Battery Electric Vehicle News / Enjoying the Transportation Revolution

Martyn1981

Nice little story of BEV tuk-tuks, being used to monitor and service e-scooters. And yet again, a story involving Bristol.

[Don't know if it's partially confirmation bias, but most stories about green advances seem to be disproportionately Bristol or Scotland based.  ]

Voi Mobility Partners With BILITI Electric To Use Electric Tuk-Tuks To Service E-Scooters In UK

Electric 3-wheelers used to transport team members to carry out maintenance on electric scooters and also to transport scooters and batteries for charging and swapping — how cool is that? This is a great application of electric last mile transport solutions and helps electrify more aspects of the shared micromobility ecosystem.

The 3-wheeled, open-cabin, and all-electric zero-emission vehicle will soon become a regular sight on the streets of Bristol, UK. The partnership will see the vehicle integrated into Voi’s warehouse vehicle fleet to support on-street maintenance within the city’s new Clean Air Zone, which includes over 130 conveniently located e-scooter parking spots.

Martyn1981

The US is about 2yrs behind Europe with their BEV car sales (but progressing nicely), and they are doing well with the bus fleet. Great way to improve the quality of public transport for users, and also as an educational opportunity for folk to learn how great BEV's are.

US zero-emission transit buses saw a 66% increase in 2022 – here’s why

The number of full-size transit zero-emission buses in the US saw a 66% increase since 2021, according to newly released data.

There were 5,480 full-size transit zero-emission buses funded, ordered, and/or delivered in the US in 2022, according to the report, “Zeroing in on ZEBs,” from clean transport advocacy nonprofit Calstart. That breaks down to 5,269 battery electric buses and 211 fuel-cell electric buses.

Martyn1981

Nice to see these results from the study in California*, especially with the changes to London's ULEZ. Early days, and as the article states:

Overall, the study highlights the potential of ZEVs to positively impact the environment and public health, while also pointing to the need for continued research and policy development to ensure a just and equitable transition to an electrified transportation sector.

*The US BEV adoption rate is a couple of years behind Europe, but California is roughly on par.

New Study Links EVs With Real-World Reductions In Air Pollution & Respiratory Problems

A new study by researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, published in the Science of the Total Environment journal, has found a link between the increased use of zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) and improved air quality and public health in California. This is one of the first studies using real-world data to show that electric cars are associated with reductions in both air pollution and respiratory problems.

The study analyzed data on the number of zero-emissions vehicles (ZEVs), ambient NO2 pollution, asthma emergency department visits, and population characteristics in 1,238 California zip codes for the 2013-2019 time period. This represents a natural experiment — on average across zip codes in the state, ZEVs increased from 1.4 to 14.6 per 1,000 people between 2013 and 2019, allowing researchers to observe and quantify the impacts of rising EV adoption on NO2 and asthma-related ED visits. The results show that each increase of 20 ZEVs per 1,000 people within a zip code reduced NO2 by 0.41 parts per billion in the air, and reduced asthma-related emergency visits by 3.2%, indicating an early transition to ZEVs in California has resulted in positive outcomes for both the environment and public health. The study also controlled for confounding factors by using age-adjusted rates of asthma emergency visits. Today, EVs in California exceed 20 per 1,000 people, with the vast majority being Teslas, meaning that EVs led by Tesla have reduced asthma-related emergency room visits by several thousand just in California alone.

Martyn1981

I do like these news stories, about 2 and 3 wheeler BEV's. I think the transition at this end, in countries with less cars (currently) will help to avoid them shifting to ICEV's, and instead leapfrog to BEV's. Without this future market for larger ICEV's, it will also encourage and accelerate the transition by legacy auto as they see all future markets moving away from ICE ..... hopefully. 

Solutions Africa Introduces Electric Tuk-Tuks In Kenya

The electric 2-wheeler market in Kenya has been getting a lot of attention. There are over 15 startups in the sector that are at different stages in their development. After several years of pilot programs, a lot of them are now ramping up their operations. 285,203 ICE motorcycles were registered in Kenya in 2021, so you can understand the focus on this segment given the large addressable market for electrification.

Another key area in Kenya’s transport sector for the movement of people and goods is the 3-wheeler market. Tuk-tuks are a key segment, especially in the coastal region of Kenya in places such as Diani, Mombasa, Kilifi, Watamu, and Malindi. One can’t miss the noise from the thousands of tuk-tuks driving around these places.

JKenH

EU Parliament confirms 2035 ban on new petrol and diesel cars

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/eu-parliament-confirms-2035-ban-new-petrol-and-diesel-cars

Coastalwatch

Coastalwatch said:

Being a firm believer that climate change is happening and having spent the last five years or so modifying our lives around doing as little further harm to the planet as we can we've made no secret of the matter amongst family & friends. In doing so simply hoping by example and gentle suggestion, we might encourage others to think about their futures too. This has been met with varying degrees of success, or lack of in the main. Sure we've cajoled close family members to sign up with Ripple but little else beyond, so it was with an element of surprise when a friend we'd not had contact with for several months arrived at an event in a two year old 40 kWh Leaf!

It transpired his previous high mileage ice was costing a fortune to maintain and run so he bit the bullet and went straight for an EV based solely upon our experiences of owning one. So no pressure there then!

Apparently the monthly fees for the four year contract were no more than his previous monthly spend on fuel. He's had it three months, completed 6k miles and loves it.

Given that he travels the length and breadth of the country playing at various functions and knowing what issues can present themselves when making the change I was delighted to learn of his positive experience. He's taken to Zapmap, sorting out where his stops need to be. While at home charging relies simply on the granny cable. Having now seen our Zappi charger he might have other thoughts.

Seems we made an impression on someone after all! 

Three months on and our friend has now doubled the mileage from above and still loves his Leaf and experiences in it. In fact, now in addition he has the "knowledge" of favoured charge points he admits to being hooked and is thinking ahead to what model he might like to replace it with when his current contract ends. For someone covering 24k miles/year up and down the country that is some testimony.

Martyn1981

Good news from VW as they move forward on their small BEV the ID.Life, now to be the ID.2, or hopefully carry the Golf name forward. At a potential £20k(ish), it would probably sell very, very well.

New Entry-Level Volkswagen May Carry The Golf Name Forward

Unnamed sources tell Autocar the new car is a compact 5-seater with a target base price of €22,500 (£20,135) in today’s money. They also claim the car will carry the well known Golf name forward. There is even the possibility that a GTI version may be in the offing sometime in the future.

Those sources also confirm that the Volkswagen ID 2/Golf will be the first Volkswagen based on the MEB Plus platform — an updated version of today’s widely used MEB electric car structure that will use lithium-iron-phosphate prismatic battery cells and be able to charge at speeds of up to 200 kW.

JKenH

Martyn1981 said:

Good news from VW as they move forward on their small BEV the ID.Life, now to be the ID.2, or hopefully carry the Golf name forward. At a potential £20k(ish), it would probably sell very, very well.

New Entry-Level Volkswagen May Carry The Golf Name Forward

Unnamed sources tell Autocar the new car is a compact 5-seater with a target base price of €22,500 (£20,135) in today’s money. They also claim the car will carry the well known Golf name forward. There is even the possibility that a GTI version may be in the offing sometime in the future.

Those sources also confirm that the Volkswagen ID 2/Golf will be the first Volkswagen based on the MEB Plus platform — an updated version of today’s widely used MEB electric car structure that will use lithium-iron-phosphate prismatic battery cells and be able to charge at speeds of up to 200 kW.

I hope it turns out more like the e-Golf than the iD3. The iD3 was a big disappointment for me. People won’t buy it if the touch screen technology is second rate, or if they do they won’t buy it again. 

A lot of people are becoming frustrated with “advances” in design technology making cars more difficult to operate in the real world. 

Bring back knobs and switches (and USS and rain sensing wipers that work properly - yes, that’s you, Tesla)

orrery

JKenH said:

I hope it turns out more like the e-Golf than the iD3. The iD3 was a big disappointment for me. People won’t buy it if the touch screen technology is second rate, or if they do they won’t buy it again.

Odd - I have the Skoda Enyaq, which I assume is the same tech and it seems fine to me, although I share your view that buttons switches and twiddlers are better in some circumstances - like volume controls.

JKenH

orrery said:

JKenH said:

I hope it turns out more like the e-Golf than the iD3. The iD3 was a big disappointment for me. People won’t buy it if the touch screen technology is second rate, or if they do they won’t buy it again.

Odd - I have the Skoda Enyaq, which I assume is the same tech and it seems fine to me, although I share your view that buttons switches and twiddlers are better in some circumstances - like volume controls.

Yeah, it’s more the climate and volume controls I would be wary of. I deliberately went for a late mk 7.5 Golf estate rather than the Mk 8 which like the iD3 has ditched the knobs for touch sensitive sliders which aren’t illuminated. I think VW were trying to ape Tesla minimalism and failed. No doubt they’ll ditch parking sensors next. Progress!