Rivian Could Already Be Worth $70bn | 31 May 2021

Episode 1099,   May 31, 2021, 11:05 AM

Today’s big EV stories: • BMW plans 500,000 electric drives per year starting in 2022 • Audi's Infotainment System Gets A Huge Upgrade • Why TikTok's Tagging Dangerous Tesla Autopilot & Self-Driving Videos • Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV Spied in the Open • Tesla Model X Plaid Seen For The First Time • Rivian IPO Could Be Worth $70bn • Tesla Supercharger Wait Displayed on Navigation Screen • Jaguar Land Rover Electric Stategy • Electric Porsche 911 Has A Smartphone-Controlled Tailpipe

Show #1099.
 
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Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Monday 31st May. 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.
 
BMW PLANS 500,000 ELECTRIC DRIVES PER YEAR STARTING IN 2022
"The shift towards electric mobility is causing great changes at the BMW plant in Dingolfing. The German plant is expanding its electric cars and plug-in hybrid capacity to over 500,000 units as early as 2022. To further strengthen its in-house competence, the BMW Group also manufactures the high-voltage batteries and battery modules." says BMW Blog "At the Dingolfing plant, production of the fifth generation of the BMW eDrive, which is used in the iX3 is already in use and will soon be installed in significantly larger numbers in the i4 and iX. The BMW Group will invest over 500 million euros in Dingolfing between 2020 and 2022 to meet the rising demand of electrified BMWs. Along with investments in Leipzig, Regensburg and Steyr, BMW will spend over 790 millions euros."
 
 
AUDI'S INFOTAINMENT SYSTEM GETS A HUGE UPGRADE
"Audi has upgraded the MIB3 infotainment system with a slew of new features including Amazon Alexa voice support and more personalization options. Previously available as a push-to-talk function on the steering wheel, Amazon's Alexa voice assistant has been added to most 2022 Audi models equipped with the MIB 3 infotainment system and an active Audi Prime or Plus subscription." reports CarBuzz: "Apple Music support has also been expanded. In addition, wireless Android Auto support has been added to the e-tron, and e-tron Sportback. An updated route planner for electric models can also now distinguish between Level 2 AC chargers and Level 3 DC fast chargers."
 
 
WHY TIKTOK'S TAGGING DANGEROUS TESLA AUTOPILOT & SELF-DRIVING VIDEOS
"TikTok has begun tagging videos of people using Tesla's Autopilot or Full Self-Driving capabilities dangerously with a warning that the actions could cause serious injury. The move is a worrying reflection of the number of such videos that are being posted to the platform. However, TikTok's community guidelines suggest the content shouldn't remain on the platform at all." says Screenrant.com: "As the Wall Street Journal reports, lots of videos are now cropping up online of people pushing the boundaries and carrying out stunts with the Autopilot and Full Self-Driving features in Tesla cars. One individual was arrested by police for riding in the back of a moving Tesla, released on bail, and then videoed himself doing it again. As The Next Web reports, the trend for videos showing people using the Autopilot and Full Self-Driving features without following the guidance provided by Tesla has become so pronounced that TikTok is adding disclaimers to them warning of the dangers, such as: "The action in this video could result in serious injury." While TikTok can hardly be blamed for the videos being made, the most responsible course of action it could take would be removing them altogether. Indeed, its own community guidelines seem to suggest that's precisely what it should be doing."
 
 
MERCEDES-BENZ EQS SUV SPIED IN THE OPEN
"We have plenty of reason to believe that the spy video here is showing us the EQS SUV prototype. The EV may be clad in heavy zebra camouflage but its headlamps and overall frontal profile is just too similar with the EQS sedan. A glance inside the vehicle also hints of the same MBUX Hyperscreen found in its sedan sibling. Meanwhile, going around it displays a lift gate design in the rear and an overall layout not that different from the GLS SUV." reports Benz Insider: "There’s no information available on the mechanical specs of the EQS SUV as of the moment, but if it carries over the trims of its sedan version like the latest Merc SUVs, its power might go from 329 hp up to 516 hp. We hope that its maker keeps up to its promise of at least 478 miles electric range for the electric SUV as well."
 
 
TESLA MODEL X PLAID SEEN FOR THE FIRST TIME
"Here we have two first very short videos with the refreshed Model X - probably the Plaid version. The car has a yoke steering wheel, new displays (instrument cluster, vertical infotainment screen and the all-new rear screen), 20'' Cyberstream Wheels, and plenty of other minor changes. We must admit that the new red Model X, with the black elements (previously silver/chrome) looks very good. It probably will look even better with the 22'' Turbine Wheel" reports InsideEVs: "since the Tesla Model S Plaid deliveries are just around the corner, we are eager to see some more videos also about the upcoming Model X, which is expected to follow a few months after the Model S."
 
 
RIVIAN IPO COULD BE WORTH $70BN
" A new report indicates that Rivian Automotive Inc. is gearing up to go public with an IPO that could be worth as much as $70 billion. Word of the potential IPO comes from sources cited by Bloomberg that wanted to remain anonymous because the IPO is unannounced at this time." says SlashGear: "Rivian is working with advisors, including Goldman Sachs Group Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co., and Morgan Stanley. The sources claim that Rivian is seeking a valuation of around $70 billion, while past rumors indicated Rivian would be seeking a value closer to $50 billion. "
 
 
TESLA SUPERCHARGER WAIT DISPLAYED ON NAVIGATION SCREEN
"Headed to a busy Supercharger on this busy Memorial Day travel weekend? Now you can see the estimated length of time you can expect to wait at a full Supercharger station on the Tesla Navigation screen. Tesla has been showing the number of stalls currently available on the Nav screen for a few years. Now, if a Supercharger is full, drivers are shown a grey clock icon on the pin. When you touch the pin it will display short, medium or long wait for that location." according to PlugInSites.org
 
 
JAGUAR LAND ROVER ELECTRIC STATEGY
"Jaguar has a new name for its global strategy that encompasses big changes to the Jaguar Land Rover vehicle lineup as the brands reposition themselves and transition to an electric future: Reimagine. " says Motortrend: "No new Jaguars will be added to the current lineup until 2025, when the luxury car brand will go fully electric. Land Rover will take a longer path to electrification. The goal of 1 million global sales annually has been abandoned for a more realistic 400,000. Overall, the automaker is going from six vehicle architectures to three: two for Land Rover and one for Jaguar. Overlap between the two brands will end; they will have separate architectures (an all-electric one for Jaguar, and a pair of flexible ICE/hybrid/BEV capable architectures for Land Rover)"
 
 
ELECTRIC PORSCHE 911 HAS A SMARTPHONE-CONTROLLED TAILPIPE
"Everrati, a UK-based electric car specialist, this week revealed its latest creation, a 964-generation Porsche 911. The car is powered by a 53kWh battery pack, has a claimed range of over 150 miles, and outputs 500 horsepower." says Forbes: "It weighs slightly less than when it was powered by internal combustion – partly thanks to the use of carbon fiber body panels – and can sprint to 60mph in under four seconds. DC fast charging means the battery can be topped up from 10 percent to almost full in an hour. But what sets this car apart from a growing range of electrified classics is the pair of tailpipes sprouting from under the rear bumper. Linked to a smartphone application, the mock exhaust emits a sound reminiscent of the flat-six engine the Porsche was born with."


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