30 Mar 2022 | Stunning New £100k Lotus Eletre SUV

Episode 1420,   Mar 30, 2022, 04:00 PM

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On the podcast today:
• Lotus Eletre opens a new front in electric SUVs
• 2025 Lotus Eletre First Look: Simplify, Then Add an Electric Luxury SUV
• Lotus' All-Electric Eletre SUV Has a Grill That 'Breathes'
• Kia EV6 AWD Exceeded 250 Miles In 70 MPH Range Test
• Tesla Giga Berlin-Made Model Ys Are Delivered to Mannheim, Germany
• Tesla supplier Aptiv stops some production in Shanghai over COVID issues
• Polestar 2 gets Android Automotive 11 update
• Rising fuel prices? Buy an electric van and save 25% on running costs, environmental group says
• Modesto City Schools orders 30 Blue Bird Type D electric school buses
• Carrefour announces the installation of charging stations
• Aral introduces Plug&Charge service throughout Germany
• New Test Suggests Higher Available Battery Capacity For Volvo C40
• Tesla drops from top three residential solar installer ranking

Show #1420

Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily, you trusted source of EV information. It’s Wednesday 30th March, it’s Martyn Lee here and I go through every EV story so you don't have to.

LOTUS ELETRE OPENS A NEW FRONT IN ELECTRIC SUVS

- the new era of Lotus as an EV maker begins with this, the Eletre. It takes elements we've seen on the Evija battery-electric hypercar and Emira ICE sports car, wraps them in a larger package, jacks them up, and throws in a lot of new tech for the brand and the market.

- The Eletre is 201 inches long on a 118.9-inch wheelbase, about 79 inches wide, and 64 inches high. Every one of those dimensions puts the Lotus within a couple of inches of the Aston Martin DBX

- All we're told is the pack is more than 100 kWh and output starts at 600 horsepower. Every Eletre is all-wheel-drive, with a motor on each axle.

- The 800-volt electrical architecture can handle up to 350-kW fast-charging, 20 minutes at a station at that charge rate restoring 248 WLTP miles of the Eletre's estimated 373-mile range in WLTP testing. 62 miles per hour in under 3 seconds and hit a top speed of 161 mph.

- The electronic side mirror housings each contain three cameras, one camera for the rear views, one to help stitch a 360-degree overhead view, and one to help enable self-driving.

- A slim gauge cluster and a head-up display provides the driver with relevant info, front passengers get a similar slim display that can display infotainment options. Between them, a 15.1-inch infotainment touchscreen that lays flat when not in use.


2025 LOTUS ELETRE FIRST LOOK: SIMPLIFY, THEN ADD AN ELECTRIC LUXURY SUV

- multi-link air suspension and continuously variable damping all round. Active ride height and active anti-roll bars, along with rear-wheel steering and torque vectoring will be available as options on the Eletre, along with 23-inch alloy wheels

- Four different drive modes—Range, Tour, Sport and Off-Road—adjust steering and accelerator pedal response, along with damping rates and powertrain output. And Individual mode will allow drivers to mix and match some settings to suit their personal driving styles.

- The four LIDAR units, one at the top of the windshield, one at the top of the backlight, and one on each front fender, are hidden when not in use, thus preserving the Eletre's svelte appearance.

- For context, the Eletre has 2.1 inches more space between the axles than a Tesla Model X and is 2.6 inches longer overall and 0.8 inches lower. This is not a small Lotus.

- The rear is dominated two large vents that are bridged by a thin light bar, and a roof spoiler system that comprises two carbon fibre winglets cantilevered from the roof cant rails. The winglets function just like a conventional, full-width roof spoiler, guiding airflow down the backlight and on to a spoiler that deploys out of the tailgate at speed.


LOTUS' ALL-ELECTRIC ELETRE SUV HAS A GRILL THAT 'BREATHES'

- SUVs are entirely new to Lotus. Even long after Bentley and Porsche brushed aside tradition and released their own first SUVs, Lotus remained a sports-car-only company. With SUVs becoming the dominant passenger vehicle type, it may have been inevitable that Lotus would eventually throw its hat into the ring. As might be expected, Lotus brought a lot of its old sports car tricks into the design and manufacturing of the Eletre.

- Lotus says the Eletre features “extensive” use of carbon fiber and aluminum to keep the (still undisclosed) weight down. The exterior body panels are aluminum, and all the black exterior trim pieces, such as the wheel arches, rear spoiler, and side-view mirrors, are carbon fiber. Hard interior trim pieces are also carbon fiber, and the seats are wrapped in a wool-blend fabric that, according to Lotus, is 50 percent lighter than typical leather seating.

- An active front grill comprises interconnected triangular panels which stay closed when the Eletre is stopped or when it needs to reduce aerodynamic drag and automatically open to scoop air to the radiator to cool the electric motors, battery pack, or front brakes when needed. During this locking and unlocking sequence, the active grill “breathes” as the illuminated flush-fitting door handles deploy, opening and closing the vented panels.


KIA EV6 AWD EXCEEDED 250 MILES IN 70 MPH RANGE TEST

- A Kia EV6 in Wind trim and all-wheel-drive (AWD) system equipped with a 77.4 kWh battery and 19" Kumho tires recently was range tested by Out of Spec Reviews’ Kyle Conner at a constant speed of 70 mph (113 km/h).

- It's a brand new car, with only 2,641 miles (4,249 km) on the odometer at the start. According to Kyle Conner, the weather was perfect, maybe beside from some wind during part of the test. The result is a pretty solid 254 miles (409 km), including the few last miles covered around the fast charging station at lower speeds.

- For reference, the EPA Combined range is 274 miles (441 km),


TESLA GIGA BERLIN-MADE MODEL YS ARE DELIVERED TO MANNHEIM, GERMANY

- Giga Berlin-made Model Ys have been delivered to Mannheim, Germany. This is the first known delivery of the manufacturer's domestically produced vehicles since the ceremonial handover of 30 Model Ys on March 22 by Elon Musk.

- . It was reported today that Denmark also hosted a delivery ceremony for the Giga Berlin-made Model Y, marking the first mention of international delivery of German-made vehicles. Five Model Y Performances are reported to have been delivered.

- However, it turns out that before that, Tesla had already delivered Giga Berlin-made Model Ys domestically. @samuel_glb/Twitter tweeted that the German-made cars were delivered to the Mannheim delivery center to be handed over to the owners on March 29. He reported that “about 2 trucks” loaded with black Model Y Performances had arrived at the delivery center, although the exact number of vehicles was not mentioned.


 TESLA SUPPLIER APTIV STOPS SOME PRODUCTION IN SHANGHAI OVER COVID ISSUES

- Auto parts maker Aptiv (APTV.N) on Tuesday sent home workers at a Shanghai production facility that supplies Tesla and a General Motors (GM) joint venture, citing COVID issues, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

- Aptiv has a number of production sites in Shanghai's Jiading district in the western part of the city. The district has not been affected so far by the city's two-stage COVID-19 lockdown, which started in the east on Monday.

- Four sources said workers at one of the sites, which makes wire harnesses, were abruptly told to head home on Tuesday.


POLESTAR 2 GETS ANDROID AUTOMOTIVE 11 UPDATE

- The first electric vehicle to go on sale with Android Automotive is getting another major update, as Polestar 2 is rolling out its Android 11 update.

- Software version P2.0 is now available for the 2021 and 2022 model years of the Polestar 2. The update delivers Android Automotive 11 for the Polestar 2, the car’s third major Android version.

- Radio reception has apparently been improved, and there’s a fix for the interruption of GPS navigation when switching profiles on the car. There are also improvements to the Polestar app with this update, including real-time state of charge status and more control over climate settings.


RISING FUEL PRICES? BUY AN ELECTRIC VAN AND SAVE 25% ON RUNNING COSTS, ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP SAYS

- The average electric van in Europe is 25 per cent cheaper to own and operate over its lifetime than the diesel equivalent, despite much higher upfront costs for zero-emission models, according to the environmental campaign group Transport and Environment (T&E).

- In a new study covering six countries - France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom - which account for 76 per cent of the European van market, T&E found an electric van costs €0.15 per kilometre to run, compared to €0.20 for a diesel van.

- Even when excluding government subsidies on the purchase of electric vehicles, T&E found electric vans were still cheaper overall in five of the six countries, while in Germany the cost was the same.


MODESTO CITY SCHOOLS ORDERS 30 BLUE BIRD TYPE D ELECTRIC SCHOOL BUSES
 

CARREFOUR ANNOUNCES THE INSTALLATION OF CHARGING STATIONS

ARAL INTRODUCES PLUG&CHARGE SERVICE THROUGHOUT GERMANY

NEW TEST SUGGESTS HIGHER AVAILABLE BATTERY CAPACITY FOR VOLVO C40

TESLA DROPS FROM TOP THREE RESIDENTIAL SOLAR INSTALLER RANKING

QUESTION OF THE WEEK WITH EMOBILITYNORWAY.COM

Mirror.co.uk: “An electric car owner has warned other EV drivers they can be fined for charging their vehicle in supermarket car parks. Electric vehicle owner Max Wilkinson - who is also a Cheltenham Councillor - recently bought a four-year-old hybrid Mini Countryman. He went home - but returned two hours later by which time the hybrid Mini was about half-charged. A week later Max received a penalty notice saying he'd been fined £90. Mr Wilkinson has paid the fine and doesn’t dispute it. But he does think it doesn’t quite make sense to restrict car charging to 90 minutes as well.

- He said: “It seems illogical that quite a lot of EV and hybrid owners won’t be allowed to spend enough time in the car park to get a full charge.”

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