Author: Green Car Online News

EVgo and Electrify America team up to make chargers more accessible

Finding a fast charger in the U.S. just got a lot easier for a lot of electric-car drivers.

Two of America's largest fast-charging networks announced an agreement Thursday to allow each other's users to charge at their charging sites without signing up for new memberships or payment plans.

Electrify America and EVgo agreed to a roaming partnership that will allow members of either service to charge at any EVgo or Electrify America charging station.

Each of the networks already has individual agreements with the nation's other largest networks, ChargePoint and Greenlots.

Electrify America DC fast chargers in Gulfport, Mississippi

Together they make up at least 42 percent of the DC fast chargers in the U.S. and 60 percent of the total fast-charging locations, according to data from the Department of Energy's Alternative Fuels Data Center. The others are split among Tesla (with 52 percent of the total fast chargers in 22 percent of locations), and six smaller networks.

That means that drivers of EVs other than Teslas are have a widespread network in many ways on par with Tesla's Superchargers that they can use to top off their batteries.

Unlike Tesla's Supercharger network, however, EVgo chargers are concentrated in and around cities—where EVgo points out that most EVs drive—rather than along highways between cities where the chargers could allow drivers to make longer trips between cities, as Tesla's Superchargers do.

Electrify America 350 kw chargers at Home Depot in Chicopee, Mass.

Electrify America, a division of Volkswagen, was founded under the settlement agreement over Volkswagen's diesel emissions cheating, and is required to install such highway charging stations. So far, however, it has only completed the first of four phases of a 10-year rollout plan.

Roaming “interoperability” agreements are becoming more common, making it easier for electric car-drivers to use a wider variety of chargers.

This has led to a spate of recent announcements—many using the “One-Step Plug & Charge” label—including between Greenlots and Electrify America and ChargePoint and Blink.

Polestar opens its own factory to build flagship plug-in hybrid

Volvo’s Polestar electric performance vehicle brand is, step by step, asserting itself as a standalone automaker. And two of the largest leaps yet were announced by the brand today.

One of them is that Polestar’s first production facility, in Chengdu, is now open and making the Polestar 1, a sleek high-performance plug-in hybrid sport coupe.

Polestar is planning to deliver a first-year allocation of 200 Polestar 1 vehicles for the North American market later this year at a pre-order price of $155,000. Polestar calls the 600-horsepower, carbon-fiber bodied 1 to be the most exclusive electrified vehicle to be manufactured in China.

Polestar production facility and customer experience center – Chengdu, China

The production facility itself is claimed to be one of the most environmentally responsible car factories in China, with a goal of achieving LEED Gold status for holistic sustainability and energy-saving practices. It includes an adjacent customer experience center, with a test track and covered atrium showcasing a panoramic view out over the factory floor.

“Here in Chengdu we are not only manufacturing a premium hybrid-electric performance car,” said Thomas Ingenlath, the CEO of Polestar. “We have also created an inspirational manufacturing environment, a great place to work and visit. It truly reflects the Polestar brand.”

The Polestar 2, a model that will directly rival the Tesla Model 3, will be made in Luqiao, China, beginning in early 2020. A related Polestar 3 will compare to the Tesla Model Y.

Polestar 2

The second big announcement accompanying the factory start is that Polestar has been given a World Manufacturing Identifier, which inserts space from both Volvo, with which it shares some engineering resources and strategic decisions, and Geely, its parent company.

Depending on how the political drama plays out surrounding potentially high tariffs placed on cars made in China, that space from Volvo might not entirely be a good thing. Volvo Cars has inaugurated a U.S. assembly plant in Charleston, South Carolina, that can produce up to 150,000 vehicles annually and will create about 4,000 jobs over several years.

Being treated as a separate automaker will however help Polestar with respect to the federal EV tax credit. Even after Volvo delivers 200,000 eligible plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles, Polestar buyers will still be able to claim the full $7,500.

Volkswagen ID 4X spy shots reveal production direction for Crozz electric crossover

The model that’s leading Volkswagen’s electric-car push—and what Volkswagen has called the replacement for the e-Golf, the city-focused ID 3 hatchback, isn’t coming to America.

Instead, the U.S. will be getting the second model, a rugged-themed, somewhat taller crossover hatchback based on the ID Crozz concept from 2017.

We’d previously expected the production Crozz—now potentially called the ID 4X—to be an ID 3 that was simply lifted an inch or two and fitted with some body cladding and rugged cues, a la Golf Alltrack or Subaru Crosstrek. But a new set of spy pictures published at our companion site Motor Authority underscores that there may be more of a difference between the two models.

Both models have a “cab-forward” design that takes advantage of how the platform doesn’t allow for an engine or transmission in front. A steep windshield and rounded roofline look good for aerodynamics. It also doesn’t borrow the ID 3’s unique segmented front window.

Volkswagen ID 3 and ID 4 (crop) – S. Baldauf/SB-Medien

Otherwise from these camouflaged prototypes, it appears that the production Crozz is “scaled up” a size from both the ID 3 and the Hyundai Kona Electric it was spotted testing with. The production ID 3 is 161.4 inches long, with a wheelbase of 108.3 inches, whereas the ID Crozz concept measured 182.1 inches long and had a wheelbase of 109.2.

Size-wise, it’s one of the most popular segments of the market, comparable to the Ford Escape, Toyota RAV4, or Honda CR-V—or the Tesla Model Y.

While the ID 3 will offer three different battery packs—48, 62, and 82 kwh (45, 58, and 77 kwh usable capacity)—we expect only the top two to be offered in the ID 4X. U.S. rated range has not been estimated as of yet, but both will have 100-kw CCS DC fast charging.

A new ID concept car that will sketch out the Volkswagen brand’s sixth production-bound vehicle on the MEB platform is likely headed to the LA auto show, in November.

The ID-4X is due to reach the market in summer or fall 2020, for the 2021 model year.

Audi AI:Trail concept teased: Are off-road and autonomous mutually exclusive?

Audi has provided an early tease of a completely new electric concept vehicle it plans to reveal at the upcoming Frankfurt auto show next month. Called AI:Trail, it appears to be a nod to the idea that technology-advanced autonomous vehicles may not entirely be bound to the normal maze of streets and highways.

The concept, Audi says, shows “an electrically driven off-roader of the future,” and completes a quartet of visionary vehicles that started in 2017 with the Aicon and Elaine. This one appears to have rugged lower-body cladding like an SUV—and, perhaps, additional ground clearance—while offering a low beltline and a good view out for passengers. True to vehicles built on a “skateboard” electric-vehicle platform, the AI:Trail appears to push the cab forward, without the typical SUV engine bay.

The most recent of these “AI” concepts was the AI:ME, revealed at the Shanghai auto show earlier this year as how the brand sees urban mobility in the future. It featured a less-advanced version autonomy, with a steering wheel and pedal set that retract into the dash when not needed.

Audi Aicon Concept

The Aicon revealed at the 2017 Frankfurt show provided a cohesive look at how innovations could combine in a fully autonomous vehicle that amounted to a very high-end (well-performing) lounge on wheels. It went to the eventual extremes that futurists might anticipate in autonomous vehicles, beyond just removing the steering wheel—doing away, for instance, with long-range headlamps, adding a wrap-around haptic interface, and using eye-tracking.

Even in a time when autonomous modes become the norm, it would seem that people will still want to go on vacation, explore, and go off the main (and paved) highways. We'll have to wait a few weeks to see exactly how Audi addresses this more rugged trail to the future.

Lexus electric car, Audi AI concept, Tesla and LG Chem: Today’s Car News

Audi teases a rugged-looking autonomous-driving concept. Tesla hooks up with LG Chem. And the first of the new Volkswagen EVs we see in the U.S. should hit a sweet spot in the U.S. market. All this and more on Green Car Reports.

Lexus is reportedly set to reveal a new, production-bound electric vehicle—a tall, boxy hatchback—at the Tokyo motor show in November.

The Volkswagen ID 3 urban electric hatchback—the model that won’t be coming to the U.S.—is due for a full debut at the upcoming Frankfurt auto show. But we found a set of spy shots particularly informative about showing us what’s next—in the upcoming electric crossover inspired by the ID Crozz concept.

Audi has teased a new concept vehicle for the Frankfurt auto show next month. Called the AI:Trail, it appears to navigate the gray area between fully autonomous operation and our need to explore and go beyond the well-charted path.

Panasonic is no longer the exclusive supplier for Tesla. The EV maker has chosen LG Chem to be its supplier for its upcoming Shanghai factory, in what’s reported to be a non-exclusive deal.

And the Porsche Taycan electric sedan has pounded the pavement at Germany’s Nürburgring—and with a time of 7 minutes 42 seconds, it’s now the fastest EV ever to take on the circuit.

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VW diesel fix deemed inadequate in Germany

A German court has found that updated software applied to VW diesels still doesn't bring emissions to acceptable levels in all circumstances.

The Dusseldorf district court found that the update applied to the plaintiff's turbodiesel Tiguan still only allows the emissions control equipment to function properly between 50 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit.

The court agreed with the plaintiff's claim that, given the temperature window, the car continued to operate illegally, in violation of emissions laws, even after it received the software update, according to a report in the German publication Wallstreet-Online (in German.)

Volkswagen TDI diesel vehicles owned by Phil Grate and family, Seattle, Washington

More troubling for Volkswagen is that the finding could reopen the entire diesel scandal in Germany, because it resets the clock on the statute of limitations for damages against the company.

Volkswagen was forced to recall more than 11 million vehicles worldwide in 2015 after regulators in the U.S. found that the cars emitted nearly 40 times the level of nitrogen oxide emissions that the law allows. The emissions control system on VW's diesel cars contained “defeat device” software that operated emissions equipment fully only when the cars were being emissions-tested, but allowed far greater emissions as they were being driven on the road.

Volkswagen TDI diesel cars stored at Pontiac Silverdome (Photo by Jalopnik)

The company recalled more than 400,000 diesel cars in the U.S. with inline-4 and V-6 turbodiesel engines. The scandal also touched off recalls of other diesel-powered models such as the 2014-2016 Ram 1500 pickup and Jeep Grand Cherokee EcoDiesel models.

In June, VW introduced a new diesel engine, which it says is now “fully-compliant” with emissions laws, according a post by the company's head of diesel engine development, Sebastian Willmann, pointing to what the company claims as very low nitrogen oxide emissions.

Survey: Range, cost, infrastructure sum up why shoppers avoid EVs

We’ve heard it repeatedly as the result of various polls and surveys: Active and prospective car shoppers are interested in fully electric vehicles and eager to go electric.

The AAA, for instance, has in annual surveys for the past three years found that 15 to 20 percent of Americans “will likely go electric in their next vehicle purchase.”

With battery electric vehicle sales remaining around five percent of the U.S. vehicle market, why are some Americans not yet making the leap? The lack of variety in fully electric vehicle types is certainly part of it, but as a new survey points out, the reason shoppers are avoiding EVs still boils down to some familiar reasons.

Car shoppers' EV avoidance reasons – Autolist

In the poll of 1,567 “current car shoppers,” conducted earlier this month and released Tuesday, Autolist found the primary reasons for avoiding electric vehicles—in order—to be driving range, the price relative to similar gas vehicles, and the lack of charging infrastructure in their home area. Meanwhile, the most important attributes, in order, were seen as price, range and available charging.

Consumers continue to want high driving-range numbers—and perhaps to the detriment of luxury-priced models like the Jaguar I-Pace and Audi E-tron, they have much higher expectations for rated range from luxury vehicles.

When Autolist asked consumers for the minimum range they’d accept in a $35,000 electric vehicle, the leading answer was “between 250 and 300 miles”—stipulations perhaps most closely met by the Hyundai Kona Electric, with its $37,995 base price and 258-mile EPA-rated range. The Chevrolet Bolt EV and Kia Niro EV are also close to meeting those expectations.

2019 Hyundai Kona Electric

But when Autolist asked the same about a $70,000 EV, the responses, the most common response was “more than 500 miles.”

At an EPA-rated 370 miles, the Tesla Model S Long Range currently holds the top rated range of any regular-production electric vehicle. No EV currently achieves close to 500 miles, or even 400 miles.

2019 Tesla Model S

There’s a riptide beneath these impressions, and that’s age. The survey found a direct and pronounced correlation between age and the importance of EV range. For instance, 32 percent of those 18-23 years old listed range among the top three avoidance issues, while for those over 76 years old it was in the top three for 60 percent. Autolist reports that there was a similar trendline created between age and the importance of the charging network, although that one had an inflection point around age 45.

Also, with rising shopper age, sticker price was less important, but resale value was more important.

A Volvo/Harris poll from earlier this year surveyed both EV drivers and non-EV drivers and found strong belief among both groups that EVs are the future. However 61 percent of respondents indicated that a lack of charging structure held back a purchase. While 38 percent of EV drivers were concerned about running out of power, 58 percent of all drivers combined indicated this concern.

One other figure stood out as especially surprising (and promising for the future of the technology): 55 percent of respondents said that the EV would be their primary—not secondary—vehicle if they bought one today. The survey also found that 69 percent supported tax rebates and other incentives aimed toward the wider adoption of EVs. That echoes the bipartisan support of the tax credit earlier this year, after it had been potentially on the chopping block.

Mercedes introduces longer-range EQV electric van

Mercedes-Benz plans to introduce the second in its new EQ line of electric vehicles, the EQV van, at next month's Frankfurt auto show.

The company says that a 100-kwh battery pack under the floor will deliver 250 miles of range on the European driving cycle. Mercedes has not confirmed whether the EQV will be sold in the U.S., and has not released any range estimates for the U.S.

2020 Mercedes-Benz EQV

A CCS charge port can bring the battery back to 80 percent in about 45 minutes, through a charge port on the left side of the front bumper.

Unlike earlier electric vans from Mercedes-Benz—the eSprinter and eVito (based on the van that had been called the Metris in the U.S.)—the EQV is front-wheel-drive.

It is powered by a 204-horsepower electric motor that delivers 267 pound-feet of torque, with top speed limited to 99 mph.

The EQV can be configured as a 6-, 7-, or 8-passenger van and also will be available as a panel van for contractors who will be able to outfit it with Mercedes' full range of rack systems in the rear.

2020 Mercedes-Benz EQV

The navigation system will incorporate charging stations and try to route drivers on the most efficient route to maximize range when the battery charge is low.

The production EQV could be the second production vehicle in Mercedes's new lineup of EQ electric cars, after the EQC small SUV, which is on sale now in Europe and expected in the U.S. next year. It will soon be followed by an electric luxury sedan parallel to the Mercedes S-Class, the EQS, and a smaller electric SUV potentially called the EQB.

Mercedes has committed to building 10 different electric cars by 2022, and to making half the company's models plug in—as either plug-in hybrids or pure electric cars—by 2030.

Parent company Daimler is also accelerating its plans to build electric heavy-duty trucks.

California deal interrupts White House emissions rollback effort

Rancor in the White House over the move by four automakers to strike a side deal with California over emissions and fuel-economy rules looks likely to further delay President Trump's plans to roll back the Obama-era standards.

That's the conclusion of a report Tuesday in The New York Times, which cited four people familiar with the talks. After BMW, Ford, Honda, and Volkswagen signed an agreement with California to continue selling cars in the state that would exceed new, more lax standards proposed by the Trump administration, the White House summoned executives from General Motors, Fiat Chrysler, and Toyota to pressure them to support the President's rollback proposal, the Times reported.

Even amid that effort, Mercedes-Benz laid plans to join the California side deal, two people familiar with the company's plans told the Times. An unnamed sixth automaker was also planning to join the deal, the Times reported.

Mary Nichols, chairwoman of the California Air Resources Board—the state's top clean air regulator who manages the California program—told the Times, “Many companies have told us—more than one or two—that they would sign up to the agreement as soon as they felt free to do so.”

President Donald Trump (Photo courtesy Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia Commons)

The agreement would allow automakers more flexibility in time frames than existing joint standards do.

Continuing to sell more efficient cars in the face of lower standards could allow automakers to accumulate federal emissions credits that would make it easier for them to meet any future standards and in some cases avoid potential fines for failing to meet the standards.

It's all—almost—enough to get a tough Commander in Chief to throw in the towel. In one meeting, according to three inside sources cited in the report, President Trump even proposed scrapping his own plan, which would leave the Obama administration's steadily increasing fuel-economy standards in place.

Rolling back those fuel-economy increases—and revoking California's long-standing right to set its own standards which other states can also follow—has been a signature part of Trump's efforts to roll back emissions regulations aimed at limiting climate change.

Last August, the administration introduced the Safe Affordable Fuel-Efficient vehicles rule, which would cap planned increases in fuel-economy and emissions standards at 2020 levels through 2026—well after any second term for this President would expire.

Mary Nichols, chief, California Air Resources Board

The previous standards were expected to require all new cars sold by 2025 to average more than 50 mpg—a number that would require significant sales of electric cars to be sold nationwide. (Even those standards, however, were less strict than the latest standards going into effect in Europe.) The increases were negotiated with California, in conjunction with all three Detroit automakers, the EPA and NHTSA.

The agreement was worked out in more than 1,200 pages of scientific analysis that the Trump administration is still working to rebut in sufficient scientific and technical analysis required to implement a new rule change.

In the midst of this turmoil, three senior political officials working on the proposal have resigned, and one career official with years of experience in the issue was transferred to another department, leaving a 29-year-old former aide to Vice President Pence, with little experience in the issue, in charge of working out the new rule.

The rollback—and particularly efforts to rescind California's right to set standards that help the state mitigate its unique smog problems—have resulted in lawsuits against the federal government filed by at least 17 states. If the Trump proposal passes, those lawsuits are likely to linger in courts for years, creating even less unity and more uncertainty for automakers.

Last spring, EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler told Reuters that he expected the new rule to be finalized sometime after Labor Day. Now that timeframe is looking likely to roll back even farther on one of President Trump's signature efforts.

Rivian roofs, Porsche Taycan dash, CHAdeMO vs. CCS: Today’s Car News

Porsche teased the first look inside its Taycan electric car. Rivian announced that its upcoming R1S SUV will offer four different roof options. We take a tally of DC fast charging. And our latest Twitter poll asks readers if they think crash-test ratings are more or less important for EVs. All this and more on Green Car Reports.

Rivian revealed in a Tweet that its new R1S electric SUV will be available with four different roofs: steel, removable composite panels, and two glass options.

Along with an announcement that it will be the first car to offer integrated Apple Music, Porsche gave the first glimpse inside its new Taycan electric car.

Even as automakers in the U.S., Europe, and Korea agreed to use CCS chargers, CHAdeMO fast-chargers still outnumber them in terms of number of stations.

And our latest Twitter poll looks at a number of new top safety ratings for electric and fuel-cell cars, and asks whether readers see them as more or less important than those for conventional gas cars.

The co-founder of embattled Chinese electric-car startup Nio stepped down.

Finally, Ford recalled more than 100,000 2015 Ford Fusions and Lincoln MKZs, including their hybrid versions, because their seat belts can erode.

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