14 June 2018 | Bolt EV Production Boosted, VW Pikes Peak Racer Details and Audi Connects e-tron To Your Home
Audi Connects Your EV With Your House | VW Pikes Peak Racer Technical Details | Volvo Gives You A Bit Of Polestar | GM Boosting Chevrolet Bolt EV Production Later This Year | Geely Emgrand GSE Is Released In China | Toyota To Sell GAC Cars | Bmw i3s Review
Hello and welcome to the Thursday 14th June edition of EV News Daily. It’s Martyn Lee here with the news you need to know about electric cars and the move towards sustainable transport.
Firstly this is show 150, so thank you to any long time listeners. And welcome to you if this is the first podcast you’ve listened to. Back at show 100 I changed the format slightly, mainly in the area of how it’s titled on various platforms to make it easier to read on car dashboard displays, but there will be a couple of minor changes from today. The biggest tweak being more of your input at the end of each show after the news. You’ll still hear today’s biggest news stories but I’ll be including at least one, and maybe more, piece of feedback from the socials, or Youtube comments or the email. That way if you just want the news, you can stop after that, but I hope you’ll stick around to hear from the community. And I’d be delighted if you wanted to contribute to the show as well.
In the long term I also have plans for more interviews, specials and yes Youtubers, I’m working out we can do something in vision!
AUDI CONNECTS YOUR EV WITH YOUR HOUSE
- Following yesterday’s news about Porsche releasing an app to manage charging across multiple providers, today Audi just revealed how they want to integrate into your house.
- Audi is teaming up with two new partners to connect its electric e-tron models with your home energy management, with systems from SMA Solar Technology and the Hager Group to enable the most cost effective way to charge your car - and we know EV's already have a much lower total cost of ownership.
- The head of product marketing at Audi starts us off with some first class marketing guff: "In keeping with our premium quality standards, we want an electric car that fits seamlessly into the intelligently connected home, to provide genuine added value for the customer. That is why we have teamed up with the two leading suppliers of home energy management systems, the Hager Group and SMA Solar Technology. That brings maximum charging convenience".
- With the connect charging system and a suitably equipped HEMS, the customer can use variable electricity tariffs to charge the Audi e-tron. This system can charge the battery when electricity is less expensive while simultaneously considering individual mobility requirements, such as departure time and charge level. The connect charging system gets the necessary rate information either from the HEMS or from information the customer enters into the myAudi portal. If the home is equipped with a photovoltaic system, the customer can optimize the charging process to prefer the electricity generated by the system for charging the Audi e-tron. The electric SUV does this by considering forecast phases of sunshine and the current flow of electricity at the home’s connection point to the public grid.
VW PIKES PEAK RACER TECHNICAL DETAILS
- Meanwhile we're less than two weeks our from Pikes Peak and VW have told us more about their custom designed racer.
- "features two interlinked, integrated lithium-ion battery blocks on board, located to the right and left of the cockpit. They feed energy to two separate high-performance electric motors for the front and rear axles. Together, they provide performance of 500 kW" according to Green Car Congress. "The I.D. R Pikes Peak itself produces up to 20% of the electrical energy required for the 19.99-kilometer (12.42-mile) race via regenerative braking. This procedure also contributes part of the brake performance. "
- VW say: "We are breaking new ground with the I.D. R Pikes Peak: This is the first time that Volkswagen will be competing in a race with a fully-electric car. Alongside the elaborate aerodynamic concept and the special requirements for the sports car chassis, the development of the electric drivetrain was the greatest challenge."
VOLVO GIVES YOU A BIT OF POLESTAR
- It's still a year before you can get your grubby little mits on the Polestar plug-in hybrid with 600 horsepower and a 100-mile driving range, but before then, Volvo aren't afraid of leveraging the name a bit.
- "It just unveiled the "Polestar Engineered" flavor of its upcoming S60 hybrid sports sedan, and will also offer the option on its V60 estate and XC60 SUV vehicles in 2019." says Engadget. You're looking at upgrades to power, torque, software upgrades and brakes. Plus aesthetic upgrades to brakes calipers and exhausts. "All Polestar Engineered Volvos are T8 models with twin electric and gasoline hybrid motors. The XC60, for one, has an electric-only range of 18 miles, good enough for tooling around town or to work. The BMW 3 series-fighting S60 will be unveiled in exactly one week". The last update I had was that unveiling will be in Charleston, South Carolina factory.
GM BOOSTING CHEVROLET BOLT EV PRODUCTION LATER THIS YEAR
- "General Motors released its annual sustainability report on Tuesday, and the automaker reaffirmed its commitment to building even more Chevrolet Bolt EV electric cars this year." reports Sean at GMAuthority: "The automaker said that in response to global demand, production will increase at the Orion plant in the fourth quarter of 2018. North America should see a greater supply of Bolt EVs late this year, but GM will ship some of the additional cars to South Korea to fill demand as well. Additionally, GM also reconfirmed 20 new electric cars coming by 2023 for global markets. The latter portion of the commitment likely means the U.S. won’t see all 20 electric cars in the pipeline. We do know that quite a few of the planned cars will be Cadillacs, according to previous comments. However, GM said there will be “at least” 20 new battery-electric vehicles, which means we could see even more EVs on the global stage, likely for China."
GEELY EMGRAND GSE IS RELEASED IN CHINA
- Last week Geely, those of Volvo-owning fame, launched their Geely Emgrand GSe, one of their combustion cars re-engineered for electric. It starts at ~$19,000 and goes up to $22,000.
- There is a 120kW motor and the range is said to be 217 miles. It's a very similar front end to the Hyundai Kona with a closed grill, in fact it's very similar to the size of it as well, being a small SUV.
- It also has the ability to become a power source for other EVs or electrical equipment.
TOYOTA TO SELL GAC CARS
- Reuters say: “Toyota Motor Corp is taking an unprecedented route to meet China’s stringent green car quotas: its showrooms will sell an electric vehicle without the Japanese company’s distinctive triple-oval logo. Instead, it will feature the label of GAC Motor, Toyota’s Chinese partner, and will be built around GAC’s lower-cost technology. The move – a first for Toyota – will give GAC access to the Japanese carmaker’s stringent quality control, prestige and sales channel. For Toyota, it presents a quick way to meet Beijing’s requirements that such vehicles represent 10 percent of an auto manufacturer’s production by 2019.”
BMW i3s REVIEW
- Finally, occasionally I like to look at what motoring website are saying about EVs. It's usually complimentary before lapsing into lazy conclusions about lack of chargers and not being able to do long journeys.
- The Drive has reviews the BMW i3s and were very impressed.
- "The electric motor still had plenty of pep left even when accelerating at 55 miles per hour. Though it definitely felt more comfortable on city streets."
- "The infotainment and instrument panel screens kind of look tiny and out of date nowadays."
- "The regenerative braking on it is really impressive. One-pedal driving is so easy. I actually often wound up taking my foot off the accelerator and finding myself stopping way more quickly than expected, thanks to the regen, then awkwardly creeping up to the stoplight at 5 mph."
- "The battery's good for about 120-plus miles, when fully charged. The teeny tiny tank for the teeny tiny range extender engine adds about 60, maybe a bit more if you babied it. So realistically, you could do 180, maybe 200 miles on a go. And then you'd have to stop every 50 miles to refill the gas tank."
COMMUNITY
Firstly hi to Jeff Borden who listen in North Vancouver, British Columbia. He tweeted “Vancouver Model 3’s getting ready, thank you @ElonMusk” with a video of a him driving past 8 long rows of new Tesla’s waiting to meeting their owners, and it looked like a lot of Model 3’s, with only a few S and X models. He followed up with a panorama photo of them all, and then Tesla’s temporary showroom with 50-55 cars in shot again Model 3’s. He had been talking to Tesla staff and he said in a followup tweet “Staff indicated 700+ in Vancouver and 1,000+ in Toronto in a 2 week period”
Walter MacVane - @EcoHeliGuy - Whats really crazy, look up USA 🇺🇸 maturity/parental leave. 12 weeks minimum unpaid leave.
Hi to Liz Leveridge. “My husband, Jason is terminally ill and he is planning on setting a land speed record in an electric wheelchair record. He will have to exceed 55mph or 90kmph but he is planning on going nearer 100mph. We were at the Fully Charged Show Live at the weekend and have had some great support from the EV community including Robert Llewellyn. Jason became the first person to summit Mount Snowdon in an electric all terrain wheelchair last year, he also abseilled off the Humber Bridge. You might have seen his story on BBC 1's DIYSOS.” You can find out more about Jason on his website makingmemories.life – “The rules are simple - treat each day as if were your last. Live, love & laugh, but above all else, take every opportunity, every minute that you can, and use it for Making Memories”
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