All posts by Repost

What is electric car preconditioning and why does it matter?

November 11, 2022Charging, Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment, OpinionRepost

Preconditioning is one of the lesser-known but brilliantly useful features of electric cars. On both cold winter days and hot summer days, you can benefit from it.

Put simply, preconditioning allows you to pre-heat or pre-cool the car’s cabin before you start your journey. Not only will you feel more comfortable, you’ll maximise the car’s driving range and prolong the life of its battery.

It’s a win-win-win situation, in other words.

How does preconditioning work?

Preconditioning can be activated via the car’s infotainment system or a connected smartphone app. By scheduling your daily departure times, the car will heat or cool its interior to optimum temperature – you just climb in and go.

Crucially, when the car is plugged in, electricity is drawn from the mains and not the car, so this has no impact on driving range. You start your journey with a full battery.

Also, because the car’s windows will be free of mist and ice when you enter the cabin, you won’t waste time waiting to clear or defrost them.

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Ford plows ahead with electric vehicle rollout, scrapping Ford Fiesta production

November 10, 2022Buying/Leasing, Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment, SalesRepost

Ford drops Fiesta to focus on electric vehicles

It’s the end of an era, as the Ford Fiesta will be dropped from the automaker’s lineup sooner than expected. Ford says it will be saying farewell to the iconic little model that 22 million drivers trusted to get them where they need to go over five decades.

Meanwhile, Ford is gearing up for one of the most significant transformations in the automaker’s rich history, a fully electric one. The American automaker is scrapping production of its Ford Fiesta model next summer to focus on the next generation of electric vehicles in Europe.

Electric Car Line-up (Image: Go Ultra Low)

The move comes a year earlier than expected as Ford begins rolling out all-electric models across its lineup.

Earlier this year, Ford released plans to become an all-electric brand in Europe by 2035, introducing nine EV models by 2024. The EV rollout started with the successful launch of the Mach-E and Mach-E GT and the E-Transit commercial van.

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Wind power could save UK households £250 per annum compared to gas, says RenewableUK

November 9, 2022Energy and Climate Change, News, Reviews and Comment, Wind PowerRepost

Wind power could save each UK household nearly £250 in savings per year compared to gas, says new analysis conducted by RenewableUK.

The analysis showed that the 19GW of wind farm capacity that won Contracts for Difference (CfDs) support will generate around 93TWh by the time it is all operational in 2027. This is around 30% of the annual UK electricity generation at present. This will be at a total cost of £5 billion.

RenewableUK stated that the equivalent cost of getting that electricity from gas would be around £26 billion at current prices, so this represents a saving to consumers of over £20 billion, with every UK household benefitting by £246 a year.

The CfD scheme has been a resounding success for the wind industry. The most recent CfD auction saw offshore wind farms win contracts at a fixed electricity price four times cheaper than the current cost of gas power stations. Auction Round Four saw the five offshore wind projects win contracts to secure a strike price of £37.35/MWh.

As well as this, CfD projects are predicted to pay back £25 this winter, and around £45 a year to each household from next winter. This is set to continue to grow as more low cost windfarms come online.

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EVIOS acquires Andersen EV to bolster chargepoint business

November 8, 2022Andersen, Charging, Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment, UncategorizedRepost

EV chargepoint manufacturer EVIOS has confirmed the acquisition of Andersen EV, a home charging company.

Under the agreement, the two brands will co-exist, serving different parts of the EV market and benefit from shared investment in technology, installation personnel and customer support.

EVIOS was founded by former founder and CEO of Chargemaster, David Martell. In April, Martell said EVIOS had designed its charger to meet six key criteria; to be hassle free, suitable for shared parking, to automatically link to off-peak electricity tariffs, integrate with solar installations, present information in understandable terms and to be affordable.

Securing Andersen will see production of the company’s A2 product recommence immediately with all associated customer support services to be merged with the existing operation at EVIOS’s Bedfordshire-based headquarters.

“Andersen’s design-led positioning complements our leadership in technology and functionality and running both brands in parallel will help us to serve an even broader range of customers,” said David Martell, chief executive of EVIOS.

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Renault Zoe will not be replaced for another generation

November 7, 2022Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment, Renault, ZOERepost

The Renault Zoe, first released in 2012, will not be replaced, Renault boss Fabrice Cambolive has confirmed, ending its life as one of the best-selling electric cars in its home country.

Instead, the Renault Clio and Renault Captur will continue so they can supplement Renault’s new electric compact car line-up, headed by the Renault 4 and 5 – both arriving by 2025.

Cambolive described this to Autocar as a dual approach where its hybrid and electric models co-exist for the foreseeable future.

He said: “It depends on the market. If a market is fully electric, okay, but most markets will have pure electric for the compact segment, and until 2035, if needed, we will have Clio and Captur too. They will have hybrid technology because that’s our solution, the technological choice we made to replace the normal of the combustion engine.”

The decision to cull the Zoe brings to an end a lifespan of more than a decade, during which it was the top-selling EV in Europe for two years running (2015-16) and achieved more than 100,000 sales in France alone.

A final date for the end of its production has yet to be confirmed.

Talking about the broader range, which will gain the new Renault Mégane and Renault Scenic imminently, Cambolive believes the perfect line-up in the European market is four electric and four hybrid models. Within those models, there should be a maximum of one engine and two or three equipment levels, he said.

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French farmers are covering crops with solar panels to produce food and energy at the same time

November 4, 2022Energy and Climate Change, News, Reviews and Comment, Solar PowerRepost

Agrivoltaics – the practice of using land for both solar energy and agriculture – is on the rise across France.

In the Haute-Saône region, in the northeastern part of the country, an experiment is being conducted by solar-energy company TSE. It is hoping to find out whether solar energy can be generated without hindering large-scale cereal crops.

Previous attempts to experiment with agrivoltaics have been through smaller-scale projects. But, keen to see if it can thrive on an industrial level, 5,500 solar panels are being spread over this farm in the commune town of Amance by TSE.

If successful, the crossover could be revolutionary for both the agricultural and solar panel industries.

How do solar panels help protect crops from climate change?

“The aim was to be able to meet France’s needs in terms of renewable energy development, without pre-empting agricultural land,” says Xavier Guillot, head of agronomy research and development at TSE.

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Second-hand electric cars helping drivers ditch petrol and diesel – ‘An obvious go-to’

November 3, 2022Electric Cars, News, Reviews and CommentRepost

Second-hand electric cars are becoming more popular, with hopes that the automotive sector will adapt to the change and encourage motorists to invest in electric.

According to the RAC, sales of second-hand electric cars reached record levels in 2021. Sales of used battery electric vehicles soared by 119.1 percent to 40,228 last year compared with 2020.

Demand for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) also jumped by 77.1 percent to 54,115 sales.

The data, from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), showed that sales of used hybrids also rose by 50.6 percent, despite many drivers cooling on the idea of a hybrid.

Growth was driven by an increasing number of ultra-low and zero-emission models filtering through to the second-hand car market.

But, despite record sales in this area, these vehicles still only account for 3.1 percent of the total used car market.

Joanne Robinson, director of lenders at Zuto, said demand for second-hand EVs may be on the rise, but as an industry, it is nowhere near ready.

The large volume of brand new EVs being manufactured today (and large corporate fleets using EVs) will soon create a booming secondhand market.

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‘Huge wave’ of electric cars expected on UK roads ahead of 2030 petrol and diesel car ban

November 2, 2022Buying a new car, Electric Cars, News, Reviews and CommentRepost

The UK is set to see major growth in electric car sales in the coming years once supply chain issues have been resolved.

The UK Government plans to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles from 2030, followed by a similar ban on plug-in hybrid vehicles five years later. Petrol, diesel and hybrid HGVs over 26 tonnes could be banned from 2040, subject to a Government consultation.

The Government first introduced the “historic step towards net zero” in November 2020.

Norway is set to ban the new sales of petrol and diesel cars from 2025, with electric vehicles accounting for more than 50 percent of car sales in the nation.

The European Union has also agreed to an effective ban of internal combustion engine vehicles by 2035, following a European Commission vote earlier this year.

Casper Rasmussen, CEO of Monta, spoke about how the various petrol and diesel car sales bans will take effect and impact drivers.

Speaking to Express.co.uk, he said: “If you look at it from a CO2 and emissions point of view, you want it to be as fast as possible.

“For an adjustment point of view for the different countries, I think it’s a fair place to put it.

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Electric cars are ‘much cheaper’ to run compared to petrol and diesel – ‘key benefits’

November 1, 2022Buying/Leasing, Charging, Electric CarsRepost

Electric cars can be half as cheap to run as petrol or diesel vehicles, according to new data.

Drivers charging at home on electric vehicle (EV) tariff save just over 56 percent compared to petrol or diesel per-mile costs. They are nearly a quarter cheaper (24 percent) for those who charge at home on a standard energy tariff.

The data, from New Automotive, found that electric vehicles are now more than half as cheap to run than a petrol or diesel vehicle when charged at home on a dedicated EV energy tariff.

The organisation has launched a fuel cost tracker to measure car running costs.

Renault ZOE in contactless car vending machine (Image: Taylor Herring)

It found that home-charged electric cars can be more than half as cheap as petrol and diesel.

It converts the latest available energy prices into a cost-per-mile figure and compares the difference in running costs between fuel types in an interactive chart.

Energy prices rises have made it harder to monitor changes to the relative running cost of petrol, diesel and electric cars – but the tracker solves this problem.

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Demystifying the switch to EVs: the key considerations when buying an EV

October 31, 2022Charging, Electric Cars, OpinionRepost

Electric vehicle drivers are missing out. This is according to a recent European study conducted by Delta-EE which discovered that:

42% of electric vehicle (EV) drivers are not on the best charging tariffs for their vehicles because they are not using a dedicated home charging point to charge their car
Less than 50% of people have a time-of-use tariff, enabling them to take advantage of cheaper overnight electricity prices, and
Just three in 10 EV owners have a specific EV tariff with their energy provider

The research points to significant missed opportunities in engaging new EV owners in smart charging and maximising their car’s potential to cut their costs and carbon emissions. By charging their vehicle through a smart domestic charger able to optimise charging to times of low demand when energy is cheapest and greenest, customers can not only save on their energy bills but reduce their carbon footprint.

In fact, if a customer buys an EV and home charger they typically reduce their car running costs by ~50% and triple their CO2 savings per kilometre. Add smart charging or bidirectional vehicle-to-grid technology and emissions can be decreased by a further 30% with customers able to actually earn money – up to £800 a year – for importing cheap energy and selling it back to the grid. At scale, this technology can accelerate the energy transition by increasing the use of renewable power and preventing fossil fuel backup generation to be switched on at peak times, and do so in an affordable way for customers.

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