Electric Boats And Planes Are The Next Frontier | 22 Sep 2021

Episode 1219,   Sep 22, 2021, 12:00 AM

Today’s big EV stories: • Colorado EV Incentives • Consumer Reports Hate Tesla’s Yoke • 2022 BMW i3: Electric 3 Series spied • ElectraMeccanica to begin customer deliveries • Driivz and Hubject Focus on Plug & Charge • 5-Seat Tesla Model Y Approved For Australia • Tesla Expands Virtual Power Plant • Tesla to reverse solar price hike • Large Taxi Company Goes Electric • E-Motion 180: World’s most powerful electric outboard • Rolls-Royce's all-electric aircraft completes 15-minute maiden voyage

Show #1219

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Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Wednesday 22nd September. It’s Martyn Lee here and I go through every EV story so you don't have to.

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COLORADO EV INCENTIVES
"Excel Energy’s new roster of electric vehicle rebates are winning praise from environmental groups, with Colorado’s dominant utility expanding incentives to include used vehicles, speeding up the all-important charging network and working with landlords to install apartment chargers."

"Xcel will credit $50 a year on your bill if you agree to do most of your charging during off-peak times they have set aside. They say this allows them to plan demands on the power grid, and also allows you to use more renewable energy in the evening, instead of peak power that may be drawing on coal-fired power plants. If you need to charge at home outside your chosen time, you can override the system."

“Used was a big win for us,” said Xcel electric vehicle program director Alisa Sobczak, who was showcasing Xcel’s new incentives at a vehicle and charging station showcase set up for last weekend’s Denver Auto Show.  “For instance, in the Denver Metro area, a family of four with household income under $85,000 qualifies,” for the rebates, Sobczak said. “We tried to make as many people eligible as possible, because we want everybody to have the opportunity to drive electric. So we’ve got $5,500 off a new EV purchase or lease, and $3,000 off of used."

"The Xcel-offered rebates for new or used EV purchases and leases are income-qualified on a sliding scale, to target the greatest amount of help to those with the least resources for a big purchase. The price tag for the car can’t go over $50,000, eliminating many models of Tesla or the high-end pickup trucks arriving this year."


CONSUMER REPORTS HATE TESLA’S YOKE
"Testers at Consumer Reports recently got their hands on the Tesla Model S steering yoke, and first impressions aren't good. The publication, which purchases all of its test vehicles, recently received a new Model S equipped with the yoke which, in addition to its unusual shape, replaces conventional controls for the turn signals, windshield wipers, and horn with touch-sensitive buttons." writes Green Car Reports: "Over the course of a week, ten Consumer Reports testers reported numerous issues with the yolk. It slipped out of drivers' hands, doesn't allow for hand-over-hand shuffling when maneuvering in tight spaces, and drivers had trouble figuring out which button to press to activate the turn signals." Jake Fisher, senior director of Consumer Reports' Auto Test Center: "Swerving to avoid road debris or a stopped vehicle may be more difficult. I am concerned if I would be able to control the vehicle well in an emergency situation."


2022 BMW I3: ELECTRIC 3 SERIES SPIED
"The 2022 BMW i3 has been caught by an amateur photographer in China. Images have been posted to website Sohu showing the first fully-electric 3 Series, with the new BMW expected to slot in below the i4 – but believed to instead share a similar powertrain to the iX3 SUV." says Whichcar.com.au: "Rumours suggest the new model will offer an entry-level variant initially – possibly called the i3 eDrive30 – with a single electric motor sending 210kW and 400Nm to the rear wheels. it’s more likely the i3 shares the larger 84kWh battery pack with its i4 sibling, meaning the sedan should easily reach 600km of driving range on a single charge"


ELECTRAMECCANICA TO BEGIN CUSTOMER DELIVERIES
"ElectraMeccanica Vehicles will begin customer deliveries of its single-occupant, three-wheeled, electric vehicle, the SOLO.  The company will officially begin delivering keys to customers at a special launch event scheduled for 4 October in Los Angeles with a select group of early reservation holders along with the company’s first fleet owners." reports Green Car Congress: "The SOLO is a purpose-built, three-wheeled, all-electric solution for the urban environment. Engineered for a single occupant.  The SOLO features front and rear crumple zones, side impact protection, roll bar, torque-limiting control, as well as power steering, power brakes, air conditioning and a Bluetooth entertainment system. It blends a modern look with safety features at an accessible price point of $18,500."


DRIIVZ AND HUBJECT FOCUS ON PLUG & CHARGE
Driivz, the leading end-to-end EV charging and smart energy management software platform, today announced a cooperation with Hubject, the world's largest eRoaming provider, to deliver a seamless Plug & Charge EV experience based on ISO 15118. The impetus for this collaboration came from Mer, a leading European EV charging company providing innovative and sustainable solutions, who recently chose Driivz to power its global EV charging infrastructure and will be the first to benefit from this collaboration. Hubject will serve as the Certificate Authority, providing private/public key pairs to secure and validate the digital communication underlying the instant authorization, payment and charging transaction.


5-SEAT TESLA MODEL Y APPROVED FOR AUSTRALIA
"Tesla’s Model Y is now approved as per the Road Vehicle Type Approvals. This is one step closer to the all-electric SUV hitting the roads in Australia. With SUVs representing the largest vehicle category for new car sales, the Model Y is expected to easily outsell the sedan equivalent (Model 3) that has proven to be Australia’s favourite EV." says TechAU: "By way of battery capacity, the data is provided in Ah for each models. To get to the size of the pack we need to multiply this by the voltage."

Model Y battery pack has a nominal voltage of around 350v. 

Standard Range: 173Ah x 350 = 60.5kWh
Long Range & Perf: 230Ah x 350 = 80.5kWh


TESLA EXPANDS VIRTUAL POWER PLANT
"Tesla announced today that it is expanding its biggest virtual power plant in Australia to Victoria through its new “Tesla Energy Plan.”" says electrek: "Earlier this year, the company expanded the program by launching what it calls the “Tesla Energy Plan on the Tesla Virtual Power Plant,” which is basically a time of use energy plan specifically made for Powerwall owners in South Australia. Today, Tesla announced that it is expanding its Tesla Energy Plan and Tesla Virtual Power Plant to Victoria"

Tesla: "Tesla’s Virtual Power Plant allows you to maximise your energy savings through flexible Time of Use rates. The unique smarts of Tesla’s world leading technology will monitor and manage your Powerwall, assessing usage patterns to help ensure your home is powered by the most efficient source. Reducing your energy bill and benefiting your community at the same time.”


TESLA TO REVERSE SOLAR PRICE HIKE 
"Tesla is trying to placate some solar customers who say they faced sudden price hikes earlier this year, according to new filings with the U.S. district court in San Jose, California. In a Thursday filing, customers’ attorneys wrote, “Tesla informed counsel for Plaintiffs that Tesla had recently launched a program for customers who signed Solar Roof contracts before the April 2021 price changes to return those customers to their original pricing (if they were subject to a price increase in April 2021).”" writes CNBC.com: "Filings in three separate lawsuits alleged that Tesla solar customers had already signed contracts with Elon Musk’s electric vehicle and renewable energy venture, and even prepared to have solar photovoltaics installed at their homes, when they were surprised by sudden price hikes that required additional payments to move ahead with their installations. The price hikes were not trivial. For example, plaintiff Matthew Amans’ solar roof price shot up from around $72,000 per his original contract to around $146,000,"


LARGE TAXI COMPANY GOES ELECTRIC
"Today, we’re announcing that our passenger car fleet will become fully electric by 2023, two years ahead of any other large PHV operator in London, and an investment of £160 million We begin that journey with a partnership with Volkswagen and the roll out of their ID.4s" say Addison Lee on a blog post: "– This will eventually mean 20 000 zero emissions journeys each day in London. In fact, our journey towards becoming fully electric has already started – following our purchase of leading black taxi platform ComCab earlier this year, we already have over 650 zero-emission taxis on our fleet. As well as helping the capital’s environment, we know our new electric fleet and fund will be popular with drivers and business customers. In a recent survey 86% of drivers said they would be keen to shift to an electric vehicle this year and 82% of drivers considered improving the environment as the most significant benefit of shifting to EV. "


E-MOTION 180: WORLD’S MOST POWERFUL ELECTRIC OUTBOARD 


ROLLS-ROYCE'S ALL-ELECTRIC AIRCRAFT COMPLETES 15-MINUTE MAIDEN VOYAGE

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