Battery Electric Vehicle News / Enjoying the Transportation Revolution

Martyn1981

There goes the neighbourhood!  
Now, due to EU rules/regs, new Tesla charging stations have to offer a couple of chargers for non-Tesla's, though presumably the 'free charging' mentioned is just a stop gap position.

Non-Tesla Electric Cars Can Now Charge For Free On Some European Tesla Superchargers

A rather surprising situation popped up in Europe this week. Historically, only Tesla vehicles have been able to charge at Tesla Superchargers. However, the European Commission got a bit antsy and — whiz, bang, boom — Supercharging has been opened up to the many electric car drivers in Europe who don’t have a T on their hoods.
Well, sort of.

joefizz

Martyn1981 said:

Been trying to work out why GM and Nikola are linking up.

 Is this partnership something that will lead to greatness, or just a PR exercise by two companies, one that needs BEV credibility, and the other needing people to stop saying it's a scam?

Panic. Pure vapourware. Have a look at who Cummins partnered with last year and why.
Ive said before, watch what the Japanese and Koreans are doing, the US stuff is mostly PR spin.

silverwhistle

Martyn1981 said:

silverwhistle said:

The most important recent EV news, IMO, is...I'm getting one next week. Liquid cooled battery, so degradation should be low. It's got to last me a long time!

Hiya, any news you want to share with us yet? Do you have the car ...... and a great big smile?

Ooh, sorry, yes! Feeling wildly guilty about spending so much on a car but I'm getting to an age when I might as well. Picked up my MG EV Exclusive last Monday and it's still got software and buttons that I've yet to use! So far I've charged on solar and free at the supermarket, and will be charging again from solar over the next few days. A cheap 110+ miles motoring so far! I need to pop into town tomorrow so shall get a supermarket top up again: not a lot but it all helps.

The only problem is that you get no audible clues as to the speed you are doing, particularly compared to the cheap, older cars I've always had before, although so far I've been good.. Where the local motorways actually allow 70 between the roadworks it's remarkable quiet. I'm running on the economy setting at the moment, which is still lively enough in traffic when it matters.

michaels

silverwhistle said:

Martyn1981 said:

silverwhistle said:

The most important recent EV news, IMO, is...I'm getting one next week. Liquid cooled battery, so degradation should be low. It's got to last me a long time!

Hiya, any news you want to share with us yet? Do you have the car ...... and a great big smile?

Ooh, sorry, yes! Feeling wildly guilty about spending so much on a car but I'm getting to an age when I might as well. Picked up my MG EV Exclusive last Monday and it's still got software and buttons that I've yet to use! So far I've charged on solar and free at the supermarket, and will be charging again from solar over the next few days. A cheap 110+ miles motoring so far! I need to pop into town tomorrow so shall get a supermarket top up again: not a lot but it all helps.

The only problem is that you get no audible clues as to the speed you are doing, particularly compared to the cheap, older cars I've always had before, although so far I've been good.. Where the local motorways actually allow 70 between the roadworks it's remarkable quiet. I'm running on the economy setting at the moment, which is still lively enough in traffic when it matters.

Glad you have joined the club - I had order no 23 for a zs but was forced to cancel in the end as there is no head restraint for the rear centre seat.  Not all bad though as it means we keep the leaf and can benefit from v2g.

JKenH

How long will the lithium supply last?

This was a bit of a surprise. 

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2020/09/15/how-long-will-the-lithium-supply-last/

Martyn1981

This Vivaro-E was brought to my attention by another forumite, and I thought I'd mention it as these vehicles are so practical, and can do multiple roles. Our Zafira has now gone, and was a rattly pug ugly bit of old tech, but a fabulously versatile vehicle that could cope with almost anything, so a BEV workhorse is a welcome arrival.

New all-electric Vauxhall Vivaro-e Life on sale now

Pricing for the new Vauxhall Vivaro-e Life MPV has been announced. The firm’s first all-electric people carrier is available to order now, priced from £34,645 including the Government’s plug-in vehicle grant – and first deliveries are expected to arrive in late October.

The battery pack is mounted under the vehicle’s floor, so there’s no difference in practicality between the diesel-powered and all-electric variants. Boot space remains the same, with a maximum capacity of around 4,500 litres – and the Vivaro-e Life can tow loads up to a tonne in weight, which Vauxhall says is a first for the segment.

Private buyers can choose from a few seating arrangements, which offer space for either five, six, seven or eight passengers. The two rear benches are mounted on sliding rails, allowing the driver to choose between legroom or luggage space – and with all the seats folded down, there’s space to transport objects up to 3.5 metres in length.

JKenH

GM to manufacture its own ‘family’ of electric vehicle drive systems, motors

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/16/gm-to-manufacture-its-own-family-of-electric-vehicle-drive-systems-motors.html

EVandPV

Some not so great news on PHEVs.

Plug-in hybrids are a 'wolf in sheep's clothing'

Carbon dioxide emissions from plug-in hybrid cars are as much as two-and-a-half times higher than official tests suggest, according to new research.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-54170207

ABrass

EVandPV said:

Some not so great news on PHEVs.

Plug-in hybrids are a 'wolf in sheep's clothing'

Carbon dioxide emissions from plug-in hybrid cars are as much as two-and-a-half times higher than official tests suggest, according to new research.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-54170207

I'm not sure if that counts either as research or as new. Looking through it it's a summary of other sources, which isn't a bad thing in itself, but the lack of rigour in terms of what studies are included and what arent isn't promising.

The data that it eventually links to is dated, some of it is 2016 data based on PHEVs as they were then.

I'd take it with a pinch of salt.

Martyn1981

Interesting article on Ford's electric F150. If the numbers are correct, then it will be an absolute no-brainer, but then Ford also has to walk the thin 'Osborne effect' line and try not to kill their sales between now and mid 2022, or they won't have the necessary income to fund the transition. Best of luck to them, and an end to gas guzzling pick ups.

Electric Ford F150 Is A Game Changer For Fleets With A 40% Lower Cost Of Ownership

With impressive performance and functionality, the electric Ford F150 is poised to completely disrupt even its own combustion truck business on cost alone. Fleets live and die by two things: cost of ownership and uptime and the electric F150 is a step change in both. Ford believes it can deliver a total cost of ownership of the new electric F150 for more than 40% less than its existing trucks. That’s insane. At those prices, fleets will almost be able to upgrade combustion trucks with two new electric vehicles at the same cost over the life of the vehicle.
The electric F150 is primed to change the game when it comes to uptime. Electric vehicles almost universally require less maintenance than combustion vehicles. With nearly 100 times fewer moving parts in the powertrain, they are more reliable, and deliver savings over the long haul. No oil changes, no air filters, no transmission rebuilds, and the like. On top of that, electric vehicles can charge up at a fleet depot overnight, saving fleet managers valuable runtime as employees won’t have to spend the first or last part of the day refuelling the truck.