Battery Electric Vehicle News / Enjoying the Transportation Revolution

EVandPV

silverwhistle said:

Pile_o_stone said:

Electric boats would be fantastic as it'd remove the fuel and oil leaks that pollute lakes and waterways.

Small electric outboards have been available for some time too, and are popular in the US  for fishing and trolling, which is particularly important in some of the more vulnerable waters.

I have one myself that I use for fly fishing from a boat. They're very popular here now too at fishing venues around the uk.
I couple mine with a 12v lithium battery I built from a bunch of 18650 cells.

JKenH

Number of Tesla EVs on UK roads trebled in a year, report finds

https://www.am-online.com/news/market-insight/2020/11/12/number-of-tesla-evs-on-uk-roads-trebled-in-a-year-report-finds

silverwhistle

The only numbers I've seen recently where a higher figure per 100,000 is good!

Martyn1981

Some of the specs for BMW's tribute to wood eating mammals have been revealed, in the sense that it looks like it has dam big beaver teeth. Kinda cute maybe?
I thought this sounded like an interesting 'battle' to follow, would folk stick with BMW, or go with the cheaper, faster and longer range TMY. Thus addressing the debate as to whether BMW's reputation can be carried over to BEV's, or if Tesla is now the Rolls Royce of battery vehicles ....... yes I know that sentence is silly, just having fun.
But, if that giant kidney faced brute doesn't come out till 2022, then I'm not sure the wait will be worth it.

Love It Or Hate It, The BMW iX Is On Its Way In 2022

Oddly enough, the reveal mentioned almost nothing about the specs for the vehicle other that to say it will use the company’s fifth generation electric powertrain. Nothing about battery size, torque, horsepower, or top speed although 0-60 should happen in a touch under 5 seconds. The iX is set to go into production at BMW’s Dingolfing factory in Bavaria about this time next year with the first cars arriving in US showrooms in early 2022. Pricing has yet to be announced but TechCrunch says there are rumors it will cost more than $100,000 while The Verge suggests the iX will start at around $70,000.

Martyn1981

Volvo have been making the news lately with multiple BEV offerings in the light to heavy truck market:

Volvo Trucks To Deploy 70 Electric Trucks In Southern California

Volvo Trucks has gotten an award to supply 70 Class 8 VNR electric trucks in Southern California. The award includes $21.7 million in grants for Volvo Trucks. That’s $20 million from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Targeted Air Shed Grant Program and $1.7 million from the South Coast Air Quality Management District (South Coast AQMD).

“Volvo Trucks supports our pioneering fleet customers in paving the way to a real-world, sustainable transport future. The large volume of early Volvo VNR Electric deployments in Southern California will help us kick-start this year’s successful commercial launch in North America,” Peter Voorhoeve, president of Volvo Trucks North America, stated.

Solarchaser

Martyn1981 said:

Some of the specs for BMW's tribute to wood eating mammals have been revealed, in the sense that it looks like it has dam big beaver teeth. Kinda cute maybe?
I thought this sounded like an interesting 'battle' to follow, would folk stick with BMW, or go with the cheaper, faster and longer range TMY. Thus addressing the debate as to whether BMW's reputation can be carried over to BEV's, or if Tesla is now the Rolls Royce of battery vehicles ....... yes I know that sentence is silly, just having fun.
But, if that giant kidney faced brute doesn't come out till 2022, then I'm not sure the wait will be worth it.

Love It Or Hate It, The BMW iX Is On Its Way In 2022

Oddly enough, the reveal mentioned almost nothing about the specs for the vehicle other that to say it will use the company’s fifth generation electric powertrain. Nothing about battery size, torque, horsepower, or top speed although 0-60 should happen in a touch under 5 seconds. The iX is set to go into production at BMW’s Dingolfing factory in Bavaria about this time next year with the first cars arriving in US showrooms in early 2022. Pricing has yet to be announced but TechCrunch says there are rumors it will cost more than $100,000 while The Verge suggests the iX will start at around $70,000.

The new 4 series has that same type of "split bumper" front end as well, i passed one the other day, and for me, it looks awful, really didn't like it.

I think beaver front is an accurate description 

https://images.app.goo.gl/GzSeUcvcBn6b1mi87

Martyn1981

Solarchaser said:

Martyn1981 said:

Some of the specs for BMW's tribute to wood eating mammals have been revealed, in the sense that it looks like it has dam big beaver teeth. Kinda cute maybe?
I thought this sounded like an interesting 'battle' to follow, would folk stick with BMW, or go with the cheaper, faster and longer range TMY. Thus addressing the debate as to whether BMW's reputation can be carried over to BEV's, or if Tesla is now the Rolls Royce of battery vehicles ....... yes I know that sentence is silly, just having fun.
But, if that giant kidney faced brute doesn't come out till 2022, then I'm not sure the wait will be worth it.

Love It Or Hate It, The BMW iX Is On Its Way In 2022

Oddly enough, the reveal mentioned almost nothing about the specs for the vehicle other that to say it will use the company’s fifth generation electric powertrain. Nothing about battery size, torque, horsepower, or top speed although 0-60 should happen in a touch under 5 seconds. The iX is set to go into production at BMW’s Dingolfing factory in Bavaria about this time next year with the first cars arriving in US showrooms in early 2022. Pricing has yet to be announced but TechCrunch says there are rumors it will cost more than $100,000 while The Verge suggests the iX will start at around $70,000.

The new 4 series has that same type of "split bumper" front end as well, i passed one the other day, and for me, it looks awful, really didn't like it.

I think beaver front is an accurate description 

https://images.app.goo.gl/GzSeUcvcBn6b1mi87

Several vlogs, and I'm including the more impartial non Tesla ones, have been highly critical of the claimed efficiency of this big new Beemer. It's well below the TMY and TMX if you calculate against a 100kWh battery, but as BMW say it is >100kWh, and some suggestions of 120kWh, then it gets worse. And to further question efficiency, BMW's quoted figures are only for the city streets test, not highway.
Something seems a bit odd here, and not just the car's face ....... though it's starting to grow on me in a comical cartoon sort of way.

Martyn1981

Looks like we are very close to a 2030 ban on petrol/diesel cars, and I have to say that whilst I had my doubts about production/sales ramping up fast enough, I'm now quietly optimistic that this may now be possible.

UK expected to ban sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030

Boris Johnson is understood to be planning to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars within a decade, with reports that the ban will be brought forward by five years.

It follows the prime minister moving the cut-off date from 2040 to 2035 in February.

Johnson is expected to announce the measure amid a raft of new environmental policies next week, according to a report in the Financial Times, which attributes the news to industry and Whitehall sources.

The government hopes the policy will energise the market for electric cars in the UK and help the country achieve its climate targets, including reducing emissions of greenhouse gases to net zero by 2050.

UK To Ban Sales Of Combustion Vehicles By 2030 — Report

The UK government was due to make an announcement on the possibility of a more ambitious timeline for the ban of combustion vehicles in the coming few days, and sources have already told both the BBC and the Financial Times that the ban will indeed be brought forward to 2030.

When the initial 2040 date was announced back in 2017, the UK market share for plugin electric vehicles  had ended the previous year (2016) at 1.5% and was on track to end 2017 at 1.9%. When the pull-forward to 2035 was announced in February 2020, the UK had just seen 2019 achieve a plugin share of 3.5%:

Whether PHEV technology — which is more complex than a pure battery electric powertrain — will still be relevant after 2030 is very doubtful. Full battery electric vehicles with long range, convenient fast charging, and lower prices than equivalent combustion alternatives (and PHEVs) already exist in some vehicle segments, and are comfortably on track to dominate most mainstream vehicle segments by the middle of this decade in the UK (and the rest of Europe).

In these regions, full electric vehicles will inevitably dominate all significant segments by 2030, based on lower sticker cost, much lower running costs, lower maintenance costs, and inherently superior driving characteristics.

Martyn1981

Carbon Commentary newsletter extract:

7, Large electric trucks. An industry magazine published an article on the attitudes of Californian drivers towards driving large electric freight vehicles made by Daimler and BYD. Unsurprisingly, some people are uninterested in moving away from diesel. But those currently driving the electric vehicles are strongly impressed by the new trucks, admiring their power, ease of driving and smoothness. They are far easier to drive, the truckers say. The article comments on the friendly competition among drivers to see who can get the maximum range from their vehicles. Good results also came in from Oatly’s electric trucks in Sweden made by the innovative Einride. The recently delivered trucks take Oatly’s products on routes between factories and distribution centres. The first six weeks of operation have ‘debunk(ed) the myth that electric trucks cannot handle heavy loads’ said the Einride CEO.

Martyn1981

I was just thinking the other day that BEV's just aren't fast/quick enough!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
But seriously, anything that improves efficiency, and perhaps reduces battery size (and cost) is a great idea, and only $150.

Inmotive Ready To Supply Ingear 2-Speed Transmission To EV Manufacturers

Canadian company Inmotive* has announced the creation of Ingear, a two-speed transmission for electric cars that is inexpensive, reliable, and can help extend the range of an EV by up to 15%. Most electric cars today — the Porsche Taycan is an exception — do not have a transmission. For low-speed jaunts around town, they don’t need one. But for highway driving, having an extra gear can allow the electric drivetrain to operate more efficiently. Higher efficiency means the car can use a smaller, lighter battery, which can lower the purchase price of the car significantly.

Adding a simple two-speed transmission can improve acceleration and raise top speed. It can also make the entire drivetrain more efficient at all speeds.

The Ingear unit wraps around the differential taking up very little extra space compared to the single speed transmission used in most electric vehicles. Its incremental cost is less than $150 but can save manufacturers as much as $1,500 per vehicle because automakers can use a smaller battery. When in high gear, it extends the range of a typical vehicle by as much as 15% by optimizing motor efficiency and reducing parasitic losses. It also improves towing, hill climbing, and top speed.