‘The Button’ Arrives | 26 Sep 2021

Show #1223

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Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Sunday 26th September. It’s Martyn Lee here and I go through every EV story so you don't have to.

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Welcome to an old, new Patreon EXECUTIVE PRODUCER CHAD LANE. He signed up three months ago and I’m only just now adding him to the list in the show notes because I’m an idiot!

"Consisting of BEVs (fully electric passenger cars) and PHEVs (plug-in hybrids), externally rechargeable new passenger car registrations or New Emission Vehicles (NEVs) accounted for  close on to one quarter of the total new passenger car market in August according to exclusive data published in the European Electric Car Report each month. The 18 market West European region* witnessed combined BEV/PHEV volumes reach 152,000 units in August, or 24.2 per cent of the total new passenger car market within the same region. "

Read more: https://www.schmidtmatthias.de/post/almost-every-fourth-new-car-in-western-europe-during-august-was-a-plug-in-electric-car

"Hawaii has the nation's second-highest electric vehicle market share. But 16,000 EVs out of 1.2 million is just a drop in the bucket. Drive Electric Week kicks off today to accelerate EV adoption."

Ryan Kawailani Ozawa

@hawaii

"After months of waiting, Tesla owners who wish to take part in the company’s FSD Beta program could now formally request the advanced driver-assist system to be loaded into their vehicle. The release of the “Request FSD Beta” button comes before the rollout of FSD Beta 10.1, which is expected to be distributed to the company’s testers over the weekend." says Teslarati.com: "Similar to the FSD Beta program that has initially been released to the company’s first batch of testers last October, Tesla made it a serious point to highlight that safety must be paramount when using the advanced driver-assist system. This could be seen in the heavy emphasis on cautious driving that the company references in its recent update, as well as the use of Safety Scores to determine which drivers are eligible for the program. Tesla also made it clear that access to the advanced driver-assist system could be revoked at any time. "

Read more: https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-fsd-beta-wide-release-notes

"You can now request early access to Full Self-Driving Beta pending eligibility. To get started, tap ‘Controls’>’ Autopilot’>Request Full Self-Driving Beta’ and follow the instructions.”

“Thank you for your interest in limited early access Full Self-Driving Beta! The Tesla team is analyzing your vehicle driving data and Safety Score to determine eligibility. You can view your Safety Score from the Tesla app at any time (version 4.1.0 or newer). If eligible, you will receive a software update as part of the limited early access,” Tesla wrote, adding that owners also have the option to opt-out of the FSD Beta test program. 

"The move delighted fans of CEO Elon Musk and Tesla, but it risks drawing the ire of federal vehicle safety authorities who are already investigating the automaker for possible safety defects in its driver-assistance systems." reported CNBC yesterday: "FSD Beta is an unfinished version of Tesla’s premium driver-assistance software, FSD, which the company sells in the U.S. for $10,000 upfront, or $199 a month. The company previously made FSD Beta available to about 2,000 people, a mix of mostly employees and some customers, who test it out on public roads even though the software hasn’t been debugged. Tesla’s systems tabulate a drivers’: “Predicted Collision Frequency, Forward Collision Warning per 1,000 Miles, Hard Braking, Aggressive Turning, Unsafe Following Time, and Forced Autopilot Disengagements"

If you're a good boy or girl after 7 days, Tesla will review their decision and you may get access.

Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/25/tesla-drivers-can-request-fsd-beta-with-a-button-press-despite-safety-concerns.html

"The planned opening of Tesla's (TSLA.O) first gigafactory in Europe later this year will force local industry to step up its game, Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) Chief Executive Herbert Diess said on Friday." according to Reuters: ""Efficiency is key for the transformation of our industry/Germany. Tesla develops in shorter processes, works closer with the best in the industry and takes more risk," Diess, a known admirer of the electric car pioneer led by Elon Musk, said. Wolfsburg-based Volkswagen, Europe's largest carmaker, aims to overtake Tesla as the world's top seller of electric cars by 2025, a claim that is underscored by an ambitious plan to build six large battery factories in Europe by 2030."

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/teslas-german-landing-will-fuel-competition-volkswagen-ceo-2021-09-24/

"Tesla has installed the 100th Supercharger station in Shanghai, China, which will be inaugurated next week. In just seven years, the company was able to install more than 1,000 stalls in one city to increase people's commitment to electric vehicles." writes the Tesla fan blog Tesmanian: "Tesla in China achieved another major milestone. @JayinShanghai/Twitter shared the good news: Tesla has installed the 100th Supercharger station in Shanghai. He announced that the Grand Opening Ceremony will take place on September 29. The new Supercharger station is installed at Shanghai Landmark Rafael Sky City."

Read more: https://www.tesmanian.com/blogs/tesmanian-blog/tesla-installs-100th-supercharger-in-shanghai-china-with-over-1000-stalls

"BMW has officially said that it will begin shipping the iX electric SUV in November, but it looks like it’s happening even sooner in some locations. We already know the iX is in production and when we attended IAA Mobility 2021, we saw dozens and dozens of them in and around the venue." says InsideEVs: "BMW offers the iX in xDrive 40 and xDrive 50 guises, with either 240 kW (321 hp) or 385 kW (516 hp) respectively. The first has a 76.6 kWh battery pack (71 kWh usable capacity) and a claimed WLTP range of 425 km (264 miles), with the more powerful version featuring a 111.5 kWh pack (105.2 kWh usable); range is rated at 630 km (391 miles) WLTP. Pricing for the iX in Germany starts at €77,300 for the xDrive 40 model."

Read more: https://insideevs.com/news/535383/bmw-ix-starts-deliveries-europe

"A few days ago, we wrote about how BMW allegedly wanted to put a cap on its electric vehicle ranges. We wrote that based on a report from WhichCar, who had spoken to BMW i4 Project Leader, David Ferrufino about the subject. According to the WhichCar article, Ferrufino claimed that “BMW electric vehicle range to remain capped at 600km” and that the charging infrastructure was more important. However, since then, we’ve talked to a spokesperson from BMW who tells us that there was never a 600 km range cap. We don’t have the details of the original conversation, but allegedly the miscommunication was on BMW’s part." writes BMWBlog: "From what we’re told, the 600 km range – on WLTP and 300 miles on EPA – was the target number for both the BMW i4 and BMW iX during their development."

The BMW Communications Team in Munich: “The BMW Group will not stop to further develop the electric range of their battery-electric vehicle portfolio. The BMW iX and BMW i4 are the first fully-electric models within the BMW portfolio to allow for a range of around 600km in WLTP and every day driving. Thereby they fulfill exactly the target range which had been set for their individual market segments. And the story doesn’t end here: The BMW Group will continue pushing the boundaries of all aspects of electric driving. This applies in particular to further increasing ranges and higher charging speeds, depending on the individual model.”

Read more: https://www.bmwblog.com/2021/09/25/update-bmw-says-no-electric-range-cap-on-its-future-electric-vehicles/

"On Wednesday, German Federal Research Minister Anja Karliczek revealed an automotive Frankenstein creation: A Tesla Model Y that had been converted into a hydrogen vehicle that she called a “hyper hybrid." says futurism.com: "The actual “hyper hybrid” Tesla was meant to represent the concepts behind hydrogen fuel more so than to become a street-ready vehicle. The Carbon2Chem initiative, which aims to decarbonize the steel industry, designed the car to demonstrate new ways to save energy and recycle fuel".

"Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler has taken a 33% equity stake in French battery manufacturer Automotive Cells Company (ACC) together with automaker Stellantis and French petroleum giant TotalEnergies. Each company will hold an equal 33% stake in ACC. " reports FutrueCar: "As Mercedes Benz ramps up the production of electric vehicles and transitions to becoming an electric-only automaker by the end of the decade, ACC will help the company to scale up development and production of next-generation high-performance battery cells and modules. ACC was founded in 2020 and aims to become the European leader of electric vehicle batteries. The investments from Dailmer, Stellantis and TotalEnergies bring together the additional expertise of three major companies, with highly complementary skills.  Daimler said in July that more than 90% of future Mercedes-Benz electric models will be built with a common battery platform with standardized interfaces.

Read more: https://www.futurecar.com/4887/Mercedes-Benz-Parent-Daimler-Takes-a-33%25-Stake-in-Automotive-Cells-Company-(ACC),-to-Source-EV-Batteries-for-European-Market

If you have gone back to fossil cars, or play along, imagine you HAD decided to switch back from EV to combustion, what’s the reason? 

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