20 May 2020 | Sighted: New Audi e-tron S and e-tron GT Testing

Show #784

 

Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Wednesday 20th May 2020. It’s Martyn Lee here and I go through every EV story so you don't have to.

 

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AUDI E-TRON S POSSIBLY SPIED TESTING AT THE NURBURGRING

"A new spy video shot at the Nürburgring shows what may very well be the E-Tron electric SUV in the hotter specification.  While we can’t be entirely sure this is indeed the high-performance version, this would make the most sense since it’s too early for Audi’s Mercedes EQC-rival to start preparing for a mid-cycle update." says Quattrodaily: "Of course, the biggest change has occurred underneath the familiar skin where Audi has added a third electric motor. Mounted at the back, it helps the E-Tron S models hit 62 mph (100 km/h) in four and a half seconds."

 

2021 AUDI E-TRON GT SPIED AT PORSCHE'S DEVELOPMENT CENTRE

"You won’t need a crystal ball to figure out what the swirly camouflage is hiding since the E-Tron GT production model will remain faithful to the concept before it. Audi will be making some changes for the road-going car as the prototypes have conventional door handles and larger side mirrors. The front fascia might eschew the concept’s intricate grille design for something less flashy, but that’s about it." says Motor1.com: "Technical specifications should be quite similar to those of the Taycan, but we’re expecting Ingolstadt’s electric sedan to be a tad cheaper and possibly start at under $100,000. It remains to be seen whether Audi will follow Porsche’s approach by prioritizing the high-end versions before coming out with the lesser models. An official premiere is scheduled to take place towards the end of the year ahead and customer deliveries should commence early 2021. It will compete not just with its sister model from Stuttgart, but also the next-generation Jaguar XJ and the first-ever Mercedes EQS, not to mention the Tesla Model S."

 

https://www.motor1.com/photo/4998524/2021-audi-e-tron-gt-spy-photo/

 

LIGHTYEAR INKS DEAL FOR PRODUCTION OF LONG-RANGE EV'S SOLAR ROOF

"Dutch startup Lightyear has secured a supplier for its long-range electric car's solar roof. Royal DSM will partner with Lightyear to scale up production of the roof system. The two companies will also look into solar-roof applications for other cars, as well as vans and buses, Lightyear said in a press release" according to Green Car Reports: "The roof consists of 53 square feet of solar cells protected by double-curved safety glass. Royal DSM will supply a back sheet that moves electrical connections behind the cells, freeing up more space for capturing sunlight. This will also reduce electrical losses, leading to a 3% gain in power output over other designs, the company claims. Lightyear was founded by members of a winning World Solar Challenge team, with the goal of applying solar technology to production electric cars. The Lightyear One electric car is aiming for 450 miles of range on the European WLTP cycle (which tends to be more optimistic than the U.S. EPA testing cycle). While the car does have a battery pack, as well as aerodynamic bodywork, it is designed to rely heavily on the solar roof to achieve that range."

 

https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1128169_lightyear-inks-deal-for-production-of-long-range-ev-s-solar-roof

 

MUSK ANNOUNCES TESLA'S FULL SELF-DRIVING WILL COST $1000 MORE IN JULY

"Tesla is raising the price of its "self-driving" option on its electric vehicles worldwide starting with a $1,000 (£820) hike. Founder Elon Musk tweeted that the price "will continue to rise" as its technology improves." according to BBC News: "The self-driving add-on will cost $8,000 when the price rise kicks in on 1 July."

 

Elon tweeted: ""The FSD price will continue to rise as the software gets closer to full self-driving capability with regulatory approval," Mr Musk said in a series of tweets on Monday. "[At] that point, the value of FSD is probably somewhere in excess of $100,000.""

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-52703767

 

PAST PEAK OIL? INDUSTRY HIT BY WEAK DEMAND FINALLY FACES THREAT FROM ELECTRIC CARS

"Oil companies may be facing uncertainty as the coronavirus pandemic triggers a collapse in demand for their products, but automakers are betting the crisis will help accelerate an electric future. With economies reeling from lockdowns to curb the virus, the sharpest plunge in oil prices in two decades has slashed the cost of filling up a tank of gas, eroding some of the incentive to make the switch to cleaner fuels."  writes Autoblog: "Looking ahead, cuts in capital spending forced upon energy companies as their revenues crumble could tighten supply enough to cause a spike in oil prices, making electric vehicles more attractive just as automakers ramp up production, analysts say.With fuel for road transport accounting for about half of all oil demand, the possibility of a faster-than-expected switch to EVs in the wake of the pandemic is one of the main reasons some forecasts for a peak have been brought forward. Global oil demand hit a record of just over 100 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2019."

 

https://www.autoblog.com/2020/05/19/peak-oil-demand-wanes-electric-vehicles-rise/

 

RENAULT-NISSAN-MITSUBISHI TO UNVEIL STRATEGIC PLAN

"Automakers Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi may unveil next week a new strategic plan to boost synergies and repair their troubled alliance as the coronavirus pandemic lashes the industry." according to the Economic Times. While Automotive NEws thinks that Nissan could be slowly backing out of Europe: "Europe accounts for only about one-tenth of Nissan's global business by volume and has "little prospects for growth and profitability," as one insider put it. Under the new working relationship with Renault, Nissan would take the lead in Europe on crossovers and SUVs, which the sources said would be available in gasoline engine, hybrid and full-electric versions. It would operate as a "follower" in commercial vans and small city cars, using versions of vehicles produced by Renault. The arrangement would allow the two partners to share technologies and manufacturing capacity, while keeping advanced technology and product development separate from each other to "keep our design, engineering and brands distinctive from each other," one of the sources said. However, the company is keen to maintain a presence in the region, albeit a reduced one."

 

https://europe.autonews.com/automakers/nissans-survival-plan-europe-suvs-and-sharing-renault

 

NEW STANDARDS RELEASED FOR ELECTRIC CAR BATTERIES

"China released mandatory safety regulations related to electric vehicles, batteries and electric buses on Tuesday, which analysts say will help improve the industry's manufacturing standards and relieve customer safety concerns." reports China Daily: "They emphasize the electrical safety and functional safety requirements and increase the requirements for thermal event alarm signaling in battery systems, which should provide drivers and passengers with adequate safety warnings. The standards also put higher requirements on battery safety, and emphasize an improvement in battery system tests covering thermal diffusion, external fire, mechanical shock, simulated collision and humidity cycling, external short circuit, and overheating. It specifies batteries must be able to withstand at least five minutes of overheating without causing a fire or explosion, allowing drivers and passengers sufficient time to get out of the vehicle."

 

https://global.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202005/18/WS5ec1e22aa310a8b241156558.html

 

UK’S FIRST CAR BATTERY ‘GIGAFACTORY’ TO BE BUILT BY TWO STARTUPS

"Two British startups have announced plans to invest as much as £4bn in building the UK’s first large-scale battery factory, in a move that could prove a major boost to the country’s struggling car industry." writes The Guardian today: "AMTE Power and Britishvolt have signed a memorandum of understanding saying they will work together on plans for a plant to make lithium ion batteries.  Lars Carlstrom, the chief executive of Britishvolt, said the companies had an ambition to build facilities producing batteries with capacity of as much as 30 gigawatt hours (GWh) a year, which would be roughly equivalent to the joint Tesla-Panasonic Gigafactory in Nevada. A factory of that size would create as many as 4,000 jobs, he said. The government-backed Faraday Institution estimates 130 GWh of annual capacity will be required by 2040 if the UK is to retain a large automotive sector."

 

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/may/20/uk-first-car-battery-gigafactory-amte-power-britishvolt?CMP=share_btn_tw

 

XPENG'S P7 LIGHTS UP THE NIGHT WITH A SYNCHRONIZED MUSIC & LIGHT SHOW

"Xpeng Motors has already begun taking orders for their highly anticipated long-range sports sedan, the P7. With customer deliveries set to begin in June, Xpeng is showing off a special feature that the P7 will have; a synchronized light and music show." writers TOm Moloughney for InsideEVs: "The P7 has a strip of LED lights that extend across the entire front of the vehicle. Using those LEDs, as well as the lower driving lights, the vehicle performs a virtual "dance", similar to the Tesla Model X's light show. Initially, when P7 deliveries begin next month, the vehicle will come with a couple of simple lighting modes. However, Xpeng is going to use OTA updates to add more complex songs and light shows for the owners to select from"

 

https://insideevs.com/news/423962/xpeng-p7-programmable-light-show/

 

QUESTION OF THE WEEK

 

Should Dyson have continued to make a £150,000 EV, or should we only make EVs realistic? What’s wrong with making cars at a high price point?

 

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