05 Jan 2022 | BMW iX M60 Flagship Revealed With 619bhp

Episode 1331,   Jan 05, 2022, 01:00 AM

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Today’s big EV stories:
• BMW iX M60 revealed – 619bhp flagship to rival Audi e-Tron S
• BMW iX M60 starts at €130,200
• Chrysler previews its all-electric future with Airflow concept SUV
• Sony shows off SUV, will explore building electric cars as ‘Sony Mobility Inc’
• Tesla rival Lucid plans to launch in Europe this year
• Tesla Model S Goes 752 Miles with a Startup's Prototype Battery
• Tesla Model S Plaid top speed raised to 175 mph with Track Mode update
• A New Tesla Model X Won't Be Available Until Late 2022
• GAC Aion LX Plus launched with 144kWh battery
• GM Delivered Only 26 EVs In Q4 2021, Including Just 1 Electric Hummer

 Show #1331

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Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Wednesday 5th January. It’s Martyn Lee here and I go through every EV story so you don't have to.

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BMW IX M60 REVEALED – 619BHP FLAGSHIP TO RIVAL AUDI E-TRON S

- The striking new BMW iX SUV has just been given a high performance flagship in the form of the new M60 range-topper. This bold high performance electric SUV will rival Audi’s e-Tron S and Tesla’s Model X, while also giving the M Performance sub-brand a second model.

- M60 utilises two electric motors with one placed on each axle, but power is raised from the most potent iX 50i’s 523bhp to a more robust 619bhp.

- Feeding these more potent electric motors is the same 105.2kWh battery pack, giving the M60 a 357-mile range – only slightly down on the lesser iX and way above the Audi e-Tron S’s problematic 222-mile quoted range.

- The new iX M60 does lack the Audi’s tri-motor setup though, explaining why something akin to the Audi’s rear axle torque vectoring is missing.

- The iX in all forms t hen doubles down on this advantage with an application of carbonfibre reinforced plastics along the roof rails, sills and rear subframe.

- That huge weight figure doesn’t do much to hurt the M60’s acceleration time, mind, hitting 62mph in just 3.9sec, over half a second clear of the Audi – the top speed is limited to 155mph.

- Customer cars are expected to be delivered in the summer, with prices starting at £111,905 in the UK


BMW IX M60 STARTS AT €130,200

- BMW specifies torque of 1,015 Nm in Sport Mode, and 1,100 Nm when Launch Control is activated.

- The fifth generation of BMW electric drives are current-excited synchronous motors. In addition to efficiency, BMW emphasises that these motors have a consistent power delivery

- The high-voltage battery achieves a gross energy content of 111.5 kWh, the same as in the familiar iX xDrive50. The AC charging capacity is 11 kW, with direct current up to 200 kW is possible


CHRYSLER PREVIEWS ITS ALL-ELECTRIC FUTURE WITH AIRFLOW CONCEPT SUV

- Chrysler, the iconic American brand owned by Stellantis, will only sell electric vehicles by 2028, the company announced at the 2022 Consumer Electronics Show.

- the company revealed its latest concept, the Airflow crossover SUV with a similar profile to the Tesla Model Y and Ford Mustang Mach-E. The vehicle unveiled at CES is meant to be just a concept, but it looks very close to production-ready. Chrysler says its first EV will start production in 2025.

- Stellantis, the multi-national conglomeration that formed last year when Fiat Chrysler merged with the French PSA Group, intends for Chrysler to serve as the tip of the spear for its electrification strategy.

- The concept Airflow comes with all-wheel drive thanks to two 150kW motors, one in each axle. However, the drivetrain can be adjusted to accommodate more powerful motors in the future, Chrysler says. The company didn’t provide details on the battery’s size or energy capacity, but it did estimate a range of 350-400 miles per charge.

- Inside, the vehicle is chock-a-block with screens: four in the front and two for rear passengers. The large central infotainment screen is flanked by smaller screens for the driver and passenger. The instrument cluster screen is set back a ways from the steering wheel, closer to the windshield than the dashboard, making it seem almost like a heads-up display. An additional screen sits below the main infotainment screen for HVAC controls and seating adjustments, among other features. And there are two screens on the seatbacks for rear passengers.


SONY SHOWS OFF SUV, WILL EXPLORE BUILDING ELECTRIC CARS AS ‘SONY MOBILITY INC’

- At CES in Las Vegas this evening, Sony’s Chairman, President and CEO Kenichiro Yoshida showed off a brand new prototype of its Vision S concept electric car, and announced that the Sony Group is starting a new division — the Sony Mobility Inc – which will start commercializing its electric vehicles.

- On the CES stage during the Sony press conference, the company showed off its existing Sony Vision-S sedan, which was revealed at CES last year. This year, it also flexed a new model in the lineup, the Sony Vision-S SUV prototype.

- Sony announced that it was establishing a new company (Sony Mobility Inc.) to accelerate the efforts of “exploring the commercial launch of Sony’s EV” — hinting that a Sony car may be coming to a lot near you in the none-too-distant future.


TESLA RIVAL LUCID PLANS TO LAUNCH IN EUROPE THIS YEAR

- Lucid plans to start selling its cars in Europe this year. - The California-headquartered firm, which competes with Tesla, announced the expansion on Tuesday after a Twitter user asked if an image of some new Lucid owners were based in the U.K.

- In January 2020, Lucid started taking online reservations in 15 European countries for its flagship Lucid Air sedan but the firm has not specified when the vehicles will be delivered.

- Locations included Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.


TESLA MODEL S GOES 752 MILES WITH A STARTUP'S PROTOTYPE BATTERY

- Imagine an electric car that covers 752 miles on a single charge. You can't buy it today, but a modified Tesla Model S drove that distance across Michigan last month. It was the work of a two-year-old Michigan startup, Our Next Energy (ONE), which says it is aiming to make safer and more sustainable batteries. ONE retrofitted the car with a battery holding twice the energy of Tesla's original—while fitting entirely within the same space. It's a proof of concept for the company's own future battery design.

- ONE's project didn't mess with anything to alter the Model S's efficiency, but employed a much higher-capacity battery. "We want to accelerate the adoption of EVs by eliminating range anxiety, which holds back consumers today," said ONE founder and CEO Mujeeb Ijaz. He's a battery engineer with more than 30 years'  experience, including stints at Apple, A123 Systems, Ford, and others.

- The original Tesla battery had a capacity of 103.9 kilowatt-hours, while the prototype ONE battery that replaced it in the same space has 207.3 kWh.

- ONE's drive took place in mid-December in Michigan—with chilly winter temperatures working against range maximization—where the company drove up and down the length of the mitten state for nearly 14 hours, averaging 55 mph, before winding up back at its Novi headquarters in southeastern Michigan with the trip odometer showing 752.2 miles.

- The capacity of more than 200 kilowatt-hours was provided by high-energy cobalt-nickel cells


TESLA MODEL S PLAID TOP SPEED RAISED TO 175 MPH WITH TRACK MODE UPDATE

A NEW TESLA MODEL X WON'T BE AVAILABLE UNTIL LATE 2022

GAC AION LX PLUS LAUNCHED WITH 144KWH BATTERY

GM DELIVERED ONLY 26 EVS IN Q4 2021, INCLUDING JUST 1 ELECTRIC HUMMER
 

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