Daily Archives: July 11, 2017

TESLA store pops up in Milton Keynes Shopping Centre

Blog, Electric Cars, Milton Keynes, Tesla

Milton Keynes already has a great reputation for its support of Electric Vehicles, from its vast infrastructure of electric charge points to the UK’s first Electric Vehicle Experience Centre due to open later this month. 

Now TESLA the American automaker, energy storage and solar manufacturer has set up shop in Milton Keynes Intu shopping centre, displaying their high end electric cars in an impressively slick showroom.

Strolling past this afternoon it was certainly eye catching and there seemed to be a genuine buzz from many passers-by when they noticed the giant letters spelling ‘TESLA’.

The two story car showroom isn’t the first to appear in the Milton Keynes Shopping Centre, a Mercedes store appeared a few weeks previous. This new trend seems to coincide with a greater change and understanding of how consumers are now purchasing. The idea of viewing a car in a showroom and then ‘shopping online’ for the best price is becoming ever so much more the norm, much like shopping for the latest smart TV.

The Complete Guide to Electric Car Benefits in Milton Keynes

Panasonic Joins Push to Put Photovoltaics on More Car Roofs

Charging, Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment, Solar, Toyota

Panasonic Corp. sees the future of solar on car rooftops.

The Osaka-based electronics maker has started producing a 180-watt array of solar cells that can be fixed to the roof of an automobile. In February, Panasonic announced that its photovoltaic module would be used on the roof of Toyota Motor Corp.’s latest Prius plug-in hybrid.

Cars represent a potentially lucrative new outlet for solar cells in an industry where intense competition from Chinese manufacturers has pushed down prices sharply. That’s prompting some manufacturers to adapt solar cells for everything from home roofing tiles and the outer skins of buildings to backpacks and tents.

Solar panels on the roof of Toyota Motor’s Prius plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHV). Photographer: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg

“Car roofs have the potential to become a new market for solar panels,” Shingo Okamoto, the general manager at Panasonic who was in charge of developing the technology, said. “We made history in the auto industry and in the solar industry with the sun powering mass-produced cars for the first time in the world.”

New Market

Cars could hold the promise of a giant new market for solar panels from Panasonic, which also is partnered with Tesla Inc. in making batteries at its Gigafactory outside Las Vegas. There are 264 million cars and light trucks in operation in the U.S., according to the National Automobile Dealers Association.

Others are noticing the potential. Tesla Chairman Elon Musk tweeted in November that his company’s Model 3 car may come with a solar roof. He’s also beginning to sell a type of roof tile for homes featuring embedded photovoltaics. Nissan Motor Co. offers an add-on solar panel option for its Leaf electric cars, giving extra charge to systems such as the air conditioners and radios, according to Nicholas Maxfield, a spokesman for the company.

Read more: Bloomberg Technology

Mayor reveals zero emission London transport plans

Electric Cars, Energy and Climate Change, News, Reviews and Comment, Pollution

Mayor of London Sadiq Kahn has revealed the proposals that will help achieve his aim of dramatically cutting vehicle emissions in the capital. The plan is to make London’s transport network zero-emission by 2050.

The Ultra Low Emission Zone and T-Charge proposals are already confirmed to come into force in the near future, but zero-emission zones will be launched in phases, with central London and town centres first from 2025, inner London between 2035 and 2040, and a blanket London-wide zone by 2050.

Between now and 2025, a ‘major expansion in electric vehicle charging points’ is planned, along with the installation of at least 15 hydrogen refuelling stations in and around London. These investments in infrastructure will continue in a significant manner to encourage expansion until at least 2035.

In terms of public transport, all new buses bought will be hybrid, electric, or hydrogen, before all buses operating in the capital being zero-emission of hybrid from 2030. All buses will be zero-emission between 2035 and 2040.

All new taxis will need to be zero-emission capable from the beginning of next year, with the same rule for new private hire vehicles by 2025. From 2030, only zero-emission capable taxis and private hire vehicles will be able to operate in London.

The overall aim of these proposals is to improve air quality and reduce congestion. Despite a predicted expansion in London’s population to 10.5 million over the next 25 years – with a forecast additional 5 million trips each day by 2041 using current models – Kahn’s plans aim to cut the number of car journeys by three million each day.

Read more: Next Green Car

Continental joins BMW partnership as Germany pushes forward with autonomy

Autonomous Driving, BMW, Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment

The joint venture in autonomous driving by BMW, Mobileye and Intel has gained another partner in German automotive parts and tyre company Continental.

As the development of the technology continues at a pace, manufacturers are finding themselves in needs of an alliance with technology companies to ensure they can keep up with the demand required to meet launch targets. The BMW venture will see Continental play a role in the commercialisation of the platform, which will be sold to other vehicle manufacturers.

Frank Jourdan, member of the Executive Board of Continental AG and head of the Chassis & Safety division, comments:

‘We have already had very good experience in working with the BMW Group through jointly successfully completed development and series projects. Contributing development and integration for the partnership is a recognition of our extensive competence in the field of automated driving. The cooperation with the core partners involved represents the unique opportunity to drive ahead and get this technology of the future to our roads more quickly.’

Speaking on behalf of the partnership, Klaus Fröhlich, member of the board of management of BMW AG for development, adds:

‘Every new Tier One partner brings us a step closer to our goal: We intend to bring safe autonomous driving to series production by 2021 and actively shape this technology. With our non-exclusive approach to this technology of the future we will deliver a safe, fast and cost-efficient solution that is highly attractive also for other manufacturers.’

The group added Delphi to the partnership in May 2017, while Mobileye was bought by Intel earlier in 2017, the technology giant seeing the need to integrate the autonomous specialist into its ranks.

Read more: Autovista Group