Monthly Archives: December 2019

Drivers can now charge their electric cars for free while doing their weekly shop

December 12, 2019Charging, Electric Cars, ID.3, News, Reviews and Comment, POD Point, VolkswagenRepost

Volkswagen, Tesco and Pod Point are determined to provide shoppers with free charging points as motorists increasingly turn to electric vehicles as they become more and more convenient to run

Electric car drivers can now charge their vehicles for free while doing their weekly shop at over 100 supermarkets across the UK.

Volkswagen has partnered with Tesco and Pod Point to provide shoppers with free charging points – with a further 2,000 units in the pipeline.

It is estimated a typical EV driver who spends 50 minutes shopping each week could get more than 1,000 miles of free electricity for their car over a 12 month period.

The free charging points are a response to the growth of electric cars in the UK, with sales up by 125 per cent this year according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.

And demand is set to rise, with Volkswagen’s survey of 2,000 UK motorists revealing 41 per cent are considering leasing or owning an EV as their next vehicle. This figure increases to 61 per cent among the 25-34 age group.

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In Tesla’s shadow, Audi and Mercedes electric SUVs get no love

December 11, 2019Audi, Cybertruck, e-tron, Electric Cars, EQC EV, Mercedes, News, Reviews and Comment, Opinion, TeslaRepost

A couple of weeks ago, Mercedes-Benz quietly announced the price for its all-electric EQC sports-utility vehicle.

A $67,900 starting price for a luxurious, 200-mile, 402-horsepower luxury crossover is a good start for the EQC brand. But the announcement got completely lost in the shuffle in a week filled with buzz about Tesla’s bulletproof, stainless-steel Cybertruck. Even the deserved attention given to Ford’s Mustang-inspired electric SUV was cut short. So where does that leave the play-it-safe luxury electric SUVs from Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and BMW?

Mercedes-Benz EQC (Image: Mercedes-Benz)

As we reported a week ago, the $75,000 Audi e-tron has not been a big hit. Don’t get me wrong. Audi loyalists and traditional luxury car buyers appreciate the e-tron’s smooth, comfortable, and safe ride. But relatively low sales numbers suggest that the e-tron is not energy-efficient enough. And it doesn’t have enough range at 204 miles. Or it’s being produced in low numbers. Or there aren’t other stand-out attributes besides being a well-made automobile. Who knows?

But whatever the reason, the first of four all-electric e-tron variants did not stir a big response. Not when it’s facing competition for mindshare from the Cybertruck or an electric Mustang.

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Electric cars might not yet be green, but we should buy them anyway

December 10, 2019Electric Cars, Energy and Climate Change, News, Reviews and Comment, Opinion, PollutionRepost

Transforming the way we travel is an essential part of tackling the climate crisis.

The transport sector contributes about 20% of global carbon emissions. In the UK the figure is 33%, and the country has made virtually no progress in reducing emissions from transport. In many countries, they’re actually increasing.

Electric vehicles are often hailed as the solution to this quandary, but some question their environmental credentials. With much of the world’s electricity still produced from fossil fuels, the criticism goes that EVs may actually be responsible for more carbon emissions over their lifetime than combustion engine vehicles.

As German economics professor Hans-Werner Sinn put it in a recent controversial article, all we are doing is transferring carbon emissions “from the exhaust pipe to the power plant”.

The assumptions underlying these claims are questionable. But even if true, this line of argument misses a key point. The car we choose to buy today directly influences the future of our energy system. Choose a combustion-powered vehicle and we lock in ongoing fossil fuel use. Choose an electric vehicle and we support the switch to a zero carbon society.

Due in large part to the high carbon-cost of EV batteries, the manufacturing process for an electric vehicle causes more carbon emissions than for a combustion engine vehicle. This means that the source of electricity used during the life of an EV is critical in determining how eco-friendly they are.

While two thirds of the world’s electricity is generated from fossil fuels, this proportion is decreasing rapidly. At least four countries are already at or close to being powered entirely by renewable electricity: Iceland, Paraguay, Costa Rica and Norway. Brazil is one of the ten largest economies in the world and they are at 75% renewable electricity. In the UK, the proportion of electricity provided by fossil fuels has halved over the last decade and is currently about 40%.

As the transition towards renewable electricity progresses, so too will the carbon footprint of EVs keep decreasing in step. This means that the superiority in carbon cost that electric vehicles already have over combustion vehicles, even if narrow now, will widen in the years to come.

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Electric cars go furthest on a fiver – almost twice the distance of diesel and petrol cars

December 9, 2019e-Golf, Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment, VolkswagenRepost

Charging an electric car with £5 of energy will see it travel almost double the distance of a petrol or diesel motor using a fiver’s worth of fuel.

Electric vehicles carry drivers 40 miles further than the closest competing transport type, according to new research.

Surprisingly, one in five motorists think the low-emission vehicles are pricier to run than other cars.

The study found that a VW e-Golf could be driven for 102 miles on a £5 charge.

A comparable diesel Golf travelled 56.5 miles with £5 of fuel, while a petrol equivalent clocked just 49.6 miles.

Spending £5 on a bus or train ticket would see travellers covering only a fifth of the distance reached by electric cars.

Regional electricity prices were used to work out the price per kilowatt hour to charge a VW e-Golf’s battery before being compared with regional fuel and public transport costs.

Distances travelled using public transport from 10 different major cities were then averaged.

An electric car owner in London can travel as far as Bristol or Worcester on a £5 charge, while a diesel driver would only get as far as Oxford or Winchester.

A petrol car would reach Basingstoke or Milton Keynes, whereas spending a similar amount on a bus or train would barely get you out of the M25.

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Plug-In EV Car Sales In Europe Up 46% In October 2019

December 8, 2019Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment, SalesRepost

Plug-in hybrids entered a higher gear in Europe again, so the joint market share of BEVs/PHEVs went up to 4%.

While the Chinese and North American markets are experiencing (kind of temporary) a decrease of plug-in electric car sales, Europe moves forward with healthy growth rate.

In October, some 48,219 plug-ins were sold (up 46% year-over-year) according to EV Sales Blog, which notes also that PHEVs increased 75% almost matching BEVs, which increased 26%.

Together, all plug-ins hold roughly 4% of sales for the month, which is quite an achievement.

After ten months of 2019, sales amounted to over 429,250 at an average of 3.2% market share (2.0% or two-thirds for BEVs).

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POP-UP ELECTRIC CAR CHARGING POINT TRIALS UNDERWAY IN OXFORD

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

Are retractable points ideal for on-street electric car charging?

ONE OF the chief obstacles to mass uptake of electric cars is being addressed in trials of “pop-up” charging points, designed for use in residential areas by drivers who have no access to off-street parking.

Oxford City Council will assess the viability of the new type of charging point in a pilot programme that will run until February 2020.

Urban Electric, which manufactures the “OxPop” charging points, says the system allows electric car drivers to “charge conveniently overnight in the street where you live”.

While the power of the charging points won’t set the pure-electric world alight (the 7kW output is similar to that of a domestic wall box charger), its advantage is in being able to retract into the ground when not in use, thereby reducing pavement clutter. The maker says this means pedestrians and wheelchair users on narrow footpaths won’t have to navigate around fixed charging points when they’re not in use.

Oxford City Council says the retractable nature of the points also means they negate the need for parking spaces reserved only for electric vehicles.

While the OxPops will be free to use during the trial period, only local residents who have successfully applied to take part in the pilot programme will have access to them. The council has also secured the use of a pure-electric BMW i3 city car for the duration of the trial, in order to ensure people who “are not ready to lease or purchase an electric car outright” can still participate.

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Best company cars to take advantages of the Benefit-in-Kind changes with in 2020

December 6, 2019Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment, SalesRepost

While Benefit-in-Kind has always worked in the favour of electric and plug-in hybrid models, it’s about to get much better for these vehicles from March 2021.

That’s because from 2020, the government is completely scrapping Benefit-in-Kind (BiK) for all-electric models – meaning that there has never been a better time to get behind the wheel of an EV as your company car.

Let’s have a look at the five best options available today.

Nissan Leaf

As one of the UK’s most popular electric cars on sale, the Sunderland-built is clearly doing something right to appeal to buyers. But aside from private buyers, the Leaf has long had lots of appeal to companies – featuring in fleets across the country.

And from April 2020, that appeal will elevate dramatically when BiK drops from its current 16 per cent rate. So, while someone in the 20 per cent tax bracket will currently pay £1,048 per year in company car tax, that will soon drop to zero.

BMW i3

If you want to convey a more upmarket image from your company car, the funky and unique BMW i3 is a superb choice. From its zippy powertrain through to its interior made from recycled materials, this is a fantastic EV.

And from next year it will be an excellent electric car to choose, whereby the average annual company car tax bill for an i3 will drop from £1,129 per year to absolutely nothing. It’s worth noting that, as with all the other models here, the zero per cent BiK applies to those paying tax at 20 and 40 per cent as well.

Audi e-tron

If your company is a bit more generous, or you need something a bit larger than the models here, the premium Audi e-tron SUV is a superb choice. Offering seating for five, a generous boot and a wonderfully techy interior, this is a true statement model.

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New 2019 Renault ZOE: battery leasing axed amid pricing revisions

December 5, 2019Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment, Renault, ZOERepost

A revised price list for the Renault ZOE has been released, with the battery lease option removed and the base-price rising to £25,670

Renault has removed the option to rent the all-electric ZOE’s battery pack, which has increased the car’s base-price to £25,670 (including the government’s £3,500 plug-in car grant) as a result. It’s available to order now, with first deliveries expected to arrive in January 2020.

The French firm is also offering the new ZOE on a zero-percent PCP finance deal. Customers can secure an entry-level model with a deposit of £2,995 and 25 monthly repayments of £269. At the end of the term, buyers can pay a fee of £15,657 to keep the car – with the total cost of the rental, repayments and final fee working out to the same price as buying the car outright.

The new Renault ZOE is offered in three trim levels. The entry-level Play model comes as standard with 15-inch alloy wheels, LED headlamps, air-conditioning, automatic windscreen wipers, a seven-inch infotainment system and a 10-inch digital instrument binnacle. Buyers can also have a free 7kWh wallbox, installed at their home.

Renault’s mid-range Iconic model is priced from £27,170 and adds 16-inch alloy wheels, rear parking sensors, climate control, electric rear windows, a wireless smartphone charger and an improved infotainment system with sat-nav. Additional safety technology, such as lane- keeping assist and traffic sign recognition, also feature.

The range-topping ZOE GT Line is priced from £28,620. It adds a set of 16-inch diamond cut alloy wheels, front parking sensors, a 9.3-inch infotainment system, a rear parking camera, a blind spot monitoring system and a GT Line-specific interior, trimmed in synthetic leather and recycled cloth upholstery.

Mid-range and top-spec ZOEs can be had with a range of optional extras, including support for 50kW DC fast-charging (£750) and a Winter Pack (£310), which adds a heated steering wheel and heated seats. The ZOE Iconic can also be specced with a Technology Pack (£800), adding the GT Line’s 9.3-inch infotainment, parking sensors and reversing camera.

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Holy Electric Moly, the 2020 Volkswagen Golf Mk8 Hybrid is More Powerful Than the GTI

December 4, 2019Electric Cars, Golf GTE, News, Reviews and Comment, VolkswagenRepost

The highly-anticipated 2020 Volkswagen Golf Mk8 is finally out and the really big news is that it comes with five hybrid drivetrains.

The regular TSI engines are now paired to 48-volt systems, but Volkswagen also offers two proper hybrids with electric motors. One of them is basically similar to the old Mk7-generation GTE, but the new Mk8 GTE is a wild one and packs more punch than the outgoing GTI. I bet you didn’t expect that.

While the regular gasoline Golfs are now fitted with 48-volt systems that don’t add much performance-wise but improve on efficiency, the GTE features an electric motor, just like its predecessor. But Volkswagen now offers two versions. There’s a base model with 204 PS (201 horsepower) that’s identical to the Mk7 GTE, but the Germans also crafted a beefed-up variant that generates a solid 245 PS (242 horsepower). That’s 18 horsepower more than the outgoing GTI! Granted, the GTI equipped with the Performance Pack is just as powerful, but it’s still incredible to have a hybrid Golf with similar power ratings.

Before you bring out the tar and the feathers, I have to say that the new GTE probably doesn’t sound as mean as the GTI under full throttle. But apart from that and the red body accents that make the GTI look cool, the GTE is the better car in every department. Not only is the new GTE a bit more powerful, but it’s probably just as fast as well. Volkswagen has yet to reveal performance figures, but the new, 242-horsepower GTE should be notably quicker than the old model and just as quick as the GTI.

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Skoda Citigo-e iV priced from £16,955

December 3, 2019Citigo-e iV, Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment, SkodaRepost

The Skoda Citigo-e iV electric city car will start at £16,955 when orders open next month – undercutting rivals like the SEAT Mii Electric and Renault Zoe.

Based on the petrol Citigo, Skoda says the Citigo-e iV has been re-engineered to incorporate a compact battery pack and 61kW electric motor, giving it a WLTP electric range of up to 170 miles on a single charge.

Buyers will be able to choose from two trim levels: SE and SE L. Both models will have the same battery and electric motor, while the Citigo-e iV has the same luggage capacity as the standard car. That means 250 litres can be stored in the boot, increasing to 923 litres with them dropped flat.

Mounted in the chassis floor, the Citigo-e iV’s compact battery has a capacity of 36.8kWh. It consists of a total of 168 cells and delivers a range of between 140 and 170 miles on the WLTP cycle. Both models can be charged using a domestic or workplace wall box.

With a 7.2kW AC wall box, the battery can be charged to 80 per cent in 4 hours 15 minutes, or 12 hours 37 minutes using a lower-powered 3.6kW home‑charging station. The SE L model can be charged faster using a CCS (Combined Charging System) charging cable connected to a 40kW DC fast charger.

When recharging via CCS, the Citigo-e iV’s battery can be recharged to 80 per cent in 60 minutes. The Citigo-e iV can also be recharged using a standard household plug socket if a wallbox is not available.

Citigo-e iV’s electric motor produces an instantaneous 210Nm of torque, taking it to 62mph in 12.5 seconds, while top speed is 81mph.

The Citigo-e iV line-up starts with the SE model, which is priced at £20,455 before the Government’s £3500 plug-in car grant. SE models are equipped with climate control air conditioning, three spoke leather steering wheel and handbrake lever, plus Swing DAB radio and remote central locking.

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