International Energy Agency says EV market grew 60% in 2016
Plug in automobiles may reach 30% market penetration by 2030
The number of electric vehicles on the road rocketed to 2 million in 2016 after being virtually non-existent just five years ago, according to the International Energy Agency.
Registered plug-in and battery-powered vehicles on roads worldwide rose 60 percent from the year before, according to the Global EV Outlook 2017 report from the Paris-based IEA. Despite the rapid growth, electric vehicles still represent just 0.2 percent of total light-duty vehicles.
“China was by far the largest electric car market, accounting for more than 40 percent of the electric cars sold in the world and more than double the amount sold in the United States,”
the IEA wrote in the report published Wednesday.
“It is undeniable that the current electric car market uptake is largely influenced by the policy environment.”
Is owning an electric car a statement or simply good financial sense?
In the beginning it was most definitely the former. Electric cars were expensive, limited in range and thanks to a complete lack of infrastructure impossible to make long journeys in.
To find out if these cars are now living up to our expectations we spent two weeks with BMW’s i3. We drove to work, did the weekly shop and generally found every possible excuse to use it over our own two legs.
To begin with we’ll run though the model we tested. This was a BMW i3 94ah with range extender. That meant that if we drove it in BMW’s COMFORT mode we could, just about, squeeze out a top range of 205 miles.
BMW i3
The first few days…
Getting into the car for the first time you’re struck at just how pleasant everything is. It’s BMW alright, but if BMW lived in California and went to yoga four times a week.
It’s all very minimalist and the cabin itself feels incredibly spacious, despite the small dimensions of the car.
Interior of BMW i3
Halfway there…
Electric cars are absolutely perfect for city driving, especially small ones like the i3.
Thanks to the i3 having plenty of punch in the acceleration department we found weaving through the central London chaos to be almost, and we do mean almost, enjoyable.
The silence is also something that becomes really hard to give up. The i3’s cabin has just the right amount of sound isolation to make sure that the only thing you’re going to hear is either the gentle whine of the electric motor or the radio. It’s a blissful oasis in a sea of livid cyclists.
The last stretch…
We’re on to the last week week now and despite having driven over what feels like every road hump in London our love for this plucky little car is growing.
The styling continues to be a real winner for us, especially this two-tone fabric against what looks like a black recycled composite. It looks futuristic and yet acutely homely at the same time, like a Bang & Olufsen speaker.
Bang & Olufsen speaker, BMW i3
Another thing that’s really starting to dawn on us is that not once have we worried about range anxiety. The car’s range readout is accurate enough that you never feel like it’s suddenly going to steal 5 miles from you.
While an owner will have a charging point installed in their house we couldn’t and so had to rely on a plug socket. Naturally the plug socket was too far away and so for the last two weeks we’ve actually been solely charging the car using what’s available around the city.
BMW i3, Charging Port
Verdict….
The i3 is a superbly built car. It feels and behaves in every sense like a product that is at the top end of what BMW is capable of. The interior build-quality is second to none while the enormous windscreen at the front gives it perfect visibility for city driving.
Its electric motor is powerful and responsive and while the ride itself is a little hard the seats are incredibly comfortable.
The i3 doesn’t feel like an experiment any more, it is simply a BMW that’s electric. Most of this is down to the car while the rest is absolutely down to the fact that we finally have a substantial charging network here in the UK.
The new five-seater SUV is currently offered with two diesel engines, but there is scope for this to change in future
Renault Koleos SUV
A Renault director has not ruled out the possibility of a plug-in hybrid or pure electric version of its new Koleos SUV making its way into production.
The Koleos will go on sale in the UK in July, and will only be offered with a choice of two diesel engines – a 1.6-litre, 128bhp unit and a larger 2.0-litre 173bhp unit.
When quizzed on whether the recent bad press diesel has received in the UK could see an electric or PHEV version of the Koleos introduced to the market, Renault UK’s managing director Vincent Tourette said it was a possibility.
“It’s technically possible because we’re part of the alliance with Nissan and Mitsubishi now, so that’s something we have in the bank between us,”
he explained.
Renault Koleos SUV
“But at the moment, we are monitoring closely the way the market is going and if at some point we consider it’s a strong customer requirement, we will go for it. But today, it’s not in the plans.
“Today we have made the choice to offer our vehicles with petrol engines, with diesel engines and as pure EVs, which by the way, most manufacturers have decided to invest in too.
“So that’s our positioning and that’s the way our product plans have been formulated. But then we do have within the Renault-Nissan Alliance other possibilities, and if at some point we consider that [an electric/PHEV Koleos] something Renault also needs to bring to the market, we will have the possibility to do it.”
China, US and Europe accounted for more than 90% of electric vehicle sales last year with decreasing costs driving demand
The number of electric cars in the world accelerated past the 2m barrier last year, as prices fell and manufacturers launched new models.
The number of battery-powered vehicles numbered just hundreds globally in 2005 and passed the 1m milestone in 2015, but sales jumped 60% in 2016.
China, the US and Europe accounted for more than 90% of electric vehicle sales last year, with China the single biggest market, according to research by the International Energy Agency.
In some European countries, growth has been so fast that electric cars are taking significant market share from petrol and diesel cars.
Nearly a third of new cars sold in Norway are electric, the highest proportion worldwide, followed by 6.4% in the Netherlands and 3.4% in Sweden.
While the UK lags behind on annual registrations, industry figures this week showed that a record 4.4% of new cars sold in May were hybrid or pure electric models. More than 100,000 electric cars have been sold in the UK under a grant scheme launched in 2011.
The growth globally indicated a “rapid market evolution” in electric cars, the IEA said, but it cautioned that they made up only 0.2% of all passenger cars.
Greg Archer, clean vehicles director at the Brussels-based Transport and Environment group, said:
“The rapid rise in electric vehicle sales is a consumer-driven phenomenon rather than being down to the efforts of suppliers.”
The number of electric cars on the road globally hit 2m in 2016
Decreasing costs, longer battery ranges and an increasing number of charging points were driving demand, he said.
As Nissan LEAF charged past the milestone of 20,000 sales in the UK, owners of the best-selling electric vehicle have heaped praise on the model in the 2017 Driver Power survey.
The Nissan LEAF was awarded Best Green Car overall and also came top in the Best Engine and Gearbox and Best MPG and Running Costs awards categories.
Driver Power is the UK’s biggest and most in-depth car satisfaction survey, with seven surveys covering the different phases of vehicle ownership. There also nine Judging Category awards split into satisfaction categories.
Editor of Auto Express, Graham Hope, commented;
“The Nissan LEAF’s results in the 2017 survey indicates that the hard work that the Nissan team has put in developing the vehicle and educating the market about the benefits of Electric Vehicles (EV) has paid off.”
“Leading the way in EVs is important. People are becoming more conscious of green vehicles (Hybrids and Electric Vehicles) and this year we have seen a 375% increase in the number of green vehicle owners.”
The Driver Power results came as Nissan GB confirmed it had sold its 20,000th Nissan LEAF in the UK.
The buyers of the milestone model were Diane and Chris Ray of Hollesley in Suffolk, who took home a range-topping 30kWh LEAF Tekna from local dealer Hammond Nissan.
It is the couple’s second Nissan LEAF – replacing a two year-old 24kWh model – and it was the only car on their shopping list when the time came for a replacement.
Diane, who runs a holiday let business, said:
“I love the LEAF. It does everything I want from a car and is beautiful to drive.
“When the time came to replace mine I didn’t look at anything else. I only wanted another LEAF but this time with the bigger battery.”
She added:
“It was a real surprise to find out I was the 20,000th LEAF customer but it’s so encouraging to see more and more people switching to all-electric cars and exciting to know I’m a part of that story.”
New laws to extend the High Speed 2 line will be announced in tomorrow’s Queen’s Speech as part of a drive on key infrastructure projects.
A computer generated image of artist impression issued by HS2 of the proposed HS2 station at Euston.
Legislation to encourage space rockets to be launched from UK soil and to spread the use of electric cars will also be included in the two-year programme, which will otherwise be dominated by Brexit.
A Bill that will allow the extension of the HS2 rail project from Birmingham to Manchester will be announced in the Queen’s Speech. Officials say that as well as providing quick trains to London, the development will expand capacity on commuter lines.
Phase one of HS2 London to Birmingham has been approved by Parliament but even by the most optimistic estimates will not be completed for another decade.
The total budget for HS2 is £56billion but critics say the eventual bill could top £100billion
Ministers said they want to establish spaceports in ‘regions across the UK’, to allow satellites to be sent into space for the first time from UK soil, and to allow spacecraft to fly to the edge of the atmosphere. Satellites cannot currently be launched from the UK.
The new law will allow ministers to licence various space-related activities including rockets, ‘space planes’, and satellite operation. Other powers will make it easier for drivers of electric cars to register to use charging points. There are an estimated 100,000 electric cars and vans on Britain’s roads.
Being faced with any issue on a standard petrol car is bad enough, we have been used to these mechanics for years, but what happens when your car is electric and something goes wrong?
Arranging a time for repair is the same as any car, and I found Renault Customer Services to be very helpful, they acted straight away getting me a courtesy hire car with no delay. However I was disappointed that it wasn’t an electric car, I was given a Petrol Renault Twingo.
I must say, it felt like I was driving something much older than 2 years, it felt archaic and awkward. While there was nothing actually wrong with this little car, I soon realised that the Renault ZOE is much more than a regular car.
Renault Twingo & Renault ZOE
The benefits alone are undeniable, with this petrol car I was now paying parking at almost £5 per day, using a petrol station felt grubby and the cost of fuel (£32.55 for one tank) was twice as much as a month’s worth of ‘electric fuel’ in my ZOE. Luckily Renault Customer Services were understanding and agreed to pick up all of these expenses that I’d otherwise have not incurred. Aside from the running costs I must say, I really missed the serenity and ease of driving the ZOE, with its automatic driving (there are no gears), reversing camera and quick acceleration to name but a few features I really like in the ZOE.
After what felt like an age, I was finally reunited with my ZOE. I won’t miss the Renault Twingo but if nothing else the time spent with this little petrol car made me realise that I had made the right decision going electric and I won’t be looking back.
Soon Tesla owners will be able to check solar roof and powerwall status, as well as manage settings via an in-car app.
Elon musk went on a bit of a Tweetstorm again recently, and out of it came some new information. Being that Musk believes that eventually most customers will also go solar, and invest in a Powerwall, the company has already taken steps to further integrate the products.
The updated mobile app allows those with solar roofs and Powerwalls to check power status and adjust settings via their devices. This is simply on par with many of the new home management systems in which users can mobily adjust their thermostat, engage or disengage alarms, monitor energy usage, etc.
Basically, with access to the app, Tesla owners can check how their home system is using power. Is the power coming from the Powerwall, or the solar system, or from the local grid? This way, you can see exactly what is happening at any given time.
We recently reported about YouTuber, DeRage, tapping into Tesla’s API to create a program that shows vehicle and home data all in once place. He used a program called Splunk to design dashboards for such information.
Mobile App now shows Powerwall and Solar energy flow
Soon, if you own a Tesla vehicle and a home solar system, you will be able to do this yourself, using the car’s touch screen. Being able to see vehicle energy consumption, along with home energy consumption, and especially being able to tie them together, will be a helpful tool. If you happen to have a non-Tesla home system, something like DeRage designed would be the next best thing.
This is just another way for Tesla and Musk to further tie all products together, in hopes that consumers will come to Tesla for all their needs, instead of a third party.
DETROIT — Autonomous vehicles with no human backup will be put to the test on publicly traveled roads as early as next year in what may be the first attempt at unassisted autonomous piloting.
Two on-demand Renault Zoe autonomous taxis will be deployed in Rouen, Normandy. Pictured is the standard version of the 2016 Renault Zoe. (Renault)
Automotive electronics and parts maker Delphi and French transport company Transdev plan to use autonomous taxis and a shuttle van to carry passengers on roadways in France.
The companies on Wednesday said they plan to combine Delphi’s self-driving technology with Transdev’s knowledge of mobility operations. Transdev operates trains, buses, ferries and other transportation services in 19 countries, including the U.S.
Two on-demand Renault Zoe autonomous taxis will be deployed in Rouen, Normandy, and a shuttle van will run between a rail station and campus in the university district of Paris-Saclay. Both will start with humans on board later this year, with the intent of going fully autonomous sometime in 2018. From the start, the shuttle van won’t have a steering wheel or pedals, and humans will be inside solely to communicate with passengers, said Leriche, chief performance officer at Transdev Group.
But humans at a central dispatch center would still be able to take control of the vehicles, said Glen De Vos, Delphi Corp.’s chief technology officer.
“We’re confident that in the event they would need to intervene, they can,”
he said.
The companies also plan a similar test in North America and are scouting locations, De Vos said.
He believes they’ll go through several iterations of self-driving software and systems before the French vehicles are fully operational sometime in 2019.
Transdev plans to gradually spread the technology throughout Paris and other cities that it serves, so the autonomous vehicles will be on roads along with human drivers.
It may take a while for people to trust the vehicles enough to use them, but Leriche said acceptance may not be that hard to get. Transdev has surveyed users in autonomous shuttle tests about the service and quality, and more than 90 percent were excited about the service.
“They were not afraid of the fact that there was no driver,”
he said.
The partnership comes less than a month after U.K.-based Delphi joined with BMW, Intel and Mobileye to develop autonomous vehicles. Delphi, which has U.S. operations just outside of Detroit, makes the computing platform that brings together information from the car’s sensors, cameras and computers.
The company CEO gives more details on the incident.
Hammond escaped the crash under his own power before the Rimac Concept One caught fire
Richard Hammond was involved in a serious accident last weekend while behind the wheel of a Rimac Concept_One electric supercar. It took place at the Hemburg Hill Climb event just after the finish line, and saw the car tumble down a cliff before bursting into flames. Thankfully, “Hamster” walked away mostly unharmed, apart from a fractured knee. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said about the car.
In an effort to detail the incident more fully, Rimac founder and CEO, Mate Rimac, has released more information in a statement delivered to the website Vidi Auto. In it, Rimac says that the car flew
“300 meters (328 yards) horizontally and tumbled from a 100-meter (109 yards) height.”
Continuing on, the CEO also made it a point to debunk previous reports citing false facts.
“After the first flight it fell on asphalt road 10 meters (11 yards) below the place where the fire started. I am not able to tell at which speed it was driven, but I cannot believe what nonsense has been written by people who have no idea, or are blind, or just mischievous.”
https://youtu.be/oOQL7hyFXtc
What we do know, apart from the details mentioned above, is that the accident will delay work on the Grand Tour season 2, according to Jeremy Clarkson. Clarkson and May will fill in for Hammond during upcoming shoots, and though he didn’t say when the new season would return, it likely won’t be ready in time for the proposed October premiere date.
The car in question, a 2018 Rimac Concept_One, produces 1,224 horsepower (900 kilowatts) and can reach 62 miles per hour (100 kilometers per hour) in just 2.5 seconds. The electric supercar has claimed top speed of 221 mph (355 kmh) and a driving range of 217 miles (350 km).
