Category: Battery Electric Car

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BMW i3 Parks Itself without any Driver Input [VIDEO]

The BMW i3 has an interesting function available as a $1,000 optional extra: Parking Assistant.

This system allows your car to park itself without your input. It uses a sonar installed in the right side of the car that detects large enough parking spaces when you want it to. After that, all you have to do is stop and keep the parking assist button pressed and the i3 will do everything for you.

That’s what a crew of journalists from Romania did when BMW invited them over in Austria to try out the new electric car from Munich. However, there’s a twist: this time, no driver was inside the car while the operation was done.

The man hopping out of the moving i3 is Vali Porcisteanu, a Romanian rally driver. He somehow meddled with the control button and made it stick while he left the ‘premises’.

The end result is both quite impressive and funny at the same time, seeing the car do all the work by itself, with no one inside.

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GM and LG working on Tesla Model 3 competitor with 200 mile range

LG Chem CFO Cho Suk-jeh has revealed the company will supply an automaker with a battery that will allow one of their models to travel more than 200 miles (320 km) on a single charge. Suk-jeh declined to say which automaker will use the battery but all indications are pointing to General Motors.

General Motors executives have said that the automaker is working on an EV that will deliver at least 200 miles of range. The automaker, manufacturer of the Chevrolet Volt, has said it hopes to have the longer-range EV in the market in 2016 to compete with the anticipated Tesla Model III, now scheduled for introduction in late 2016 or early 2017.

LG Chem presently supplies lithium-ion batteries to GM, Ford, Hyundai, Kia, Volvo and Renault, among others.

Doug Parks, GM’s vice president for product development, said in an interview last year that General Motors plans to offer an EV with at least 200 miles of range for a price of around $30,000. That's the target all the major automakers are aiming at for their next-generation electric vehicles, he said.

GM invested $7 million in Battery Start-up Envia Systems in 2011. Unfortunatley the promised 'world record' 400 Watt-­‐ hours/kilogram (Wh/kg) energy density only lasted a few cycles leaving GM to search for more legitimate battery technology partners.

General Motors and LG Group agreed in 2011 to jointly design and engineer future electric vehicles, expanding a relationship built on LG’s work as the battery cell supplier for the Chevrolet Volt and Opel Ampera extended-range EVs.

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All-electric Kia Soul EV test drive in Seoul

Kia have uploaded yet another promo video for the Soul EV.

The Soul EV will is propelled by a liquid-cooled AC synchronous permanent magnet electric motor rated for 109 horsepower and 210 lb-ft of torque. Like most electrics, the motor sends power to the front wheels via a single-speed constant-ratio transmission.

A 96-cell, 27-kWh lithium-ion polymer battery feeds the motor. It lives under the Soul’s floor, and takes a small bite out of rear seat legroom, which shrinks from 39.1 to 36.0 inches. The standard 120-volt charger, which stows under the cargo floor, takes a bigger bite out of luggage capacity, down 5.1 cubic feet to 19.1.

The Soul EV can be charged to 80% in as little as 33 minutes using a 50-kW system, and the Soul EV is fitted with three charging ports. Two of the ports are for conventional AC charging, per SAE standard J1772, and the third for CHAdeMo public stations.

Deliveries began in South Korea in May 2014 with EU and US to follow in the second half of the year. With 200 km range and a price in the $30k range it looks like a solid addition to the EV market.

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QUANT e-Sportlimousine with nanoFLOWCELL drive [VIDEO]

nanoFLOWCELL AG introduced their QUANT e-Sportlimousine concept at the Geneva Motor Show earlier this year and the company has just announced the car has been approved for road use in Europe.

The company says this is a critical step because they are "working at top speed" on a production version. nanoFLOWCELL AG chief technical officer Nunzio La Vecchia went on to say "This is a historic moment and a milestone not only for our company but perhaps even for the electro-mobility of the future. For the first time an automobile featuring flow-cell electric drive technology will appear on Germany's roads."

The heart of the QUANT e-Sportlimousine prototype is the nanoFLOWCELL® battery. It gives the car a driving range of 600 kilometres. The newest product moving the world towards attractive electrical mobility was conceived at the nanoFLOWCELL DigiLab simulation lab at nanoFLOWCELL AG in Zurich, Switzerland. It is still under active development and the results so far are extremely promising.

Drivetrain:

All-wheel drive via 4 three-phase induction motors, torque vectoring for optimal drive torque distribution
Peak power: 680 KW (925 PS); 170 KW (231.2 PS) x 4
Operating power: 480 KW (653 PS); 120 KW (163.2 PS) x 4

nanoFLOWCELL:

nominal voltage: 600 V
nominal current: 50 A
tank capacity: 2 x 200 L

Performance:

0 - 100 KM/H: 2.8 S
top speed: 380 + KM/H
range: projected 400 to 600 KM
energy consumption: 20 KWH/100 KM

Dimensions and weight:

kerb weight with full tanks: 2,300 KG
wheelbase: 3,198 MM

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Tesla Battery Pack – Tear Down [VIDEO]

The eSamba project have acquired a Tesla battery pack to reverse engineer &/or use in the VW Samba Bus EV conversion.

Jehu Garcia's eSamba project is part of a 30-odd episode YouTube series where Jehu has recently experimented with building his own 18650 Lithium Ion battery packs. In this weeks episode the guys tear down a battery pack manufactured by Tesla Motors. It's not clear which vehicle the Tesla battery pack was removed from other than to say the car in question had done approx 5,000 miles.

After a bit of disassembly the Tesla 18650 based modules should give the eSamba project a few new ideas.

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Renault all-electric truck hits Paris

As part of its research into goods transport based on sustainable development, Renault Trucks and Guerlain are currently testing an experimental all-electric vehicle operated by Speed Distribution Logistique. This 16 t vehicle will be delivering supplies to Maison de Parfums & Cosmétiques boutiques in Paris over the next two years. It generates no polluting emissions or noise nuisance and will be tested on regular, demanding delivery rounds of over 200 km.

Committed for many years to the principles of sustainable development, Guerlain and the Paris region carrier Speed Distribution Logistique have joined forces with Renault Trucks to test a 16 t all-electric experimental vehicle under actual operating conditions: the 100% electrically-driven Renault Trucks D.

This truck will be carrying out daily deliveries to the Guerlain boutiques in Paris from its distribution centre, covering over 200 km. To operate over such a long route, a first for any electrically-driven vehicle, the Renault Trucks D all-electric will recharge its battery several times during each 24 hour operating cycle. Its route has been planned so that it can carry out two partial recharges during the day and a total recharge between 7 PM and 2 AM.

“The initial tests we’ve carried out using this technology under real operating conditions with our customers have been very satisfying,” explains Christophe Vacquier, Renault Trucks’ project manager. “We are now going further with Guerlain and Speed Distribution Logistique, using the vehicle on 200 km rounds which gives us confidence in the future of this technology.”

The test is scheduled to run until the end of 2015. A full appraisal will then be carried out and added to Renault Trucks’ expertise in the field of electrically-driven medium tonnage vehicles and its customers’ requirements. This will then be used to determine the direction future research will take.

For Alexandre Oulès, director of operations and Philippe Bernard, logistics manager at Guerlain, becoming jointly involved in this unique programme was an obvious choice. For Guerlain has made sustainable development part of its strategy for more than seven years, focused on six major challenges which include a determination to reduce the level of CO2 emissions generated by goods transport. It was also an opportunity to work with Renault Trucks and Speed Distribution Logistique on an innovative project, based on a joint commitment to protect the environment.

Marc Bachini, Speed Distribution Logistique’s founder explains why his company has become involved in this project: “Based on my own convictions, I defined an economic model that respects people and their environment. After having invested in all-electric Renault Maxity delivery vehicles in 2013, this civically-responsible approach naturally led me to pursue this path and incorporate an experimental 16 t all-electric vehicle to be used for warehouse collection. This enabled me to offer Guerlain, a pace-setting company in sustainable development, a totally emission-free delivery cycle.”

The Renault Trucks D all electric: technical characteristics

-GVW: 16.3 tonnes
-Payload: approx.6 tonnes
-Wheelbase: 4,700 mm
-Motor: 103 kW / 400 V LQ 160P asynchronous electric
-Gearbox: ZF 6S800 TSO, manual automated by air activators
-Batteries: 2 Lithium-ion battery packs with a total charge of 170 kWh (battery weight: 2 tonnes)
-Battery recharge: Mains 380 V/64A outlet and braking energy recovery
-Full charging time: approx. 7h
-Operating range: 120 km (without partial recharge)

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Tesla’s $35,000 car will be called the Model 3

In an interview with AutoExpress, CEO Elon Musk revealed that the $35,000 vehicle will be called the Model 3 (with three bars to represent it), after Ford put the kibosh on calling it the Model E.

“We were going to call it model E for a while and then Ford sued us saying it wanted to use the Model E".

Musk has repeatedly targeted 2017 as the release window for a smaller vehicle. He's said it will be the third generation after the original Roadster and Model S, and in the interview claims it will have a range of over 200 miles per charge, probably using batteries built in Tesla's planned Gigafactory.

Musk also told the magazine about a range boost upgrade coming for the original Roadster that will give it a modern battery capable of up to 400 miles on a charge, "which will allow you to drive from LA to San Francisco non-stop."

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Exagon Furtive-eGT electric supercar ready for production

The Furtive-eGT has been around in concept form since 2010 and a few may even have been delivered, but now Exagon appears ready to go into serial production.

The Exagon Furtive eGT electric supercar is powered by a pair of 300 kW Siemens electric motors that combined have the potential to deliver up to 600 kW / 516 Nm, the car is exceptionally rapid. Power is transferred to the rear wheels and Exagon says throttle response is virtually instantaneous, delivering a 0-100km/h sprint of just 3.5 seconds, faster than a Tesla Roadster.

The car has a top speed of 250km/h and the electric motors are energised by a hefty 53kWh lithium-ion battery which provides a range of around 300km but Exagon will option a small range-extender engine to charge the batteries on the run, which gives the car a theoretical 730km range.

The Exagon Furtive eGT has four seats and features a monocoque light carbon fiber body, which weighs an astonishingly low 124 kg. The manufacturer is also offering a wide selection of personalization options, while the price and availability are set to be announced at a later date.

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Tesla Model S P85 Dyno Run gets 436 HP @ the wheels [VIDEO]

Tesla owner Emmanuel Chang had his 2013 Black Tesla Model S P85 dyno tested on a mobile CCMR Dynojet recently at some generic car show.

The Model S P85 is officially rated 416 HP at the motor shaft. This particular combination of dyno and P85 recorded 436 HP at the wheels. (there is usually a significant drivetrain loss between motor and wheels)

A few details regarding this test:

  • 1) The tech couldn't attach a sensor to the motor's crank so "engine rpm" has to be recalculated as he took the wheel RPM (so multiply the RPM by 1000, then by 9.71 *approx*)

  • 2) The dyno maxed out at 2000 lbs·ft but math from the specs indicates 4301 lbs·ft at the wheels.

  • 3) Horsepower and torque number are inaccurate as the car smoked the tires on the dyno's drum so the wheels were not spinning 1:1 for the computer to measure accurately, basically it has slightly more power than what the computer thinks it has.

    Source: TMC