All posts by Repost

Facelifted 2020 Hyundai Ioniq Electric: Final Specs And New Photos Released

September 8, 2019Electric Cars, Hyundai, IONIQ Electric, News, Reviews and CommentRepost

Hyundai has dropped final specifications and a photo gallery of the facelifted Ioniq Electric on the occasion of the model’s international media launch in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

The main update made to the EV is the upgraded 38.3-kWh battery with 36 percent added energy capacity for an enhanced real-world driving range of 311 km (193 miles) as per WLTP. The new battery replaces the previously-available 28-kWh unit.

Another significant upgrade is the addition of a standard 7.2-kW on-board charger for Type 2 AC charging that replaces the 6.6-kW charger. As a result, the battery can reach 80 percent charge in as little as 54 minutes using a 100-kW fast-charging station.

The electric motor stays the same and delivers a maximum power of 100 kW (136 PS / 134 hp) and a peak torque of 295 Nm (218 lb-ft). Borrowing from the Kona Electric, the Ioniq Electric makes maximum use of regenerative braking technology by adopting one-paddle driving capability. This allows drivers to stop the car by simply holding onto the left paddle shift lever — most of the time with no need to engage the braking pedal.

European car sales: EV demand continues to rise as diesel shrinks

September 7, 2019Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment, SalesRepost

Hybrids and EVs see 29% sales boost as European industry sees a return to growth

Europe’s new car market saw a return to growth in July, with new registrations rising 1.2% over the previous year.

Figures released by analysts Jato Dynamics revealed that 1,325,600 models found homes in July, with the increase largely driven by the demand for electric and hybrid cars.

Battery-electric, plug-in hybrid and other electrified vehicles totalled 96,600 units, an increase of 29% over July 2018, but it was pure electric cars that saw the biggest gains. Volume has increased 98% to 23,200 units, with Renault’s Zoe the top-selling model and Tesla the top-selling brand.

“Even if they still makeup a comparatively marginal part of the overall market, electric vehicles are definitely becoming the industry’s bright spot during these challenging times,” JATO global analyst Felipe Munoz explained.

The increased sales helped boost the fuel type’s overall market share from 5.8% to 7.4%. Sales of diesel models continue to fall as the fuel type falls out of favour with customers, holding 31% of the overall market – a 5% drop compared to 2018.

See the world’s first fully electric rally car: the Corsa-e

September 6, 2019Corsa-e, Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment, OpelRepost

German automaker Opel is releasing what it claims is the world’s first all-electric rally car.
It’s a modified version of the Europe-only Opel Corsa-e, which itself is the electric version of the Corsa.
The Corsa-e is part of Opel’s plan to electrifying every model they offer by 2024.

German car manufacturer Opel has made what it claims is the world’s first all-electric rally car, which is based on the carmaker’s first electric vehicle.

The Corsa-e is the first time the automaker is offering a battery-electric version of the Corsa, one of its most popular models.

“It is no coincidence that our first pure electric model of the new generation is a Corsa, our most popular nameplate and one of the best-selling cars in Europe”, Michael Lohscheller told journalists at a press conference earlier this year in Rüsselsheim, Germany announcing the company’s electrification strategy.

“The Corsa-e not only makes electric mobility more practical and convenient but also more accessible.”

The rally car version features a lightweight body, integrated roll-cage, and underbody protection for the engine and transmission. There’s also an electric fire extinguisher, quick releases for the hood and hatchback, and regenerative braking capabilities to increase safety.

Renault’s new 52 kWh Zoe first look, Europe’s top EV improves all over

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

Renault’s new 52 kWh, 100 kW Zoe was announced in June with the additional 50 kW of DC charging, but we got the rare opportunity to check one out at Renault’s Paris HQ this week. What we saw was an impressive and important vehicle that will fit into many more Europeans’ lives.

Renault departed the US in the late ’80s after it sold its share of AMC to Chrysler. But in Europe, it is the top EV player with its lineup of electric vehicles including Kangoo and Twizy. Its best selling EV, the Zoe, dominated unit sales until the arrival of Tesla’s Model 3 and the 2nd generation model still won in July, even after the 3rd generation model was announced.

I got to drive the 2nd generation Zoe at last year’s FIA electric vehicle camp as part of the Paris Mondial motor show. I came away wanting a bit more, finding its performance and size somewhere between a Fiat 500e and a Nissan Leaf.

Top 10 fastest charging EVs

September 4, 2019Charging, Electric Cars, News, Reviews and CommentRepost

Driving an EV is one thing, topping up its batteries another.

Most drivers resort to AC charging at home or at the office, which is possible at a rate of anything between 3.7kW (e.g. Citroën C-Zero) and 16.5 kW (e.g. Tesla Model S and X). It depends on the output of the wallbox, but also on the capacity of the EV’s onboard charger, which has to convert AC from the grid to DC for the battery. Even if the wallbox is rated at 11kW, you can never charge faster than the capacity of the on-board device.

In the case of DC fast charging, which is only done occasionally by most, the limitations don’t stem from AC-DC conversion, but (mainly) from cooling. Most DC fast chargers today offer 50kW, but the latest ones reach 150kW. BMW, Jaguar Land Rover and Porsche have already tested fast chargers at 350kW, which are indeed seven times faster than most stations today. These would reduce the charging time for a big 100kWh battery to just fifteen minutes (from 10 to 80% State of Charge).

We thought it would be interesting to draw up a top 10 of the fastest charging sub-80,000-euro EVs (excluding VAT) that have officially been presented and can be ordered today, expressed in kilometres of range added per charging hour.

New BMW X5 PHEV has an 87 km range

September 3, 2019BMW, Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment, X5 eDriveRepost

BMW launches the second generation of the X5 xDrive45e. Thanks to a significantly larger battery, the X5 PHEV has one of the highest electrical ranges in the segment.

Depending on the equipment, the X5 xDrive45e will travel a slightly longer distance than other PHEVs – (WLTP) between 67 and 87 kilometres purely electrically. If drivers want to achieve the latter value (at least theoretically), they have to pay close attention to the selected options when ordering. Wide tyres on large rims not only increase the weight, but also the rolling resistance.#

This electric range is made possible by one of the largest batteries in the current series PHEV: the high-voltage storage unit has a gross capacity of 24 kWh, of which 21 kWh can be used – more than a BMW i3 of the first battery generation. This results in a WLTP consumption of 1.2 to 1.9 litres, which corresponds to CO2 emissions of 27 to 44 grams per kilometre. BMW estimates the combined power consumption at 23.1 to 28.3 kWh per 100 kilometres. According to BMW, these values are not only due to the larger battery capacity but also to the further developed power electronics, which should enable a more efficient interaction of the two drives.

Scottish government unveils £7.5 million ‘groundbreaking’ EV infrastructure pilot

September 2, 2019Charging, Electric Cars, News, Reviews and CommentRepost

The Scottish government has thrown its weight behind a £7.5 million project to ramp up EV charge point installs in the country.

The partnership will bring together Transport Scotland and Scotland’s two distribution network operators – SP Energy Networks (SPEN) and Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) – in a bid to deliver more EV charging points.

SSEN is to examine the necessary electricity network infrastructure to support more electric vehicles on the road, taking a particular interest in the infrastructure needed for new charging points set to be installed along the A9; a critical route running from Edinburgh to the north of Scotland.

SPEN meanwhile is to work on opening additional, publicly-accessible EV charging points integrated on its network. A pilot project is to look into ways of increasing the pace, accessibility and efficiency of public charger installation.

The Scottish government is to contribute £5 million of funding for the programmes, matched by an additional £2.5 million of funding from both SPEN and SSEN, with projects set to go live in 2020/21.

The project was unveiled at an event held at University of Strathclyde’s power networks demonstration centre, which was also attended by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

Sturgeon spoke of the “critical role” networks have to play in facilitating an “electric vehicle revolution”.

“This project will develop a new model for delivering both EV charging and electricity network infrastructure which can more effectively satisfy Scotland’s ambitions, including delivering inclusive universal access to the benefits of the decarbonisation of transport.”

Audi introduces new cheaper reduced-range e-tron

September 2, 2019Audi, e-tron, Electric Cars, News, Reviews and CommentRepost

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

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.

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

September 2, 2019Electric Cars, Model 3, News, Reviews and Comment, Renault, Tesla, ZOERepost

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).

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.

Electric vehicle pollution speculation ‘inconceivable’, new research says

September 2, 2019Electric Cars, Energy and Climate Change, News, Reviews and Comment, PollutionRepost

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.