Category Archives: Electric Cars

News and reviews of the latest electric cars (full electrics and plug-in hybrids).

RENAULT MÉGANE E-TECH ELECTRIC 2022 REVIEW: FUNCTION, FORM AND EFFICIENCY

March 29, 2022Buying/Leasing, Charging, Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment, RenaultRepost

Renault has produced a diamond

With six billion kilometres (3.7bn miles) covered by its more than 400,000 electric cars sold to date, it’s fair to say that Renault has some experience with electric vehicles. However, for most of the last 10 years the French brand has only had one main model — the Zoe — to showcase its EV expertise.

All that changes later this year with the arrival of the Mégane E-Tech Electric (quite a mouthful, isn’t it?). As familiar as the Mégane name is, this is an all-new and electric-only model that targets a segment led by the Nissan Leaf, Kia e-Niro and Volkswagen ID.3.

Renault electric SUV (Image: Auto Express/Playback)

Renault will offer buyers a choice of two battery sizes and two power outputs, with the most efficient capable of up to 292 miles between charges. The crossover-influenced design, upmarket interior and one of the most capable onboard charging systems on the market are all sure to make it a desirable choice and give its competitors a headache.

Exterior design and rivals

Just like a concept car you might see at a motor show (remember those?), the Mégane E-Tech Electric has striking proportions that make it look larger than it actually is. Measuring 4.2 metres long, it’s actually slightly shorter than a Ford Focus, but with up to 20in wheels pushed out to the Mégane’s extremities, it has the presence of a bigger car.

Nonetheless, as Renault has managed to produce a battery that is only 110mm thick, the Mégane isn’t that tall; its roofline is lower than the Zoe’s.

A high bonnet and beltline provide crossover styling cues, as do the black wheel arch surrounds and sills. The front door handles retract to sit flush with the bodywork while the rear handles are integrated into the door frame.

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Huge law changes will see electric vehicle chargers installed on new homes – ‘fantastic’

March 28, 2022At Home, Buying/Leasing, Charging, Charging, Electric Cars, News, Reviews and CommentRepost

A MAJOR law change which is set to be introduced this year will see all new homes and buildings equipped with electric car chargers have been hailed as “really effective”.

It is expected that a law will be passed this year which will require all new houses and buildings to have electric vehicle charging stations. The Government said the move will see up to 145,000 charging points installed across England each year, in the hopes it will make charging an EV as easy as “refuelling a petrol or diesel car today”.

The changes will also require all newly-built and refurbished non-residential buildings with more than 10 on-site parking spaces to have at least one charge point – as well as cable routes for at least one in five spaces.

Meanwhile, blocks of flats undergoing major renovation with more than 10 on-site parking spaces will need to provide residents with chargers.

For each dwelling with associated parking, there should be at least one charge point, as well as cable routes in all spaces without charge points.

The Government had previously announced that all new-build homes could be fitted with an electric car charge point in 2019.

Ian Johnston, CEO of Osprey Charging, spoke of how newly built car parks and retail developments will benefit from the EV charger law.

Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk, he said: “The changes in the planning regulations have been really quite effective in making sure that any new build car park not only has a day one installation of charging infrastructure but is also future proofed for more.

“That is great. We’ve had a number of leads coming to us with people saying they were building a new retail park and they’ve got to have electric chargers, so let’s talk.

“That’s fantastic because it’s forcing people to open the conversation.

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Fiat 500 Action review: Electric car is the most affordable option for now

March 25, 2022500 2021, Buying/Leasing, Charging, Electric Cars, Fiat, News, Reviews and Comment, UncategorizedRepost

The electric Fiat 500 is not related to the regular petrol 500 that’s been on our streets since 2007. For starters it is 60mm longer and the same measurement in extra width

Dacia is looking likely to bring its Spring electric car to the UK. I applied thumbscrews to a Dacia spokesman at the recent launch of the Jogger seven-seater – and although he manfully didn’t crack under torture, his body language suggested it.

I hope it does because with Dacia’s fantastic value pricing structure it’ll be very affordable.

Most European countries have far more generous EV grants than us, but even so the Spring could cost under £15,000.

I mention it because this week we’re testing the Fiat 500, which in the specification we’re driving, is currently the cheapest electric car you can buy in the UK.

It’s fitted with a 24kWh hour battery. If you’ve got your head around this EV malarkey you’ll know a 24kWh battery doesn’t give you a huge range. The official figure for the car is 115 miles. Fine if you use it for city driving and local journeys, but tremendous patience and a lot of spare time is required if you want to cross the country in it.

Best mention the price. With the PICG deducted, our Action trim level 500 with no options costs £22,335. The next most affordable EVs are MG’s ZS crossover and MG5 estate, and Renault’s Zoe. All of those are around 27 grand but do have significantly longer ranges. You can also buy a Fiat 500 with a 42kWh battery that will give a range of just under 200 miles but that car is similar money to the Zoe and MG models.

The electric Fiat 500 is not related to the regular petrol 500 that’s been on our streets since 2007 (we owned two of them, first a hatchback and second a convertible). For starters it is 60mm longer and the same measurement in extra width.

It’s still a diddy car, though. A bit more spacious in the back than the petrol models but still better suited to kids than adults.

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UK Plugin EV Share Doubles To 26% As Tesla Model Y Debuts

March 24, 2022Buying/Leasing, Electric Cars, LEVC, Model Y, News, Reviews and Comment, Tesla, UncategorizedRepost

The UK, Europe’s second largest plugin market, saw electric vehicle share almost double year on year to 25.6% in February. Full electrics alone took 17.7% share. Overall auto volume was down some 28% over seasonal norms, to 58,994 units. Debuting in February after a long wait, the Tesla Model Y was the best selling electric, and 4th in the overall market.

February’s combined plugin result of 25.6% comprised 17.7% full battery electrics (BEVs), and 7.9% plugin hybrids (PHEVs). This strong weighting towards BEV is in line with recent months.

Petrol-only powertrain share was down to 40.6%, its second lowest ever (from last December), a significant fall off from the 52.1% of February 2021.

The temporary “quick fix” transition technology of plugless hybrids (both HEV and mild) may have already peaked, seeing 27.2% in February, from over 30% in mid 2021.

UK’s Popular BEV Brands

With Tesla’s international shipping arriving again in February, and after a long wait, the Tesla Model Y saw its UK debut. It took the number one spot for best selling BEVs in the month, and #4 in the overall UK auto market. Its older sibling, the Model 3 was right behind, at #5 overall.

For context, here’s the list for February’s overall auto market leaders (all powertrains):

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British drivers buying millions of EVs – second only to China in number of cars purchased

March 22, 2022Ariya, Buying/Leasing, Electric Cars, Electric Taxis, Energy and Climate Change, Fleet, News, Reviews and Comment, Nissan, SalesRepost

CAR BUYERS in the UK have purchased the second highest number of EVs in the world – second only to China.

The staggering rise in the number of electric vehicles (EVs) purchased by Britons was underlined by new figures showing the UK second only to China in the amount of battery-powered cars bought in the past ten years. The research by experts at PartCatalog showed there were more than 1.75million EVs sold in Britain since 2010.

It also showed that between 2015 and 2020, yearly sales of electric cars have increased a massive 444 percent globally, going from around 500,000 sales to just shy of three million per year over the five years.

China leads the world in EV uptake with more than 4.5million cars sold over the past decade.

The country also manufactures more EVs than anyone else, with even US-based Tesla making more cars in Shanghai than they do in California.

But the UK is runner-up and way ahead of countries like Germany, the USA and France.

Even traditionally early technology adopters like Japan are way down the table.

Both China and the UK have seen their Governments hand large subsidies and grants to buyers to tempt them into buying electric vehicles, which is likely to be an influence on the amount sold.

However the Government here will shortly scrap the £350 grant for installing a home charger and last month lowered the grant for buying an EV from £2,500 to £1,500.

It was originally £5,000 when initially introduced but has been reduced every year since.

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Liberty Charge completes Northamptonshire on-street EV charging installs

March 21, 2022Charging, Electric Cars, News, Reviews and CommentRepost

A portfolio of 82 residential on-street electric vehicle (EV) charging sockets spread across west and north Northamptonshire has gone live.

Two Northamptonshire councils have partnered for the portfolio, which is owned and operated by Liberty Charge and was delivering using its strategic partner Virgin Media O2.

Two charging points have been installed at each site to serve up to four vehicles at a time, with the chargers being 22kW. Initially, two bays will be dedicated to EV charging while the other two can be used for either electric vehicle charging or general parking.

They have been rolled out across seven locations in West Northamptonshire and seven in North Northamptonshire. Funded by Innovate UK and the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles, the Virgin Park and Charge project was supported by the West and North Northamptonshire Councils.

A full charge point at Newport Pagnell services, and my first ever sight of an Audi A3 e-tron (Image: T. Larkum)

Graham Lawman, North Northamptonshire Council’s executive member for highways, travel and assets, said: “Only about 9% of Electric Vehicles are owned by people with no off-street parking against there being about 30% of properties in that situation, so, to catch up, it is vital that we progress kerbside charging points like this to enable all drivers the opportunity to charge their cars locally to them and overnight.”

The Northamptonshire rollout follows the recent announcement of Liberty Charge rolling out chargepoints across Wandsworth, with 35 sites set to see installations.

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Ford splits gas-powered and electric vehicle businesses but doesn’t spin them off

March 18, 2022Buying/Leasing, Electric Cars, Fleet, Ford, Ford, Formula E, News, Reviews and CommentRepost

(CNN Business)Ford is creating two new business units, one for electric vehicles and software and another for its traditional internal combustion vehicles. These companies will report their financial results separately from the rest of Ford but they will not be spun off as entirely separate companies.

This new corporate structure will allow investors to more clearly see the value of the two types of business, Ford (F) chief executive Jim Farley said, but it will not enable investors to buy stock in just the EV business. Farley said he had considered a full spin-off of the electric vehicle business, but it was simply too difficult to entirely carve it out as distinct from the rest of Ford’s operations. Also, he said, there was no need to sell stock in a new company.

“We have enough capital,” he said. “We can fund this ourselves.”

Farley, himself, will lead Ford Model e, the division focused on electric vehicles, technology, and software. Kumar Galhotra, president of Ford’s international business unit, will lead Ford Blue, the internal combustion business.

Model E is a play on Ford’s famous Model T, the car that popularized automobiles in America in the early 20th century. Tesla had once wanted to use the Model E name for its own more affordable electric car — the company’s model names would have spelled out S-E-X-Y, had it been successful — but Ford presented a legal challenge, thanks to the long-running production of Ford’s E-series van. Tesla ultimately named its vehicle the Model 3, instead.

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Massive cargo ship carrying electric cars sinks in Atlantic Ocean after fire

March 17, 2022Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment, Pollution, UncategorizedRepost

A large cargo vessel carrying cars has sunk in the Atlantic Ocean, thirteen days after a fire broke out on board.

The ship’s manager and Portuguese navy confirmed on Tuesday that the Felicity Ace sank around 400 kilometres off the Azores.

The Panama-flagged vessel was being towed after a salvage team had extinguished the fire, MOL Ship Management in Singapore said in a statement.

The view from our hotel window in Falmouth, ZOE in foreground (Image: T. Larkum)

The 200-metre-long vessel had been sailing from Germany to the United States before it caught fire last month. Portugal’s Air Force had evacuated the 22 crew members, before letting the ship drift for several days in the mid-Atlantic.

Ocean-going tugboats with firefighting equipment had been hosing down the ship’s hull to cool it.

It was not clear how many luxury cars were onboard, but vessels of the Felicity Ace’s size can carry at least 4,000 vehicles.The ship was transporting electric and non-electric vehicles, according to Portuguese authorities.

Authorities suspect the fire may have broken out due to the lithium batteries used in electric vehicles, but an investigation into the cause of the blaze is still underway.

The Portuguese navy confirmed the sinking of the Felicity Ace, saying it occurred outside Portuguese waters.

There were also concerns that the sunken vessel could pollute the ocean, given that it had been carrying 2,000 metric tons of both fuel and oil.

The Portuguese navy said in a statement that only a few pieces of wreckage and a small patch of oil was visible where the ship went down. The tugboats were breaking up the patch with hoses, it added.

A Portuguese Air Force plane and a Portuguese navy vessel will remain at the scene on the lookout for signs of pollution.

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New Nottinghamshire solar point can charge 100 electric cars a day

March 16, 2022Charging, Charging, Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment, Solar PowerRepost

A new solar-powered hub could charge up to 100 electric vehicles a day, according to the authority behind it.

The hub is opening in the car park of Gamston Community Centre in Nottinghamshire.

Rushcliffe Borough Council said the facility formed part of its carbon management plan and would, in time, largely be powered by natural light.

It said electric and hybrid users would be able to charge their vehicles up to 80% in 30 minutes.

‘Greener transport’

The facility will add to the council’s network of sites in Keyworth, Radcliffe on Trent, Cotgrave and Rushcliffe Arena in West Bridgford, the authority said.

The council’s portfolio holder for communities and climate change Abby Brennan said: “The charging point is an essential part of our work to… help reduce the environmental impact of our operations.

“As a council, we’re committed to installing more electric vehicle charging points across the borough.

“This will continue to encourage the use of electric or hybrid vehicles, as the infrastructure to support them becomes even more convenient and available to residents.”

The authority has been able to provide the site, near the A52, as part of the government’s Transforming Cities Fund.

The council’s portfolio holder for environment and safety Rob Inglis said: “We’re once again thrilled to bring more public electric charging points to Rushcliffe by providing this new solar-powered facility in Gamston and just yards from one of our major road routes.

“This infrastructure will continue to support residents to make the switch to greener transport and complement our existing sites with more to come later this year.”

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Renault’s Mégane E-Tech: a seductive bet on the EV future

March 15, 2022Buying/Leasing, Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment, Renault, UncategorizedRepost

Renault’s new 100%-electric Mégane E-Tech is the French company’s non-hedged bet it can convince drivers they’ve nothing to lose in swapping their traditional ICE rides for modern a EV – and gain considerable performance, cost, and flair advantages in the bargain. A day test driving the car on the roads of southern Spain suggests the company stands a good chance of winning that wager and setting some standards for European EV development as it does.

Renault is in no way a newcomer to electric vehicles, having sold over 400,000 EVs since the 2012 rollout of its Zoe e-compact. Yet the Mégane E-Tech represents a veritable milestone in several ways. For starters, it’s the first battery-powered vehicle built using the firm’s common module family (CMF) platform, meaning it will inevitably influence later models. And while Renault is adamant the car is positioned to enter Europe’s C-segment at the top of the family hatchback class, its design, spaciousness, and operating chops may well convince some cross-over and the occasional SUV shoppers to reconsider their plans.

Indeed, as Renault staffers acknowledged when asked, the Mégane E-Tech is playing to several kinds of drivers and expectations at once. Conceived to provide the sound, solid, and powerful performance of a German-engineered car – rival Volkswagen ID.4, for example – Renault’s showcase EV is also an unabashed demonstration of French seductive flair. Its innovative design, stylish flourishes, myriad creature comforts, and various features play as much to the eye and heart as its emissions-free, sustainable, efficiently manufactured hardware and tech appeal to pragmatic buyer demands.

And it does so under the name of Renault’s most popular and recognizable Mégane model – but with everything in, on, or about it completely new and different.

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