FILE PHOTO: An attendee takes a photograph of Volkswagen cars at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., January 15, 2019. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook TOKYO (Reuters) – Volkswagen Group has held on to its position as the world’s top-selling automaker for the fifth year in a row, although the German group was edged… Continue reading Renault-Nissan group sold most cars last year, but VW’s No.1 including trucks
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UPDATE 2-Japan’s Akebono Brake seeking capital from Toyota, debt relief
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s Akebono Brake Industry Co Ltd is seeking a capital infusion from top shareholder Toyota Motor Corp and a moratorium on debt repayment as part of a revival plan, sending its shares tumbling by a quarter on Wednesday. The brake maker, a supplier to automakers including General Motors Co which makes up about… Continue reading UPDATE 2-Japan’s Akebono Brake seeking capital from Toyota, debt relief
Some of the fastest electric-car chargers were down: Would anyone have noticed yet? (Updated)
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Electrify America DC fast chargers
UPDATE: As of Tuesday morning Electrify America said that it is “restoring full capacity to its entire network” after the potentially affected charging cables cleared extensive testing, and it called the original incident spurring the shutdown “an isolated event” at a private facility with a prototype cable. Thus, we updated the story title to reflect that they “were down” rather than “are down.”
Electric car owners who are planning to use the DC fast chargers that are part of the Electrify America network may want to allow a little extra time in their plans over the coming days and weeks.
That’s because on Friday, Electrify America made a decision to shut down all of its charging connectors that can run up to 150-kw and 350-kw on the CCS (Combo) standard.
DON’T MISS: Electrify America switches on the first 350 kw station
The list of vehicles that today can potentially use CCS fast charging above 50 kw is very limited. The Jaguar I-Pace charges at 100 kw, and the Hyundai Kona Electric peaks at just over 70 kw. Deliveries of the Audi e-tron, the first vehicle that can truly take advantage of the full 150 kw, don't start for another few months.
With I-Pace deliveries settling in at maybe a couple hundred a month and the Kona Electric just starting, that’s a total of just 600-700 vehicles currently in use in all of the U.S., by our estimates.
All of those 150-kw and 350-kw connectors are normally, however, perfectly compatible with a 50-kw charge. So in the present electric-car landscape, what it really means is that there will be fewer plugs available for a time.
CHECK OUT: Electrify America launches “Jetstones” ad campaign
It should be noted that this same issue affects charges on the Fastned and Ionity networks in Europe, where more vehicles are likely directly affected. Tesla for instance is already providing CCS compatibility for European vehicles, at up to 120 kw, but not in the U.S.
The higher-power hardware affected by the issue uses cooled charging cables supplied by Switzerland-based supplier Huber+Suhner, which notes that at a test site in Germany a short circuit occurred in the charging plug (connector). The liquid cooling system for the cables wasn’t the issue, and as of Monday was still troubleshooting the situation.
Electrify America DC fast chargers in Gulfport, Mississippi
The issue affects all DC fast chargers from Electrify America that can charge at more than 50 kw. It doesn’t affect 50-kw CCS fast chargers, or Level 2 chargers.
READ MORE: Electrify America lays out plans for second round of chargers in California
If you drive a Nissan Leaf, you’re also in luck. According to Electrify America, all 89 of its locations currently have charging up and running through their 50-kw CHAdeMO connectors. Most of those multi-connector stations also offer CCS (Combo) charging connectors at 50 kw that are unaffected by this issue as the cables are from another supplier, ITT Cannon.
The decision to shut down the U.S. chargers was made, as Electrify America CEO Giovanni Palazzo put it in an official statement, “out of an abundance of caution.”
Both Electrify America and Huber+Suhner indicated that they’re seeking to resolve this issue as quickly as possible—although the chargers won’t be available again until the Swiss supplier completes an investigation and makes a decision about the remedy.
SUVs hardest hit as used car values fall in January
Used car values dropped 0.7% in January as dealers saw lower retail demand for vehicles priced over £12,000. The drop was larger than the seasonal trend, where over the last five years the movement in Black Book Live for January was an average of -0.4%. A downward trend was seen for all mainstream sectors, but… Continue reading SUVs hardest hit as used car values fall in January
Public EV Charging Is Often Free: Observations From ChargePoint
There are still a lot of myths and misunderstandings about EV infrastructure. Few people in the EV business have as much experience as Darryll Harrison. Before becoming ChargePoint’s director of global communications in 2016, Harrison managed comms for the launch of three different electric vehicles. He worked at Nissan in 2008 and 2009 leading up… Continue reading Public EV Charging Is Often Free: Observations From ChargePoint
Tesla is responsible for half of Toyota’s owner defection rate
Toyota recently admitted that the Tesla Model 3 is affecting Prius sales, but we are now learning by just how much: Toyota says that it has a 9% owner defection rate in North America and it attributes about half of it to Tesla. Last year, Tesla revealed the top 5 cars Tesla Model 3 buyers are trading… Continue reading Tesla is responsible for half of Toyota’s owner defection rate
Red-Lined Adventure Nissan Navaras take on Dakar
Three purpose-built extreme off-road trucks, built by Nissan marketing partner Red-Lined Adventures, compete in the Dakar rally in Peru Peru – Dakar, one of the most challenging off-road rally events in the world, wrapped its tenth and final stage on January 17. During the grueling 12-day event in Peru, three FIA Dakar specification T1 Nissan… Continue reading Red-Lined Adventure Nissan Navaras take on Dakar
Nissan: Nissan poursuit la tradition au Salon de l’Auto de Montréal, avec les lancements d’un véhicule électrique et d’un projet de véhicule unique
Une Altima AWD montée sur des chenilles haute performance, la LEAF PLUS avec autonomie accrue, l’Altima 2019 et le Murano 2019 se partageront les projecteurs sur le stand Nissan Montréal, Québec – La présence de Nissan à la journée de presse du Salon international de l’auto de Montréal 2019 (SIAM) consiste en un quatuor équilibré… Continue reading Nissan: Nissan poursuit la tradition au Salon de l’Auto de Montréal, avec les lancements d’un véhicule électrique et d’un projet de véhicule unique
Britain’s most popular cars are vulnerable to keyless theft
Hundreds of new cars, including four of the UK’s five most popular, are highly susceptible to keyless theft, according to a new study. Research conducted by consumer group Which? looked at 237 cars sold with keyless entry technology. Among these, researchers were able to open and start all but seven models using relay boxes, portable… Continue reading Britain’s most popular cars are vulnerable to keyless theft
Nissan says ‘co-operating’ with US probe
Nissan said it is “co-operating” with an inquiry by US regulators, following reports that the carmaker is being investigated over executive pay disclosures. On Monday, US media reported the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had launched a probe into Nissan. The carmaker did not give further details about the inquiry. It comes as the firm’s… Continue reading Nissan says ‘co-operating’ with US probe