EV (electric vehicle) News and Discussion

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#2675230 16-Mar-2021 08:18

Volkswagen going big in batteries to slash the price of electric cars

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/03/15/business/volkswagen-batteries-electric-cars/index.html

...

"The one size fits almost all cell design will radically reduce battery costs ... by up to 50% compared to today"

GV27

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#2675258 16-Mar-2021 08:49

I'm seriously confused about the Toyota EV announcement. They were meant to debut working solid-state batteries at the Olympics opening ceremony, so they supposedly had something, but I also still see stories about research teams working through interface issues with solid-state batteries so it seems like there's some pretty fundamental problems yet to be resolved.

I know Japanese companies were working towards 2025 as part of a national effort to develop solid-state tech, but I was under the impression they had walked back from that a bit. Is it possible Toyota cracked something on their own and has just been lining up ducks in the background and being coy this whole time? Are we just seeing articles drip-fed by research partners once Toyota is sure they have enough of a lead on development?

They've recently swapped the nickel batteries in their hybrids for Li-Ion tech so it's possible this could be a 'conventional' EV using the same cells, but I'm seeing a lot of solid-state hype and papers announced at the moment so maybe something is going on.

PolicyGuy

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#2675259 16-Mar-2021 08:49

DS248:

Volkswagen going big in batteries to slash the price of electric cars

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/03/15/business/volkswagen-batteries-electric-cars/index.html

...

"The one size fits almost all cell design will radically reduce battery costs ... by up to 50% compared to today"

Also "[VW] also plans to recycle up to 95% of the raw materials involved in battery production."

It's almost like someone from VW watched the Tesla "Battery Day" video from September last year and decided that there were some darned good ideas there
LOL

[Edit: speeling]

DS248

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#2675988 17-Mar-2021 10:03

VW BEV sales may overtake Tesla's in 2022

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/03/16/business/volkswagen-tesla/index.html

"UBS analysts told reporters last week that investors have failed to appreciate the speed at which Volkswagen is gaining ground on Tesla"

afe66

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#2676038 17-Mar-2021 12:12

That would explain all those vw electric cars i see every where...

WyleECoyoteNZ

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#2676763 18-Mar-2021 22:38

BMW Production i4 shown

https://www.topgear.com/car-news/electric/heres-your-first-look-production-bmw-i4

BMW claim 360 miles WLTP.

Not much other information at the link

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WyleECoyoteNZ

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#2676779 18-Mar-2021 22:48

DS248:

VW BEV sales may overtake Tesla's in 2022

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/03/16/business/volkswagen-tesla/index.html

"UBS analysts told reporters last week that investors have failed to appreciate the speed at which Volkswagen is gaining ground on Tesla"

This will be interesting to watch how it plays out.

It the base platform is developed well, the cars it spawns at different price points could help VW Group against Tesla, but it could also work against them if it is a poor platform. The platform sharing across the VW group has worked well for it's ICE vehicles, so I don't doubt the ability of VW to churn out the volume of EV's under different brands (Audi, VW, Skoda & SEAT) at different price points.

Legitimate question, do any of the Tesla use the same platform underneath the skin, or are they all there own model?

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#2676790 19-Mar-2021 01:04

WyleECoyoteNZ:

Legitimate question, do any of the Tesla use the same platform underneath the skin, or are they all there own model?

The most similar Teslas are the Model 3 and Model Y. They are built on the same platform and share 75% of the parts, both for interior and for the drivetrain.

The Model S and Model X also share a platform, but reportedly they only share about 30% of the parts. I suspect Tesla might have worked toward more similarities in the two models in the new upcoming versions where they have had an upgrade on the interior and exterior.

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mattwnz

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#2676791 19-Mar-2021 01:19

Is it better to now wait for EVs to become more mainstream and prices to drop, or still buy a brand new petrol car? Or go with a plugin hybrid like some of Toyotas new ones, as a type of transition? With all the new EVs being released, petrol cars now look so outdated. But I do worry we won't have the power generation with all these cars needing power, especially as we have been increasing our population significantly with migration, which will likely resume once the covid pandemic is over.

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#2677015 19-Mar-2021 09:47

mattwnz:

Is it better to now wait for EVs to become more mainstream and prices to drop, or still buy a brand new petrol car? Or go with a plugin hybrid like some of Toyotas new ones, as a type of transition? With all the new EVs being released, petrol cars now look so outdated. But I do worry we won't have the power generation with all these cars needing power, especially as we have been increasing our population significantly with migration, which will likely resume once the covid pandemic is over.

Power generation isn't really an issue. There are new power stations consented that are waiting on the extra demand to be brought online. As the grid demand grows so will the grid output.

I guess the answer to your question depends on what cars you are in the market for. If you're looking at more premium options like a new BMW 3 series or higher, then I'd say yes, absolutely go with the EV option as at that price point they're around the same price and in some cases, cheaper. If your budget is something like a new Swift then your options would only really be a second hand EV. I would say that at that price point you would get more enjoyment from the second hand EV option as they're peppier than small ICE vehicles, but I have a bias 🙂

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#2677025 19-Mar-2021 10:02

Obraik:

Power generation isn't really an issue. There are new power stations consented that are waiting on the extra demand to be brought online. As the grid demand grows so will the grid output.

But in the same reference there is 2.26GW of reliable fossil fuelled generation that needs to be closed down. Otherwise all you are doing is transferring the emissions.

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#2677150 19-Mar-2021 12:04

Dingbatt:

Otherwise all you are doing is transferring the emissions.

Which is a net win because a) now those emissions are out in the country where there are far fewer people to breathe them, b) they are much better scrubbed by one large power plant than a million small engines, c) one large power plant charging a million batteries is still more efficient than a million small engines and d) as the grid becomes more renewable so do the million EVs, as opposed to a million engines.

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#2677161 19-Mar-2021 12:33

Well, the Aussies really don't want EVs, with Victoria Introducing an EV RUC from July..

From July, a 2.5 cent/km charge will apply to electric and other zero-emission vehicles, including hydrogen vehicles, and a 2.0 cent/km charge will apply to plug-in hybrid-electric vehicles.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-18/electric-vehicle-tax-a-disincentive-to-go-green/13258232

Also the UK have pulled the plug on EV subsidies for Tesla, and other high priced EVs.... + lowered the grant by 500 quid

"The maximum grant for electric cars was reduced from £3,000 to £2,500 with immediate effect on Thursday. The government also lowered the price cap for cars eligible for the subsidy from £50,000 to £35,000."

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/mar/18/uk-slashes-grants-for-electric-car-buyers-while-increasing-petrol-vehicle-support

HarmLessSolutions

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#2677214 19-Mar-2021 13:50

wellygary:

Well, the Aussies really don't want EVs, with Victoria Introducing an EV RUC from July..

From July, a 2.5 cent/km charge will apply to electric and other zero-emission vehicles, including hydrogen vehicles, and a 2.0 cent/km charge will apply to plug-in hybrid-electric vehicles.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-18/electric-vehicle-tax-a-disincentive-to-go-green/13258232

https://theconversation.com/distance-based-road-charges-will-improve-traffic-and-if-done-right-wont-slow-australias-switch-to-electric-cars-150290

This is very much what can be expected in NZ once the present RUC (and ACC levy) holiday for EVs comes to an end (at the end of 2021?) A reduced preferential RUC rate for EVs is only to be expected as the national fleet transition away from fossil fuels and the existing RUC stream slows. The incentive towards EVs will be reduced slightly but overall running costs will still be significantly cheaper so uptake will continue.

wellygary:

Also the UK have pulled the plug on EV subsidies for Tesla, and other high priced EVs.... + lowered the grant by 500 quid

"The maximum grant for electric cars was reduced from £3,000 to £2,500 with immediate effect on Thursday. The government also lowered the price cap for cars eligible for the subsidy from £50,000 to £35,000."

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/mar/18/uk-slashes-grants-for-electric-car-buyers-while-increasing-petrol-vehicle-support

The incentive of tax subsidies has been successful in the UK so they are throttling off now that a reasonable portion of their fleet is now electric. It's not surprising that savings are being sought by the UK government considering the state of their COVID19 ravaged economy.

https://www.nextgreencar.com/electric-cars/statistics/

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

morrisk

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#2681936 28-Mar-2021 11:14

Great to see the Taupo ChargeNet HPC chargers - all 4 of them - up and running. At last Taupo has some serious EV charging capacity.

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