19 Dec 2021 | Audi Opens First Charging Hub

Episode 1314,   Dec 19, 2021, 01:00 AM

Today’s big EV stories:
• Waze just added a huge feature Tesla and other EV owners have been waiting for
• Audi opens first lounge-style EV charging hub in Germany
• Ford Confirms 2022 F-150 Lightning EV Battery Specs
• GM to start shipping $113,000 electric Hummer pickups to customers
• General Motors Begins Deliveries of BrightDrop EV600
• Steep mountain roads, high temperatures: Testing the BMW i7 drive under extreme conditions
• Volkswagen USA Invests $20 Million In Effort To Train Dealers On EVs
• California electric truck charging station: Watt E-V breaks ground in Bakersfield
• World's Largest Offshore Wind Farm to Start Producing by Year-End

Show #1314

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Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Sunday 19th 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.

WAZE JUST ADDED A HUGE FEATURE TESLA AND OTHER EV OWNERS HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR

- Google-owned auto navigation app Waze is debuting a new EV charging station map filter for U.S. users in partnership with Volkswagen.

- WIth the layer turned on, drivers will be able to spot them from route view, peek at their status, and redirect their journeys to one in case they need a pit stop. A Waze spokesperson clarified to us that it shows EV charging stations from a large database, not just ones in the VW-owned Electrify America network. It's the same capabilities that sister app Google Maps introduced in 2019.

- Looking into charging sites, users will see ads for VW's new ID.4 electric SUV. They'll be able to change their Waze avatar to look like an ID.4 as well, at least for the time being.


AUDI OPENS FIRST LOUNGE-STYLE EV CHARGING HUB IN GERMANY

- Audi will next week open its first bespoke EV charging hub, which is planned to spearhead a complete network of lounge-style rapid-charging locations.

- The pilot site, next to the exhibition centre in the German city of Nuremberg, will open to customers on Thursday 23 December, setting the tone for the design and functionality of Audi's charging hubs.

- drivers able to wait in a staffed 200-square-metre lounge while their vehicle charges.

- The modernist building itself is made from "flexible container cubes" that can be assembled and disassembled in a matter of days, Audi said.

- Each cube houses two fast chargers, which are powered by repurposed lithium ion batteries from scrapped Audi prototype cars to reduce cost and resource usage.

- The pilot hub can store some 2.45MWh (2450kWh) of electricity, supplied chiefly by a 200kW 'green power' connection to the grid, with a 30kW contribution from roof-mounted solar panels.

- The six charging points at the pilot location can charge at speeds of up to 320kW

- The site will be open to drivers of EVs made by other companies as well, but general-access pricing hasn't yet been confirmed.

- Customers can reserve chargers through the MyAudi app, and then the charger itself can authenticate the transaction when plugged into the car


FORD CONFIRMS 2022 F-150 LIGHTNING EV BATTERY SPECS

- a Ford spokesperson confirmed to Car and Driver the usable sizes of both available battery packs. The upcoming electric pickup will offer two lithium-ion batteries: a 98.0-kWh Standard Range pack and a 131.0-kWh Extended Range pack.

- Ford claims that the F-150 Lightning will offer up to 300 miles of range with the Extended Range battery and 230 miles on the Standard Range pack. Additionally, a post on the F-150 Gen 14 forum found that a stakeholder's livestream allegedly stated that certain Platinum model trucks would offer 280 miles of range.

- Orders are scheduled to open next month, and Ford says that reservation holders will receive emails inviting them to place orders.


GM TO START SHIPPING $113,000 ELECTRIC HUMMER PICKUPS TO CUSTOMERS

- General Motors is beginning to ship its GMC Hummer EV pickup to customers, marking a major milestone for the automaker and its next-generation electric vehicles.

- The new truck is the first to incorporate the Detroit automaker’s Ultium platform, motors and batteries, all of which GM developed in-house and plans to use as the foundation for dozens of new electric vehicles in the coming years.

- The first production Hummer EV was auctioned for $2.5 million with proceeds benefiting the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, an organization established to honor the memory of Sept. 11 first responder Stephen Siller.

- GM has not confirmed how many reservations it has received for the Hummer EV pickup, which a special “Edition 1” version of will initially sell for about $113,000 before lower-priced versions enter production. The company has previously said reservations for the new Hummer are fully booked through the next year.


GENERAL MOTORS BEGINS DELIVERIES OF BRIGHTDROP EV600

- In addition to offering all-new electric passenger vehicles like the new HUMMER EV, GM's Ultium platform is helping GM to grow its EV business in the commercial sector.

- BrightDrop is a new tech startup from GM, that focuses on electric commercial delivery and logistics for an all-electric future through products, beginning with the EV600 light commercial vehicle.

- BrightDrop is delivering its first EV600s to FedEx starting today, moving from concept to market introduction faster than any other GM vehicle in history, the company said.


TESTING THE BMW I7 DRIVE UNDER EXTREME CONDITIONS

- The series development process of the BMW i7 is entering its final phase with the car undergoing a demanding test programme in extreme road and weather conditions. During so-called hot-region testing on tracks and public roads all over the world, the development engineers primarily verify the performance and reliability of the electric motors, the all-wheel drive and the high-voltage battery when being exposed to maximum stress from high temperatures, unpaved roads, dust and large differences in altitude.

- The road to series production takes the prototypes of the BMW i7 over gravel tracks into deserts, into the mountains and on a whole series of highly dynamic routes. The BMW i7, the world’s only purely electrically powered luxury sedan, will be presented in the course of 2022 together with other model variants of the new BMW 7 Series.

- The components of the fifth-generation BMW eDrive technology developed for the BMW i7 demonstrate their unrestricted functionality even under the most adverse conditions when being used continuously in extremely high outside temperatures, permanent sunlight and dry conditions.


VOLKSWAGEN USA INVESTS $20 MILLION IN EFFORT TO TRAIN DEALERS ON EVS

- Like the rest of the automotive world, Volkswagen is preparing itself for an onslaught of electric vehicles and that means getting dealerships ready for curious customers. The automaker today announced the first major results of its nationwide Network Readiness Co-Op Program.

- The $20 million investment will support its more than 600 dealerships around the United States and help transform them into “regional hubs of EV experience.” As ID.4 orders climb, the program will look to enhance customers’ access to better infrastructure, like upgraded service centers and high-capacity chargers.

- The program is set to run until June 2022 but has already seen dealers install 23,490 kWh of charging capacity, train more than 1,260 EV service technicians, and train dedicated EV Specialists to help customers.

- Volkswagen has also launched a dedicated EV Technician Retention Program in order to offer incentives to existing technicians who gain new skills. The program allows dealerships to reward technicians who gain individual certifications to enhance their EV skillsets with a retention bonus of up to $2,000 per year.


CALIFORNIA ELECTRIC TRUCK CHARGING STATION: WATT E-V BREAKS GROUND IN BAKERSFIELD

- WattEV electric vehicle company broke ground on the nation’s first electric truck charging station Thursday in Bakersfield.

- The groundbreaking ceremony was held at the location of the truck stop, on Highway 65 just north of Meadows Field Airport. The 110 acre truck stop features a solar micro-grid with battery storage, plus regular power from PG&E.

- WattEV plans to build more electric truck stops along the Interstate 5 and Highway 99 trucking corridors through the Central Valley, the San Joaquin Valley and beyond.

- When complete, Watt E-V said the truck stop will be able to charge up to 200 trucks per day.


WORLD'S LARGEST OFFSHORE WIND FARM TO START PRODUCING BY YEAR-END

- First power from the 1,386 MW Hornsea Two, soon to be the world’s largest offshore wind farm, is expected before the end of the year, a spokesperson for Ørsted told offshore WIND.

- 139 of the wind farm’s 165 Siemens Gamesa 8.4 MW wind turbines have now been installed, and all of the wind farms inter-array cables are now in place, the spokesperson said.

- Hornsea Two is located some 89 kilometres off the Yorkshire coast, UK.

- Spanning an offshore area of 462 square kilometres, the wind farm will go into full operation in 2022, producing enough electricity to power more than 1.3 million homes.


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