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Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Thursday 8th November 2018. It’s Martyn Lee here and I’ve been through EV story today 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.
Coming soon: The Zero Emission Network is holding an event in Old Street London on 14th Nov, their Twitter has all the details.
E-BIKE SALES SKYROCKET IN NORDIC COUNTRIES
- “The hot and rain-free super summer of 2018 made e-bike sales in Sweden, Denmark and Finland to skyrocket. The markets for electric bicycles in the three Nordic countries are growing to maturity, while in Sweden sales are showing such growth that the country now ranks among the largest e-bike markets of Europe.” reports BIKE Europe website: “Next to the weather, the popularity of electric bicycles in Sweden got an extra boost by the government which is offering a subsidy on the purchase of an e-bike. The subsidy on purchasing new e-bikes resulted in a total sale of 103,000 units in the September 2017 to August 2018 period in Sweden. In 2017 the import into Denmark of e-bikes grew with over 10 percent to 40,568 units. In Finland e-bike sales is doubling again this year, as in 2017.”
GOFUNDME CAMPAIGN AIMS TO KEEP FARADAY FUTURE EMPLOYEES AFLOAT
- Hard times seem round the corner for Faraday Future employees and that’s heartbreaking for people who dreamed a dream and were working on their vision for an electric future.
- “After a funding dispute with its latest investor from Hong Kong, Faraday furloughed all the manufacturing employees at its factory in Hanford, California, who had been with the company for less than six months. Since the funding to produce the car was just procured in June, that includes most manufacturing employees. Other employees, including managers, are on a reduced salary while the company seeks new funding.” according to Green Car Reports: “The Go Fund Me campaign was launched by Hector Padilla, the manager of tooling and equipment for Faraday Future’s Body-in-White production. According to the Go Fund Me page, employees on furlough who have children, house and car payments, and no other backup plan will get priority for the funding, administered by Padilla and a co-worker. So far it has raised $16,000 toward its $50,000 goal.”
ELECTRIFY AMERICA UPDATE
- “Electrify America today announced collaboration with six organizations in California to help develop and launch community-based programs to support brand-neutral education and awareness of Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEV) for disadvantaged and low-income communities. Electrify America is investing $2.7 million in the education and outreach campaign.”
https://www.electrifyamerica.com/news-updates
FAIR DINKUM ROAD TAX
- “Motorists think it’s unfair for electric vehicle owners to use roads without paying fuel excise for their upkeep, leading to calls for a user-pays road tax. According to a survey of 18,000 motorists by toll-road operator EastLink, 47 percent of people think electric vehicles should pay their way, while just 37 percent said it’s fair for cleaner cars to use roads without paying some kind of fuel excise.” according to 9 News: “Rather than forcing motorists to pay registration and tax on their cars, Infrastructure Australia says a user-pays model allows “direct charging that reflects each user’s own consumption of the network, including the location, time and distance of travel, and the individual characteristics of their vehicle such as weight and emissions. Respondents looking to buy a vehicle in five years time favoured electric cars, with 40 percent showing a preference for hybrid power and a further 32 percent flagging interest in a pure-electric car.
BMW DENTED BY UPFRONT EXPENDITURE FOR NEW CAR LAUNCHES
- A new Reuters reports today says: “German carmaker BMW (BMWG.DE) will deepen cost cuts after higher development expenses contributed to a 27 percent drop in third-quarter operating profit, falling short of analyst expectations as currency effects also took a toll. Separately, BMW said it will purchase specific raw materials such as cobalt, and then make them available to battery cell suppliers as a way to secure a supply of electric car batteries. BMW is establishing a technology consortium with Swedish battery manufacturer Northvolt and Belgium’s Umicore (UMI.BR) to develop a value chain for battery cells in Europe, including development, production and ultimately recycling.”
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bmw-results-q3-idUSKCN1NC0NS
HYUNDAI RAISES STAKES IN AUTO TECH WITH $250M INVESTMENT IN GRAB
- “Hyundai Motor has raised its stake in Southeast Asia’s tech market with a new $250m (£189.9m) investment in Singaporean auto tech firm Grab. Hyundai and its affiliate company Kia will establish a partnership with Grab to launch a series of electric vehicle pilots across Southeast Asia from 2019. The partnership also plans to conduct research into how these electric cars can be more efficiently deployed under hot and humid climate conditions. “
FOUR CAR COMPANIES ARE GOING TO ALL SELL THE SAME CAR IN CHINA
- “Toyota, Honda, Mitsubishi, and Fiat Chrysler will be putting a new crossover on sale. What’s weird is that they’re all the same exact car.” says Jalopnik today: “The actual designer of the vehicle is Guangzhou Automobile Group, or GAC. We know it in the States for its Trumpchi brand.
- Automotive News China says: “The approach — atypical in an industry in which distinct design is key to gaining an edge — will help them meet China’s new, stricter emissions standards more quickly, giving them time to keep working on their own unique electric models. Carmakers are trying various tactics to avoid being placed at a disadvantage by the new regulations in the world’s largest auto market. Designed to make China’s roads greener, the rules favor electric-car makers while presenting a threat to the profit margins of the vast majority of auto manufacturers that still rely on gas guzzlers for most of their revenue. Toyota Motor Corp. is selling a full-electric version of the Guangzhou Auto crossover, called GS4, while Mitsubishi Motors Corp. offers EV and plug-in hybrid variants.”
https://jalopnik.com/why-four-car-companies-are-going-to-all-sell-the-same-c-1830253611
BYD PRESENTS MOBILE CHARGING STATION FOR ELECTRIC BUSES
- And we’ll finish up with a story from Electrive which I’ve just not had a chance to cover yet this week, such has been the business of the news and how many incredibly good stories we’ve had to cover this week so far: “China’s leading bus maker BYD and their British partner Alexander Dennis Limited (ADL) presented a new version of their Enviro200EV electric bus at the Euro Bus Expo in Birmingham. The 10 metre electric vehicle features an extra space big enough to fit a wheelchair but also a mobile charging station. The bus is equipped with a mobile charging unit built by BYD which is small enough to be carried on board in the wheelchair space. This will enable operators to trial the Enviro200EV bus without needing to install permanent charging infrastructure beforehand. Also on display at the Euro Bus Expo in Birmingham is the all-electric double-decker.”
https://www.electrive.com/2018/11/05/byd-presents-mobile-charging-station-for-electric-buses/
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Enjoying these podcasts, however, I’d just like to point out that “road tax” does not exist, I believe it changed around 80/90 years ago to be called vehicle excise duty, based on emissions. In theory, council tax pays for your local roads, not emissions tax. That’s why EVs don’t pay emissions tax, as when they are out on the road, EVs polluting the air.