Monthly Archives: July 2019

First UK Tesla Model 3 deliveries handed over to customers

July 11, 2019Electric Cars, Model 3, News, Reviews and Comment, TeslaRepost

The Tesla Model 3’s arrival in the UK has been anticipated for a long time now. The US brand promised it would be an affordable alternative to both conventionally powered and electrified models from other manufacturers, but a number of issues delayed its delivery to some global markets, the UK not least among them.

Finally, though, the wait for British customers is over, with the first UK customer cars being driven off dealer forecourts around the country last week by buyers who put their deposits down two to three years ago.

Tesla is confident enough in the quality of the Model 3 that it’s giving customers a one-week grace period, at any point during which they can give the car back for a full refund. This goes some way towards explaining why a large number of people were happy to commit to buying a car they had never even seen in the metal, let alone driven.

IONITY targets UK motorways with latest ultra-rapid EV charging deal

July 10, 2019Charging, Electric Cars, Ionity, News, Reviews and CommentRepost

Ultra-fast EV charging provider IONITY has continued its UK expansion by penning a deal with Extra MSA Group, which owns and operates parts of the UK’s motorway network.

Under the deal IONITY, which is a joint venture between automotive giants Daimler, Ford, BMW and Volkswagen, will install its HPC technology at eight MSA-owned service stations on UK motorways.

The service stations will be those under MSA’s ‘Extra’ brand, and each site will initially comprise six 350kW chargers supplied by IONITY.

The first HPC station is to be installed at Extra’s new location on junction 45 of the M1 at Leeds Skelton Lake later this year, with other installs already earmarked for locations in Cobham, Cambridge, Beaconsfield, Cullompton, Blackburn, Baldock and Peterborough.

Combined with other partnerships IONITY has already sealed, most notably with Shell and Motor Fuels Group, the charging firm said it was now closing in on its target of developing 40 HPC stations at strategic locations in the UK.

Electric cars: New vehicles to emit noise to aid safety

July 9, 2019Electric Cars, News, Reviews and CommentRepost

New electric vehicles will have to feature a noise-emitting device, under an EU rule coming into force on Monday.

It follows concerns that low-emission cars and vans are too quiet, putting pedestrians at risk because they cannot be heard as they approach.

All new types of four-wheel electric vehicle must be fitted with the device, which sounds like a traditional engine.

A car’s acoustic vehicle alert system (Avas) must sound when reversing or travelling below 12mph (19km/h).

The EU says the cars are most likely to be near pedestrians when they are backing up or driving slowly, although drivers will have the power to deactivate the devices if they think it is necessary.

Scottish government unveils £20 million fund to bolster public EV charging infrastructure

July 8, 2019Charging, Electric Cars, News, Reviews and CommentRepost

Over £20 million will fund the installation of 800 new charge points across Scotland in a bid to increase the country’s EV uptake.

The Scottish government has announced £20.6 million of funding for the new charging infrastructure, delivered through the Switched on Towns and Cities Challenge Fund (STCCF) and the Local Authority Installation Programme (LAIP).

Five local authorities have been awarded £12.1 million through the first round of STCCF for the delivery of 500 charge points. The remaining £8.5 million has been awarded to 31 local authorities through the LAIP, which will see a further 300 charge points installed.

The aim of the funding is to fill in existing gaps in infrastructure to alleviate range anxiety in Scotland.

Glasgow City Council is to install 70 public charge points, including a new charging hub and charging facilities for taxis and private hire vehicles. Stirling Council will install 133 charging bays, as well as trialling 16 lamp post chargers.

Dundee City Council plans to install 66 charging bays and create a rapid charging hub close to the A90, Edinburgh City Council is to install 134 chargers and Falkirk Council is to install 106, including a 32 bay charging hub with integrated battery storage.

End of petrol? Solar power electric forecourt to charge electric cars in just TEN minutes

July 7, 2019Charging, Electric Cars, News, Reviews and CommentRepost

ULTRA-FAST electric car charging forecourts will roll-out across the UK this year with the start of a billion-pound project to build 100 solar-powered sites.

The first of more than 100 solar-powered forecourts to be built in the UK have been announced. Commercial vehicles will be able to recharge within 30 minutes at forecourts equipped with next-generation solar panels. While some smaller cars with high-speed charging can be fully topped up in just ten minutes. Gridserve, the British firm behind the billion pound project imagines their forecourts will eventually replace traditional petrol stations.

The first solar powered forecourt will be built in Braintree, Essex and Gridserve has already confirmed more than 80 sites will be built – with even more are in the pipeline.

“Airport-style” lounges will be built as part of the £1 billion ($1.31 billion) project, to offer commuters shops, and facilities as they wait for their cars to recharge.

Construction at sites in Hull and York are also expected to start before the end of the year.

V2G tech soon to be economically viable, ready to deliver millions in consumer benefits

July 6, 2019Charging, Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment, V2GRepost

Vehicle-to-grid (V2G) EV chargers could be economically viable in the near term and save hundreds of millions of pounds in grid costs, but only if the industry can deliver specific conditions.

That is the principal finding from a new report on the technology, published this week on the back of a government-funded competition surrounding the nascent technology.

The ‘Vehicle to Grid Britain’ report, led by Element Energy, forms part of the V2G competition funded by both the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and supported by Innovate UK.

It has garnered insight from consortium members including Nissan, Energy Systems Catapult, Cenex, WPD, National Grid ESO and Moixa, and produced a series of conclusions that it says uncovers both near-term niches and longer term opportunities for V2G.

Crucially, the report concludes that residential V2G charging could make economic sense in the near term, but only if a set of ideal operating conditions are met.

Rising CO2 emissions a problem of carmakers’ own making as they push SUVs but hold back electric car

July 5, 2019Electric Cars, Energy and Climate Change, News, Reviews and Comment, PollutionRepost

Official new data from the EU’s environmental watchdog (EEA) shows that the CO2 emissions of new cars increased by 1.6% in 2018 to 120.4 grams of CO2 per km.

While the lack of progress in real-world emissions and fuel efficiency was known for years, [1] now even the optimised and unrealistic lab test tests can no longer hide the problem. For the first time, CO2 emissions from vans also rose, by 1.2%.

The main driver is the rising sales of polluting yet very profitable SUVs. The average petrol SUV sold last year emitted 133g CO2/km while the average of other petrol cars sold was 120g CO2/km, according to provisional EU data released today. Heavier and less aerodynamic – and therefore less fuel efficient – than other cars, SUVs now account for around a third of new cars sold in Europe – up from 7% in 2008 [2].

Julia Poliscanova, clean vehicles manager at T&E, said:

“Carmakers are playing a high risk game where they’re deliberately postponing sales of cleaner cars to maximise SUV-fueled profits. It may please their shareholders but it’s a tragedy for our planet. These figures are a stark reminder that governments need to be much more forceful when it comes to promoting zero emission vehicles, in particular by reforming vehicle taxation and rolling out charge points.”

Electric Vehicles — Thinking People’s Cars

July 4, 2019Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment, SalesRepost

What’s the ROI (return on investment) for filling a gas car? None, zero! You pay from the moment you sign on the dotted line — engine repairs, routine maintenance, gas, gas, and gas. Did I mention gas? Automakers love you, auto dealers love you, repair shops love you, and the fossil fuel industry loves you. Why not? You’re constantly at their doors with your wallet open.

Many studies showing the cost of owning an electric vehicle (EV) as opposed to a fossil fuel vehicle (FFV) are distorted and biased toward FFVs, as we’ve simply been programmed to think from a FFV perspective. This is by design, just like the skillful manipulation that has people pulling up to the pump without thinking about what’s going on and how devastating it is to them and the environment. The technological advantages and power of EVs when combined with renewables should not be underestimated or overlooked when we compare different propulsion systems.

You can never drive a gas car for the cost of driving an EV. You will always be tethered to the pump, but you will always have the option of paying very little to nothing for the energy to drive an EV. An unfair comparison? When we list the benefits of driving both cars, automakers are quick to point out how fast a gas car can be refilled, so if that’s a benefit of gas cars then surely being able to charge an EV from your own power is a benefit of electric cars. Combining EVs and renewables forms a bond that gas cars can not compete with and as technology improves, as it has done and will keep on doing, this will only get better. As charging rates continue to go up, the line between filling a gas car and charging an EV will vanish, and we are already starting to seeing this.

Switching to an electric car could save you £41,000 in your lifetime

July 3, 2019Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment, SalesRepost

SWITCHING to an electric car could save drivers a whopping £41,000 over their lifetime, finds new research.

The future of the car industry is with electric cars. Carmakers and governments are pushing towards these zero emissions vehicles as new emissions and pollution targets need to be met. Electric cars are, however, still more expensive to buy on average than petrol and diesel variants and also perceived to be pricier. Recent research estimates that electric cars will become as affordable as petrol and diesel cars by as early as 2024.

However, they could already be a savvier investment and save you thousands over the course of your lifetime.

New research actually suggests the buying an electric car could save you £41,000 over your life.

The average British motorist will spend over a staggering £56,000 on petrol in a lifetime, according to new figures.

With the average lifetime cost of charging an electric vehicle coming in at just over £15,000, savvy Brits could save over £41,000 on fuel by going electric in the near future.

Nissan Has Served Up A Treat With This Electric Ice Cream Van

July 2, 2019e-NV200, Electric Vans, News, Reviews and Comment, NissanRepost

An electric vehicle you’ll hear coming.

Nissan has partnered with the famous Mackies of Scotland to create a rather sweet concept vehicle.

The electric vehicle pioneers and the ice cream brand have collaborated to create an all-electric ice cream van for “Clean Air Day” in the U.K. on June 20th, which demonstrates how a “Sky to Scoop” approach can remove carbon dependence at every stage of “the ice cream journey.”

Going green is nothing new for Mackies, which powers its family-owned dairy farm by renewable wind and solar energy, but most ice cream vans across Britain are powered by diesel engines which stay running even when the van is stopped to power the fridges and freezers onboard.

In fact, some U.K. towns and cities are even looking to ban ice cream vans – which is a preposterous thought, even for someone like me who can’t eat ice cream. Nissan’s new concept provides something of a solution to the impending doom of the good old ice cream van, reducing its carbon footprint while keeping kids happy and parents predictably out of pocket.