03 Oct 2018 | Tesla Q3 2018 Vehicle Production And Deliveries, Renault Expands Plug Ins and More #DitchDiesel

Tesla Q3 2018 Vehicle Production And Deliveries | Renault Expands Plug Ins | Model 3 Makes An Appearance In Paris | More #Ditchdiesel | Mercedes-AMG Performance Versions Of EQ Electric Cars | Jaguar eTrophy Holds First Test, Names Three More Drivers

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Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Wednesday 3rd October 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.

 

Today is a crazy day for EV news, we have Tesla production and delivery numbers on one hand, and the Paris Motor Show on another. Both really important, I’ll start with Tesla as arguably if it wasn’t for them, all the others wouldn’t be doing what they’re doing. I know that’s contentious but let’s have that debate another day!

 

TESLA Q3 2018 VEHICLE PRODUCTION AND DELIVERIES

• To quote a pun which has been slightly over used, Model 3 production has been in-tents!
• From Tesla:
• "In Q3, we produced 80,142 vehicles, 50% more than our prior all-time high in Q2, including: 53,239 Model 3 vehicles, double the volume of Q2. During Q3, we transitioned Model 3 production from entirely rear wheel drive at the beginning of the quarter to almost entirely dual motor during the last few weeks of the quarter. This added significant complexity, but we successfully executed this transition and ultimately produced more dual motor than rear wheel drive cars in Q3. In the last week of the quarter, we produced over 5,300 Model 3 vehicles, almost all of which were dual motor, meaning that we achieved a production rate of more than 10,000 drive units per week.
• 26,903 Model S and X vehicles, which was slightly higher than Q2. Q3 deliveries totalled 83,500 vehicles: 55,840 Model 3, 14,470 Model S, and 13,190 Model X. To put this in perspective, in just Q3, we delivered more than 80% of the vehicles that we delivered in all of 2017, and we delivered about twice as many Model 3s as we did in all previous quarters combined.
• Tesla continues to lack access to cash incentives available to locally produced electric vehicles in China that are typically around 15% of MSRP or more. Taking ocean transport costs and import tariffs into account, Tesla is now operating at a 55% to 60% cost disadvantage compared to the exact same car locally produced in China. This makes for a challenging competitive environment, given that China is by far the largest market for electric vehicles. To address this issue, we are accelerating construction of our Shanghai factory, which we expect to be a capital efficient and rapid buildout, using many lessons learned from the Model 3 ramp in North America.
• With production stabilized, delivery and outbound vehicle logistics were our main challenges during Q3. We made many improvements to these processes throughout the quarter, and plan to make further improvements in Q4 so that we can scale successfully.

 

http://ir.tesla.com/news-releases/news-release-details/tesla-q3-2018-vehicle-production-and-deliveries

 

• Estimated monthlies for Model 3 sales:
  • May 6,000
  • June 6,000
  • July 14,250
  • August 17,800
  • September 22,250

 

• Year To Date for Model 3: 78,132, on track to beat 100,000

 

https://insideevs.com/tesla-model-3-sales-record-september/

 

• Comment: "Tesla is looking at being the #13 brand for the month in the US, way ahead of BMW, Mercedes, Mazda, etc. They’ll be just ahead of Lexus and behind VW and Dodge. Before the year is over, I think we’ll have a month where they overtake both of those brands"

 

• Comment: Henry: "In August, the Model 3 outsold the entire car lineup of both BMW and MB. September number probably comes close to the entire vehicle sales for MB (cars + SUVs) and a few thousand shy of BMW’s."

 

NEW KIA E-NIRO LAUNCHES WITH 301 MILES OF ELECTRIC RANGE

• "Kia has revealed the European version of the Kia Niro EV, called the e-Niro, at the 2018 Paris motor show." notes Autocar: "The e-Niro is based on the existing Niro crossover and will be sold with two variants at launch: one with a 39.2kWh lithium ion battery pack offering a range of up to 193 miles from a full charge, and another using a 64kWh version of the same battery pack offering up to 301 miles of range. Kia claims a 0-62mph time for that variant of 7.8 seconds. The e-Niro, first previewed by a concept that was unveiled in January, is slightly slower in the 0-62mph sprint than the related Hyundai Kona Electric. However, with an output of 201bhp it is slightly more powerful."

 

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/motor-shows-paris-motor-show/new-kia-e-niro-launches-301-miles-electric-range

 

 

RENAULT EXPANDS PLUG INS

• The first big announcement from Renault at the Paris Motor Show is the Renault K-ZE.
• It's set for China next year in 2019 and looks like an SUV has been through a hot wash, and shrunk. Europe will get it from 2021 but no word on U.S.
• Carlos Ghosn, the chairman and CEO of Group Renault, said Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi "was a pioneer and is the European leader in electric vehicles. We are introducing Renault K-ZE, an affordable, urban, SUV-inspired electric model combining the best of Groupe Renault: our leadership in EV, our expertise in affordable vehicles and in forging strong partnerships".
• In China a joint venture with Dongfeng is responsible for building it, and for the Chinese market the specs are good, with a range of 150 miles.
• Carlos Ghosn also elaborated on their plans for more electrified cars. Form 2020, Renault will start bring to Europe three more cars with plugs, albeit hybrids, the Clio, Megane and Captur.
• Gregoire Ginet, Renault's powertrain product manager: "The best marketing strategy is to have this technology on our best-selling cars".
• "The Clio, Captur and Megane hybrids will be launched in Europe in 2020, just in time to help Renault meet the new EU fleet emissions standard of 95 gram per kilometer that start to take effect that year." reports Autonews.com

 

http://europe.autonews.com/article/20181002/ANE/181009911

 

MODEL 3 MAKES AN APPEARANCE IN PARIS

• As I've previously reported, a page on the official Paris Motor Show website has Tesla as a partner and confirmed the Model 3 will make an official appearance, following it's Goodwood showing earlier this year. Technically there are two model 3's there!
• And the queues I saw at Goodwood were replicated today. As cars like the BMW 3 Series were being unveiled, journalists were lining up to see first hand a car which has been on sale over a year!

 

MORE #DITCHDIESEL

• From Matthias Schmidt, @auto_schmidt, an automotive consultant and analyst I follow: "German #diesel mix of new car registrations dipped below 30% in September
  • 3 years after #dieselgate
  • petrol mix 64.3%
  • Last time annual diesel sales mix in Germany <30% = 1999
  • Unavailability of many models due to #WLTP in September may have heavily impacted diesels"

 

https://twitter.com/auto_schmidt

 

• Nexy up Bentley. "Almost before it began, Bentley’s Bentayga diesel has officially been removed from sale in western European markets," reports EVO: "The move follows Porsche in removing the increasingly marginalised engine type from the range after little more than a year on sale. Bentley will instead prioritise its adoption of hybridisation, its first model being the Bentayga Plug-in due to go on sale next year. Bentley denied the news has anything to do with the increasingly pressured WLTP requirements, which have recently seen several of the Volkswagen Group’s larger engines taken off sale in Europe."

 

https://www.evo.co.uk/bentley/bentayga/21791/bentley-drops-diesel-in-the-uk

 

AND NEXT IT'S RENAULT DITCHING DIESEL

• CEO Carlos Ghosn said the diesel powertrain offer at Renault would be cut in half in the coming years as policymakers tighten emissions standards and introduce bans on diesel vehicles.
• He said: "We are obviously headed for the end of diesel. It's the end of the game".
• "Consumers say, 'Why should I buy diesel when I will be trapped in 3 or 4 years down the road'?" with cars they cannot sell, Ghosn said.

 

MERCEDES-AMG PERFORMANCE VERSIONS OF EQ ELECTRIC CARS

• “I can see a pairing between EQ and AMG" - that's Ola Kallenius, Mercedes board member for research and development and future CEO, talking to evo Magazine.
• "An AMG model based on the EQC is expected to continue to utilise the 80kWh battery pack but this will be linked to higher output electric motors that will prioritise performance to the detriment of the vehicle’s range. Expect a significant power hike over the standard model’s 402bhp. In the more immediate future Mercedes-AMG’s first push into the electrified end of the market will be with a plug-in hybrid. The new technology is dubbed EQ Power Plus and, according to Kallenius, the powertrain is akin to a “KERS system for performance cars,” and is believed to be a combination of the 4-litre AMG V8 and a powerful electric motor. Expect a production car debut in 2020."

 

https://www.evo.co.uk/mercedes/21792/mercedes-amg-performance-versions-of-eq-electric-cars-planned

 

 

JAGUAR ETROPHY HOLDS FIRST TEST, NAMES THREE MORE DRIVERS

• "Jaguar has completed the first official test for its I-Pace eTrophy series, which will run on the Formula E support bill at nine events over the 2018/19 championship." according to Alex Kalinauckas for Motorsport.com: ""This is the first official launch running event, called the acclimatisation test," eTrophy championship manager Marion Barnaby told Motorsport.com: "So the guys that have actually allocated their drivers have come out and seen their cars for the first time and driven them. They got used to the car, we ended Wednesday with a full race run – 25-minutes plus one lap. [That was] so the drivers can get into the mindset of a full race weekend – feeling what the car moves like, what the tyres are like – building them up to get used to driving electric vehicles."

 

https://www.motorsport.com/formula-e/news/jaguar-completes-first-etrophy-test-three-more-drivers-confirmed/3184404/

 

 

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