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In the Switch to Electric Vehicles, Expect a Few Giants to Crash

January 2, 2019Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment, Opinion, SalesRepost

“Every manufacturer feels like, ‘We’ve got to at least have a dog in this hunt or we’ll be completely left behind.’”

The future of the auto industry is going to look like the history of the cell phone. The two even share technology: the lithium-ion battery. As the world’s automakers gradually switch from combustion to charging, some of today’s dominant car companies will share the fate of a few former titans of the smartphone. Remember BlackBerry, Nokia and Palm?

“Who will be the winners in the electric car race? Who knows?” said Mike Ramsey, senior director of research at Gartner Inc. “The incumbents could be, or they could be cut out entirely.”

This transition will play out as a plethora of electric options land in showrooms. In the next two years, an additional 85 battery-powered models will be marketed, bringing the global fleet to 357, according to the latest tally by Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Volkswagen AG is near the front of the pack, promising 20 new electric models by 2020 and another 80 by 2025. Just this month, the German automaker said the internal combustion vehicles being designed now will be its last.

“Every manufacturer feels like, ‘We’ve got to at least have a dog in this hunt or we’ll be completely left behind,’” said Karl Brauer, executive publisher for Autotrader and Kelley Blue Book. “If you ignore it and act like the market is never going to be ready, then you’re setting yourself up for real trouble.”

Being first, however, is no guarantee of success. Honda’s Insight promised a space-age 70 miles to the gallon on the highway when it rolled into dealerships as the first U.S. hybrid in December 1999. Yet the Toyota Prius, which reached the market months later, became the icon of greener wheels. A crowd of copycat hybrids arrived but none came close to matching the Toyota model’s cachet.

“An entire segment can be sucked up by one or two models,” Brauer said. Two decades later, the Prius accounts for almost half of electric vehicle sales to date.

The automaker that can capture this kind of icon status in the electric-vehicle space will be in a different gear for years. At the moment, Tesla Inc. appears to have that advantage, although there’s probably room for another paragon vehicle or two—a more affordable SUV, for instance, or an electric pickup truck.

2018 brought the electric car to everyone

January 1, 2019Electric Cars, Hyundai, Kona Electric, Model 3, News, Reviews and Comment, Sales, TeslaRepost

The Model 3 might still be pricey but there are alternatives.

It’s easy to look at a luxury automaker like Jaguar and declare 2018 the year the automotive industry caught up with Tesla. But like the Model X and Model S, the I-Pace is out of reach for most folks. It’s great that people with large bank accounts can get behind the wheel of a vehicle that runs on electrons instead of dead dinosaurs. What’s better is that 2018 showed that the rest of us can do the same thing.

Elon Musk promised a $35,000 electric vehicle with a range of more than 200 miles. The Model 3 is supposed to be the result of that pledge. But the company has yet to deliver a base-model version of the car. Building cars is hard; building inexpensive cars for the masses is near impossible. But that oath, and the fact that Tesla made electric cars “sexy,” inspired (or forced) other automakers to realize there is a market for electric-powered transportation.

The result: On the horizon, there’s a wave of electric vehicles truly built for everyone — and that’s where real change comes from. The spark of revolution might begin with a few rich people here and there, but the fire needs to spread beyond the loading zones of private schools and the valet parking of fusion restaurants. The real transformation is parked in front of Denny’s and charging outside Target while the driver is taking care of back-to-school shopping.

It was possible to get behind the wheel of an EV without dropping a huge chunk of cash before now, but it was a hard sell. If you only have the money to buy one vehicle, something with a range of 100 miles seems like a bad investment. Sure you want to save the planet, but you also want the peace of mind of being able to run errands before and after work without worrying about running out of juice.

We started 2018 with a car that was ready to tackle range anxiety while delivering on outstanding value: the Chevy Bolt. It’s on sale right now and is a perfect entry into the EV world. Even if you hadn’t planned on buying an electric car, get behind the wheel and drive it. At that point, you’ll understand just how great an electric car, SUV or even truck can be.

Kia e-Niro SUV (2019 – ) review

December 31, 2018Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment, Niro EVRepost

The Kia e-Niro is a five-door small electric SUV which will be competing with the likes of the Hyundai Kona electric, Nissan Leaf, Hyundai Ioniq and smaller Renault Zoe.

Arguably, the two biggest buzzwords in motoring right now are ‘SUV’ and ‘electric’. The Kia e-Niro is both, which means it’s probably on to a winner. The size and range of the e-Niro, along with its reasonable price, make it a very tempting package, that could sway some reluctant folk towards electric motoring. It does have a very credible rival in the Hyundai Kona electric, though.

The e-Niro is a small SUV, but its styling makes it look more like a raised-up estate car than a chunky off-roader. The electric version of the Niro has a few design features to differentiate it from the hybrid and plug-in hybrid variants, but it has been kept relatively conventional, and doesn’t look too futuristic. As it’s an electric car, the grille is closed off, and this is where the integrated charging port is. It also has redesigned air intakes, new LED daytime running lights, and a few blue trim highlights about the place. As well as redesigned front and rear bumpers, the e-Niro comes with new 17-inch alloy wheels.

The e-Niro’s interior is pretty conventional, too. If you’ve been in any other new Kia, you’ll recognise the solidly built interior. You’ve got some nice soft-touch plastics on the dashboard and in all the important places, but there are some hard, grainy plastics further down in the cabin.

Like the exterior, there are a few bits exclusive to the e-Niro. The most obvious is that there’s no traditional ‘gear stick’, which has been replaced by a rotating dial drive selector. That same panel houses buttons for the electronic parking brake – compared with the foot-operated parking brake of the hybrid – heated seats, heated steering wheel, parking sensors and the auto-hold function.

Design wise, there are some bright blue trims, along with some subtle mood lighting and high-gloss black panels (which will quickly get covered in fingerprints) on the doors.

The 8.0-inch infotainment system is easy to use from the driver seat, with clear graphics and logical menus. It’s better than the system in the Hyundai Kona electric and Renault Zoe, and as easy to use as the Nissan Leaf’s system.

Why Volkswagen Needs to Sell 600,000 More Electric Cars Per Year

December 29, 2018Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment, VolkswagenRepost

Volkswagen estimates it must sell 600,000 more electric vehicles per year to meet the drastic new CO2 emissions goals released by the European Union on Monday.

To align with the targets, carmakers must reduce carbon dioxide emissions in new fleets by 15% by 2025, and 37.5% by 2030. At the same time, light commercial vehicles’ emissions must reduce 31% from 2021 levels by 2030.

Germany was hoping for a maximum reduction of 30%, Handelsblatt reports.

“The plan we have drawn up for transition is not enough to fulfill this transformation,” Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess said this week regarding the emissions goals. Automakers have no choice but to get with the program or potentially face billion-euro fines.

Sources familiar with Volkswagen’s plans told Handelsblatt that the company had calculated it must sell 1.2million electric cars in Europe in 2030 to meet the previous emissions targets. To meet the new CO2 targets, however, that would need to increase to 1.8 million electric vehicles — or 45% of its total sales. Currently, VW and all of its related brands sell 4 million passenger vehicles annually in Europe.

Baby Named Lief after Nissan Leaf

December 27, 2018Electric Cars, Leaf, News, Reviews and Comment, NissanRepost

HONOLULU (KHON2) – Friday, Oct. 26, 2018 was anything but normal for Lori Kohara and Kyle Shimoda, who were expecting their second baby.

“I had contractions the night before so I couldn’t sleep the night before,” Kohara said.

She knew the baby was coming that day.

“In our birthing class they told us treat it like any other day,” she said.

And that’s what they did, Kohara working from home throughout the day.

Picking up the Leaf in Wolverton early in the morning (Image: T. Larkum) — A similar Nissan Leaf (Image: T. Larkum)

Kohara said it was her last day of work before maternity leave. She thought she had another two weeks to prepare for the baby.

“I finished my last meeting at 4 p.m., and I told Kyle [my husband], I’ll hop in the shower and then we’ll head to the hospital,” she said.

They grabbed their things and walked to the car. Kohara’s dad driving while the couple sat in the back seat.

“Maybe about three minutes after we left, my water breaks, and I’m like ‘oh my goodness,’ Kohara said.

“The first thing that goes through my mind is there goes the seat,” Kyle Shimoda said laughing.

The family got on the freeway at Kahala, but didn’t make it far.

How Formula E is driving the electric cars of the future

December 25, 2018Electric Cars, Formula E, News, Reviews and CommentRepost

You only have to look at the line-up for this season of Formula E, the world’s top all-electric racing series, to see how much it means to road-car manufacturers: Audi, BMW, Jaguar and Nissan were all on the grid for the fifth season’s opening round, the Saudia Ad Diriyah E-Prix in Riyadh, on Saturday. Porsche and Mercedes are due to join that quartet for the 2019 edition.

Many of the planet’s largest household-name carmakers are lining up to get involved – and in doing so, use Formula E as a high-profile research-and-development arena for future vehicles bought and driven by us regular folk. Additional evidence comes via the fact that McLaren’s Applied Technologies arm is behind the batteries used by Formula E cars, while a new supporting single-manufacturer series, the Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy, uses the road-going electric SUV as its basis.

Indeed, Panasonic Jaguar Racing driver Mitch Evans, 24, provided a direct personal link. “I drove the I-Pace quite early on when it was a concept car,” he explains. “I also did a drag race against a Tesla – and won. So I’ve done quite a lot with it – and for sure I’d like to have one parked up in my garage.

“A lot of the feedback that I give to my technical team [in Formula E] will then get passed on to Jaguar Land Rover. At the moment, both in the automotive industry and the motorsport industry, electric motors are developing at a similar rate, so a lot of the information and the technology, you can use it either way. The future cars you’ll see on the road, you’ll start to have a bit of a direct impact from what we’ve learnt in Formula E.”

His teammate, former Formula One driver Nelson Piquet Jr, 33, agrees. “Efficiency, the power-train, the hardware, the way we do things – these are all things that we learn and we end up giving the ‘secrets’ to the engineers who are going to build cars for the industry. Then they try to find ways to adapt that to integrate that into the road cars.”

Antonio Felix da Costa won the Ad Diriyah E-Prix for BMW i Motorsport. The Munich manufacturer says: “The main driving force behind BMW i Motorsport is the development of innovative technology in the field of electromobility. The Formula E project is already providing valuable impetus in the development of [BMW concept] iNEXT and the next generation of BMW i models. The borders between production and motor racing development are more blurred at BMW i Motorsport than in any other project.

Government sets July 2019 date for smart EV charging deadline

December 23, 2018Charging, Electric Cars, News, Reviews and CommentRepost

The government has confirmed that only ‘smart’ electric vehicle chargepoints can be installed from July next year.

In an announcement this morning, roads minister Jesse Norman and automotive minister Richard Harrington confirmed the phase-out date for older generation EV chargers, fulfilling a policy pledge first unveiled in October last year.

The government defines smart chargers as those which can be remotely accessed and capable of receiving, interpreting and acting on signals. Those capabilities will allow EV charging patterns to be remotely assessed and managed by a third-party, essentially protecting distribution grids from surges in demand.

In October last year the Department for Transport published its draft Automated and Electric Vehicles Bill, which established a number of broad stroke proposals for how the government planned to improve the country’s EV charging infrastructure.

The adoption of smart EV chargers formed a central point of that strategy and, now, the government has followed through by enforcing a firm deadline for their installation.

Harrington said: “Today’s measures will make it easier for consumers to move towards electric vehicles, helping us power towards a cleaner, greener future.”

The Long And Winding Road Will Lead To Tens Of Millions Of Electric Vehicles Being Sold

December 22, 2018Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment, SalesRepost

When Tesla founder Elon Musk appeared on the television magazine show 60 Minutes last Sunday, he acknowledged that the timing of his latest electric vehicle rollout had been slowed. But he nonetheless restated that he is committed to something far more profound — decarbonization of the automotive and energy sectors.

His goal, overall, is to make sure we leave behind a healthier planet for those who follow — that the technologies to which he pursues get mainstreamed and become economically attractive for all drivers. To that end, he wants his efforts to electrify the automotive sector to be the catalyst that prompts the entire industry to mass produce those vehicles. The odds?

Transport will drive energy demand. And growing markets in China, India and the Middle East are expected to increase oil demand by 12% between now and 2035, says Wood Mackenzie. But the advisory firm adds that these same locations will be the ones to widely employ electric cars. That will occur because of advances in electric batteries, which Wood Mackenzie thinks will hit pay dirt by 2027.

“The threat from electric vehicles (EVs) beyond 2025 is material. Sales are growing exponentially and have outpaced expectations, boosted by faster than anticipated battery improvements,” it says.

It predicts EVs to grow from about 5 million today to 100 million by 2035, as the current fleet of cars is retired and as battery technologies improve — those that allow such cars to travel further before they would have to be plugged in. Today EVs comprise about 1.5% of the auto market.

New 450kW EV charger from BMW and Porsche is as fast as filling up with petrol

December 21, 2018BMW, Charging, Electric Cars, i3, News, Reviews and CommentRepost

BMW and Porsche’s prototype 450kW FastCharge unit can give 62 miles of range in just three minutes, once vehicle technology catches up

A new electric vehicle charger capable of delivering 100km (62 miles) worth of charge in just three minutes, and fully charging an EV’s batteries in just 15 minutes, has been developed by a number of German companies, including BMW and Porsche.

The companies’ 450kW (kilowatt) FastCharge system – while still a prototype – trebles the charge rates of the world’s rapid chargers’ at present, and promises “to make charging electric vehicles as fast and convenient as fuelling with petrol”.

When operating at its maximum 450kW capacity, it has proven capable of replenishing a BMW i3 (fitted with a “specially developed high-voltage battery”) from 10 to 80 per cent in just 15 minutes, and delivering 62 miles of range to a Porsche research vehicle in just three minutes.

While not technically a ‘full’ charge, this is representative of a full charge in real-world conditions, as manufacturers advise against recharging to 100 per cent, and most owners are unlikely to allow their batteries to drop below 10 per cent.

This Is the Year Electric Car Racing Gets Real

December 20, 2018Electric Cars, Formula E, News, Reviews and CommentRepost

As Formula E kicks off its fifth season on December 15, huge automakers like Porsche, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz are finally joining the electric-racing circuit. Is this the beginning of the end of internal-combustion racing?

Porsche quit the Super Bowl.

The German automaker rattled the racing industry when it announced it was pulling out of Le Mans Prototype 1, the top class of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC). Even if you haven’t heard of this league, you have heard of its premier event: the 24 Hours of Le Mans, known as the Super Bowl of auto racing for the past 90 years. Nevertheless, Porsche is disassembling its LMP1 team to prepare for a leap to Formula E, the all-electric racing series, for its 2019/20 season.

Following Formula E’s debut four years ago, plenty of auto enthusiasts saw the circuit as a fool’s errand—surely motorsports fans raised on the roar of internal combustion would never love the zip and whine of electric cars rounding a track. But the league has risen from side attraction to headliner event, and it’s happening because Porsche is just one of many manufacturers shifting resources from combustion-engine racing to electric. Audi ditched Le Mans a year ago to enter Formula E, and Nissan, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz are also entering the electric circuit, which begins its fifth season on December 15. It’s a big step up for Formula E from its first season, when only a single automaker, Renault, was involved as a factory team.

Why? Racing isn’t just sport and frivolity. Car companies put hundreds of millions of dollars each year into motorsports to develop technologies that trickle down to the cars we drive on the street, technologies that let future family sedans use more fuel-efficient engines or let SUVs send less pollution out the tailpipe. Dollars always lead back to the company’s main business of selling road vehicles.

So, in an era when car companies are pledging to electrify their entire lineups in the 2020s, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that those companies want to invest their racing dollars in electric tech. Rather than EVs and hybrids complementing the main business of selling combustion road cars, EVs are to become the main business.