26 Nov 2019 | Ford Back Away From Tesla Twitter Challenge, Mach E Spotted Undisguised and Renault Zoe Drops Battery Lease
Mach-E Spotted Undisguised | Ford Challenges, Then Runs Away From Tesla Tug Of War | BMW Mocks Tesla Cybertruck In Social Media Ad For Armored X5 SUV | Elon Musk: Unexpected Technology Announcements Coming Next Year | Ford May Be Developing A Lincoln Electric SUVWith Rivian | Toyota’s :n "There’s No Demand For Evs" | Zoe Now Offered In The UK With Purchase Option Only | BMW Confirms Range Extender Is On Its Way To Extinction | Study Links Pollution To Memory Decline
Show #653
Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Tuesday 26th November 2019. It’s Martyn Lee here and I go through every EV story to save you time.
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.
MACH-E SPOTTED UNDISGUISED IN THE WILD
From Mach E Forum: "We get our first undisguised look at the Ford Mustang Mach-E in the wild, running on public roads in Dearborn. An added wrinkle is that this prototype is right-hand-drive, as Ford works on fine-tuning the fully-electric performance crossover for global consumption. We can also see how Ford has made design accommodations for the international license plates on the front- and rear-fascias."
FORD CHALLENGES, THEN RUNS AWAY FROM TESLA TUG OF WAR
Here's how a bizarre story turned out.
sunny madra @sundeep
hey @elonmusk - send us a cybertruck and we will do the apples to apples test for you 😉😉😉
“A senior Ford spokesperson told InsideEVs.com that Madra’s tweet ‘was tongue-in-cheek’ and meant to point out the absurdity of Tesla’s tow video.”
BMW MOCKS TESLA CYBERTRUCK IN SOCIAL MEDIA AD FOR ARMORED X5 SUV
"The market may be warming up to the Tesla Cybertruck has shown in the vehicle’s 200k reservations and its spreading support among social media influencers and athletes, but some rival carmakers do not seem to be as friendly to the polarizing vehicle." says Simon at Teslarati: "Among these are BMW and Fisker, both of which have seemingly thrown some shade on the Tesla Cybertruck, particularly with its durability and its angular design. German automaker BMW took to Twitter to promote its BMW X5 Protection VR6, an armored version of its popular SUV that is as tough as it gets. Referencing Tesla’s demo, BMW noted that its X5 Protection VR6 offers splinter protection “in case it gets hit by a metal ball,” an apparent reference to the Cybertruck’s unveiling event."
https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-cybertruck-mocked-bmw-x5/
ELON MUSK: UNEXPECTED TECHNOLOGY ANNOUNCEMENTS COMING NEXT YEAR
Elon Musk's tweet from Sunday confirms that there will be no new product unveilings in the near future: "Cybertruck is our last product unveil for a while", which is reasonable as besides the Model S, Model X and Model 3, Tesla has 4 models in the pipeline: Model Y, Semi, Model S/X Plaid, Roadster, Cybertruck. At the same time, Elon hints at upcoming "technology announcements", which mostly will be unexpected." reports InsideEVs: "We already know that Tesla is working on its own in-house battery cell technology that would provide higher energy density/more affordable prices, which is not an unexpected then. The question is what else does Tesla have on its shelves that we mostly do not expect?"
https://insideevs.com/news/384228/elon-musk-unexpected-technology-announcements-coming/
FORD MAY BE DEVELOPING A NEW LINCOLN ELECTRIC SUV WITH RIVIAN
"All the investor money that's been poured into EV startup Rivian may be starting to bear fruit already for the investors themselves, according to a report Tuesday by Reuters." says CNET: "One of the most prominent Rivian investors is Ford, which is now rumored to be readying its luxury brand Lincoln's first EV in 2022 with a new skateboard-style chassis developed by Rivian. Whether this is the same chassis that will underpin the highly anticipated Rivian R1S SUV is unclear, but seems likely. Here's where things get a little complicated: Based on Lincoln's other SUV offerings, it would make sense for this EV to compete in the same price range as Rivian's own R1S, which will start at $72,500. It wouldn't surprise us to see Lincoln's offering lean way more toward the luxury soft-roader style that it's been perfecting with vehicles like the Navigator and the Aviator while Rivian aims its 'ute at the granola and mountain bikes crowd."
Read more here: https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/ford-lincoln-rivian-electric-suv-rumor/
TOYOTA’S SALES AND MARKETING CHIEF SAYS THERE’S NO DEMAND FOR EVS
"!Toyota held a behind-the-scenes roundtable discussion with about a half-dozen journalists last week at the LA Auto Show. We were in the room." says Electrek: "The session gave us a chance to ask Toyota about its views on EVs and its decision to fight against California’s clean air rules. Jack Hollis, group vice-president and general manager of Toyota North America, laid it on the line: “We are continuously working on EV entries,” he said. “But right now, there’s no demand." Outside the door of the conference room, the entire auto industry is making the shift to battery-electric vehicles. But Hollis and his colleagues were pushing for more hydrogen infrastructure and pointing to Toyota’s success with hybrids. The tone-deaf responses to our questions (and from one other journalist willing to ask tough questions) were shocking."
NEW ZOE NOW OFFERED IN THE UK WITH FULL PURCHASE OPTION ONLY
The New ZOE will be offered in the UK exclusively with the ‘Full Purchase’ option that includes the battery and therefore has no monthly battery lease payments. The ‘Battery Lease’ option will no longer be available in the UK. This is as a result of the significantly improved class-leading residual values, which enable a more competitive full purchase price and customer offer.
ZOE was initially only available as Battery Lease. This was complemented in November 2014 by the additional option of Full Purchase.
Strengthening the New ZOE’s customer offer, Renault has announced class-leading predicted Residual Values (RVs) of up to 42 per cent, according to industry experts CAP. Calculated over three years and 30,000 miles, this figure compares strongly with other new all-electric models in the market.
The New ZOE has been refreshed inside and out, while its new 52kWh battery results in a class-leading range of 245 miles under latest WLTP testing conditions with faster 50kW DC rapid charging also now available.
BMW CONFIRMS I3 REX RANGE EXTENDER IS ON ITS WAY TO EXTINCTION
"The rapid progress of lithium-ion battery-cell energy density and the growth of fast-charging networks have together helped write the epitaph for BMW’s range-extending technology, badged REx on the BMW i3." according to Green Car Reports: "“It has no future,” replied Jan Freimann, BMW’s manager for connected e-mobility and one of the company’s battery experts, in a presentation on battery technology and procurement last week at the LA Auto Show. “The idea behind the range extender really helps people to get over range anxiety,” he explained, and it helped keep BMW from being reliant on big battery packs. “With a range extender you always had the feeling like okay, I’ve got a backup solution.” BMW is planning to continue to offer the REx option for the North American market—right up until, perhaps, it could be made redundant with another battery upgrade due for the i3 around 2021. And with the future of the BMW i3 looking to be evolving toward affordability and mass-market appeal, we wouldn’t discount the option even then."
STUDY LINKS EXPOSURE TO PM2.5 EXPOSURE TO BRAIN ATROPHY, MEMORY DECLINE IN OLDER WOMEN
"Women in their 70s and 80s who were exposed to higher levels of air pollution experienced greater declines in memory and more Alzheimer’s-like brain atrophy than their counterparts who breathed cleaner air, according to a new study by researchers at USC, Wake Forest School of Medicine, and their colleagues at other institutions." writes Green Car Congress: "The findings of the nationwide study, published in Brain, touch on the renewed interest in preventing Alzheimer’s disease by reducing risk as well as hint at a potential disease mechanism. Alzheimer’s is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States, and there’s currently no cure or treatment.PM2.5come from traffic exhaust, smoke and dust and their tiny size allows them to remain airborne for long periods, get inside buildings, be inhaled easily, and reach and accumulate in the brain. Fine particle pollution is associated with asthma, cardiovascular disease, lung disease and premature death. Previous research has suggested that fine particle pollution exposure increases the risk for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. What scientists haven’t known is whether PM2.5 alters brain structure and accelerates memory decline."
https://www.greencarcongress.com/2019/11/20191125-pm25.html
QUESTION OF THE WEEK
The MYEV.com Question Of The Week…
"The controversial, and botched, Cybertruck launch is now the most-Googled search term in the companies history. But did it help or hinder the wider movement to EVs?”
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