Cameron Rogers, the Model 3 Performance owner who achieved the record time, told Electrek yesterday that a Model S P100D was also on the track the same day and being driven by Tesla’s team.
He saw the sedan achieve a record 1:43 time, but it wasn’t clear if it was good for the production EV record since Tesla’s development engineering team was with the car.
But now the driver of the vehicle, Emile Bouret, has claimed that the vehicle was “completely stock” and therefore, it should get the Laguna Seca lap record for a production EV:
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This article and images were originally posted on [Electrek] September 17, 2018 at 01:43AM. Credit to the original author and Electrek | ESIST.T>G>S Recommended Articles Of The Day.
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According to Yanko Design (This article and its images were originally posted on Yanko Design September 14, 2018 at 06:30PM.)
Its unique, unusual form language earned it a German Design Award prize, and quite a well-deserved prize it was. The Pocket Rocket does the two most important things a bike must do. Get you from A to B efficiently, and grab eyes along the way… and it does so while running on ecologically viable electric energy.
Housing every bit of electronics and machinery into its innovative inverted triangle shape, the Pocket Rocket doesn’t have the serious demeanor of a sports bike, but why should it, right? It hits that sweet spot between bicycles and motorbikes known as the e-bike aesthetic, and the minimal frame could just be iconic (I’m only a slight bit concerned about the base of the V being a little low, but on city roads, the Pocket Rocket should do fine). I’ve also grown to love the name Pocket Rocket, although it obviously has some suggestive connotations.
Designed by Manuel Messmer and engineered by SOL Motors, the Pocket Rocket is clean, compact, and well thought through. The thick tubular column on the top becomes a perfect surface to sit on, once you’ve got a saddle in place, and right at both ends, you’ve got the headlight and taillight. The product is currently in its conceptual stages and the specifications haven’t been made public yet, but we’ll let you know the minute we do!
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This article and images were originally posted on [Yanko Design] September 14, 2018 at 06:30PM. Credit to the original author and Yanko Design | ESIST.T>G>S Recommended Articles Of The Day.
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According to Electrek (This article and its images were originally posted on Electrek August 13, 2018 at 03:21PM.)
Electric vehicle charging infrastructure is becoming less of an issue and more of a big business, but there’s still an aspect of it that has been somewhat neglected: charging for condominiums and apartments.
Today, we take a look at a boring little box that can fix the nightmare of installing EV charging stations in those buildings.
There are a few different types of challenges associated with installing a charging spot at a condominium.
First off, there’s often a hardware limitation because most electric panels are limited to 100 amps per condo.
It means that they often need an upgrade or to go through the building’s panel used for common spaces, like halls and garages, but that leads us to the other issue: dealing with the condominium’s board or syndicate of co-owners.
Depending on the board’s policies, you might need approval based on the scale of the project and then there’s the issue of accounting for the electricity usage of the charging station.
Lilco Électrique, the preferred installer of Tesla charging stations in Québec, ran into the problem one too many times and decided to address the issue.
David Corbeil, son of Lilco co-founders Pierre Corbeil and Linda Laliberté and the one in charge of developing the company’s EV charging station business, spun off a new company called RVE with the goal of leveraging their experience to simplify the deployment of charging points in condominiums.
They developed the previously mentioned “boring little box”, called a DCC (Demand Charge Controller). It can be installed between a condo’s meter and electric panel to divert some of the power to a charging station while monitoring the electricity consumption of the panel in order to prevent exceeding its limit.
If the DCC detects that the power usage exceeds 80%, it automatically cuts power to the charging station. It enables condo owners to have a charging station with a 30A to 60A capacity (depending on the capacity of the electric panel) even if they have a relatively low power electric panel for condos.
Most importantly, it does all this with a low footprint installation that only involves the electric infrastructure of a single condo and not the rest of the co-property, which should facilitate the approval process from the condo board in theory.
You only need a small space in the electric room of the building and the rest of the footprint is dependent on how far your parking spot from the room.
We visited an electrical room of a condominium complex with over 100 condos near RVE’s offices in Laval, Quebec:
That’s a typical electrical room of a large condominium complex. All the meters are located there and they are linked to the 100-amp electric panel in each condo.
RVE installs the DCC there and then deploys a cable all the way to the owner’s parking spot to install a plug or charging station.
The solution is charger agnostic – meaning that it can be used to deploy a simple NEMA 14-50 plug or any level 2 charging station, like a Tesla Wall Connector or a Flo Home EV Charging Station.
It doesn’t mean that it is cheap, but it’s going to be the most affordable way to get a level 2 EV charger in most condo complexes.
In Canada, RVE told me that they sell the DCC for about $1,100. From there, the cost of the installation can vary a lot depending on the situation.
That said, the installation is linked to your unit’s meter, which adds value to your condo.
Overall, it would definitely be cheaper if you can convince all owners or most to install charging stations, but that’s almost impossible to get passed in a condo syndicate.
The DCC offers an option for a rogue EV owner in a condominium complex to get a more than decent charging solution.
RVE has already installed hundreds of DCC’s, mostly in Quebec, and said that they haven’t had a problem with a unit yet.
They now have all the necessary certifications for the US and they are launching the device on the market. They are selling it for $945 USD and they plan to work with electricians who are known for installing charging stations, like Lilco Électrique in Quebec, but they also offering all the documentation for any electrician to install the device.
Electrek’s Take
I think this is a smart solution that both solves the hardware problem and facilitates dealing with your condo board.
Urban charging is arguably one of the biggest bottlenecks for EV adoption, but I think we are starting to see a lot of different solutions.
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This article and images were originally posted on [Electrek] August 13, 2018 at 03:21PM. Credit to Author Fred Lambert and Electrek | ESIST.T>G>S Recommended Articles Of The Day.
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According to Inside EVs (This article and its images were originally posted on Inside EVs August 13, 2018 at 08:16AM.)
It’s now the fastest luxury four-door hybrid sedan around six FIA-approved circuits.
It’s safe to say the Volkswagen Group has a soft spot for setting new track records not just with high-end cars like the 911 GT2 RS and the Huracan Performante, but also with much cheaper ones such as the Kodiaq RS. After announcing a new record for the fastest production car (Aventador SVJ) at the Nürburgring and after setting EV records with the I.D. R Pikes Peak, the folks over at VAG are proud to announce Porsche has established six new records. The weapon of choice was the Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid in the hands of Porsche Test and Development Driver Lars Kern.
The goal was to claim a new track (and highly specific) record for the fastest luxury four-door hybrid sedan, although technically, the Panamera is a hatchback. It managed to do just that by setting the new benchmark lap at the following six FIA-approved race tracks.
Bahrain International Circuit
At Sakhir desert in Bahrain on the 5.4-kilometer circuit with its 15 turns, the hybridized super sedan from Porsche in standard production guise lapped the track in 2 minutes and 18.96 seconds. At this location, FIA’s Six Hours of Bahrain endurance race is organized as part of the World Endurance Championship (WEC). Watch the record-setting lap below.
Yas Marina Circuit
Billed by Porsche as being “one of the most technologically advanced circuits in the world,” the Yas Marina Circuit has 21 turns and also the longest straight among all race tracks in Formula 1. At the challenging 5.5-kilometer circuit in Abu Dhabi, UAE, the Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid needed 2 minutes and 31.79 seconds to complete the lap. See the record-breaking run below.
Porsche is uploading the rest of the videos on YouTube as we speak, so watch this space for the full set of six videos. Alternatively, you can watch all of them on Porsche’s official website by clicking here.
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This article and images were originally posted on [Inside EVs] August 13, 2018 at 08:16AM. Credit to Author ADRIAN PADEANU and Inside EVs | ESIST.T>G>S Recommended Articles Of The Day.
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According to Tech Insider (This article and its images were originally posted on Tech Insider August 6, 2018 at 11:04AM.)
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on Sunday that the company is making a “mini-car” that can fit an adult.
Musk was responding to a tweet from Samson Mow, the chief strategy officer of Blockstream, asking when Radio Flyer would make a vehicle based on Tesla‘s Model X SUV.
Radio Flyer makes miniature, electric cars designed for children, including one based on Tesla’s Model S sedan.
Musk did not provide further details about Tesla’s mini-car or indicate when it would be released, and the company declined a request for comment.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on Sunday that the company is making a “mini-car” that can fit an adult.
Musk was responding to a tweet from Samson Mow, the chief strategy officer of Blockstream, asking when Radio Flyer would make a vehicle based on Tesla’s Model X SUV. Radio Flyer makes miniature, electric cars designed for children, including one based on Tesla’s Model S sedan. The mini-Model S has a weight capacity of 81 pounds, and Radio Flyer’s website says the vehicle is meant for children between the ages of three and eight.
Musk did not provide further details about Tesla’s mini-car or indicate when it would be released, and the company declined a request for comment.
Musk often uses Twitter to announce new products or new features for existing products. In recent months he has discussed or hinted at video games for Tesla vehicles, features for an upcoming pickup truck, and a “Mad Max” mode for the company’s semi-autonomous Autopilot feature that might instruct a vehicle to make more aggressive lane changes than current options allow. He also uses the platform to make jokes and respond to frustrated customers, which has helped make him appear to be more candid and relatable than other CEOs of multibillion-dollar companies.
Musk has also attracted controversy for using Twitter to lash out at critics and reporters.
During a Bloomberg interview published in July, Musk said he had believed he could “attack” people who addressed negative tweets toward him, so long as they attacked him first, but said he would attempt to limit his interactions with critical tweets.
We’re working on a new Tesla mini-car that can squeeze in an adult
But two days after the interview was published, Musk accused Vernon Unsworth, a diver involved in the Thailand cave rescue, of being a pedophile after Unsworth said the miniature submarine Musk designed and sent to Thailand to help with the rescue would have been ineffective and was merely a publicity stunt.
In April, Tesla’s stock fell 5.16% after Musk mocked analysts who were worried about the company’s financial health.
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This article and images were originally posted on [Tech Insider] August 6, 2018 at 11:04AM. Credit to Author and Tech Insider | ESIST.T>G>S Recommended Articles Of The Day.
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According to Electrek (This article and its images were originally posted on Electrek July 25, 2018 at 08:57AM.)
We are starting to see a few companies looking to enter the camper and motorhome segments with all-electric options.
Nissan is now testing the waters by unveiling an all-electric camper based on the e-NV200 van to be released in Spain.
Motorhomes and campers are often associated with freedom. The idea that you can take your entire home on the road and explore the world is extremely appealing to many.
Electric campers would have the same appeal, but they could also push it to a whole new level.
Those vehicles are currently gas-guzzlers and all-electric versions could significantly reduce the cost of operation and the pollution from the segment.
To a certain degree, it could even elevate the level of freedom. With enough range, you could technically drive most of the day and park at a camping spot with service to charge overnight and then get back on the road the next day.
Several companies are starting to tentatively enter the space.
The vehicle was unveiled in May, but it went under the radar because it was only released in Spain:
Camper
Nissan unveiled two versions, one based on the NV300 van and another based on the e-NV200.
The e-NV200 recently got a significant upgrade with a new 40 kWh battery pack for more range, but we are still talking about a range of only 124 miles (~200 km) between charges based on the WLTP combined cycle, which is going to limit the use of the camper.
Nonetheless, it could still make sense depending on how people want to use it.
Francesc Corberó, communication director of Nissan Iberia, commented on the launch:
“The new Nissan Camper range will allow the most adventurous to have a balcony with views of the most incredible places in the world and enjoy the essence of traveling with family or friends,”
Customers can go configure and order the electric camper with custom features at their local Nissan dealership in Spain.
Depending on the success of the program, Nissan could potentially expand it to other markets.
What do you think? Let us know in the comment section below.
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This article and images were originally posted on [Electrek] July 25, 2018 at 08:57AM. Credit to Author Fred Lambert and Electrek | ESIST.T>G>S Recommended Articles Of The Day.
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According to Electrek (This article and its images were originally posted on Electrek July 13, 2018 at 11:54AM.)
Volvo’s strategy with relaunching Polestar as an electric vehicle brand has been somewhat confusing with their first vehicle being a $150,000+ plug-in hybrid.
Now Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath has clarified their plans by saying that “Tesla and the increasingly electrified Porsche” is their competition.
Polestar used to be Volvo’s performance brand, but it was relaunched as an all-electric brand last year.
It was off to a somewhat awkward but interesting start last year when it unveiled its first vehicle, the Polestar 1.
Polestar mentioned Tesla’s Model 3 by name in its press release, which is rare in the auto industry. They made it clear that they wanted to go after the vehicle, but it became confusing as we learned more about the car and it didn’t sound much like a Model 3 competitor.
CEO Thomas Ingenlath confirmed that it will be somewhat of a low volume car that will start at around €40,000 (~$49,300) and he pushed production to 2020.
He even started to distance the vehicle from the “Tesla killer” narrative:
We are not saying it’s a Tesla killer, we are here to vividly compete with them in the market. We will launch Polestar 2 in the second half of 2019 and production will begin around the start of 2020.
Now in a new interview with Ward Auto, Ingenlath clarified Polestar’s new position in the market and sees Tesla and Porsche as the competition:
With a path toward electrification firmly in place, it sees itself going head-to-head with a different crowd. Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath calls Tesla and the increasingly electrified Porsche “our competitive set.”
We are talking about a performance electric vehicle.
Ingenlath doesn’t want to focus too much on the 0-60 mph acceleration number and instead wants to put attention on the handling:
“As soon as you’re beyond the 4.0-second (mark) and zero to 100, all that feels just flipping fast anyway and you’re not able to detect the difference anymore,” he continues, saying the more important metric is overall performance. “How does the car handle and how does it drive around the street and the bend and how does it feel?”
Tesla has been known to focus and push the boundaries of the 0 to 60 mph acceleration.
Interestingly, Porsche has also been aiming to distance itself from this focus on their upcoming all-electric vehicles and focus on transferring the Porsche driving experience to electric propulsion.
Electrek’s Take
If you are looking to model a new electric vehicle brand after an existing one, Tesla should definitely be on top of your list and it plays right into Tesla’s mission to accelerate the advent of electric transport.
As for Porsche, it’s hardly an electric vehicle brand yet, but as I have discussed in the past, it seems to be one of the most serious legacy automakers when it comes to electrification and therefore, not a bad model for Polestar either.
Like I said before, I thought it was really weird for Polestar to be announced as an all-electric brand with all the future vehicles being all-electric – except for their first vehicle being a plug-in hybrid.
But I’m not counting them out. While I don’t see why people would want to buy the Polestar one, even though some are since they have 550 pre-orders, I think it would have been an awesome car with an all-electric powertrain.
Let’s see what they can do with the all-electric Polestar 2, which we should see soon.
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This article and images were originally posted on [Electrek] July 13, 2018 at 11:54AM. Credit to Author Fred Lambert and Electrek | ESIST.T>G>S Recommended Articles Of The Day.
Today, the government unveiled an extensive 46-point plan to help the transition.
Chris Grayling, MP Secretary of State for Transport, unveiled the plan titled ‘The Road to Zero’, a reference to “zero emission”, today.
It involves a wide-ranging series of initiatives from expanding the current plug-in car grant to incentivizing the installation of charge points.
Grayling commented on the plan:
“This level of ambition puts the UK at the forefront of the global transition to cleaner road transport. Petrol and diesel vehicles have dominated the market for over a century and still account for more than 99% of global sales. But change has arrived: sales of ultra low emission vehicles are increasing rapidly and countries, regions and cities across the world have announced long-term plans for cleaner road transport. By some estimates, ultra low emission vehicles will make up over half of global car sales by 2040. The transition will mean fundamental changes to the global automotive market, worth over £1.5 trillion a year, and new opportunities for the UK.”
In the plan, they keep referring to “ultra low emission vehicles” in order to stay powertrain agnostic, but many of the initiatives are specifically to encourage electric vehicle adoption.
It includes “£246 million in research for next generation battery technology” and a dozen different initiatives to expand electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
Here are the 46 points of the plan:
Increasing the supply and sustainability of low carbon fuels in the UK through a legally-binding 15-year strategy to more than double their use, reaching 7% of road transport fuel by 2032.
Taking action against garages offering the removal of emissions reduction technology, working with the DVSA, VCA and industry to ensure our regulatory and enforcement regimes give us the levers we need to tackle this problem.
Extending the Clean Vehicle Retrofit Accreditation Scheme (CVRAS) beyond buses, coaches and HGVs to include vans and black cabs.
Taking steps to accelerate the adoption of fuel-efficient motoring by company car drivers, businesses operating fleets, and private motorists.
Pursuing a future approach as we leave the European Union that is at least as ambitious as the current arrangements for vehicle emissions regulation.
Continuing to offer grants for plug-in cars, vans, taxis and motorcycles until at least 2020. The plug-in car and van grants will be maintained at the current rates until at least October 2018. Consumer incentives in some form will continue to play a role beyond 2020.
Consulting on reforming Vehicle Excise Duty to incentivise van drivers to make the cleanest choices when purchasing a new van.
Leading the way by ensuring 25% of the central Government car fleet is ultra low emission by 2022 and that all new car purchases are ultra low emission by default. Committing to 100% of the central Government car fleet being ultra low emission by 2030.1
Launching a 2018/19 Go Ultra Low campaign and continuing to work with industry on consumer communications about ultra low emission vehicles until at least 2020.
Setting up a new Road Transport Emissions Advice Group, bringing government, industry and consumer groups together to help ensure clear and consistent consumer messaging and advice on fuel and technology choices.
As set out in the Clean Air Strategy consultation, legislating to enable government to compel vehicle manufacturers to recall vehicles for an environmental nonconformity or failure, and to make tampering with emissions control systems a legal offence.
Supporting the early market for used ultra low emission vehicles by producing guidance, funding training and making appropriate changes to the DVLA V5 documentation.
Launching a call for evidence on particulate emissions from tyre, brake and road wear to improve our understanding of these emissions and consider options for how they might be reduced.
Continuing to take a technology neutral approach to meeting our ambitions.
Introducing a new voluntary industry-supported commitment to reduce HGV greenhouse gas emissions by 15% by 2025, from 2015 levels.
Launching a joint research project with Highways England to identify and assess zero emission technologies suitable for HGV traffic on the UK road network.
Working with industry to develop an ultra low emission standard for trucks.
Undertaking further emissions testing of the latest natural gas HGVs to gather evidence that will inform decisions on future government policy and support for natural gas as a potential near-term, lower emission fuel for HGVs.
Making the biggest increase in public investment in R&D in our history (towards a target for total R&D investment of 2.4% of GDP by 2027) and increasing the rate of R&D tax credit to 12%.
Fulfilling our commitment to provide £246 million to research next generation battery technology through the Faraday Battery Challenge.
Working with industry to set an ambition for a UK content target for the ultra low emission vehicle supply chain that is at least as ambitious as for conventional vehicles, as we look to secure investment in battery manufacturing in the UK.
Launching a new supply chain competitiveness and productivity improvement programme targeting areas where key businesses need to improve to match the best in Europe.
Working with the Institute of the Motor Industry to ensure the UK’s workforce of mechanics are well trained and have the skills they need to repair these vehicles safely, delivering for consumers.
Working with the Office for National Statistics to extend their data collection to include jobs and exports attributable to both low and ultra low emission vehicle technologies.
Making sustainable supply chains a key theme of our Zero Emission Vehicle Summit in September 2018.
Launching a £400 million Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund to help accelerate charging infrastructure deployment.
Taking powers through the Automated and Electric Vehicles Bill to ensure:
that chargepoints are available at motorway service areas and large fuel retailers;
that chargepoints are easily accessed and used across the UK. This includes powers to provide a uniform method of accessing public chargepoints and refuelling points; make certain information publicly available in an open and transparent format and set reliability standards; and
hat chargepoints are smart ready by giving government powers to set requirements prohibiting the sale or installation of chargepoints unless they meet certain requirements.
Ensuring the houses we build in the coming years are electric vehicle ready. It is our intention that all new homes, where appropriate, should have a chargepoint available. We plan to consult as soon as possible on introducing a requirement for chargepoint infrastructure for new dwellings in England where appropriate.
Future-proofing our streets. We want all new street lighting columns to include charging points, where appropriately located, in areas with current on-street parking provision.
Continuing to provide grant support through the Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme (EVHS) until March 2019, with installations becoming smart enabled.
Increasing the grant level of the Workplace Charging Scheme from £300 per socket to 75% of the purchase and installation costs of a chargepoint capped at a maximum of £500 per socket.
Reviewing the provision of residential chargepoint infrastructure for those who have communal parking facilities, or do not own their own home, as part of the Law Commission’s work to review and reinvigorate the commonhold tenure in England and Wales.
Investing £4.5 million in the On-street Residential Chargepoint Scheme until 2020.
Consulting in summer 2018 on a proposal to increase the height limit for the Permitted Development Right in England for the installation of electric vehicle chargepoints in designated off-street parking spaces.
Ensuring local planning policies incorporate facilities for charging electric vehicles via the National Planning Policy Framework.
Consulting on amending Building Regulations to require relevant charging provision in new non-residential buildings.
Launching the process for a R&D programme of up to £40 million by summer 2018 to develop and trial innovative, low cost wireless charging and public on-street charging solutions that can be deployed across entire residential streets.
Continuing to future proof the Strategic Road Network by running a pilot to increase electrical capacity at a motorway service area working closely with Highways England.
Launching an Electric Vehicle Energy Taskforce to bring together the energy and automotive industries, in order to plan for future electric vehicle uptake and ensure the energy system can meet future demand in an efficient and sustainable way.
As part of the forthcoming call for evidence on last mile deliveries, gathering further evidence of any key network connection infrastructure barriers, which may prevent further uptake of ultra low emission vehicles, specifically for fleet operators.
Launching an electric vehicle chargepoint design competition.
Monitoring market developments to determine whether any significant gaps in charging infrastructure provision appear over the medium term, and considering whether there may be a case for direct central government support in areas of market failure, which may include rural areas.
Fulfilling a £48m ultra low emission bus scheme funding round to accelerate uptake and deployment of supporting infrastructure.
Launching a second round of funding for local authorities to roll out dedicated taxi charging infrastructure. We will make available a minimum of £6 million to support more local areas to make the switch.
Setting out definitions of ultra low and zero emission vehicles that local areas may adopt.
Running a series of roadshows across the UK on best practice approaches to driving the uptake of ultra low emission vehicles.
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This article and images were originally posted on [Electrek] July 9, 2018 at 09:36AM. Credit to Author Fred Lambert and Electrek | ESIST.T>G>S Recommended Articles Of The Day.
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According to Engadget (This article and its images were originally posted on Engadget July 9, 2018 at 10:06AM.)
Ford made waves recently when it announced it would stop producing cars (except for the iconic Mustang) — in favor of SUVs, trucks and other large vehicles — for the United States. It wasn’t a big surprise and if anything it was expected since SUV and truck sales are growing while car sales plummet. But there’s another big change going on at Ford: the move to electrification.
“With (Ford CEO Jim) Hackett, we’re all in. We’re going to be bigger and we want to change the process,” Ted Cannis, Ford’s global director of battery electric vehicles, said during a recent interview with Engadget. The automaker is adjusting to a rapidly changing automotive world. That means dropping vehicles that no longer sell (cars) and making sure that its lineup is electrified.
Moving away from cars and simultaneously going electric may seem counterintuitive (it takes more energy to move all that extra weight), but SUVs and trucks offer more battery space and consumers have voted with their pocketbooks that they want the room these bigger vehicles provide.
According to Cannis, the move to electrification is also driven by consumers, thanks to advancements in EV technology. “When it was compliance cars, there’s nothing wrong with Ford Focus Electric. It’s executed well. But, it’s not too exciting,” he said.
Those days are over (or at least coming to an end). Instead, in his view, adding a battery to a car should make it better for drivers. “Let’s make them awesome. Let’s amplify what’s best about that for that user group and really make awesome vehicles.” The automaker is no longer seeing high mpg and battery-powered cars as a government-mandated necessity. Instead, EVs and hybrids have become an opportunity to appease a market hungry for technology and a greener lifestyle.
That includes bringing the “awesome” 300-mile range Mustang-inspired small SUV (codenamed Mach 1) to a dealership near you in 2020. After that, the company will introduce 40 electrified vehicles (16 of which will be EVs) worldwide by 2022.
This new direction and excitement about electrified vehicles is a bit of an about-face from 2016, when former CEO Mark Fields shared his concerns that EV sales were soft. That’s despite Tesla Model 3 pre-orders hitting over 300,000 a few months before his remarks.
There’s a new CEO at the helm, though and according to Cannis, Hackett is adjusting how the company operates from end-to-end for this electrification plan. Cannis said the company wants to move quicker, like a startup. It’s not a small division or test program, this is the entire organization moving towards a single goal to bring electrification to the road. It better hit those goals because it needs to do some catching up.
Ford is behind right now. Its Focus EV is just an internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle that’s been modified to be an EV. Meanwhile, Nissan, Honda, GM, Jaguar and, of course, Tesla are building and selling EVs built from the ground up. Some of those cars are actually awesome. The Focus EV, not so much.
On Ford’s horizon, though, are crossovers, SUVs and even a hybrid F-Series (you can’t beat that electric torque). They’re vehicles that are meant to be sold on features instead of gas mileage. The automaker wants you to buy them because you have some sort of emotional connection. Very few of us buy cars based on logic; it’s all about what you like and what you think you need. Ford is hoping you think you need an “awesome” EV crossover that sort of looks like a Mustang. It’s not just hoping; it’s betting everything on it.
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This article and images were originally posted on [Engadget] July 9, 2018 at 10:06AM. Credit to Author Roberto Baldwin, @strngwys and Engadget | ESIST.T>G>S Recommended Articles Of The Day.
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According to Electrek (This article and its images were originally posted on Electrek June 28, 2018 at 04:12PM.)
GM today announced a somewhat minor upgrade to the 2019 Chevy Volt PHEV that will be available this fall.
Headlining the new feature set is an improved 240V charging system that will up the rate of charge from 3.6kW to 7.2kW or 16A to 32A. The move, which matches the charging rate of Chevy’s Bolt on Level 2, will give the Volt a full 53 mile EV charge in 2.3 hours according to Chevy. There is still no DC fast charging option for the Volt.
Other updates to the 2019 Volt include:
GM’s continuing evolution of the pedestrian alert system, first deployed in 2011, now using front and rear speakers to provide audible alerts when operating at slow speeds.
A new digital rearview camera replaces the previous analog system.
New driver-switchable Adaptive Cruise Control allows the choice of conventional cruise control or adaptive cruise control.
New tire fill alert sounds a horn when full tire pressure is achieved.
New, decorative seating patterns are offered on cloth seats.
New Power Convenience Package available on LT adds a power driver seat in addition to all content offered on the Comfort Package.
Wireless charging pad for compatible phones is relocated ahead of the shifter for easier use (available with navigation radio).
New Pacific Blue Metallic exterior color is available.
New Jet Black/Porcelain Blue interior is offered on Premier.
Available dealer-installed blackout package includes sport pedals, black front/rear bowtie emblems and 17-inch machined-aluminum wheels with black-painted pockets.
For commuters, this L2 charging update won’t make much of a difference. If you are charging on Level 2 during your work day, getting a full charge in 2.3 hours vs. 4.6 hours isn’t going to change your life much. If you are driving to grandma’s house and stay the day, the charge time improvement likewise won’t likely offer any benefit.
Most EVs now charge at 7.2kW including the newly released Jaguar I-PACE and base Tesla Model 3. However higher end vehicles will level 2 charge up to 48A or 10.8kW like the high-end Model 3 or Model S/X.
We would have loved to see GM step up the mileage on the Volt to around 80 miles which would have meant that only very long trips would have required trips to the gas station. They could have also offered a more peppy engine. After all, Tesla Modders love the Volt battery pack for its high output capabilities.
Adaptive Cruise Control and the rearview camera update as well as wireless phone charging are also nice additions.
DETROIT — A new 7.2 kW charging system on the 2019 Chevrolet Volt cuts recharging times nearly in half by adding about twice the all-electric driving range per hour of charge.
The new system headlines a number of additional enhancements for the 2019 Volt and increases the vehicle’s all-electric utility for owners who take advantage of “opportunity charging,” or plugging in around town to top off the battery charge.
“With about twice the range added during 240V Level 2 charging sessions, the 2019 Volt’s 7.2 kW system makes opportunity charging more worthwhile,” said Jesse Ortega, chief engineer, Chevrolet Electric Vehicles. “It effectively extends the vehicle’s all-electric driving range, while providing about twice the range for the money when plugging in at public facilities that charge by the hour.”
With the new 7.2 kW system, a complete recharge can be achieved in as little as 2.3 hours with a 240-volt outlet and supporting hardware. The new system is standard on the 2019 Volt Premier model and available on the LT trim. A 3.6 kW charger is standard on the Volt LT.
The new charging system complements the Volt’s extended-range electric propulsion system, which with a full tank of gas and a full charge offers an EPA-estimated 53 miles of pure EV range and 106 MPGe, or gasoline equivalent. When the Volt’s battery runs low, a gas-powered generator kicks in to extend the driving range to a total of 420 miles (675 km) on a full tank.
Improved owner experience
In addition to the new charging system, the 2019 Volt offers a number of enhancements designed to improve convenience and help owners get more out of their all-electric driving experience.
For those in colder climates who want to use as little gas as possible, the 2019 Volt allows activation of the automatic engine-assisted heating system to be deferred until much lower temperatures — minus 13 degrees F / minus 25 degrees C — for more all-electric operation.
The 2019 Volt also features new Low and Regen on Demand profiles that enable increased regenerative braking capability when drivers let off the accelerator pedal. The feature helps the vehicle achieve its class-leading EV range, and the updates come with an improved driving feel with smoother operation when slowing.
A new Chevrolet Infotainment 3 system with an 8-inch-diagonal color touchscreen incorporates a new Energy App. The app’s Impacts Screen shows drivers how driving style, route, weather conditions and cabin comfort setting may affect range and conveys the impact more intuitively based on mileage rather than the previous numerical “score.” Drivers will enjoy having more information about their efficiencies and can aim to eke out every EV mile possible.
The 2019 Volt also introduces its first power driver’s seat. The six-way seat is standard on Premier and available on LT models.
Additional changes and updates:
GM’s continuing evolution of the pedestrian alert system, first deployed in 2011, now using front and rear speakers to provide audible alerts when operating at slow speeds.
A new digital rearview camera replaces the previous analog system.
New driver-switchable Adaptive Cruise Control allows the choice of conventional cruise control or adaptive cruise control.
New tire fill alert sounds a horn when full tire pressure is achieved.
New, decorative seating patterns are offered on cloth seats.
New Power Convenience Package available on LT adds a power driver seat in addition to all content offered on the Comfort Package.
Wireless charging pad for compatible phones is relocated ahead of the shifter for easier use (available with navigation radio).
New Pacific Blue Metallic exterior color is available.
New Jet Black/Porcelain Blue interior is offered on Premier.
Available dealer-installed blackout package includes sport pedals, black front/rear bowtie emblems and 17-inch machined-aluminum wheels with black-painted pockets.
“The 2019 Volt’s enhancements give customers more of what they love with the vehicle and make it even more useful as an everyday electric vehicle,” said Ortega. “It’s a more seamless experience than ever.”
Availability
The 2019 Chevrolet Volt goes on sale this fall.
FAST FACT: Volt owners have driven more than 2.8 billion EV miles, saving more than 108 million gallons of gas.
ABOUT CHEVROLET
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is one of the world’s largest car brands, doing business in more than 100 countries and selling more than 4.0 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.
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This article and images were originally posted on [Electrek] June 28, 2018 at 04:12PM. Credit to Author Seth Weintraub and Electrek | ESIST.T>G>S Recommended Articles Of The Day.
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According to Electrek (This article and its images were originally posted on Electrek June 22, 2018 at 06:21AM.)
After a few delays and setback over the last year, Electric GT, the Tesla racing championship, is now pushing ahead for the first season to start at the end of the year.
Now they have delivered the first Tesla Model S P100D stripped-down and race-ready to one of the Electric GT teams that will be competing in the championship.
The company first planned to launch its championship with the Tesla Model S P85+, but they instead decided to use the Tesla Model S P100D with ‘Ludicrous+’ after it was announced. They claim that a stripped-down racetrack-ready Tesla Model S P100D can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 2.0 seconds (0 to 100 km/h in 2.1 seconds).
Last night, they officially unveiled the first working vehicle in Barcelona for delivery to SPV RACING, the first team to get the Electric GT Tesla Model S P100D:
— Electric GT Holdings (@EGTChampionship) June 21, 2018
They gave some test rides in the vehicle on the race tracks, but it doesn’t look like we can confirm Electric GT’s performance claims from those rides.
Here you can watch Emma Kimiläinen, one of the SPV RACING drivers, take a Spanish reporter for a test ride:
On top of the weight reduction, Electric GT claims to have strengthened the brakes and suspension.
The powertrain of the Tesla Model S notoriously gets very hot and power is eventually limited when pushing the machine to its limits for extended periods of time – like you would do in racing conditions.
During a presentation in 2016, Mark Gemmell, founder and CEO of Electric GT, said that were addressing the issue, but we have yet to see one of their modified vehicles being pushed to its limits yet.
They managed to secure dates on the Nurburgring track, the Park Assen Circuit, and the Algarve Portimao Circuit in Portugal, while a few other races are being finalized. The first race will happen in Spain during the first week of November.
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This article and images were originally posted on [Electrek] June 22, 2018 at 06:21AM. Credit to Author Fred Lambert@FredericLamber and Electrek | ESIST.T>G>S Recommended Articles Of The Day.
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According to Electrek (This article and its images were originally posted on Electrek June 22, 2018 at 08:42AM.)
Over the last few years, there has been an impressive amount of investment into solid-state batteries, which are believed by many to represent the next step in energy storage.
But a timeline for commercialization has never been clear.
Now Volkswagen has become the latest automaker to invest in solid-state batteries for electric cars as it takes a stake in a startup that hopes to bring the tech to market.
The German automaker announced today a $100 million investment in QuantumScape, a solid-state battery startup that spun out of Stanford.
VW has been collaborating with the startup for a few years and it is now ready for a more serious commitment to bring the startup’s technology to production.
Dr. Axel Heinrich, Head of VW Group Research, who will take a seat on the board of directors of QuantumScape, said about the investment:
We want to accelerate the commercialization of QuantumScape’s solid-state batteries. And we combine forces to leverage Volkswagen’s experience as a production specialist and QuantumScape technology leadership. Volkswagen is thus taking another step toward a sustainable, zero emission mobility for our customers in the future.
QuantumScape and Volkswagen will now work together within a newly formed joint venture with “the aim to enable an industrial level of production of solid-state batteries.”
They are talking about a “long-term target” to “establish a production line for solid-state batteries by 2025.”
Solid-state batteries are thought to be a lot safer than common li-ion cells and could have more potential for higher energy density.
VW gives the example of “a solid-state battery potentially increasing the range of the E-Golf to approximately 750 kilometers compared with the present 300 kilometers.”
However, we have yet to see a company capable of producing solid-state at a large-scale and an attractive price point.
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This article and images were originally posted on [Electrek] June 22, 2018 at 08:42AM. Credit to Author Fred Lambert and Electrek | ESIST.T>G>S Recommended Articles Of The Day.
MYLO is an innovative, all-electric, three-wheel scooter that is sturdy, ultra-compact, and fun-to-ride. It folds in less than 1 second and provides a practical and portable mode of personal transportation.
INTRODUCING MYLO!
An all-electric three-wheel scooter that folds in less than one second!
INNOVATIVE FOLDING DESIGN
What really sets MYLO apart from other scooters is its innovative folding mechanism. With a three-wheel configuration, MYLO is able to fold with a simple click while maintaining stability and agility.
ALL-ELECTRIC DUAL BATTERY
Standard battery version averages about 15 miles per charge. Optional 2nd battery extends ride distance up to 30 miles.
MYLO carries two batteries on board and uses one at a time. Once you run out of one battery, you engage the fully charged battery by using a simple switch.
Each battery provides 10-15 miles of range and charges in about 3 hours.
DESIGNED FOR STABILITY AND AGILITY
Great handling and a blast to ride!
Sturdy frame
Three-wheel configuration
Large-diameter wheels
Proper and stable ride position
PERFECT LAST-MILE SOLUTION
The compactness and agility of MYLO make it a great last-mile solution. Throw it in your car trunk and ride it to your final destination. It’s ideal for riding from your car to the bus, train stations, school, work, etc.
PERKS
SPECS
Hydraulic Brakes
Front Rotors 145mm
Back Rotor 160mm
Tire Size 14×2.125
Top Speed 18mph
Motor 250w
Battery 36v
Range: one battery 15miles
Range: two batteries 30miles
Front and rear lights
…………………………………………………
FAQ
WHERE CAN I DEMO MYLO?
WE OFFER TEST RIDES AT VARIOUS EVENTS SUCH AS THE SEATTLE BIKE SHOW.
WE WILL ANNOUNCE NEWS ABOUT DEALERSHIPS AND UPCOMING EVENTS ON OUR CAMPAIGN, NEWSLETTER, AND SOCIAL MEDIA.
DO YOU SHIP INTERNATIONALLY?
CURRENTLY, WE OFFER SHIPPING TO USA AND CANADA.
DO I NEED A LICENSE FOR THIS?
NO, MYLO IS CONSIDERED A CLASS-1 ELECTRIC BIKE WHICH DOES NOT REQUIRE A LICENSE TO OPERATE.
DOES THE MYLO FRAME FIT ME?
MYLO IS SUITABLE FOR HEIGHTS 5’-0” TO 6’-2”
WHAT IS THE MAXIMUM RIDER WEIGHT?
RECOMMENDED MAXIMUM RIDER WEIGHT IS 220 LBS.
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO CHARGE THE BATTERY?
3-4 HOURS.
WHAT KIND OF ASSEMBLY IS REQUIRED?
YOUR MYLO WILL ARRIVE ABOUT 90% ASSEMBLED AND PACKAGED IN A BOX.
IS MYLO WATERPROOF?
ALL OF THE ELECTRIC COMPONENTS, INCLUDING THE BATTERY PACK, ARE DESIGNED TO BE SPLASH AND RAINPROOF.
WHAT KIND OF WARRANTY DO YOU OFFER?
WE OFFER A ONE-YEAR COMPREHENSIVE WARRANTY. THIS DOES NOT COVER DAMAGE DUE TO MISUSE OR PARTS THAT UNDERGO NORMAL WEAR AND TEAR SUCH AS TIRES, BRAKE PADS, ETC.
HOW MANY TIMES CAN I CHARGE THE BATTERY?
THE LITHIUM-ION CELLS IN THE BATTERY PACK CAN BE FULLY CHARGED/DISCHARGED 500-600 TIMES. BATTERY PACKS CAN LAST 2-5 YEARS DEPENDING ON THE FREQUENCY OF USAGE.
HOW DO I RECHARGE THE BATTERY PACK?
THE BATTERY CAN BE CHARGED BY PLUGGING IT INTO THE BATTERY CHARGER.
WILL THE CHARGER WORK WITH 120V AND 220V OUTLETS?
YES, THE BATTERY CHARGER ACCEPTS AN INPUT VOLTAGE OF 120 – 220VAC.
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This article and images were originally posted on [indiegogo]. Credit to Author and indiegogo | ESIST.T>G>S Recommended Articles Of The Day
We built ‘Scrambler’ with one thing in mind, fun. It’s a little bit country and a little rock and roll – and anyone can ride. Juiced Bikes designs all of our bikes using the best of modern technology for an amazing ride experience at the best possible price – and ‘Scrambler’ checks all the boxes!
Throwback looks with the best of modern tech!
Each of the 3 model options of ‘Scrambler’ is built on our class-leading 52 Volt battery platform and 750 or 1100W motor options – capable of 28 mph (Class 3) performance and beyond.
Choose your adventure on or off-road!
Take ‘Scrambler’ on your next off-road or urban adventure. Wherever you point it, ‘Scrambler’ will get you there in style!
‘Scrambler’ comes loaded with a list of features.
Advanced LCD display, hydraulic disc brakes, air suspension fork, 4″ wide tires, adjustable handlebars, twist throttle, Shimano drivetrain, 1,050 lumen front LED headlight and more.
Choose between a 750W or 1100W motor. ‘Scrambler’ is capable of 28 mph performance and beyond.
Our ‘class-leading’ 52 Volt battery platform can get you well over 30+ miles per charge.
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This article and images were originally posted on [ indiegogo.com]. Credit to Author and indiegogo.com | ESIST.T>G>S Recommended Articles Of The Day
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According to Digital Trends
Cover Image: Alfa Romeo 8C sketch
Critics often denounce Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) for not investing in electrification. The company listened carefully, and it outlined how it plans to become a cleaner automaker in the bold five-year plan it presented outside of Turin, Italy.
Electrification plays a key role in the plan. FCA will spend millions in the coming years to develop four modular electric powertrains called City Car, Mainstream, Performance, and Premium, respectively. The names are self-explanatory. The City Car setup will power small models like the next-generation of the Fiat 500, according to Autocar. The Mainstream will find its way into models like the Jeep Grand Commander, a three-row SUV made and sold in China. The Performance and Premium configurations will power Maserati models aimed at the likes of Tesla and Porsche.
Maserati has arguably the most interesting electrification offensive in the works. Remember the 2014 Alfieri concept? It’s finally on its way to production, and it will run alongside the upcoming second-generation Tesla Roadster thanks to a battery-electric drivetrain made up of three motors. Maserati predicts a zero-to-60 time of about two seconds, a figure that, if achieved, will make it one of the quickest cars in the world. Alfieri buyers will also be able to purchase the model — which will come as a coupe and as a convertible — with a plug-in hybrid drivetrain.
The replacements for the Levante and the Quattroporte will also offer battery-electric and plug-in options. Both are scheduled to arrive around the turn of the decade.
Electric Maserati Alfieri sketch
Jeep will offer an electrified version of every model it makes by 2021. On a global scale, it will introduce 10 plug-in hybrids and four battery-electric cars. We don’t know what those will be yet but the same plan calls for the launch of an array of new models including a sub-Renegade crossover we likely won’t get in the United States, a pair of three-row SUVs sold alongside the two-row variants of the Cherokee and the Grand Cherokee, and a flagship model that will revive the storied Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer nameplates.
Alfa Romeo will not introduce an electric car in the next five years. The company nonetheless announced a range-topping supercar named 8C powered by a 700-horsepower, twin-turbocharged engine mounted behind the passenger compartment and an electric motor over the front axle. Enthusiasts will welcome the return of the GTV nameplate to the Alfa family. Essentially a two-door Giulia, the Italian firm’s answer to the BMW M4 will boast a 600-horsepower drivetrain with an electric turbocharger designed to eliminate turbo lag.
FCA’s product plan lacked information about the Fiat, Chrysler, Dodge and Lancia brands. If, when, how, and where they’ll adopt electrification remains up in the air.
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This article and images were originally posted on [Digital Trends] June 1, 2018 at 11:13AM. Credit to Author and Digital Trends | ESIST.T>G>S Recommended Articles Of The Day
Built tough fun to ride vintage inspired motorbikes with the ONYX Hi-Torque Electric Drive System.
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According to indiegogo.com
MOTORBIKES
At ONYX we are reintroducing a full-line of electric bikes taking inspiration from popular mopeds just as they were in the 70’s and 80’s. Both bikes offer the highest torque direct drive motors in their class while delivering a 2-stroke like power-band feeling throughout the entire throttle range
RCR
THE CAFE BLASTER
Pure Adrenaline Meets Style
72 volts of instant torque at the twist of the throttle. Clean simple fun with stealthy speeds up to 60 mph, and a 45-75 mile range for exploring on and off the beaten path.
75
MILE MAX RANGE
60
MPH TOP SPEED
72
VOLTS
RCR – TEASER VIDEO
CTY
THE FREE SPIRIT
Pure Adrenaline Meets Style
48 volts of instant torque at the twist of the throttle. Clean simple fun with speeds at 30+ mph, and a 25-40 mile range to get you all around town or your favorite campground.
40
MILE MAX RANGE
30+
MPH TOP SPEED
48
VOLTS
CTY – TEASER VIDEO
PIMP YOUR RIDE!
We teamed up with Treatland the premiere moped parts and accessories shop to offer the ability to personalize either of the electric ONYX bikes. With countless bolt-on options you can truly make a one of a kind ONYX like no other e-bike on the market today! To see some of the already available ONYX parts and accessories head over to Treatland by clicking here >>> TREATLAND.TV
RCR – 72V
2 Stroke Power-Band Fast Experience the power-band torque of kitted two stroke motors throughout the entire RPM range. Get up to speed in 4 seconds or take it off road and unleash the full potential.
RCR – BATTERY
Double Your Range!
Go farther and keep having fun with an extra RCR 22ah 72V Battery + 5a Charger. (Charge time 3.5-4hrs)
CTY – 48V
Quick Clean Fun! Get around town while having the most fun you’ve had in a long time. Being electric lets you take it anywhere a bike can go. Park it on sidewalks, ride in the bike lane, and even take it up the elevator to your desk.
CTY – BATTERY
Double Your Range!
Go farther and keep having fun with an extra CTY 16AH 48V Battery + 2a Charger. (Charge time 2.5-3hrs)
DRT – UPGRADE KIT
Help spread the word to reach our minimum goal of $400k that will unlock the DRT kit that fits both the CTY and RCR. The exclusive DRT – Upgrade Kit turns any of our bikes into a killer scrambler to blaze those back country trails or thrash around the most challenging urban terrain.
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This article and images were originally posted on [indiegogo.com] May 31, 2018 at 09:06AM. Credit to Author and indiegogo.com | ESIST.T>G>S Recommended Articles Of The Day
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According to Electrek
BMW is officially launching its wireless electric car charging system today. Starting now, customers can order a BMW 530e iPerformance with a factory-fitted system to work with BMW’s optional inductive charging system.
The option is touted as more “convenient” than charging with a cable, but it comes at a high cost: the actual cost, but more importantly – efficiency.
The German automaker describes the feature, which it calls ‘BMW Wireless Charging’:
“BMW Wireless Charging employs the same inductive charging technology already widely used for supplying power to devices such as mobile phones and electric toothbrushes to now also recharge the high-voltage batteries in electrified vehicles. The principal benefit here is the unrivalled ease of use, as drivers no longer need to hook up their plug-in hybrid car using a cable in order to replenish its energy reserves. Instead, as soon as the vehicle has been parked in the correct position above the inductive Charging Station, followed by a simple push of the Start/Stop button, the charging process is initiated. Once the battery is fully charged, the system switches off automatically.”
The inductive charging station called GroundPad can be installed in a garage or outside and it connects to the vehicle’s charging system over a distance of around eight centimetres through a magnetic field.
BMW 530e iPerformance
BMW 530e iPerformance
BMW says that it will also offer a service to install the GroundPad starting in Germany, but subsequently followed by “the UK, the US, Japan and China.”
The system has a charging power of 3.2 kW and “an efficiency rate of around 85%”, which BMW calls “very efficient.”
Electrek’s Take
Wireless charging systems are undoubtedly more convenient than plug-in systems, but how much more convenient and at what cost?
Forget the cost of the actual system, what BMW calls “very efficient” here is about 5% less efficient than most plug-in charging technology, which means that it will take 5% more electricity to charge the same vehicle.
That’s both costly and wasteful.
And for what? It literally takes me 5 seconds to plug in my electric car every day. 5 seconds for 5% less efficiency doesn’t seem like a good deal to me.
I am sure that BMW will still sell a few of those to customers who don’t understand the problem. A few people have told me in the past that “they don’t want an EV because they don’t want to bother with having to plug it in.”
That’s BMW’s answer to this lazy mindset, but I think education about how charging with a cable is actually not cumbersome at all and much more efficient would be a way better option – at least until wireless technology can close the efficiency gap.
What do you think? Let us know in the comment section below.
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This article and images were originally posted on [Electrek] May 28, 2018 at 06:29AM. Credit to Author and Electrek | ESIST.T>G>S Recommended Articles Of The Day
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According to Electrek
Hypermiling is the practice of driving vehicles as efficiently as possible in order to achieve the longest distance possible on one charge/fuel tank.
It’s not a useful way to determine the range of a vehicle for normal driving, but it’s an interesting way to see how the way someone drives can impact fuel efficiency.
Tesla owners have now established a new hypermiling record in a Model 3 by traveling 606 miles on a single charge.
This weekend, Tesla owners Erik Strait and Sean Mitchel set out to achieve the record on a public road circuit.
Their goal was 600 miles (965 km) and they narrowly beat it for what could very well be the Guinness World Record for the longest distance driven in a production electric car on a single charge.
The attempt basically consists of driving at extremely low-speed in order to get the most efficient driving speed for the vehicle while also not using power consuming onboard features like climate control.
In the case of the Model 3, Strait and Mitchel found that maintaining the speed under 25 mph (40 km/h) was ideal.
32 hours later, they had the record.
They streamed the entire hypermiling run on Youtube, which you can watch below, but a fair warning: hypermiling might very well be the most boring motorsport to watch by a long shot:
But the results were quite interesting. Mitchell reported a very efficient 110 Wh per mile for a total 66 kWh used during the run:
As we previously reported in our feature on the Model 3 battery pack architecture, the Long Range Model 3 battery pack has a capacity of about 74 kWh, but they surprisingly got much less usable energy in their run and it’s not clear why.
There’s always some capacity left as a buffer, but it seems higher than usual in this case.
Electrek’s Take
It’s a very impressive performance – though I wouldn’t be surprised if it eventually gets surpassed with a route that results in fewer stops.
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This article and images were originally posted on [Electrek] May 27, 2018 at 12:11PM. Credit to Author and Electrek | ESIST.T>G>S Recommended Articles Of The Day
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According to Electrek
Tesla’s latest electric car charging infrastructure program where it pays for the cost of deploying new charging stations not only for its own fleet, but also for all other electric vehicles, is puzzling to some.
But it seems to be gaining traction as Tesla pushes forward with a new proposal for 39 charging stations outside Chicago.
Tesla’s Supercharger network, the automaker’s main EV infrastructure effort, was meant to enable long-distance driving in its electric vehicles with daily charging expected to be done at home overnight.
But over the past year, the company has been focusing on finding ways to allow “urban ownership” of electric vehicles.
The company ended up unveiling a new “urban Supercharger” later on, but the Tesla Wall Connector remains the company’s best tool to enable urban EV ownership.
Tesla has long been deploying the Wall Connector for free with businesses as long as they cover the cost of the electricity.
Now Tesla is proposing to deploy 39 free-to-use charging stations in Elgin, a city of over 100,000 people just outside of Chicago.
We are starting to see similarities between the deals with municipalities.
According to a report from the Chicago Tribune, Tesla would foot the $109,629 installation cost to install the charging stations on municipal property as long as the city covers the electricity cost for people charging and that 22 of the 39 stations are Tesla’s Wall Connectors and the rest are universal chargers for other EVs.
The Elgin Sustainability Commission has asked the city council to approve the project, which will be considered at a meeting next month.
Electrek’s Take
If you are aiming to incentivize electric vehicles, free charging is certainly an interesting option.
But I wouldn’t mind them transferring the cost to the users in order to accelerate deployment as long as it’s reasonable, which is rarely the case with third-party networks.
The city apparently pays an electricity rate of around $0.05 per kWh, which is fairly cheap. A similar price would be great, but the problem is that Tesla doesn’t have a system to take payment with those stations so the city would have to figure that out on their own.
Would you take that deal? Let us know in the comment section below.
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This article and images were originally posted on [Electrek] May 22, 2018 at 06:26AM. Credit to Author and Electrek | ESIST.T>G>S Recommended Articles Of The Day
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According to Yanko Design
Designed with some rather unbeatable specs and an aesthetic that I can only describe as unusual, the Zeus from Curtiss Bikes is well worthy of the title of the “Most Innovative Motorcycle of the Year” given to it by the Quail Motorcycle Gathering.
The Zeus is an all-powerful, all-electric hot rod concept prototype with an estimated output of around 170 horsepower and 290 lb-ft of torque, which could make it one of the most powerful e-Bikes to ever roll of the line if it hits production. This is achieved by the fact that the bike uses two electric motors to drive a single shaft, something the company calls e-twin technology.
As powerful as the electric bike may be, it is, however, the aesthetic that grabbed my eye, with its redistribution of bulk and its use of basic geometry that one fails to notice at first glance, given how stunning the bike looks. Keeping things bottom heavy, the bike comes with all the mass near one’s feet as the area where one would expect a fuel tank, remains relatively empty. Even the seat itself is a slim horizontal member, ending well before the rear wheel which sports a monoshock suspension.
According to the makers, the Curtiss Motorcycle Company, Zeus represents the first of many all-electric American hot rod motorcycles the company plans to introduce over the next several years. Owing to its conceptual prototype status, details are scant at this point, but if the final model looks anything like the concept prototype before us, it’s surely an eye-catcher!
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This article and images were originally posted on [Yanko Design] May 14, 2018 at 09:05PM. Credit to Author and Yanko Design | ESIST.T>G>S Recommended Articles Of The Day
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According to Electrek
Several new electric vehicle fast-charging networks are currently under construction, but Tesla’s Supercharger network is still the one to beat.
The California-based automaker is not sitting on its EV charging infrastructure lead as it has been deploying new chargers at a record pace this year.
According to the Supercharger tracker Supercharge.info, Tesla started the year with 1,124 stations around the world and it has already added 121 new stations in the first 4 months of the year.
That’s close to a new station every day, but Tesla has also been adding many new charge points to existing Supercharger stations over the last few months.
Tesla added 1,324 Superchargers to its network since the beginning of the year, which is where the company is still differentiating itself from other EV charging networks who often only deploy a few charge points per station.
Now Tesla’s new stations often have 10 or 12 charge points and the company is adding some to other stations with as many as 50 charge points.
Tesla is also planning an expansion of its Fremont factory Supercharger station with 40 stalls and it has several other expansion projects, which the company is planning based on where they have a lot of Model 3 reservations and where they are already seeing a high Supercharger usage rate from the Model S and Model X fleet.
But there’s still a lot of work to be done based on Tesla’s map of planned stations – especially on the trans-Canadian route:
With this said, Tesla’s Supercharger team already secured the construction permits for a few of those stations and it looks like they are still pushing to have them up and running by the end of the year.
It doesn’t look like the pace is about to slow down with 34 more stations under construction in the US alone and over 50 around the world.
Rafał Michałowicz stopped by and shared a few images with Electrek of the latest 50-stall Supercharger station in the country:
Tesla is also now using revenue from the Supercharger network to build more stations.
The automaker officially introduced its paid Supercharger network access plan over a year ago, but it’s only now starting to have a greater impact since virtually only Model 3 owners are on it and the vehicle is just now starting to hit the roads in greater numbers.
In the US, Electrify America is now coming up with its own fast-charging network and in Europe, there are several new networks currently under construction, including Ionity, Ultra-E, and MEGA-E.
Tesla owners will also be able to take advantage of those stations, which often have CHAdeMO connectors, but Tesla will also be competing with the networks for the best charging station locations.
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This article and images were originally posted on [Electrek] May 12, 2018 at 02:49PM. Credit to Author and Electrek | ESIST.T>G>S Recommended Articles Of The Day
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According to Electrek
Santa Clara, California based Vintage Electric has just unveiled their new Scrambler S electric bicycle, with a style that invokes classic WWII-era motorcycles and with performance to match.
With so many electric bicycle designs available today, it is becoming difficult for any e-bike company, let alone an American e-bike company, to compete on price. With Chinese e-bikes undercutting prices of western alternatives, this American e-bike manufacturer has decided to focus on style and performance instead of joining the price race to the bottom.
The Scrambler S combines high performance mechanical and electrical components with a vintage design in an unmistakably unique and aggressive looking cruiser.
From the flat black paint job to the mock V-twin battery case and the classic yellow head lamp with wire grille, this bike definitely looks the part. The Scrambler S joins other WWII inspired electric bikes and motorcycles that seem to be making a comeback, such as the ReVolt R71 BMW reboot that we recently reported on.
But it isn’t enough to simply talk the talk. Beneath that vintage exterior is an e-bike with specs that are largely unmatched in the market. A massive rear hub motor powers the Scrambler S up to 36 mph (58 km/h) with acceleration that will have you sliding back in the classic leather seat.
Just take a look at the product video for the Scrambler S’s unveiling, which obviously invokes the epic Steve McQueen motorcycle chase scene from the 1963 classic WWII film, The Great Escape.
Not only is 36 mph super fast for an e-bike, it’s also super illegal in most of the US, so the Scrambler S also includes an option to electronically limit the bike to 20 mph (32 km/h) in order to keep it street legal until you reach your favorite trail or other private property. If you can resist.
Sustaining speeds of 36 mph requires a hefty battery. The Scrambler S doubles the already large battery pack found in the previous version of the Scrambler – up to an impressive 1,123 Wh. That’s more than twice the size of most electric bicycle batteries and is enough to power the Scrambler S for up to 75 miles (120 km), though at a more sensible 20 mph (32 km/h).
The battery and controller are enclosed in Vintage Electric’s iconic aluminum mock V-twin engine case, which not only creates its signature look, but also helps to cool that massive battery and powerful controller.
High-end parts also round out the Scrambler S’s spec sheet, including hydraulic disc brakes combined with powerful regenerative braking, genuine leather hand grips with matching leather seat, LCD computer display, double crown suspension fork and Kevlar-lined Schwalbe Black Jack tires.
This power and style doesn’t come cheap though, ringing up at just under $7,000. Vintage Electric’s CEO Scott Brown readily admits that this isn’t an entry level e-bike and is not designed for the average customer:
Our typical consumer is often most interested in premium-quality products, has a passion for fun, and likes to arrive in style. Using a Vintage Electric bike for one’s transportation becomes a way of life, and with the ability of the new Scrambler S it is sure to over-deliver on all expectations. Let’s not beat around the bush. The Vintage Electric Scrambler S is a wolf in wolf’s clothing. It looks like it can go like hell… and it goes as fast as it looks! It is our most capable bike and holds a special place in the Vintage Electric lineup.
You said it, Scott.
Electrek’s Take
Yea, this is an expensive e-bike. Sure, you could buy a powerful e-bike for a third of the price that goes sort of, kind of, almost as fast. But this isn’t a cheap imported e-bike. It’s an American designed and manufactured machine supported by a dependable warranty and frankly, it’s meant to be an over the top, stars and stripes waving, bald eagle screaming symbol of two-wheeled electric muscle.
If I can make an EV analogy, this isn’t the e-bike for your sensible Nissan Leaf owning neighbor. This is the e-bike for your other neighbor that already has a down payment made on his next Tesla Roadster. And if we can’t all enjoy looking at a little American design excess every now and again, well then just what is the point?
The Scrambler S probably won’t be gracing my garage anytime soon, but I’m glad that a machine like this at least exists.
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This article and images were originally posted on [Electrek] May 8, 2018 at 01:58PM. Credit to Author and Electrek | ESIST.T>G>S Recommended Articles Of The Day
The SOLO is a three wheeled EV that feels like a luxury electric car, but is technically registered as a motorcycle.
As the first US-delivered SOLO made its way to Los Angeles, California, it was met by Washington state SOLO representative and former IndyCar driver Dominic Dobson. According to Dobson:
Driving the SOLO today reminded me of my days driving formula cars. It was so quick and nimble it just made me giggle and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I think people who enjoy driving are going to love these fantastic little vehicles!
CEO of Electra Meccanica, Jerry Kroll, touted the achievement of receiving national certification in the US and the opportunities that this milestone would open for the company:
This achievement is indicative of our commitment to excellent quality and safety. To be federally certified in the United States now opens the SOLO to the biggest electric vehicle market in North America.
Tadpole trikes, or three wheeled vehicles with two wheels in the front, are increasingly sought after by EV designers due to their improved stability and decreased development/regulatory hurdles. And since the SOLO is legally considered to be a motorcycle, drivers can take advantage of most carpool lanes as well, making them even more enticing to commuters.
The SOLO features an 82 hp (61 kW) AC motor rated for 128 ft-lbs (174 Nm) of torque and top speed of 82 mph (132 km/h).
The 17.3 kWh battery has been slightly increased from the previous 16 kWh battery that the Solo sported when it began production last year, and should be enough for 100 miles (160 km) of range.
That larger battery pack can be recharged in either 3 or 6 hours from a 220V or 110V outlet, and can take advantage of level 2 chargers.
Focusing on the creature comforts of more conventional luxury cars, the SOLO includes many features not normally found in motorcycles, including power windows, heated seats, over 10 cubic feet (285 L) of cargo space, and air conditioning.
All of this will set you back $19,999 CAD, or approximately $15,400 USD.
While today marks just the first US delivery of a SOLO to a lucky customer in Los Angeles, Electric Meccanica has entered into an agreement with China-based motorcycle manufacturer Zongshen Industrial Group to produce 75,000 SOLO all-electric vehicles by 2020. With increased production ramping up, you could soon be spotting more SOLOs on your local streets.
Electrek’s Take
The SOLO, and most enclosed three wheeled cars for that matter, are interesting options for those that want some of the convenience and cost of a motorcycle but prefer the safety and year-round practicality of an enclosed vehicle.
While it might feel like a downgrade in some respects to those more familiar with four-wheeled EVs, the SOLO would certainly be an upgrade in usability and features for many motorcycle riders.
While $15,000 is by no means cheap, the price is actually competitive compared to other similar offerings in the EV market. The Corbin Sparrow, which later became the Meyers NmG, both cost twice as much as the SOLO and yet they had only half the range. A similarly spec’d Zero S ZF7.2 or ZF13.0 electric motorcycle costs between $11,000-$14,000, yet isn’t quite as utilitarian when it comes to things like carrying groceries or commuting in anything but nice weather. And Sondors is attempting to bring a $10,000 three-wheeled EV to market by 2019 via crowdfunding, but it is too soon to determine if they will be able to meet their price or delivery estimates.
A single seat EV isn’t going to fit everyone’s lifestyle, but with many people commuting alone in their cars every day, it could make sense for a significant portion of the population. If you’re already worrying how you’ll pick up a date in a single seater, then don’t worry. Electra Meccanica has you covered with the Tofino, a stylish 125 mph (200 km/h) roadster EV already in the works and slated for release next year.
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This article and images were originally posted on [Electrek] May 9, 2018 at 09:56AM. Credit to Author and Electrek | ESIST.T>G>S Recommended Articles Of The Day
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According to Electrek
UK-based startup Arrival has developed a neat-looking all-electric delivery truck and after scoring a contract with Royal Mail, the company has now secured an order of 35 electric trucks with UPS, which has several programs in place to electrify its massive fleet of delivery vehicles.
When unveiling the vehicle last year, Arrival talked about a “revolutionary ultra-lightweight composite materials that significantly reduce the weight of the vehicle and by combining this technology with Arrival’s custom built hardware, including power electronics and motors, the cost of operating has been reduced by more than 50%.”
They say that they optimized the maximum range to weight ratio for inner city deliveries with battery packs enabling up to 100 miles of range on 3.5, 6 and 7.5 tonne trucks.
Now, Arrival says that the custom-built trucks for UPS will have “a battery range of more than 150 miles (240 kilometers).”
Luke Wake, international director for automotive engineering in the advanced technology group at UPS, said this about the announcement:
“UPS is working with ARRIVAL here in the UK because their smart electric vehicles are helping to reduce dependency on fossil fuel. This is a pioneering collaboration that helps UPS develop new ways to reduce our emissions. UPS is marshaling its global scale to encourage innovation within the automotive industry. We are helping to drive demand for these disruptive technologies. The result is a safer and cleaner fleet for the communities in which we deliver.”
Arrival has been working with UPS on the vehicles since 2016 and now they plan to deploy the first ones in London and Paris for a trialed period by the end of the year.
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This article and images were originally posted on [Electrek] May 9, 2018 at 09:20AM. Credit to Author and Electrek | ESIST.T>G>S Recommended Articles Of The Day
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According to Electrek
Unlike in the US where electric bicycles are still coming into their own, e-bikes are already used widely across Europe. In most markets, there are two main options: budget Chinese e-bikes and higher end yet expensive European or American e-bikes. Now, Belgium startup Cowboy is throwing their hat in the ring in an attempt to create a high-end e-bike for an affordable price.
So far it appears that they have significant support, raising $3 million in seed funding led by the VC firm Index Ventures, who also backed the electric scooter startup Bird that is quickly spreading around the US.
The Cowboy electric bike uses a slick and elegant design that departs from most previous electric bicycle design innovations. Unlike most cheap Asian imports that use bolt-on batteries on the down tube or rack, Cowboy’s e-bike incorporates their proprietary sub-4 lb (1.8 kg) battery directly into the seat tube.
While other innovative e-bike designs have hidden their batteries inside the down tube, this usually leads to bulky looking frame members that are an instant e-bike giveaway. By designing the lockable battery directly into the seat tube, it will usually be hidden by the rider’s legs and make the bike look even more like every other innocent pedal bike out there.
Adrien Roose, one of Cowboy’s co-founders, says that the sleek design is meant to target younger riders and people who use their e-bikes for daily commuting and work, such as bike couriers. According to Roose, it is those groups that haven’t yet embraced electric bicycles as readily as older generations.
Cowboy is betting that with a minimalist design and smart connected features, they can tap into a wider market of young riders.
Those smart connected features are meant to make Cowboy simpler and easier to use. An integrated SIM card slot and GPS module interface with Cowboy’s app to allow your smartphone to act as a live dashboard for navigation, GPS tracking and realtime ride stats. Unlocking of the e-bike is also performed via your smartphone.
Designed as an urban commuting e-bike, Cowboy includes many features designed to stand up to the punishment of daily riding. A carbon belt replaces a standard bike chain, allowing for smoother and quieter pedaling. Bright headlights and taillights are integrated directly into the bike frame as well, so you never have to worry about replacing your light batteries again.
Cowboy also includes hydraulic brakes, which provide superior braking performance with less effort, and are a very nice addition for those that use their bikes daily in stop-and-go urban traffic.
At just 35.2 lbs (16 kg), Cowboy is definitely on the lighter end of the electric bicycle spectrum. That’s another plus for urban commuters who might need to carry their e-bike up a flight of stairs.
The 252 Wh battery is rated for 31 miles (50 km) and recharges in 2.5 hours. The Cowboy can only be used in pedal assist mode, where it provides electric power assist solely when it senses that you are also pedaling. That means that the Cowboy is really meant for cyclists that want an extra boost, not for thrill seekers looking for a lightweight electric motorcycle.
Price is where Cowboy really shines, listed at just € 1,790 (approximately $2,130 at today’s exchange rate), though it is currently only available online and with delivery in Belgium. At these prices though, let’s hope that Cowboys start popping up in our cities soon too.
Electrek’s Take
I’m pretty excited about this e-bike. The design looks simple but elegant, the components are fairly high quality and the price is reasonable for what you’re getting. Of course to reach that price point, it appears that some sacrifices were necessary.
You’ll notice there’s no derailleur or gear options, making this bike a single speed, though the added motor assist means that a range of gears isn’t as critical as for non-electric bikes. The frame is only available in one size, but Cowboy claims it should fit anyone from 5’5″ (165 cm) to 6’4″. And lastly, like Henry Ford famously said about the Model T, “you can have it in any color you’d like, as long as it’s black.”
The top speed is conspicuously absent from the website and marketing material, but we can assume that it tops out at 15.5 mph (25 km/h) in accordance with EU regulations. This is no speedster, but certainly enough for riding around the city, and most bikes like these can be pedaled faster than the max motor speed anyways, assuming the gearing supports this.
It will always be possible to buy cheaper Asian imported e-bikes for a third of the price of Cowboy, but for anyone who wants higher quality bike parts in a better looking package, this is definitely an affordable option.
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This article and images were originally posted on [Electrek] May 7, 2018 at 08:50AM. Credit to Author and Electrek | ESIST.T>G>S Recommended Articles Of The Day
In a lawsuit filed against Tesla in U.S. District Court in Arizona, Nikola asks for $2 billion in damages, claiming Tesla infringed on three Nikola patents. The patents cover design elements of the Nikola One fuel-cell-powered truck. According to the suit, published images of the Tesla Semi have similar designs as those Nikola protected with patents.
Nikola claims the Tesla Semi’s fuselage design, windshield wrap style, and mid-entry door violate Nikola’s patents for the same design elements.
Nikola introduced its idea for a semi truck in May 2016. One month later the company claimed to have received more than 7,000 orders, worth about $2.3 billion, even though it had not yet shown a design concept.
Nikola alleges, however, to have lost sales to the tune of $2 billion in future truck orders due to Tesla’s alleged patent infringements.
“Tesla’s design has caused confusion among customers. The confusion has diverted sales from Nikola to Tesla. Further, any problems with the Tesla Semi will be attributed to the Nikola One, causing harm to the Nikola brand,” Electrek quoted from the lawsuit.
“It’s patently obvious there is no merit to this lawsuit,” Tesla conveyed to The Verge via a spokesperson.
Nikola’s response to the Tesla statement? “The lawsuit speaks for itself.”
Anheuser-Busch orders trucks from both Nikola and Tesla
This week’s second Nikola news item seems to indicate that semis from the two companies can coexist and even thrive as a result of their different fuel sources.
The Nikola One, originally proposed as a battery-electric truck, was soon redefined as a hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicle, which burns hydrogen to run an electric motor. Tesla’s Semi relies on battery-electric power.
In late 2017 Anheuser-Busch announced it ordered 40 Tesla Semis. At the same time, the beer producer reaffirmed its corporate goal of significantly reducing the company’s carbon footprint.
On Thursday, May 3, Anheuser-Busch said it would replace its entire fleet of semi-trailer trucks with zero emissions models. The company also announced it had ordered up to 800 Nikola One semis, with the first deliveries scheduled for 2020.
As part of the Anheuser-Busch fleet conversion to hydrogen fuel cell trucks for long-haul distribution, the customer will be able to specify where Nikola will locate, build, and support 28 hydrogen fueling stations, Trucks reported. Nikola previously announced its plan to build 700 fueling stations in North America and that the first major customers would have input in the locations.
The 40 Tesla Semis ordered previously will handle the company’s shorter routes.
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This article and images were originally posted on [Digital Trends] May 4, 2018 at 09:00AM. Credit to Author and Digital Trends | ESIST.T>G>S Recommended Articles Of The Day
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According to Electrek
Electric motors are the beating heart of any electric vehicle, and thanks to a startup in Belgium, your next EV’s motor could be stronger, smaller and more efficient. Magnax is hard at work developing new axial flux motors for use in EVs and other applications that require powerful yet lightweight motors. This could mean faster, lighter and generally more awesome electric cars and motorcycles, among other new developments.
Axial flux motors are a major improvement over standard radial flux motors, which leave a significant amount of copper overhanging on the ends of the coils. In radial flux motors, any copper not perpendicular to the magnet’s rotation is essentially wasted.
Axial flux motors, on the other hand, offer the lowest possible copper loss. This translates to higher efficiency. In other words, more of the battery power gets turned into useful motor power.
These axial flux motors are also more efficient due to their intrinsically enhanced cooling. Because the coils can be pressed directly against the exterior motor case, they can cool much faster than in radial flux motors, which must transfer the coil heat through the stator of the motor.
Magnax has a few other innovations that they are working into their motors as well. Instead of standard round wire for their copper coils, Magnax is using rectangular cross-section wire to pack more copper into the same space, resulting in a copper fill of up to 90%.
They also employ a yokeless stator, which provides the shortest possible flux path, as well as using grain-oriented steel, which they claim can reduce the core losses by as much as 85%.
Ok, that sounds nice and all, but what are these fancy tech specs good for?
What this all adds up to is a motor that can be insanely light compared to the amount of power it produces. Magnax claims their axial flux motors can reach up to 15 kW/kg peak, or 7.5 kW/kg nominal (9 hp/lb peak, or 4.5 hp/lb nominal).
But power means nothing if you can’t keep the motor cool. With the improved cooling capacity of axial flux motors, Magnax’s new motors will be able to provide higher power for longer, resulting in better performing vehicles.
According to the company:
This is our way of contributing to a sound environment for our children. Magnax enables industrial innovation with axial flux motor and generator technology that outperforms in efficiency, weight, reliability, and cost-effectiveness. Magnax supports the global transition to fully renewable power generation, electric transportation and ultra-efficient machines by innovating in next-generation electric motor and generator technology.
Magnax is already preparing to debut their first prototype motors by the end of this year, with a stated goal of an unveiling in October.
The prototype motor will be a 275 mm (10.8 inch) diameter motor weighing 22.5 kg (50 lb) and capable of between 300 to 408 kW (400-550 hp) of power. They are also developing a smaller 7 kg (15.4 lb) version of the same motor with a diameter of 185 mm (7.2 inches) and peak power output of 84 kW (113 hp). The company is envisioning the use of these motors in everything from electric motorcycles and vehicles to electric aircraft, and even in large wind turbines when used as generators.
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This article and images were originally posted on [Electrek] May 3, 2018 at 08:58AM. Credit to Author and Electrek | ESIST.T>G>S Recommended Articles Of The Day
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According to hoverboard.com
Description
The GeoBlade 500 is a gyro-stabilized, one-wheeled electric board that provides the thrill of surfing on land. Developed in California, we’ve engineered the perfect balance of control and power to deliver the exhilaration of carving the streets.
Connect to Your Board. GeoBlade 500 is an Electric rideable that literally senses the driver and allows for maximum control and flexibility. Experience the thrill of carving the streets with the GeoBlade 500.
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This article and images were originally posted on [hoverboard.com] May 3, 2018 at 09:11AM. Credit to Author and hoverboard.com | ESIST.T>G>S Recommended Articles Of The Day
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According to Electrek
There’s no doubt that scooters and mopeds are convenient ways to navigate busy cities, solving problems from navigation and parking to pollution. Now, UJET is trying to make them even better, smarter and smaller, not to mention fully electric.
UJET’s new folding electric scooter is a smart connected EV with a number of innovative design features.
Smart connectivity via an onboard GPS, 3G, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth equipped computer allows the UJET to be controlled by the user’s smartphone, performing tasks such as locking and unlocking, location features (“where did I park?”) and anti-theft protection including tamper notifications.
The vehicle’s app can also guide you to service locations if you have a problem, and uses an array of 20 sensors located throughout the scooter to provide real-time monitoring of the scooter’s systems.
The onboard camera can record all of your rides, whether for fun or for use as a dash cam if needed. An integrated and sleek flip-up display shows all the usual driving parameters such as speed, battery life, efficiency, etc.
The scooter itself includes streamlined and progressive design notes, immediately apparent from nearly any angle. The frame is entirely asymmetric, with single-supported front and rear wheels.
Speaking of the wheels, you might have noticed those look strange too. They’re spokeless orbital wheels, with a 4.05kW electric motor integrated into the rear wheel, providing 90 Nm (66.4 ft lbs) of torque. The TUBALL tires incorporate carbon nanotubes, which UJET claims can double the handling performance of the tires in all-weather conditions.
The battery comes in two sizes that provide either 43.5 mi (70 km) or 93 miles (150 km) of range. The battery itself is incorporated into the seat, which is a removable structure similar to a rolling suitcase. It features a carry handle and wheels for rolling it around with you. The removable battery also doubles as a super-large battery bank and even a bluetooth speaker. Recharging can be performed from any standard wall socket and takes just 2 hours.
The entire scooter weighs just under 95 lbs (43 kg), meaning its light enough to walk around easily, even in its folded form. The top speed is electronically limited to 28 mph (45 km/h).
Certainly not a budget scooter, the price ranges from $8,900 – $9,900 depending on the battery size. Initial deliveries for the UJET scooter will begin in Europe in the next few months, and it should be available in the US later this year, according to the company.
Electrek’s Take
These types of folding electric scooters are mostly meant to be intra-city Vespa substitutes and are actually well suited for last mile type trips in urban areas where you can easily zip around cars and beat traffic, shaving valuable time off your commute. However, the low top speed of the UJET is quite limiting for any roads where traffic regularly travels above 30 mph, meaning this likely won’t replace your entire commute unless you already live in the city.
Because the top speed appears to be electronically limited, hopefully UJET will be releasing an upgraded model (or perhaps even a software mod) to allow for higher speeds. This would make the scooter much more versatile and potentially allow suburb-to-city type commuting.
Considering the intended urban use of this scooter, it is strange that UJET included such a large battery offering between 45 to 93 miles of range. Even though this large range means you won’t have to recharge very often, it is much more than most people will ever need in the conditions that this scooter is appropriate for, and contributes to the high cost of the vehicle. If future models will be released with higher top speeds, the large battery pack will make sense, as higher speeds will require more energy.
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This article and images were originally posted on [Electrek] April 26, 2018 at 11:37AM. Credit to Author and Electrek | ESIST.T>G>S Recommended Articles Of The Day
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According to Electrek
Audi unveiled the e-tron quattro prototype, the company’s first all-electric vehicle built to be electric from the ground up. This was back in 2015 when they were still using the unreliable NEDC standard for the range.
In a press release today, the German automaker confirmed the expected range on the more realistic WLTP driving cycle, which they now claim to be “over 400 kilometers (248.5 miles).”
That’s down from “310 miles” of range that they had been advertising since launching the vehicle concept but we have been correcting it to an estimated ~275 miles on a single charge for an SUV of this size with a 95 kWh battery pack.
Our estimate was closer to the truth, but it still quite far off from the actual WLTP rating, which Audi itself described as “realistic”.
In the same press release, Audi also reaffirmed the 150 kW charging capacity of the vehicle, which will go into production as the Ionity charging network, which supports 150 kW up to 350 kW, will start to grow in Europe over the next two years.
For the occasion, they illustrated the “lightning fast” charging by bringing the car to the Siemens high-voltage test bay in the Berlin switchgear plant and hitting the car with lightning in a Faraday cage:
The Audi e-tron prototype in a Faraday cage
The Audi e-tron prototype in a Faraday cage
The Audi e-tron prototype in a Faraday cage
In addition to the already announced DC fast-charging capacity, the press release talked in more detail about the vehicle’s home charging capacity:
Audi offers various solutions for charging at home. If desired, an electrician referred by the local Audi dealer will check which charging options are available in the customer’s garage and install the corresponding technology. The standard mobile charging system can be used in two ways: with a charging power of up to 2.3 kW when connected to a 230 volt household outlet and with up to 11 kW when connected to a 400 volt three-phase outlet. In the latter case, the battery can be fully recharged in roughly 8.5 hours. With the optional connect charging system, charging power doubles to 22 kW provided that the electric SUV is equipped with the required second charger.
All the charging options can also be monitored through Audi’s mobile application.
The car is set to enter production at Audi’s carbon-neutral plant in Brussels in the next few months in order for deliveries to start in European markets at “the end of 2018.”
I am curious to see what the actual EPA rating will be, but if the ~250 miles (400 km) is reliable, that’s pretty good – although I would have expected a little more out of an SUV of this size with a 95 kWh pack.
I love how people accused me of intentionally being harsh on Audi because of my bias for Tesla when I estimated a range of ~275 miles:
When in fact, I was actually being generous and Audi now admits that ~250 miles of range is actually “realistic.”
On the contrary, there’s no Tesla bias affecting my excitement for the e-tron quattro.
If it indeed launches later this year with 150 kW of charging capacity, it will likely become the fastest charging passenger electric car on the market and that’s pushing the whole EV market forward.
There are only things to get excited about for the launch of the e-tron quattro.
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This article and images were originally posted on [Electrek] April 20, 2018 at 09:09AM. Credit to Author and Electrek | ESIST.T>G>S Recommended Articles Of The Day
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According to Electrek
It looks like when Tesla launched its next-generation Roadster, it might have set the bar for new hypercars coming out since several companies have been benchmarking their upcoming vehicles based on some of the specs that Tesla released.
Now Taipei-based startup Xing Mobility unveils its new electric hypercar today after having compared the specs with Tesla’s new electric vehicle.
They released the following specs and compared them to Tesla’s new Roadster : 0-100 km/h in 1.8 seconds (Roadster: 2.0 seconds), 0-200 km/h in 5.1 seconds (Roadster: unreleased but 0 to 161 km/h in 4.2 seconds) and a max speed of over 270km/h (Roadster: over 400 km/h). They didn’t disclose the range, while Tesla announced over 620 miles of range (~1,000 km) for the new Roadster.
But at the time, the Xing Mobility’MISS R’ only looked like this:
Now they say that they are unveiling the full vehicle, which they claim is the “world’s first electric supercar with on-road and off-road capabilities.”
Here are a few images that they released today:
They are sticking to the original specs that they unveiled last year even though the vehicle still doesn’t have an interior.
Xing also hasn’t demonstrated the insane acceleration that they are claiming but they did release some footage of that “off-road” capability:
They claim that they achieved this kind of performance with a 1-Megawatt (1,341hp) powertrain equipped with 4 independent electric motors powered by a battery pack of their own design.
It’s made of 98 “modular blocks” with each 43 cells, which are submerging directly in “3M™ Novec™ 7200 Engineered Fluid”. They claim that is results in “one of the highest power density EV battery packs on the market.”
The battery pack system is also swappable. The company describes it:
“In displaying the vehicle elevated above its 4116-cell, 98-module battery pack, the company also plan to showcase its extremely fast battery swap technology that sees the entire battery enclosure exchanged within 5 minutes. As well as tackling the challenge of range and charging restraints, the vehicle is designed for exceptional driving experiences previously unthinkable in gasoline vehicles. Fully race-enabled, its battery-swap technology and dual-personality setup is primed for track sprints, hill climbs, and endurance races alike.”
While they have been talking about bringing ‘MISS R’ to limited production with 20 units to be built in 2019 with a price starting at $1 million USD, Xing Mobility says that the powertrain is the real product and they want to leverage the development for other vehicles – starting with commercial vehicles.
XING Mobility’s Co-founder and CTO Azizi Tucker said:
“The commercial vehicle market is primed for a conversion to electric drivetrains due to functional needs, increasing emissions requirements and public noise reduction. However, this market is currently extremely underserved with many electric vehicle technology manufacturers focusing only on passenger vehicles”.
It’s why ‘MISS R’ will be showcased at the AutoTronics Taipei show alongside a 3.5 ton electric transit vehicle referred to internally by the team as “Mr T”.
They haven’t released any specs about the truck other than saying that its powertrain consists of “6,300 lithium-ion 18650 cells in 150 reconfigurable and immersive-cooled battery modules and equipped with a 350V high power density induction motor.”
The company wants to use its same “LEGO-like” battery pack technology to electrify several kinds of vehicles.
Electrek’s Take
It’s interesting how quickly other companies are using the new Tesla Roadster as a benchmark when unveiling their own hypercar. It looks like the Roadster has the new numbers to beat.
But in this case, it doesn’t look like it will actually by a competitor.
Instead, they are mainly focusing on their battery pack technology, which kind of reminds me of Kreisel Electric in Austria.
Unfortunately, we don’t know enough about their technology to say if they truly have something special here, but a 1-Megawatt (1,341hp) powertrain in such a small vehicle is certainly impressive.
What do you think? Let us know in the comment section below.
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This article and images were originally posted on [Electrek] April 9, 2018 at 08:13AM. Credit to Author and Electrek | ESIST.T>G>S Recommended Articles Of The Day
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According to Electrek
Earlier this week, Chinese EV start-up Singulato Motors said that it secured funding to invest 15 billion yuan ($2.39 billion USD) in a massive manufacturing hub in Suzhou (east China) over the next five years.
Electric vehicle startups in China have been able to raise incredible sums of money to bring their new EVs to market, but Singulato might have all of them beat with this week’s announcement.
China’s demand for SUVs is increasing rapidly and it is extending to electric SUVs, which made Tesla’s Model X a very popular choice in the country despite its higher price due to import duties slapped on all of Tesla’s vehicles.
Other examples include WM Motor and Xiaopeng Motors who both raised hundreds of millions of dollars to bring electric SUVs to market. But now, Singulato is emerging as another well-funded competitor, according to a report from Xinhuanet.
They first unveiled this crazy-looking SUV with giant double gull-wing doors in 2016:
But they tamed it down for the production version, which is now called Singulato iS6.
It now features suicide doors with a full B-pillar and the interior is reminiscent of Tesla’s with a large center display and a very similar user interface on the instrument cluster.
It reportedly has a range of 400 km (~250 miles) and it can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in four seconds.
The price is quite aggressive with an expected retail range from 200.000 to 300.000 yuan (~$32.000 to $48.000).
Now, the company is moving ahead with some massive plans to bring the vehicle to production with this new investment in partnership with the Suzhou government.
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This article and images were originally posted on [Electrek] April 5, 2018 at 11:27AM. Credit to Author and Electrek | ESIST.T>G>S Recommended Articles Of The Day
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UPS, which operates one of the largest fleets of vehicles in the world, has several electrification efforts and today, it got quite excited about the prospect of going all-electric as it deployed a new smart-grid technology to support its growing EV fleet in London.
So much so that it called it “breakthrough” that “signals the beginning of the end of a reliance upon traditional combustion engine powered vehicles.”
The delivery company currently operates 170 trucks out of its central London site and 65 of them are electric – pictured above.
They wanted to electrify the entire fleet, but they didn’t like the cost of charging high numbers of vehicles at the same time.
In order to lower those costs, they developed a ‘Smart Electric Urban Logistics (SEUL)’ project with UK Power Networks and Cross River Partnership, with funding secured from the UK’s Office for Low Emission Vehicles.
It consists of “a smart-grid which uses a central server which is connected to each EV charge post as well as the grid power supply and the on-site energy storage.”
The system is able to stabilize the power demand among the charging stations in order to charge all vehicles overnight without excessive peak demand or a need to upgrade to the external power grid.
Peter Harris, director of sustainability at UPS Europe, commented on the new initiative:
“UPS thinks this is a world first, right in the heart of a mega-city. We are using new technology to work around some big obstacles to electric vehicle deployment, heralding a new generation of sustainable urban delivery services both here in London and in other major cities around the world. Electric vehicles are an integral component within UPS’s alternative fuel and advanced technology fleet. Our collaboration with UK Power Networks and Cross River Partnership marks a major turning point in the cost effective deployment of electric vehicles which in turn will play a key role in ensuring the global trend toward urbanization is sustainable. We are applying new technology to make the charging process smarter and our delivery service cleaner.”
The company says that the new smart grid system and energy storage capacity added to its central London site will allow them to switch the entire fleet of 170 delivery trucks to electric.
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This article and images were originally posted on [Electrek] March 30, 2018 at 08:01AM. Credit to Author and Electrek | ESIST.T>G>S Recommended Articles Of The Day
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This article and images were originally posted on [indiegogo.com] March 19, 2018 at 10:25AM. Credit to Author and indiegogo.com | ESIST.T>G>S Recommended Articles Of The Day
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According to Electrek
The Swiss know long-term cost of ownership well and one police force in Basel figures it will save a significant amount of money over the life of their police cruisers by swapping out diesel vehicles with all-electric Model X 100D SUVs, which Tesla claims is the “World’s fastest, safest and most versatile SUV”.
Tesla vehicles are becoming strangely popular with police departments all over the world.
The Ontario Police also recently received a brand new Model X – pictured above – and now a police force in Switzerland is on board with Tesla’s all-electric vehicles.
But Tesla’s vehicles are still quite expensive for police use.
For the Basel police, the math works a little like this: They are spending about 1 million Swiss Francs (105% dollar value) on the lot after outfitting them for police action. That’s about 150,000 Francs a piece which is about 50,000 Francs more than the current diesel models.
The cantonal police of Basel-Stadt will replace the diesel vehicles for the alarm labels with electric Tesla Model X-100D which satisfies both economical and environmental protection, due to high payload and plenty of storage space, as well as very good handling characteristics for use as an alarm pickup vehicle. The total cost of ownership (TCO) is lower, despite higher initial cost compared to today’s cars. The planned replacement of diesel combined vehicles with the Tesla Model X-100D brings several advantages in terms of economic efficiency, practicality and ecology. In view of the exemplary role of the administration aimed at environmental protection in the Cantonal Legislative Plan 2017-21, the cantonal police has clarified whether a fully electric vehicle is available and suitable for the alarm signal on the market. A thorough investigation and practical tests have shown that the Tesla X-100D meets the requirements.
Consider fuel costs and maintenance. Telebasel.ch interviewed Martin Schütz, a spokesman for the cantonal police of Basel-Stadt who noted that today’s alarm pick-up vehicle, including its extension, would cost CHF 91,000. The police say the additional cost of 49,000 Francs offsets the higher acquisition costs with significantly lower costs for operation and maintenance and a higher resale value.
Practicality is also an obvious concern. Schütz noted, “A vehicle that is suitable for an alarm needs, on the one hand a sufficient payload and plenty of storage space due to the equipment of the police officers. Ideally, the vehicle also has four-wheel drive. This would also include the environmental ideals which would make the administration role models.”
The average range required on one of Basel’s cruisers is 200 kilometers or 124 miles per day which is easily reached with a Model X 100’s official EPA of almost 300 miles. Even with a few high-speed pursuits, the Model X 100D should be able to do a day’s work without a charge. IWB would install two charging stations each at the police stations Kannenfeld and Clara as well as in the arsenal.
BZBasel got some more specifics. “A conventional vehicle brings the police from A to B. What the Basel police is now buying is a laptop on wheels,” says Theo Karafantis. Thus, the police are also prepared for future challenges, such as in the fight against drones. Additionally, the vehicle can also be digitally upgraded in the future. “Even with a simple traffic accident, the on-board computer will make it much easier to record the data,” says Karafantis. “And also not to forget: the Basel police can refuel the new emergency vehicles in future at the fast charging stations of Tesla. However, the nearest Supercharger is currently in Pratteln.”
The move isn’t without its detractors however, “It is incomprehensible that almost one million francs are purchased for vehicles that have not yet been tested in everyday police life, and are otherwise not commonplace.” criticized Councilor Felix Wehrli, who works as a detective at the Criminal Investigation Department. He wants to know, for example, why not conventional car manufacturers such as BMW or Mercedes were selected, which usually also has cheaper vehicles on offer.
Basel Police will be the first in the world to have Model X Police Cruisers says Karafantis, although Ontario, Canada noted above might beat them to the punch.
Electrek’s Take:
Police can be seen as highly specialized fleet operators which are prime targets for electric vehicles’ lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). With the Model X, the Basel Police get a much faster car, with better storage, 4 wheel drive, built in technology+upgrades, quietness (for sneaking up on the bad guys) and obviously the cost savings of electricity. Plus, I’m sure the cops will enjoy the ride.
Besides, what criminal wouldn’t appreciate being put in the back of a Falcon Wing Model X and driven swiftly and quietly to the station?
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This article and images were originally posted on [Electrek] March 16, 2018 at 11:37AM. Credit to Author and Electrek | ESIST.T>G>S Recommended Articles Of The Day
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A Tesla Semi electric truck prototype is currently traveling in the Midwest as part of the automaker’s test program ahead of the vehicle’s production next year.
Now the truck has been spotted on the side of the road in Missouri apparently broken down to the enjoyment of detractors of Tesla’s electric truck effort, but the company says that it actually wasn’t even “broken down”.
From truck makers to truck drivers, Tesla’s electric truck program has plenty of critics and naysayers.
Yet, Tesla has two electric truck prototypes currently driving around the US as part of their test program.
CEO Elon Musk is even confident that they could end up beating the specs that naysayers think impossible by the time they are finished with the test program and move to production, which is planned for next year.
But the sighting of one of those prototypes on the side of the road in Missouri today raised some doubts:
It was spotted on the side of I44 highway by many drivers and it quickly made the rounds on the truck driver forums and social media groups.
Most of them were laughing at the electric truck being visibly broken down.
Some of them were just poking fun (left) while others were downright insulting and almost threatening (right):
Here’s the twist: Tesla says that the prototype wasn’t even “broken down” and that they simply stopped to do some tests and make adjustments as part of the test program.
Even though it appeared broken down, some other people were still clearly excited to see the vehicle (turn your volume down a bit before watching):
The thing is that even if it was broken down, it’s not an issue and nothing for naysayers to laugh about.
Those vehicles are prototypes in a test program. Tesla is pushing them to their limits to see how they react.
I get that there would be some animosity from other truck makers just out of fear, but I am not sure where the disdain and anger is coming from when it comes to the truck drivers.
While Tesla is certainly working on self-driving technology, you can bet that all other truck manufacturers are working on it too and the Tesla Semi requires a driver right now and it is even built around one.
I understand that it’s not all truck drivers, but those social media groups were quite disturbing as pictured above.
Do they not want to drive cleaner, more powerful, and less noisy trucks? I mean you can have your doubts, but it’s not the same thing as wishing they would fail. If someone can enlighten me about why it’s not being well-received here I’d appreciate it.
Let me know what you think in the comment section below.
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This article and images were originally posted on [Electrek] March 16, 2018 at 05:35AM. Credit to Author and Electrek | ESIST.T>G>S Recommended Articles Of The Day
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According to Electrek
There’s no getting around it, the instant torque of electric vehicles can be quite hard on tires – especially with the heavier and more powerful models, like Tesla’s.
Goodyear claims to have a solution with a new tire aimed at the electric vehicle market.
After testing, Goodyear says that “traditional tires can wear out up to 30% faster on electric vehicles.”
At the 2018 Geneva International Motor Show this week, they unveiled the “EfficientGrip Performance with Electric Drive Technology”, which they claim will reduce the wear from high torque.
Chris Delaney, President of Goodyear Europe, Middle East and Africa, says that they are working to bring the technology to market next year:
“The combination of increasing regulations to reduce emissions, the desire to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, and rapid gains in battery technology is creating an ideal environment for electric vehicles. We are working with automakers to introduce our Electric Drive Technology next year designed to address the unique performance requirements of this growing vehicle segment.”
Here’s the tire:
They claim that it will also help energy consumption and therefore increase range:
Extended Mileage from Innovative Tread Design: The tread’s thinner sipes (small channels) allow for a larger rubber contact patch on the road surface than traditional radial grooves. With more rubber on the road, the tire can better cope with high levels of torque while maintaining high performance in wet conditions. The tread design also prevents sound waves from entering its grooves, reducing interior and exterior tire noise.
High-Load-Carrying Construction: The tire cavity shape has been optimized to support the additional vehicle weight from batteries while maintaining an optimal tread footprint for high performance.
Extended Driving Range: The material properties of the tread compound have been tuned for ultra-low rolling resistance to extend the vehicle range while coping with high levels of torque. In addition, the sidewall has been designed to reduce aerodynamic drag and the profile yields less rotating mass, resulting in reduced energy consumption.
Goodyear says that they are also working on making the tires quieter since road noise often appears greater in electric vehicles due to the lack of engine noise.
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This article and images were originally posted on [Electrek] March 8, 2018 at 09:36AM. Credit to Author and Electrek | ESIST.T>G>S Recommended Articles Of The Day
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As we often like to remind everyone here at Electrek, electric propulsion is slowly but surely taking over every segment of ground transport one at a time – and not just electric cars.
Now a new startup says that it’s time for snowmobiles, which are surprisingly polluting and therefore, an important segment to electrify.
The Montreal-based startup Taiga Motors invited us to Mont-Tremblant this week to witness the unveiling of what they claim will be “the world’s first production electric snowmobile”: the Taiga TS2.
In 2015, the company spun out of McGill’s racing team where the three co-founders, Paul Achard, Gabriel Bernatchez, and Sam Bruneau, worked on electric powertrains during their engineering studies at the university.
During a presentation at the unveiled (embedded further down), Bruneau said that the team was inspired by Tesla to forget any preconceived idea of what a snowmobile should be and instead design an electric snowmobile from scratch.
That approach turned out to be crucial to the development of the vehicle since simply converting an existing snowmobile by replacing its engine with an electric powertrain would have resulted in a much heavier machine which is a dealbreaker for a snowmobile.
The team says that they managed to keep the weight “under 500 lbs fully loaded,” which is competitive with current options on the market, but while being equipped with a significant 15 kWh battery pack.
That battery pack powers a PMAC motor with 250 N.m. of torque and about 80 kW of power output, which is a lot of power for a machine that weighs less than 500 lbs.
It’s why they can achieve a scary 0 to 60 mph acceleration in just 3 seconds.
Now I’ve driven a lot of quick electric vehicles with a similar acceleration, but it’s simply not the same when you are not inside a passenger cabin and on the snow.
We went to a deserted airport to do some test runs. I don’t say that often, but unfortunately, the snow started to melt here in Quebec and therefore, we were riding on compacted snow, which is less than ideal.
I don’t think we managed to achieve that 3-second 0 to 60 mph acceleration in those conditions, but we nonetheless had some fun and could definitely feel the power of the TS2.
Here’s some footage of the test ride:
The prototype had its issues. The team had some problems with the steering system before the test rides and it definitely felt stiff at times, but they thought the overall machine was good enough to demo instead of waiting another year for the next winter season.
In my opinion, they were right.
It’s quite impressive that a team of about 17 people put together a working electric snowmobile built mostly from scratch in 3 years and it’s arguably not only competitive with current snowmobiles on the market made by giants like BRP and Artic Cat, but also significantly better in many aspects.
Of course, the two main advantages are zero-emission and significantly less noise pollution.
With little to no standards and many two-stroke engines, current gas-powered snowmobiles are generally incredibly polluting – sometimes 50 times more polluting than an average car. People operate those machines to experience the great outdoors and it’s a shame to have to pollute your environment to do it.
Electric snowmobiles are going to fix that.
Then there’s the noise aspect. You can hear a gas-powered snowmobile coming from miles away, which is again not what you want to hear in nature.
Taiga’s TS2 is extremely quiet aside of course from the noise of snow being pushed underneath the vehicle, but that’s inevitable and only audible from a relatively short distance.
There are also other aspects that differentiate Taiga’s electric snowmobile from anything else on the market.
As we previously discussed, they were inspired by Tesla and like the electric automaker, they put a lot of efforts into software in order to make the vehicle fully connected and capable of over-the-air software updates in order to improve over time.
That’s something that has never been done with snowmobiles and Jonah Ryan-Davis, a firmware engineer at Taiga who also previously worked at Tesla, told Electrek that everything is already in place to be able to push new updates.
They are not sure yet what does updates will feature, but they will listen to feedbacks once the TS2 will be in the hands of customers and try to build new features with the help of the community.
Owners will also be able to configure their snowmobile from a mobile app with different riding modes.
As for the range, the TS2 can travel 100 km (62 miles) on a single charge. Charing can be done in about 2 hours through level 2 charging with an onboard charger and the company says that it will also offer a DC fast-charging option for 80% charge in 20 minutes.
While the range might not seem like much, it’s actually quite impressive when you consider that Taiga claims the vehicle will maintain this range even at -30 Celsius.
The company also says that they will offer different versions of the vehicle optimized for different uses: Utility, Touring, Crossover, and Mountain.
Taiga is currently aiming to bring the TS2 to market next year at a starting price of $15,000. They are currently taking reservations with a $500 refundable deposit for people who want to be among the first to go electric for their winter powersports and in order to gauge demand for the vehicle ahead of the start of production.
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This article and images were originally posted on [Electrek] March 3, 2018 at 11:27AM. Credit to Author and Electrek | ESIST.T>G>S Recommended Articles Of The Day
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According to Futurism
New Investments
According to Axios, technology giants like Samsung and Dyson have collectively invested $65 million in Massachusetts-based Ionic Materials. This enormous vote of confidence is a bit shocking, as most people probably haven’t even heard of the small company before. But if Ionic Materials delivers on its recent claims, the investment will certainly pay off. It claims to be close to creating a safe, working solid-state battery.
The company, established in 1986, seems to be making unique progress in solid-state technology. It has created a brand new material — a liquid crystal polymer — that could solve many of the pressing issues that prevent this type of battery from entering the market.
So far, Ionic Materials’ researchers have claimed three major breakthroughs. First, they assert that lithium ions move as fast or even faster through their polymer than they would through a conventional liquid electrolyte system. This seems counter-intuitive since the polymer is a solid, but if it is true, this would clear a huge hurtle to creating working solid-state batteries.
Second, they say that their material works at an impressive five volts and can be made simply and cheaply. Third, they’ve stated that, while most materials in solid-state research operate at about 60° C (140° F), their material works under much cooler conditions — room temperature.
Solid State
Ionic Materials seems to have a leg up on competitors with its unique, cheap, and simple-to-produce material. But, if they are correct in their assertions, why would a solid-state battery be so groundbreaking?
They are safer than current batteries, for one thing. Lithium-ion batteries are flammable and prone to overheating and combustion. Solid-state batteries, on the other hand, preserve lithium in a non-flammable state.
Electric cars could be much more efficient with solid-state batteries. Image Credit: Joenomias / Pixabay
Solid-state batteries are also able to be smaller, cheaper to make, and higher capacity than liquid-based batteries. They could potentially charge faster, last longer, and have better overall performance. They could even make better smartphones and electric cars possible.
The main challenge to realizing solid-state batteries has been discovering a material with all of the right properties. If Ionic Materials is right and their polymer is the one to beat, we could be closer to solid-state batteries than ever before. Still, the company has not released much data on their technology, so many experts remain skeptical of how close the researchers actually are to a working product, according to Axios.
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This article and images were originally posted on [Futurism] March 3, 2018 at 02:42PM. Credit to Author and Futurism | ESIST.T>G>S Recommended Articles Of The Day
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According to Engadget
When Tesla unveiled its Semi electric truck, it made audacious claims about the big rig’s value — namely, that companies would recoup the cost of the vehicle in 2 years thanks to the savings on fuel. As it turns out, that might have been conservative. DHL exec Jim Monkmeyer told Reuters in an interview that he expects the shipping company to reach that point in a year and a half, saving tens of thousands of dollars per year. The absence of fuel is only part of the equation, he noted. As EV motors are much less complex than the big diesel engines that power conventional trucks, the Semi shouldn’t need as much maintenance.
Appropriately, Tesla’s Elon Musk has hinted that the Semi’s performance might see an upgrade. He’s “feeling optimistic” that Tesla can outdo the specs from the November 2017 debut without hiking the price. We’d take that with a grain of salt when Musk’s companies tend to set overly ambitious goals, but it’s not an idle claim when the first deliveries are slated to start in 2019.
DHL’s hopes depend on the Semi living up to initial expectations, of course, and there’s a lot that could go wrong. It’s no mean feat to produce an EV that large with a range of 300 to 500 miles (the battery will be gigantic), and a lot of Tesla’s math is predicated on the assumption that diesel prices remain the same. If there are unforeseen technical hurdles or diesel becomes cheap, the Semi’s value may go down the tubes. However, it’s not often that customers suggest a vehicle maker is underselling its product — while caution is definitely warranted, this bodes well for the future of electric trucks.
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This article and images were originally posted on [Engadget] February 26, 2018 at 01:42AM. Credit to Author and Engadget | ESIST.T>G>S Recommended Articles Of The Day
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According to Electrek
Tesla’s engineering and design teams are primarily based in the US and especially in California, but the company has been expanding internationally over the last few years with teams in the UK and Germany.
Now we learn that the automaker is also building a small research and development office in Athens, Greece to develop new electric motor technologies.
Several reports came out of Greece over the last few weeks about rumors of Tesla establishing a local presence in the country.
The nature of the company’s presence was never clear since Greece is a market that Tesla has yet to officially enter.
We reached out to the company for a comment on the situation and a spokesperson confirmed that Tesla is establishing a local research and development office:
“Tesla is building a small research and development office in Athens, which will be comprised of a highly-qualified engineering team. This team will focus solely on limited research and development activities to accelerate electric motor technology development through close collaboration with our team in the US.”
Three of Tesla’s top electric motor designers, Principal Motor Designer Konstantinos Laskaris, Motor Design Engineer Konstantinos Bourchas, and Staff Motor Design Engineer Vasilis Papanikolaou, all came out of the National Technical University of Athens.
The company wants to tap even more into this local electrical engineering talent with an office in the Greek capital.
The Tesla spokesperson added:
“Greece has strong electric motor engineering talent and technical universities, offering tailored programs and specialized skills for electric motor technology.”
The team will be relatively small – starting with just 10 engineers.
Electrek’s Take
That’s an interesting development and probably a good move by Tesla. The three engineers mentioned above moved to Palo Alto to work on Tesla’s electric motors, but that can be a hard sale for some people and a local office offers an easier alternative.
The emphasis on electric motor development is also interesting as Tesla is rapidly becoming a large manufacturer of electric drive units and other power electronics.
JB Straubel, Tesla’s Chief Technology Officer, himself an expert in energy conversion, has previously stated that he sees power electronics as one of Tesla’s main advantages in the industry.
The company has already received a lot of praise for its Model S/Model X drive units, but Tesla also built powertrains for several other vehicles like the electric versions of the Toyota Rav4, the Smart, and Mercedes B-class, and they have designed a brand new drive unit for the Model 3, which will also be used in the Tesla Semi.
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This article and images were originally posted on [Electrek] February 24, 2018 at 01:20PM. Credit to Author and Electrek | ESIST.T>G>S Recommended Articles Of The Day
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According to Digital Trends
The Tesla Roadster may have some new competition. At the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show, a Japanese electric supercar called the Aspark Owl made some noise with some ambitious performance claims. Aspark said the Owl would do 0 to 100 kph (0 to 62 mph) in under 2 seconds, similar to Tesla’s claim for the Roadster. Now, Aspark has released a video as proof.
In the video, Aspark claims the Owl recorded a 0-to-62 mph time of 1.92 seconds, just about matching the claimed time for the Tesla Roadster. But the video does leave us with some questions. We don’t see the car’s speedometer, the car itself looks like an unfinished prototype, and it was run in a confined area. If the car is really as quick as Aspark says it is, it would be possible to test acceleration in this environment, but it wouldn’t be our first choice. Aspark also used racing slicks for this test, not road-legal tires.
The Owl looks like a cross between its namesake bird and an Acura racing prototype. It’s powered by two electric motors — one for each axle. They produce a combined 430 horsepower and 563 pound-feet of torque. That may not seem like a lot in the context of Aspark’s performance claims, but the Owl weighs just 1,874 pounds. Electricity comes from a combination of batteries and super capacitors. Aspark also claims a top speed of 174 mph.
The price tag for the Owl is rumored to be around $4 million, which makes the roughly $200,000 Tesla Roadster look like a bargain. And while Tesla plans to begin delivering Roadsters in 2020, it’s unclear exactly when the Owl will enter production, or if it will even be available in the United States.
Tesla has a history of falling behind on production schedules, but Aspark brings a higher level of uncertainty. Startup automakers are a dime a dozen these days. The Owl faces competition not only from the Tesla Roadster, but from the Nio EP9 and Rimac Concept One electric supercars. Making a car is still very costly and difficult. For every Tesla, there’s a Faraday Future or Coda. Having a great idea for a car is one thing, but executing it is another.
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This article and images were originally posted on [Digital Trends] February 19, 2018 at 11:16AM. Credit to Author and Digital Trends | ESIST.T>G>S Recommended Articles Of The Day
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According to Digital Trends
Volkswagen stopped selling a flagship sedan in 2016 when it ended production of the Phaeton, the luxurious model famously built in a glass-walled factory in Germany. The brand still has its eye on the segment, and the new I.D. Vizzion concept illustrates what form its comeback could take. The design study will break cover in a few short weeks at the Geneva Auto Show.
The Vizzion stretches 201 inches from bumper to bumper, a figure that places it right between the short- and long-wheelbase variants of the stately Phaeton. Early design sketches released by Volkswagen depict a long, low-slung sedan with a rakish roofline that reminds us of the Audi A7. The thin headlights and the back-lit emblem make the front end fall in line with other I.D.-branded concepts like the Buzz and the Crozz. We will have to wait a little bit longer to see the real car, though.
Volkswagen stresses the Vizzion rides on its modular MEB platform, an architecture it’s currently developing specifically for electric vehicles. The Vizzion illustrates the MEB platform’s flexibility; it’s also found under the aforementioned design studies and the original I.D. concept from 2016, which is a Golf-sized hatchback. The currently MQB platform is similarly flexible; it underpins nearly everything from the Polo to the Atlas by way of the Golf and the all-new Jetta.
On paper, the specifications sheet cements the Vizzion’s flagship positioning. It uses a 300-horsepower electric drivetrain built around two electric motors that draw power from a massive 111-kWh lithium-ion battery pack. Regenerative braking (a technology which converts kinetic energy into electricity and channels it to the battery) helps the Vizzion offer up to 414 miles of range. It’s worth noting Volkswagen achieved that number using the famously optimistic European testing cycle. Still, it should offer enough range to eliminate most motorists’ range anxiety.
The Vizzion also benefits from the latest advances Volkswagen made in the field of autonomous driving. It drives, steers, and navigates traffic without any input from the driver. It offers a virtual host, which passengers communicate with using voice and gesture commands, which knows the individual preferences of all four passengers and automatically adjusts parameters like the seat and climate control settings.
Volkswagen remains committed to introducing more than 20 electric vehicles by the year 2025, and we know it wants to replace the Phaeton sooner or later. It’s not too far-fetched to speculate a stylish sedan like the Vizzion will be part of its electric car offensive.
“The I.D. Vizzion clearly demonstrates the great potential of the all-electric architecture from Volkswagen,” the brand wrote in a statement. “The premium class sedan shows the direction Volkswagen is taking the technology and design of its future electric models.”
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This article and images were originally posted on [Digital Trends] February 19, 2018 at 01:17PM. Credit to Author and Digital Trends | ESIST.T>G>S Recommended Articles Of The Day
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According to Electrek
Tesla vehicles are becoming strangely popular with police departments all over the world and while the Model S has so far been the electric car of choice for police use, the Ontario Provincial Police is now going with the Model X.
Now Canadians want their own Tesla police cruiser. The Ontario Provincial Police’s Highway Safety Division went ahead and built one using the Model X.
They have been teasing the vehicle on their social media accounts over the last few days and they are going to display it at the Toronto Auto Show starting tomorrow:
Electrek’s Take
That looks like a badass police cruiser, but it’s not cheap for a police department, especially in Canada.
In Canada, the Model X starts at $102,300 CAD ($82,000 USD) before incentives. That’s a hard price tag to justify to taxpayers, but police cruisers do accumulate a lot of annual mileage, which can result in some significant gas savings.
I doubt that it makes it economically viable after gas savings, but the Ontario government has been pushing to accelerate electric vehicle adoption.
Maybe they want to lead by example and the Model X is likely the only electric vehicle currently on the market, along with the Model S, that has the performance specs to be a police cruiser.
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This article and images were originally posted on [Electrek] February 15, 2018 at 05:33AM. Credit to Author and Electrek | ESIST.T>G>S Recommended Articles Of The Day
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According to Electrek
It hasn’t been clear when Tesla plans to bring to market the Model Y, the automaker’s upcoming all-electric compact SUV, but CEO Elon Musk has now commented on a timeline for the vehicle.
During a conference call following the released of the company’s financial results today, Musk said that Tesla will start capital investments for Model Y, which generally means investing in production, by the end of 2018.
He also added that production plans with a location will be unveiled in the next 3 to 6 months – hinting at a possible new factory for the vehicle.
That was later reinforced in the call when Musk said that Tesla is planning a significant increase in manufacturing efficiency from Model 3 to Model Y, which could result in a production capacity of 1 million units per year for a smaller investment than the Model 3’s planned production of 500,000 units per year, according to Musk.
He added that he is “pretty excited about the Model Y manufacturing” and how they plan to “avoid all the pain that they went through with Model 3 production ramp up.”
Electrek’s Take
Well, that’s another interesting albeit confusing development for Model Y.
Considering the previous changes between being based on the Model 3 platform and having a brand new platform, it now sounds like it could be a hybrid of both?
It definitely sounds like they are planning some significant changes to make the vehicle much easier to manufacture than the Model 3, but it might not include a completely different architecture like originally announced.
When talking about the new Model Y platform last year, he said that Tesla will get rid of the 12-volt battery architecture. It means no more lead-acid battery and a different way to power in-car electronics. Musk says that they will reduce the overall wiring significantly and simplify the production process.
Less wiring harness means easier automation in the production process and Musk plans a completely different – more automated – production line for the Model Y. He said that the Model 3 production lines will be comparable to the best lines in the industry while the Model Y line will be “something else”.
Now it also sounds like this Model Y line could be built at a new factory to be announced in 6 months?
What do you think? Let us know in the comment section below.
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This article and images were originally posted on [Electrek] February 7, 2018 at 06:56PM. Credit to Author and Electrek | ESIST.T>G>S Recommended Articles Of The Day
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According to Electrek
With all the excitement around the Mission E, Porsche’s first all-electric vehicle, the German automaker announced that it is doubling its electric vehicle investment to ‘more than six billion euro’ in order to release variants based on the vehicle.
Oliver Blume, Chairman of the Executive Board of Porsche AG, made the announcement today:
“We are doubling our expenditure on electromobility from around three billion euro to more than six billion euro. Alongside development of our models with combustion engines, we are setting an important course for the future with this decision.”
The 3 additional billion will be split like this:
500 million euro will be used for the development of Mission E variants and derivatives
around one billion euro for electrification and hybridisation of the existing product range
several hundred million for the expansion of sites
plus around 700 million euro in new technologies, charging infrastructure and smart mobility.
Porsche has been teasing the possibility to develop variants and derivatives of the Mission for a while now, but today is the first time that they’ve announced a significant investment to make it happen.
I said it before, but I’m going to say it again: Porsche is extremely serious about electric vehicles.
The fact that they plan a production rate of 20,000 cars per year for the Mission E is a fairly good indication. While it doesn’t appear to be that many cars, it is significant for an automaker producing 200,000 to 250,000 cars per year.
Finally, they are aware of that they need to take charging infrastructure seriously and the fact that they are starting out with an 800-volt system appears to be pushing the industry forward.
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This article and images were originally posted on [Electrek] February 5, 2018 at 10:39AM. Credit to Author and Electrek | ESIST.T>G>S Recommended Articles Of The Day
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According to Engadget
While new companies like Zero and Gogoro are establishing themselves as first-rate two-wheeled vehicle builders, the Hondas and Yamahas of the world have taken a more cautious approach to the market. BMW, on the other hand, launched its own electric scooter way back in 2014. Sadly it was only available in Europe — until now. It’s finally in the US, and I took it for a spin in America’s parking lot (i.e., Los Angeles).
The $13,750 BMW C evolution isn’t what the average American thinks of when the word “scooter” is mentioned. Instead of a tiny 50cc bike, the electric maxi-scooter is a 606-pound beast that should comfortably seat two (I didn’t have any friends willing to ride with me) and at first glance could be mistaken for a motorcycle. But don’t let the large footprint fool you: It’s a quick commuting machine that’s as comfortable on the freeway as it is on surface streets.
If you’re a regular scooter rider or even someone who rides a typical motorcycle (aka not a huge Harley or Gold Wing), it takes a few miles to get used to the weight of the bike. It can be intimidating, but after you get into the groove, the electric scooter offers a smooth ride. That’s probably because it’s tough to bounce around that much mass. Whatever the reason, combined with the bike’s snappy, fluid acceleration and electric-motor whir, navigating Los Angeles on the C evolution felt civil.
It helped that the bike has a 99-mile range rating, which, during my tests, were nearly dead-on — as long as I didn’t spend too much time on the freeway. Not bad, considering I regularly switched from the bike’s energy-efficient Eco Pro mode to the high-powered Dynamic mode, which gives you all the power and regenerative braking.
Typically I use the energy-efficient mode on a car or bike for testing, then forego it after a few hours in the name of speed. On the C evolution, the Eco Pro mode was more than adequate to handle nearly all riding situations. I only switched to Dynamic mode to power up a hill on Interstate 405 and blast away from traffic lights (thanks to a 48-horsepower motor that pushes 53 pounds of torque).
There are two other modes available: Road gives you all the power with a little regenerative braking while Sail removes all regenerative braking. I stuck with Eco Pro and Dynamic modes for 95 percent of my rides, since they offered the best combination of riding and regenerative energy creation.
Regardless of how you ride, there is the usual electric-vehicle caveat that if you spend any time at high speeds on the freeway, you’re going to burn through your charge. During an 11-mile jaunt on the highway at a steady 65MPH, I drained 20 percent of the battery. That’s something to consider if you’re interested in any EV for a daily commute that involves a lot of time on the freeway.
Recharging the bike after flying down the highway via the level 2 port took about 4 to 4.5 hours. It can also be charged with the 110-volt outlet you have at home, but expect it to take about twice as long. In a city like Los Angeles where malls, Whole Foods Markets and other businesses have chargers in their parking lot, pushing past the century mark during a single day wasn’t a problem — that is, if you’re cool shopping or eating while you charge. That might not be so healthy for the bank account.
That’s the rub with electric motorcycles and scooters. Unlike their four-wheeled counterparts, it’s tough to see a financial incentive. The gas-powered BMW counterparts to the C evolution both get 51 miles per gallon, so the monthly outlay of cash isn’t that high to begin with. There are the maintenance cost savings, but with a price tag that’s about $3,000 more than comparable with BMW gas-powered scooters, it’s tough to see the financial upside of the C evolution.
That said, as I rode through LA and saw a constant brown haze on the horizon, both over land and water, it was a reminder that petrol-powered vehicles contribute to that smog. In the grand scheme of things, it’s important to see the C evolution and other EVs as vehicles that will reduce that brown sky. Sure, on a spreadsheet buying one doesn’t add up, but when you take into account the impact vehicles have on our air, if you can afford to go EV and it fits into your lifestyle, it’s almost a no-brainer.
It also helps that the C evolution is a blast to ride, thanks to electric motor torque. Plus, the BMW electric scooter that’s purchased today might encourage the automaker to put electric motorcycles on the market tomorrow. Scooters make sense as EVs, but an electric motorcycle — especially one for BMW — well, those would be just too much fun to pass up.
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This article and images were originally posted on [Engadget] February 2, 2018 at 12:06PM. Credit to Author and Engadget | ESIST.T>G>S Recommended Articles Of The Day
Parents can supervise kids via the Actev App (iOS and Android)
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Arrow Smart-Kart is an electric go-kart for kids ages 5+. Actev Motors has created a technologically superior, safety conscious go-kart packed with features to impress even the most plugged-in pre-tween. The Arrow grows with your child, featuring adjustable pedals and app-controlled settings.
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This article and images were originally posted on [Amazon] January 27, 2018 at 09:00AM. Credit to Author and Amazon | ESIST.T>G>S Recommended Articles Of The Day
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According to Electrek
It’s not just concept vehicles and press releases anymore. Mercedes-Benz revealed in detail today its plan to build electric vehicles in volume at 6 factories across 3 continents and a “global battery network” to support the effort.
Mercedes-Benz’s broader EV effort will start next year with the first vehicles, the all-electric ‘EQC’ SUV, under their new all-electric ‘EQ’ sub-brand.
Today, they released more details on their global plans for electric vehicle production.
Markus Schäfer, Member of the Divisional Board of Mercedes-Benz Cars, Production and Supply Chain, commented:
“Our electric vehicles will be built in six plants on three continents. We address every market segment: from the smart fortwo seater, to the large SUV. The battery is the key component of e-mobility. As batteries are the heart of our electric vehicles we put a great emphasis on building them in our own factories. With our global battery network we are in an excellent position: As we are close to our vehicle plants we can ensure the optimal supply of production. In case of a short-term high demand in another part of the world our battery factories are also well prepared for export. The electric initiative of Mercedes-Benz Cars is right on track. Our global production network is ready for e-mobility. We are electrifying the future”.
They released the following map to illustrate the production network with electric-related manufacturing facilities in blue:
Daimler confirmed that its “second battery factory” in Kamen, Germany will be completed this year and the first EQC electric vehicles will be produced in Bremen, Germany in 2019.
The company says that they are building “a global battery network”, which currently comprises five battery factories on three continents, in order to support the automaker’s electric vehicle plans.
Electrek’s Take
I have been saying for a long time now that the best way to determine how serious an automaker is about electric vehicles is to look at their battery supply chain and their efforts to establish production for their EV programs.
In that regard, Daimler appears to be the most serious amongst established automakers in my opinion.
Though I would note that there’s a caveat to their “battery factories”. So far, it appears that all their plants are for battery packs and not battery cells, which they get from suppliers.
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This article and images were originally posted on [Electrek] January 29, 2018 at 02:15PM. Credit to Author and Electrek | ESIST.T>G>S Recommended Articles Of The Day
The new car will be a production version of a 40.2 concept the Swedish car company unveiled in 2017. The recently released Volvo XC40 started life as the 40.1 concept and it ended up looking very similar to the concept stage, so the 40.2 will follow a similar path and look very much like the concept images shown.
1/2Autocar
That means the 40.2 (an exact model name hasn’t been revealed just yet) will be a coupé style hatchback that will sit within Volvo’s 40 series of vehicles and share a similar design language to those other cars. It will use Volvo’s new Compact Modular Architecture, which is used in the manufacturer’s other smaller vehicles and for all powertrains (including electric) and have an estimated range of 310 miles.
However, R&D boss Henrik Green has told Autocar that because technologies are moving along so quickly, Volvo’s engineers are constantly trying to keep up to produce the most competitive car when it eventually goes on sale. It will use a modular battery system, although the company has yet to decide what it will offer as a minimum range.
Green added that the 40.2 will be the first all-electric model to be released by Volvo, before it starts offering electric models of existing cars. He says that Volvo ultimately wants to offer vehicles for customers who are already used to the idea of electric power and those coming in as completely new buyers.
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This article and images were originally posted on [Pocket-lint] January 29, 2018 at 07:43AM. Credit to Author and Pocket-lint | ESIST.T>G>S Recommended Articles Of The Day
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According to Electrek
The Tesla Model 3 has been shaking up the industry ever since it was unveiled in 2016 and it received over 400,000 reservations. And now that the electric vehicle is in production, other automakers apparently want to see what it is made of.
Two Tesla Model 3 vehicles were spotted in air freight inbound for Germany – presumably to be reverse-engineered.
Now pictures of two Tesla Model 3 vehicles in air freight apparently inbound for Germany were shared on Facebook:
The images were shared with the hashtag “Leipzig”, which is a hub for BMW in Germany, but there’s also a DHL sticker referencing Stuttgart, which is home to Mercedes-Benz and Porsche.
Since the first Model 3 deliveries were for Tesla employees and company insiders, it could have been difficult for any competitor to put their hands on the vehicle, but now that Tesla started deliveries to regular customers and more people tried to flip them on the used car market while supply is limited, it’s a different game.
I wouldn’t be surprised if those two vehicles end up being tested and teardown by German automakers. Hopefully, they learn a thing or two and it helps them accelerate their own EV programs.
A quick note for them though. They should know that the vehicles are spec-ed for the US with Tesla’s proprietary connector. Audi apparently didn’t know that when they imported a Model X for the same reason and an engineer was spotted stuck at a European Supercharger station, which uses the Type 2 plug.
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This article and images were originally posted on [Electrek] January 27, 2018 at 01:54PM. Credit to Author and Electrek | ESIST.T>G>S Recommended Articles Of The Day
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According to Electrek
Tesla brought Model 3 display cars for the first time on the East Coast this weekend and the new electric vehicle attracted the interest of many as EV enthusiasts rushed to the automaker’s showrooms.
Reddit user GetawayDriving stopped at Tesla’s flagship store in Boston yesterday. He told Electrek that there were about 50 people waiting to see the car when he arrived and just as many people coming when he left.
Tesla brought a red Model 3 instead of the Midnight Silver cars seen at the stores in California. He shared a few pictures:
People had to wait about 45 minutes just to get about 2 minutes with the car and a Tesla employee giving a short walkaround.
Dhruv Kumar stopped at the New York City store, where there was a similar situation yesterday, but it wasn’t as busy.
He told Electrek that there were about 20 to 30 people in line. Tesla brought a Midnight Silver display car again. Dhruv shared a few pictures:
:
Tesla also expanded the Model 3 display fleet to two new stores in California – bringing the total fleet to 7 stores to date.
Electrek’s Take
It’s an exciting time for Model 3 reservation holders who have an opportunity to see the car in person, but I think it also has some implications about the demand for the vehicle and consequently, demand for EVs in general.
As we discussed on the latest episode of the Electrek Podcast on Friday, even though the 400,000+ backlog of Model 3 reservations is already impressive, it could very well only be the peak of the iceberg.
The backlog was reached mostly sight-unseen, but now that the vehicle is in production and reviews are almost all praising it, I expect that the demand will increase significantly.
And now that the vehicle is hitting the showrooms, many of which are located in high traffic areas, it could likely expand the Model 3’s reach beyond Tesla fans and EV enthusiasts.
What do you think? Let us know in the comment section below.
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This article and images were originally posted on [Electrek] January 21, 2018 at 12:06PM. Credit to Author and Electrek | ESIST.T>G>S Recommended Articles Of The Day
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According to Wired
If we’re going to put the brakes on climate change, electric cars will be crucial. At least, that’s the general consensus: Get the heck out of that Hummer, and into something without an exhaust pipe. At least seven countries plan to ban the sale of cars with internal combustion engines sometime in the next few decades, and the specter of losing out on markets like the UK, France, and most of all China (the world’s biggest car buyer) has pushed the auto industry to mobilize.
But you’ll find more potholes than panaceas on the road to cleaner, greener, future. So, as we charge our batteries for a new way of driving, here are the questions we should be asking.
1. How many gas cars can we take off the road?
The countries that want bans on gas burners are huge potential markets for EV sales. If demand for personal cars stays constant, we can use current sales figures to estimate how many electric cars we will need.
2. Bring on the batteries.
Toyota and Honda are still trying to make hydrogen fuel cells happen, so far without much customer interest. So all those new EVs will rely on our current best technology, lithium-ion batteries. Fully electric models will need big ones, hybrids can get by with smaller packs, using gas engines as a backup. Tesla is projecting it’ll produce 35 gigawatt-hours’ worth annually, and is building the world’s biggest building, the Gigafactory, in Nevada to do it. But we’re going to need way more than that. Cars will soon enough replace consumer electronics as the chief consumers of batteries, and they’re going to need a lot more than the things built into your smartphone.
3. What kind of power is charging those cars?
All those batteries are going to need juice, and electric vehicles won’t do much to combat climate change if that power comes from dirty sources like coal, oil, or (to a lesser extent) natural gas. It gets a little weird here: The benefits of an electric car will also depend on where it’s charged, because all comes down to the local energy production mix.
Variations in local energy production mean that sometimes EVs are dirtier than regular cars. If you live in a state that generates electricity from coal (hey, Kansans) your electric car probably won’t be much kinder to the environment than a gas gulper that gets more than 35 miles per gallon of gasoline. In India, your electric car is about as clean as a conventional vehicle that gets 20 mpg, because power generation is still dominated by fossil fuels.
4. What are the batteries made of?
Even if we switch the entire global energy supply to renewables, we’re going to have to mine a lot more cobalt, lithium, and other raw ingredients to create all those batteries—and do so sustainably and responsibly. For example, more than 60 percent of the world’s cobalt—a key ingredient for lithium-ion battery electrodes—comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo, where human rights abuses are rampant.
Researchers are working on new batteries that require fewer problematic ingredients, and the countries proposing the bans will ideally follow through with commitments to renewable energy. After all, if we don’t make the system clean from top to bottom, global warming wins.
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This article and images were originally posted on [wired.com] January 20, 2018 at 07:15AM. Credit to Author and wired.com | ESIST.T>G>S Recommended Articles Of The Day
As we previously reported, VINs are not an ideal way to monitor a production ramp within a small and accurate margin, but it’s a fairly representative way to figure out the general progress.
Another thing for fans of all-wheel-drive to get excited about after the first look at the powertrain design yesterday.
Now 19 vehicles is a decent fleet. I would assume that it will be used for testing the production of the new powertrain. We previously reported on Tesla testing Model 3 vehicles with dual motors during the prototype phase, but they are now likely testing them coming out of the production line.
Spring 2018 can mean anything from March to June so it could be coming quite fast. It makes sense since Tesla has been going for higher margin vehicles first with the Long Range battery pack and the dual motor option would be the next logical step in this strategy.
You guys had plenty to say in the comments on the last dual motor post, but I think that the biggest concern was the price, which is a good point.
Tesla has yet to release the price of the dual motor option.
Model S and Model X are now only available with dual motor, but before that was the case, it was a $5,000 option for the Model S.
I wouldn’t necessarily assume that it will be the same thing for the Model 3, but it’s likely going to be in the same ballpark or at least no more than $5,000.
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This article and images were originally posted on [Electrek] January 20, 2018 at 04:36PM. Credit to Author and Electrek | ESIST.T>G>S Recommended Articles Of The Day
Unique front fork design for smaller turning radius. Engine sound for better safety in city rides.
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According to indiegogo.com
RUMBLE MOTORS IS A NEW INNOVATIVE ELECTRIC BIKE WITH DYNAMIC FEATURES: ♣ CAFER RACER DESIGN ♣ FIRST ELECTRIC BIKE WITH AN ENGINE SOUND ♣ SPECIAL FRONT FORK DESIGN ALLOWS EASY TURNING ♣ 0-70 KM IN JUST 5 SECONDS ♣ 100 KM / 60 MILES RANGE ♣ TOP SPEED 70 KM / 44 MILES ♣ ELECTRIC SKATEBOARD ATTACHMENT
Rumble Motors
RIDE THE FUTURE TODAY
The story of the three brothers behind Rumble Motors
Everything started around 1977 when the three brothers Alex, Reza and Hendrik turned their motorcycles into Cafe Racer bikes.
The dream was to one day start their own company and make it something special.
Rumble Motors is a company based on innovation and understanding of today’s transportation.
We wanted Rumble e-Bike to fit everyone, we understood that many “motor-heads” like us didn’t like the fact that electric bikes didn’t have an engine sound. Therefore, we created a great sound that resembles the Rumble feeling when you hit the throttle, also for safety it is perfect if you are riding your Rumble in the city enabling drivers to hear you coming.
from left: Alex, Reza, Hendrik – Year: 1977
The Only Scooter That Feels And Looks Like A Motorcycle
EARLY SKETCHES: BY ALEX
0-70 KM / 0-44 MILES IN JUST 5 SECONDS
GET READY FOR SOME ATTENTION WHEN YOU HIT THE ROADS WITH YOUR RUMBLE E-BIKE
TESTING RUMBLE IN SAN FRANCISCO HILLSIDES
SUCCESSFUL PRODUCT TESTING
RUMBLE DEMO
ENGINE SOUND AND FRONT WHEEL FORK
VISIT OUR SHOP IN SACRAMENTO AND TEST DRIVE RUMBLE E-BIKE
RUMBLES FRONT FORK CREATES MUCH SMALLER TURNING RADIUS
GO SILENT OR GO RUMBLE?
YOUR CHOICE
RIDE IN STYLE WITH YOUR RUMBLE SUNGLASSES
NEW ATTACHMENT TO YOUR RUMBLE BIKE
Accessibility is key for us at Rumble Motors, we always want to be unique and creative with our products that’s why we added a electric skateboard to your Rumble bike.
RUMBLES ELECTRIC SKATEBOARD IS ONLY 17-INCHES
Rumble E-Skateboard Specifications
Features:
* Made of premium imported maple wood
* PU highly elastic wheel, wear-resistant and durable
* Easy wireless Bluetooth remote control
* Attaches under the seat of your Rumble e-bike
Got any news, tips or want to contact us directly? Email esistme@gmail.com
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This article and images were originally posted on [indiegogo] January 18, 2018 at 09:10AM. Credit to Author and indiegogo | ESIST.T>G>S Recommended Articles Of The Day
$2M in pre-sales to customers and distributors across North America & Europe.
$34B market by 2019 with very favorable policies form governents in Europe.
Design patent secured covering 28 countries.
MOUs with distributors across US, Canada, France, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, Italy and Finland.
10X median ROI with direct sales on the website, with targeted ads placed on Facebook.
Expected to hit $3M in sales by the end of 2017 by signing with new distributors in Europe and SE-Asia.
Strong margins: the scooter sells for $2,990 and cost $850 to make.
The era of self-driving cars, ride-sharing, and artificial intelligence continues to push 4-wheel transportation to its next evolutionary phase.
But when it comes to personal electric 2-wheeler vehicles, the market has been relatively slow to keep pace with the rapid rate of technological innovation and the transition toward alternatives to traditional vehicle ownership.
Two core aspects influence the transportation challenges ahead:
Simply put, finding a way to get around other than a car is becoming more of a necessity every year.
That’s where Scooterson comes in.
At Scooterson, we’re on a mission to create the world’s first smart electric scooter that stands squarely at the intersection of the electric vehicles, self-driving, and ride-sharing.
Intuitive Riding | Riding is body-gesture controlled and there aren’t any acceleration levers or gear changers. Simply sit and move.
Connectability | Scooterson connects to smartphones and smartwatches to display speed, battery status, ride statistics and other traffic-relevant data acquired via the cloud. Predictive | The more the rider rides, the more information the Scooterson App gathers and stores on the cloud, creating a new optimised powertrain profile based on riding patterns, weight and surrounding terrain specifics.
Adaptive | The app adapts power and torque settings to perfectly match with remaining battery levels, allowing peak riding performance without draining the batteries. When the battery is low, the app will drop the settings to an energy conservation mode.
Sharing Options | Friends can request access to use the scooter through a cloud-based sharing management system. When granted access, the app unlocks the scooter, pairs it with the guest’s smartphone, and allows the use of all predefined features. The system notifies guests about allotted vehicle usage time, and when time’s nearly up.
Keyless | The user’s smartphone or smartwatch acts as a key when the device is located within the predefined auto lock-unlock range. The security mode will automatically activate when the user is a short distance from the scooter.
GPS | If the scooter is tampered with or moved from the last parked position, a built-in GPS signal can be tracked live on the owner’s mobile device if the vehicle is stolen. Subscription Options | Riders will have the option to acquire the scooter for a fixed monthly fee that covers all costs of ownership, like maintenance, theft insurance, and all other possible taxes on your country or town, as well as unlimited mileage.
Our team has already made a ton of progress toward our goal of becoming a leader in the intelligent two-wheeler market. Our passion for simple, yet revolutionary transport solutions built for a 21st century audience has started to pay off in a big way.
We’ve tested working prototypes with hundreds of potential buyers. We’ve pre-sold $2M worth of units to customers and distributors across the US and Europe.
We partenered with one of the top contract manufacturers from Europe, who will provide us a full range of services as: mechanical engineering, tooling production, parts manufacturing and assembly line.
We’re in the beta testing phase for our iOS and Android Apps and backend software.
We’ve secured a design patent in 29 countries, including North America and Europe.
We’ve signed MOUs with distributors from US, Canada, France, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Norway, and Finland. We’re also evaluating potential distributors in other EU countries and in SE Asia.
We already began manufacturing tooling for production with plans to launch the showcase product during CES 2018 or at a company event in a San Francisco venue. Additionally, we will launch a Kickstarter / Indiegogo campaign concurrently with plans to ship product to customers by mid-2018.
Manufacturing
Signing the agreement with Asian supply chain provider for managing the supply chain.
Partnering with top contract manufacturers for producing the electric and electronic components.
Setting up the assembly line.
Marketing & Sales
Kickstarter product launch as go-to market strategy.
Online marketing with compelling content on all social media channels.
Agreements with distributors to launch paid ads targeted to their territory.
Monetary incentives to owners to become active product evangelists and brand ambassadors.
Attract the first users via free rides to test our unique user experience.
Launch referral programs to incentivize first users.
Work with well-known influencers to endorse the service.
Leverage online marketing to drive additional user subscriptions.
Got any news, tips or want to contact us directly? Email esistme@gmail.com
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This article and images were originally posted on [fundable.com] January 18, 2018 at 09:10AM. Credit to Author and fundable.com | ESIST.T>G>S Recommended Articles Of The Day
Your daily selection of the hottest trending tech news!
According to Pocket-lint
Electric cars are already a mainstay on Britain’s roads, with several all-electric models being available to buy right now. A lot of them are simply electric versions of fuel-powered cars, but in the not-too-distant future, we’ll see new designs around town and up and down the motorway.
But just what electric cars are coming? Let us give you a closer look as to what you can expect to see in showrooms and when you’re out driving in the next few years.
Audi e-tron Quattro SUV
Pocket-lint
The Audi e-tron Quattro SUV concept was shown off at the Frankfurt Auto Show in 2015, but it will likely be called the Q6 when it eventually launches in 2018. It will go head-to-head with the Tesla Model X (which is on sale now), but has some cool features that will make it worth waiting for.
Audi says it will be easily capable of travelling up to 300 miles on a single charge, can be fully recharged in 50 minutes, and can achieve 0-60mph in less than 5-seconds – if you attempt this, expect the 300 mile range to take a bit of a hit.
The concept version has OLED panels all around the front cabin, which displays a wealth of information, including what’s going on around you, as there aren’t any wing mirrors. Being a futuristic car, the e-tron SUV also has a range of lasers and cameras dotted around the outside to enable self-driving capabilities.
Audi e-tron SUV Sportback
Audi
The SUV Sportback is another concept car for now, but will launch in 2019 as a full production model for an estimated £60,000. It looks a lot like the A7, but has huge 23-inch wheels to give you a commanding view of the road.
The SUV Sportback will be a rival car to Jaguar’s I-PACE SUV (more on that later) and will have three electric motors giving it 496bhp that will see it go from 0-60mph in 4.5-seconds. Audi says the SUV Sportback can be recharged to 80 per cent in 30 minutes, and will have a driving range of 311 miles.
Audi’s Virtual Cockpit, which is available in all Audi vehicles except the A1 and A6 ranges, features once again, but has the addition of touchscreens in the centre console that provide haptic feedback.
BMW i Vision Dynamics concept
BMW
BMW unveiled the i Vision Dynamics concept coupe at the Frankfurt Motor Show. It’s designed to sit between the i3 and i8, and should be named i5 when it launches in 2021.
The family-sized car will be capable of reaching 60mph in under four seconds, go on to a speed over 120mph and be able to last up to 372 miles on a single charge. Let’s hope it arrives with the same futuristic design displayed on the concept version.
BMW X3 Electric
BMW has confirmed an electric version of its X3 SUV will be available to buy in 2020. It will eventually be joined by electric versions of the X4 and 7th-gen 3-series.
There aren’t any details surrounding the electric X3 just yet, such as what motor it will use or how far it will be able to go on a single charge. However it’s a clear sign of BMW reacting to an ever expanding market.
We’ll update this section with more details as and when we get them.
Faraday Future FF91
Faraday Future
Faraday Future’s first electric vehicle, the FF 91, should be on roads in 2018. It has a huge 126-inch wheelbase, but that makes for a huge interior. The panoramic sunroof, rear and side windows use Polymer Dispersed Liquid Crystal Glass, which passengers can tap on to tint the windows and let less light in.
Don’t expect to get a conventional rear-view mirror inside, as Faraday Future has replaced it with a widescreen monitor instead. It’s used to show live footage from a camera on rear of the car, along with cameras on the sides, so you can see literally everything around you.
Another thing to be thrown out is a key. Instead, you use your phone to unlock the car, or if you don’t have it with you, your face becomes your key. The FF 91 is able to individually recognise each user and will automatically adjust the seat position, climate control, entertainment preferences and driving routes based on your individual tastes.
The 1,050bhp electric power unit will accelerate to 60mph in 2.39-seconds and will have a driving range between 378 and 435 miles. Faraday Future says the battery can be completely recharged in one hour.
Prospective customers in the USA, Canada and China can reserve an FF91 now for $5,000.
Fisker EMotion
Henrik Fisker
The Fisker EMotion is an electric car designed by Henrik Fisker – the man responsible for designing the BMW Z8 and Aston Martin DB9 to name a few – and is due to be released in August 2017. It will be Fisker’s rival to a Tesla Model S, not just in power, but in price too.
New proprietary battery technology developed at the Fisker Nanotech battery division will give the EMotion a 400+ mile range, and it will eventually support autonomous driving modes thanks to a radar and camera integrated in the front of the car.
Ford
Ford
Ford announced at the Detroit Motor Show 2018 that it will invest $11 billion in electric vehicles, and plans to have 40 electrified vehicles on the road by 2022, 16 of which will be fully electric, while the rest will be plug-in hybrids. The new cars won’t necessarily be completely new models though, but rather electric versions of current models that are popular amongst customers.
They will comprise a mixture of sedans, trucks and SUVs, and the company has plans to introduce a high-performance electric utility vehicle by 2020 and will begin manufacturing a hybrid version of the F-150 truck in the same year.
Jaguar I-PACE SUV
Pocket-lint
Jaguar’s I-PACE SUV will get its full, official unveiling towards the end of 2017, and will be on roads in 2018. It features a 90kWh lithium-ion battery to give a 0-60mph time of 4-seconds, and will have a driving range of up to 311 miles. A full recharge of the battery should take around 90 minutes using DC charging.
The interior cabin is pretty futuristic too, albeit minimal. Controls such as indicators and gear selector buttons are found on a floating centre console, which also plays host to a 12-inch TFT touchscreen display, with a separate 5.5-inch display for climate controls. The driver gets their own 12-inch display too, to replace analogue instruments
You can register your interest to buy an I-PACE on Jaguar’s website now.
Like with the plug-in hybrid version, Mini’s CEO Peter Schwarzenbauer says the electric version of the Cooper will arrive with new battery technology that will offer superior performance compared to other electric vehicles currently on the market.
Nissan Leaf (2017)
Pocket-lint
Nissan has revealed an updated version of its Leaf electric vehicle, that has already sold in its hundred of thousands. The new model will go on sale in Europe from 2018, and boasts an extended 235-mile range. The new model gets more power too, propelling you to 60mph in 7.9-seconds.
The battery can be charged to 80 per cent in 40 minutes using a quick charger, or 8 hours to full using a 6kW charger. Nissan has fitted the new Leaf with heaps of technology, including its own ProPILOT system and Apple CarPlay. Prices will start at £21,680.
Porsche Mission E
Pocket-lint
Porsche unveiled the Mission E at the Frankfurt Motor Show towards the end of 2015. The Mission E is a four-seater sports car with the Tesla Model S set firmly in its sights. It can’t quite match the Model S’s Ludicrous Mode 0-60mph of 2.9 seconds, but at 3.3-seconds, the Porsche won’t be left far behind in a drag race.
One of the Mission E’s biggest selling points though, is its recharge time. When it goes on sale at the end of 2019 for around $80,000, the Mission E will use a new 800 volt charging system that will give recharge it to 80 per cent in just 15 minutes. So if you do run out of juice on a journey, if you can get yourself to a charging station you’ll be back on the road in the time it takes you to grab a coffee and a sandwich.
Skoda Vision E
Skoda
Skoda has an electric SUV of its own in the works. Called the Vision E for now, the concept car is to be one of five new electric cars from Skoda to be on the roads by 2025.
It will have a 310 mile driving range and a top speed of 112mph. Skoda hasn’t revealed a 0-60mph time just yet, but it will have a 302bhp power unit, with all of those horses being available on demand.
Two motors, one on each axle, work in unison to deliver power where it’s needed to provide maximum grip and stability. Clever tech features include being able to automatically find itself a parking space and park, and drive by itself in traffic jams or on motorways.
You don’t need to plug it in to charge, as it works with an inductive charging floor panel that can be fitted in your garage, but if you don’t have space to put the floor panel, a quick charge plug-in
cable will get it back up to 80 per cent in 30 minutes.
A digital screen will replace the analogue instrument cluster, and a larger touchscreen will be fitted to the centre console to handle all things infotainment. You’ll also be able to wirelessly charge your phone with a charger in each door.
Skoda has yet to say when we can expect to see the Vision E concept SUV on the UK roads.
Tesla Model 3
Tesla
The Model 3 will be the most affordable Tesla you can buy when it begins shipping in late-2017/early-2018. And you’ll likely see plenty of them on the road, as pre-orders hit 276,000 within the first three days, expect that number to be much, much higher now. The reason for it being so popular is its starting price of $35,000.
Tesla hasn’t confirmed the exact power output of the Model 3 just yet, but says it will be able to achieve 60mph in under six seconds. As for charging, well, when it launches Tesla plans to have double the number of free-to-use Superchargers dotted around, so you’ll be able to recharge and drive for longer than ever before.
Volkswagen ID Concept
Pocket-lint
The ID Concept is one of three ID electric vehicles planned by Volkswagen, to be released from 2020. The Concept is the smallest of the three, but is still a full-size 5-door car.
It will eventually, in 2025, have an autonomous driving mode that will see the steering wheel retract into the dashboard at the touch of a button. The ID Concept will have a driving range of between 249 and 373 miles from a single charge, and the battery can be topped up to 80 per cent in 30 minutes with DC fast charging. The electric motor itself produces 168bhp.
Because there’s no need for space to be taken up by a large engine, VW has managed to give the ID Concept a similar amount of interior space as the Passat, but in a car that’s roughly the same size as a Golf.
There’s no official world on pricing just yet, but VW says it will be offered at “an attractive price”, when it does go on sale.
Volkswagen ID Crozz
Autocar
The ID Crozz will be Volkswagen’s all-electric SUV that will go on sale from 2020. Like the ID Concept, the ID Crozz will get an autonomous driving mode from 2025, complete with retractable steering wheel.
Like the Faraday Future FF91, the ID Crozz can remember each driver’s personal preferences for things such as climate control and seating position, and will activate them when each individual driver approaches the car.
An 82kWh battery is found in the floor of the car, and this produces a Skoda Vision E matching 112mph top speed and driving range of 310 miles. Power is sent to the rear wheels by default, but it will show the front ones some love if the car feels extra grip is needed, or you can permanently engage an all-wheel drive mode.
A 10.2-inch display will adorn the centre console and handle all the infotainment functions, while a secondary 5.8-inch display in front of the driver will show information relating to the car.
If you know you’re going to be out the house and unable to accept a delivery, you will be able to grant couriers access to the boot of the Crozz so you can drive home with your packages.
There’s no word yet on how much the ID Crozz will cost when it goes on sale.
Volkswagen ID Buzz
Autocar
The ID Buzz is the third ID electric vehicle due to go on sale in 2022. It’s based on VW’s popular Microbus and will able to seat up to eight people, with an interior that can be constantly changed around.
Two electric motors will give the ID Buzz a total power output of 369bhp to propel it to 60mph in around 5-seconds. It will be limited to a top speed of 100mph, will have four-wheel drive and a 372 mile driving range. You will be able to recharge the battery to 80 per cent, which VW says will be enough for 298 miles of travel, in 30 minutes.
Like the other two ID vehicles, the Buzz will have a retracting steering wheel to enable an autonomous driving mode, and it will have cameras mounted on the outside in place of conventional wing mirrors.
There’s no official word on how much the ID Buzz may cost when it goes on sale.
Volvo electric car
Volvo
Volvo Car USA CEO Lex Kerssemakers has confirmed that Volvo is working on an electric vehicle of its own to challenge the likes of the Tesla Model 3. It will have its sights set on at least a 250 mile range and a Model 3 matching price of between $35,000 to $40,000.
So far, Volvo hasn’t released any images of the electric car, not even any concept renders, which considering the car is claimed to be on roads in 2019, is leaving things a little late.
Volvo is of course no stranger to futuristic technologies though, as it has been developing autonomous driving tech for some time. The Finnish car company also has a few hybrid vehicles either, with the XC90 and V60 both being offered with Twin Engine options.
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This article and images were originally posted on [Pocket-lint] January 15, 2018 at 06:35AM. Credit to Author and Pocket-lint | ESIST.T>G>S Recommended Articles Of The Day
Your daily selection of the hottest trending tech news!
According to Electrek
Tesla has finally started shipping Model 3 in significant numbers, and as a Roadster owner, an early reservation holder and a California resident, I’ve been lucky enough to get one of the first batches of cars sent to non-employees, and have been spending the last two days driving it, giving test rides, and trying to figure out everything I can about the car over the course of this busy holiday weekend.
Without getting too into the weeds (yet), I want to share some of my early impressions. I’ll post more details in the coming days and weeks of ownership.
The other day we asked for your questions about the car, and while I’ll touch on a few things about that in this article, I’m not going to answer all of them now, and will do a “your questions answered” article once I’ve had a little more time with the car.
While we’ve had a chance to drive the car before, that was just a short drive around the factory. Fred’s impressions from that drive largely match mine, so far, but his was a very early model while Tesla was only just starting to deliver to employees and now Tesla is finally ramping up production and getting cars in the hands of customers, so I’ve got the “real deal” so-to-speak, with a VIN in the mid-2000s.
Fit and Finish
I’m going to answer this first because it’s one of the more common questions people have about this car. Many people have shared photos of inconsistent body panel gaps on release candidate Model 3s. I don’t particularly care about this too much myself, because as long as the car looks good and is fun to drive and has nice technology in it, I don’t need everything to be perfect down to the sub-millimeter level. But many people do care, and this can be seen as a symptom of poor manufacturing processes as if things don’t fit together well, a car can have service issues down the road.
After seeing my car and three other “first batch to the public” cars up close in the last couple days, I can report that the cars by and large do not seem to have significant issues with panel gaps.
Early Model S had a lot of issues with inconsistent panel gaps, but as Tesla built more and more of them, this problem has been disappearing. Many thought that the same would happen with Model 3 – that early cars would have issues, and later cars wouldn’t. The fact that these “first-batch” cars to the public do not have these issues shows that Tesla is not just getting better at making the Model S, but better at making cars in general.
At the few car meetups I’ve been to this weekend, everyone I’ve asked has observed the same – that the fit and finish seems much improved from what they expected after seeing early Model S cars and release candidate Model 3s.
Driving experience
On to the driving. The first thing I noticed is that the handling is superb. The car feels very “pointy” – it’s extremely responsive on turn-in, and feels much more nimble than a Model S due to its ~1,000lb lower weight. There is virtually no body roll due to the low center of gravity. The steering in sport mode feels perfect and responsive, though there are comfort and standard modes as well if you prefer lighter weight on the steering wheel. Keep in mind here my daily driver is a Roadster.
I need to underline that whole paragraph. This car’s handling is really great. I love it. I really really love it. It’s my favorite thing about the car so far.
Acceleration feels similar to a ~70D. It’s not as “punchy” as my Roadster or any “P” Model S, but it’s still got great pedal response and good power through the range. Regen is strong but still a little weaker than the Chevy Bolt and less than I’d like; it’s possible that it will be stronger in the future all-wheel drive version of the car.
On my first drive of the car (in Southern California), in mixed driving, I averaged and impressive 246 Wh/mi, which translates to an effective range of ~305 miles. It should be easy to get more than 310 miles of range with a little effort and under the right conditions (especially with aero caps attached).
Rear visibility for the driver leaves something to be desired. The trunk lid is quite high, which obstructs the rear view significantly. I usually like to sit low in the car, but adjusted the power seat upwards because rear visibility is poor. This is particularly true at nighttime, when this can obstruct the driver’s view of a following car’s headlights, making the following car almost invisible. As a workaround, it’s possible to drive with the rear-view camera on, and the touchscreen button to activate it is in the most convenient position for the driver to reach. I believe this may have been an intentional UI decision by Tesla to make up for poor rear visibility.
Comfort
Interior room is ample. Headroom and legroom are not going to be a concern for the vast majority of passengers, the headroom is positively cavernous and the glass roof makes the rear feel very open. As for width, with three below-average sized passengers in the back, the shoulder room was “okay, about as good as you’d expect from a sedan this size.” This is a real five-seater.
The car is very quiet inside, even at highway speed. Bluetooth calls are very clear and easy to understand.
Suspension is tight, and if I were looking for something to nitpick, ride quality would be it. A tight suspension is good for performance driving and responsive handling which Model 3 has in spades, but a tighter suspension also makes the ride a bit harsher.
Technology
The screen is is smaller and has fewer functions than that of the S/X, but it is much more touch-responsive and has a snappier user interface. Switching the map view from streets to full satellite view happens almost instantly, dragging and zooming the map is smooth, and there’s no lag when interacting with touch buttons needed while driving. This is good, because a touchscreen interface can require more attention than physical buttons, and lag just increases the time the driver isn’t paying attention to the road, so minimizing lag is very important and Tesla has done this very well in the Model 3.
The steering wheel buttons serve a variety of uses, though there are some functions missing – in the S it’s possible to adjust fan speed or other settings with the right scroll wheel, but that function is not available on the 3. Hopefully this will be added in an update soon, because right now the right scroll wheel doesn’t do enough. The right scroll wheel does activate voice commands, and responsiveness to them has been improved significantly.
Bugs
It’s an early production car so there are bound to be a few bugs. These have been reported on fairly widely, largely sourced from the Model 3 Road Trip facebook page where several problems have been documented – and we’ll hear all about those when Fred interviews You You Xue, the driver undertaking the trip, when he gets to Montreal later this week. So far, I have only experienced one of these bugs – the audio system made cracking sounds after hanging up a bluetooth call, which I solved by rebooting the screen by holding down the steering wheel buttons for a few seconds. Early owners should get used to this gesture while any kinks are worked out, but Tesla will surely fix most of them soon with over-the-air updates.
Wrap-up
There are a lot of details I’ve left out of this post which I’ll cover later in a more full review. Tesla really got a lot of small design features on this car right – from the vanity mirrors, to the frunk space, to the cupholders, everything seems very well-thought-out. Coming from the proof-of-concept Roadster (which I still love), and having spent plenty of time in the somewhat-idiosyncratic Model S (no lighted vanity mirrors, no door/map pockets, no place to hang the dry cleaning, etc), the Model 3 finally feels like a “real car,” and an exceptional one at that.
We’ve all spent the last few years with a strange mixture of excitement, hopefulness and nervousness, wanting the Model 3 to be everything we hoped for but fearing that it might miss that mark, or that there might be other problems with Tesla which result in the car being less than promised or expected. But, from early impressions, Tesla seems to have done it. The car is great. You can all take a breath now.
Got any news, tips or want to contact us directly? Email esistme@gmail.com
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This article and images were originally posted on [Electrek] January 1, 2018 at 09:14AM. Credit to Author and Electrek | ESIST.T>G>S Recommended Articles Of The Day
Your daily selection of the hottest trending tech news!
According to Wired.com
For all the hype, electric cars still make up a tiny percentage of global vehicle sales. Like, less than one percent tiny. But there’s a growing movement around the world to put a deadline on the life of the internal combustion engine. This year India, the UK, Norway, the Netherlands, and France, amongst other states and cities, have said they want to phase out gas and diesel vehicles within the next few decades. The planet’s largest car market, China, is moving in the same direction. Government incentives influence car buyers attitudes, as evidenced by Norway, where EV sales now account for around 30 percent of sales.
With the longterm future of the fossil fuel-powered car under threat, automakers have no choice but to adapt. General Motors says it’s working towards a fully electric future. All of Britain’s Jaguar Land Rover cars and SUVs will have an electric option by 2020. Sweden’s Volvo is doing the same, by 2019.
All that means that if you’re looking to buy an electric car in 2018, you have more options than ever. (And despite early threats to do so, the newly passed tax bill didn’t touch the $7,500 federal tax credit for buying an electric car.) Tesla’s Model 3, the “affordable” sedan, should finally be available in large enough numbers to start filling some of the 400,000 back orders, if Elon Musk can pull it out of “production hell.”. Nissan’s 2018 Leaf, an update to the original electric car for the masses, has some new tech tricks, and at the high end Jaguar’s I-Pace will give Tesla a run for its money.
So if your plan is to go emissions free, 2018 is a good time to do it.
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This article and images were originally posted on [Wired.com] December 26, 2017 at 08:06AM. Credit to Author and Wired.com | ESIST.T>G>S Recommended Articles Of The Day
DETROIT (Reuters) – United Parcel Service Inc (UPS.N) said on Tuesday it is buying 125 Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) all-electric semi-trucks, the largest known order for the big rig so far, as the package delivery company expands its fleet of alternative-fuel vehicles.
FILE PHOTO: Tesla’s new electric semi truck is unveiled during a presentation in Hawthorne, California, U.S. on November 16, 2017. REUTERS/Alexandria Sage/File Photo
Tesla is trying to convince the trucking community it can build an affordable electric big rig with the range and cargo capacity to compete with relatively low-cost, time-tested diesel trucks. This is the largest public order of the big rig so far, Tesla said.
Tesla unveiled its semi last month and expects the truck to be in production by 2019.
The Tesla trucks will cost around $200,000 each for a total order of about $25 million. UPS expects the semi-trucks, the big rigs that haul freight along America’s highways, will have a lower total cost of ownership than conventional vehicles, which run at about $120,000.
Tesla has received pre-orders from such major companies as Walmart (WMT.N), fleet operator J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc (JBHT.O) and food service distributor Sysco Corp (SYY.N)
Prior to UPS, the largest single pre-order came from PepsiCo Inc (PEP.N), for 100 trucks.
UPS said it has provided Tesla with data on how its trucks function on their real-world routes in order to evaluate how the vehicle should perform in its fleet.
“As with any introductory technology for our fleet, we want to make sure it’s in a position to succeed,” Scott Phillippi, UPS senior director for automotive maintenance and engineering for international operations, told Reuters.
Phillippi said the 125 trucks will allow UPS to conduct a proper test of their abilities. He said the company was still determining their routes, but the semis will “primarily be in the United States.” Tesla will provide consultation and support on charging infrastructure.
“We have high expectations and are very optimistic that this will be a good product and it will have firm support from Tesla to make it work,” Phillippi said.
The UPS alternative fuel fleet already includes trucks propelled by electricity, natural gas, propane and other non-traditional fuels.
About 260,000 semis, or heavy-duty Class-8 trucks, are produced in North America annually, according to FTR, an industry economics research firm.
Including the UPS order, Tesla has at least 410 pre-orders in hand, according to a Reuters tally.
Navistar International Corp (NAV.N) and Volkswagen AG VOWG-P.DE hope to launch a smaller, electric medium-duty truck by late 2019, while rival Daimler AG (DAIGn.DE) has delivered the first of a smaller range of electric trucks to customers in New York.
In afternoon trade on Nasdaq, Tesla shares were down nearly 1.1 percent at $335.24.
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This article and images were originally posted on [reuters.com] December 18, 2017 at 07:06AM. Credit to Author and reuters.com | ESIST.T>G>S Recommended Articles Of The Day
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According to TechCrunch
Toyota is finally revealing the details of its plan to catch up with some of its rivals on electrification; the automaker has focused primarily on hybrids and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles before now, despite having led the market with the Prius – but it’s going to focus more on pure EVs going forward, with a plan to offer over 10 purely battery-powered vehicles from 2020 on, and a goal of making available either a hybrid or a fully electric version of every car it sells by 2025.
The announcement from Toyota comes via a Tokyo press briefing on Monday, which elaborates on earlier comments made by the company around its intent to target China first for fully electric vehicle sales. It’s also planning to sell sure EVs in Japan, India, Europe and the U.S., the automaker says.
To help make this happen, Toyota will partner with Panasonic on battery tech, including developing next-generation, new batteries as well as current gen lithium-ion power houses. It’s going to invest as much as $13.3 billion through 2030 in battery development in order to help it get up to pace in the EV space.
Toyota’s plans also involve getting to a point where around half of its annual vehicle sales are accounted for by electrified cars, including both hybrid and fully electric vehicles – it has a firm target of 5.5 million electrified vehicles sold annually by 2030.
This is the latest in a series of announcements over the past year or two from automakers declaring their intent to either push the accelerator on full, electrified vehicle slates, or focusing exclusively on non-ICE engines in some cases. Toyota had faced some criticism for being behind in this regard, so this announcement is a major declaration of its intent to chart a similar path as many of its rivals.
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This article and images were originally posted on [TechCrunch] December 18, 2017 at 07:06AM. Credit to Author and TechCrunch | ESIST.T>G>S Recommended Articles Of The Day
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According to BGR
Tesla is the most talked-about car company for so many reasons. What began as a small startup has grown into a massive company with a larger market cap than BMW. Tesla has completely reshaped the global automotive landscape, forcing every major car company to accelerate its plans for electric vehicles.
I’m a big fan of Tesla as a company and I love what it’s doing to the auto industry right now. Tesla is changing the world. Full stop. But to be honest, I’ve never personally been a big fan of Tesla’s vehicles. As someone who has always had an affinity for German cars, Tesla’s styling was never to my taste. And the interiors… eesh. Modern Teslas are marvels when it comes to technology and performance, however, and I decided it was high time for me to see how far Tesla has come in the four years since I last drove one of its cars.
So, I headed down to Tesla’s Chelsea showroom in lower Manhattan late last month and drove away with a Model X P100DL.
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This article and images were originally posted on [BGR] December 18, 2017 at 12:02PM. Credit to Author and BGR | ESIST.T>G>S Recommended Articles Of The Day
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According to Electrek
We have been talking a lot about a Tesla station wagon lately since not one but two aftermarket modification companies are working on it.
Now one of those two companies has completed the very first working Model S station wagon.
Our last report was on RemetzCar, the maker of the Model S hearse, announcing that they are working on a Model S wagon, but Qwest is actually the company that first completed their working prototype.
Qwest was founded by a bunch of engineers and automotive designers based in Norfolk, UK.
Tesla’s vehicles are highly connected with sensors and it’s easy to end up with error alerts even with fairly simple modifications, but Qwest says that they checked with Tesla in order to know how to proceed to maintain support for the vehicle after the modifications, especially with future software updates.
Yesterday, they shared this video and claimed that the vehicle is now fully working:
It’s also our first look at the final design of the very first Tesla Model S wagon.
The company shared a few more images on Twitter:
They created the new parts with carbon fiber to limit the added weight for the bigger rear.
Electrek’s Take
I don’t know about you, but I am very impressed. I rarely like the aftermarket Tesla modifications, but this one turned out great and it’s also practical if you are looking for a little more cargo space.
Cargo aside, the design is pleasing if you don’t mind the shooting brake-look. As it turns out, the Model S’ design translates well into a sport wagon. We already have seen several Tesla Model S wagon renderings that were well-received, but it’s easy to make a rendering look good.
Now we see an actual working vehicle and it holds up to the renderings.
Wagons, or estate cars, or shooting-brakes, are very popular in Europe, especially in markets like the UK and Germany, but there’s currently none with an all-electric powertrain.
Despite being an aftermarket upgrade, it could technically be considered the very first one and now that they developed all the parts and the molds, Qwest could potentially bring the cost of the modification down and offer it to other Model S owners.
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This article and images were originally posted on [Electrek] December 17, 2017 at 12:00PM. Credit to Author and Electrek | ESIST.T>G>S Recommended Articles Of The Day
Sysco, which has the largest food service distribution network in the world, confirmed the order of 50 Tesla Semi trucks during their investor day yesterday (hat tip to Brian Brophy).
The effort is part of their plan to adopt new technologies in their distribution network in order to increase efficiency.
While it’s one of Tesla’s biggest reported orders of trucks yet, it’s actually only a small update of Sysco’s fleet, which includes over 7,000 trucks in operation.
After Tesla revealed the pricing of its electric semi trucks last month, we learned that the regular production versions for the 300-mile and 500-mile range versions will be $150,000 and $180,000 respectively, while the company is also listing a ‘Founders Series’ version for $200,000.
It means that Sysco’s order alone is worth between $7.5 million and $10 million.
Tesla first started taking reservations with a $5,000 deposit per truck, but has changed the listed deposit price last month to $20,000 for a “base reservation” of the production version and the full $200,000 for the “Founders Series” truck.
Therefore, Sysco had to put down at least $250,000 for the vehicles, which are not expected to enter production until 2019, and it could have gone up to the total amount of the purchase depending on when they placed and which version of the truck they ordered.
Electrek’s Take
It’s interesting that companies are still confirming large orders weeks after the unveiling event. It almost seems like there’s some sort of snowball effect going on and no one wants to be the one without any Tesla Semi truck on the books.
As we previously reported, it’s not exactly surprising since Tesla shocked a lot of people with the specs announced for the truck last month.
If they can deliver on it, it has the potential to significantly improve the economics of ground transport.
But the capacity and cost of the Tesla Semi seem to point at a major battery breakthrough for cost and energy density that is enabling those new impressive specs. In my opinion, I don’t see any other way that they can achieve anything close to what they are claiming based on current specs.
Therefore, there might be more to Tesla Semi than what Tesla has revealed so far and it will be interesting to see how it will affect it’s apparently growing backlog of orders – two years ahead of the start of production.
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This article and images were originally posted on [Electrek] December 8, 2017 at 05:51AM. Credit to Author and Electrek | ESIST.T>G>S Recommended Articles Of The Day
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According to Co.Design
Chris Bangle is an auto industry legend. An arguable mad genius of auto design (as well as one of Fast Company’s Most Creative People), Bangle was BMW’s first American design chief and a longtime Fiat designer who played an outsize role in building a wild visual language for contemporary cars that owes as much to modern art as it does to 1960s Detroit. After leaving BMW, Bangle started the design firm Chris Bangle Associates,which has worked with an eclectic list of non-auto clients like Samsung.
Now Bangle is back in the car world with an entirely new project: a tiny, mostly aluminum car designed for city driving whose seats can be rearranged like a giant game of Tetris.
[Image: courtesy Chris Bangle Associates]
MEET THE REDS
At an event at the ArtCenter in Pasadena on November 28 during the Los Angeles Auto Show, Bangle unveiled his newest creation. The China High-Tech Group Corporation (CHTC), a large Chinese government-owned company, is spinning off a new auto company called Redspace. Redspace’s first car is Bangle’s Reds. It’s an aluminum electric car with a boxy shape and sharp angles everywhere–a design Bangle says was partially inspired by Calvin of Calvin & Hobbes (An “adult in a kid’s body,” Bangle said onstage at the reveal). Reds is, well, the most unique car you’ve seen in a long time.
It also reverses decades of conventional car wisdom by putting the design of the car’s passenger interior front and center. In that respect, it feels like it’s hinting at what the inside of cars will look like in the coming autonomous vehicle era.
[Image: courtesy Chris Bangle Associates]
First things first: The car is tiny, as in 9.7-feet-long tiny. It’s tinier than the Fiats and Minis Bangle used to work on. It’s smart car-sized, and has a flat roof with solar panels on top, sliding doors, wings on the side, and even little flares over the doors designed to protect you from the rain as you exit the car.The inside? It’s different. Bangle and his design team created seats you can rearrange like blocks in a game of Tetris. The driver’s seat can rotate into reverse position when parked, and four seats are packed into the tiny miniature car. There’s even a fifth seat that can be added when the car is parked; the rear hatch can be converted into a jump seat that fits over the small cargo well.
There are also several idiosyncratic touches such as a foot massager for passengers, a pop-up 17-inch video screen viewable from the whole car, and a configuration for the back seats that looks much like a loveseat sofa. The idea is that you don’t just commute to and from work in your car–your car also becomes a portable office, a place to unwind in the driveway, and even a cabin for watching television with friends.
Although self-driving cars weren’t mentioned onstage at the reveal, almost everything Bangle and his corporate backers displayed looks like it’s straight out of an autonomous vehicle techie think piece.
In our conversation, Bangle emphasized that this car is a new experiment in and of itself, and not a precursor to an autonomous vehicle. However, the living space-centric inside hints at what the interiors of future mostly autonomous vehicles will look like, when people no longer have to focus on driving.
[Image: courtesy Chris Bangle Associates]
MEGACITY TRAFFIC JAM
Onstage at the Reds event, one phrase kept popping up among the Chinese auto executives bankrolling the car: “Make megacity mobility more joyful.”
Electric vehicles are having a bit of a moment in the Chinese auto industry right now due to three factors: a slew of first-time auto owners, dense urban environments where most drivers are making short drives, and heavy investment in infrastructure for electric vehicle charge points in cities and suburbs.
But why this car design in particular? “First of all, traffic just isn’t moving,” Bangle says. “The speeds are very low and the speed limit is 120 kilometers per hour (74 miles), so it doesn’t make sense to design a car that at its best is 180 kilometers per hour–though, of course, it’s a great thing too if you want to do that.
“But when you’re at these lower speeds, you can rethink aerodynamics, keep the acoustics of aerodynamics in mind, the stability in mind, but not play slave to all the Cx value aerodynamics [a measure of the car’s drag]that are necessary at higher speeds,” Bangle added. “At this speed, the critical thing is weight. That’s why it’s an all-aluminum car–to keep the weight as low as possible, which gives us acceleration as well.”
[Image: courtesy Chris Bangle Associates]
TURNING CARS INTO LEISURE SPACES
During the unveiling, CHTC’s executives made multiple mentions of the idea of looking at cars almost as leisure spaces when drivers aren’t actively driving. Case studies were shown where the Reds vehicle functioned either as a chill-out space for busy parents shuttling their children to appointments, for office workers looking for a quiet place to get some extra work done on the way home, and as a place for teenagers and gen-Zers to hang out and watch television. In other words–using a car much like you’d use a coffeeshop or neighborhood bar.
[Image: courtesy Chris Bangle Associates]
It’s a radical reimagining of a car, but one that is less odd than it seems for many countries–not just China. Commuters on public transit are used to sitting down and playing smartphone games or reading a book on their trip; it’s not much different to imagine a white-collar worker pulling into a mall parking lot to finish a PowerPoint deck or twentysomethings streaming Netflix in a car during a bad traffic jam with a 90-minute commute home. These things are universal pretty much in any country where you have an affluent consumer base and, well, bad traffic.And when future cars gain more autonomous capabilities, you can bet that similar design cues will show up in more mass market vehicles worldwide. As Bangle put it in a press release, “It’s about time we made a car that not only has a wrap-around love seat but is also best-in-class for diaper changing.”
CHTC is referring to Reds as a “alpha prototype,” and there’s no firm info about release date or what pricing would be just yet. The car was most recently on display at the Los Angeles Auto Show, and Redspace says next steps for the vehicle are testing, developing production plans, and finalizing a supplier network.
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This article and images were originally posted on [Co.Design] December 4, 2017 at 07:43AM. Credit to Author and Co.Design | ESIST.T>G>S Recommended Articles Of The Day
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According to Electrek
Several Japanese and Korean automakers have been entrenched in fuel cell hydrogen technology for their zero-emission vehicle effort supposedly due to its range and refueling advantages over battery-powered vehicles.
Now that those advantages are fading away and they are starting to make electric vehicles, it’s interesting to see what approach they are taking to charging infrastructure. As for Honda, the automaker is reportedly aiming for a 15-minute charging system for its upcoming electric cars.
According to a report from Nikkei, the Japanese automaker is working on a new battery technology to enable “240 km (150 miles) of range in 15 minutes.”
It would represent roughly a doubling of the current best charging capacity on an average-size vehicle, but they are reportedly not planning to include the technology in their EVs until 2022.
Honda is planning to release new electric vehicles before then, but they will feature current battery technology.
The automaker currently sells its only all-electric vehicle, the Clarity Electric, a compliance car, and it plans to bring a new retro-looking urban EV to market in 2019.
Electrek’s Take
“240 km (150 miles) of range in 15 minutes” doesn’t tell us much in terms of charge rate without knowing the power consumption of the vehicle, but saying that it’s twice as fast as the current systems in production sounds about fair.
2022 is within the timeframe that some automakers and battery companies are reportedly planning to release automotive grade solid-state batteries, which are expected to enable faster charging.
With this said, other companies are promising similar charge rates using li-ion batteries, like Porsche with the Mission E and Fisker with the E-Motion. It will be interesting to see those vehicles being launched in the next few years as we get a better idea of the limits of li-ion batteries and the potential impact of a new generation of batteries to enable new kinds of performance for EVs.
Of course, that’s for passenger cars. When it comes to larger vehicles with bigger battery packs, companies have already achieved much higher charge rates, like BYD in its electric buses or Tesla’s recently announced electric semi truck.
Today, the venture announced a series of new partnerships for the deployment of its charging stations. Interestingly, they are all with petrol station and truck stop companies.
The network plans 400 stations with a capacity of 350 kW across Europe by 2020 – starting with 20 stations by the end of the year.
They had already announced partnerships with “Tank & Rast”, “Circle K” and “OMV” to deploy stations in Germany, Norway, and Austria.
Today, they are expanding the deal with Shell to bring the total location deals to 18 countries.
Marcus Groll, COO of IONITY, said about the new announcement:
“The agreements with these prestigious partners constitute an important initial milestone in our relatively short company history. So in the future, we will be able to offer a large number of fast charging stations at attractive sites along major roads in Europe,”
The deal with Shell will bring IONITY charging stations to Belgium, France, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Hungary.
István Kapitány, Shell Executive Vice President of Retail, said about the deal:
“Customers want to be able to travel long distances in electric vehicles – with the knowledge that there is a reliable, convenient means of charging their vehicles,”
IONITY is arguably the most exciting thing to come out of the EV infrastructure sector in a long time. 5 major automakers joined force to deploy a significant network using the CCS standard.
I’d argue that the scale is not on par with Tesla’s Supercharger network, but the roll-out seems appropriate for the timeline on which those automakers plan to release their electric vehicles in Europe over the next few years.
Now I know that petrol stations are not exactly where EV drivers want to end up recharging, but they do have some prime locations ideal to enable long distance driving, which is what IONITY is aiming to do.
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According to Electrek
In Munich today, BMW announced a 200 million euro investment in a new ‘BMW Group Battery Cell Competence Centre’ in order to develop their next generation electric vehicle powertrain.
They will have 200 employees at the new facility working toward the goal to “advance battery cell technology and introduce it into production processes.”
Klaus Fröhlich, member of the BMW AG Board of Management, responsible for Research and Development, commented on the new effort:
“We will be concentrating all our in-house expertise along the battery-cell value chain at our new high-tech competence centre. International experts working in the new development labs and facilities will conduct important research to refine cell chemistry and cell design. We will focus on further improvements in battery performance, lifespan, safety, charging and also costs. We will set the benchmark for the industry.”
In terms of actual work, BMW says that they will analyze cell design and cell technology, create prototypes of future battery cells, focusing on the chemical composition of the cells, use of different materials, how the cell behaves in critical or extremely cold conditions, charging and rapid-charging behaviour and evaluating cell sizes and forms.
They released images of their current battery cell lab:
They expect the new facility to be completed in 2019 and play a central role in enabling BMW’s fifth generation electric drivetrain, which they plan to release in 2021.
The ones on the next generation enabled by new battery cells will have significantly better performance, says BMW. They are aiming for a range of 700 km (430 miles) on a single charge. The company also says that it is developing its next-generation electric motors without rare earth metals.
Here are a few renders of the new facility:
Electrek’s Take
While BMW has previously heavily invested in battery pack technology, this seems to be their most important effort at the battery cell level to date.
With every automaker on the planet accounting new electric vehicles every year, the demand for battery cell is exploding and it is anticipated to soon become a bottleneck in the production of electric vehicles if not properly managed.
Most automakers are relying on battery cell manufacturers either as customers/suppliers or through partnerships, like Tesla with Panasonic.
These relationships and the whole battery supply chain should become increasingly important as demand for battery cells increase with the demand for electric vehicles.
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According to Electrek
I’m just waking up after last night’s Tesla Semi and next gen Roadster Event and it feels like a dream in a lot of ways. If you would have told me yesterday that there would be an EV that met any of the following specs yesterday, I would have said “Vaporware!” Keep in mind these are base specs (!!) and the Founder’s Series car, which will take advantage of technologies gained in the 3 years before production, will somehow be better than:
Acceleration 0-60 mph: 1.9 sec
Acceleration 0-100 mph: 4.2 sec
Acceleration 1/4 mile: 8.8 sec
Top Speed: Over 250 mph
Wheel Torque: 10,000 Nm
Mile Range: 620 miles
Seating: 4+ trunk
It’s over. It’s. Just. Over. I’ve said it before but there is no way to dispute it anymore. Electric vehicle engines are superior to internal combustion. Full stop.
The point of doing [the new Roadster] is to give a hard core smackdown to gasoline powered cars –Elon musk
You can still talk about style, suspension, handling, interior, features, financing or anything else on a car but as far as engine power, there is no longer any comparison. Electric has won.
How did Tesla make such a leap to around double its high-end model range? This car is a huge step up in a lot of ways but isn’t impossible given what we know about EVs and Tesla’s trajectory.
When I got in the vehicle for a test ride, the first thing I noticed was that you are sitting pretty flat like the original Roadster but significantly higher up off the ground. If I had to guess, I would imagine that Tesla has stacked two layers of 2070 cells between the axles. That’s 2x 100kWh battery packs like the Model S and X but between what appear to be a smaller footprint. Also we weren’t given a look at any sort of frunk, but with the tight space up front and 2+2 config, it is unlikely that Tesla is storing batteries in the front or back of the car.
Once you consider the 200kWh however, the 620 mile range is absolutely doable. In fact, per kWh, the 7 seat Model S 100D gets better range at 330 miles vs. the new smaller Roadster at 310/100kWh. With the better aerodynamics, I attribute the discrepancy to the huge amount of weight in that 200kWh battery pack and three burley electric engines.
Speed:
1.9 seconds to 60mph, 4.2 seconds to 100mph, 8.8 seconds to quarter mile.
I’ve already talked about how violent the P100D Ludicrous acceleration feels but “Plaid” feels like being inside a baseball being thrown by Aroldis Chapman. I imagine it is a similar feeling to being rear ended by a bullet train. I was legit dizzy after the ride that had few turns.
These are all dragster type speeds and not what you expect to see on street legal vehicles driven by civilians, let alone a relatively inexpensive $200,000 vehicle. Slower Bugattis cost more than 10x as much.
(funny anecdote: The nicest thing that happened to Bugatti at the event last night was its aerodynamics being compared unfavorably with Tesla’s Semi! I can only imagine the supercar maker boardroom conversations this morning)
Tesla says it put 3 engines in the vehicle, one each for the rear wheels and another for the front wheels. I imagine these engines turn out about 500 horsepower per engine for a total of 1,500hp total. We’re talking significantly over a megawatt of power. The rear wheels on this thing are fat and the front wheels are the same size as the back wheels on the old roadster for comparison.
Those two rear engines also each drive the wheels independently which are going to torque vector adding some stability to those 1.9 second launches.
Using today’s technology, imagine a 750 horsepower P100D battery/drivetrain and add another P100D drivetrain but in a smaller overall package than a single P100D. Easy, right? I’m going to go ahead and assume that Tesla is going to be announcing some efficiency/weight gains in its battery tech in the next 3 years.
And that 250+ top speed? I don’t know how Tesla gets here (vs 150mph top speed in current vehicles) simply by “ratio-ing” alone. I think there might be a “top gear” transmission in this vehicle which, among other things may be a blow to Rimac and the other electric supercar makers.
Appearance
Gorgeous. All of this technology is packed tight into this beautiful vehicle that screams supercar, but at the same time is faithful to the original Tesla/Lotus Roadster design and relates to Tesla’s current lineup – thus being a “halo car”.
Absolutely no one in the supercar market is going to have issues with the appearance of this vehicle. This nutty concept doesn’t even do the real thing justice.
Extras
This thing somehow seats 4 and has a trunk that can store its targa glass top so while it is a supercar, you could theoretically take the tightly packed family to Florida in it, stopping only every 600 miles (or 10 hours) for a charge. Kids, go to the bathroom now!
You can see from the videos above that the center console is a thin, OLED type of display with dark blacks and a totally new type of interface. Tesla kept the interior of the car pretty sparse dark and my time was quick so I think there are a lot more interior discoveries left to come.
While I wouldn’t expect Falcon wing doors in a targa sportscar, they seemed pretty normal. As I mentioned above, getting in and out is similar to the old Roadster, but imagine it is lifted 6-8 inches higher which is certainly easier, but not a daily driver for folks with bad backs.
Electrek’s Take:
From today forward, there is no question Electric cars are faster than internal combustion engines. Sure, a funny car can still probably beat a Roadster but anything internal combustion in the package size of the roadster or anything close is going to get smoked.
Tesla’s “Halo Car” isn’t just going to rebrand the company as the ultimate high-end vehicle maker. It should also bring with it high performance electric vehicles from other automakers should they decide to bring them to market.
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Smacircle S1
Experience a commute you can actually enjoy with the Smacircle S1 ebike. Avoid crowded public transport, parking costs and glide past traffic with high speeds of 12.4mph. Fold up in five simple steps and carry in your backpack.
At only 15.4lbs (7kg) and easily folded up in five simple steps, it is perfect for those city commutes too far to walk, but too close to drive. Built with high quality materials the S1 boasts a strong and stylish carbon fiber frame and powerful Samsung battery.
iOS and Android apps allow you to lock and unlock the S1, monitor battery usage, adjust the speed and change preferences. An integrated USB charger means your devices never run out of battery.
Smacircle Trolley Bag
The multi-functional Smacircle Trolley Bag perfect for your 1-3 day trips. Easily put your travel accessories and Smacircle S1 in the backpack. Simply pull it to save energy.
Specific Features
Designed with premium waterproof material & sturdy rolling wheels, The multi-functional Smacircle Trolley Backpack has enough space to fit the Smacircle S1 & your personal belongings.
Smacircle Regular Backpack VS Smacircle Trolley Backpack
Overview of Smacircle S1 Features
Neat Compact Design
Unlike many other fold-up commuter bikes Smacircle’s unique, modern design is neat and compact. It takes up minimal space and its unisex design means it suits everyone.
Carbon Fiber Frame
Constructed with premium carbon fibre the frame is lightweight, yet strong enough to carry a weight of up to 220lbs/ 100kg.
Its strength and light weight make it ideal for taking on public transport. Trams, planes, cars and buses for no extra cost.
Easily Fold Up in 5 Steps
Fold up with easy 5 steps, you can take Smacircle S1 with you wherever you go.
Small Enough to Fit Into Your Backpack
Ebikes can be heavy, bulky and take up valuable space. Smacircle invented the S1 to combat this. At only 19 inches lengthways and able to fold up in five simple steps it can fit easily into a standard sized backpack. Alternatively, you can carry it easily by holding onto the saddle.
Powered by Advanced Brushless DC Motor
Cruise through the city at 12mph at up to a 15° angle with the Smacircle S1 ebike. Powered by a 240W motor the S1 can easily manage uneven sidewalks and ride in raining days because of its waterproofed, so there’s no need to run for the bus, join a busy subway carriage, or pay for parking. Let Smacircle do the hard work for you, there’s no peddling needed!
Damping Tires
The Smacircle S1 has custom solid damping tires. With advanced wear resistance, there’s no need to worry about punctures, or inflating. Smooth tires makes it easy to ride on uneven roads.
Sensitive Electronic Brakes
Compared to regular brakes which stop the vehicle through friction, Smacircle S1 has embedded electronic brakes which a more sensitive allowing you to stop faster and more safely. Simply press on the brake button on the handlebars and the motor will stop.
Safety Light For Night Rides
Your safety is our first concern. The front light and sidelights beside the saddle ensures that you are visible at night to traffic and pedestrians.
Adjustable Handlebar and Saddle
Easily adjust the ebike’s handlebars to fit your needs. Ergonomically designed, the S1 features a soft and comfortable saddle for lengthy rides.
Mobile Phone Holder
Smacircle comes with a mobile phone holder on the handlebar, which allows you to easily navigate your way to your destination.
Built-in Samsung Lithium Ion Battery
Ideal for town and inner city travel the S1’s high quality Samsung battery will ensure an distance of 12 miles before recharging. Simply plug into the wall and charge for 2.5 hours and you can get back on the saddle.
The Samsung lithium battery, its high capacity , compact design and long life, make it perfect for Smacircle S1. It is suitable in conditions from -4 °F to 122°F. Its charge cycle is 600 times. The special design of the seat keeps the battery protected from overheating even while sitting on the battery.
The battery is completely safe as long as you use it within the guidelines of the included instruction manual.
Built-in USB Charger
With a built-in USB charger you can keep your devices charged up as you ride.
No Licence Needed
No need for a driver’s license the Smacircle S1 is under 20mph, the threshold speed for street legal.
Intuitive App
Smacircle S1 comes with a dedicated mobile app, which allows users to lock and unlock the eBike, adjust the light, speed and monitor the battery life. It also monitors your average and max speeds during your trip. Easily attach your phone to the handlebars to stay in the know.
Security Lock
Lock and unlock the eBike with your fingertips.
The S1 ebike automatically connects with the mobile phone when the rider is within the range.
When the security lock is activated, the accelerator becomes deactivated. With the security lock, no one else can unlock/ride the ebike except you.
Now both Krause and Kranz have confirmed that they resigned from their roles at Faraday Future over the last month.
When both the CFO and CTO quit around the same time, it’s certainly not a good sign, but we also looked into other recent departures and it looks like a lot of people are jumping ship.
Another important hire, Kevin Vincent, a former Chief Counsel at NHSTA who led regulatory and safety affairs at FF, updated his LinkedIn profile earlier this month to show that he terminated his employment at the company.
Computer vision expert Khalid Yousif did the same and joined Samsung this month.
They are just a few examples of many over the last few months. Several engineers and managers ended up going to other EV startups, like Romeo Power, Byton, and Rivian Automotive.
Faraday Future, first founded by Chinese billionaire Jia Yueting and a team of “founding executives”, was operating with limited funding since Jia had his own financial troubles at his Chinese company LeEco.
But now sources at the company told Electrek that the outlook is bleaker than ever at the startup. The same sources say that they are considering filing for bankruptcy or selling their remaining assets with a deal to pay their current creditors.
Electrek’s Take
While it’s disappointing to see another EV startup go away, maybe we will still see something coming out of the mess if a company, or preferably an existing automaker, decides to buy it.
Even though the company has been in financial troubles for the better part of the last 2 years, its 1,000+ employees haven’t been sitting on their hands during that time and they did develop some interesting EV technologies showcased in the FF91.
The world’s most approachable motorcycle…and it’s electric.
Inspired by the classic mopeds from the ’70s and ’80s, but with the technology of today, the M-1 merges software and hardware with retro styling.
Designed and built by Bolt Motorbikes in California
There is something inherently cool about motorcycles. The M-1 delivers freedom and style with a twist of the throttle. On an M-1, you feel like a superhero everywhere you go. Hills flatten, distances shorten, and you don’t have to pedal once.
The M-1 will turn heads and take you anywhere at anytime – just twist and go. If you can ride a bicycle, you can ride an M-1. There are no gears to shift, no clutch to grab, and the ride is whisper quiet. Go faster and farther than any bicycle and get to places motorcycles can’t.
The ride experience is at the heart of our design process. As passionate motorcycle riders, we set out to make a motorbike that we were excited to ride, but also that anybody can ride. We have riders who had never twisted a throttle hop on, and in seconds, they are riding like naturals.
Cruising in the park, commuting to work, riding doubles, or tearing up the twisties, riders find new reasons to get out on an M-1. And the best part is that you can do it without a license, registration, or insurance.
The M-1 has rugged construction and is designed to handle mean city streets and off-road trails in all-weather conditions.
In Economy Mode, the M-1 is tuned to meet California electric bicycle regulations, but don’t be fooled. At 20 mph and with a range of 35 miles (city), you can ride all day, use the bicycle lane, and park anywhere. You can even cruise into Golden Gate Park on Sundays when it is closed to vehicular traffic!
Sport Mode delivers pure power, style, and attitude. Thrill-seekers and the adventurous can rip at speeds of 40 mph and have enough torque to climb the nastiest hills in San Francisco. Feel the rush of a 110cc motorcycle without the responsibility of a 300+ pound machine.
100% electric (may contain traces of bicycle)
Steel frame
weight: 140lbs
carrying capacity: 2 riders (up to 350lbs)
Wheel size: 17 inches
Wheelbase: 45 inches
Seat height: 27 inches
Front brake: 220mm hydraulic disc
Rear brake: Regenerative / drum
LED headlight and integrated tail/brake light
Functional pedals
Keys are a thing of the past! The M-1 is Bluetooth-enabled and connects to your smartphone.
Never lose your keys again
Share access with your trusted network
Remotely track activity
Crash detection
Listen to music (because now you don’t have a loud engine roaring)
Navigation at your fingertips
Control security
With an internet-ready motorbike, you can do some very cool things!
If you lose your phone or your screen breaks (things happen), don’t worry, because the M-1 is also password-activated.
Our 5-hour smart charger carefully manages battery health and ensures maximum range. Simply plug one end of the charger into a standard wall outlet, the other into the bike, and press “GO.” Five hours and twenty-one cents of electricity later, you are ready to ride again.
We designed the M-1 with city-dwellers in mind. No garage, no problem. Our patented battery quick-release allows you to lock your M-1 outside, remove the batteries, and charge inside.
Let’s face it, getting around in a city can be a real pain in the butt. The problem is that most trips are short, and existing options just don’t cut it.
Cars are expensive / hard to park / stuck in traffic
Buses are slow / unreliable / stuck in traffic
Motorcycles are heavy / require a special license
Bicycles are exhausting / range-limited / slow
The M-1 solves these problems in a way that makes you look forward to getting around in your city, whether it is your trip to work, to get a burrito across town, or just for a joyride. Don’t waste time in traffic or looking for parking; spend your time doing things you love…like riding your M-1.
In addition to the nuisance of parking and traffic, there is a need for renewable-energy-powered vehicles. The M-1 is not only fully-electric, but it uses the most environmentally friendly lithium chemistry available, and our patented batteries are 100% serviceable and 100% recyclable.
Jaguar hasn’t announced any specific autonomous driving or driver assist capacity for the vehicle, but it would make sense for them to be working on it if it aims to compete with the Tesla Model X, which is equipped with such features.
Your daily selection of the hottest trending tech news!
According to Electrek
Jaguar recently made a serious commitment to electric propulsion and its first effort in the space, the Jaguar I-Pace, is set to launch next year.
The British automaker is currently testing the vehicle ahead of the launch and it was recently spotted with a new set of sensors.
Now a test vehicle was spotted in Budapest, Hungary’s capital, last week.
It might seem strange to see a Jaguar test vehicle so far from the UK, but it might have to do with Jaguar having a new factory in neighboring Slovakia.
Though that’s not even where the I-Pace is expected to be built. Jaguar said that they plan to manufacture their first EV at the Magna facility in Graz, Austria, which is also just a few hours from Budapest.
Therefore, Jaguar clearly has a lot of interest in the region.
Sensors previously unseen on the I-Pace were spotted on the vehicle. HVG speculates that it could be self-driving sensors, like radar, lidar, and cameras, but it’s hard to say from this angle.
Electric bikes are not an abstract dream or concept — it’s the real-deal, hardcore electric bike project that’s available for use regardless of gender and age.
Delfast has been working successfully since 2015 in Ukraine, as an eco-friendly delivery company.
Our electric bikes are not an abstract dream or concept — it’s the real-deal, hardcore electric bike project that’s available for use regardless of gender and age. We use crowdfunding to match demand for our products with actual production. It’s not necessary to be in excellent physical shape to travel long distances on an electric bicycle – along with Delfast bikes it’s possible to easily and comfortably cover 236 miles on a single charge .
It is not necessary to be in excellent physical shape to travel long distances on an electric bicycle – along with Delfast bikes it is possible to easily and comfortably cover 236 miles on one charge.
There is a significant quantity of different e-bikes, but their available range of distance is well below cyclists’ needs. That’s where the DelFast bicycle is going to obliterate the distance limit.
We have collected a unique experience by constantly exploring, analyzing and modifying the design of our electric bikes.
The DelFast e-bike is meant for those who need to use a bike on long-distance trips both in urban areas and outside cities. It also possesses all the technical features that are needed for such kinds of trips.
Front turn and automatic brake lights help keep you visible on the road or in city traffic.
A powerful lantern ensures safety of movement together with navigation lights. In the dark, Delfast is ready to help you continue your journey.
We put convenience and safety at the heart of everything. This will allow you to experience all the advantages of a modern electric bike.
The bike computer displays charge level and other useful information. It does not fade in the sun, and is visible in all weather conditions.
Delfast bikes are simply designed to travel really long distances.
236 miles is not an artificial figure that the electric bike is able to pass in ideal conditions of the passenger or on a training stand. We challenged ourselves and went on a trip on the top model of Delfast. We charged the bike, took the camera and made a movie – from start to finish on one charge. Check out our time-lapse video and see how it went.
Tesla has been building an extensive charging network in China and this is not changing anything about Tesla’s own Supercharger effort, but it will enable an easier access for Tesla owners to the growing public charging network in the country.
Your daily selection of the hottest trending tech news!
According to Electrek
Tesla unveiled today an updated Model S and Model X design featuring a new dual connector charge port system to support more than one charging standard on its electric vehicles.
Currently, the charge port on all Tesla vehicles is located within the tail light on the driver’s side, but the actual connectors are different depending on the market.
In the US and Canada, it features Tesla’s own proprietary connector and in Europe, the company uses the standard Mennekes plug.
In China, Tesla was using the same charging system as the one it uses in Europe until now.
As the electric vehicle industry is maturing, automakers and charging network operators are trying to work together on open charging standards while adapting to specific requirements in different markets.
Tesla’s new dual connector charge port design appears to be the company’s solution to navigate those markets starting with China.
The Chinese government developed its own charging standard ‘GB’ and now Tesla has the standard built into its cars:
In order to fit both connectors, Tesla had to move the charge port from the backlight (top right in the right picture), which makes it looks more like a gas tank access design than what Tesla was aiming for with its original design.
Here’s what it looks like on Model X and Model X with the port close:
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7-14+ Mile Range
Key Highlights:
Intuitive Riding | Riding is body-gesture controlled and there aren’t any acceleration levers or gear changers. Simply sit and move.
Connectability | 
Predictive | The more the rider rides, the more information the Scooterson App gathers and stores on the cloud, creating a new optimised powertrain profile based on riding patterns, weight and surrounding terrain specifics.
Adaptive | The app adapts power and torque settings to perfectly match with remaining battery levels, allowing peak riding performance without draining the batteries. When the battery is low, the app will drop the settings to an energy conservation mode.
Sharing Options | Friends can request access to use the scooter through a cloud-based sharing management system. When granted access, the app unlocks the scooter, pairs it with the guest’s smartphone, and allows the use of all predefined features. The system notifies guests about allotted vehicle usage time, and when time’s nearly up.
Keyless | The user’s smartphone or smartwatch acts as a key when the device is located within the predefined auto lock-unlock range. The security mode will automatically activate when the user is a short distance from the scooter.
GPS | If the scooter is tampered with or moved from the last parked position, a built-in GPS signal can be tracked live on the owner’s mobile device if the vehicle is stolen.
Subscription Options | Riders will have the option to acquire the scooter for a fixed monthly fee that covers all costs of ownership, like maintenance, theft insurance, and all other possible taxes on your country or town, as well as unlimited mileage.
We’ve tested working prototypes with hundreds of potential buyers.
We’ve pre-sold $2M worth of units to customers and distributors across the US and Europe.
We partenered with one of the top contract manufacturers from Europe
We’re in the beta testing phase for our iOS and Android Apps and backend software.
We’ve secured a design patent in 29 countries, including North America and Europe.
ESIST 