Business pledge will see another 1450 electric cars on the roads by 2019

The electric engine of a VW Golf on display at the Paris Motor Show.

Thirty of the country's largest employers have agreed to ensure at least 30 per cent of their fleet vehicles are electric within three years.

Air New Zealand said in a statement that the promise would mean at least an additional 1450 electric vehicles on the roads by 2019, which would boost their numbers by 75 per cent.

The companies committing to the change include Fonterra, New World-owner Foodstuffs, Spark, Vodafone, Westpac and Xero.

​Westpac chief executive David McLean said it had been an easy initiative to support.

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"We've started a trial of EVs and we have undertaken to transition to 80 electric vehicles by 2019," he said.

EVs tend to be more attractive to fleet buyers than to private ones because fuel savings mount up faster if cars are racking up high mileage – making the higher upfront cost of EVs less of a detraction.

But Mercury Energy, another of the companies that has made the 30 per cent pledge, said just over half of EVs were in private hands.

Germany's upper house of Parliament, the Bundesrat, last week became the latest European institution to push for a ban on conventional car sales.

It is calling for the European Union not to allow new non-electric vehicles to be registered in Europe from 2030, Reuters said, quoting a Der Spiegel newspaper report.

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That follows planned unilateral bans on conventional car sales in Norway and Holland.

The approach has been dismissed by New Zealand Transport Minister Simon Bridges, who said in March that a ban was not something the Government here was considering.

Wellington EV advocate and Wellington Regional Council adviser Sigurd Magnusson said the council had adopted a policy of only replacing vehicles with EVs, unless there was a reason that was not practical.

"That should probably be the new normal," he said.

It was an exciting time for EVs, with electric cars taking a much more prominent place at the Paris Motor Show in September, he said.

"Nissan has just stopped selling its original Nissan Leaf which suggests it is about to announce a higher range vehicle."

Tesla has announced it will set up shop in New Zealand by June, in response to what it said was enthusiasm and "overwhelming demand" for its Model 3 electric car. It will also set up a network of fast-charging stations.

 - Stuff

Source: Business pledge will see another 1450 electric cars on the roads by 2019

Electric cars could dominate roads in wealthy cities by 2030, study says

LONDON -- Electric vehicles could account for two-thirds of all cars on the road by 2030 in wealthy cities such as London and Singapore due to stricter emissions regulations, falling technology costs and more consumer interest, a report says.

The research report was presented at the Future of Energy Summit in London on Tuesday by consultancy McKinsey & Co. and Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

EVs are becoming more accepted as automakers such as Volkswagen Group and Daimler announce plans to roll out new models in the next few years.

Volkswagen presented its I.D. concept car at the Paris auto show, an EV that brand chairman Herbert Diess said will sell for about the price of a Golf diesel and marks the first of 30 new EVs that VW plans for its lineup by 2025.

Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche too has said the company's Mercedes-Benz brand will launch 10 EVs under a new subbrand called EQ as the marque aims to be the market leader in premium electric cars by 2025.

Subsidies and tax breaks

To help lower harmful greenhouse gas emissions, governments are trying to encourage their uptake through subsidies and tax breaks and introducing low-emissions zones.

Technology costs are also falling rapidly. The cost of a lithium ion battery pack fell 65 percent in 2015 to around $350 per kilowatt hour, from $1,000/KWh in 2010, and is expected to fall below $100/KWh over the next decade, the BNEF report showed.

"In densely populated, high-income cities like London and Singapore ... electric vehicles could represent as much as 60 percent of all vehicles on the road by 2030, the result of low-emission zones, consumer interest and favorable economics," the report said.

However, the growth of EVs could be a threat to the automotive sector.

"The automotive sector faces a future that could be fundamentally different from its past and may need to consider moving from using a pure product-ownership model toward providing a range of transportation services," the report said.

Gasoline retailers should also be considering further monetization of their current assets and how to get more value from electric charging, the retail market and fleet services.

"Electric vehicles could take off anytime," as shifts in social preferences cannot be modeled, Spencer Dale, BP's chief economist, said at the summit.

Automotive News Europe contributed to this report.

Source: Electric cars could dominate roads in wealthy cities by 2030, study says

Best deals on hybrid, electric, fuel-efficient cars for October 2016

The leaves are beginning to change, and so are the deals on green cars.

Our monthly survey of best deals on hybrid, plug-in electric, and fuel-efficient cars includes some new models, as well as some with incentives retained from previous months.

As we get further into the 2017 model year, carmakers are getting more eager to rid themselves of leftover 2016 models—leading them to increase incentives.

DON'T MISS: Plug-in electric car sales in Sept: Volt steady, Leaf higher

Since some of those 2016 models are virtually identical to the 2017 models that will replace them, that makes for a good situation for car buyers.

In some cases, it may also mean the difference between getting a car now, and waiting for a new model to arrive at dealerships.

As always, head over to CarsDirect for more information.

Hybrids

Despite being the first year of a ground-up redesign, the 2016 Toyota Prius continues to receive significant incentives in the face of disappointing sales.

For October, a lease offer of $199 for 36 months carries over from September.

ALSO SEE: Toyota Prius design, popular in Japan, not a hit in U.S.

The offer—which expires October 31—includes 12,000 miles per year, and requires a down payment of $1,999.

The 2016 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid also retains generous incentives, including a $4,000 rebate and $1,000 "conquest bonus" for buyers coming from competitor brands.

Both incentives carry over from September, and continue through the end of this month.

Since the 2017 Sonata Hybrid was only recently announced, there may be a larger selection of 2016 models on dealer lots, notes CarsDirect.

The only notable difference between the two are the addition of a standard 7.0-inch touchscreen, HD Radio, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone integration, and an upgraded version of Hyundai's Blue Link system on 2017 models.

Plug-in hybrids

Among plug-in hybrids, the 2016 Ford C-Max Energi tall wagon represents a fairly good deal this month.

It's available to lease at $199 for 36 months, with $1,999 due at signing and an allowance of 10,500 miles per year.

MORE: At 133 MPGe, Toyota Prius Prime wallops BMW i3 on energy efficiency

Buyers have some time to mull this offer, as it doesn't expire until January 3, 2017.

The deal brings the effective lease cost of the plug-in hybrid Energi down to about level with the C-Max Hybrid, even though the Energi is $7,600 dearer on paper, notes CarsDirect.

Meanwhile, the 2016 Volvo XC90 T8 "Twin Engine" is getting significant discounts as Volvo tries to clear the way for 2017 models.

Through October 31, the Swedish carmaker is offering up to $9,000 cash back on its plug-in hybrid SUV, to help clear what is reportedly an excess of inventory.

The 2017 XC90 isn't expected to be dramatically different from the 2016 model, so this may be a good opportunity to snap one up for less than the list price.

Source: Best deals on hybrid, electric, fuel-efficient cars for October 2016

Chevy Bolt Electric Car Reveals How Cheap Batteries Really Are

You can buy 60kWh of storage in a Chevy Bolt for a similar price to 60kWh of uninstalled home battery packs.

Looking to buy some LG Chem batteries but don't want to pay full price? In that case, I have a little scheme you might be interested in.

If you want to, you could buy an LG Chem RESU6.5 battery system which will set you back around $1,000 per kilowatt-hour of storage. Or you could do a little better by buying a RESU10 as that will only cost you around $900 a kilowatt-hour. But if you follow my advice you can net yourself LG Chem batteries for only $822 a kilowatt-hour.

There is a slight drawback to my plan in that you have to buy 60 kilowatt-hours of batteries to get them for that price. But trust me, it's well worth it because if you buy these batteries you get a free stereo system! There is no denying that's a sweet deal.

But wait, there's still more! You also get, an air conditioner! Two padded seats! A three person couch! A 150 kilowatt electric motor! Four wheels!1 And a car chassis!

Yes, that's right! My plan is to go to the United States and buy a 2017 Chevy Bolt electric car when it comes out at the end of this year. This will score us LG Chem batteries at a price that's around 8% cheaper per kilowatt-hour than buying a RESU10 and they come wrapped in a handy mobile package called an electric car for free.

With 9.8 kilowatt-hours of batteries each, it would take six of the inaccurately named RESU10s to almost have the same battery capacity as the Bolts battery pack and they would cost around $52,800 to buy retail and uninstalled.  The cost of the Bolt is $37,495 US and at the current exchange rate of 76 US cents to the Australian dollar that comes to $49,340.

The Bolt Is Not Available In Australia

To actually bring a Bolt into Australia would cost money for shipping and GST would have to be paid, but my point is not that Australians will be able to buy a Bolt in Australia for under $50,000. My point is that, given how much the Bolt costs, lithium-ion home energy storage is probably going to fall a long way in price.

One Of These Things Is Not Like The Other

I freely admit I am not comparing like to like here. It is not exactly an apples to oranges comparison, it is exactly a home battery storage unit to an electric vehicle comparison, and they are not the same thing.

For example, the car battery pack can save on its manufacturing cost by only needing a single bundle of electronics to serve as a battery management system, while the six RESUs will require one each. On the other hand, the car battery pack has an active liquid cooling system which is probably more expensive than the entirely passive cooling the RESUs use.

The chemistry of the batteries is probably also different. At first I assumed they would definitely have different chemistries, as they have very different jobs to do. But their energy densities are around the same which suggests a similar chemistry and it is even possible the cells are identical to save on manufacturing costs, although I would expect them to at least tweak them a bit.

But even if they have very different chemistries I doubt it would make much difference to their cost. While the material cost of electrodes and the electrolyte filling in a battery cell sandwich isn't cheap, it is only a small part of the cost of making one. Most of the expense is in the entirely automated production lines that assemble them. Those robots don't come cheap.

RESUs Have Longer Warranties

Their warranties are a major difference. A RESU is covered for the first of either 10 years or a little under 2,500 kilowatt-hours of stored electricity per kilowatt-hour of capacity.

The Bolt's battery pack warranty covers the first of 8 years or 160,900 kilometers. A Bolt driven an average of over 55 kilometers a day will run out of warranty before the 8 years are up. With a typical electric car consumption of around 1 kilowatt-hour per 5.5 kilometers of driving, when it reaches the end of its warranty it will have only stored around 490 kilowatt-hours for each kilowatt-hour of battery capacity or 20% as much as a RESU.

The LG RESU battery has a much better warranty that the Chevy Bolt's batteries

But the Bolt's minimum battery capacity at the end of its warranty is likely to be higher than the RESU's 60%.  It may be 70%, so the comparison probably isn't quite as bad as it seems.  But it's still pretty bad.

The reason why there is such a large difference in their warranties is because they do two very different jobs. The Bolt has a 150 kilowatt motor. I'm guessing it wouldn't have that unless the battery pack could supply 150 kilowatts of power for at least a short time and that's a lot more power per kilowatt-hour of capacity than any RESU can manage.

High power also means it will generate more heat. While the Bolt battery pack has a liquid cooling system, it is likely to be exposed to more extreme temperature than a RESU.  A car can get very hot just leaving it out in the sun and this is a major reason why electric car makers are in no hurry to put solar cells on them. They'd rather you park them in the shade so the batteries will last longer.

Car Battery Prices

One year ago General Motors said they would be paying $190 a kilowatt-hour for LG Chem's battery cells. LG Chem wasn't very happy about that and would have preferred it if General Motors had kept its big mouth shut so they could charge other people more.

That $190 is just for the cells and not for the cost of putting them all together in a battery pack with the required electronics. One estimate for the cost of the battery pack is $285 a kilowatt-hour.  If that is correct then even if it costs considerably more to turn battery cells into RESUs, LG Chem could drop their price by about half while still making enough money on each unit for it to be worthwhile.

Other car manufactures could also have very low battery pack costs. One estimate is Tesla may only be paying $250 a kilowatt-hour for theirs. While some say this estimate is laughable, it seems certain Tesla's costs will fall below that once their Gigglefactory is complete.2

Meanwhile, Nissan has been offering to replace Leaf battery packs for $300 a kilowatt-hour for two years now, but you have to give them your old pack for free.

A very rough guess of the cost to manufacture car battery packs for Nissan, Chevy & Tesla.

Why Home Energy Storage Isn't Cheaper Now

If LG Chem and Tesla and whoever can make electric car battery packs cheaply now, why does home energy storage cost so much more?

Well, firstly, getting to the point where they could make battery packs at the cost took who knows how many millions upon millions of dollars and the companies involved would like to make it all back. And after they've made their millions upon millions of dollars back they'd like to make millions upon millions of dollars more on top of that, so they're not going to be in a hurry to lower their prices until competition forces them to.

But I am certain competition will work its magic. Which is another way of saying that human self interest will triumph. And we will see lithium-ion storage prices fall a long way over the next few years. A 10% a year decline in prices will see them halve in a little over 7 years, but it could be a lot faster once someone decides they can make a little more money supplying large amounts of battery storage to Australian homes and businesses than to electric car makers.

If we play pretend and say that LG Chem can currently produce cells for home energy storage for the same price as General Motors says they buy them for the Bolt and they can turn them into RESUs for an average of $250 per kilowatt-hour while still making an acceptable profit, then the cost of home battery storage could fall by more than half without further technological advances.  And that will be enough to make it cost effective for a considerable number of Australians. Bring it on!

Footnotes

Probably only 4 and not 5 as it probably doesn't have a spare wheel. ↩

Sorry, Tesla is building a Gigafactory that can produce one gigawatt-hour or one billion watt-hours of batteries a year and not a Gigglefactory which can produce a billion laughs a year. I have been informed the difference is important. ↩

Source: Chevy Bolt Electric Car Reveals How Cheap Batteries Really Are

3D printed electric vehicle showcased by Honda

Japanese manufacturer Honda partnered with a Tokyo-based startup Kabuku to develop a 3D printed electric vehicle. To make at a delivery vehicle that is narrow enough to navigate through small Japanese roads where only motorcycles could fit. It is based on Honda's Variable Design platform for micro EVs shown at the 2016 Paris Motor Show.

Honda 3D printed EV

Together they bought the small electric chassis and designed custom 3D printed panels around it. Except for the chassis and the drivetrain, all the other parts were 3D printed and attached on to it providing a design and manufacturing process which is quicker and cheaper than traditional moulding technique. It also required less equipment and fewer raw materials to create. Honda wanted to offer a vehicle with a customizable layout where drivers can choose what they need; therefore there could be lowered entry points at the doors for senior drivers, a hatchback trunk for delivery vehicles or space for a family of three.

Honda 3D printed EV

The motorcycle division gave their assistance in the project, thus resulting in a pipe-based skeleton under the panelling, which is light but safe and gives the "micro commuter model" the required structural integrity. The car has a cargo area behind the driver seat thus making the Honda a single-seater. The micro-van design of the vehicle could easily be altered though because the design is quickly customisable and courtesy the 3D printing technique the modified components can be easily produced.

Honda 3D printed EV

It took about two months for the Japanese automaker in developing the 3D printed EV and this goes on to show that the approach of 3D printing on car bodies might direct us to reduced design times and cheaper costs. The car has the rough 3D-printed surface on it though, but despite being the early steps in Honda's efforts to offer a heavily customisable electric vehicle, this is a promising technology.

Source: 3D printed electric vehicle showcased by Honda

Honda’s Micro Commuter, a 3D Printed Electric Car

Honda had a surprise for those attending this week's CEATE consumer electronics show held just outside Tokyo, a 3D printed electric car.

Called Micro Commuter, the little battery powered delivery car was produced for Toshimaya, a Japanese cookie company which has plans to actually use it.

This isn't Honda's first 3D printed car. It produced a series of toy-sized models last April to demonstrate the company's future self-driving technology.

Don't think that printing a car is just fun and games for engineers and designers fooling around on company time; a 3D printed car is serious business for car companies.

Using special design and engineering software allows the production of a working vehicle in as little as two months, an enormous cost savings compared to the traditional methods of building a running prototype.

Honda worked with 3D-printing specialist Kabuku to build the custom delivery vehicle.

"The total development process was shortened to about two months while still offering an original vehicle with reduced time and costs," Honda said.

The EV chassis and drivetrain were almost the only parts of the van that were not 3D-printed; most body panels were designed from scratch to fit existing hardware, such as headlights.

Honda's motorcycle division pitched in with the design and engineering of the car, which has a frame of pipes similar to a motorcycle, giving it a lightweight yet strong narrow structure beneath the 3D printed panels.

SEE ALSO: Local Motors To 3-D Print Electric Vehicle

The Micro Commuter has a driving range of around 50 miles provided by one large battery pack built into the floor of the van, plus a pair of packs that have about a 10 mile range that are positioned next to the driver's seat, which is the only seat.

Toshimaya is famous for its butter cookies in the shape of a bird, so Kabuku used a bird shape theme across the outside panel of the hatchback door, as well as around the windows and on the seats.

Micro Commuter was designed with features specific to cookie deliveries, such as trays that slide out of the back and tie-downs to stabilize the cookie cargo.

The small width of the car was designed per Toshimaya's request, as the roads in their delivery area are particularly narrow.

The fully functional Micro Commuter EV will begin delivering Toshimaya's bird-shaped butter cookies next spring — subject to approval from Japan's department of transportation.

CNET

Source: Honda's Micro Commuter, a 3D Printed Electric Car

Mercedes-Benz unveils electric SUV concept

Mercedes plan to move towards a "sensor fusion" whereby data from a variety of sensors is combined into one system, making the cars assistive at first and autonomous eventually.

Speaking to journalists at the Paris Motor Show on Thursday, Zetsche said the automaker was preparing a major push in pure electric vehicles thanks to advances in battery technology and greater consumer acceptance of zero-emissions vehicles.

Meanwhile, new EV platforms were launched at the Paris Motor Show including Mercedes' Generation EQ and Volkswagen's I.D. New cars built on the EV platforms are set to launch within the next four years.

Mercedes-Benz has presented its vision for the future of electric mobility at the Paris Motor Show. In fact, it's the first in a whole new electric vehicle sub-brand to be called Mercedes-EQ.

Top Gear says the production version will cost around £40,000 - the same as a mid-range GLC - and as Mercedes doesn't have to build a new factory for its electric models, it'll be "all systems go" for a 2019 release.

What's more, 2025 will see the implementation of a new fully-autonomous I.D. Pilot mode, activated by touching the VW badge on the steering wheel.

Generation EQ has a range of up to 500 kilometres and the most powerful variant has a maximum torque of up to 700 Newton metres capable of accelerating to 100 km/h in under five seconds. The French automaker's new Earth-friendly auto has a 248-mile (399-km) range. Its next-generation electric cars will ride on a dedicated platform called the MEB, which was previewed in the Budd-e concept at January's 2016 Consumer Electronics Show.

"EQ stands for a comprehensive electric ecosystem of services, technologies and innovations", Dr Zetsche told the media gathering in Paris. It should also offer anywhere between 250 and 370 miles of range and take just 15 minutes for an 80 percent recharge.

Mercedes was unveiling a new battery-powered SUV, in part a response to the buzz over electric upstart Tesla.

Generation EQ is being revealed in Paris this week with the ability to charge inductively (without need for a cable plug-in). On the performance front, the WEQ can deliver 402hp and 516ft-lbs of torque from 2 electric motors.

Other planned cars in the lineup include sedans and convertibles that will share engineering.

Source: Mercedes-Benz unveils electric SUV concept