BMW iX First Drives Are Positive | 30 Sep 2021

Show #1229

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Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Thursday 30th September. It’s Martyn Lee here and I go through every EV story so you don't have to.

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"The 2022 iX is one of two new BMW EVs coming to the US next year. But while the upcoming i4 is pretty much just a 4 Series Gran Coupe with an electric powertrain, the iX is a clean-sheet design from the ground up. It's unlike anything else in BMW's current portfolio." says Roadshow: "It all starts with a composite spaceframe made of carbon-fiber reinforced plastics, aluminum and high-strength steel. Sound familiar? This is the same framework BMW used when building the i3 hatchback and i8 coupe, and just like those cars, the iX's body structure is as light as it is strong. It's hard to get a sense of how big the iX is, especially in photos. At 195.0 inches long, 77.4 inches wide and 66.7 inches tall, the iX is about the size of a BMW X5 SUV, just a little shorter in height. In the US, the iX will come standard with 20-inch wheels, and a range of 21- and 22-inch options will be available."

Read more: https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/2022-bmw-ix-first-drive-review/

"Having a dedicated electric vehicle platform means a few things. Firstly, it’s lighter than converting a traditional architecture over for an electric vehicle. The structural points and package requirements are designed specifically for a battery pack in the floor, electric motors at each axle, and the lack of traditional powertrain equipment. So there’s no waste in the chassis." points out BMW Blog: "For instance, the completely flat rear trunk floor in the iX is only possible because it doesn’t have a traditional transmission tunnel to work around. The battery can be stored completely flat underneath the floor with no obstructions. Therefore, the battery is packaged better and rear passengers have far more foot room. Also, because the rear subframes and suspension were designed for an electric motor, the entire eDrive unit can be stored under the rear trunk floor with no intrusion into cargo space."

Read more: https://www.bmwblog.com/2021/09/28/2022-bmw-ix-xdrive50-test-drive/

"The high-voltage battery pack has made similar gains in terms of increased energy density—about 40 percent compared to the battery in the outgoing i3. BMW sources the prismatic cells from CATL and Samsung SDI, but the rest is done in-house in a new battery facility at its Dingolfing factory. The iX xDrive50 uses a 106.3 kWh pack (useable; gross capacity is 111.5 kWh) comprising six modules of 50 cells each and another five modules each with 40 cells." according to Ars Technica: "Since leaving the factory 1,235 miles (1,987 km) ago, the iX I was testing averaged 2.8 miles/kWh (22.1 kWh/100 km), which includes time running flat-out on derestricted German Autobahns at 124 mph (200 km/h). the iX can DC fast-charge at up to 195 kW, taking 40 minutes or less to charge from 10 percent to 80 percent. AC charging maxes out at 11 kW on single-phase electricity"

Read more: https://arstechnica.com/cars/2021/09/forget-the-looks-love-the-tech-the-83200-bmw-ix-electric-suv

" It makes 516 horsepower, does 0 to 62 mph in 4.6 seconds, and offers a range of about 300 miles (not official just yet in the U.S., but that’s the estimate, and fits with what I saw in use). That front hood, by the way, is weird. Normally, all you can open in the front is the BMW badge, which gives access to the washer fluid reservoir and a bit of cargo room, provided your cargo is one solitary meatball wrapped in a napkin. The hood itself can be opened, but it’s a bit of a chore involving two separate latches, and there are no stays or even one of those hinged sticks to hold the hood open; this is clearly a no user-serviceable parts inside kind of deal." writes Jason at Jalopnik: "On the autobahn, at speeds of 130 to 140 mph, the iX is a speedy, silent mobile room. The wheels have been designed to be especially aerodynamic and quiet, and as a result there’s pretty minimal road noise. To keep things from being too masoleum-quiet, there’s artificial sounds that get played, and they’re actually and maybe a little surprisingly good. BMW got musician Hans Zimmer to come up with a bunch of EV sounds, and I found that they provided valuable feedback about throttle position and enhanced the overall experience without seeming forced or too artificial. It’s well-executed."

Read more: https://jalopnik.com/the-electric-bmw-ix-isnt-actually-that-ugly-and-it-give-1847765429

Other points:

Active Driving Assistant is great, particularly adaptive cruise control

Software updated are bi-weekly

"The Genesis GV60, the first dedicated electric vehicle from the South Korean premium player, will get one battery for all configurations, but optional rear- and all-wheel-drive layouts along with a “Boost Mode” that takes the new entry from 0 to 62 mph in just 4 seconds." says Automotive News: "Genesis said the standard rear-wheel-drive version will get a single 168-kilowatt motor. The awd variant, meanwhile, gets two motors. The rear-wheel motor will deliver 160 kW while the front achieves 74 kW, for a total system output of 234 kW. Finally, a third variant called the Performance Model will be all-wheel drive and achieve output of 320 kW in Sports Mode and top out at 360 kW in Boost Mod. All versions of the GV60 will get a 77.4-kilowatt-hour battery"

Battery pre-conditioning

800v

Due first half of 2022

Read more: https://www.autonews.com/cars-concepts/genesis-first-dedicated-ev-gv60-gets-boost-mode-0-62-mph-4-seconds

"The 2022 Ford Mustang Mach-E will have some notable changes for the new model year, and we know when production starts thanks to a member from the Mach-E Forum who posted the electric SUV’s 2022 order guide." according to InsideEVs; "The biggest change for the electric Ford is the amount of usable battery capacity offered in both Standard Range and Extended Range models. The usable battery capacity in the SR battery pack is now 70 kWh (up from 68 kWh) and 91 kWh in the ER battery pack (up from 88 kWh). The California Route 1 model will be available with all-wheel drive and will come standard with heated front seats and a heated steering wheel for 2022."

Read more: https://insideevs.com/news/537347/mustang-mach-e-range-battery

Today, NIO launches its smart electric flagship SUV, NIO ES8, for sale in Norway, and hosts a launch event for NIO House Oslo, the first NIO House in Europe.

An important part of NIO users’ car-owning experience is the holistic charging and swapping system. The latter enables NIO vehicle’s batteries to be automatically swapped in three minutes. Norwegian national authorities have already approved the country’s first Power Swap station, which will be located in Lier, approximately 30 kilometres south of Oslo.

Today, NIO announces an ambition to set up 20 Power Swap stations in Norway by the end of 2022. The plan is to locate Power Swap stations in many of Norway’s main cities and along the busiest transport routes. All Power Swap stations are subject to regulatory approvals including planning and building permission from relevant local councils.

NIO will also offer Battery-as-a-Service (BaaS) to Norwegian users who purchase an electric vehicle from NIO. NIO users who purchase a NIO ES8 Signature Edition 100 kWh together with a BaaS subscription will be able to benefit from six battery swaps including service fee per month with an additional cost from NOK 1,999 per month.

"By September 29, China’s new energy vehicle startup NIO has a total of 504 battery swapping stations, one quarter ahead of its target to reach 500 by the end of 2020. Besides, the company has completed more than 4 million battery swaps by September 29, about 30 swaps per user. The highest number of battery swaps for a single vehicle is 927. NIO aims to have a total of 700 battery swapping stations before the Chinese New Year Holiday in 2022." reports Gasgoo.

Read more: https://autonews.gasgoo.com/70018831.html

"Swiss technology company ABB unveiled its latest EV charger on Thursday called the "Terra 360" that can add 60 miles of range in just three minutes.   ABB says it's the world's most powerful EV charger, delivering charging rates up to 360 kW" says FutureCar: "The Terra 360 is a modular charger which can simultaneously charge up to four vehicles at once and is built with dynamic power distribution. This setup means that drivers will not have to wait if somebody else is already charging ahead of them. They simply pull up to another open plug.  The powerful charger will be first available in Europe by the end of the year. ABB plans to expand the Terra 360 to the U.S., Latin America and Asia Pacific regions sometime in 2022."

Read more: https://www.futurecar.com/4899/Swiss-Technology-Company-ABB-Unveils-the-Terra-360-the-Worlds-Most-Powerful-EV-Charger

GERMAN STATE SAYS NO DECISION YET ON TESLA PLANT

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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