Monthly Archives: August 2017

Volkswagen Golf GTE (Image: T. Larkum)

The Germans are Coming!

Blog, e-Golf, e-Up, Electric Cars, EVEC, Golf GTE, Milton Keynes, Passat GTE, Sales, Volkswagen
Volkswagen e-Up charging outside the Experience Centre (Image: T. Larkum)
Volkswagen e-Up charging outside the Experience Centre (Image: T. Larkum)

The biggest manufacturers of all-electric cars sold in Europe are Nissan with their Leaf in 1st place in terms of sales (and e-NV200 van in 5th), Tesla with their Model S in 2nd place, and Renault with their ZOE in 3rd place. These manufacturers are, of course, Japanese, American and French respectively. What is interesting is that there is only one German entrant in the top 5, BMW with their i3 at 4th place, despite the fact that German manufacturers dominate the European market for fossil-fuelled cars.

Volkswagen Passat GTE (Image: T. Larkum)
Volkswagen Passat GTE (Image: T. Larkum)

The Germans do make electric cars – Mercedes has the B Class Electric and Volkswagen has the e-Golf and e-Up – but they appear to make no effort to market them. Historically they have also had lacklustre range and high prices. The bottom line is that they haven’t sold in significant numbers.

Volkswagen Passat GTE (Image: T. Larkum)
Volkswagen Passat GTE (Image: T. Larkum)

German Plugin Hybrids (PHEVs)

Instead it seems that German manufacturers have decided that the plugin hybrid (PHEV) combining an electric drivetrain with a conventional petrol engine is what people want. Or at least they see it as an intermediate step towards full electrification. Considering PHEVs, the top 10 sales now include Mercedes with the C350e in 2nd place (after the Mitsubishi Outlander), the BMW 330e in 4th place and the Volkswagen Golf GTE at 6th place.

Volkswagen Passat GTE (Image: T. Larkum)
Volkswagen Passat GTE (Image: T. Larkum)

In fact, Volkswagen has arguably embraced PHEVs more than any other manufacture. They currently offer both of their two biggest selling cars, the Passat and the Golf, in PHEV form as the ‘GTE’. Both of them offer the ability to commute (up to about 20 miles) on electricity with the option of using petrol for longer distances – they also have pretty good 0-60 times too.

Volkswagen Golf GTE (Image: T. Larkum)
Volkswagen Golf GTE (Image: T. Larkum)

VW on the Rise

With these cars in the vanguard, and with the e-Up and newly improved e-Golf to come, Volkswagen may soon make significant inroads into plugin sales in the UK.

Volkswagen Golf GTE (Image: T. Larkum)
Volkswagen Golf GTE (Image: T. Larkum)

These were some of the thoughts that came to me looking at the row of EVs charging outside the Milton Keynes Electric Vehicle Experience Centre (EVEC). Of the eight cars, three were from Volkswagen (so nearly 40%). We ourselves are looking to start offering VW plugins soon, and I’m sure we’ll see VW as an EV brand on the rise from here on.

Volkswagen Golf GTE (Image: T. Larkum)
Volkswagen Golf GTE (Image: T. Larkum)

As ever, if you want to test drive any of the cars mentioned here just get in touch.

f

Will Tesla Model 3 be the breakthrough EV the world has been waiting for?

Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment, Tesla

Whatever you think about Tesla cars, you could never deny Elon Musk’s company of a lack of ambition. Here’s a car maker that has only been in business for a few years, building vehicles that many consider niche, and yet is currently valued more than Ford.

This is all the more amazing when you realise that Tesla has not made so much as one dollar’s worth of profit. In fact, it has made substantial losses despite selling more than 50,000 of its high cost electric cars in 2016.

Much of the reason for this industry-defying valuation is that the stock market reckons Tesla is a company very much in its ascendency. A good deal of that thinking is based on the launch of a third model, conveniently called Model 3.

Whereas Teslas to date have been expensive executive-rivalling machines for those early adopters and brand devotees, the Model 3 is a much more decisive addition. It’s set to be priced at less than £30,000 so it tackles the likes of the Nissan Leaf and BMW i3 head-on.

Is the infrastructure in place to match Musk’s ambitions?

More importantly, this brings Tesla’s take on the EV slap-bang into the heart of territory presently occupied by the likes of the Audi A3, BMW 1 Series and Mercedes A-Class, as well as the pricier Volkswagen Golfs that so many of us love.

A practical EV with the lure of the Tesla badge and a battery range that means 300 miles between recharges is realistic makes the Model 3 a far more tempting proposition than any of its electric rivals. This is why the stock market is getting in a tizzy about Tesla.

As such, the Model 3 is definitely the breakthrough model in Tesla’s line-up. It’s the one that is set to take it from a small but interesting car maker into a global player, with Tesla theorising it will see annual production soar to 500,000 by the end of the decade.

Read more: Contract Hire & Leasing

These Countries Want to Ban All Vehicles That Run on Gas or Diesel

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

If France’s Environment Minister has his way, the country could join a small but growing list of countries that plan to ban vehicles running on gasoline, diesel or other fossil fuels.

The proposal was announced late last week by Minister Nicolas Hulot and appeared timed to coincide with the G20 meeting in Germany where many European leaders, including new French President Emmanuel Macron, challenged U.S. President Donald Trump over his decision to walk away from the Paris Climate Accord.

Several countries have already laid out ambitious plans to eliminate fossil fuel-powered automobiles. Environment Minister Hulot said it won’t be easy for France, either.

“It’s a very difficult objective. But the solutions are there.”

And, as the world’s sixth-largest economy, and with one of the world’s largest automotive markets, the proposed ban on the internal combustion engine could have significant impact far beyond France’s borders.

Going Mainly Electric Within Six Years?

France has two major automakers based in Paris, both of which have made electrification key objectives. PSA Group — which owns the Peugeot and Citroen brands — plans to have 80 percent of its fleet electrified by 2023. Renault, along with its Japanese alliance partner Nissan, has produced more pure battery-electric vehicles, or BEVs, than any other manufacturer over the past decade, including models such as the Nissan Leaf and Renault Zoe.

Sales of all battery-based vehicles dipped globally in 2016. In the U.S., for example, hybrids, plug-ins, and BEVs collectively accounted for barely 3 percent of the overall new vehicle market. But there have been signs of an upturn. Renault sold more of the battery-electric Zoe city cars during the first half of 2017 than it did all last year.
And the Renault-Nissan Alliance is expecting a major surge in demand for the Leaf with the remake due later this year. Like the recently launched Chevrolet Bolt EV and the upcoming Tesla Model 3, it will boost range to over 200 miles while keeping its price tag in the $30,000 range, the company has hinted.

In general, EV prices are expected to tumble sharply over the coming decade, even as range rapidly increases.

Europe, and France in particular, is already working to establish a network of public charging stations, making it easier to own and operate plug-based vehicles.

Read more: NBC News