Battery Electric Vehicle News / Enjoying the Transportation Revolution

Martyn1981

Some bits and bobs from Cleantehnica.

I have to disagree with Elon about BEV range, especially in Europe, I think smaller cars, and smaller ranges will do just fine for many buyers.

Lower-Range BEVs Are Seeing Strong Sales In Europe

Huge increase in PEV sales in France (YoY) for July and BEV sales just over 5.5%.

France EV Market Share Hits 9.5% In July — And 4× Volume Growth Year-on-Year

July 2020 saw France’s plugin passenger vehicle market share hit 9.5%, up from 2.5% in July 2019. The overall auto market showed continued recovery, up 3.7% in July 2020 compared to July 2019. Best selling plugin vehicles included the Renault Zoe and Peugeot e-208.

And Finland love their hybrids, with PEV sales doubling YoY (again) and BEV's accounting for about 1/5th of those sales.

Finland Achieves 16% Plugin Vehicle Market Share

Finland is the 4th best country in the world in terms of plugin vehicle market share this year. It is at 16% market share, double its 8% market share in 2019 and more than triple its 5% market share in 2018, according to our friends at EV Volumes.

Martyn1981

Yes this is serious Tesla Fanboi stuff, but it would be unfair not to mention such an achievement for the TM3. But watch out 3, here comes the Y.

Tesla Model 3 Had More Sales Than 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, + 6th Best Selling Electric Vehicles In 1st Half Of 2020

While different electric vehicles may be #1 in different markets, globally, there is no question which electric vehicle is the most popular. According to recently compiled data from EV Volumes, the Tesla Model 3 had nearly as many sales (deliveries) in the first half of 2020 as the 2nd best selling, 3rd best selling, 4th best selling, 5th best selling, 6th best selling, and 7th best selling plugin vehicles combined.

The one somewhat hidden caveat here, though, is that the Tesla Model Y may already be outselling it, and that crossover/SUV version of the Model 3 already made it to #14 on the list. At the moment, one of Tesla’s challenges is ramping up production of both models, and in Tesla’s Fremont factory, the only place where the Model Y is currently being built and one of two places where the Model 3 is being built, they are sharing space and some of the production lines. So, sales are more or less just based on what Tesla decides to prioritize.

zeupater

Martyn1981 said:

Some bits and bobs from Cleantehnica.

I have to disagree with Elon about BEV range, especially in Europe, I think smaller cars, and smaller ranges will do just fine for many buyers.

Lower-Range BEVs Are Seeing Strong Sales In Europe

.....

Hi

Agree ... a realistic range expectation of 200miles is probably the decent compromise that most would consider being acceptable as it would represent a single charge per week for everyday usage & >3hrs of stage driving between rest breaks on long trips so I'd expect that to be the market sector that the majority of global EV sales to be marketed at whilst the cost of batteries remains a relatively high proportion of vehicle prices ...

The idea of 500miles of range sounds good, but the realisation of doubling/trebling the budget to achieve this just for the odd occasion that it's 'convenient' just isn't justifiable for the majority in densely populated  places such as the UK .... it may be different in wide open huge rural areas where 'local' journeys are measured in the high tens of miles or where 'professional' journeys rack up huge annual mileages, but as they represent a logically smaller proportion of unit sales their existence shouldn't be considered as the target sector to design, engineer & market volume production at - yes there's the argument of autonomous TaaS & charge capacity may play a significant element in the profitability of operating such schemes if they were to become mainstream, but the argument for that being the case is yet to be proven & meanwhile there's a huge ICE market waiting to be addressed at the same time as cell manufacturing capacity forms the major EV expansion bottleneck, so the logic really revolves around 250 units produced/sold with an acceptable range vs 100 units which rarely need to call on that range capability & achieve little more than delivering 'bragging' points for the 'one-uppers' in society  ...

HTH - Z

Martyn1981

Bit of a power battle going on at VW. Herbert Diess wants to rapidly transform the company to EV's asap, to avoid potential disaster in the longer term, whilst much of the board (who own a lot of shares) would rather take longer and enjoy ICE profits. But a slow transition might be 'too slow' for VW (or any company) in the long term. Jump now or jump later?

Volkswagen’s Herbert Diess Has A Plan To Transition To EVs & Save The Company — Will The Board Let Him Execute It?

This article is inspired by what I have read recently about Volkswagen. We have been hearing a lot from the company, and not all of it is good. As we reported in this article a couple of months ago, there are a variety of stakeholders in Volkswagen Group and it appears after the company’s many troubles with dieselgate — which cost the company over €31 billion and tarnished its reputation — the large automaker brought in the talented Herbert Diess to lead them in a new direction.

We at CleanTechnica have praised Diess’s plans here and here, and I’ve personally been impressed with Volkswagen’s plans and humility. This article isn’t so much about about the plans as it is about the shortsighted forces that may block its implementation. That being said, the plan is impressive for several reasons.

silverwhistle

zeupater said:

Agree ... a realistic range expectation of 200miles is probably the decent compromise that most would consider being acceptable as it would represent a single charge per week for everyday usage & >3hrs of stage driving between rest breaks on long trips so I'd expect that to be the market sector that the majority of global EV sales to be marketed at whilst the cost of batteries remains a relatively high proportion of vehicle prices ...

Three hours driving on motorways in the UK is probably less than 200 miles! Ok, I jest but only slightly, depending on when and where you are driving it could even be optimistic.. Rattling south on the A6 past Auxerre is possibly a different matter.

But if you look at earlier EVs with lower ranges they still found a ready market, and just as firm a second hand market. I should know as I'm looking for one!

Far more important will be fast charging for those occasions when you do longer trips. I don't drive around with a full tank of petrol most of the time, so why would I want all that weight in battery form. A slightly heavier onboard charger and the job is done. I don't what Elon Musk has said about range but it looks like he might be excluding himself from a massive market. Making a profit from smaller cars is certainly more difficult so maybe that's the real motivation.

Martyn1981

I thought this was a bit 'clickbaity' at first, but it does seem that Tesla is forcing other companies to act faster, so not a bad thing.

Tesla Model 3 Success Convinces Hyundai To Accelerate Transition To Electric Cars

A senior Hyundai insider, who preferred to remain anonymous, said the company had not been concerned about Tesla when the Silicon Valley company was producing high-end cars. But it became more worried when Tesla introduced the less expensive Model 3 in 2017, a move the person described as a “strategic victory.”

The latest sales numbers in South Korea have also been alarming for Hyundai executives. In June, the Tesla Model 3 outsold the Hyundai Kona Electric, a shock in a country where consumers are presumed to have a strong preference for domestically produced products. “Hyundai did not expect Tesla to dominate the EV market so quickly,” another person familiar with the company’s thinking told Reuters.

NigeWick

zeupater said:

 a realistic range expectation of 200miles is probably the decent compromise that most would consider being 

I want 250 miles (got it in summer with my 64kWh Hyundai Kona). Batteries apparently don't really like going below 20% or above 80% and I get bladder anxiety between 120 - 140 miles at 70mph. 60% of charge is about 150 miles giving me a little leeway if charging en route. 

Tesla Model 3 will accept up to 250kW so 20% - 80% would be a comfort break & leisurely drink.

zeupater

NigeWick said:

zeupater said:

 a realistic range expectation of 200miles is probably the decent compromise that most would consider being 

I want 250 miles (got it in summer with my 64kWh Hyundai Kona). Batteries apparently don't really like going below 20% or above 80% and I get bladder anxiety between 120 - 140 miles at 70mph. 60% of charge is about 150 miles giving me a little leeway if charging en route. 

Tesla Model 3 will accept up to 250kW so 20% - 80% would be a comfort break & leisurely drink.

Hi

I'm pretty sure that the charging decile issue you raise is more related to average everyday use than a 'never operate outside these confines' rule and that the odd occasion that a close to max ~200 mile journey is required the battery will deliver (state of batteries/weather depending!) .... as you mention, if planning for breaks at ~150 miles becomes the norm & ample decent charge points are available on the route & no emergencies are involved then I can't see why >200mile range would be necessary for the average use motorist that rarely travels long distances & doesn't want to spend more than necessary up-front.

What needs to be recognised is that it's the current battery technology that limits the rate of charge and that is defined at cell level as opposed to pack level ... the larger the pack the more cells it contains, which effectively dilutes the power delivered by the charge point to each cell over more cells, in turn reducing the internal cell resistance, both increasing charge efficiency and potential lifetime cycle count  .... effectively this describes a realistic ceiling to charge power & speed which is related to the power-pack size so although a Tesla (or any similar enabled 'long range' EV) can charge at ~250kW(+) in ideal conditions, shorter range vehicles designed to take care of their batteries are unlikely to match the charging performance with this probably being the case until there's a significant change in battery technology (/chemistry), which likely means something well above the incremental lithium battery performance improvements we've seen over that last few decades.

Anyway, fingers crossed, 'battery day' isn't that far away - it's just a case of seeing whether the announcements are significant or incremental but whichever is the case, it's likely to be a move in the right direction!

HTH - Z

NigeWick

zeupater said:Anyway, fingers crossed, 'battery day' isn't that far away - it's just a case of seeing whether the announcements are significant or incremental but whichever is the case, it's likely to be a move in the right direction!

HTH - Z

I am hoping (but not holding my breath) for a solid state battery within a year announcement when they eventually have 'battery day.' However, I am expecting something a lot less exciting.

Martyn1981

Bit early, I admit, but I think I'm going to call it, PEV's and then BEV's have won, as we see two large markets creeping into disruption territory, with the UK on 4.7% BEV's for July and year to date and 8% for PEV's YTD, and Germany on 5.3% for July and 4% YTD, with PEV's at 8.5% YTD.

UK’s July EV Market Share At 9% — Up Almost 4× Year On Year

Germany’s EV Market Share Hits All-Time Record, 11.4% in July — Up 4× Year on Year