Battery Electric Vehicle News / Enjoying the Transportation Revolution

Martyn1981

Q. When does a leak improve a home's efficiency?
A. When you convince your sister to 'bet' the ASHP budget on Tesla shares during the Covid crash, and at $1,000+ she now has a free ASHP. (Smug mode  )

Tesla Now Focused On Volume Production Of Tesla Semi — Leaked Email From Elon Musk Confirmed

Donny Dolittle shared a screenshot of a leaked June 9 email from Elon Musk regarding the Tesla Semi, indicating that it is finally going into production. Elon has now confirmed on Twitter that he did indeed send the email.

michaels

The semi and cybertruck prices suggest TSLA are confident of a break through on battery pricing, I can't wait to hear what they have to say on battery day.  We know they have the new cheaper but lower density CATL pack (will it still be based on cylindrical cells or is it pouch?  Being lower density we think they can only fit the short range+ capacity into the 3 and Y and I can't see it coming to the S and X but perhaps in the cybertruck and semi battery volume is less of an issue?

Martyn1981

Lots of bits of BEV news:

USA’s Battery500 Initiative Has Achieved Li-Metal Battery Energy Density Of 350 Wh/kg

Toward the end of President Obama’s time in office, the US Department of Energy (DOE) launched a “Battery500 Consortium.” The goal is in the name: reaching 500 Wh/kg battery energy density with lithium-metal battery cells, a target which was reportedly triple the battery energy density at the time. (Notably, though, an update from the consortium indicates that when the program actually started in 2017, energy density was at 300 Wh/kg.)

Additionally, the goal was to go from 10 cycles to 1,000 cycles (100% battery discharges).

A quote from the launch: “The Battery500 Consortium aims to triple the specific energy (to 500 Wh/kg) relative to today’s battery technology while achieving 1,000 electric vehicles cycles. This will result in a significantly smaller, lighter weight, less expensive battery pack (below $100/kWh) and more affordable EVs.”

[Note - Nikola (the H2 fuel cell guys) claim to already be at 500Wh/kg, and they don't even seem to need a battery lab nor factory. Hmm.]

Tesla Tops Toyota In Market Cap, Becomes World’s Largest Auto & Clean Energy Company

On January 22, 2020, I wrote that Tesla overtook Volkswagen to become the world’s 2nd largest auto company by market cap. At that point in time, Tesla had just crossed $100 billion in value.

It’s hard to imagine that five months later on June 10, Tesla overtook Toyota, becoming the world’s largest auto and clean energy company by market cap.

Very, very short article showing the energy efficiency of BEV v's H2 v's power to liquid fuel (run in an ICE):

This Stunning Chart Shows Why Battery Electric Vehicles Win

The following chart from Transport & Environment is a gem. It’s a great chart to explain that battery electric vehicles are, by far, our most efficient automobile option, and clearly the future of transport.

NigeWick

michaels said:

We know they have the new cheaper but lower density CATL pack (will it still be based on cylindrical cells or is it pouch?  

I suspect cylindrical as they are cheaper to make and Tesla already has the temperature control and input/output electronics sorted. That said, I am probably wrong.

joefizz

NigeWick said:

michaels said:

We know they have the new cheaper but lower density CATL pack (will it still be based on cylindrical cells or is it pouch?  

I suspect cylindrical as they are cheaper to make and Tesla already has the temperature control and input/output electronics sorted. That said, I am probably wrong.

I remember prismatic being mentioned sometime last year. Pouches have proved problematic in cars for longevity and cylindrical have been easier and quicker to make as individual units but not optimal for assembly etc. The prismatic will be in a rigid case rather than a pouch.
Prismatic are better from a density point of view but not from cooling/recycling/single default in pack point of view.

Martyn1981

Typically need to be careful of US auto maker hype, as they need to keep customers on side, though in this case it may be slower than expected, but hopefully Ford are serious about BEV's:

Ford Says Electric Pickup & Van Coming “In 24 Months”

Ford COO Jim Farley said in an interview on CNBC’s Squawk On The Street show this week that the company’s first electric pickup truck and its first electric cargo van will be on sale by “mid-2022.” That’s about 24 months from now. Many thought the electric pickup would arrive sooner than that after the company posted a video of an electric F-150 pulling a one million pound freight train last year. “We are No. 1 in the pickup and the van market in Western Europe and the U.S. and this is our chance,” Farley said. “We are electrifying and we’re a brand people trust.”

michaels

Just thinking about the proposed 6k scrappage scheme and I have heard this might be on top of the 3k EV grant.  Would this not mean that an EV might be free on a 12 or even 24 month PCP/Lease.  EG take an e-niro list price 40k, assuming it is worth 31k at 12 months old then it could be free on a 12 month lease.

zeupater

michaels said:

Just thinking about the proposed 6k scrappage scheme and I have heard this might be on top of the 3k EV grant.  Would this not mean that an EV might be free on a 12 or even 24 month PCP/Lease.  EG take an e-niro list price 40k, assuming it is worth 31k at 12 months old then it could be free on a 12 month lease.

Hi

.. however, what kind of mindset would anyone need to have in order to pay ~£31k for a 12month old vehicle when they could play the system & pop into a showroom and get a new one for virtually the same price? ...

HTH - Z

JKenH

One problem with the Scrappage scheme is that it isn’t due to be announced until July 6th so that’s killed the new EV market for a month. (Also quite annoying for anyone who has just purchased a new EV.) If a new car is going to be £6k cheaper it will also impact on used EV prices. 

That generally will be a good thing for private individuals as 

a) used cars will be cheaper for new entrants to the EV market and 

b) most people buy their new cars on PCP or lease them so the finance company will take the hit rather than the individual. It may however put the car finance industry deeper into the mire.

michaels

zeupater said:

michaels said:

Just thinking about the proposed 6k scrappage scheme and I have heard this might be on top of the 3k EV grant.  Would this not mean that an EV might be free on a 12 or even 24 month PCP/Lease.  EG take an e-niro list price 40k, assuming it is worth 31k at 12 months old then it could be free on a 12 month lease.

Hi

.. however, what kind of mindset would anyone need to have in order to pay ~£31k for a 12month old vehicle when they could play the system & pop into a showroom and get a new one for virtually the same price? ...

HTH - Z

I guess the assumption was that the scrappage scheme would be time limited as they have been in the past.  Was offered a pug e2008 for 28k on carwow (rrp less 3k grant less 2k discount), at 22k inc a scrappage allowance against my 1k car this would be quite tempting.