EV (electric vehicle) News and Discussion

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#2594168 30-Oct-2020 21:33

Skoda Citigoᵉ iV pulled from UK market due to incredible demand

"In the current Covid-19 lockdown climate, most businesses around the world are hunkering down and preparing for the dreaded 'R-word' to hit, but that doesn't seem to be the case for Czech brand Skoda.

Due to a combination of incredible demand, and production plant closures across the board, Skoda has had to pull its little electric Skoda Citigo iV from all UK markets.

According to a British report, the initial allocation of 400 units for the local market sold out in less than 60 days, leaving dealerships asking for more during a time when international car sales are dropping.

Like all Volkswagen Group factories, Skoda's plants have been temporarily closed since mid-March in an attempt to prevent the spread of Coronavirus between workers.

Production will resume as soon as the plants re-open, but it seems that Skoda has its work cut out if it wants to meet this unprecedented demand around the United Kingdom.

A spokesperson from Skoda recently confirmed the news to Autocar, saying that “we had lofty expectations for the car and customer demand was exceptionally high. As a result, it sold out quicker than expected.”

The Citigo iV is built on the same platform as Volkswagen's e-Up!, and the Seat Mii Electric. Debuting about a year ago, it's Skoda's first electric vehicle, which produces 61kW and 210Nm from a 36.8kWh battery pack."
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HarmLessSolutions

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#2595297 31-Oct-2020 11:20

kingdragonfly: Skoda Citigo/Seat Mii/VW eUP

Cheapest Electric Cars On Sale, Bad & Cheap Or Good Value?

Electric Vehicle Man

This review is of the Skoda Citigo iV (Electric) but as the VW eUP & the Seat Mii are pretty much the same car then you might as well treat this as a 3 in 1 review!

Comes across as a great little urban focussed EV. There's definitely demand for no frills budget priced EVs with cars such as the Honda-e and various Chinese models proving popular.

https://www.harmlesssolutions.co.nz/

Scott3

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#2595623 31-Oct-2020 20:42

HarmLessSolutions:

...There's definitely demand for no frills budget priced EVs with cars such as the Honda-e...

The Honda-e is a somewhat premium offering. Base price GBP26,160 (after the GBP3,500 plug in grant). While it has a relatively short range (220km), Honda haven't held back with tech (cameras instead of wind mirrors) or making a great city car (RWD, tiny turning circuit)

For comparison (all prices after 3500GBP plug in grant applied):

Smart EQ fortwo - £17,350
Skoda Citigo-e iV - £17,455
Smart EQ forfour - £17,785
SEAT Mii electric - £19,800
Volkswagen e-up! - £20,555
MINI Electric - £24,900
MG ZS EV - £25,495
Peugeot e-208 - £26,025
Renault Zoe - £26,495

The likes does things like ditching the touch screen media center in favor of an old style one, and a mount for your smartphone. I quite like the approach, but it has been done to cut an extra $500 out of the cost of building the car.

Dingbatt

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#2596730 3-Nov-2020 07:33

I have been waiting for Ford to start selling the Escape Hybrid in NZ. (I know not full EV but perhaps a gateway for a lot of people).

So I was interested to note they are only have the PHEV in the lineup, i.e. no 2wd or AWD hybrid (non-plugin) that is available overseas. And the PHEV’s RRP starts at $61K which provides a barrier to uptake. That may be improved by a resurrected fee-bate scheme (here’s hoping) but when I asked about timescales, the unofficial response for availability (of the Escape PHEV) was “middle of next year”.

I have given up hoping the Mach-E or Focus EV might be here any time soon.

“We’ve arranged a society based on science and technology, in which nobody understands anything about science technology. Carl Sagan 1996

tdgeek

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#2596733 3-Nov-2020 07:42

@Dingbatt

How much of these scenarios are due to production limitations? I assume with our small size, our orders are well down the pile? Plus, if the NZ uptake is already low, and as more modesl come onstream, its quite possible that the demand here per manufacturer and/or each model will also drop. Static-ish demand vs more models to choose from, making these orders less again

al8565

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#2596739 3-Nov-2020 07:50

Dingbatt:

I have been waiting for Ford to start selling the Escape Hybrid in NZ. (I know not full EV but perhaps a gateway for a lot of people).

So I was interested to note they are only have the PHEV in the lineup, i.e. no 2wd or AWD hybrid (non-plugin) that is available overseas. And the PHEV’s RRP starts at $61K which provides a barrier to uptake. That may be improved by a resurrected fee-bate scheme (here’s hoping) but when I asked about timescales, the unofficial response for availability (of the Escape PHEV) was “middle of next year”.

I have given up hoping the Mach-E or Focus EV might be here any time soon.

Ford are having trouble with fully charged batteries, they likely want to fix before selling too many:

https://www.carsguide.com.au/car-news/2022-ford-escape-phev-delayed-battery-fire-risk-pushes-new-toyota-rav4-hybrid-rival-back-by

Obraik

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#2596935 3-Nov-2020 11:01

Dingbatt:

I have been waiting for Ford to start selling the Escape Hybrid in NZ. (I know not full EV but perhaps a gateway for a lot of people).

So I was interested to note they are only have the PHEV in the lineup, i.e. no 2wd or AWD hybrid (non-plugin) that is available overseas. And the PHEV’s RRP starts at $61K which provides a barrier to uptake. That may be improved by a resurrected fee-bate scheme (here’s hoping) but when I asked about timescales, the unofficial response for availability (of the Escape PHEV) was “middle of next year”.

I have given up hoping the Mach-E or Focus EV might be here any time soon.

For that much money you're better off buying a full EV option

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Dingbatt

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#2596941 3-Nov-2020 11:08

Obraik:

For that much money you're better off buying a full EV option

Which full EV option would that be? (Particularly without knowing the use case?)

“We’ve arranged a society based on science and technology, in which nobody understands anything about science technology. Carl Sagan 1996

Obraik

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#2597001 3-Nov-2020 12:42

You're right, I didn't know the use case so I had to make a general statement.

However, there is the MG ZS for around the same price (currently cheaper actually), or if you're ok with ex-demo's there are Kia Niro and Hyundai Kona EVs available for similar prices.

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jonathan18

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#2597075 3-Nov-2020 14:11

I don't know how useful that advice is, as every single one of those EVs you mention is a pretty damn small vehicle (and, IRRC, Dingbatt currently has a Camry Hybrid) - and that's before even thinking about things like whether range is acceptable. Here's a comparison of the sizes of those cars (ordered by length) - the Escape is larger than a CX5, whereas the others are closer to a CX3:

Obraik

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#2597087 3-Nov-2020 14:26

It depends on the requirements I guess. If the size isn't the main requirement then the mentioned options could indeed be options.

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Dingbatt

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#2597102 3-Nov-2020 14:44

Obraik:

It depends on the requirements I guess. If the size isn't the main requirement then the mentioned options could indeed be options.

How about the rated capacity to tow (even a domestic trailer)?

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Obraik

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#2597149 3-Nov-2020 16:15

No, none of the three options I mentioned are officially rated for towing. Not to say that you can't, though

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Scott3

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#2597295 3-Nov-2020 21:27

@Dingbatt, can I ask what the appeal of a Escape PHEV is over the likes of a widely available 2.4L Outlander PHEV. They seem similar in many regards.

Dingbatt:

How about the rated capacity to tow (even a domestic trailer)?

Rated tow capacity is one area where EV's are sadly lagging behind.

Many better EV's like the Kona, Niro Model S have a zero tow rating, despite having attributes that should make them good for towing, such as high empty weight relative to petrol peers. The batteries in all those have cooling systems designed to handle the load of frequent fast charges (Much more demanding than driving I think), and electronic smarts to dial back performance other parts are getting to hot. I think it comes down to that the makers weren't able to justify the cost of testing & rating the vehicle for towing.

The Petrol Kona is rated for 1300kg, and the battery pack in the electric version does not come very far to the rear (doesn't conflict with the petrol versions tow-bar mounting points). An source in Aussie has indicated that the zero tow rating is not a mechanical limitation, but rather other minor issues like the range estimator.

https://thedriven.io/2019/06/10/towing-a-caravan-with-an-electric-car-can-it-be-done/

In terms of EV's rated for towing:

eNV200 - 400kg
LDV EV80 - 750kg
Tesla model 3 - 910kg (rated for towing in NZ, but no official tow-bar available)
Polestar 2 - 1500kg (not yet available in NZ)
XC40 electric - 1500kg (not yet available in NZ)
Tesla Model Y - 1500kg /1558kg depending on source (not yet available in NZ)
Audi e-tron - 1800kg
Tesla model x - 2250kg (post 2018 should note that the unbraked rating from the typical 750kg to 450kg which is not ideal for larger garden trailers etc)

Sadly all but the env200 are quite expensive to get your hands on.

Should also note that towing high windage stuff (caravans, high roof boats etc) has a massive impact on range (decrease by 50 - 67%).

Fortunately in NZ (Unlike much of Aussie and Europe) there is not a legal requirement for light vehicles to abide by manufactures tow limits (as long as they are "safely loaded" and can pass a breaking performance test), so there is an opportunity for people to work outside manufacturers limits here. That said I appreciate people will be reluctant to put down $77k on a new Niro, then immediately do what the manufacture recommends against.

RunningMan

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#2597305 3-Nov-2020 22:15

Jaguar iPace 750kg tow capacity

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