We’re back for another installment of EV Morning. It’s a busy one as we travel around the world hunting down the latest and most interesting stories!
Busy times for Tesla
It’s been a busy time lately for Tesla…although when is it not busy over there?! They’ve had some increases to the EPA ranges of their cars, and there’s been an adjustment to how the configurator for the Model 3 describes what many of us knew as the SR+. We’re seeing record numbers of deliveries with no signs of the growth stopping.
But we like balance here, and it’s not all good news for Tesla. They’ve had to roll back a version of their Beta FSD software due to some safety concerns and there’s also been a couple of recalls due to an issue with the left link of the suspension potentially coming loose and their Forward Collision Warning and Emergency Braking systems.
Let’s also mention the pilot programme in the Netherlands. Yes, the long-awaited, long-rumoured, and long-maligned in some cases, opening up of the Supercharger Network has started. 10 locations are in the pilot programme, and will see non-Tesla EVs able to charge up as long as they have the Telsa app downloaded. They will pay a premium of course, but that price varies between stations. We’ll be watching this one keenly!
UK pricing for the Ora Cat and the ZS EV
You might remember we sent Daniel to the IAA show in Munich a couple of months back. One of the cars he was excited about was the Ora Cat and the news that it would be coming to Europe.
Well now we have some pricing for the UK. And it’s exciting! We’re going to see some competition put up to the likes of the Nissan LEAF and VW iD.3. Great Wall Motors, the company making the car, will be taking preorders in December with deliveries due in the first half of next year.
Prices start at about £25,000 in the UK, which is not cheap…but when we’re talking about cars, money is relative. You get a lot for what you pay for with the Cat. The larger 63kWh gross pack will set you back £28,000 but you get a range of about 260 miles for that. Throw in 80kW DC charging and 11kW AC as standard and this is a compelling option!
Meanwhile, the MG ZS EV facelifted version has got its UK pricing…and it’s going to be very competitive also. For a starting price of £28,500 after grants, you can have the facelifted MG. We talked about the specs on this channel already so we won’t go over them again. But it’s worth noting that you get 68.3kWh usable battery for this money. But you also get 76kW DC charging and, this is a big one, Vehicle to Load capability!
Volvo Trucks
Let’s talk Volvo for a minute…and no I don’t mean Polestar! I mean Volvo trucks. We’ve two bits of news for you here so let’s start with them expanding their lineup to 6 with the addition of three new lines. They will begin series production of the FH, FM and FMX in the second half of 2022. The new trucks will be rated for up to 44,000kg gross combination. That’s a lot of weight to pull around! So they’ll be equipped with 2 or 3 motors for a combined power of 330kW to 490kW. Up to 18,000 Samsung SDI battery cells will supply the electrons for a capacity of 180 to 540kWh depending on your options. With that, we’re looking at a range of up to 380km or about 235 miles in favourable circumstances. Charging is pretty good also, with AC going up to 43kW and DC up to 250kW.
Now announcements like that are all well and good, but the accountants over at Volvo are going to want to see some orders in the books. And they’ll be happy with DFDS, one of Northern Europe’s largest logistics companies who have put in an order for 100 of the FM trucks. Deliveries will start end of 2022 and continue into the following year.
China Hits 1 Million
Let’s jump over to China for a moment, as they have just hit the one million mark for public charge points. The EV revolution is continuing apace over there as the country electrifies at a frightening pace. In addition to those public points, there’s also more than a million charge points. Over the last year or so, they have been adding nearly 40,000 public points PER MONTH! And we don’t think they’ll be stopping the expansion any time soon!
IONIQ5 getting a battery boost
It looks like the IONIQ5 from Hyundai will be getting a battery boost. Initially launched with a range topping 72.6kWh, some savvy observers noticed that two of the 32 module slots were empty when a pack was opened up. And the Kia EV6 which arrived a little later came with a 77.4kWh pack. Now it looks like Hyundai will be dropping an extra couple of modules into the e-GMP platform and filling out to the 77.4 level. But don’t get too excited if you’re listening to this in the US, you guys were always getting the bigger battery pack and won’t see that range boost that the likes of Europe got compared to the original launch specs.
Summary
But we’re going over time now folks, so we’ll cut it off there. Let us know in the comments what you think! How do you see the Ora Cat and the facelifted MG ZS EV selling in Europe and the UK? And what about Tesla over the last couple of weeks, how crazy has it been for them?!
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