Monthly Archives: September 2019

Audi e-tron (Image: Audi)

Audi introduces new cheaper reduced-range e-tron

Audi, e-tron, Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment

Audi’s smaller battery pack and lower power e-tron 50 quattro should offer more fleet appeal for the company’s first pure-electric car.

Audi’s new lower-range e-tron 50 quattro sports a 71kWh battery pack and a 186-mile WLTP range, reducing the pack size by 24kWh – the same as the original Nissan Leaf – compared to its big brother e-tron 55 quattro, which offers a 95kWh battery and 241-mile WLTP range potential. The lower weight of the e-tron 50’s battery and by using the front motor only when absolutely necessary, Audi claims the car to be more efficient

Audi e-tron (Image: Audi)
Audi e-tron (Image: Audi)

Consequently, the new smaller battery cannot take the same maximum charge rate as its larger sibling, and drops to 120kW from 150kW. Despite the degradation in charge rate, because the battery is smaller, Audi says it will take approximately the same 30 minutes to charge from 0-80% as the more powerful variant at compatible rapid charge stations. An optional connect charging system, available later this year, adds smart charging functions such as off-peak charging, enabling customers to benefit from variable electricity rates by charging their Audi e-tron at more inexpensive times.

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The new e-tron 50 quattro is designed to open the e-tron model to a wider audience and it has been confirmed for series production and will launch in the UK in 2020.

Read more: Fleet World

Renault Zoe Wins In July, But Tesla Model 3 Remains 2019 Leader

Electric Cars, Model 3, News, Reviews and Comment, Renault, Tesla, ZOE

The European passenger plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) market had some 36,000 registrations in July, +32% year over year (YoY). That means the PEV market has grown 34% in 2019, a great performance considering this is an off-peak month for Tesla.

In July, while plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) continued nosediving (-19% YoY), all-electrics (BEVs) almost doubled (+90%) to some 24,000 units, responsible for 67% of all plug-in sales last month, 66% year to date (YTD). The BEV share was at 1.9% by itself. Adding PHEVs to the tally, the share climbs to 2.8%. The 2019 PEV share is now at 2.9% (2.0% for BEVs alone), above the 2.5% result of 2018.

The big news in July was that the Renault Zoe profited from the expected Tesla off-peak month, winning another monthly trophy, its 4th this year. The French hatchback and Tesla Model 3 have divided all the monthly wins this year (January, April, May, July for Renault, and February, March, June for Tesla).

2018 – Renault ZOE

We could say that the Tesla Model 3 and the Renault Zoe are the first big players in Europe, the former dominating the more expensive end of the market and the latter sweeping up the lower end of it.

With Tesla starting to deliver the Model 3 SR/SR+ versions by now and Renault expected to double the Zoe’s output with the upcoming restyling, do not expect the current status quo to change much, or at least until the VW ID.3 starts to deliver in large volumes, expected by Q2 2020.

Read more: Clean Technica

Electric vehicle pollution speculation ‘inconceivable’, new research says

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

It is “inconceivable” that electric vehicles could be as polluting as conventional cars, new research has found, dismissing recent speculation that electric vehicles emit similar rates of CO2 to diesel vehicles when battery manufacturing is taken into account.

Instead, further decarbonisation in the UK could drive EV emissions down to 10% of conventional vehicles in the next five years.

Research by Imperial College London for Drax Electric Insights found that on average, EVs in Britain emit half the CO2 of diesel cars when the manufacturing of the battery is included and just 25% without.

After two to three years, the carbon emitted in battery production for the most efficient EVs would be saved.

This is being driven by the energy transition, with the report pointing to recent coal-free weeks and record-breaking performance of renewables that saw the carbon intensity of the grid tumble to a record low of 39g CO2/kWh.

As the UK’s decarbonisation ramps up in line with the net zero target, the CO2 being emitted by EVs could fall to a tenth of the CO2 of conventional cars within the next five years, the research found.

Read more: Current News