17 Dec 2021 | UK Cuts EV Grants, Germany Extends Them

Episode 1312,   Dec 17, 2021, 01:00 AM

Today’s big EV stories:
• Plug-in car grant cut from £2,500 to £1,500
• Immediate cuts to Government EV grants
• New German government to revamp incentives for electric cars
• Germany to boost electric car sales by extending €9,000 help to buy subsidies
• Arrival offers an early look at its first electric car
• A clear course: Audi is increasing investments in electromobility | Audi MediaCenter
• Mercedes Teases New EV That Will Destroy Everyone On Range
• Lightyear's New Solar EV Will Require Five Times Less Charging Than Its Predecessor
• First Documented Non-Employee Rivian R1T Delivery?
• Rivian Q3 earnings: Posts $1.23 billion net loss, won't meet 2001 EV production goal
• Rivian's Amazon delivery van has 201-mile range, will spawn smaller van
• Rivian EV plant to be built east of Atlanta in Georgia
• Tesla rolls out Active Road Noise Reduction for new Model S and Model X
• Volvo takes the FH Electric out for Arctic testing

Show #1312

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Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Friday 17th 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.

PLUG-IN CAR GRANT CUT FROM £2,500 TO £1,500

- The Government has brought yet another round of cuts to its plug-in car grant. Buyers can now only claim a maximum of £1,500 off the price of a new eligible plug-in car (£1,000 less than before) on models costing no more than £32,000 – £3,000 less than previously.

- The plug-in van grant has also been cut to £5,000 for large vans and £2,500 for small vans, with a limit of 1,000 customers per year. Plug-in motorcycles will benefit from a maximum of £500 off and mopeds £150.

- Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), said the cuts represented "a blow to customers".


IMMEDIATE CUTS TO GOVERNMENT EV GRANTS 

- For the second time this year, the Government has announced instant cuts to the electric vehicle grant, with a £1000 reduction in the amount offered on cars taking it to £1500, and the threshold dropping by £3000 so only vehicles under £32,000 now qualify.

- The updated Government website lists the cars still eligible for the grant, although it remains to be seen whether price alignments to get under the new thresholds will be announced in the coming days and weeks, as was the case from the likes of BMW, Citroen, DS, Hyundai, Kia, Peugeot, Vauxhall and others when the previous change was announced in March. The new Citroen e-Berlingo and Peugeot e-Rifter in particular have model priced just above the £32,000 point.

- Cars no longer qualifying due to reduced price threshold (subject to any price realignments in reaction to the grant changes):

BMW i3
Citroen e-C4
Citroen SpaceTourer
Hyundai Ioniq
Kia Niro
Kia Soul
Peugeot e-2008
Skoda Enyaq
Vauxhall Mokka-e
Vauxhall Vivaro e-Life
Volkswagen ID.4


NEW GERMAN GOVERNMENT TO REVAMP INCENTIVES FOR ELECTRIC CARS

- Germany's new government said Monday it is extending the country's current system of incentive payments for buyers of electric and hybrid cars for a year but then plans to impose tougher requirements for vehicles to qualify for the support.

- The economy and climate ministry that was set up when Germany's new government took office last week said it will only provide payments starting in 2023 for “electric vehicles that demonstrably have a positive climate-protection effect.”

- For the next year, the current system will still apply, making buyers of electric-only cars eligible for incentives of up to 9,000 euros (about $10,200) and qualifying buyers of plug-in hybrids for up to 6,750 euros.


GERMANY TO BOOST ELECTRIC CAR SALES BY EXTENDING €9,000 HELP TO BUY SUBSIDIES

- The government’s goal is to see 15 million purely electrified cars in circulation by 2030. So far, Germany has seen only 520,000 of them roll off dealerships’ forecourts, according to AFP.This financial support, introduced in July 2020, has played a key role in the record increase in the market share of electrified vehicles in Germany,

- In May 2021, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Peter Altmaier announced his intention to make the payment process easier for charging stations. “For eMobility to really breakthrough, we must not only provide funding for electric vehicles, but also make the charging process and payment for this more convenient,” Altmaier said.“In future, the charging stations that are open to the public will accept standard credit and debit cards. This means that these charging stations will be open to everyone – including customers that do not own a smartphone. As credit cards work everywhere, this also opens up charging stations to cross-border travel.”.


ARRIVAL OFFERS AN EARLY LOOK AT ITS FIRST ELECTRIC CAR

- The Arrival Car, as it is known, is designed, first and foremost, to be used by rideshare drivers during their working day.

- Much as the company doesn’t want to call it a taxi, this is more or less what the Arrival Car is, an electric update to the London black cab for cities of the future. But with a number of tweaks that mean it’s smaller and more efficient than current cars, but still has buckets of room inside.

- Arrival announced that it had teamed up with Uber to create a “purpose-built vehicle for ride-hailing.” It’s a project with an ambitious deadline, too, with the first models expected to roll off the production line in Q3, 2023.

- The Arrival Car is deeply uncool, a box on wheels with an emphasis on maximizing the internal space for passengers. It has the same silhouette as a French-made minivan; you could easily imagine a line of these parked outside a Saturday-morning under 15’s soccer match. But, because it wholly rejects the need to be aesthetic for the sake of aesthetics, it’s also quite cool.


A CLEAR COURSE: AUDI IS INCREASING INVESTMENTS IN ELECTROMOBILITY

- advance payments for future vehicle projects are being increased once again, with a sum total of about €37 billion. The premium manufacturer is earmarking about €18 billion for electrification and hybridization alone and thereby emphasizing its clear commitment to electromobility.

- With the new models Audi e-tron GT quattro, Audi RS e-tron GT, and the first fully electric models in the compact segment, the Audi Q4 e-tron and Audi Q4 Sportback e-tron, the electric portfolio has grown by four additional models. By 2025, the company aims to have more than 20 fully electric models in its lineup.


MERCEDES TEASES NEW EV THAT WILL DESTROY EVERYONE ON RANGE

- embarrass even the most efficient hybrids and diesels. The Lucid Air, for example, has the longest range of any electric car on the market with up to 520 miles on a charge. It's tough to imagine an EV beating that range estimate anytime soon, but if anyone can beat Lucid Motors, it's Mercedes-Benz.

- More than one year ago, Mercedes teased an EV with a staggering 750-mile range, called the Vision EQXX. The vehicle will be revealed (in concept form) on January 3, 2022, but before then, the German automaker just released a new teaser for its most efficient car ever.

- To achieve a 750-mile range, the EQXX will likely sport a massive battery pack and an extremely low drag coefficient.

- Mercedes may not give us full battery details when it reveals the EQXX, but the German automaker promises it will "[increase] the energy density at the cell level by a further 20% compared to the EQS,"


LIGHTYEAR'S NEW SOLAR EV WILL REQUIRE FIVE TIMES LESS CHARGING THAN ITS PREDECESSOR

- While we eagerly wait for Lightyear One the solar-powered electric vehicle (EV) to go into production, its makers have already announced a more cost-friendly version model that will offer twice the range of similarly priced vehicles,

- managed to use the car in European summer without having to charge it at all. The car manages this with solar panels that are seamlessly present on its surface and with high-efficiency motors that use up to three times lesser power per kilometer than EVs in the market today, the company claims.

- currently offer. And with its solar panels, it will require up to five times lesser charging as well. There is definitely an upgrade coming to the solar panel array on the Lightyear since Two will rely heavily on the panels to achieve this. Another important prospect of the car is its price. At €30,000 ($34,000)


FIRST DOCUMENTED NON-EMPLOYEE RIVIAN R1T DELIVERY?


RIVIAN Q3 EARNINGS: POSTS $1.23 BILLION NET LOSS, WON'T MEET 2001 EV PRODUCTION GOAL


RIVIAN'S AMAZON DELIVERY VAN HAS 201-MILE RANGE, WILL SPAWN SMALLER VAN


RIVIAN EV PLANT TO BE BUILT EAST OF ATLANTA IN GEORGIA


TESLA ROLLS OUT ACTIVE ROAD NOISE REDUCTION FOR NEW MODEL S AND MODEL X


VOLVO TAKES THE FH ELECTRIC OUT FOR ARCTIC TESTING


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