Mercedes-Benz EQA To Debut Next Week | 17 Jan 2021
Mercedes-Benz EQA To Debut On January 20 | Chevy offers 0% financing on used Bolt EV and Volt | Xpeng plans European expansion | BMW plans to double battery electric car sales this year | Volkswagen adds EV makers to CO2 pool with SAIC | European plug-in car market now almost equal with China | Audi strengthens business in China | Question of the Week Answers
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On today’s podcast:
- Mercedes-Benz EQA To Debut On January 20
- Chevy offers 0% financing on used Bolt EV and Volt
- Xpeng plans European expansion
- BMW plans to double battery electric car sales this year
- Volkswagen adds EV makers to CO2 pool with SAIC
- European plug-in car market now almost equal with China
- Audi strengthens business in China
- Question of the Week Answers
Show #965
Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Sunday 17th January. It’s Martyn Lee here and I go through every EV story so you don't have to.
Thank you to MYEV.com for helping make this show, they’ve built the first marketplace specifically for Electric Vehicles. It’s a totally free marketplace that simplifies the buying and selling process, and help you learn about EVs along the way too.
Welcome to a new Patreon PRODUCER TYLER SCHAEFER
Welcome to a new Patreon EXECUTIVE PRODUCER JOHN SCHROEDER
From Peter Bryn: Greetings. In Washington State, the current legislative session will be considering a ban on ICE vehicle registrations for model years beyond 2030. This bill (House HB 1204 / Senate SB 5256) has been introduced and it's an opportunity for folks to contact their legislators to share their support.
MERCEDES-BENZ EQA TO DEBUT ON JANUARY 20
"Mercedes-Benz has teased today a new image of the interior of the upcoming all-electric compact crossover/SUV EQA model, scheduled for the unveiling on January 20, 2020." says InsideEVs: "This new model (a sister model to GLA), is already in production at the Rastatt plant, Germany and should be available in the European dealerships as early as Spring 2021. In the future, it will be produced also at the Beijing plant, China (for the local market). Mercedes-Benz said that at first there will be introduced the single-motor EQA 250 version with a power output of 140 kW. That's the first number that we got. At a later point there will be additional, more capable versions with power output above 200 kW (the precise value was not disclosed) and all-wheel drive (dual motor). The video presentation to be released on the EQA website at 11:00 a.m. (CET)."
https://insideevs.com/news/466483/mercedesbenz-eqa-debut-january-20/
CHEVY OFFERS 0% FINANCING ON USED BOLT EV AND VOLT
"If you're considering a used electric car, now might be a good time to spring into action. General Motors is offering 0% APR financing for 72 months on used Chevrolet Bolt EV electric cars and Chevy Volt plug-in hybrids, according to our companion site CarsDirect, which cited a bulletin sent to dealerships last week. The deal, which runs through February 1, is the type of offer typically seen only for new cars." says Green Car Reports: "Only factory-certified used cars are eligible, the website said, adding that dealerships may certify used cars to their own standards, but these dealer-certified vehicles do not qualify for financing deals from the automaker. The reason for deals on used models may be that Bolt EVs of this vintage are currently being limited to 90% of their battery capacity, as GM and cell supplier LG Chem work on a solution to an issue potentially related to Bolt EV fire risk."
https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1130944_chevy-offers-0-financing-on-used-bolt-ev-and-volt
XPENG PLANS EUROPEAN EXPANSION
"With the launch of its G3 SUV in Norway, Xpeng is now looking at further European countries to expand to. The G3 has a WLTP range of 280 miles and is considered a smart SUV. This is thanks to its clever XPILOT 2.5 advanced driver assistance system. The G3’s auto parking function is able to distinguish between parallel and bay parking spaces, as well as marked and unmarked ones." reports Next Green Car: "The domestic market in China is still Xpeng’s primary customer base but it has big ambitions to move further into Europe. Xpeng is actively exploring its next steps, looking at other mature EV hotspots like Norway. The G3 SUV will be the first to roll out in other countries but the P7 electric sports sedan will be the next to launch in Europe."
https://www.nextgreencar.com/news/9070/xpeng-plans-european-expansion/
BMW PLANS TO DOUBLE BATTERY ELECTRIC CAR SALES THIS YEAR
"BMW said on Friday that it aims to double its sales of fully-electric vehicles this year as the German carmaker and rivals race to release new models to comply with CO2 emissions targets and chase market leader Tesla. BMW also said that including plug-in hybrids, it aims for a 50% increase in sales of electrified vehicles versus 2020. It did not give sales volumes for its fully electric vehicles but in 2020 data released on Tuesday BMW said it sold close to 193,000 electrified vehicles — fully electric and plug-in hybrid — last year." writes Autoblog: "Tesla delivered just under 500,000 vehicles, all fully electric, to customers in 2020. The BMW Group currently produces 13 electrified models — either fully electric or plug-in hybrid — sold in 74 markets. BMW said on Tuesday that its global EV sales rose 31.8% in 2020 and accounted for 15% of its sales in Europe, helping the company meet its European Union emissions targets for last year."
https://www.autoblog.com/2021/01/16/bmw-plans-double-ev-sales/
VOLKSWAGEN ADDS EV MAKERS TO CO2 POOL WITH SAIC
"Volkswagen AG has opened its CO2 pool in the EU further at the end of last year to include more manufacturers. The new pooling partners all make electric vehicles." according to electrive: "Take the Chinese newcomer Aiways, whose BEVs will now add to Volkswagen’s “efforts” in keeping in line with the EU emission regulations as the company drives forward European expansion. Other new members to the CO2 pool include the British London Electric Vehicle Company (LEVC), which belongs to the Geely Group. Most of the Group’s sales in Britain are through Bentley, meaning CO2 intensive cars. LEVC will now add to this pool of greener cars."
https://www.electrive.com/2021/01/15/volkswagen-adds-ev-makers-to-co2-pool-with-saic/
EUROPEAN PLUG-IN CAR MARKET NOW ALMOST EQUAL WITH CHINA
"According to Schmidt Automotive Research, the West European passenger car market finished 2020 under 35,000 units behind the Chinese plug-in market. Although that doesn't sound close on the surface, the difference between the two motoring giants at the end of 2019 was still a mammoth 650,000 units." writes Matthias Schmidt: "The West European market that includes the original EU member states before the 2004 enlargement plus Norway, Iceland and Switzerland saw a near-even split between BEVs and PHEVs contribute to the 1.33 million new passenger cars entering European roads last year. While in China, according to CAAM data, four-in-five of the plug-ins entering roads there were of the pure electric BEV variant last year."
AUDI STRENGTHENS BUSINESS IN CHINA
Audi and FAW confirm a new cooperation company for the future production of PPE-based electric vehicles in Changchun in the northeast of China.
AUDI AG and Volkswagen Group China will receive a 60-percent share, making this company – founded for the local production of fully electric Audi models on the “Premium Platform Electric” (PPE) codeveloped with Porsche – the first cooperation company with a majority interest held by Audi in China.
Local manufacture of the first PPE model produced jointly with FAW is scheduled to start by 2024.
QUESTION OF THE WEEK ANSWERS
Mark Buckingham in New Zealand
Kia Ora Martyn, My favorite charging network is Chargenet here in New Zealand thanks to them I have 98,000 ks on my Kona and can travel anywhere in NZ.
Thanks for what you do , been listening since January 2018 so it’s 3 years coming up soon? Congrats
THIJS TOLLENAAR
My favourite charging network is the one available at my destination! With my 2012 Kangoo I have a limited range and no fast charging (3.7kW max actually) but driving it in the Netherlands is attainable because of the availability of destination chargers. As long as they are plenty and available, I’m happy! :-)
(PATREON) JEAN-MICHEL MASSEY
I can’t fault Tesla’s network - you called it already on the show - it just works, it’s fast, they’re plentiful, and the car plans the route for you, giving me confidence to go on long drives (I’ve done two 2000+ mile road trips around France) I’ve used a few destination chargers at hotels too which is always amazing - I have to street park my car in London, luckily can charge at work, street parking remains a sticking point for the masses in the city for sure, I like the Ubitricity model, power sipping off street lamps so, If there was one network in the city I’d like to roll out quicker, that would be the one - some city charging is paid by time - and becomes rather expensive to fill from low SOC to full, however, my local point remains fairly busy.
LEE BROWN, SCOTLAND
My answer for this week is ChargePlace Scotland. £20 a year for an RFID card and access to hundreds of chargers that are getting added to each and every month. It helped me buy an EV in the first place as all round where I live charging is still free on rapids and destination chargers. Dedicated helpline too and from my experience very little problems plugging in.
VICK GRANT
Instavolt gets my vote. It works, debit/credit card only, priced ok, easy to use.
(PATREON) ED CORTEEN
As most of my charging is at home we only charge on long trips and since these are mainly on motorways our favourite chargers are ZAP-MAPs least favourite, the Electric Highway, this was originally paid for with the help of Nissan so as a driver of a Leaf has never failed me, two chargers in most locations and very rarely a queue as we usually travel during the week. Most importantly if the charger loses connection you get a free charge, unlike other networks where the charger simply refuses to work in this situation. I think the poor implementation of CCS and only one charger at each location has put many drivers off and needs to be fixed!
KARL CRAMER
Change Point. I’d be willing to pay a reasonable rate but all the Charges Point chargers in my area are free. All of them.
CAROLINE, LOS ALTOS CA
Volta Charging here in the US! Free to consumer, super convenient locations and highly visible, and sounds like they’re coming with some form of DCFC that’s also (partially) free. I charge at the mall and grocery locations. Their free, easy to use charging Convinced me it’s time to buy into EV!
NICHOLAS PARTRIDGE, EAST NORTHANTS
Currently I'm enjoying chargepoint instavolt as they're conveniently located and very easy to use. Once I got the (NFC?) card sent from Holland.
MATTI JOUKIMO, FINLAND
My and many others in Finland prefer and love Recharge network for two main reasons. First they work like a charm and have wide coverage. Second, and this is equally important (if not more), they were the first to adopt awesome S-series charging system by Kempower! (special thanks to the owner of the McDonald's too.)"
CASEY, EDMONDS
I don't do very much long distance travel so I charge mostly at home. But when we're out shopping or running errands, I like to look for Volta chargers. They are "free" level 2 chargers with ads. The network is growing here in the US and for people like me, who don't need to go from 20 to 80, they're great.
QUESTION OF THE WEEK
When did you first know you wanted to drive EV?
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