24 Jan 2022 | Lucid’s Record Setting 70mph Range Test

Episode 1352,   Jan 24, 2022, 05:00 PM

Today’s big EV stories:
• Watch Record-Setting Lucid Air Dream Edition 70-MPH Range Test
• Cybertruck Photos Leaked!
• Tesla's Gross Margin In Focus With Q4 Earnings
• Panasonic to start producing new Tesla batteries in 2023
• Tesla Now Runs the Most Productive Auto Factory in America
• GM to invest $6.5 billion in Michigan for EV production
• EXCLUSIVE Renault, Nissan, Mitsubishi to unveil 2030 EV plan this week
• Dongfeng E70 launched with a solid-state battery, 50 demonstration cars delivered
• Apple's self-driving car project hits another speed bump as engineering manager departs
• Lamborghini Aventador Successor Will Be a V12 Plug-In Hybrid
• Shanghai mayor wants more chip production facilities to support new-energy vehicle growth

Show #1352

If you get any value from this podcast please consider supporting my work on Patreon. Plus all Patreon supporters get their own unique ad-free podcast feed.

Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Monday 24th January. 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 a new EXECUTIVE PRODUCER TYLER VOSS

WATCH RECORD-SETTING LUCID AIR DREAM EDITION 70-MPH RANGE TEST

- We knew going into the range test that the Air would likely crush the 310-mile range test results we achieved on a 2021 Tesla Model 3 in our 70-mph range test, which was our range test leader until now. The only question that remained was by how much.

- Lucid provided us with a production Lucid Air Dream Edition Range with the 19" Aero wheels which is the configuration that is EPA certified at 520 miles per charge. If you put the 21" wheels on this same vehicle, the EPA range rating drops to 481 miles

- The temperature was 51° F (10.5° C) when we started the day, which isn't really ideal conditions for range testing. However, by the end of the day, the temperature had crept up to 69° F (20.5° C)

- The consumption rate remained consistent and was on 4.3 mi per kWh for the vast majority of the drive, and only dropped down to 4.2 mi/kWh on occasion.

- When the range test was over, we had used 117+ kWh of the Air's 118 kWh usable battery capacity, so we really ran it down to a completely drained battery. We drove the Air for six miles after the state of charge read zero, and about 3 more miles after the display said we had consumed 117 kWh on the trip. That leads us to believe we had less than .25 kWh left in the battery when we ended the test.

- Lucid uses the 5-cycle test procedure to certify its vehicle's range with the EPA. Tesla, Audi, Polestar, and Rivian also use the 5-cycle test, while all other OEMs use the 2-cycle test.

- Tesla vehicles, for instance, usually underperform their EPA range number by 10% to 13%. The Air actually did very well in this regard, falling only 4% short of its EPA range rating


CYBERTRUCK PHOTOS LEAKED!

- “The wiper lives flat across the bottom of the windscreen ? Or upright ? And Holy cow... it extends and retracts, potentially covering every inch of the glass.”


TESLA'S GROSS MARGIN IN FOCUS WITH Q4 EARNINGS

- Tesla Inc’s (NASDAQ:TSLA) crushing fourth-quarter delivery turns the focus on how well the company managed costs amid supply headwinds and whether the electric vehicle maker is on track to deliver 40% long-term gross margins when it reports quarterly earnings on Wednesday, according to Loup Ventures analyst Gene Munster.

- Tesla delivered 28.8% automotive gross margins in the third quarter, compared with 25.8% in the second quarter ended June.

- Tesla Chief Financial Officer Zach Kirkhorn had told investors on the third quarter post-earnings call that there’s "an awakening" for electric vehicles and that the company does not have a demand issue but the ability to produce as many cars.


PANASONIC TO START PRODUCING NEW TESLA BATTERIES IN 2023

- Panasonic will start the mass production of new lithium-ion batteries that will increase the range of electric vehicles over 15% as early as 2023 to compete with rival South Korean and Chinese battery makers.


TESLA NOW RUNS THE MOST PRODUCTIVE AUTO FACTORY IN AMERICA

- Last year Tesla’s factory in Fremont, California, produced an average of 8,550 cars a week. That’s more than Toyota Motor Corp.’s juggernaut in Georgetown, Kentucky (8,427 cars a week), BMW AG’s Spartanburg hub in South Carolina (8,343) or Ford Motor Co.’s iconic truck plant in Dearborn, Michigan (5,564), according to a Bloomberg analysis of production data from more than 70 manufacturing facilities.

- Tesla’s Fremont factory is a scrappy site to behold. Originally built by General Motors Co. in the 1960s and jointly operated by GM and Toyota until after GM’s 2009 bankruptcy, new additions have been kludged together to form an anthill of manufacturing. In what was once a rear parking lot, a pair of industrial tent structures provide shelter for bustling assembly lines that wouldn’t fit inside the packed factory.

- For all its rapid growth and dominance in electric vehicles, Tesla is still just the 10th biggest auto manufacturer in North America. The new plant in Austin should change that and, according to Levy, help Tesla maintain its EV lead for as long as the supply imbalances continue.


GM TO INVEST $6.5 BILLION IN MICHIGAN FOR EV PRODUCTION

- General Motors Co. is expected to detail plans Tuesday to invest $6.5 billion in two Michigan sites and create 4,000 jobs in the state, according to a meeting agenda and two sources familiar with the situation.

- The Detroit automaker is scheduled to announce its investment at an event in Lansing. The news would come a day before Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s State of the State address, which is expected to highlight the state’s economic development efforts as the auto industry pivots to electrification.

- GM and battery partner LG Energy Solution are planning a $2.5 billion investment in Lansing near GM's Delta Township plant for a battery cell manufacturing site that will support a growing list of coming EVs.

- GM also received a tax abatement for a $1.3 billion investment at its Orion Assembly plant in Lake Orion to build EVs, but the investment amount there is expected to total $4 billion. Sources previously told The Detroit News the automaker plans to build electric trucks there.


EXCLUSIVE RENAULT, NISSAN, MITSUBISHI TO UNVEIL 2030 EV PLAN THIS WEEK

- Renault SA (RENA.PA), Nissan Motor Co and Mitsubishi Motors Corp (7211.T) plan to triple their investment to jointly develop electric vehicles (EVs), two people with knowledge of the plan told Reuters.

- The three are expected to announce on Thursday a plan to invest more than 20 billion euros ($23 billion) over the next five years on EV development, the sources said. By 2030, the alliance is expected to come up with more than 30 new battery EVs underpinned by five common platforms, they said.

- That is in addition to 10 billion euros the group has already spent on electrification

- The three-firm alliance has developed and partly deployed four common EV platforms.

- One underpins EVs such as Nissan’s upcoming Ariya and Renault’s Megane EV, and another supports affordable no-frills cars by Nissan and its China market partner Dongfeng, as well as for Renault’s Dacia brand. The other two are platforms for micro minis, called “kei cars” in Japan, and light commercial vehicles.

- The automakers are expected to use common batteries and other key components. The alliance plans to jointly invest in capacity to produce in France, Britain, China and Japan a total of 220 gigawatt hours of battery capacity by 2030 under the plan, the sources said.


DONGFENG E70 LAUNCHED WITH A SOLID-STATE BATTERY, 50 DEMONSTRATION CARS DELIVERED

APPLE'S SELF-DRIVING CAR PROJECT HITS ANOTHER SPEED BUMP AS ENGINEERING MANAGER DEPARTS

LAMBORGHINI AVENTADOR SUCCESSOR WILL BE A V12 PLUG-IN HYBRID


SHANGHAI MAYOR WANTS MORE CHIP PRODUCTION FACILITIES TO SUPPORT NEW-ENERGY VEHICLE GROWTH
 

NEW QUESTION OF THE WEEK WITH EMOBILITYNORWAY.COM

Tom Moloughney’s Lucid Air 70mph range test yielded a real world highway range of 500 miles. That raises the bar by a huge amount and make the Lucid Air easily the longest range EV ever tested. But…do EV’s ever need a range of 500 miles?

Email me your answer now: hello@evnewsdaily.com

It would mean a lot if you could take 2mins to leave a quick review on whichever platform you download the podcast.

And  if you have an Amazon Echo, download our Alexa Skill, search for EV News Daily and add it as a flash briefing.

Come and say hi on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter just search EV News Daily, have a wonderful day, I’ll catch you tomorrow and remember…there’s no such thing as a self-charging hybrid.

PREMIUM PARTNERS
PHIL ROBERTS / ELECTRIC FUTURE
BRAD CROSBY
PORSCHE OF THE VILLAGE CINCINNATI
VOLVO CARS CINCINNATI EAST
NATIONAL CAR CHARGING ON THE US MAINLAND AND ALOHA CHARGE IN HAWAII
DEREK REILLY FROM THE EV REVIEW IRELAND YOUTUBE CHANNEL
RICHARD AT RSEV.CO.UK – FOR BUYING AND SELLING EVS IN THE UK
Subscribe
Next
Briefly | 25 Jan 2022
Top episodes