02 Sep 2019 | Vegan Steering Wheels, V2G Trials and Rivian’s Show Up Testing
GM And Tesla Unlock Connected Car Features To Help With Hurricane Dorian | Tesla Releases A Fully Vegan Model 3 | Next Generation Of Electric Cars Heading To Europe | Vehicle To Grid Technology Set For Plymouth Pilot | Dutch Government Treats 21 Municipalities To Smart EV Chargers | Rivian R1T Electric Pickup Truck Shows Up In White, Covered In Dirt | ABB Is Employing Azipod For Heavy-Duty Shipping | Volkswagen e-Golf Gets £2,765 Value Boost | Deutsche Post Sees Interest From Potential Partners For EV
Show #568
Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Monday 2nd September 2019. It’s Martyn Lee here and I go through every EV story to save you time.
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GM AND TESLA UNLOCK CONNECTED CAR FEATURES TO HELP WITH HURRICANE DORIAN
"With Hurricane Dorian threatening the East Coast, some automakers are leveraging their networks of connected cars to help out. General Motors is offering its free OnStar Crisis Assist to owners in Dorian-threatened areas, and Tesla will provide free Supercharging and unlock the software-limited range of some of its cheaper models to help its owners flee the storm." reports ArsTechnca: "As is becoming tradition during hurricane season, GM says that its OnStar advisors can help route people away from danger or toward resources like shelter, food, and water; the service can even help with booking hotel rooms where feasible. OnStar-equipped vehicles will get free hands-free calling minutes and data for the cars' LTE hotspots. Similarly, Tesla CEO Elon Musk told a Tesla Model 3 twitter account that his company would again help out with free Supercharging and extra range for some vehicles. For 2017's Hurricane Irma and 2018's Hurricanes Florence and Michael, Tesla temporarily extended the range on Model S and Model X 60D vehicles in hurricane states. These vehicles have identical 75kWh lithium-ion battery packs to the more expensive 75D models, but they are software-locked to just 60kWh."
TESLA RELEASES A FULLY VEGAN MODEL 3, TO THE DELIGHT OF ANIMAL-LOVERS
"Despite all of its green credentials, the Tesla Model 3 fell down in one area: a leather steering wheel. But not any more. Following pressure from customers and animal rights groups such as PETA, Tesla has decided to make the Model 3 completely vegan, offering a leather-free steering wheel to match the existing 'Tesla Synthetic Material' used in the seating." according to Tech Radar: "The option is not a completely new one; the Model S and Model X have been available with vegan-friendly steering wheels for a little while now. At the company's annual shareholder meeting in June, Elon Musk announced that the interior of the Model 3 would be completely vegan by 2020. It is not only possible to buy a new Tesla Model 3 with a non-leather steering wheel; the company is also offering retrofits which are reported to cost $550 plus $50 labour. Next year's Model Y will also be a fully vegan vehicle."
NEXT GENERATION OF ELECTRIC CARS HEADING TO EUROPE
"Electric car brand Karma is set to bring its new model to Europe, taking on Tesla to become the leader in luxury electric vehicles." says Euronews.com: "Karma has put a hefty price tag of $135,000 (€123,128) on the model, each of which are bespoke with one-off designs created for each customer. So committed is the brand to becoming a leader in luxury electronic cars that it has hired former Tesla executive, Rogier Kroymans, to coordinate the launch of the 2020 Revero in Europe. Its ‘stealth’ mode is purely electric, allowing for emissions-free travel, while ‘sustain’ turns on the range-extending generator to preserve the battery pack’s power for use when the driver chooses. It also has a ‘sport’ mode that combines the output from the battery pack and the generator for maximum driving performance."
https://www.euronews.com/living/2019/09/03/next-generation-of-electric-cars-heading-to-europe
VEHICLE TO GRID TECHNOLOGY SET FOR PLYMOUTH PILOT
"Plymouth City Council in the UK is set to implement a pilot project testing the use of vehicle to grid capability with its electric vehicle fleet." reports governmenteuropa.eu: "The council has partnered with technology conglomerate Cisco to trial Cisco’s E-Flex demonstration project, which will implement vehicle to grid technology in the council’s six Nissan Leaf electric vehicles. Each car will be fitted with a bidirectional charger, which allows vehicles to draw electrical charge from the energy grid and then return unused electricity back to the grid when the vehicle is not in use: the technology enables the user to save on costs and reduces pressure on the grid at times of peak charging."
https://www.governmenteuropa.eu/vehicle-to-grid-technology/94528/
DUTCH GOVERNMENT TREATS 21 MUNICIPALITIES TO SMART EV CHARGERS
"Vehicle-to-grid functions could soon become increasingly important. While policymakers discuss the necessary regulations in other nations, the Netherlands government is motoring ahead with the technology." writes PV Magazine: "By providing a €5 million grant, the ministry is helping install 472 smart chargers with vehicle-to-grid functionality across 21 municipalities. The first smart chargers will be available for public use next year. The ministry said vehicle-to-grid functionality will be made available to various car models, with the Nissan Leaf and Renault Zoe already compatible. The project will enable EV drivers to capitalize on the provision of power to the grid from their batteries at times of peak demand."
RIVIAN R1T ELECTRIC PICKUP TRUCK SHOWS UP IN WHITE, COVERED IN DIRT
"The Rivian R1T electric pickup truck was spotted out on an adventure. This truck is dressed in white paint (unlike the silver we've seen on all R1Ts to date), though it's covered in a lot of dirt." says InsideEVs: "Our friends over at Rivian Forums shared these images, as well as some notes, which we've listed below. The trucks are out in Argentina for some testing in extreme conditions (and likely for some filming too, which we'll keep our eyes peeled for). We expect to see a few more changes as the R1T moves from prototype to production, but the truck is very close to production-ready. Unlike the promised $50,000 Tesla truck, Rivian seems to be way more realistic here. In regards to pricing, the Rivian R1T comes in a few different flavors, so the price tag will vary quite considerably. However, Rivian targets a starting price of $69,000 for the base version of the R1T, but the automaker notes that top-level versions will be sold first and we suspect those will go for well over $100,000."
https://insideevs.com/news/368455/rivian-r1t-pickup-truck-off-road-white/
ABB IS EMPLOYING AZIPOD FOR HEAVY-DUTY SHIPPING
"ABB has entered a new market segment with its Azipod electric marine propulsion system: The technology group will install the electric propulsion for the first time on board two container cargo ships." according to electrive: "The two ships, to be delivered to Oldendorff Carriers by the Chinese shipyard Chengxi in 2021, will each be equipped with two 1.9 MW Azipod units. These are propeller nacelles mounted under the ship – ABB is one of the six largest manufacturers of such propeller nacelles with the Azipod system. These can be rotated 360 degrees and thus increase manoeuvrability. Each nacelle has an electric motor. However, it does not receive its power from a high-voltage accumulator, but rather from a serial hybrid: the ship’s diesel engine drives a generator that generates the necessary electricity. ABB also supplies the generators, bow thruster motors, transformers, control panels and the energy management system."
https://www.electrive.com/2019/09/03/abb-is-employing-azipod-on-heavy-shipping/
VOLKSWAGEN E-GOLF GETS £2,765 VALUE BOOST
Volkswagen UK has reduced the price of the e-Golf to £31,075 RRP OTR, which equates to £27,575 after the Government’s Plug-In Car Grant. An OTR price reduction of £2,765 makes the e-Golf an even more value-friendly offering.
Volkswagen’s electric journey doesn’t start and finish with the e-Golf, however. The arrival of the ID.3 electric hatchback in 2020 will see Volkswagen’s much-anticipated electric vehicle plans come to fruition, built upon a purpose-built electric platform, the Modular Electric Drive Kit (MEB). This will underpin a whole range of pure electric ID. vehicles, as Volkswagen aims for electromobility leadership – building electric cars for millions, not millionaires.
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