Battery Electric Vehicle News / Enjoying the Transportation Revolution

Solarchaser

Ken points out bridges as well, yeah good point!
And yeah I recall that pre 2020 (I think) there was scalable regen, I agree that removal of this potentially has caused the negative effects I seen last year.

SW all good,  you have probably more snow driving experience than me then 👍

Martyn yeah I've had the same experience with tesla using front wheel drive only to try and recover, however if you get a 4 wheel slide.... which you may have deliberately initiated to see what happens (again, dont judge me (or do i suppose)), tesla doesn't respond well, cutting all power instead of pulsing power to different wheels meaning you are sliding out with no useable power rather than powering out.
The tesla is not a comfortable sliding car, very twitchy.
Though that's the awd  model, my colleague with the rwd model says it's a bit better, bit strangely wasn't so keen on me borrowing his to try 🤔😇😂

Martyn1981

New 'truck' launched in Scotland. Looks like a Defender with attitude.

Perhaps I'm being harsh but the range (190 miles) and charge speeds aren't enormous, so towing over long distances may be a pain (horsebox?)

Good news, for on-site (I'm thinking farms) and local use, this looks incredibly tough and competent, and at a good price for such a beast, about £50k or £60k with VAT. Anyone, or organisation that needs a tough beast for local rural work might be interested?

Website: Munro EV - Made for off-road


News article:

Munro MK 1 4X4 EV to break Scotland’s 30 year production drought with its axial flux motors

Young Scottish EV startup Munro Vehicles has officially launched its flagship model today – a massive 4×4 off-road truck called the MK 1. Its hand-built process also marks the first vehicle to be built at scale in Scotland since 1981. There are lot of new specs shared about the MK 1 below. Check it out.

Solarchaser

I've seen it appear in a couple of ev programs, potentially 5th gear and something else while channel hopping, but yeah battery powered defender was my take on it, ideally used on farms and charged by large solar on barn roofs was my thinking when watching the programs 

Coastalwatch

Had a quick search of the website but couldn't actually find a full view of it at all. I know ordering online is all the rage today but I should have thought that the means to order one would at least be accompanied by a picture of some description.

Perhaps I'm not searching in the right area!

Martyn1981

Coastalwatch said:

Had a quick search of the website but couldn't actually find a full view of it at all. I know ordering online is all the rage today but I should have thought that the means to order one would at least be accompanied by a picture of some description.

Perhaps I'm not searching in the right area!

Oops. Yep, I saw it mentioned in a Youtube Vid, but you're right limited pics on the links provided. If you click on MK1 on the main page, then scroll down to the pic of the headlights, you'll see a cursor on the right for other pics. there's a side on pic, and a 3/4 view. It's quite a beastie, maybe great for Scottish hills and mountains, such as police vehicles and mountain rescue etc..

Coastalwatch

Cheers Mart, thought there must be something somewhere, not that I'm in the market for anything quite on that scale. But an interesting proposition all the same.

Martyn1981

Lots of news on cheap Chinese BEV's, but recently I've been seeing lots of news articles (Youtube channels) on cheap Indian cars. This is actually really important as it not only creates jobs and industry in India, but also helps with balance of payments.

The reasonably large and well known Indian car company Tata (who own Land Rover and Jaquar) have launched a ~£10k BEV. The cars are small, with small batts (up to 24kWh), but probably excellent for the role they will provide. Range claims are a tad optimistic (I think) working out at roughly 8miles/kWh, but still, cheap clean transport for a country as they start to grow their middle class and car ownership - which is still low, with a majority of 2 and 3 wheelers.

I don't know much about the vehicle, but suspect, like the Chinese Wuling Mini EV, it might not be classed as a 'full' car in Europe, but perhaps a city runabout? 

Tata Tiago

Martyn1981

This seems like a good move. Aiming to clean up the supply chain for batteries, and also the end of life issues, even human rights issues. I didn't see the name 'China' in the article, but I suspect/assume that this is directed at them, and also their potential dominance in the battery market, where costs can be saved if green and ethical issues are ignored. 

The law will start to apply 2027, but could have an impact before that.

EU Passes Law To Make Electric Car Batteries Cleaner

Battery producers will face tougher environmental and due diligence standards if they want to sell in the European market.

Battery manufacturers which want to sell in Europe will have to report the product’s entire carbon footprint, from mining to production to recycling, as early as July 2024. That data will then be used to set a maximum CO2 limit for batteries to apply as early as July 2027, ensuring that companies make them using clean energy instead of fossil fuels.

Alex Keynes, clean vehicles manager at T&E, said: “Batteries are already far more sustainable than burning oil in our cars, but they can be much better. New rules on carbon footprint, recycling and due diligence checks will mean batteries sold in Europe are the most sustainable globally, setting the standard for the rest of the world.”

Today batteries are already more resource-efficient than petrol and diesel, which cannot be reused and recycled once they have been burned. New EU recycling targets will extend their advantage even further: from 2027 battery-makers will need to recover 90% of nickel and cobalt used, rising to 95% in 2031. They would also need to recover 50% of lithium used in 2027, rising to 80% in 2031.

michaels

Martyn1981 said:

This seems like a good move. Aiming to clean up the supply chain for batteries, and also the end of life issues, even human rights issues. I didn't see the name 'China' in the article, but I suspect/assume that this is directed at them, and also their potential dominance in the battery market, where costs can be saved if green and ethical issues are ignored. 

The law will start to apply 2027, but could have an impact before that.

EU Passes Law To Make Electric Car Batteries Cleaner

Battery producers will face tougher environmental and due diligence standards if they want to sell in the European market.

Battery manufacturers which want to sell in Europe will have to report the product’s entire carbon footprint, from mining to production to recycling, as early as July 2024. That data will then be used to set a maximum CO2 limit for batteries to apply as early as July 2027, ensuring that companies make them using clean energy instead of fossil fuels.

Alex Keynes, clean vehicles manager at T&E, said: “Batteries are already far more sustainable than burning oil in our cars, but they can be much better. New rules on carbon footprint, recycling and due diligence checks will mean batteries sold in Europe are the most sustainable globally, setting the standard for the rest of the world.”

Today batteries are already more resource-efficient than petrol and diesel, which cannot be reused and recycled once they have been burned. New EU recycling targets will extend their advantage even further: from 2027 battery-makers will need to recover 90% of nickel and cobalt used, rising to 95% in 2031. They would also need to recover 50% of lithium used in 2027, rising to 80% in 2031.

I'm surprised that they don't already intend to recover higher percentages than that given the cost of the raw materials.

Martyn1981

Technically, this is just Toyota repeating their plans to maybe offer a BEV Hilux, but it's looking more advanced (towards production) so maybe its going to happen. Given the popularity of the vehicle around the World, and Toyota slowly starting to lean a bit more towards BEV's, it's potentially great news.

The Electric Toyota Hilux Revo Could Really Transform The E-Mobility Landscape In A Lot Of Countries

Toyota had mentioned a few years ago that it had plans to introduce an electric Hilux. Well, the good news is that Toyota recently showcased the Toyota Hilux Revo BEV Concept as part of Toyota Thailand’s 60th Anniversary. Thailand is a major production hub for the Toyota Hilux. Looking at the pictures of the Toyota Hilux Revo BEV Concept, it doesn’t look so “concepty” and this could spring some hope that it is not too far from going into production. Let’s wait and see.