Charged with Electric Vehicle News and Views
According to Bloomberg's Stephen Engle, the ultra high-end electric and hybrid car space is suddenly getting a bit more crowded in China.
Tesla had the first deliveries of the Model S to Chinese customers this week, while BMW will roll out its hybrid i8 super sports car for the China market by the end of the year.
Engle got behind the wheel of BMW's new offering in Beijing.
With the FIA having put the World Endurance Championship live TV coverage behind a pay-wall for 2014, we are indeed fortunate that enthusiastic Youtubers are willing to upload the entire 6 hours for those of us who prefer free TV.
In 2010 the South Korean government unveiled a plan to produce 1.2 million electric vehicles a year by 2015, or 21 percent of the domestic automobile market, and a nationwide goal of one million registered electric vehicles by 2020.
The South Korean government’s Ministry of Environment is providing a 15 million won ($13,900) nationwide subsidy for EV purchases, and 10 major cities or provincial jurisdictions are providing additional subsidies ranging from 3 million to 8 million won ($2,800 to $7,400).
The semitropical island of Jeju, which is located about 60 miles (100 km) south of the Korean peninsula in Korea’s East Sea, Plans for all cars to be electric by 2030.
The Jeju government adds a hefty 8 million won subsidy to the federal incentive for EVs purchased on the island. The combined price abatement of 23 million won ($21,000) nearly halves the EV’s purchase price in some instances, dramatically reduces it in all others and makes the Chevrolet Spark EV less than the cost of a gasoline-powered Spark.
While the federal subsidy is open-ended and applies nationally, there is a limit to the number of subsidies Jeju will grant. For 2014 Jeju has a cap of 500 subsidies, but officials say they are swamped with thousands of applications.
Jeju is a natural fit for EVs because it has been a smart grid test bed for years, which included building public charging infrastructure. Also, Jeju is a relatively small, oval-shaped island (about 70 km by 30 km), so drivers can easily get around the island on a single battery charge.
There are currently only about 360 electric vehicles amongst the population of about 607 000, a figure that the province wants to expand to more than 500 this year. The provincial government expects about 370 000 total cars on the road in Jeju by 2030 compared to about 300,000 today.
This will be achieved in steps, with the initial subsidy phase adding 500 new EVs this year, then more subsidies to boost the number to 29,000 by 2017 and to 94,000 by 2020. The island has 500 easily accessible 240V recharge stations, said to be the highest density anywhere in the world. More stations are being added every month.
South Korean buyers, who buy almost exclusively cars made in the country, have several Korean-made electric cars from which to choose. The current sales champion on Jeju is the Samsung SM3, which is a clone of the Renault Fluence ZE sedan.
Kia's Ray EV, Samsung/Renault's SM3 EV and General Motors Spark EV got off to a modest sales start in 2013. Nissan will begin selling the Leaf in South Korea in the second half of this year along with BMW's i3 and Kia's Soul EV. Hyundai Motor to launch first battery-powered electric car in 2016.
South Korea has installed 1,510 charging stations for electric cars across the country, including 110 quick charge stations. Currently, about 1,100 electric cars are being used mostly by government agencies and public corporations across the country.
BMW has increased production of the i3 electric city car 43% to meet demand that has exceeded the carmaker’s initial expectations.
The premium manufacturer in recent weeks has raised daily output to 100 vehicles from 70 previously at the factory in Leipzig, Germany, where the model is assembled, Harald Krueger, BMW production chief, said in an emailed statement to Bloomberg.
BMW has already built more than 5,000 i3s since the start of the year, Krueger said. The current production rate translates to about 20,000 vehicles for the full year, almost twice as much as BMW’s initial sales forecast.
BMW began rolling out the i3 last November and will begin bringing the i8 hybrid sports car to market in June. Both vehicles have a carbon fiber chassis to cut weight and improve fuel efficiency. The Munich-based automaker said in February that it’s building a second production hall at a jointly run plant with SGL Carbon SE (SGL) to boost assembly of the material.
“Following the market introduction in Europe, we’re now rolling out the i3 in the U.S.,” Krueger said in the statement. “The U.S. will be the largest market for the i3.”
BMW gained as much as 43 cents, or 0.5 percent, to 90.57 euros and was up 0.3 percent as of 1:21 p.m. in Frankfurt trading. The stock has climbed 5.8 percent this year, valuing the German manufacturer at 57.9 billion euros ($79.9 billion).
Chief Financial Officer Friedrich Eichiner said in October the company was considering a production increase for the model after early demand exceeded expectations. BMW said at the time it had 11,000 orders for the compact car, which will cost $41,350 in the U.S., and aimed to sell more than 10,000 in 2014.
“BMW invested a lot of money” on their electric-car push and using carbon fiber, said Stefan Bratzel, director of the Center of Automotive Management at the University of Applied Sciences in Bergisch Gladbach, Germany. “It was a bold move, but it also bears some risk as production is complex. They need to make this work.”
Take a look at what 2,000 Amps does to a set of DC motor brushes under the hood while an 8 second EV drag race car pushes nearly 1000BHP into two stock Netgain DC brushed motors.
Porsche's new 919 Hybrid during testing for the World Endurance Championship at Circuit Paul Ricard in France. April 2014.
The Walmart Advanced Vehicle Experience concept truck is the latest in their fleet efficiency program.
The one-of-a-kind prototype offers a whole package of firsts. The tractor has very advanced aerodynamics and is powered by a prototype advanced turbine-powered, range-extending series hybrid powertrain.
The trailer is made almost exclusively with carbon fiber, saving around 4,000 pounds which can then be used to carry more freight.
The prestigious Rallye Monte-Carlo ZENN saw Renault ZOE overcome horrendous weather conditions to celebrate its international competition debut with an emphatic outright win and victory on all four regularity tests.
The Rallye Monte-Carlo ZENN (Zero Emission, No Noise) is the "greenest" segment of the Monte-Carlo New Energies Rally, the event is open only to electric vehicles. The fifth edition is holding from March 21 to 23, 2014 in Monaco and featured three special stages ranging from 46.51km to 88.08km in length. These stages were divided into a total of four regularity tests.
The roads visited by the event included the breath-taking, twisty runs from La Turbie to Peille and from Sainte Agnès to La Turbie, high above the Mediterranean coast. Participants had to contend with a combination of torrential rain and fog on the busiest day (Saturday, March 22) which featured two special stages divided into three regularity tests. Action concluded with an autotest on the harbour-side in Monaco.
Almost two years after ZOE established a new 24-hour electric vehicle distance world record (1,618km) in June 2012, last weekend saw the all-electric hatchback's first attempt at the Rallye Monte-Carlo ZENN provide further eloquent evidence of its technical and dynamic qualities by securing every one of the five trophies that were up for grabs.
Clarkson drives the Mercedes SLS AMG Black Series and the Mercedes SLS AMG Electric Drive.
Verdict: "The SLS EV is possibly the most brilliantly revolutionary thing that the already-bonkers lot at AMG have ever created: a fully electric AWD supercar".
Former F1 driver Jarno Trulli test drives the new Formula E car in France.
The Italian drove the fully-electric single-seater featuring the full 200kw (270bhp) race-mode battery in mid-March 2014.
