/08/ds-automobiles-to-become-a-pure-electric-brand-from-2024-onwards/
ELECTRIC CAR BEATS HYDROGEN: VOLKSWAGEN EXPLAINS
Original Source : https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/auto/cars/electricity-beats-hydrogen-volkswagen-explains-favouring-latter-again/articleshow/85764547.cms
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