Uber turns on electric vehicles in the UK, starting with 50 cars in London

The race for who will take the lead in the next generation of automotive technology is on, and today Uber is kicking off a program that it hopes will help put it in pole position. Today, the transportation-on-demand behemoth is launching a new electric car service in the UK, in partnership with Nissan and China's BYD, where it will offer leasing (not purchasing) options for fully-electric cars (BYD E6s and Nissan Leafs) to its drivers, as well as include those vehicles in the mix of cars that it offers to passengers for journeys.

"The cars through this partnership are for rent, not for purchase, and will be at rates lower than the cheapest rentals in the market for other private hire vehicles (in order to encourage drivers to make the switch from their existing vehicle)," a spokesperson from Uber tells us. "Obviously running costs are quite a bit lower too – although how much lower obviously depends what car they are switching from."

Uber is starting first with 50 vehicles in London and — if all goes as planned — it will expand the service to another UK city in coming months, and projects to have "hundreds" of all-electric vehicles on the roads in the UK by next year.

Uber's move to expand into electric cars is significant for a few reasons: for one, it builds on the company's efforts to make sure that whatever direction cars may be moving in the years ahead, it will have a place at the table as one of the companies leading the charge.

Uber may not (yet) be fully using its own self-driving vehicles, which go hand-in-hand with self-driving cars in the next generation of automotive technology. But as a large company in the transportation industry, programs like this will help Uber have the ability to influence how these cars are made by third parties, and will also give it a good route into being a middle man in the leasing of these vehicles, potentially developing that business into a useful revenue stream to diversify from basic transportation (or delivery) on-demand services.

Moving into leasing services is a route that companies like Didi in China (which recently acquired/merged with Uber's business in the country) and Ola in India have also taken in China to expand their businesses.

(Didi, as a side note, is also making further moves to expand its reach in another way: today the company announced that it would work with some 50 other transportation-on-demand businesses to provide a platform to help them organise and look for ride requests more efficiently. You can think of this as Didi's equivalent to Amazon or Alibaba's marketplace, where they are offering their transportation platform as a service to independent vendors.)

Second of all, it's a smart move to improve Uber's profile, both with lawmakers and regulators in the cities where it operates as well as with consumers and drivers, too. As a company with automotive transportation as its core building block, making investments into further electric car transportation and figuring out effective, alternative forms of fuel beyond gasoline to improve he environment, especially in large cities clogged with pollution (London, as an old city, has a lot of homes on very busy roads) are very obvious moves in Uber's larger corporate social responsibility strategy, and also more directly to help improve its image, which has not always been positive.

The partnership being announced today plays on some earlier forays that Uber has made into adding electric vehicles into its fleet.

These include a trial that Uber started last year in Chicago, also with BYD, to offer electric cars as part of its UberX service, which offers rides in smaller, private-style vehicles for a lower cost than Uber's higher-end tiers. An Uber spokesperson tells us that Uber is aiming the UK service at the same tier of users. We have asked how the Chicago trial is progressing and will update as we find out more.

There have been other electric car projects from Uber as well: they include a one-month trial earlier this year in South Africa, which has already ended. And in Portugal earlier this year, Uber also trialled an electric car service called Uber Green for three months. (Again, we've asked Uber for an update on these two as well.)

The difference with the UK project is that the cars will be part of the bigger mix of offerings, meaning as a passenger you might end up in an electric vehicle, or a Prius hybrid, or a more standard car.

Unlike some transport companies, such as Uber's competitor in the UK, Addison Lee, Uber's fleet is not owned by the company itself but comes as part of its deals with drivers to use its platform. That, essentially, gives Uber some flexibility in how it grows and a mandate to encourage and vet vehicles on the platform, but ultimately it must also rely on those drivers to have the initiative to upgrade. Uber says that some 60% of rides in London already take place in Prius-style hybrid cars.

"People already associate Uber with hybrid cars, but we now want to go a big step further with fully electric cars on the road from today," said Jo Betram, the GM for Uber in the UK. "We are determined to use technology to help tackle the challenge of air pollution in London and across the UK. Our car-sharing service has already saved more than 1.3 million miles and 231 metric tonnes of CO2. With electric vehicles – and more people sharing their journey and leaving their own cars at home – there's even more we can do."

As with the other projects, Uber's working with other groups to monitor the progress of its electric car service. The Energy Saving Trust (EST) will run a study "into the feasibility of running large numbers of electric private hire vehicles in the UK. In particular, the EST will research the experience, driving patterns and economics of private hire drivers using electric cars, and the capacity of London's current network of charging points to support these vehicles."

"We are delighted to be working with Uber to help realise and build upon their ambition to add a significant number of electric vehicles to their app," said Andrew Benfield, Group Director of Transport at the Energy Saving Trust, in a statement. We hope that this trial represents an important step in Uber's contribution towards the wider efforts to improve air quality in the capital – the benefits of which will be felt by all."

Updated with quotes and more detail.

Source: Uber turns on electric vehicles in the UK, starting with 50 cars in London

Spyker Says No To Electric Supercars

10 hours ago by Steven Loveday

Spyker C8 Preliator

Victor Muller, CEO of Spyker, has decided despite outside pressures to continue with ICE engines and manual transmissions. Muller told Autocar he is not a fan of fully electric sportscars. He said:

Spyker C8 Preliator

"Electric engines are not very exciting to drive . . . If I take away the sensation of a V8 or a V12 from a super or sports car, I think it will be very hard to sell. [With electric cars], we're not yet able to replicate the feeling you get when you switch the ESP off in a manual gearbox car."

Sales for the recent Spyker C8 Preliator, just unveiled, show 86% of customers requesting the manual transmission option. Half of the buyers are U.S. based and demanding the manual gearbox. He elaborated:

"Forty-three of the 50 Preliator orders have been for a stick, showing that the manual gearbox is back with a vengeance. It shows that it's impossible to predict where the market is going to go."

Muller wasn't completely adversarial to electric cars. He did say that fully electric drivetrains may be the way to go for SUVs. He said:

"If I drive an SUV, I don't mind having a quiet engine. Electric power is therefore sellable here."

If, aside from the manual trans, all Muller is pushing for is the noise then his push doesn't make much sense. Yes, we can all agree that ICE engines have noise, but noise doesn't equate to push or energy off the line and noise isn't necessarily a desired trait either.

Source: Autocar

Tags: Electric Supercars, spyker

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Source: Spyker Says No To Electric Supercars

California climate change laws: More electric cars, solar power expected under tough new rules

California is already a world leader in developing environmental policies that address climate change.

But under a landmark bill sent to Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday requiring far steeper reductions in greenhouse gas emissions than anything the state has ever attempted, the next 15 years will likely see big changes for California residents.

Among the possibilities, experts say:

Rules requiring automakers to make hundreds of thousands of electric cars. Penalties for people who buy gasoline-powered vehicles. New tax credits and incentives for solar farms and wind power. Tighter building-efficiency standards on windows, heating and water systems in homes and businesses.

Labels at the supermarket showing each product's carbon footprint. Hydrogen-powered trucks. Landfills that are required to capture natural gas and use it to heat homes. A big push for batteries to store energy at homes.

Even with all those changes, however, the new targets will be difficult to reach.

"This is going to be damn hard," said Jim Sweeney, director of the Precourt Energy Efficiency Center at Stanford University. "It's a herculean task."

The task is spelled out in Senate Bill 32, which lawmakers passed after more than a year of debate. Under the measure, California is required to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030, despite population and economic growth.

The measure, a key victory for Brown, builds on AB 32, a law signed in 2006 by former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger that required the state to cut emissions to 1990 levels by 2020.

California is on track to meet that goal, having already cut emissions 9.4 percent from their peak in 2004, but to cut them another 40 percent in a decade and a half will require a host of new rules and incentives from the California Air Resources Board and other state agencies in the coming years, along with some new laws from the Legislature.

Studies by scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab lay the math out clearly. In 2014, the most recent year for which data is available, California emitted 441 million metric tons of greenhouse gases. The target for 2020 is 431, but emissions will have to fall to roughly 260 to meet the target in state Sen. Fran Pavley's bill.

There are key existing laws already in place that will help. For example, Brown signed a law last year requiring that the state's utilities produce 50 percent of their electricity from solar, wind and other renewable sources by 2030. And in 2009, President Barack Obama required automakers to double gas mileage standards nationwide from an average of 27 miles per gallon to 54 by 2025.

Both edicts -- and others like them -- mean far less coal, gasoline and natural gas will be burned, cleaning up the environment and reducing emissions that warm the planet.

Yet even with the huge savings from those laws, California will still get to only about 375 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 -- or about a third of the way to the 2030 goal, according to Lawrence Berkeley lab estimates.

"We are going to need some additional policies to get us all the way there," said Jeffery Greenblatt, a staff scientist in the lab's energy analysis division.

Greenblatt said it is certainly possible for the state to meet the goals if it strengthens existing clean energy rules and draws up more.

"There are many ways to get there," he said.

California could increase the renewable energy requirement beyond 50 percent, he said. Or it could begin to reduce the carbon footprint of natural gas that is used commonly in homes and businesses by requiring "recycled" natural gas from landfills to be mixed in with it. Or it could pass building rules requiring most appliances that now run on natural gas to run on electricity. It could require companies to use hybrid vehicles for delivery trucks, electrify diesel trains and expand research and incentives for home battery storage, so people could power their homes with electricity from their vehicle batteries while their electric cars sit in the driveway.

SB 32 was supported by a wide variety of organizations, from the Sierra Club to the American Cancer Society. It also had the backing of businesses that make alternative energy and vehicles, including the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, General Motors, Ford and PG&E.

However, it was strongly opposed by traditional industries such as oil, cement and manufacturing.

Passage of the bill "is not a reason to celebrate," said Catherine Reheis-Boyd, president of the Western States Petroleum Association.

She worries that the Air Resources Board, an agency created by Gov. Ronald Reagan in the 1960s to reduce smog, has too much power to write the rules. Despite last week's passage of a companion bill to address that concern, she said, "There is no accountability in providing blank check authority to a state bureaucracy."

Similarly, Dorothy Rothrock, president of the California Manufacturers & Technology Association, said if more regulations are placed on manufacturing, companies will leave the state.

"California is still subjecting its manufacturers to costs that other states aren't imposing," she said.

Mary Nichols, chairwoman of the air board, said that industry for decades has overstated the risks of environmental rules in California, and the targets are nearly always reached by innovation.

"There's no question it is a challenge," Nichols said, "but we'll build on the momentum that we are already doing. It will mean more renewable energy, more low-carbon fuels and more vehicles that run on electricity and fuel cells."

An executive order signed by Schwarzenegger 11 years ago also sets a general goal of 80 percent reduction in greenhouse gases by 2050, although it has not been approved by the Legislature.

The science on climate change is clear.

The 10 hottest years worldwide since 1880, when modern measurements began, all have occurred since 1998, according to NASA. Last year was the hottest year in recorded history, and 2016 is on pace to break the record again, increasing the risk of forest fires, droughts and flooding from rising sea levels.

California's climate rules on cars, buildings and other areas already have been copied by other states and nations, supporters note.

The state has cut greenhouse gas emissions nearly 10 percent since 2004. And during that time, the state's annual economic output has grown from $1.5 trillion to $2.2 trillion.

"Over the past 10 years, our economy has increased and emissions have gone down," said Pavley, D-Agoura Hills, who wrote SB 32. "We have created new jobs in solar and other industries."

Dan Kammen, director of the renewable energy lab at UC Berkeley, said the new rules will spur innovation and investment, as previous California environmental laws have done.

"Utilities will be like eBay, brokering electricity sales from people's rooftop solar systems," he said. "We're going to see homes built that have no natural gas lines to them, and solar on the roof with battery storage. You are going to see buildings built with chemical batteries built into the foundation to store energy."

California's 40 percent reduction target by 2030 is similar to goals set by the European Union -- regulations that scientists say are necessary to limit warming to about 4 degrees Fahrenheit over the rest of this century.

"The effort to decarbonize our economy in California and throughout the world is extremely difficult," Brown said last week. "It's a tall hill, and we're climbing."

Paul Rogers covers resources and environmental issues. Contact him at 408-920-5045. Follow him at Twitter.com/PaulRogersSJMN.

Source: California climate change laws: More electric cars, solar power expected under tough new rules

Indonesian man, Thai woman hospitalised after crashing truck into electric pole during rainshower

PHUKET: The collision force in the latest wet-road accident on the north of the island caused a pickup truck to split in half after its driver lost control during a rainshower and crashed into road side electric pole on Sunday afternoon.

Two occupants of the vehicle reportedly suffered unspecified but non-critical injuries,rescue workers reported. 

At 2.30pm on Sunday (August 28) Thachadchai Police were informed by a good samaritan that there had been an accident involving a truck crashing into an electron pole along Thepkrasattri Rd, at the curve between the Ban Bang Duk and Ban Mak Prok locales in Thalang's Mai Khao sub district.

Police, along with Kusoldharm rescue reported to the scene, where on the side of the southbound lanes of the road there was a wrecked bronze-coloured Mazda pick-up truck with Phuket license plates.

The bed of the pickup truck had nearly completely separated from the cab, and a wheel had also come loose and seperated from the vehicle. A concrete electric pole a few metres away was damaged at its base, and was leaning towards the road but had not fallen down.  

Police named the two persons injured in the accident as Mr Tranggielia Lokon Parengkuan, 44, an Indonesian national, and Ms Palawi Khamsieng, 27, who was identified as the driver.

Both were transported Thalang Hospital, where they were treated for unspecified injuries. 

Police reported that the pair had just returned from a business trip in Krabi and during the time of the accident, it had reportedly been raining causing the road to become slippery, causing the driver of the vehicle to lose control of the the vehicle at the curve.

Police did not mention excessive speed as a factor in the accident but said the investigation had yet to be concluded. 

Local residents at the scene of the accident reported that an hour before the latest accident, an 18-wheel lorry had caused long traffic delays when it blocked southbound flowing traffic after its driver lost control at the Suan Maprao curve nearby.

The residents took the opportunity to urge commuters to exercise caution at several dangerous curves on the north of the island, including those at Ban Bangduk, Suan Maprao and Koh En, where accidents are all-too-frequent. 

Source: Indonesian man, Thai woman hospitalised after crashing truck into electric pole during rainshower

It's time for Tesla to stop improving its most successful car

The mighty Model S. Hollis Johnson

The Model S, the first car that Tesla designed and engineered from scratch, has been perfected.

On Tuesday, the all-electric automaker announced a new battery pack for the Model S, creating in the the process the $135,000 Model S P100D, an all-wheel-drive four-door that can travel 315 miles between charges on its 100 kilowatt-hour battery and blast from 0-60 mph in 2.5 seconds. That's faster that a million-dollar Ferrari and Porsche hypercars.

One hundred is a nice round number and if you ask me, a great stopping point for further Model S performance upgrades. It's terrific that Tesla has taken its most successful vehicle, representing the bulk of its sales to date, and continually made it better. And sure, even more range on a single charge would be welcome. But 315 miles is pretty good. And 2.5 seconds for the run from o-60 mph is ridonkulous.

Should we eagerly anticipate the P110D or the P200D or the P1000D and the relentless assault by the madmen of Palo Alto on the laws of physics?

Perhaps, but from here on out, anything new for Model S on performance is gravy.

A lot on its plate

Tesla has higher priorities. Mainly, getting the Model 3 mass-market vehicle launched on schedule in 2017 (Tesla has a history of missing launch dates) and improving its Autopilot semi-self-driving technology to remain competitive. as the master narrative in the disruption-of-mobility moment shifts from electric cars to cars that can drive themselves, as evinced by big recent moves from Uber (self-driving Volvos in Pittsburgh right now) and Ford (a fully autonomous fleet on the road by 2021).

The Model 3 reveal. AP Photo/Justin Pritchard

And let's not forget about Tesla's massive battery plant, the Gigafactory, which recently opened in Nevada. It has to supply enough lithium-ion battery cells to fulfill Musk's goal of Tesla delivering 500,000 vehicles annually by 2018.

Oh, also, the acquisition of SolarCity by Tesla. The solar-panel leasing-and-installing startup was founded by Musk's cousins, Musk is chairman of the board, and the company has been struggling, losing half of its multi-billion market cap this year.

Falling back on what works

In the grand scheme of Tesla's decade-long history, the Model S is a triumph, so it's easy to understand why Musk and his team would want to continue to revisit that well as the future challenges mount. The Model S was Motor Trend's Car of the Year in 2013, and it performed so exceptionally in Consumer Reports' tests that the magazine had to recalibrate its ratings scale.

I've driven the car a number of times. It's good. Very, very good. Sleek, fast, remarkably practical, stylish, and symbolic of how Silicon Valley and its ethos can reinvent a machine that for 100 years in the US was dominated by Detroit, and in the past few decades by the arrival of the Japanese and the Germans.

Love the Model S. Matthew DeBord/Business Insider

To a degree, further incremental improvements to the Model S will be driven by the demands of the Model X and by consumers demands for greater range. That's why we got the 100 kWh pack, which makes for a faster Model X, in "Ludicrous Mode," just as it makes for a faster Model S. 

But if I were Musk, I wouldn't devote too much more attention to these vehicles.

The Model 3 has to be the focus, and although that $35,000 car will be Tesla-quick and have a range of 200 mph, it really needs an affordable battery pack. Value trumps performance, and even in this case range. 

The Model S will always be around

Even if the Model 3 master plan doesn't work out and Tesla has to abandon its mass-market, world-changing ambitions, the Model S will remain the best luxury sedan on the market. Tesla can sell this car for $100,000 on average and so over time should be able to turn it into a profit-making machine. 

That will be time to further amp up its performance. Then Tesla can try to have the fastest production car in the known universe, assuming intelligent life elsewhere shares our need for speed.

For now, however, Tesla's big push will be defined by Model 3. A need for speed doesn't matter all that much to the mass market. Buyers in that space want reliability, value, and safety. A lot of potential customers also want to be part of the Tesla story — 375,000 reservations, at $1,000 a pop, have been logged for the car.

This meat-and-potatoes stuff isn't currently Tesla's forte. But in the future, it will have to be. And then Musk can get back to his true passion: creating electric cars that can show up the fastest, most exotic, most exclusive, and most expensive machines ever made.

SEE ALSO: Why Tesla's newest release isn't really a hypercar NOW WATCH: Tesla cars just got a whole lot better — here's what's changing Loading video...
Source: It's time for Tesla to stop improving its most successful car

Resale Values For Electric Cars Continue To Drop – Not For Teslas Though

Tesla Model S

2016 Nissan LEAF

Most of today's plug-in electric cars are still struggling with low residual values.

Car And Driver notes that a five year old EV is damn cheap, despite low mileages and and cars that are working just fine.

The reason according to C&D is the cellphone-like market.  Every year we see cheaper pricing, for better products – in the case of EVs, lessening MSRPs with greater ranges (recently examples of which being the BMW i3, Nissan LEAF, Ford Focus EV).

Another reason given is persistently low fuel prices…but we don't subscribe to that notion at all, given the rising sales trends in the US against a backdrop of lower gas pricing at the pumps.  That was a talking point in the US from 2015, that has been well-debunked in 2016.

Lower residual values have hit the most popular all-electric model hard – Nissan LEAF, which according to the Black Book, retains just 18% of MSRP after three years and 11% after five years.

"A three-year-old Leaf—a $30,000 to $40,000 car new—returned from lease gets sold at wholesale auction at $6000 to $7000 or, on average, just 18 percent of its original price. For gasoline vehicles, a three-year residual is typically in the 45- to 65-percent range. "To be under 20 percent is fairly telling," said Anil Goyal, Black Book's senior vice-president of operations. "A lot of it has to do with demand.""

Because quick value drop, three years old Nissan LEAF SV is sold for the same price as Nissan Versa SV (initially $16,500 cheaper).

Thankfully, Car & Driver is one of the first to also acknowledge the impact of incentives on residuals, and adds some context behind the numbers.

"In all fairness, the original buyers didn't lose quite that much money. They likely received a $7500 federal tax credit, along with a range of other possible state or local rebates, credits, or incentives; but even factoring those in, owners of a three-year-old Leaf won't recover much more than 30 percent of their original net cost."

The Ford Focus Electric is especially hit hard as well, because after just three years is selling $1,400 below the conventional version, despite a starting MSRP $20,000 higher (2x).

The problem extends also to plug-in hybrids. The Chevrolet Volt was for example started out $16,500 more expensive than Malibu LT, but after three years the difference is just $1,700.

It's not just pure-electric cars that are running low on resale juice—it's anything with a plug. The Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid has underperformed on the used-car lot, too. It stands at just 31 percent of original value after three years (versus the 47 percent norm for compacts).

The only plug-in that stands out on the list is the Tesla Model S, which retains 62% after three years! Growing Superchargers network, over-the-air updates, and strong demand keeps the older Model S prices high.  Also the fact that the $7,500 federal credit, on average, only accounts for about 8% of the total purchase price doesn't hurt.

Tesla themselves has even resigned from itsGuaranteed Resale Value program for new cars, as the company believes the support is not necessary any more after establishing the brand.

source: Car And Driver blog

Source: Resale Values For Electric Cars Continue To Drop – Not For Teslas Though

Get ready to say goodbye to a lot of electric cars

Doesn't need to be plugged in. Uber

We are nearing the beginning of what I'm calling the "second great electric-car extinction." The first extinction happened after the financial crisis, when numerous electric-vehicle startups went bankrupt and vanished.

Since then, the EV market has been dominated by the single significant survivor, Tesla, and by the experiments of the major automakers. The best-known example of the latter is probably the Nissan Leaf.

But various other all-electric cars and plug-in hybrids dot the automotive landscape. And they aren't long for this world.

That's because the narrative in the future of mobility is shifting. Since the mid-2000s, it's been all about alternatives to gas-powered propulsion, chiefly EVs. The remaining, ambitious players for this story are of course Tesla, which is bringing out a mass-market vehicle, the Model 3, in 2017; and General Motors, which wants to rival the Model 3's 200-miles of range with its own all-electric Bolt, slated to hit the road in late 2016.

Tesla sales have been growing year after year, but overall EV sales are declining. It's possible that GM's Bolt will validate the long-range concept, something that Tesla has kind of already done, albeit at a much higher price point.

The Chevy Bolt EV. General Motors

A sexier idea 

But the real issue is that the sexier idea right now in the car-tech realm is self-driving. Uber is rolling out a small fleet of autonomous Volvo SUVs in Pittsburgh, Ford has committed to a fully autonomous test fleet by 2021, GM is talking about using its $500-million investment in Lyft and its acquisition of self-driving startup Cruise Automation to set up a self-driving fleet in big cities, and Google's work on its driverless Google Car continues apace. For its part, Tesla has stressed that the Model 3 launch and the continued development of its Autopilot technology are the company's highest priorities.

Autopilot in a Tesla. Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider

To get to full autonomy, you don't really need to go electric. Plain old gas-powered platforms are fine. They're available in massive numbers, are large enough in the case of SUVs to lug around all the processing power, sensors, and radars you need to advanced autonomy, and can be refueled in a snap. No waiting around for an hour or two, which you're up against even with fast electric recharging.

The self-driving all-electric car is an elegant solution to several problems, from global warming to highway fatalities to time lost in traffic. But it's also two new technologies being engineered at the same time. Focus on one or the other and you probably stand a better chance of winning.

Faster, faster

A Ford fully autonomous Fusion Hybrid research vehicle. Ford

The pace of driverless advancements also seems to be accelerating faster than what's happening with battery chemistry, meaning that widespread electric mobility for the masses might not happen before cars can drive themselves. 

It's obviously unclear whether consumers will actually want cars that drive themselves, outside of ride-hailing fleets and taxi services. The tech is currently expensive, and even if the cost comes down, it will still be an add-on that has to be absorbed by someone, eventually. It remains to be seen whether car buyers will want to cough up a few thousand more on the purchase just to get a hyperactive version of cruise control.

But it is clear that the advanced-mobility storyline has changed, probably sooner than anyone expected. And it isn't about what makes the cars go — it's about who controls them once they get going.

SEE ALSO: The MINI Cooper S Convertible is the MINI perfected NOW WATCH: Uber will be offering free rides in self-driving cars later this month Loading video...
Source: Get ready to say goodbye to a lot of electric cars

Tesla’s new 100 kWH battery makes it the third-fastest accelerating car ever

Tesla's Model S and Model X vehicles just got faster. On a call with journalists today, Elon Musk unveiled a larger battery pack — 100 kWH — that enables the Model S to accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 2.5 seconds in what the company calls "ludicrous" mode.

That makes the Model S the third-fastest production car ever made, after the Ferrari LaFerrari and the Porsche 918 Spyder, but it's the quickest pure electric vehicle that has the capacity to seat up to five adults and two children, according to the company.

In an industry first, the battery also enables the car to drive an estimated 315 miles on a single charge. This is the first electric vehicle to go above a range of 300 miles, according to Tesla.

"Looking at the bigger picture here, it's just amazing that an electric car is now the fastest car in production in the world," Musk said on a call with reporters. "I think it's a great message to the world and really speaks to the fact that electric cars are the future. That's just a very positive message for the electric vehicle industry as a whole beyond just Tesla."

Customers who ordered a Model S P90D — a Model S with a 90 kWH battery and a range of 253 miles — but have not yet received the vehicle can upgrade to the 100 kWH battery for $10,000.

The larger battery will also be available for the company's SUV, the Model X. With the battery pack, the car accelerates from 0 to 60 mph in 2.9 seconds and can travel up to 289 miles on a single charge.

"While the P100D Ludicrous is obviously an expensive vehicle, we want to emphasize that every sale helps pay for the smaller and much more affordable Tesla Model 3 that is in development," the company wrote in a blogpost. "Without customers willing to buy the expensive Model S and X, we would be unable to fund the smaller, more affordable Model 3 development."

The Model S P100D will start at $135,000 — compared to a $125,000 MSRP for the Model S P90D equipped with ludicrous mode — and the Model X P100D will start at $135,500. The Model X P90D started at $115,500.

Elon Musk talks SpaceX and autonomous cars
Source: Tesla's new 100 kWH battery makes it the third-fastest accelerating car ever

‘Tesla Model S’ Now Fastest Production Car In The World, Breaks Range Record

Wednesday, August 24, 2016 2:36 AM UTC

Tesla has already revolutionized how electric cars are made, presented, and sold. Now, Elon Musk is upping the ante with a new 100 kWH battery pack that can propel the "Model S" from 0 to 60 mph in 2.5 seconds. The new power source also extends the vehicle's range, allowing it to reach 315 miles on a single charge; the furthest an electric vehicle has ever gone without recharging.

According to Tesla, the ability of the "Model S" to achieve such impressive acceleration can be done via the so-called "ludicrous" mode, where the vehicle is pushed to the limit, Recode reports. Granted, there are still two vehicles that can reach faster acceleration, namely the Ferrari LaFerrari and the Porsche 918 Spyder. However, those are powered by conventional combustion engines and are not in production for a larger consumer base.

In terms of a vehicle that the wider population can actually get their hands on, the "Model S" is the fastest in the world. The fact that it runs on electric power makes this achievement all the more astonishing based on usual auto industry standards.

The new battery pack is also the first to offer range surpassing 300 miles, which is a significant leap for the electric vehicle industry in and of itself. More than that, the "Model S" can seat an upwards of five adults and two children, allowing Musk to reiterate his vision of the future to reports.

"Looking at the bigger picture here, it's just amazing that an electric car is now the fastest car in production in the world," Musk said. "I think it's a great message to the world and really speaks to the fact that electric cars are the future. That's just a very positive message for the electric vehicle industry as a whole beyond just Tesla."

As to how widespread the battery pack will be, CNBC reports that it might not be that far-reaching right now. Musk explains that creating the battery pack is a complex process and will also be quite expensive.

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Source: 'Tesla Model S' Now Fastest Production Car In The World, Breaks Range Record

Rochester receives electric car grant, sets Special Town Meeting date

By Tanner Harding | Aug 22, 2016

Rochester — The Town of Rochester has been awarded a grant for three electric cars, it was announced at Monday night's Selectmen meeting. The grant, from the Massachusetts Electric Vehicle Incentive Program, also covers the cost of a charging station.

A decision on where the charging station is going to go has not been made, but Town Administrator Suzanne Szyndlar said she is looking into it, and after doing research will put forth a recommendation.

The board gave Szyndlar permission to apply for the grant less than a month ago at the July 25 meeting.

The grant pays for three-year leases of the electric cars and is part of a state program for towns to reduce emissions and fight global warming.

In other news:

Chair Naida Parker announced that the town is looking for volunteers to help with the November election. Despite a new early voting option, the town anticipates a large number of people voting on Election Day.

"If the interest in voter registration is any indicator to the turn out, it's going to be huge," Parker said.

Anyone interested in volunteering can contact Parker at the town clerk office.

The board also chose Oct. 19 as the date for Special Town Meeting.

Source: Rochester receives electric car grant, sets Special Town Meeting date

Nissan’s BladeGlider Electric Sports Car Could Get Production Green Light

2. Refine by budget

Source: Nissan's BladeGlider Electric Sports Car Could Get Production Green Light

In Russia All-Electric Car Market Is Only 33 Units For First Half of 2016, And Shrinking

3 hours ago by Mark Kane

Tesla Model S in Russia

Mitsubishi i-MiEV

If you ever wondered how electric car sales are progressing in the largest country (at least by area), here we spot some news from Russia.

In the first half of 2016, sales of BEVs amounted to a palty 33 units (which is roughly the number of EVs owned by persons who have penned an article at InsideEVs this year).

Even worse is that sales decreased by 28% year-over-year.  Although with numbers this low…percentages don't really matter so much.

The "best selling" all electric car is … the Tesla Model S with 13 units, followed by Mitsubishi i-MiEV (12) and Nissan LEAF (6).

Crippling sales was a tax on , already expensive, imports of electric cars.  Fortunately, the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) recently decided that this tax will go away to promote more EV sales, starting this September (details).

So we hope for bigger and better thing in the second half for Russia…c'mon 50 units!

source: CCFA

Tags: Mitsubishi i-miev, Nissan Leaf, russia, sales, Tesla Model S

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Source: In Russia All-Electric Car Market Is Only 33 Units For First Half of 2016, And Shrinking

Electric Car Sales = 33% Of All Car Sales In Norway (1st Half 2016)

Cars

Published on August 19th, 2016 | by James Ayre

August 19th, 2016 by James Ayre 

Originally published on EV Obsession.

Estimates for electric vehicle sales in Norway during the month of July 2016 were recently released by our friend over at the EV Sales blog, Jose Pontes.

Overall, the new sales figure estimates show pretty good growth — with 2,998 electric vehicles sold in total, making for a ~17% year-on-year growth rate. "Electric vehicles" in this case refers to any plug-in cars — all-electric cars (EVs) as well as plug-in hybrid cars (PHEVs). (These numbers do not include electric bikes.)

That said, EV sales are actually down somewhat (-38%), while PHEV sales are up notably (+140%). So, while overall growth is strong, it appears that some potential buyers are now holding out on the purchase of an EV — presumably owing to the improved offerings that will appear on the market later this year (longer-range Nissan LEAF & BMW i3) and into 2017 (Chevy Bolt & Tesla Model 3).

→ Related: Norway EV & PHEV Driver Findings, Galore!

The overall plug-in car market made up 22% of new car registrations in Norway in July, and 33% for the year through July.

As far as individual model sales, the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV is still selling well despite the recent Mitsubishi fuel-economy scandal — with 504 units registered during the month.

Following fairly closely behind was the Volkswagen Golf GTE, with 412 units registered during the month in Norway. Then, in 3rd, was the Volkswagen Passat GTE (294 units), but you can see how close the models are from there on: In 4th was the Volkswagen e-Golf with 279 units sold; and in 5th the Nissan LEAF with 237.

Volkswagen is, of course, also still dealing with the aftermath of its own diesel emissions cheating scandal. Interesting that the top four spots are held by companies facing "PR" trouble. I guess that the Norwegians don't mind the deceptions?

Notably, July 2016 was the first time that the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV managed to nab the top spot in the mixed rankings (including petrol and diesel vehicles) — displacing the Volkswagen Golf GTE. So, perhaps some Norwegians are taking note of the Volkswagen scandal?

Also notable is that the Tesla Model S had its worst month in more than 1½ years. It's worst in 20 months, to be exact, with only 43 units registered, but it's hard to know if that relates to Tesla production, Tesla deliveries, or demand. It'll be interesting to see what Model X registrations look like later this year once deliveries pick up — that should tell us a lot about Tesla's immediate future in the country. Of course, the Model 3 launch there in ~2 years will tell us far, far more….

Model July 2016 YTD 2016 May Market Share 2016 Market Share Audi A3 e-Tron 170 1,283 6% 5% Audi Q7 e-Tron 68 70 2% 0% BMW 225xe Active Tourer 70 545 2% 2% BMW 330e 24 158 1% 1% BMW i3 98 1,203 3% 5% BMW X5 eDrive40e 34 672 1% 3% BMW i8 10 31 0% 0% Citröen Berlingo EV 2 11 0% 0% Citröen C-Zero 7 140 0% 1% Ford Focus Electric 1 22 0% 0% Kia Soul EV 102 751 3% 3% Mercedes B250e 104 865 3% 3% Mercedes C350e 74 539 2% 2% Mercedes GLC350e 59 363 2% 1% Mercedes GLE500e 15 120 1% 0% Mercedes S500e 0 4 0% 0% Mitsubishi i-MiEV 22 146 1% 1% Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV 504 3,347 17% 13% Nissan Leaf 237 2,829 8% 11% Nissan e-NV200 76 482 3% 2% Porsche Cayenne S E-Hybrid 3 78 0% 0% Peugeot iOn 8 199 0% 1% Peugeot Partner EV 7 80 0% 0% Renault Kangoo ZE 0 73 0% 0% Renault Twizy 0 5 0% 0% Renault Zoe 79 1,309 3% 5% Smart Electric Drive 1 32 0% 0% Tesla Model S 43 1,284 1% 5% Tesla Model X 23 30 1% 0% Volvo XC90 T8 77 501 3% 2% Volvo V60 PHEV 51 511 2% 2% VW e-Golf 279 3,138 9% 12% VW e-Up! 44 667 1% 3% VW Golf GTE 412 2,507 14% 10% VW Passat GTE 294 1,458 10% 6% Total 2,998 25,453 100% 100% PHEV Total 1,865 12,187 62% 48% 100% Electric Total 1,133 13,266 38% 52%

Photos by Kyle Field | CleanTechnica (CC BY-SA 4.0), via CleanTechnica.pics; Zachary Shahan | EV Obsession | CleanTechnica (CC BY-SA 4.0), via CleanTechnica.pics; and Volkswagen

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Tags: audi, Audi A3 e-tron, BMW, BMW 225xe Active Tourer, BMW 330e, BMW i3, bmw i8, BMW X5 xDrive 40e, Citroen, Citroen Berlingo EV, Citroen C-Zero, daimler, EV sales, Ford, ford focus electric, July 2016, kia, Kia Soul EV, Mercedes, Mercedes B250e, Mercedes C350e, Mercedes GLC350e, Mercedes GLE500e, Mercedes S 500e, Mercedes S500e, Mitsubishi, Mitsubishi i-MiEV, Mitsubishi Outlander Plug In Hybrid, Nissan, nissan e-NV200, Nissan Leaf, norway, Norway Electric Cars, norway electric sales July 2016, norway electric vehicles, Peugeot, peugeot ion, Peugeot Partner EV, Porsche, Porsche Cayenne S E-Hybrid, Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid, renault, Renault Kangoo ZE, Renault Twizy, renault zoe, Smart Electric Drive, Tesla Model S, Tesla Model X, Toyota, Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid, volkswagen, volkswagen e up!, Volkswagen e-Golf, Volkswagen Golf GTE, Volkswagen Passat GTE, volvo, Volvo V60 T8, Volvo XC90 T8

About the Author

James Ayre 's background is predominantly in geopolitics and history, but he has an obsessive interest in pretty much everything. After an early life spent in the Imperial Free City of Dortmund, James followed the river Ruhr to Cofbuokheim, where he attended the University of Astnide. And where he also briefly considered entering the coal mining business. He currently writes for a living, on a broad variety of subjects, ranging from science, to politics, to military history, to renewable energy. You can follow his work on Google+.

Source: Electric Car Sales = 33% Of All Car Sales In Norway (1st Half 2016)

Chinese Air-Con Maker Gree Bets $2 Billion on Electric Cars (1)

(Bloomberg) -- Gree Electric Appliances Inc., China's largest air-conditioner maker, is diving into the fast-growing electric vehicle market with its 13 billion yuan ($2 billion) acquisition of Zhuhai Yinlong New Energy Co.

The appliance maker, which announced its intention to buy closely-held Yinlong in March, will fund the purchase by selling 834.9 million new shares at 15.57 yuan apiece, about 19 percent lower than the stock's last traded price, according to a filing to the Shenzhen stock exchange Thursday.

Gree's shares, which have been halted from trading since February, will remain suspended until after the Shenzhen stock exchange and other government agencies review and approve the deal, the appliance-maker said in a statement late Thursday. The timing of the approval is not certain, it added.

Gree is among the dozens of startups and industrial companies venturing into the field of electric vehicles. China has designated new-energy vehicles a strategic industry as part of a broader push to upgrade its manufacturing sector. Electric vehicles also would curtail tailpipe emissions that contribute to worsening air pollution in major cities.

The company is making the purchase in order to support the government's push to clean up the environment and promote greener technologies, Gree Chairman Dong Mingzhu said in an interview in Beijing in March. "The decision was made with the premier's work report target to have blue skies, green pastures and clear water," she said, referring to Premier Li Keqiang's report to the legislature that listed the government's priorities for the year.

Yinlong started manufacturing batteries for electric vehicles in 2009 and has a line of seven electric passenger cars and 18 electric buses, according to its website. The company sold 3,189 electric buses as of January, giving it a market share of 3.6 percent in China, Yinlong said.

Slumping Sales

Gree is entering a crowded electric vehicle market with tough competition from other investors who have deep pockets. More than 200 Chinese companies -- with backers including Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.'s Jack Ma -- are developing 4,000 models of new-energy vehicles and unveiling prototypes.

The appliance maker is diversifying into electric vehicles even as its sales slump.Net income rose 12 percent to 6.4 billion yuan in the first half of the year, even as revenue slipped 1.9 percent to 49.2 billion yuan, Gree reported Thursday. Revenue plunged 28 percent to 99.8 billion yuan in 2015, the company's first annual sales decline on record amid China's slowing economy that has hurt retailers.

Gree gets about 86 percent of its revenue from manufacturing air conditioners and parts. It sells two out of every five air-conditioners in China, according to data from Euromonitor International.

(Updates with continued suspension of Gree shares in third paragraph.)

©2016 Bloomberg L.P.

Source: Chinese Air-Con Maker Gree Bets $2 Billion on Electric Cars (1)

Electric vehicles can replace 90 percent of vehicles on the road.

Could existing electric vehicles (EVs), despite their limited driving range, bring about a meaningful reduction in the greenhouse-gas emissions that are causing global climate change? Researchers at MIT have just completed the most comprehensive study yet to address this hotly debated question, and have reached a clear conclusion: Yes, they can.

The study, which found that a wholesale replacement of conventional vehicles with electric ones is possible today and could play a significant role in meeting climate change mitigation goals, was published today in the journal Nature Energy by Jessika Trancik, the Atlantic Richfield Career Development Associate Professor in Energy Studies at MIT's Institute for Data, Systems, and Society (IDSS), along with graduate student Zachary Needell, postdoc James McNerney, and recent graduate Michael Chang SM '15.

"Roughly 90 percent of the personal vehicles on the road daily could be replaced by a low-cost electric vehicle available on the market today, even if the cars can only charge overnight," Trancik says, "which would more than meet near-term U.S. climate targets for personal vehicle travel." Overall, when accounting for the emissions today from the power plants that provide the electricity, this would lead to an approximately 30 percent reduction in emissions from transportation. Deeper emissions cuts would be realized if power plants decarbonize over time.

The team spent four years on the project, which included developing a way of integrating two huge datasets: one highly detailed set of second-by-second driving behavior based on GPS data, and another broader, more comprehensive set of national data based on travel surveys. Together, the two datasets encompass millions of trips made by drivers all around the country.

The detailed GPS data was collected by state agencies in Texas, Georgia, and California, using special data loggers installed in cars to assess statewide driving patterns. The more comprehensive, but less detailed, nationwide data came from a national household transportation survey, which studied households across the country to learn about how and where people actually do their driving. The researchers needed to understand "the distances and timing of trips, the different driving behaviors, and the ambient weather conditions," Needell says.

By working out formulas to integrate the different sets of information and thereby track one-second-resolution drive cycles, the MIT researchers were able to demonstrate that the daily energy requirements of some 90 percent of personal cars on the road in the U.S. could be met by today's EVs, with their current ranges, at an overall cost to their owners — including both purchase and operating costs — that would be no greater than that of conventional internal-combustion vehicles. The team looked at once-daily charging, at home or at work, in order to study the adoption potential given today's charging infrastructure.

What's more, such a large-scale replacement would be sufficient to meet the nation's stated near-term emissions-reduction targets for personal vehicles' share of the transportation sector — a sector that accounts for about a third of the nation's overall greenhouse gas emissions, with a majority of emissions from privately owned, light-duty vehicles.

While EVs have many devotees, they also have a large number of critics, who cite range anxiety as a barrier to transportation electrification. "This is an issue where common sense can lead to strongly opposing views," Trancik says. "Many seem to feel strongly that the potential is small, and the rest are convinced that is it large."

"Developing the concepts and mathematical models required for a testable, quantitative analysis is helpful in these situations, where so much is at stake," she adds.

Range Anxiety

Those who feel the potential is small cite the premium prices of many EVs available today, such as the highly rated but expensive Tesla models, and the still-limited distance that lower-cost EVs can drive on a single charge, compared to the range of a gasoline car on one tank of gas. The lack of available charging infrastructure in many places, and the much greater amount of time required to recharge a car compared to simply filling a gas tank have also been cited as drawbacks.

But the team found that the vast majority of cars on the road consume no more energy in a day than the battery energy capacity in affordable EVs available today. These numbers represent a scenario in which people would do most of their recharging overnight at home, or during the day at work, so for such trips the lack of infrastructure was not really a concern. Vehicles such as the Ford Focus Electric or the Nissan Leaf — whose sticker prices are still higher than those of conventional cars, but whose overall lifetime costs end up being comparable because of lower maintenance and operating costs — would be adequate to meet the needs of the vast majority of U.S. drivers.

The study cautions that for EV ownership to rise to high levels, the needs of drivers have to be met on all days. For days on which energy consumption is higher, such as for vacations, or days when an intensive need for heating or cooling would sharply curb the EV's distance range, driving needs could be met by using a different car (in a two-car home), or by renting, or using a car-sharing service.

The study highlights the important role that car sharing of internal combustion engine vehicles could play in driving electrification. Car sharing should be very convenient for this to work, Trancik says, and requires further business model innovation. Additionally, the days on which alternatives are needed should be known to drivers in advance —information that the team's model "TripEnergy" is able to provide.

Even as batteries improve, there will continue to be a small number of high-energy days that exceed the range provided by electric vehicles. For these days, other powertrain technologies will likely be needed. The study helps policy-makers to quantify the "returns" to improving batteries through investing in research, for example, and the gap that will need to be filled by other kinds of cars, such as those fueled by low-emissions biofuels or hydrogen, to reach very low emissions levels for the transportation sector.

Another important finding from the study was that the potential for shifting to EVs is fairly uniform for different parts of the country. "The adoption potential of electric vehicles is remarkably similar across cities," Trancik says, "from dense urban areas like New York, to sprawling cities like Houston. This goes against the view that electric vehicles — at least affordable ones, which have limited range — only really work in dense urban centers."

Jeremy J. Michalek, a professor of engineering and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University who was not involved in this study, says the MIT team's integration of the GPS and national survey data is a new approach "highlighting the novel idea that regional differences in range requirements are minor for most vehicle-day trips but increase as we move into higher-range trips." The study, he says, is both "interesting and useful."

The work was supported by the New England University Transportation Center at MIT, the MIT Leading Technology and Policy Initiative, the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, the Charles E. Reed Faculty Initiatives Fund, and the MIT Energy Initiative.

Source: Electric vehicles can replace 90 percent of vehicles on the road.

Guinness World Record for most efficient electric vehicle

After one year of preparation the TUfast Eco Team achieved their goal: On Saturday, July 16 2016 their world record team undertook the official world record attempt and set a new high mark for vehicle efficiency. The team started at the break of dawn to prepare everything in time at the test track that long-standing sponsor Audi had reserved. Last tests done on the previous day had them hoping for a good chance at reaching their own goal of 1000km/kWh.

As vehicle for the world record attempt the team chose eLi14, which they had built for the 2014 season. They saw it as the ideal candidate because it has aerodynamic advantages to more current models (which are built to a newer version of the Shell Eco Marathon competition rules) but it is still very light and has a flexible running gear train. Based on experiences with eLi15 and eLi16 they tuned up eLi14. The custom-built motor controller with optimised acceleration and speed simulation, new rims with extremely low friction bearing, a motor with optimised magnet placement and silver wire coils for reduced ohmic losses and an aerodynamically optimised top cover without solar cells were all fitted into eLi14.

The track was inspected and the vehicle was thoroughly checked over by the judges from Guinness World Records as well as Professor Herzog of Technical University Munich and Manfred Schedl of TQ Systems / Robodrive. Gently eLi14 accelerated to the preset speed to cover the necessary distance of 25 km/h within one hour. This average speed thus complies with that of the Shell Eco-marathon.

60 tense minutes followed - any technical problem, however small, could have cost precious time. But eLi14 completed lap for lap with constant timing and despite turning off the motor early rolled almost a kilometer past the finish line. They received the first result: 1142 km/kWh. The conservative first run had to be improved and at once the team modified the speed control, changed the rear tire and increased tire pressure. The acceleration profile was also redone and the team calculated a new earlier motor shutoff point based on the vehicle's glide.

The second run completed without any hitches and despite stronger wind was a significant improvement. The final result: 81.16 Wh/100km, equivalent to 1232 km/kWh or 10956 km per litre of 95 octane gasoline (by caloric value). In units more familiar to motorists that is about 0.009l per 100km or, for the United States, 26135mpg.

The team proudly received the Guinness World Record certificate and now proudly hold the title of "most efficient electric vehicle".

Source and top image: TUfast

Source: Guinness World Record for most efficient electric vehicle

Could ethanol power the future for electric cars?

Media playback is unsupported on your device Could ethanol power the future for electric cars?

15 August 2016 Last updated at 22:04 BST

The automotive industry is rushing to produce electric vehicles (EVs) as the world tries to move away from polluting hydrocarbons to greener, cleaner fuels.

But EVs still only account for 1% of the total market.

Some companies are betting that hydrogen fuel cells will be the power source of the future, but Nissan believes bio-ethanol produced from sugar cane or corn could also produce zero-emission electric energy.

Nissan recently unveiled its prototype solid-oxide fuel cell vehicle in Brazil, where ethanol is readily available in all gas stations - in marked contrast to hydrogen pumps.

But Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn says the success of the concept will largely depend on political support.

Video journalist: Daniel Gallas

Source: Could ethanol power the future for electric cars?

“Consumers Adore” Electric Cars, But Still Not Flocking To Them

2017 Chevrolet Volt

Although gas prices are rising again, and automakers are investing tons of money into electric cars, consumers are not fully engaged.

Britta Gross, director of advanced vehicle commercialization policy at General Motors explained:

Tesla Model 3

"Consumers adore these vehicles. People love the quietness, the smoothness, the seamless drive. Why don't consumers flock to these vehicles? What's missing? What do we have to do? We're at the point where we have a lot to do."

Range was a substantial barrier at first, but automakers are solving this problem.

Tesla and soon Chevrolet are already making 200 miles of range possible, Nissan and others intend to shortly follow suit. Even Honda Motor's manager of electric sales, Robert Langford said:

"It's really an exciting time going from now to 2020. With all the new product coming out, hopefully, a whole new group of customers [will come] to drive electric."

However, he admitted . . . "Barriers are still many."

Langford shared that battery range may not be as much of a problem as charging. Consumers are not educated on charging. They don't know where to charge or don't have a place to charge. Many people charge at home if they live in single family homes and can install chargers, but there are not enough chargers at work or on the road or in apartments or condos. Charger compatibility is also an issue. This causes anxiety for consumers.

GM's Britta Gross believes:

"We have to overpower these consumers. If you don't accompany an infrastructure program, or a vehicle incentive program, with an outreach campaign, you've lost the battle. Everything you do, you have to spend an equal amount of money to talk about it."

The EV segment is very different than traditional auto sales and will take much effort and time to catch on. Dealerships and salespeople are set up to sell ICE vehicles and there is comfort in it. It is hard for dealerships to put time and resources into training salespeople and educating consumers when the vehicle that they are trying to sell makes up less than 1% of the market share. General manager of Audi America, Aaron Cohen said:

"You need a symphony of activity among all the stakeholders."

He includes automakers, electric utility companies, charging companies, federal, state, and local governments and dealerships in the list of players that need to be on the same team. This is a major undertaking and it's not going to happen quickly.

Source: Autonews

Source: "Consumers Adore" Electric Cars, But Still Not Flocking To Them

Tesla has big plans to build 3 electric vehicles that nobody wants

Founder and CEO of Tesla Motors Elon Musk speaks during a media tour of the Tesla Gigafactory, which will produce batteries for the electric carmaker, in Sparks, Nevada, U.S. July 26, 2016. REUTERS/James Glover II

When Elon Musk unleashed his "Master Plan, Part Deux" for Tesla a few weeks ago, we learned that the automaker intends to go well beyond building cars and crossover SUVs, the heart of its current lineup.

In the future, Tesla will construct a pickup truck, a bus, and most provocatively, a semi-truck. All this new "product," as it's called in the industry, set off a flurry of enthusiastic speculation. 

In theory, it all makes sense: Musk has a grand vision of liberating humanity from its dependence on fossil fuels. Attacking the problems of oil-powered mass transit, freight, and as a plus bringing an electric pickup to the people is consistent with his ideas.

But there's a problem. It's unclear whether anyone wants an all-electric bus, semi, or pickup. At least at the moment and for the foreseeable future.

The big "Why?"

There's no question that Tesla has demand. But I'm starting to wonder if that's demand for specific vehicles. Increasingly, I think a lot of people want to be part of the Tesla experience, to join the brand. This is why buyers who might otherwise be shopping for Porsches and Ferraris go Tesla.

For the car maker's decade-long history, joining the club has meant coming up with upwards of $100,000 to buy a Roadster sports car, a Model S sedan, and more recently a Model X SUV. Tesla also offers leases, but they aren't cheap, either.

Even the $35,000 mass-market Model 3, slated to arrive in late 2017, isn't inexpensive. The 375,000 advance deposits of $1,000 apiece that Tesla has taken signal a vast desire to buy into the Tesla brand, given that no one has yet seen or driven the actual production car.

The Model 3. AP Photo/Justin Pritchard

The company has now made the seemingly logical decision to expand the segments and sectors that it serves. But it's hard to tell if anyone really wants these vehicles, or whether Musk just thinks they should be on offer. After all, we should note that although Tesla could sell 80,000 vehicles in 2016, the market for electric cars hasn't developed as robustly as anyone thought it would five years ago.

Let's start with the pickup. Just because you can build a pickup, that doesn't mean you should. The vast majority of pickup-truck buyers are located in the US, and they buy full-size trucks from Ford, GM, and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. They are insanely loyal and, frankly, aren't thinking about why they need an electric version of a vehicle that in gas- or diesel-powered form is already completely satisfying. 

The smaller pickup market has been revived in the past few years, but it's still tiny and the intersections with pickup owners, but existing and potential, are minimal. Maybe Tesla wants to create a "Teslamino," an electric version of the famous El Camino car-truck hybrid? The market for that is surely huge.

A bus? A Semi?

Soon to be Teslas? John Martinez Pavliga/flickr

Yikes. Now on to the bus. There aren't many electric buses in cities, presumably the target market, and even if Tesla built one and dominated that market, it would take decades for the current fleets to be replaced.

Since the Master Plan, Part Deux publication, I haven't heard of any municipalities knocking down Tesla's doors to get their orders in. My colleagues and I have discussed a smaller bus, sort of like what you ride to and from rental car lots at the airport, but that market seems well-served at the moment. This one strikes me as a tough nut to crack.

How about the semi? A startup called Nikola (Get it?) claims to have raked in thousands of pre-orders for a hybrid natural-gas-electric semi, but otherwise, the semi fleet in the US is now served quite well by all the large and experienced manufacturers of big trucks. Electric and hybrid-electric drivetrains are hardly a new technology, so it's safe to assume that if they saw their diesel-powered business vanishing, they could make the switch pretty quickly.

Sexy and red and a Tesla — not a bus, pickup, or semi. Matthew DeBord/Business Insider

The stuff that Tesla does well — producing a fast, sexy, exciting luxury electric car and selling it for a lot of money — isn't what big truck makers do. Semis are cool. But their primary function is to haul huge loads. Some cabs are outfitted to be very comfortable rolling hotel rooms. But it isn't a core concern. 

Plus, it can already take an hour to fully recharge a Tesla Model S battery, to get about 250 miles of range. Some significant advancements in charging a large-battery technology are going to be required for Tesla to develop a viable long-haul semi.

Never say never?

I've learned from experience to never, ever write off Tesla's ambitions or Musk's ability to turn his ideas into reality.

But Tesla has also benefited from a public that wants to connect with the company's story, and that's willing to pay handsomely for the opportunity. Those people wanted to be part of a cool brand that was doing cool things. 

But now Tesla is entering a period where it must flirt with the uncool to grow — and fulfill Musk's vision. And it will have to move into markets where, frankly, customers are uninterested in what Tesla has to offer.

SEE ALSO: Elon Musk has just committed Tesla to its most ambitious project ever NOW WATCH: This $5 billion factory is the key to Tesla's future — and it's in the middle of the desert Loading video...
Source: Tesla has big plans to build 3 electric vehicles that nobody wants

Mercedes’ electric vehicle sub-brand to be called EQ?

Mercedes-Benz appears to be well on track to introduce its own electric vehicle sub-brand, which will apparently be called "EQ." The carmaker recently filed numerous trademark applications around that name, all of which were under the motor vehicle classification.

The trademarks include EQA, EQC, EQE, EQG and EQS, along with EQ Inside, EQ Boost and Generation EQ. As you can tell, the trademarks can be easily applied to the current models in Mercedes' line-up. For instance, the EQA name fits well with the A-Class, the EQC to the C-Class and so on.

Autocar UK reports that the EQ Boost trademark could be used on hybrid models instead, in a similar fashion to BMW's iPerformance badging for the 330e, X5 xDrive40e and 740e. As for other trademarks like Generation EQ, Generation MEQ, EQ Inside and Telligent, they appear to be supporting terms for this new sub-brand although that remains to be seen.

The upcoming Paris Motor Show is reportedly where Mercedes' EQ sub-brand will first present itself, albeit in an electric SUV concept initially (EQB, maybe?). The model is said to be the first of four electric vehicles from the Three Pointed Star before 2020.

For now, Mercedes are keeping mum on the matter, although it has been long rumoured that the company will launch its EV sub-brand to compete with BMW's i sub-brand, as well as Audi's e-tron.

Source: Mercedes' electric vehicle sub-brand to be called EQ?

5 Biggest Problems With Electric Vehicle Charging

Know where the nearest gas station is? Of course you do. So does your phone (i.e., Google). If you're on a road trip and need to fill up your tank, no problem: You'll see signs every few miles for upcoming rest stops, all of which have gas stations. Same goes when you're driving a rental in a foreign country. The phrase "I can't get gas" is rarely (if ever) uttered in modern civilization.

But how about a charge for your electric car? Houston — let's get Detroit, Philadelphia, and Brooklyn on the radio, too — now we have a problem. There are many reasons that electric vehicles have not taken off yet in America, but this issue is at the heart of every one.

After all, considering most U.S. drivers don't crack 50 miles in a day of driving, range anxiety is more charge anxiety than anything else. If there were a charging station near your job and you could leave home and work with 80 miles of range every day, there'd be a lot more EV drivers.

Here's the thing: there are many more chargers than people know about. They don't get the fancy, state-sponsored signs our friends operating gas stations do, but they're there if you look hard enough. For the situation to change, we would have to see stuff like this change. Then you'd have more people feeling comfortable buying a plug-in. (Credit President Obama for giving it a shot with his massive EV initiative.)

Here are the five lingering EV charging problems that have to be fixed.

1. The information gap

There is nothing complicated about opening the door to your gas tank and inserting the nozzle. Plugging in an EV is not terribly complicated, either, but the devil is in the details. For example, you could go to four different public chargers and get four different charging speeds in the same day. One plug could give you three miles an hour; another could give you 13 miles an hour; a third could give you 27 miles an hour; and a fourth could give you 180 miles in 30 minutes.

No matter what happens at a gas station, you know it only takes five minutes to fill up your tank once you get going. Charging takes some planning. Again, it's not rocket science, but you have to know the specifics of the car you are driving and be aware of a station's capability when you're in public. You also have to know a charger is there in the first place.

The same hold for home chargers. You can install a Level 2 charger in your home that can recharge your battery in four hours, and the cost is reasonable ($500 to $600 in most cases). Most people don't have the time or inclination to figure these things out, and there isn't much public outreach in place to change the situation.

2. Not enough fast chargers

It's quite difficult to fast-charge your car in many U.S. cities, even when money is no object. You have to drive through strange neighborhoods and try to locate chargers in vast parking lots where GPS is known to drop out of service. The bottom line is there aren't nearly enough places to recharge an EV at a respectable speed.

On highway, the situation is worse. Initiatives to build fast chargers along major highways are just getting started, so this problem could be addressed in the coming years. Unfortunately, if you wanted to charge your car on a road trip between East Coast cities, the options in fast charging are few and far between. Even California struggles with this issue.

3. Too many maps, too many apps

Let's say you know the ins and outs of your EV's onboard charger and hit the road armed with a charging account and the relevant app installed on your phone. In theory, you should have no problem plugging in and paying with a tap of your phone. But the station you want appears on one app but not on the other (usually, because of competing business interests).

So you might need two or three apps just to know where a charging station is, and once you get there you might not be able to use it because it's operated by a provider with whom you haven't opened an account. Can't we all just get along here (in the spirit of Tesla and its open-sourced patents)? We can't imagine a gas station being hidden on any map. Or, put another way: an declining tide sinks all ships. 

4. Price gouging

Perhaps due to the popularity of Tesla (whose Superchargers are free to most users, incidentally), some charging station providers consider EVs a luxury item and haven't been shy about charging high rates. As a result, EV drivers could end up paying $20 or more to get 40 miles of range. This type of price gouging usually renders a station unusable to drivers who bought a humble EV with the expectation of spending less on fueling.

A quick check of public charging apps suggests the most expensive chargers remain unused, which defeats the purpose of installing a plug in the first place. Maybe the wave of affordable long-range EVs will force station operators to come to their senses. Electricity is not a fabulous luxury item, so it shouldn't be priced that way. Of course, more government-operated chargers in public places at reasonable prices wouldn't hurt, either.

5. You might get ICE'd

Have you ever been "ICE'd"? It's like being "iced" by an opposing coach who calls a timeout when you're about kick a field goal or shoot a foul shot with the game on the line, only it's worse. Here, the reference is to a gas-powered (internal-combustion engine) car owner who (like Janice in accounting) doesn't give a damn about your cute little electric car problems and parks her F-150 in the spot where you hoped to charge.

We grant there are many people who mistakenly ICE a plug-in driver, but we feel the Janice-in-accounting syndrome dominates the field. The only solutions — to cite or tow the car in question — may sound harsh, but you just can't teach some people good manners. In this case, the "stick" approach is the only corrective method worth using. We shudder to think what would happen if someone blocked the entrance to a gas station with a shiny new Prius.

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Source: Electric cars are so popular we're running out of plugs

Chevrolet Bolt Designer Says Automaker “Broke The Mold” On Mass Market Electric Car

Chevy Bolt

Chevrolet Bolt EV

Designing the Chevrolet Bolt proved to be challenging, says lead designer Stuart Norris.

Norris was on hand in South Korea to field interview questions recently and he revealed that the Bolt was quite possibly the most challenging car he's ever had to design.

According to Norris, the Bolt's incredibly tight launch timeline forced the design team to find new solutions and to work at a break neck pace.

Quoting Norris:

"It reminds you of what GM can do when we're given a deadline and set to it."

"We broke the mold on the Bolt EV."

"We need to sell more of these electric vehicles, so we need something that has more broad mass appeal. The Bolt was a very significant program for us."

Bolt Interior

Automotive News states:

"Typically, GM vehicle design is handled by two teams, one responsible for the exterior, the other for the interior. But the Bolt was such a high-stakes project, the company created a special team in Korea that would integrate all aspects of styling."

But designing the Bolt wasn't easy, in part due to its size and shape. Quoting Norris:

"It's a bit of a segment buster. We call it a C-segment interior on a B-segment platform."

"There's big-picture stuff, and then there's just detail, detail, detail."

But perhaps the biggest revelation from Norris comes on the aerodynamic front:

"It's a disaster for aero."

The Bolt has a drag coefficient of 0.32, according to Norris. That's an awful figure for an electric car, but in an attempt to improve air flow, several design elements and "tricks" were employed.

Bolt Interior

Those are described by Automotive News as follows:

" Norris' design team incorporated a spoiler and sharply creased winglike canards along the tail edge of the car. Other tricks were underbody paneling, air dams and active grille shutters that close at certain speeds to streamline airflow. Designers even adjusted the radius of the A-pillar, modified the mirrors and fine-tuned tire coverage.

"No fewer than six full-sized iterations of the Bolt underwent wind-tunnel testing."

Norris went out to state that the car's interior is perhaps its biggest breakthrough in regards to spaciousness, cargo volume and so on. He concluded with this statement:

"Small-car design has always been a challenging area because you're trying to deliver more for less. This is a pretty unique execution."

The Bolt is indeed unique and the fact that it will go from concept to production in such a short time frame is proof that General Motors knows just how important a mass market, affordable electric car really is in the grand scheme.

Source: Automotive News

Source: Chevrolet Bolt Designer Says Automaker "Broke The Mold" On Mass Market Electric Car