Author: Green Car Online News

Recall alert: Hyundai Ioniq in the hot seat

2019 Hyundai Ioniq Electric
Hyundai is recalling 10,575 Ioniq Hybrid and Plug-in Hybrid models from 2017 and 2018 to replace a wiring relay in the drive system.

The recall mirrors a similar problem announced last month with the Ioniq's platform-mate, the Kia Niro, which was also recalled.

Bad connections in a drive-system relay can cause the relay to overheat and lead to a fire, the automaker said in the recall notice. Drivers may see some early warning signs if the HEV warning light appears while driving, or the car won't start.

The recall affects Ioniqs built between November 16, 2016 and August 16, 2017

READ THIS: 2017-2018 Kia Niro hybrid recall concerns extra heat in the back seat

Like in the Niro, the relay is located under the back seat and can result in the rear seat getting warm or even catching fire. Parents placing children back there should be especially vigilant.

Hyundai says it will replace the relay free, and if technicians find any damage, the whole power relay assembly will be replaced.

Owners should expect to be notified by November 30th.

In the meantime, if backseat passengers say their seats are getting warm, it may not be just the optional bun warmers.

Austria to let drivers of electric cars go faster

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2019 Jaguar I-Pace S
Austria is offering would-be electric-car owners (and current ones) a tempting incentive to go tailpipe-emissions-free: permission to drive faster than those with gasoline, diesel, or hybrid vehicles.

Under a recently approved amendment to the country’s speed limits, aimed at rewarding those who choose electric vehicles, they will be given a legal exemption. Owners of EVs will be allowed to go 81 mph (130 km/h), versus 62 mph (100 km/h), in a particular speed region that includes 273 miles (440 km) of roadways.

DON’T MISS: Here's how California's carpool (HOV-lane) stickers work now: updated

Electric vehicles currently comprise 2.5 percent of new-vehicle registrations in Austria; that’s more than Germany, according to Austria’s Federal Ministry of Transport. The Jaguar I-Pace, the first long-range electric vehicle from an established luxury brand, is built in Graz, Austria.

Although the idea would likely result in more shoppers making the leap to fully electric vehicles, it’s not without some concerns—and tradeoffs.

CHECK OUT: Germany, Austria electric-car charging networks improve, fast

Higher speeds and wider speed differentials generally correspond to higher highway fatality rates; and the vehicles themselves won’t be as efficient and will, as a result, contribute to more upstream emissions.

Highway Lights from Drive Change consumer survey

In 1996, an EPA memo cited data finding that just increasing urban interstates from 55 to 65 would produce a net increase in vehicle emissions of 20.7 percent more carbon monoxide and 1.3 percent more nitrogen oxides.

Anecdotally, the efficiency and range of most of the electric vehicles Green Car Reports has driven has been significantly lower at 80 mph than at 60 mph. So electric-car drivers who take advantage of the higher speed limits won't be able to do it for as long.

READ MORE: Teslas will start paying to drive in L.A.'s “Lexus lanes”

Allowing electric vehicles to drive faster on the highway might also put more pressure on DC fast-charging network infrastructure, because they'll need to charge more often.

The new policy, which so far lacks an enforcement strategy, also encourages cities and municipalities to provide free parking to electric vehicles.

The move is in accord with the EU’s 2030 climate targets and the Paris Climate Agreement, with aims to cut Austria’s transport-sector carbon-dioxide emissions by 7.9 million U.S. tons.

GM EV1 exec leaves Faraday Future

Faraday Future completes first pre-production FF91 on August 28, 2018
In the midst of the latest round of financial turmoil at the company, Faraday Future has lost a key executive, according to a report in the Verge.

Peter Savagian was senior vice president at Faraday Future. And he was the chief engineer of General Motors' EV1, arguably the first mass-produced modern electric car.

One anonymous source inside Faraday Future told the Verge, “He was the guy” (emphasis original) at Faraday Future. Another called him “the backbone of the company.”

READ MORE: Does Faraday have a Future? Latest financing disrupted—again

Savagian appeared in a video last month leading company employees in showing off Faraday's first product, the FF91 electric luxury sedan when the first prototype rolled off its new assembly line in California.

Shortly after that event, the company started laying off workers earlier this month and cut the pay of remaining workers by 20 percent after its latest financing deal fell on hard times.

Artist’s impression of Faraday Future’s proposed plant in Hanford, California

The company has a history of financial troubles, as one investor after another has backed out.

Most recently, the company received a commitment of $2 billion in June from Hong Kong conglomerate Evergrande Health, with an $800 million bundle of cash up front. Faraday ran through the first $800 quickly by setting up a production line and building its first prototypes, and Evergrande balked at providing promised followup funding.

DON'T MISS: Faraday Future factory completes its first full car (Updated)

Faraday filed an arbitration case against Evergrande in early October when it announced the layoffs. Last Friday, a Hong Kong arbitrator found in favor of Faraday Future, ruling that the company can seek funding from other investors, a move which Evergrande had worked to prevent.

The company isn't out of the woods, but the arbitration ruling gives a glimmer of light in the tunnel.

CHECK OUT: Faraday Future gets a $2 billion lifeline to build expensive crossover

Three other former members of GM's EV1 team reportedly still work at the company.

If it makes it to production, the FF91 is expected to be a $300,000 electric competitor to ultra-luxury sedans such as the Rolls Royce Phantom. A less expensive followup model, the FF81 is also on the drawing boards.

BMW recalling 44,000 diesel vehicles for fire risk

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2014 BMW 328d
BMW has announced an expanded recall effort over the possibility of fire in recent-model-year vehicles equipped with a diesel engine.

The issue, which now potentially affects 1.6 million vehicles worldwide, concerns an issue in which coolant (glycol) leakage from the exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system cooler could combine with “typical soot deposits” for the diesel engines and with the EGR system’s high temperatures “might result in smoldering particles.”

DON’T MISS: For 2018, only a dozen diesel vehicles on sale in U.S.

In very rare cases, according to BMW, the situation could lead to the melting of the exhaust manifold and result in a vehicle fire—an issue first broadly reported in South Korea, of all places.

Under the technical campaign, BMW will check the EGR module and replace any faulty components.

2014 BMW 328d xDrive Sports Wagon

The effort, announced in August, originally involved 480,000 diesel vehicles in Europe and Asia, but it’s since been expanded with other country-specific campaigns. In the U.S., that effort includes approximately 44,368 diesel-engine vehicles from the 2013-2018 model years—the following models produced between September 2012 and June 2017:

2013-2018 BMW 328d Sedan
2014-2018 BMW 328d Sports Wagon
2014-2016 BMW 535d Sedan
2015 BMW 740Ld Sedan
2015-2017 BMW X3 xDrive28d SUV
2014-2017 BMW X5 xdRIVE35d SUV
CHECK OUT: BMW drops diesels in favor of plug-in hybrids

Although diesels were once seen as a ‘green’ option, if not a clean one, the view of them is quite different in 2018, in the aftermath of Volkswagen’s diesel scandal.

BMW aimed to offer four different diesel models for 2018—the X5 xDrive35d, the 328d sedan, and the 328d xDrive Sports Wagon—but found demand very low and the need to focus on plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles like the much-anticipated iX3, an all-electric version of the X3 SUV. For 2019 it’s withdrawn all of its diesel possibilities except for an upcoming version of the BMW X5 SUV.

Uber to bank London surcharge toward electric vehicles for its drivers

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Uber electric car
Uber announced Tuesday that it will levy a surcharge for its ride-hailing passengers in London. The goal: to get 20,000 drivers to go all-electric by the end of 2021, on the way to make every car using its ride-hailing app an electric vehicle in the smog- and congestion-prone city by 2025.

The surcharge, which is part of the company’s clean-air strategy announced in 2017, will go into effect in early 2019. It’s potentially as much an environmental image move as it is a response to ever-tightening rules governing the vehicle types that can pass through central London.

DON’T MISS: Uber urges Portland drivers to lease electric cars

Beginning early next year, Uber will charge riders about 19 cents (15 pence) extra per mile. That money will go directly into a piggy bank for the support of drivers looking to upgrade to an electric vehicle.

Uber app

Based on the average London trip, that will amount to an extra 58 cents per trip. And through that surcharge Uber hopes to raise $260 million (200 million pounds) over several years.

Uber is offering a significant amount of upgrade money. Every driver will be eligible for assistance in moving to an EV, but the level of assistance will be based on how many miles they’ve driven on the app. It’s anticipating that will add up to about $3,900 (3,000 pounds) for two years of driving—40 hours a week—or $5,800 (4,500 pounds) for three years.

CHECK OUT: London's $27 entry charge for pre-2016 diesel cars to start April 2019

The program complements Uber’s own diesel-scrappage scheme that aims to get 1,000 pre-Euro 4 diesel models—older, dirtier ones—off London streets and highways.

So far in the U.S., Uber’s strategies to electrify have been a bit different. Through a pilot program it calls EV Champions, it’s paying drivers up to $20 per week for driving electric—and giving riders a feel-good alert. Whether it will incentivize electric vehicles more or less effectively than the London program remains to be seen.

Tesla teardown redux, smaller fast chargers, dirty battery manufacturing: Today’s Car News

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Munro & Associates teardown of Tesla Model 3 [Autoline]
A much-publicized Tesla teardown from earlier in the year reveals some lessons and missed opportunities. Battery manufacturing happens to be in places with dirty power sources. And DC fast chargers have the potential to downsize. All this and more on Green Car Reports.

The teardown (disassembly) analysis of a Tesla Model 3 earlier this year reached some conclusions about building this mass-production electric sedan and why its ramp-up has been so difficult. It seems that Tesla chief executive offiicer Elon Musk agrees with some of the points made.

Mercedes-Benz will be looking at real-world use patterns of leased GLC F-Cell hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles as part of a new test trial in Germany.

A new DC fast-charger design can be mounted on a pole, with a small footprint like a Level 2 charger. With reduced installation costs, better efficiency, and the potential for scalability, is it the future of fast charging?

Battery manufacturing itself may have more associated air pollution than previously thought. The problem, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, is that battery production is focused in parts of the world with dirty energy generation—including China, Thailand, Germany, and Poland.

Ford has become the first automaker to test autonomous vehicle technology in Washington, D.C.—a clear sales pitch to lawmakers.

And Jaguar looked to guide dogs for help in developing its pedestrian warning sound in the new I-Pace electric crossover.

Audi to pay $927 million fine over diesel scandal in Germany

2013 Audi TDI range
Audi agreed on Tuesday to pay a $928 million fine to put the diesel emissions-cheating scandal behind it in its home country, Germany.

The 800 million Euro fine to German authorities, consists of $923 million (795 million Euros) in profits the company made selling diesels that didn't comply with emissions standards plus the maximum fine of $5.8 million (5 million Euros), according to a Bloomberg report.

German authorities have been closing in on Audi in their investigation, arresting key executives, and releasing emails that allegedly show collusion between Audi and its competitors as well as Bosch, a supplier to all the German automakers.

READ THIS: Audi CEO arrested in Germany over diesel scandal

Much of the software that Volkswagen used to cheat emissions tests was reportedly developed at Audi, its upscale subsidiary.

The German fine comes on top of a $1 billion fine that parent-company Volkswagen agreed to pay in June.

In the U.S., where Volkswagen sold many times the number of diesels that Audi did, VW paid $25 billion to settle the diesel emissions cheating scandal.

CHECK OUT: German authorities uncover emissions-cheating collusion among diesel automakers

As part of the settlement, Audi admitted that it did not follow regulatory requirements.

The settlement has no effect on civil suits against the automaker over its diesel models or on criminal cases against its executives.

Audi executives warned investors that the fine will have a significant effect on its earnings this year.

Volkswagen MEB platform architecture

The fines come just as the Volkswagen Group is investing $40 billion in developing electric cars to replace the efficient-but-dirty diesels.

The company plans to introduce a range of 27 new electric cars by 2022, including a small hatchback, the ID, crossover SUV (ID Crozz), and an update to the classic Microbus (the ID Buzz,) Along with its subsidiaries, the company is developing at least three dedicated platforms for electric cars and investing in new solid-state battery technology.

Audi plans to introduce its first all-electric car, the e-tron SUV, in the U.S. next spring.

Tesla removes Full Self Driving option from website for all models

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2018 Tesla Model 3
Friday marked exactly two years since Tesla announced that every one of its cars was being produced with the hardware needed for Full Self-Driving.

Friday was also the first full day that Tesla removed the option from its configurator—at the same time that it introduced a new $45k Model 3 Mid Range, effectively splitting the difference between the much-anticipated Model 3 Standard Range and the discontinued rear-wheel-drive Long Range.

DON’T MISS: Teslas to get new self-driving, Autopilot chip in spring 2019

CEO Elon Musk quickly confirmed the change Thursday, via Twitter, describing the Full Self-Driving feature as “available off menu for a week,” and describing it as “causing too much confusion.”

@elonmusk confirmation of Full Self Driving removal from configurator

Full Self-Driving has been a $3,000 option in addition to the Enhanced Autopilot option that costs $5,000 at the time of purchase or $6,000 later. The company declined to comment to Green Car Reports when asked for a tally of how many vehicles it has sold with the Full Self-Driving option.

All Tesla models currently come with the hardware needed for Full Self-Driving capability, with the exception of a new, faster Autopilot chip that is due in spring 2019 and is required to activate the capability. When the functionality is available it can be provided via an over-the-air update.

CHECK OUT: Tesla to roll out new version of Autopilot

The hardware suite includes 8 surround cameras that can see 820 feet, 12 updated ultrasonic sensors, forward-facing radar with enhanced processing, and an onboard computer with 40 times the processing power of the previous one. It does not include the lidar hardware that some other automakers deem essential for autonomous-vehicle features.

Tesla Autopilot sensor system

Tesla commented that the option was removed from its configurator simply to streamline the purchase process, and clarified that the removal doesn’t reflect any change in plans to enable it.

The feature itself may have been scaled back a bit from earlier ambition, though. “All you will need to do is get in and tell your car where to go,” said a description of the feature on Tesla’s site, which remains up today. “Your Tesla will figure out the optimal route, navigate urban streets (even without lane markings), manage complex intersections with traffic lights, stop signs and roundabouts, and handle densely packed freeways with cars moving at high speed.”

READ MORE: Consumer Reports ranks Tesla Autopilot second among self-driving systems

Don’t expect quite that level with the launch of the feature. In the meantime, “on-ramp to off-ramp” enhancements, among others, are being made part of Autopilot. And earlier in the week, Musk confirmed that a future version of the Summon feature, which allows the vehicle to park at low speed automatically, would use Autopilot’s cameras.

If the expanded capabilities of Full Self-Driving Mode are never fully approved by regulators, owners may have to be happy with a few added features. Tesla clearly lays out that risk: “Please note that Self-Driving functionality is dependent upon extensive software validation and regulatory approval, which may vary widely by jurisdiction.” In other words, make your investment in the future, but you might not see your return.

UPDATE: This represents a clarification of “on-ramp to off-ramp” functionality as part of Autopilot, not Full Self-Driving.

BMW sets up end-to-end battery recycling in Europe

Prototype production of battery modules for BMW Group’s fifth-generation electric powertrain
Teaming with a new Norwegian battery supplier and a Belgian recycling company, BMW is aiming to build a fully sustainable future battery supply chain.

The company announced on Monday that it formed a partnership with Northvolt, which is building Europe's largest battery factory for electric cars in Sweden.

At the same time BMW is working with Belgian materials processing company Umicore to develop battery reuse and recycling systems. Then end goal is to dismantle battery packs down to their cells and recycle the cell materials into new cells to be built by Northvolt.

DON'T MISS: BMW Vision iNext electric concept redefines German luxury flagship

In between, the spent battery packs may be used as grid or home storage until they have no useful life left, according of a report in Automotive News Europe (subscription required.) .

Besides its environmental advantages, the system could have several other advantages for BMW. It could bring down the price of new battery materials which have seen a dramatic increase since 2015. Automakers in Europe and other parts of the world are also responsible for ensuring the batteries they install are properly disposed at the end of their life. Reusing the harvested material could lower the company's bill for such disposal.

READ THIS: BMW will have 25 electric cars, plug-in hybrid models by 2025

The new agreement could also indicate that BMW will turn to Northvolt to supply batteries for its future electric cars, in place of the Samsung batteries it uses now.

Northvolt is planning to invest $4.6 billion to build a battery factory to rival Tesla's Gigafactory, capable of eventually producing up to 32 gigawatt-hours of batteries per year.

No timeline was given to develop BMW's end-to-end battery recycling system. Northvolt plans to begin producing as much as 8 gigawatt-hours worth of batteries in 2020 and to have its plant fully operational by about 2025.