Battery Electric Vehicle News / Enjoying the Transportation Revolution

Martyn1981

Coastalwatch said:

If anyone wasn't convinced of the future then another little indicator announced by Nissan.

Nissan is getting ready to drop the combustion engine

Nissan is suspending the development of new combustion engines in almost all of its main markets. According to a Japanese media report, the carmaker wants to free up resources for electric mobility.

This is reported by Nikkei Asia. Only in the USA will Nissan continue the development of internal combustion engines to a limited extent for pickup trucks and SUVs – because of the high demand, according to the Nikkei article. For the Chinese and Japanese markets, Nissan will also continue to develop hybrid drives – on the combustion engine side, the existing units will be modified and improved. However, new developments are not planned.

https://www.electrive.com/2022/02/09/nissan-is-getting-ready-to-drop-the-combustion-engine/

Hiya CW. I wasn't going to post this, but it's been all over the interwebs, and makes a fun retort to the "BEV's have won" assumption.

BMW's CEO has joined Stellantis and Toyota in claiming that the environment will lose out if we move to BEV's too fast. He seems to think that 2030 'is too fast' despite BMW launching the futuristic i3 back in 2013. He also seems to be  suggesting that a ban on ICEV's in the EU in 2030 would prevent ICEV's being sold outside of the EU by BMW, which has left many confused.

Only my opinion, but I think PEV's will reach about 35% in the UK this year, two thirds of them BEV's, and perhaps peeking at about 45% PEV's in Dec. So with the economics shifting towards BEV's, and their popularity growing, I think ICEV's (even including mild HEV's) will be below 50% in Europe by mid decade, so any 2030 legislation is largely moot, and the ICE laggards will have to react to market forces regardless.

On a plus point though, I've been watching vids reviewing the new BMW i4 and putting aside views on the 'monkey butt grille' it's being praised to high heaven, as is BMW's ability to build excellent BEV's.

BMW CEO Warns Against Premature ICE Phaseout

“The largest market segment in absolute terms by a wide margin in Germany, but also in Europe and worldwide, is the internal combustion engine. Before you simply shut something like that down within eight or ten years, you have to know well what you’re doing. 

If you try to ban this technology in Germany and Europe, but the world market is not even that far, you will lose this technology in the world market as well. That’s why we also warn against doing this too early and not giving the transformation a chance to develop with the markets. It would be harmful to simply give up a technology in which you have a global market position without need. I don’t think that would help the climate or anyone else.”

EVandPV

People without driveways could soon charge electric cars outside their homes

Motorists in Nottinghamshire could be able to charge their electric vehicles outside their homes even if they don't have driveways.

The county council is to trial enabling residents to fund cable channels cut into the footway so that they can connect their electric vehicle to their household’s electricity supply.

https://www.nottinghampost.com/news/nottingham-news/people-without-driveways-could-soon-6630979.amp

Ectophile

On a plus point though, I've been watching vids reviewing the new BMW i4 and putting aside views on the 'monkey butt grille' it's being praised to high heaven, as is BMW's ability to build excellent BEV's.

I can't help seeing it as an angry chipmunk grille.

EVandPV

Will electric cars power homes? Energy bosses will drain vehicles' batteries in pilot scheme to counteract times of high or low supply 

The National Grid has teamed up with domestic supplier Octopus Energy to run the pilot, which 135 households have signed up for.

If successful, the scheme could be expanded to millions of electric vehicles that could act as a giant battery when the transition to renewable - but less reliable - energy sources is complete.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10500725/amp/National-Grid-trials-new-pilot-scheme-drain-batteries-parked-electric-vehicles.html

EricMears

EVandPV said:

Will electric cars power homes? Energy bosses will drain vehicles' batteries in pilot scheme to counteract times of high or low supply 

The National Grid has teamed up with domestic supplier Octopus Energy to run the pilot, which 135 households have signed up for.

If successful, the scheme could be expanded to millions of electric vehicles that could act as a giant battery when the transition to renewable - but less reliable - energy sources is complete.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10500725/amp/National-Grid-trials-new-pilot-scheme-drain-batteries-parked-electric-vehicles.html

Is this really 'new' ?   Or just the DM catching up on a year old story ?

EVandPV

EricMears said:

EVandPV said:

Will electric cars power homes? Energy bosses will drain vehicles' batteries in pilot scheme to counteract times of high or low supply 

The National Grid has teamed up with domestic supplier Octopus Energy to run the pilot, which 135 households have signed up for.

If successful, the scheme could be expanded to millions of electric vehicles that could act as a giant battery when the transition to renewable - but less reliable - energy sources is complete.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10500725/amp/National-Grid-trials-new-pilot-scheme-drain-batteries-parked-electric-vehicles.html

Is this really 'new' ?   Or just the DM catching up on a year old story ?

I heard of a couple of other v2g trials but not this one.
You could be right though ??

EricMears

EVandPV said:

EricMears said:

EVandPV said:

Will electric cars power homes? Energy bosses will drain vehicles' batteries in pilot scheme to counteract times of high or low supply 

The National Grid has teamed up with domestic supplier Octopus Energy to run the pilot, which 135 households have signed up for.

If successful, the scheme could be expanded to millions of electric vehicles that could act as a giant battery when the transition to renewable - but less reliable - energy sources is complete.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10500725/amp/National-Grid-trials-new-pilot-scheme-drain-batteries-parked-electric-vehicles.html

Is this really 'new' ?   Or just the DM catching up on a year old story ?

I heard of a couple of other v2g trials but not this one.
You could be right though ??

From 2019 : https://octopus.energy/blog/vehicle-to-grid  !

However,  that scheme seems to have been restricted to people leasing a Leaf from an Octopus company.  I'd probably be interested if they extended it to owners but haven't heard anything yet.

JKenH

EricMears said:

EVandPV said:

Will electric cars power homes? Energy bosses will drain vehicles' batteries in pilot scheme to counteract times of high or low supply 

The National Grid has teamed up with domestic supplier Octopus Energy to run the pilot, which 135 households have signed up for.

If successful, the scheme could be expanded to millions of electric vehicles that could act as a giant battery when the transition to renewable - but less reliable - energy sources is complete.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10500725/amp/National-Grid-trials-new-pilot-scheme-drain-batteries-parked-electric-vehicles.html

Is this really 'new' ?   Or just the DM catching up on a year old story ?

There are several outlets today for this story all running the same mistakes (my bold) which I think has come from Octopus’s PR department.

“Taken together, wind farms across the UK can already produce a staggering 12 gigawatts of power – and that’s set to quadruple by 2030.

According to Octopus Energy, which is testing this “vehicle-to-grid technology,” a typical electric car has an output of seven kilowatt hours, and most peak-hour households only need about three kilowatt hours. That means each car could have around four kilowatt hours to spare.”

https://www.thebharatexpressnews.com/how-the-national-grid-could-pay-you-to-get-power-from-your-electric-car/

Edit: the Daily Express identify the source as

“Claire Miller, director of technology and innovation at Octopus” who apparently was speaking to the Daily Telegraph where the story also appeared.
https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1564265/electric-cars-national-grid-energy-crisis-Octopus-Energy-trial-electricity-power-update

JKenH

Toyota Patents Plans For EV With Manual Transmission And Clutch

This leads us to believe that Toyota may want to use this pseudo-manual in a future sporty offering

https://insideevs.com/news/566896/toyota-electric-vehicle-manual-transmission/

JKenH

Work starts on world’s first skyport for flying taxis and delivery drones

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/work-construction-west-midlands-police-south-korean-coventry-b2013271.html