07 Jan 2020 | Musk Force One Heads To China For Model 3 Handovers

Show #660

 

Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Tuesday 7th January 2020. It’s Martyn Lee here and I go through every EV story to save you time.

 

Some advance mention of this weekend, I’ve been working on a Saturday Special all about Plug In Hybrid’s. So rather than a news show, we’ll look at where we are the take a run down of the cars coming soon. Are they the perfect halfway house between fossils and EV, or should people make the jump these days to full electric? That’s this Saturday.

 

Thank you to MYEV.com for helping make this show, they’ve built the first marketplace specifically for Electric Vehicles. It’s a totally free marketplace that simplifies the buying and selling process, and help you learn about EVs along the way too.

 

 

UK DECEMBER SALES FIGURES

Matthias Schmidt @auto_schmidt

 

"Tesla Model 3 made it into the UK's top 10 registrations list in December with 2,824 registrations. SMMT data. Significance: From Jan, UK is likely to become a key priority market (company car tax change from Apr) for Tesla following end of Netherlands priority (Jan tax change)"

 

It goes VW Golf, Ford Fiesta, Mini, FOrd Kuga, BMW 3 Series, Ford Focus, Mercedes A-Class and then Other. (aka Model 3).

 

UK Sales numbers:

December 2019:

BEVs: 4,939 (+220.7%)

PHEVs: 4,480 (+21.8%)

 

2019:

BEVs: 37,850 (+144.0%)

PHEVs: 34,734 (-17.8%)

 

RIVIAN COLLECTS 1.3 BILLION IN FINANCING

"The US electric car manufacturer Rivian has raised 1.3 billion dollars in a new round of financing. The financing round was led by the fund company T. Rowe Price, Blackrock and included previous investors, Amazon and Ford." reports electrive.com: "Amazon already added a $700 million financing round in February 2019, Ford invested $500 million in April and has since been planning further collaborations with the start-up. In September, Cox Automotive had invested another $350 million – but the fourth round in December was the largest of the year. Amazon and Ford, have increased their involvement in Rivian – but the amount of their involvement has not been revealed."

 

https://www.electrive.com/2020/01/06/rivian-collects-1-3-billion-in-financing/

 

AMAZON-BACKED RIVIAN WILL INTEGRATE ALEXA INTO ITS ELECTRIC PICKUP AND SUV

"Rivian  will integrate Amazon’s  voice assistant Alexa into the R1T pickup and R1S SUV, the company’s first electric vehicles that are set to debut at the end of the year." says TechCrunch: "Rivian said Monday it also plans to extend the Alexa integration to 100,000 electric delivery trucks that Amazon has ordered from the automaker. The electric vans are expected to start delivering packages to customers in 2021. The integration into the R1T and R1S will give owners access to standard Alexa features, such as playing music, placing calls and navigation, as well as the ability to control the climate, open and close the trunk and other vehicle features. For instance, owners will be able to remotely tap into the camera embedded in Rivian’s pickup truck from Amazon screen-based services like Echo Show and Fire TV to check on whatever gear is stashed there."

 

https://techcrunch.com/2020/01/06/amazon-backed-rivian-will-integrate-alexa-into-its-electric-pickup-and-suv/

 

WHAT AUTOMAKERS ARE SHOWING AT CES

"as the auto industry grapples with technology-fueled disruption from electrification, autonomous driving and upstart business models, CES is becoming the venue of choice for brands to prove to consumers, and each other, that they are embracing the future of mobility." writes Automotive News Europe: "BMW will tease an interior concept for its i3 EV.  Fisker will debut the Ocean all-electric crossover, powered by an 80-kWh lithium ion battery pack and with an expected range of up to 300 miles. Ford will show its 2021 Mustang Mach-E crossover. The highly anticipated mass-market EV, with a 300-mile range. Nissan will showcase its Ariya electric crossover concept. Toyota will ... demo several concept vehicles."

 

https://europe.autonews.com/automakers/heres-what-automakers-are-showing-ces-electronics-show

 

ELON MUSK TO COME TO SHANGHAI

"Elon Musk plans to attend a ceremony to mark the first deliveries of made-in-China Tesla Inc. vehicles to customers on Tuesday, according to people familiar with the matter." says Bloomberg: "The ceremony is due to start at 3 p.m. local time at Tesla’s first factory outside the U.S. The tough market could mean that Tesla sells just 21,000 China-built Model 3s this year, according to LMC Automotive. The forecast takes into account Tesla’s history of production delays, potential supply-chain constraints and the complexity of manufacturing high-quality cars at scale, LMC Automotive said. Tesla, a pioneer in electric cars, probably will have an edge for the next one-to-two years before competition starts catching up, said David Whiston, an analyst at Morningstar Inc. in Chicago."

 

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-01-06/musk-plans-to-come-to-shanghai-for-debut-of-made-in-china-tesla

 

And from Electrek: "Tesla always said that they plan to produce both the Model 3 and Model Y at Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai, but they never confirmed a timeline for Model Y. Model Y is supposed to go into production in Fremont for the US market in the next few months. It was rumored that production in Shanghai could be not too far behind, and now Tesla is expected to lay out a clear plan to bring the vehicle in production in the country. Tesla is talking about expanding the already giant factory in order to produce the Model Y at the plant."

 

https://ww.electrek.co/2020/01/06/tesl-model-y-program-china-model-3-delivery-event-elon-musk/#

 

TESLA BEGINS CLEARING TREES AT GERMAN GIGAFACTORY 4 SITE

"Crews in Germany have started preparations for the groundbreaking of Tesla’s Gigafactory 4. Recently-shared videos from the piece of land in Grünheide, Germany revealed that some trees are currently being cut down to make way for the upcoming electric car production plant." according to Teslarati: "Environmentalists have not been expected to protest or make any attempts at halting Tesla’s progress at the site. Tesla initially announced that deforestation would result in the company planting three times as many trees to replace those that have been cut due to Gigafactory 4’s construction."

 

https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-gigafactory-4-deforestation-groundbreaking-event/

 

TESLA GIGAFACTORY 4 DOCUMENTS HINT AT DEDICATED BATTERY CELL FACILITY

"Recent filings for Tesla GF4 show the site layout for the massive complex, listing the primary buildings that will be constructed on the site. Among the most noticeable parts of this layout is a large area marked “cell.”" according to Tasmanian: "The size of the building marked “cell” in GF4’s planned layout inspires a lot of speculation. Based on its size, it appears that Tesla may be looking to manufacture actual battery cells on location in GF4."

 

https://www.tesmanian.com/blogs/tesmanian-blog/tesla-gigafactory-4-battery-cell-productionfacility

 

EV SUBSIDIES EXTENDED IN SEVERAL US STATES

"Several US American states have launched initiatives to support the electrification of their traffic. Massachusetts and Delaware extended their subsidy programmes, while Ohio is angling to introduce one. California extended traffic benefits to include those driving used EVs." says electrive: "Massachusetts will be extending its subsidy program until the end of 2021, with BEVs receiving a grant of $2,500 and PHEVs with at least 25 electric range receiving $1,500.Delaware is extending its subsidy program by one year until the end of 2020. $2,500 for BEVs, $1,000 for PHEVs – each up to a list price of $60,000. In California, lower-income (earning less than $65,777) owners of used electric cars have also been given access to the carpool lanes since January 1."

 

https://www.electrive.com/2020/01/06/ev-subsidies-extended-in-several-us-states/

 

WHAT CAR? CAR OF THE YEAR 2020: THE SHORTLIST

Audi E-tron - the E-tron still impresses with a cosetting ride and a luxurious interior.

Mercedes EQC -Mercedes’ first electric SUV impressed us with its quiet manner and comfortable ride.

MG ZS EV - MG ZS EV offers a lot of value for money, especially for anyone wanting to try electric motoring on a budget.

Seat Mii Electric - electric power and a price tag which makes it affordable for many.

Tesla Model 3 - It can travel up to 239 miles on a single charge (note: WLTP is 348 for Long Range)

 

https://www.whatcar.com/news/what-car-car-of-the-year-2020-the-shortlist/n20703#31

 

MAZDA FAVOURS SMALLER BATTERIES FOR UPCOMING EVS

"Mazda says it will never build a ‘big-battery’ electric car, because it believes such vehicles are less environmentally friendly than even conventional diesel-powered models, judged over a whole energy life cycle." writes Hilton for Autocar: "The production version of the MX-30, due in mainland Europe later this year and the UK in early 2021 priced at €34,000 (£30,000), will have a 35kWh battery. That will drive an electric motor with 141bhp and 195lb ft of torque and give a range of around 130 miles. The lithium ion battery pack is made in Japan by Panasonic. Mazda’s engineers have also tuned the torque delivery of the MX-30’s electric motor to be less frenetic than is often the case with EVs, reasoning that they want the MX-30 to feel less like a dramatic change from a typical internal combustion engine vehicle."

 

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/mazda-favours-smaller-batteries-upcoming-evs

 

PATREON UPDATE

I want to say a massive thank you to ASEER KHALID who upgraded his support from EXECUTIVE PRODUCER level, and opted to support with more outof the blue. Wow, thank you!

 

Thank you to new Patreon EXECUTIVE PRODUCER CRAIG COOPER - "I have 25 solar panels currently and 14 more on the way. 3 Tesla Powerwalls being installed with the additional panels. A Model 3 and a 2014 CPO Model S. "

 

Hello To MARK GARNETT for increasing his level of support to become a PRODUCER of the podcast.

 

Welcome to another PRODUCER ADAM VAN RAAD

 

Finally we welcome JIM DUGAN as a new PRODUCER.

 

 

QUESTION OF THE WEEK

The MYEV.com Question Of The Week…

 

What are your 2020 Predictions?

 

 

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