Battery Electric Vehicle News / Enjoying the Transportation Revolution

Martyn1981

New safety record score for Europe NCAP, and it is a BEV. Tesla continues to put safety first and got praised by NCAP.

Autosteer helps Tesla Model Y achieve record safety ratings in Australia and Europe

The Tesla Model Y has officially become the safest car in Europe, and also achieved a record high rating from the Australian safety ratings.

The new safety rating from Euro NCAP was released overnight in Europe and coincides with top ratings from Australia’s closely aligned ANCAP, which awarded an all-time record score of 98% in the Safety Assist pillar.

Euro NCAP boss Michiel van Ratingen congratulated the EV maker on its commitment to safety, calling the results “outstanding” and noting they in fact are a new record for vehicle safety at Euro NCAP.

“Tesla have shown that nothing but the best is good enough for them, and we hope to see them continue to aspire to that goal in the future,” he said in a statement.

Likewise, Australia’s safety body ANCAP credited Tesla with an outstanding result.

Martyn1981

Not just the UK where more ultrafast charging is needed, but 164 stalls ..... that's just showing off.

I thought the Heathrow Hilton location was impressive with 32 chargers, but multiple sites in Cali with 3 or more times that.

Tesla plans world’s biggest EV charging station, with 164 stalls

Tesla is rolling out another 420 electric vehicle Supercharger units across its home state of California as part of four new charging facilities, including what could be the world’s largest so far, with a total of 164 stalls.

silverwhistle

That is big! There's an open Tesla site of 28 stalls just of the A6 autoroute at Beaune, and 36 7kW chargers at a nuclear power station on the Loire just south of Orleans. The latter not a bad site for chargers: no need to upgrade the grid!

Coastalwatch

I know after market mods for our favoured from of transport have been around for decades but I don't yet know of one announced for Tesla. But I could well be wrong. Quite how fitting such device would affect warranty etc even though it may give improved performance/experience must be a concern for owners.

If they had been supplying Tesla for the original part then I would have thought they would have been developing the unit in collaboration with them. However, one must appreciate that T have probably had far greater priorities on their plate in recent times than this one particular issue. So who knows!

Meyle designs new control arm for Tesla

Component manufacturer Meyle will present an improved control arm for the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y at Automechanika next week. More and more Tesla drivers had been complaining about squeaking noises in the Model 3 and Model Y, according to Meyle, so they fitted a solution.

According to the company from Hamburg, after numerous evaluations, they found the Tesla wishbone was not sufficiently protected from moisture due to its design. “Rain drains directly from the windscreen onto the control arm and penetrates the ball joint, which ultimately leads to the unwelcome, irritating squeaking sound and, in rare cases, can compromise steering precision,” so Meyle.

https://www.electrive.com/2022/09/09/meyle-designs-new-control-arm-for-tesla/

shinytop

Some good news for BEV flight. Seems like it could be viable.

https://aviationsourcenews.com/news/air-canada-to-acquire-30-es-30-aircraft-from-heart-aerospace/

Looks like a range extender BEA (A is for aircraft)

Martyn1981

Good news for Leaf owners. And ties in with what Bobby Llewellyn said on Fully Charged when he got his gen 1 Leaf (24kWh) battery swopped with a 40kWh. He said that this was really just an issue with the first Leaf's and not something that should bother other makes and models.

I think it's fair that the issues of the early Leaf batts is reported, but only as a lessons learned exercise, not for BEV bashing as has become the case for some with anti-EV interests. In fact the rapid improvement in battery longevity is a huge success story.

[Slight tangent, but it dawned on me recently that when we all discuss the miles needed before a BEV becomes 'greener' than an ICEV, with reports and locations (FF intensity of national grids) varying from perhaps 20k to 60k miles, we should consider that many ICEV's won't last past 150k miles, so the BEV may displace a second and third ICEV during its life.]

Surprise! Nissan LEAF Batteries Last Much Longer Than Expected

The Nissan LEAF was one of the first battery electric cars of the modern era. Sales began in Japan and the US in December of 2010. But the batteries in some of those early cars suffered from premature failure, particularly in hot, dry climates like Phoenix, Arizona. Unlike most electric cars, the LEAF battery is air cooled and does not have a fan to assist with cooling.

Well, once the wackos on social media found out about the problem, the internet lit up with anti-EV FUD about how the batteries in electric cars were no good and needed to be replaced after 2 years at great expense. It’s an urban legend that has been pushed vigorously by the fossil fuel companies and the stooges they employ.

Nissan got no credit for redesigning the LEAF batteries to make them able to survive hot, dry conditions. They called those second generation battery packs the “lizard battery,” but the urban legend refused to die.

Many will be amazed to learn that Nic Thomas, Nissan’s marketing director for the UK, told Forbes recently, “Almost all of the [EV] batteries we’ve ever made are still in cars, and we’ve been selling electric cars for 12 years. We haven’t got a great big stock of batteries that we can convert into something else,” he added. “It’s the complete opposite of what people feared when we first launched EVs — that the batteries would only last a short time.”

Grumpy_chap

Martyn1981 said:

[Slight tangent, but it dawned on me recently that when we all discuss the miles needed before a BEV becomes 'greener' than an ICEV, with reports and locations (FF intensity of national grids) varying from perhaps 20k to 60k miles, we should consider that many ICEV's won't last past 150k miles, so the BEV may displace a second and third ICEV during its life.]

So, I currently have a 2007 Focus on around 150k miles and agree that vehicle is approaching end of life.
I previously had a Mondeo that reached 200k miles before I sold it on at 6 years old - that car had much life left in it and I saw it driven around for a good number of years after I sold it.
So, I consider that it is time / age that really affects the life of an ICE rather than mileage per se.
Certainly, with my Focus, the car works well and runs reliably and solidly.  The body-work is showing some rust, the electronics are starting to fail, the interior is worn and squeaky and, for an old car with low residual value, a collection of routine maintenance activities coinciding becomes a question of faith to get done.
Expensive jobs on an ICE are items like the cam belt - on an EV there might be some battery reconditioning.

The thing is, why would an EV last that much longer than the ICE?
Will an EV not suffer from the same issues of age, reduced residual value, bits other than drivetrain being the reason for reaching end of life?

For an EV to displace the second and third ICE, using the 150k miles, that EV would need 300k or 450k miles.  The age of everything else that makes the car will just be the death of it irrespective of drivetrain / battery longevity.

Martyn1981

Hi GC, looks like batts and motors are good for around 500k, so probably 3 ICEV's given the increasing cost of maintenance for the engine and all related kit, such as exhausts and clutches, and as you mention cam belts.

What battery reconditioning is needed for BEV's?

I was also thinking about the high mileage taxi services, such as Tesloop who have suggested that maintenance costs means that even quality alternatives to their Tesla fleet have to be replaced around 150k as they are not cost effective, nor reliable enough to continue long haul drives. I think this typically reflects the fact that older and higher mileage ICEV's tend to be used for shorter journeys, and/or lower annual use, whereas the BEVs should still be fine, even if after 150k miles they have lost 5-10% of battery capacity.

orrery

Martyn1981 said:

What battery reconditioning is needed for BEV's?

When batteries start to fail, it is usually just a few cells, or modules, that need replacing. There's no reason why that can't happen. We don't yet have a good 3rd party network of service stations that can do that. There are one or two, and there is a video of an old Leaf having a few modules replaced for a few hundred quid, then driving away "as new".

Grumpy_chap

Martyn1981 said:

Hi GC, looks like batts and motors are good for around 500k, so probably 3 ICEV's 

I think this typically reflects the fact that older and higher mileage ICEV's tend to be used for shorter journeys, and/or lower annual use, whereas the BEVs should still be fine, even if after 150k miles they have lost 5-10% of battery capacity.

I am truly interested here to understand why an EV would have a life-span three times and ICE.  

That has to be linked to the suggestion that the comment about ICEs are used for less when they age but an EV would not be used less.
Presumably EVs will still have new car buyers that get a new vehicle every 3 or 4 years (company car, PCP, taxi etc) just the same as with ICE.  These new car buyers tend to be the higher mileage users.
The car gets sold on and the third or fourth or fifth owner is getting the car at 10 or 12 years old.  This owner of the older car is tending towards the lower mileage user.
The new car buyer is also wanting the latest features where the buyer of the older car is tolerating less features
So, that use profile reducing as the car ages will not substantially change, unless there is a consideration that ownership patterns will vary.
If the ownership patterns will vary so that the new car buyer buys and keeps for life, that won't be a quick change but a generational thing.

I am also not convinced that the ability of the drive train to do more miles is the most significant factor in the car becoming end-of-life.  My 15 yo 150k mile Focus is nearing end of life but the fundamental "driving" part of the car is fine.  It is other "stuff" that is the issue:

• Air con broken
• No milometer / message display (failed LCD module)
• Boot won't stay open properly (hydraulic strut)
• Generally squeaky and noisy / rattly interior
• Worn steering wheel all smooth
• Cracked gear lever
• Electric windows temperamental
• Rust setting in the body work

I think the Focus will easily keep going for another 50k miles (except I have no way of knowing on that anymore) and I'd assess then if it has another 50k, then the next and so on.  BUT, the other "stuff" that is all worn and makes it a less than wonderful place to be would all wear on an EV and cause the value / end-of-life to be reached.  If the drivetrain is going to do 500k miles, then so has the rest of the car.

I accept that my Focus is only one example and does not constitute a comprehensive data set, but I don't think the Focus is unusual. 
It "works" but there is a lot wrong with it.
I don't see any reason why the same would not be said for an EV as the age and mileage increases.

Happy to be explained why the EV will be different in either the ownership profiles and use for older cars and / or why all the "stuff" will suddenly last longer.