Show #1303
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Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Thursday 9th 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.
VOLKSWAGEN CLOSES THREE NEW PARTNERSHIPS TO AMP UP EV PRODUCTION
– Volkswagen has entered into three new partnerships related to electric vehicle batteries, as the German automaker looks to transition its entire portfolio of cars, trucks and SUVs to zero-emission vehicles by 2040.
– The three separate partnerships, all of which were announced Wednesday, are with materials technology group Umicore, battery specialist 24M Technologies and Vulcan Energy Resources, a company that is planning to open a lithium brine project in Germany.
– Volkswagen’s joint venture with Umicore will supply the automaker’s European battery cell factories with cathode materials, a key building block of lithium-ion batteries. The JV will have an initial production capacity of 20 gigawatt-hours, with the aim of scaling to up to 160 gigawatt-hours by 2030.
– Volkswagen said it was investing in battery startup 24M, which is developing a battery that has a semi-solid electrode.
– The final partnership with Vulcan includes a binding contract for what the companies describe as “carbon neutral” lithium sourced from Germany.
– All three agreements are part of Volkswagen’s plan to invest €30 billion ($34 billion) in electric vehicles. In Europe alone, VW said it would build six battery gigafactories by the end of the decade, with a production capacity of 240 gigawatt-hours overall.
Original Source : https://techcrunch.com/2021/12/08/volkswagen-closes-three-new-partnerships-to-amp-up-ev-production/
TESLA MODEL 3 AND MODEL Y NEW FEATURES AND CHANGES LEAK THROUGH TEST PROGRAM
– A bunch of new features and changes coming to the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y have leaked through a test program in Europe.
– Tesla has submitted new versions of the Model 3 and Model Y for testing to European authorities and the documents have leaked on a European Tesla forum:
– it looks like Tesla is finally moving Model 3 and Model Y’s 12-volt battery to a li-ion battery.
– There’s a new higher performance motor coming to the Model 3 Performance.
– Tesla is now building the new Model Y Performance in China with a new AMD Ryzen chip for the MCU, and it is resulting in an impressive performance update.
While not 100% clear, it looks like the chip is going to make its way to the Model 3, too.
– With the 2021 version of the Model 3, Tesla made the vehicle quieter with double-glazed acoustic glass.
Now the 2022 version is also going to get the same glass for the rear window, which should further improve acoustic performance.
Original Source : https://electrek.co/2021/12/08/tesla-model-3-y-new-features-changes-leak/
BMW TO INTRODUCE SATURDAY SHIFTS DUE TO HIGH I4 DEMAND
– BMW plans to introduce Saturday shifts at its Munich plant in the first quarter of 2022 to keep up with the high demand for the new i4 electric model. The waiting time for the electric sedan is currently said to be around nine months, but could soon climb to a year.
– When asked by the business magazine, BMW is said to have referred to the high flexibility of its production system. The company explained verbatim: “We are therefore in a position to expand the volume, for example by adding additional shifts, and thus to meet the gratifyingly high demand.” However, the plans for the coming year have not yet been finalised, so that no details can be given.
Original Source : https://www.electrive.com/2021/12/08/bmw-to-introduce-saturday-shifts-due-to-high-i4-demand/
BMW IX GRABS FIVE-STAR RATING IN EURO NCAP CRASH TEST
– The European New Car Assessment Programme has published a new round of results from its latest crash test session, and the numbers are looking particularly great for the BMW iX. So much so that the electric SUV has grabbed all five stars awarded by Euro NCAP. It is worth mentioning the evaluations have gradually become more severe, meaning a five-star rating today is considerably more valuable than it was say 20 years ago.
– The BMW iX tested by Euro NCAP was a black left-hand-drive xDrive40 model that had to be crashed for a good cause to determine how safe it would be in the event of an accident. At the end of the day, it went home with a five-star rating in all test categories. It earned an impressive 91% in adult occupant protection, 87% for child occupant, 73% for vulnerable road users, and 81% for safety assist tech.
– This xDrive40 entry-level version is currently not available in the United States but it could arrive in North America as early as March 2022.
– The sturdiness of the iX also stems from the implementation of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) in the side and rear sections as well as the roof. As for the standard safety tech, BMW equips its large electric SUV with systems such as lane departure warning, attention assistant, and speed limit recognition. At an additional cost, buyers can opt for the Driving Assistant Professional package encompassing steering and lane guidance assistance.
Original Source : https://www.bmwblog.com/2021/12/08/bmw-ix-safest-vehicle-ever-euro-ncap/
TESLA LETS DRIVERS PLAY VIDEO GAMES BEHIND THE WHEEL FOR A YEAR
– The Times quotes a Model 3 owner by the name of Vince Patton, who was surprised to discover he could play Solitaire while driving in a parking lot. Tesla Arcade’s been a thing for a while, but as the article explains, games were previously only playable while the car was in park. The company supposedly pushed an update to vehicles in July that added three titles, including Solitaire, and lifted that restriction for them:
– Until this summer, video games in Tesla’s software package — there were more than a dozen — could be played only while a car was in park. That changed when the 2021.12.25.6 update was beamed to Tesla vehicles. It added solitaire; a jet fighter game, Sky Force Reloaded; and The Battle of Polytopia: Moonrise, a conquest strategy game. Mr. Patton said that he was able to get access to all three with his car in drive, and that he had filed a complaint with NHTSA through its website.
– In its report, the Times cites data from the Department of Transportation that more than 20,000 people died in traffic accents this year. Distracted driving is attributed to roughly 10 percent of fatalities on the road, but experts believe the true figure is considerably higher. “I think the number’s closer to 50 percent,” Steve Kiefer, a senior General Motors executive, told the newspaper.
– Some may argue that the responsibility to drive attentively rests with the driver, not the designer of the car.
– Take the new Jeep Grand Wagoneer, for example. It has an additional dashboard-mounted display above the glovebox, where the front passenger sits. But as our old pal Doug DeMuro demonstrated in his exploration of the big SUV, that screen is covered in a material that looks like privacy film, similar to what some people apply to their laptops, so it appears totally black from the driver’s vantage point.
Original Source : https://jalopnik.com/the-fact-you-can-game-while-driving-a-tesla-reminds-us-1848173921
GOTION HIGH-TECH BEGINS BUILDING BATTERY PLANT IN HEFEI
– The Chinese battery cell manufacturer and Volkswagen partner Gotion High-Tech has begun construction of a new production facility in the eastern Chinese city of Hefei, which will be built in two phases and will have an annual capacity of 50 GWh when completed.
– The announcement is not surprising, as Gotion wants to increase its annual capacity from 28 GWh (as of the end of 2020) to 300 GWh by 2025. As a result, the Chinese manufacturer needs to get several plants up and running in a short time. The production facility now announced will be built in the Xinzhan High-Tech Industrial Development Zone in the city of Hefei. According to media reports, Gotion High-Tech has announced this through official channels.
– Part of the production is likely to be reserved for Volkswagen: In July, it became known that Gotion also wants to produce unified cells in China for the Wolfsburg-based company. In this context, Hefei was also mentioned as the location and the annual production capacity was put at 20 GWh or, in a first phase, at 10 GWh. It is highly likely that the 20 GWh for Volkswagen are integrated into the plans for the 50 GWh factory.
Original Source : https://www.electrive.com/2021/12/08/gotion-high-tech-begins-building-battery-plant-in-hefei/
FLEETS ‘URGENTLY’ SEEK PAYMENT SOLUTION FOR EV BUSINESS MILEAGE
– Three-quarters (74%) of fleets will be looking at how to manage electric vehicle (EV) business mileage in the next 12 months, new research suggests.
– HMRC recently increased the Advisory Electricity Rate (AER) that employers can use for the tax-free reimbursement of business miles, from 4 pence per mile (ppm) to 5ppm.
– The problem is just as acute for company car drivers, with well below half of electric cars capable of operating at 5ppm when energy tariffs were as low as 16p/kWh. Mina, an EV charging payment company, says tariffs are now closer to 20p/kWh.
– Mina explains that complicating the issue is the extreme variance between home and public charging costs. A driver might pay as little as 5 pence per kwh at home and 70 pence on the motorway.
Original Source : https://www.fleetnews.co.uk/news/latest-fleet-news/electric-fleet-news/2021/12/07/fleets-urgently-seek-payment-solution-for-ev-business-mileage
BIDEN ORDERS FEDERAL AGENCIES TO EXPANDING ELECTRIC VEHICLE FLEET
– The Biden administration announced Wednesday it aims to buy its way to a cleaner, cooler planet, spending billions to create a federal fleet of electric vehicles, upgrade federal buildings and change how the government buys electricity.
– The executive order President Biden signed leverages Washington’s buying power to cut the government’s carbon emissions 65 percent by the end of the decade. It lays out goals that would put the federal government on a path to net-zero emissions by 2050 and would add at least 10 gigawatts worth of clean electricity to the grid.
– Administration officials said the size of the federal fleet alone — which includes some 645,000 vehicles — could lower the cost of electric vehicles, batteries and other technology. Just as the green building certification process known as LEED nudged private developers toward eco-friendly construction, a government-wide effort to cut emissions could shape the public’s tastes and buying habits.
– The new executive order alludes to this stumbling block, calling for the federal government to stop buying gas-powered passenger cars by 2027 but postponing the federal fleet’s complete transition from fossil fuels by another eight years.
– Right now, the federal government is taking only incremental steps toward this goal. It bought 650 electric vehicles last fiscal year, according to a senior administration official. While that was triple the previous year’s total, it represents a little more than 1 percent of all the vehicles the government typically buys each year.
- Original Source : https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2021/12/08/biden-government-purchasing-climate-change
FORD CHINA WILL SOURCE BATTERIES FROM CATL AMID EV TRANSITION
– Ford China has announced that it will source batteries for its electrified vehicles from CATL – China’s largest battery manufacturer – in addition to its existing supplier in that market, BYD, according to CLS News.
– Ford reached an agreement with BYD back in 2020 and is already using its batteries in electrified vehicles on sale in China including the Ford Escape PHEV and Mustang Mach-E. Ford was the first international automotive manufacturer to use BYD batteries in its vehicles, but as FoMoCo continues its EV push, it needs a broader base of battery suppliers at hand as it develops its next-generation battery range dubbed IonBoost.
– BYD and CATL are just two of the battery suppliers currently being utilized by Ford, a group that also includes SK Innovation – which is rapidly expanding its operations in China – LG Energy Solution, and Panasonic. Ford and SK Innovation recently formed a battery production joint venture called BlueOvalSK, and both have also partnered with solid battery manufacturer Solid Power as that technology promises a number of advantages over existing lithium-ion batteries.
Original Source : https://fordauthority.com/2021/12/ford-china-will-source-batteries-from-catl-amid-ev-transition/
AUDI CONFIRMS R8 SUCCESSOR WILL BE TOTALLY ELECTRIC
– We don’t know if the R8 as we know it will live on, but whatever succeeds it will be electric. Linda Kurz, Audi Sport’s head of product marketing, confirmed with Roadshow on Wednesday the next car will not feature an internal-combustion engine.
– After dipping its toes in electric performance with the E-Tron GT, Audi Sport’s “next challenge” will be work to “transform the R segment, and the R segment is going to be fully electric. This is our job for the next decade,” she said. To be clear, that doesn’t mean we’re going to get a next-generation R8, but whatever replaces Audi Sport’s halo car will be totally electric, whether it’s called an R8 or not.
Original Source : https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/audi-r8-electric/
COCA-COLA’S ‘CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY’ TRUCK GOES FULLY ELECTRIC
– The Coca-Cola truck recognizable from the brand’s famous Christmas commercials has been turned fully electric for the first time as it embarks on a real-life tour.
– In a partnership between technology company ABB, Coca-Cola and Volvo Trucks, Santa will take to the streets of Italy to spread Christmas cheer but now – for the first time – in a state-of-the-art all-electric truck.
– l, Santa’s tour will see him travel 1,300kms from the north to the south of Italy. He will make stops at ABB facilities along the way to recharge, using a variety of ABB charging stations from DC wallboxes to high power chargers – all of which supply energy from 100 percent renewable sources.
Original Source : https://www.electrichybridvehicletechnology.com/news/buses-commercial-vehicles/coca-colas-christmas-holiday-truck-goes-fully-electric.html
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