Charged with Electric Vehicle News and Views
Robert Llewellyn has had the opportunity to do a couple of long road trips in the Tesla Model S this year.
One to Cornwall and the Eden Project with co-driver Simon Hackett and more recently to Edinburgh and the Fringe Festival.
The Antelope Valley Transit Authority’s (AVTA) new electric BYD bus is performing better than advertised! AVTA and BYD operators put the electric bus to the test this weekend during a 24-hour marathon ride that looped from Rosamond to Palmdale a total of 18 times.
The BYD bus managed to travel an astounding 746 miles (1,193 kms) over the 24-hour period, operating in three shifts. Each shift logged between 240 and 256 miles before recharging the battery. “This is tremendous news and it proves the BYD electric bus can be a transit work horse like its diesel counterpart,” stated Board Chair Norm Hickling. “We are looking forward to putting our electric buses into service on local transit routes to further evaluate their true performance under all weather and road conditions.”
This weekend’s 24-hour marathon began on Saturday at 1:04 in the afternoon starting from the BYD factory in Lancaster. AVTA’s electric bus was loaded with 5,250 lbs. of sand bags to simulate the weight of 35 passengers. The bus traveled a total of 240 miles before its first battery charge, which is nearly 100 miles more than BYD advertises and 30 miles more than is needed to service an average transit route in the Antelope Valley. The air conditioning system ran during most of the test except during the early morning hours when it was cold outside.
This is the second test for AVTA’s electric bus. Its first unofficial test was July 29 when it traveled to Los Angeles to pick up the consul general of the Chinese Consulate who was scheduled to tour the BYD manufacturing facility in Lancaster. AVTA offered to pick up the Chinese delegation using its new BYD bus in order to test the zero emission vehicle’s performance on the 14 freeway. After circulating downtown, the electric bus easily climbed the 14 Freeway grade which has an elevation change of nearly 4,000 feet. The 92-mile trip ended in Lancaster, CA with 64% of the bus’ battery life still remaining.
“We are ecstatic to see our electric bus performing so well. Our 12-month demonstration project is now off the ground and we could not be more pleased at the early results,” stated Executive Director Julie Austin. “We are also hopeful our plans to install wireless charging stations at AVTA’s two main transfer centers will extend the battery life of our electric buses even more than BYD technology can guarantee.”
The Tesla Model S electric car earned the highest score ever in Consumer Reports tests, and owners love them.
But after 20 months and over 15,000 miles, CR’s test car has had more than its fair share of problems.
The smart fortwo electric drive is a champion of urban mobility. But is it a champion of the drag strip? Against some of the fastest cars in the city?!
Remember, in urban driving top speed means nothing, it's the first 5 meters that count!
Brammo has announced the appointment of ELMOFO (Electro Motive Force) as their importer and distributor for Australia.
Brammo is excited to partner with ELMOFO, who have a deep understanding of the Australian EV market and the challenges associated with building premium electric vehicles.
Commenting on this latest appointment, Founder and CEO of Brammo Inc., Craig Bramscher, said, “Our vision continues to be to bring our world-class motorcycles to leading global markets. This partnership marks a significant milestone in our expansion. We look forward to being part of the Australian EV market and working with ELMOFO.”
"Over the past two years, ELMOFO has been searching globally for the best two wheel EV company to provide electric motorcycles to the Australian market. Brammo offers award-winning, leading-edge technology that will bring a real world impact to Australian riders," said Brett Sutherland, CEO of ELMOFO.
ELMOFO have been racing a battery powered Radical, the current electric lap record holder, the only electric powered vehicle in a field of petrol powered cars in the NSW SuperSports State Championships.
Wide bandgap (WBG) materials such as silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN) are best positioned to address emerging power electronics performance needs in electric vehicles (EVs), with SiC displacing silicon as early as 2020, according to Lux Research.
As silicon struggles to meet higher performance standards, WBG materials are benefiting critically from evolving battery economics. On Tesla Model S, for example, a 20% power savings can result in gains of over $6,000 in battery cost, or 8% of the vehicle's cost.
"Efficient power electronics is key to a smaller battery size, which in turn has a positive cascading impact on wiring, thermal management, packaging, and weight of electric vehicles," said Pallavi Madakasira, Lux Research Analyst and the lead author of the report titled, "Silicon vs. WBG: Demystifying Prospects of GaN and SiC in the Electrified Vehicle Market."
"In addition to power electronic modules, opportunities from a growing number of consumer applications -- such as infotainment and screens -- will double the number of power electronic components built into a vehicle," she added.
Lux Research analysts evaluated system-level benefits WBG materials are bringing to the automotive industry, and predicted a timeline for commercial roll-outs of WBG-based power electronics. Among their findings:
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According to a recent report, Tesla could launch up to four new models by 2018.
While we already know about the Model X and the Model 3, Autobild is reporting the company is considering a compact city car.
Little is known about the vehicle - which has been dubbed the Model C - but it would be smaller and more affordable than the Model 3 which is expected to cost approximately $35,000.
The magazine goes says a new roadster - dubbed Model R - could arrive in 2017. This seems to contradict statements from Tesla CEO Elon Musk who has previously said an all-new Roadster is at least five years off. However, the wait could be worth it as Tesla's vice president of sales, George Blankenship, has previously suggested it could accelerate from 0-60 mph in less than four seconds and have a range in excess of 200 miles (322 km).
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Autocar report that a new Bugatti Veyron is currently undergoing initial conceptual engineering tests in a programme aimed at unveiling the car in 2016 prior to a planned start to customer deliveries the following year. According to sources close to Bugatti, early test mules for the new car exist and have already been pressed into action in an early round of testing.
“Five developmental prototypes with differing powertrain combinations have been constructed up to now,” said one insider. “They are based on the existing car but use various solutions that are being considered for the new model.”
Following recent arrivals such as the McLaren P1, Porsche 918 Spyder and LaFerrari, the new Bugatti will feature a battery powered hybrid electric powertrain. The same quad-turbocharged 8.0-litre W16 powerplant as its predecessor will be retained but with the possible addition of electric turbochargers, perhaps along the lines of those used by Porsche in LMP1 (Porsche and Bugatti are both part of the VW group) and the 2014 Formula One KERS MGU-H (where the H stands for heat).
The big news centres around plans to provide the new Bugatti with hybrid drive by way of a disc-shaped Axial Flux electric motor mounted within the gearbox housing. Together, the petrol engine and electric motor are said to deliver up to 1500 hp. By comparison, the Veyron Super Sport has 1183 hp.
Autocar sources suggest that torque will be capped at 1500 Nm for the sake of gearbox reliability. A Veyron Super Sport already has 1500 Nm from 3000 to 5000 rpm. With an Axial Flux AC Induction motor able to generate almost as much torque (1250 Nm from the EE in-wheel motor) The Bugatti hybrid electric powertrain design looks like a very conservative step with full potential limited by the fragility of it's mechanical driveline.
The new hybrid Veyron should have some fairly startling performance in electric only mode (if it has one - see LaFerrari), but in parallel mode, other than providing torque fill below 3,000 rpm, (partly explaining why Bugatti expect 0-100 km/h times to drop to 2.3 sec) the full potential of the hybrid powerplant will be restricted by a mechanical transmission layout that may not have moved on much from the current Veyron.
As with the McLaren P1, a hybrid that still idles in traffic, or the LaFerrari which has no pure EV mode, the new Bugatti may succeed in combined the superior low rpm torque characteristics of an electric motor to give the instant throttle response and acceleration of an EV, what McLaren call 'torque fill', with the enormous top end torque of a large displacement forced induction ICE, but in common with the aforementioned hybrid hypercars, it will be very much a first generation mild hybrid.
We will have to wait for future evolutions of hybrid supercar powertrain design before we see anything truly revolutionary.
The next generation Chevrolet Volt will debut at the 2015 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Global Chevrolet Chief Marketing Officer Tim Mahoney said today.
The 2016 Volt will build on the award-winning original's strong foundation of technology innovation. Volt sales were up 13 percent in July and more than 65,000 have been sold since it was introduced – making it the best-selling plug-in passenger car in the U.S. market.
"Volt is the perfect example of the ingenuity that drives everything we do at Chevrolet," Mahoney said at the Center for Automotive Research Management Briefings. "Volt fully delivers on the promises of Find New Roads and will continue to provide consumers with the transportation solutions they need and deserve in the future."
Volt owners are driving more than 63 percent of their overall miles in electric vehicle mode, collectively logging more than 500 million gas-free miles since the Volt's retail debut in 2010. That has saved more than 25 million gallons of gasoline.
While the driving range in EV mode can be affected by temperature, driving technique and terrain, the ease with which Volt drivers are avoiding gasoline use demonstrates the Volt's suitability for almost any lifestyle.
Volt owners who charge regularly typically drive more than 970 miles between fill-ups and visit the gas station less than once a month.
The Volt has received multiple customer satisfaction awards from leading third-parties. According to a recent leading independent satisfaction survey, the Volt is the highest-rated compact car under $55,000. Owners are showing their satisfaction as well. For the past three years, a leading customer publication has reported survey results showing more than 90 percent of Volt owners said they would definitely buy a Volt again.
The Volt continues to draw buyers from non-General Motors' products. In the 2013 calendar year, nearly seven of 10 new Volt buyers traded in a non-GM vehicle, the majority of which were Toyota Priuses.
Among its accolades, the 2014 Volt has been recognized for its safety, most recently receiving the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety 2014 Top Safety Pick+ designation for vehicles equipped with an available Forward Collision Alert system.
The Outlander PHEV is helping Mitsubishi sales success in the UK.
In July Outlander PHEV outsold all other vehicles which qualify for the governments Plug-in Car Grant, accounting for 43% of successful applications. This car has received huge levels of public interest, driven by the vehicle’s outstanding fuel consumption of 148 MPG and low emission credentials – 44g/km.
Toby Marshall, Director of Sales & Marketing for Mitsubishi Motors in the UK, said: “Now that the sales figures are in for July, it is clear to see we have made significant progress so far this year. The addition of the game-changing Outlander PHEV to our vehicle line-up has helped boost Mitsubishi brand awareness, increasing sales of all models in our range.”
