11 Apr 2022 | Mercedes-Benz Celebrates Their Electric Vans

Episode 1432,   Apr 11, 2022, 04:00 PM

On the podcast today:
• Give and take: the Taycan as a buffer for the power grid
• David Beckham gifts son with electric 1954 Jaguar XK140 by Lunaz to mark his wedding
• NHTSA opens investigation into electric vehicle batteries
• Tesla delivers impressive output from Gigafactory Shanghai in March despite factory shutdown
• The world's first all-electric race boat successfully aced its first test
• China auto sales slump in March on COVID curbs, Tesla production sluggish
• China sees wholesale sales of passenger NEVs at 455,000 units in March
• BMW i3 Sedan Makes Video Debut, First 3 Series With Air Suspension
• Mercedes-Benz Produced More Than 25,000 Electric Vans
• The Last Big Obstacle to Electric Cars Is Requires a Mental Fix in Our Travel Habits

Show #1432

Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily, you trusted source of EV information. It’s  Monday 11th April, it’s Martyn Lee here and I go through every EV story so you don't have to.

GIVE AND TAKE: THE TAYCAN AS A BUFFER FOR THE POWER GRID

- In future, when electric cars are not being driven, they could also feed energy back into the public power grid. As part of a wider pool of vehicles, they could effectively act as a power plant and help supply what is known as balancing power – electrical power that balances out fluctuations in the power grid.

- A realistic pilot test conducted by Porsche, the grid operator TransnetBW and consulting firm Intelligent Energy System Services (IE2S), has demonstrated that electrical balancing power can be stored in the high-voltage batteries of an intelligent swarm of electric cars. Five series-production Taycan were connected to the power grid via the Porsche Home Energy Manager (HEM) both in a domestic environment and under laboratory conditions. Experts from Porsche Engineering had already adapted the software of these control centres beforehand for the field test.

- With the expansion of renewable energies, balancing power will become even more important in the future for secure grid operation. This is because the power grid must always be stable, even though the wind and sun are not always producing consistent amounts of energy. If power grids are not stabilised at a constant 50 Hertz power frequency, there is a risk of power cuts. Until now, conventional power plants in particular have been responsible for cushioning these fluctuations. Using high-voltage batteries as a buffer would be a win-win situation: drivers of electric cars could be financially compensated for their contribution to balancing power.

- During the pilot test, detailed measurements showed that the target values from the grid control system were met. This applied to both the primary (FCR: frequency containment reserve) and secondary (aFRR: automatic frequency restoration reserve) balancing power.


DAVID BECKHAM GIFTS SON WITH ELECTRIC 1954 JAGUAR XK140 BY LUNAZ TO MARK HIS WEDDING

- Lunaz investor, David Beckham, has presented his son, Brooklyn and his daughter-in-law Nicola, with an all-electric Jaguar XK140 Open Two Seater (OTS) by Lunaz as a gift to mark his eldest child’s wedding in Palm Beach, FL, USA.

- This clean-air classic, bespoke commissioned by Beckham is the product of thousands of hours of work from the company’s 120 strong team of craftspeople, designers and electric vehicle technicians and was built entirely in-house at the home of Lunaz in Silverstone, England.

- The fully restored and upcycled interior is presented in a light cream, offering contemporary expression to the car’s classic aesthetic. Like every classic by Lunaz, modern technology is discreetly hidden. Dials and switches faithfully reflect the original Jaguar design but with subtle updates to provide information on the battery level and to operate contemporary functions.


NHTSA OPENS INVESTIGATION INTO ELECTRIC VEHICLE BATTERIES

- U.S. safety regulators have opened an investigation into electric and hybrid vehicle batteries after five automakers issued recalls due to possible defects that could cause fires or stalling.

- The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says the inquiry covers more than 138,000 vehicles with batteries made by LG Energy Solution of South Korea.

- The agency says it will write to LG and other companies that might have bought similar batteries to make sure recalls are being done when needed.

- Data on electric vehicle fires is limited, but a small sample in April of 2021 by the insurance industry's Highway Loss Data Institute found that EVs and their conventional gas counterparts had about the same number of non-crash fire claims per 1,000 insured vehicle years.The institute tracked claims for 10 EVs and their gas equivalents and found that EVs had 0.19 fire claims per 1,000 insured vehicle years compared with 0.2 for gasoline counterparts.


TESLA DELIVERS IMPRESSIVE OUTPUT FROM GIGAFACTORY SHANGHAI IN MARCH DESPITE FACTORY SHUTDOWN

- Tesla has managed to deliver over 65,000 vehicles produced at Gigafactory Shanghai in March, an impressive output representing 100% year-over-year growth, despite the factory shutdown.

- The China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) announced today results for car registration in China in March.

- They confirmed that Tesla China had an output of 65,814 vehicles with only 60 of them for exports.

- The results are even more impressive when you take into account that Tesla had not one but two factory shutdowns in March due to COVID-19 restrictions.

- Based on the CPCA data, it means that 190,446 Tesla vehicles came from China during the first quarter – more than half of the 310,000 vehicles it delivered last quarter.


THE WORLD'S FIRST ALL-ELECTRIC RACE BOAT SUCCESSFULLY ACED ITS FIRST TEST

CHINA AUTO SALES SLUMP IN MARCH ON COVID CURBS, TESLA PRODUCTION SLUGGISH

CHINA SEES WHOLESALE SALES OF PASSENGER NEVS AT 455,000 UNITS IN MARCH


BMW I3 SEDAN MAKES VIDEO DEBUT, FIRST 3 SERIES WITH AIR SUSPENSION


MERCEDES-BENZ PRODUCED MORE THAN 25,000 ELECTRIC VANS


THE LAST BIG OBSTACLE TO ELECTRIC CARS IS REQUIRES A MENTAL FIX IN OUR TRAVEL HABITS



QUESTION OF THE WEEK WITH EMOBILITYNORWAY.COM

With the Tesla Cybertruck coming sometime in 2023, will the current crop like Rivian, F-150 and Hummer steal the market? Or is the Tesla truck worth waiting for?

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