18 September 2018 | 300,000 VW EVs On MEB Platform, Hyundai Joins In With EV Racing and Elon Musk In 'Delivery Logistics Hell'
Episode 239, Sep 18, 2018, 12:01 AM
300,000 Volkswagen EVs On MEB Platform Per Year | Hyundai Joins In With EV Racing | BMW Unveil Their Formula E Racer | Elon Musk: Tesla Now In 'Delivery Logistics Hell' | Red Teslas Cost More Now| And Finally - A New Electric Bikething
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Well good morning, good afternoon and good evening, wherever you are in the world, hello and welcome to the Tuesday 18th September edition of EV News Daily. It’s Martyn Lee here with the news you need to know about electric cars and the move towards sustainable transport.
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.
World Premiere in Bremervörde: first hydrogen powered fuel cell passenger train in regular service. Congrats @Alstom
300,000 VOLKSWAGEN EVS ON MEB PLATFORM PER YEAR
- Let me start with background. Here in the EU there are new stringent rules coming in for CO2 emissions across your whole fleet of cars and, for VW which sells a lot of cars, that means selling a LOT of EVs. That will dramatically lower your average fleet emissions. If they don't do it, the fines are per car sold, in increments about how much they pollute.
- So today was a media day, where journalists got to look at the technical side of VW plans, with Volkswagen demonstrating the centerpiece of the MEB – the rolling chassis without the bodywork and interior.
- ELECTRIC FOR ALL campaign launched today, the brand will be putting attractive models at affordable prices on the road, paving the way for the breakthrough of electric vehicles.
- based on the modular electric drive matrix (MEB), a technology platform developed specifically for electric vehicles.
- Production of the Volkswagen ID., the world’s first series vehicle based on the MEB, will begin in Zwickau at the end of 2019
- Range will be from 330km WLTP, going up to 550km
- By 'affordable' they meant the price of equivalent diesel
- A change for VW, RWD will be standard, AWD optional
- Will be made in Zwickau, which is set for 1,500 cars / day for Europe by end of 2020, for anything they make on MEB
- Furthermore, the MEB bundles Volkswagen’s entire production knowledge: it is not a platform for vehicles with combustion engines that has been retroactively modified, but has from the outset been designed to be 100 percent, uncompromisingly electric. As Ulbrich put it: “Our Modular Transverse Toolkit already proved Volkswagen is one of the most successful platform developers in the auto industry. Now, we’re transferring this know-how and this strategy to the electric age. By the end of 2022, four Group brands will be ramping up 27 MEB models worldwide, ranging from compact cars to the lifestyle Bulli. That is something quite unique.”
- All members of the ID. family are designed for fast charging. Using fast charging systems, the battery can be charged 80 percent in about 30 minutes thanks to a completely new, significantly more powerful battery system developed by Volkswagen Group Components.
- IONITY is to have over 100 sites (each one up to 12 chargers) by the end of the year. Up to 350kW
- So in summary, by the time these go into production this time next year, it will be 4 years since dieselgate. And whilst the legal and financial consequences of that will go on for many more years, out of it will come a 30,000Euro mainstream car, being produced at a rate of 300,000 per year.
- Talking of thing time next year, Tesla Model 3 RHD models are said to go into production Summer 2019. The timing will be fascinating to watch.
HYUNDAI JOINS IN WITH EV RACING
- I was recently talking about racing series I’m looking forward to – the I-PACE eTrophy, the new Formula E, Rallycross in 2020, but I missed one out. Thank you to George Hartley in San Francisco who is one of our Patreon Supporters, who emailed me at hello@evnewsdaily.com with this one.
- Hyundai are getting into the scene now by prepping the IONIQ Electric for racing, to compete in the Optima Ultimate Street Car series later this year.
- The outward signs are the flared wheel arches and Volk TE37SL wheels with 275mm width semi-slick rubber on. However if we take a look under the skin it gets interesting. Hyundai’s engineers decided the stock motor wasn’t up to the job, so they’ve nabbed one from a KONA. That ups the power from 118bhp to 201bhp – so it’s a light weight package with lots of torques to call on.
- As well as doing some funky racing things with the limited-slip diff, the brakes and the springs, the next challenge with EV racing is how to manage temperatures.
- Hyundai thought of that too, they’ve upgraded the radiator and the pumps for a water-cooled AC condenser, to keep those cells not-too-hot-not-too-cold.
- And this is an interesting lesson in how to extract performance from an EV. We’re forever being told Formula 1 is the pinnacle of motor racing and how car makers try out tech which filters down to road cars – well I’m still waiting for a DRS rear spoiler. Hyundai will definitely take those lessons from motorsport and apply them to next gen EVs.
https://carbuzz.com/news/hyundai-proves-electric-can-be-cool-with-201-hp-track-focused-ioniq
BMW UNVEIL THEIR FORMULA E RACER
- "BMW has unveiled their first, fully-electric race car. The BMW iFE.18 will join the ABB FIA Formula E Championship as of Season 5 in December. BMW says that the drivetrain was developed using the expertise of the same engineers that designed that of the BMW i3 and will have the BMW works drivers António Félix da Costa (POR) and Alexander Sims (GBR) at the wheel." says BMW Blog.
- BMW themselves said: "“For BMW, it is also the perfect test lab for production development. The technology transfer between motorsport and series production is intense. Our experience from series production benefits the drivetrain of the race car. At the same time, insights from Formula E flow directly into the development of future series production drivetrains. So, I am looking forward to a great racing season.”
- “BMW’s expertise in the BMW iFE.18 is primarily in the heart of the vehicle, the drivetrain,” said BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt. “We told the production engineers designing the electric motor and inverter: ‘Forget about all the considerations you would usually have in development, and just think about performance, the greatest efficiency, the lowest weight. When we’ve reached that point, you can think about how to integrate that into series production later on. Our BMW Motorsport engineers designed the rear-axle including suspension and had to integrate the drivetrain in the rear end of the race car. The knowledge we gain in this highly competitive environment then flows straight back into production development. This is the perfect implementation of our motto: from the racetrack to the road.”
https://www.bmwblog.com/2018/09/14/world-premiere-bmw-ife-18-the-first-bmw-electric-race-car/
ELON MUSK: TESLA NOW IN 'DELIVERY LOGISTICS HELL'
- Megan Gale on Twitter asked: "There are 42 Tesla's sitting at the Union Pacific Railroad in SLC. My car is one of these. I've been told I was getting delivery the 8th, then the 15th, then the 20th, then the 22nd, and now my delivery has been delayed indefinite. @Tesla @elonmusk... Please make this right."
- Elon replied: ""Sorry, we've gone from production hell to delivery logistics hell, but this problem is far more tractable. We’re making rapid progress. Should be solved shortly."
- I'm reminded of an old interview where someone asked if he liked his job, and he had to remind them his role is to be in the place where things need improving. So his entire life is surrounded by problems. Production seems relatively fixed, we're on for 50,000 Model 3's this quarter, so why would he hang around the general assembly if it's working well. He needs to be helping his leadership team sort the next issue, which is logistics. It's a nice problem to have, but not if you're waiting for a car.
- Speaking of priorities, 'service and parts' is also a big focus at the moment. He tweeted: "Tesla is bringing most collision repairs in-house, as outside firms take weeks to months for repairs, driving Tesla owners (and us) crazy"
- Tesla has been using third party bodyshops up to now and of course, if they can make a buck, well they're in business to make profits. So it's time to take control of that too. I told you recently about the first wave of 9 Tesla body repair centres opening up and that has gone down well with people. One of my favourite YouTube channels is E For Electric and he's always griping about parts availability and Tesla aftercare.
- Quinn Nelson - "I thought the inability to supply parts to said repair shops was the issue—not the shops themselves"
- Elon Musk - "Outside repair shops are jack of all trades, which means supporting 1000’s of makes & models. Tesla collision repair specializes in three. Having all parts in stock & not waiting for insurance approval also make a world of difference"
- Scott Velasquez - "Part of the delay from what I’ve heard personally is the time to receive the parts from Tesla. Perhaps this could be iterated upon as well!"
- Elon Musk - "Yeah, that’s our problem. Service & parts supply in general will be the top Tesla priority after we get through the insane car delivery logistics of the next few weeks."
- One of the things I've seen over the years, when Elon starts to take personal responsibility for something, it's fixed quickly. And yes that sometimes means we hear of a high level executive who takes a holiday and never returns. But this is a great sign for Tesla owners.
RED TESLAS COST MORE NOW
- "Tesla's paint colors were whittled down in the past few days to help ramp up production and now the electric car maker is upping the price for its iconic red option." according to Sasha Lekach for Mashable: "a red "multi-coat" paint job went up to $2,500 this weekend. It used to be $2,000 for the red color. As Electrek pointed out, when the Model 3 was first produced red cars were available for $1,000."
- A Tesla spokesperson wrote in an email Sunday: "We occasionally adjust pricing and available options to best reflect the value of our products and to streamline our manufacturing operations. Yesterday’s adjustment to our red multi-coat paint is the latest example of that."
- "Now only solid black comes with the base price of the car. The pearl white is $2,000 and the blue and silver are each $1,500. Other cars, like the all-electric Nissan Leaf offer all colors (though notably there's no red available) for no additional cost."
https://mashable.com/article/tesla-red-paint-model-3/?europe=true
AND FINALLY - A NEW ELECTRIC BIKETHING
- "The PEBL by better.bike is a new and exciting type of zero emissions vehicle that combines the comfort and utility of a small car with the benefits of a bike. Designed for four season use, the PEBL is a three wheeled, fully enclosed bike that utilizes a combination of pedal and electric drive with a body made from plants." reports SIA Magazine: "Using a combination of pedal and electric drive, the PEBL is legally considered a bicycle, due to its top speed of 20 mph and 3 wheeled design, but it has many features you’d find on a small car. The PEBL comes standard with one lithium battery that can take it 25 miles without pedaling (farther with pedaling) on a charge and can be recharged in 2-3 hours. It can hold enough additional batteries to go over 100 miles on a charge!"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uos7H4ZFA48
https://siamagazin.com/meet-the-pebl-a-fully-enclosed-four-season-pedal-electric-vehicle/
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