BP Chargemaster has unveiled its new 150kW ultra-fast charger, which is to start being deployed across its Polar network.
Dubbed the Ultracharge 150, the charging point features both CCS and CHAdeMO connectors and will be capable of providing some 100 miles of range in 10 minutes.
The charging infrastructure owner also moved to confirm plans to deploy the chargers at BP forecourts throughout the UK over the next two years.
BP Chargemaster Rapid Charger at Milton Keynes Charging Hub (Image: T. Larkum)
At an industry event last month, Tufan Erginbilgic, chief executive of Downstream BP, revealed plans to install 400 of the chargers by the end of 2021, with around 100 being installed across 50 forecourts by the end of this year.
The installations are to be financed by BP Chargemaster, which now counts more than 7,000 charging points across its Polar network.
It may not seem like it now, but we may now be living in a world where sales of conventional passenger cars have already peaked, a development that will have widespread implications not just for the automotive sector but also oil and gas companies and metals and mining groups.
Electric vehicles (EVs) are set to make up more than half of global passenger car sales by 2040 and completely dominate the bus market according to new research.
Sales of diesel and gasoline vehicles will continue to decline, according to BloombergNEF’s Electric Vehicle Outlook 2019.
The report shows that electrics will take up 57% of the global passenger car sales by 2040, with electric buses dominating their sector, holding 81% of municipal bus sales by the same date.
Electric models will also make up 56% of light commercial vehicle sales – vans and light trucks in Europe, the US and China within the next two decades, and 31% of the medium commercial market. However, heavy trucks will be a harder nut for electric technology to crack because of their weight, but electric heavy trucks will still comprise almost a fifth of the market, although these will be mostly limited to shorter routes.
Conventional heavy trucks will, however face competition from other alternative fuels such as natural gas and hydrogen fuel cells.
Colin McKerracher, head of advanced transport for BNEF, commented: “Our conclusions are stark for fossil fuel use in road transport. Electrification will still take time because the global fleet changes over slowly but, once it gets rolling in the 2020s, it starts to spread to many other areas of road transport. We see a real possibility that global sales of conventional passenger cars have already passed their peak.”
The Tesla Model 3 was the UK’s the most popular electric vehicle to lease in May, according to the latest Leasing.com League Tables.
It came out ahead of other popular new electric models such as the Audi e-tron and Jaguar I-Pace, generating more personal lease enquiries within seven days than its premium rivals managed to achieve during the entire month.
Tesla Model 3 (Image: Tesla.com)
Interest in the Model 3, I-Pace and e-tron has seen EV enquiries increase 30% year on year during the first five months of 2019.
Paul Harrison, Head of Strategic Partnerships at Leasing.com, said: “The Model 3’s popularity is down to several factors, with cost being one of them.
Monthly prices for the Model 3 start at around £400 per month, which is almost half the cost of Tesla’s larger models. It also undercuts comparable EVs such as the Audi e-tron and Jaguar I-Pace.
Hyundai has now released the prices for the revamped all-electric Ioniq, a few weeks after the hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions.
The upgraded all-electric model will hit markets in the second half of this year.
The Ioniq Electric is priced in Germany at 34,900 euros, in the UK, prices for the all-electric Ioniq start at £27,250. In the USA, the all-electric hatch-back is on sale initially in California, with prices starting at around $30,700 (around $20,700 in California after rebates) with a top price of just over $37,300, making it less expensive than the Nissan Leaf and the Chevy Bolt.
2020 Hyundai IONIQ (Image: Hyundai)
In May last year, Hyundai stopped taking orders for the previous all-electric Ioniq, due to battery shortages. A year later, the South Korean company released details of its revamped all-electric model without pricing details. Hyundai’s hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions were revealed in January this year, and cost less than the all-electric version, for example, the Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid is available in Germany from 25,800 euros, and the Ioniq Plug-in Hybrid from 32,000 euros – meaning the fully electric car will cost 1,600 euros more than its hybrid counterparts.
The new all-electric model, which will be hitting markets in the second half of this year, differs optically from its predecessor with the new headlights and above all the pattern on the closed radiator grille (which is reminiscent of the Kona Electric). The LED daytime running lights and the aluminium wheels have also been redesigned.
The most important new feature of the purely electric Ioniq is an increased battery capacity from 28 to 38.3 kWh, which should enable a WLTP range of 294 kilometres. In addition, the onboard charger of the electric motor will be upgraded from currently 6.6 to 7.2 kW. The AC charging process should take around six hours to 80 per cent.
Sales of fully electric cars are growing rapidly, which in the long term will also lead to a larger supply of used electric cars. ING expects a quarter of the used car market to favour electric cars by 2025.
The demand for used electric cars will outstrip supply, resulting in rising used car prices.
Cheapest Electric Cars in the UK (Image: Fuel Included)
This means that electric cars will keep their value better than petrol and diesel models. ING estimates that new electric cars will keep 40% to 50% of their value after five years – more than petrol vehicles (35% to 42.5%) and diesel vehicles (27.5% to 35%).
The automotive industry could be facing a new ‘petrolgate’ emissions scandal as Emissions Analytics uncovers discrepancies in new petrol car CO2 figures.
Following the fallout of of ‘dieselgate’, which led to a considerable decline in sales of diesel vehicles across Europe, experts believe the same emissions cheating techniques may be being used on petrol vehicles.
Results from the latest WLTP-certified vehicles show that average CO2 emissions for petrol cars are falling, but real-world testing carried out by Emissions Analytics paints a different picture.
“While our real-world test results for diesel cars are in line with WLTP data, indicating that manufacturers have got their house in order over diesel, the same cannot be said for petrol,” explained Nick Molden, CEO of Emissions Analytics.
Revised model will feature similar styling but a range of interior and tech upgrades
The upcoming facelifted Renault ZOE has been caught testing by spy photographers. It’s likely to be revealed later this year, and will sport a similar look to the current model but is expected to be refreshed revised styling, and interior and tech updates.
2018 – Renault ZOE
Underneath the camouflage wrap, there appears to be a lot of design details carried over from the current ZOE, like the slim headlights, diamond-shaped tail-lights and the overall body shape. However, there are a few minor changes including a redesigned grille, new plastic mouldings that look like air intakes and a restyled rear windscreen. We would expect the ZOE to keep its kinked rear windows, but the camouflage hides these areas. A more aerodynamic shark-fin aerial will also be fitted to the roof.
No pictures of the interior have surfaced yet, but it’s expected that the revised model will offer a very different cabin to the current car. It’s likely to follow the new Clio by having a large touchscreen in the centre of the dashboard. This would be adapted to show driving range and charging information, and the locations of nearby charging points. Other features carried over from the new Clio should include LED headlights, a digital instrument cluster and wireless smartphone charging.
The European passenger plug-in vehicle market scored some 37,000 registrations in April, growing 30% compared to the same period last year, a good performance considering that the overall market is still in the red (-1% in April).
In April, fully electric vehicles (BEVs) jumped 70% year over year (YoY), to some 24,000 deliveries, and were responsible for 65% of all plug-in sales in the month. The BEV share of the overall auto market was 1.8%. Adding plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) to the tally, the share jumps to 2.8%, and that makes the 2019 plug-in vehicle (PEV) share 3.0% so far (2.0% for BEVs alone), above the 2.5% result of 2018.
Electric Car Line-up (Image: Go Ultra Low)
Looking at other fuels, diesel sales continue their never-ending slide, dropping 12% YoY. Their share dropped from 36% to the current 33%.
The big news in April was the Renault Zoe beating the Tesla Model 3, while the BMW i3 rounded out the spots on the podium.
Interestingly, except for the waiting-for-the-62kWh-version Nissan Leaf and the recently added Tesla Model 3, all the remaining top 5 best sellers had +50% growth rates, which is good news and proof that, unlike the USA, the Model 3 isn’t drying up sales from other EVs.
One-in-five company car drivers are ready to switch to a pure electric vehicle (EV), but that move may not come soon enough for some of Europe’s carmakers who face big fines for failing to meet CO2 targets from 2020.
A Fleet News poll suggests significant interest in electric powertrains, with 43.8% of respondents saying they will choose either a mild hybrid (12.2%), a plug-in hybrid (10.2%) or a pure EV (21.4%) as their next company car.
Diesel remains the powertrain of choice for 42.6% and one-in-nine (11.2%) said they will opt for petrol.
Electric cars can be a very effective way to save you money on motoring (Image: Go Ultra Low)
In the retail market, the interest in electric motoring is even greater. A little fewer than two-in-five drivers (39%) say they are considering an EV as their next purchase, approaching three times the 15% who said the same in 2017, according to research from Close Brothers Motor Finance.
Its Britain Under the Bonnet report also found a drop in concerns about the cost, range and charging time of EVs, in comparison to last year.
The new Renault EZ-FLEX concept showcased at Viva Tech 2019, was first revealed in April, as an experimental, electric and connected LCV that is compact and easy to handle and features a modular rear design.
Groupe Renault has unveiled an all-new electric light commercial vehicle (LCV) concept, Renault EZ-FLEX, at the recently concluded Viva Tech 2019, in Paris. Designed to be an improved and efficient mobility solution for urban delivery system, the new Renault EZ-FLEX concept was revealed in April 2019, as an experimental, electric and connected LCV that is compact and easy to handle and features a modular rear design, for different applications. In fact, Renault has partnered with La Poste Group, the postal service company in France, for an experimental run and they will work together to develop and further improve this urban delivery ecosystem.
EZ-FLEX Electric LCV (Image: Renault)
Talking about Renault EZ-FLEX, Denis Le Vot, Alliance Director of the Renault-Nissan Commercial Vehicles Division, said,
“With traffic congestion in cities and the rise of e-commerce, urban deliveries are transforming. As a European leader in vans and light commercial vehicles, Groupe Renault is duty bound to continue proposing disruptive solutions. Renault EZ-FLEX, an experimental light commercial vehicle, gives us the opportunity to join forces with La Poste Group, through an innovative and collaborative approach designed to develop and anticipate future practices in urban deliveries.”
