Germany Records Massive Growth In EV Sales | 18 Sep 2021

Show #1215

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Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Saturday 18th September. It’s Martyn Lee here and I go through every EV story so you don't have to.

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"Cadillac’s first electric model, the Lyriq, is just months away from reaching its first customers, being expected to start shipping sometime in the first part of 2022. And as of today, Saturday, September 18, you can now place an order for the electric crossover which starts at $58,795."

"The vehicle will ship with standard 20-inch wheels (although you will be able to go all the way to 22-inch at extra cost) and the impressive 33-inch curved display that spans almost two thirds of the width of the dashboard."

"At launch, only the single-motor 340 horsepower and 325 pound-foot (440 Nm) version will be offered, but Cadillac is looking to add a dual-motor performance version at some point in the future."

Source: https://insideevs.com/news/533979/cadillac-lyriq-reservations-open-september/

"One year after Ford confirmed construction of the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn, Mich., the first Ford F-150 Lightning pre-production units begin leaving the factory; the all-electric F-150 Lightning goes on sale next spring"

"F-150 Lightning, with a starting MSRP of $40,000 and targeted EPA-estimated driving range of 300 miles with the extended range battery1, is aimed at the heart of the U.S. auto market. Ford has taken more than 150,000 reservations for the trucks to date."

"Ford hosted government officials including Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Congresswoman Debbie Dingell to celebrate Ford’s commitment to Michigan and assembling electric vehicles in Michigan as the first pre-production F-150 Lightning trucks start to leave the factory"

Source: https://media.ford.com/content/fordmedia/fna/us/en/news/2021/09/16/ford-begins-pre-production-f-150-lightning.html

"Back in July, Ford Authority reported that SK Innovation – the battery supplier for the 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning – was mulling the idea of increasing its production and spinning off its battery division as a way to raise additional funds for expansion. Last month, the company announced that it was moving forward with those plans and that the SK Innovation spinoff would be called SK Battery. Now, the SK Innovation spinoff has officially been approved by the company’s shareholders, according to Reuters."

"SK Battery Co Ltd, as it’s officially known, will launch on October 1st, but Jun declined to elaborate on rumors that the company was already aiming to go public as soon as next year."

"In addition to producing batteries for the 2022 F-150 Lighting, SK and Ford recently announced that the two companies intend to form a battery production joint venture called BlueOvalSK, which will develop and produce battery cells at scale for use in future electric vehicles. Two plants are currently planned for North America, though the joint venture also intends to expand into Europe as well, as Ford Authority recently reported."

Source: https://fordauthority.com/2021/09/sk-innovation-spinoff-gets-approved-as-ford-ev-production-ramps-up/

"On Monday, I went to Salzgitter to see for myself how that’s going." writes Stefan Nicola for Bloomberg: "The occasion was VW opening a $80 million facility to research, develop and test EV batteries. Workers in white lab coats were taking apart batteries, examining them under electron microscopes and exposing them to extreme conditions like heat, cold and shaking. The goals are to gain expertise in new technology, reduce dependence on suppliers and cut the cost of batteries by as much as 50%. VW already operates a battery pilot line and recycling facility in Salzgitter and plans to erect a full-scale factory to produce cells there starting in 2025. By the end of next year, VW says more than 1,000 people will work on EV technologies at the site"

"VW is working with China’s Gotion High-Tech and Sweden’s Northvolt on setting up the first of its European factories and was an early backer of QuantumScape, the U.S.-listed firm working on solid-state batteries, a potential alternative to widely used lithium-ion technology. In Salzgitter, VW’s focus will be on producing batteries for its volume segment, and maybe just as importantly making its staff fit for an electric future."

"The German plugin vehicle market scored over 53,000 registrations last month, with BEVs growing faster (+80% YoY) than PHEVs (+43%). As a result, last month’s plugin share ended at 28% (15% BEV). If you also consider the significant fall of the overall market (-23% YoY/year over year), that means petrol sales (-42% YoY) and even more so diesel sales (-51%) are falling off a cliff." writes Jose Pontes for CleanTechnica.

"There were 421,262 plugin vehicle registrations in the first eight months of the year. This market is firmly in The Disruption Zone and well ahead of last year’s score of 14% plugin vehicle market share. Will we see the final 2021 market share hit 25% 30%?"

"Looking at last month’s best sellers, the little Volkswagen e-Up (2,411 units) was bested this time by its ID.3 sibling, which had its best score this year, 3,750 registrations, and by the Tesla Model 3, which had its best off-peak month ever in Germany thanks to 2,946 registrations."

Source: https://cleantechnica.com/2021/09/16/plugin-electric-vehicles-get-28-market-share-in-germany-in-august

"Few models exemplify the global nature of today’s car industry better than the Nio ES8. The first of four EVs from a Chinese firm that was established only in 2014 yet is now valued higher than BMW, this seven-seat SUV was developed by four ‘competence centres’ around the world: Shanghai conceived it, Munich styled it, Oxford engineered it and Silicon Valley coded its software."

"Unlike the E-tron, the ES8 is based on a dedicated EV platform. It hosts a big 100kWh battery and a body that’s 96% aluminium to weigh 2425kg."

"The battery is estimated to yield a 311-mile range, beating that E-tron by 57 miles. It can be charged at a rate of only up to 90kW"

"The high dashboard hosts a 9.8in digital dial display and a fast-acting 11.3in touchscreen, both with superb clarity, plus Nomi, a pod-like virtual assistant that acts on conversational speech commands surprisingly well."

Source: https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/nio/es8/first-drives/nio-es8-2021-review

"COP26 has announced that Jaguar Land Rover has become an official partner of the conference and will supply electric vehicles to transport world leaders and delegates. Jaguar Land Rover will be providing a fleet of electrified vehicles to world leaders and delegates attending the summit, including the multi award-winning all-electric performance SUV Jaguar I-PACE, as leaders and their teams travel to and from the venue."

Jaguar Land Rover Chief Executive Officer, said: “We are delighted to partner with COP26 and provide a fleet of all-electric vehicles, including Jaguar I-PACE performance SUVs, to deliver zero-emission transport at the summit.

Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/jaguar-land-rover-to-provide-electric-vehicles-for-leaders-at-cop26

"With R1T trucks rolling off the assembly line at its factory in Normal, Illinois, Rivian continues to prepare for the official debut of its first EVs later this month. On Thursday, the automaker introduced a membership program that will grant Rivian owners access to complementary charging at its soon-to-be-built Adventure Network and Waypoints chargers."

"The service includes Rivian off-Roadside Assistance, additional coverage that will see the company send a recovery vehicle to you if you get stuck out on the trail or need an emergency battery recharge. Each new Rivian vehicle will come with 12 months of free access to the service."

Source: https://techcrunch.com/2021/09/16/rivian-announces-membership-plan-with-complimentary-charging-and-lte-connectivity

"Tesla chief executive Elon Musk has given the thumbs-up to China’s carmakers, less than three months after he praised the country’s economic development following a series of run-ins with regulators and customers."

"The billionaire said Chinese carmakers are particularly strong when it comes to the software needed to make vehicles smarter on their way to full autonomy. He stopped short of mentioning any vehicle manufacturers by name."

"Earlier this year, Tesla was forced to make efforts to soothe tensions with officials and customers in China over concerns about the quality and safety of its cars."

"Tesla recently built a data centre in Shanghai to handle data collected from its EVs after Beijing pushed for data gathered by smart vehicles in the country to be stored locally."

Source: https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3149132/tesla-boss-elon-musk-praises-chinas-carmakers-and-calls

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