03 Dec 2021 | Mercedes-Benz Commits To 60 Billion Euro EV Future

Episode 1297,   Dec 03, 2021, 01:00 AM

Today’s big EV stories:
• Mercedes-Benz to invest 60 billion euros into the future
• Electrify America Battery Storage at 140 Sites
• Tesla announces all-electric $1,900 Cyberquad for kids
• Electric Truck Maker Rivian Selects Amazon Web Services as its Preferred Cloud Provider
• VW ID.Buzz Electric Minivan Caught Testing near the Arctic Circle
• VW ID.3 Already Set For A Refresh By 2023, Notable Updates Soon
• Toyota to offer specialized electric car ‘hubs’ for bZ4X sales
• Skoda UK improves charging for the Enyaq iV
• Tritium cuts deal to deploy 500 chargers with US West Coast network
• Polestar Shows First Look at New 3 EV Crossover
• UK: Used electric cars now sell faster than petrols

Show #1297

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Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Friday 3rd December. 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.

Welcome to new PATREON EXECUTIVE PRODUCER GEORGE TORTAROLO

MERCEDES-BENZ TO INVEST 60 BILLION EUROS INTO THE FUTURE

- Daimler AG’s Supervisory Board at its meeting today approved the Mercedes-Benz Business Plan for 2022 to 2026, endorsing the strategic plan for Mercedes-Benz to go fully electric.

- For the transformation into a software-driven and emissions-free future, the Supervisory Board signed off on an investment plan for the years 2022 to 2026 of more than 60 billion euros. Although the company plans to reduce capex, research and development expenditure for the electrification of the product portfolio and digitalization measures, including steps towards automated driving, will remain at a high level.

- In addition, a gradual shift toward a direct sales model, which includes control over pricing, is being sought. Rising revenue from digital services will further support results.

- Mercedes-Benz is preparing to go all electric by the end of the decade, wherever market conditions allow.

- the investment plan for 2022 to 2026 remains in line with the goal of cutting capex and research and development spending by more than 20 percent between 2019 and 2025 and to further reduce it beyond this date.The key to achieving this is stringent prioritization of future investments – mainly by focusing on electric mobility. The company expects that the use of standardised battery platforms and scalable vehicle architectures - together with advances in battery technology - will contribute to a reduction in the variable costs of vehicles. The proportion of battery costs in a vehicle is expected to decrease significantly this decade.


ELECTRIFY AMERICA BATTERY STORAGE AT 140 SITES

- Electrify America today announced that it has installed onsite, behind-the-meter battery energy storage systems (BESS) at over 140 DC fast charging stations around the country, including more than 90 installations in California. These systems in total have more than 30 megawatts (MW) of energy storage capacity, representing the largest roll-out of onsite behind-the-meter battery energy storage coupled with ultra-fast DC chargers in North America.

- The battery energy storage systems store power when electricity costs are low and supplement power during high points of consumption, minimizing impact on the electrical grid and mitigating demand surges to help Electrify America maintain consistent pricing.

- One of the prominent obstacles utility providers face can be “demand charges,” which are electricity surcharges on peak power usage designed to capture the marginal costs imposed on the grid by high-capacity, high-utilization infrastructure, such as factories. When traditional demand charges are levied upon high-capacity, low-utilization infrastructure such as high-powered EV charging stations, they place a disproportionate cost burden on the station owners.

- Electrify America’s investment in onsite behind-the-meter battery energy storage also has the potential to maximize renewable energy use. Energy storage has the ability to help store excess renewable energy to be used in times where those renewable sources may not be available, and further leverage the tailpipe emissions reductions that follow from transportation electrification.


TESLA ANNOUNCES ALL-ELECTRIC $1,900 CYBERQUAD FOR KIDS

- Tesla has quietly launched a $1,900 four-wheel ATV for kids. The Cyberquad for Kids is available to order right now from Tesla’s website, and will begin shipping in two to four weeks. The surprise announcement comes more than two year after Tesla announced a fullsize Cyberquad ATV to compliment its futuristic Cybertruck. The Cyberquad has not yet shipped.

- This new pint-sized Cybersquad is designed for kids 8 years old and up, and ones that have parents that can afford to buy them a $1,900 ATV. It includes a steel frame, cushioned seat, and adjustable suspension with rear disk braking. There’s even LED light bars to complete the cyberpunk aesthetics. This all-electric ATV has a top speed of 10mph, and the battery will power up to 15 miles of range.


ELECTRIC TRUCK MAKER RIVIAN SELECTS AMAZON WEB SERVICES AS ITS PREFERRED CLOUD PROVIDER

- To support the communication between vehicles and the cloud requires an ecosystem of IT infrastructure and compute resources, so companies around the world are turning to Amazon Web Services Inc. (AWS) as their preferred cloud provider to deliver connected services, facilitate over-the-air software updates, and manage fleets of connected vehicles.

- The latest company to sign on is electric truck maker Rivian, which comes as no surprise since Amazon is a backer of the company.

- AWS will also power Rivian's software-defined electric vehicle architecture and over-the-air software updates to improve the performance of its vehicles.


VW ID.BUZZ ELECTRIC MINIVAN CAUGHT TESTING NEAR THE ARCTIC CIRCLE

- The long-awaited 2024 Volkswagen ID.Buzz is getting ever closer to becoming reality. These photos show it wearing very little camouflage in cold-weather testing near the Arctic Circle. From these photos, the electric minivan has lost some of its retro charm in the transition from concept to production vehicle, but it's still looking attractive and practical.

- ID.Buzz concept was touted as a modern interpretation of the 1960s Microbus, an icon of the hippie era. The ID.Buzz will feature an all-electric powertrain and shares its structure with the smaller ID.4 SUV. We expect the base model to have rear-wheel drive and come with around 200 horsepower; an all-wheel-drive variant could offer around 300 horsepower from dual electric motors.


VW ID.3 ALREADY SET FOR A REFRESH BY 2023, NOTABLE UPDATES SOON

- The Volkswagen ID.3 hasn't been on the market for very long, and there's already a planned refresh coming in about a year, with some significant changes already happening as soon as next month. Will this be the new normal for EVs?

- As soon as next month, the ID.3 may get an updated infotainment system with a larger 12-inch screen. In addition, the electric hatchback's touch-sensitive cabin climate slider will get lighting to make it easier to see at night. Criticism from ID.3 owners has also forced VW to upgrade the cabin with higher quality fabrics and materials, especially in upper trims.

- The above updates all come ahead of a more significant ID.3 refresh that's planned for early 2023. The mid-cycle update is set to provide a larger dose of updated interior materials, a revamped exterior design, and improved LED taillights


TOYOTA TO OFFER SPECIALIZED ELECTRIC CAR ‘HUBS’ FOR BZ4X SALES

- Toyota will sell its new range of pure-electric vehicles, starting with the bZ4X, at a series of in-dealer ‘hubs’ that can offer specialised advice about the switch to EV motoring.

- Toyota’s European product and marketing boss, Andrea Carlucci, told us that the bZ Hubs are likely to be ‘store in store’ facilities - in effect, a dedicated area of the showroom floor - but admitted that not every dealership would be expected to offer this more specialised service.

- The bZ4X is being launched with a single 71.4kWh battery configuration, and Carlucci says this is designed to keep the customer buying journey as simple as possible.


SKODA UK IMPROVES CHARGING FOR THE ENYAQ IV 


TRITIUM CUTS DEAL TO DEPLOY 500 CHARGERS WITH US WEST COAST NETWORK
 

POLESTAR SHOWS FIRST LOOK AT NEW 3 EV CROSSOVER


UK: USED ELECTRIC CARS NOW SELL FASTER THAN PETROLS


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