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Daimler speeds up self-driving trucking technology

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SK Plans To Double Investment At U.S. Battery Factory

5 H BY MARK KANE Construction to start later this year As we learned in December, South Korean SK Innovation intends to build a lithium-ion battery plant in Commerce, Georgia, investing $1.67 billion and employing more than 2,000 people (first phase to be more like $1 billion and more than 1,000 jobs). The article states that by… Continue reading SK Plans To Double Investment At U.S. Battery Factory

China × Cleantech — December 2018

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Published on January 6th, 2019 |

by Tim Dixon

China × Cleantech — December 2018

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January 6th, 2019 by Tim Dixon

Welcome to the next issue of China x Cleantech, our December 2018 edition. The year has closed, but let us review the final interesting cleantech developments from China last year.

China is changing rapidly. In order to aggregate and summarize the highlights, we publish a monthly China × Cleantech feature as an article here on CleanTechnica as well as on the “Future Trends” section of our website (link above). Here’s the previous report in case you missed it.

Tesla News
Tesla looms large in Chinese EV market news — the coming Model 3, Gigafactory 3, trade wars, and price cuts are trending across the internet. CleanTechnica is no stranger to these topics, so let us review what has been written here.

Tariffs were the biggest news in December. Steve Hanley wrote that Tesla announced it would reduce prices on the Model S and Model X in China. This decision was in response to the Chinese government’s decision to reverse the decision to have a 40% tariff on cars imported from the USA. Steve added that CNBC is indicating that this decision is temporary. Read more here on CleanTechnica.

Before the details on the temporary reversal, Steve Hanley wrote about the impacts of this trade war on the stock market and Tesla’s plans in China.

Zachary Shahan introduced an interesting comparison between the Tesla Model 3, BMW 3 Series, Mercedes-Benz C-Class, and Audi A4 that might prove to be highly disruptive to the sales of those other luxury automakers. Vincent provided details on the Chinese market for luxury sedans, and from that information, it can be seen that the Model 3 is extremely competitive. Read more details, context and information here on CleanTechnica.

Zachary Shahan has long discussed the ongoing impact that the Tesla Model 3 is having on the Canadian and United States car markets. Looking forward towards 2019, he speculated about possible impacts that the Model 3 will have in Europe and China, including a “forecast” of potential Tesla Model 3 demand and a rundown of Gigafatory 3.

Electric Car Sales
Jose Pontes reported on the sales of electric cars in China for the month of November. The data showed more than 140,000 registrations in November, which is up 59% year over year (YoY). When extrapolating for December sales, that would bring the total sales in 2018 to ~1 million plug-in sales for China alone. Jose provides a more detailed analysis in his article including lists of the most popular electric cars.

Batteries
Chanan Bos reported on the news that Lithium Werks, a lithium-ion battery manufacturer headquartered in the Netherlands, was partnering with the Chinese Zhejiang Jiashan Economic and Technological Development Zone Industry Corporation in October to build a gigafactory in China. In December of 2018, they announced that construction will start in 2019 and the initial annual production capacity will be 8 GWh. This will make it the first European company to build a battery gigafactory in China.

Steve Hanley reported on the news that China is going to add large amounts of stationary battery storage to its grid to combat curtailment and provide grid frequency response in 2019. With both lithium-ion batteries and flow batteries being part of the plan, Steve highlighted two projects in China and their benefits and drawbacks.

CATL, a leading Chinese battery producer, has set up a subsidiary in the United States in the city of Detroit, with aims to build ties with American automakers and develop products and services for the American automotive market. The USA subsidiary is CATL’s fourth subsidiary — it already has subsidiaries in Japan, France, and Germany, the latter of which being where CATL is building a battery factory to supply BMW. CATL wants to provide all automakers with batteries, and this is just one of its efforts to accomplish this goal.

Other Chinese Electric Car News
Xpeng, one of many Chinese EV startups, has started selling its electric G3 SUV in China. The G3 has a reported range of 365 km (227 miles) NEDC and a cost of 150,000 RMB ($21,500) after subsidy. The G3 is inspired by Tesla vehicles and has many features and style choices similar to Tesla’s, which is understandable since Tesla has had a massive impact on creating the present zeitgeist in the automotive market (electric, autonomous, high-tech, futuristic).

Nicolas Zart reported on the news that Qiantu (China) and Mullen Technologies (USA) are going to release the K50 electric supercar in the USA by 2020. Nicolas, who met people from both companies, reported that Mullen Technologies will be manufacturing the K50 and did the homologation process. For more details, including pictures of the K50 and details on Qiantu’s future plans, read Nicholas Zart’s article at CleanTechnica.

JAC and Volkswagen in November signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly develop an electric vehicle R&D centre. In December, they broke ground on the site. The joint venture, JAC Volkswagen (江淮大众), was established in December of 2017 and is developing Volkswagens cars for China. This site is not the first cooperation between JAC and Volkswagen in EV development, just the next step in both companies’ electric vehicle development. See more pictures and read more at EV Partner.

Electric Pickup Trucks
The Chinese electric pickup truck market is starting to pick up steam. In October, I reported on two pickup trucks being listed on the market. Now we have gotten news that two more pickup trucks are getting ready. It looks like 2019 is going to be an interesting year for electric pickup trucks in China.

JAC has officially revealed the JAC i3-T330, with a 265 km (164 miles) NEDC range and peak torque of 330 NM (Newton meters) — the peak torque is probably where they got the name. See pictures at EV Partner.

Foton Auto has revealed its own electric pickup truck based on an already existing pickup truck. It has 350 km (217 miles) of NEDC range. This is expected to be a work truck. All Chinese pickup trucks are targeted towards working person requirements, and unlike other markets, they do not have high-end trims — although, that is logical for a working truck.

Electric Heavy-Duty Trucks
Electric logistics sector news in China is dominated by light- and medium-duty electric trucks, because they are the most common and have the highest number of companies developing and selling them, but that doesn’t mean China doesn’t have heavy-duty electric trucks. I researched the market earlier in 2018 and interesting things are happening.

CAMC completed its first batch of heavy-duty electric trucks, with a range rating of 150 km (93 miles) NEDC. The batteries are provided by CATL and the company attributed bringing the truck to market to the “blue sky defence war/蓝天保卫战,” China’s policy to reduce air pollution, which requires logistics to move towards electrification or rail transport.

While the range is not great, it does meet certain logistics scenarios, and hopefully we will see China create more long-range trucks in the near future.

HOWO (China National Heavy Duty Truck), which is the third largest manufacturer of heavy-duty trucks, showed off 24 new trucks at its year-end conference, including the pure electric “HOWO T5G 220,” which is a heavy-duty truck designed to be a “sprinkler truck” — a truck designed to spray water onto the roads and into the air to combat air pollution and dust. With batteries provided by CATL, the truck has a range rating of 200 km (124 miles) NEDC, which is fine for its low-speed city driving work schedule.

The dual DC charger offers a 1.5 hour charge. The battery, which is from CATL and is reported to be a “world leading battery,” is explained as follows: each battery pack has 29.26 kWh of energy capacity and the vehicle’s total energy storage capacity is 242 kWh. For pictures and details, head over to the EV Partner article.

One step back
Finally, to end on some less than positive news, China is one of the global leaders in the expansion of coal power plants, helping lend large amounts of money to countries around the world to develop coal power plants even when financial data and science might indicate that such investments are not the best for the planet or long-term return on investment. For more details, read Joshua S Hill’s article here on CleanTechnica.

See our previous China × Cleantech reports for more info from the red giant. Subscribe to the China X Cleantech newsletter to not miss a beat.

About the Author

Tim Dixon When not researching the Chinese electric car market, I am teaching in China. My interest in sustainable development started in University and it led me to work with Tesla Europe in the Supercharger team. I'm interested in science fiction, D&D, and travel. You can follow me on Twitter @TimDixon3.

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Tesla Model S Resale Values = Best In Class

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Published on January 6th, 2019 |

by Guest Contributor

Tesla Model S Resale Values = Best In Class

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January 6th, 2019 by Guest Contributor

Originally published on EVANNEX.
By Charles Morris

It’s always fun to talk about Elon Musk’s tweets and tokes, but when it comes to predicting Tesla’s long-term financial prospects, savvy observers understand that the two metrics that matter are the demand for the company’s products and the margin of profit it earns on each unit. So, if TSLA stock slips in response to an unguarded comment by the Iron Man, consider it a buying opportunity. If you see evidence that demand for Teslas is flagging, then you can start to worry.

Tesla Model S (Image via Tesla)

One way to gauge the level of demand for an automaker’s vehicles is to examine how their value holds up in the used market. Generally speaking, vehicles that are more in demand depreciate less. So it’s encouraging to read a recent report from venture capital firm Loup Ventures, which found that the depreciation of Tesla’s Model S compares quite favorably with that of other vehicles in its class.

Based on a mathematical analysis of data on used car sales, Loup Ventures concluded that, after 50,000 miles, a typical Model S will have lost around 28% of its original value, whereas competing models in the luxury sedan class will have lost an average of 38%. Even when variables such as model year, miles driven and initial sale price were taken into account, Loup found that a Model S could be expected to retain 7% more value than its competitors.

Two things to keep in mind: higher-priced cars usually show worse depreciation than budget models; and plug-in cars in general exhibit worse depreciation than comparable gas-powered models (among other things, plug-in vehicles tend to be improved every year, and only new vehicles are eligible for federal and state incentives). Of the plug-in vehicles on the US market, Teslas show by far the least depreciation, holding their value better than the Chevy Volt, BMW i3, or Nissan LEAF.

The Loup Ventures team started by looking at an Autolist survey, which included 1.6 million data points gathered between January 2012 and August 2016. Autolist found the following amounts of depreciation after 50,000 miles:

Tesla Model S: 28%
Lexus LS 460: ~32%
Mercedes S-class: ~36%
Porsche Panamera: ~37%
BMW 7 Series: 40%
Audi A8: 40+%
Jaguar XJ: 41%

However, the researchers weren’t entirely satisfied with these numbers — during the years covered by Autolist’s survey, the supply of Teslas was limited, which could have artificially kept resale prices high. Therefore, the Loup team decided to conduct their own survey based on today’s prices.

The team examined the same auto models that were included in the Autolist survey, scraping listings of certified pre-owned cars from manufacturers’ websites. Next, they built a regression model to predict the percentage by which each car had depreciated based on model year, miles driven and MSRP. They also included a categorical variable designed to account for any inherent difference between Tesla and its competitors.

The article includes all the details of the team’s analysis, which the statistically inclined may wish to read. The researchers concede that their study wasn’t perfect – they could have used more data on non-Tesla vehicles, and the bewildering array of options available made it impossible to calculate the precise MSRP of some models. However, they believe that their conclusion that Model S depreciates at a rate 7% lower than that of competitors in its class is sound.

A look at an older Tesla Model S. (Image via Tesla Shuttle and CleanTechnica)

Be the numbers what they may, there’s plenty of anecdotal evidence that Tesla’s vehicles hold their resale value well — comments on the subject by frustrated would-be owners aren’t hard to find. But after all, these cars often seem to have minds of their own, so it shouldn’t be surprising that they stubbornly refuse to lose their value as quickly as most other luxury vehicles do. That may be bad news for car buyers with moderate budgets, but it’s a good sign for the future of the company.

About the Author

Guest Contributor is many, many people. We publish a number of guest posts from experts in a large variety of fields. This is our contributor account for those special people. 😀

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Caravan, Motoring and Tourism (CMT) 2019: Mercedes-Benz at the CMT 2019

The third generation of the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter is already proving to be a successful model, less than a year after its market launch. Since the start of sales in February 2018, the flow of orders has been steadily increasing.

Daimler, Bosch Cruise Into Robotaxi Era With Slow-Moving Shuttle – Bloomberg

Daimler, Bosch Cruise Into Robotaxi Era With Slow-Moving Shuttle Bloomberg Four years ago, Daimler AG dazzled with a self-driving luxury lounge in Las Vegas with a concept vehicle boasting a sleek interior that promised to pamper its … Go to Source

A Tesla-Certified Repair Shop in Colorado — Behind The Scenes

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Published on January 4th, 2019 |

by Guest Contributor

A Tesla-Certified Repair Shop in Colorado — Behind The Scenes

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January 4th, 2019 by Guest Contributor

Originally published on EVANNEX.
By Kay Talley

A unique opportunity came our way to see damaged cars up close, personal and naked at Stuttgart Auto Body, Denver’s premier Tesla collision repair facility. Attendees from Denver Tesla Club visited to gain insight into the structure of Tesla’s vehicles — and what can possibly go wrong while out on the road.

A Tesla Model X having met with a deer. Sadly, the deer would not have had the same outcome as the Model X will. (Image via Stuttgart Auto Body)

Stuttgart is certified by Porsche, Mercedes — and Tesla. The main focus of the Englewood facility is the latter. Although it is sad to see a parking lot full of triaged vehicular friends awaiting admission to the ER, the care and attention indoors for them is nothing less than spectacular. State Farm expert, Austin Domsch, was also on hand to explain coverage of that little “incident.”

A Model S P100D — witnessed in repair — will shortly be returned to owner after a significant front-end “ouch.” (Images via Stuttgart Auto Body)

Accidents happen. How they are taken care of is an eye-opener into the vehicle and the overall construction of Models S, X and 3. The crumple zone up front is a testament to a Tesla’s life-saving abilities. Tesla is possibly the most complicated of vehicles to work on, but Stuttgart has made a massive investment in all Tesla-approved equipment that is necessary and continues to grow with the company to keep up with the electric carmaker’s continually evolving technology.

A Tesla Model 3 front-end with structural fracture. What’s in there? A great opportunity to get more insight. The coolant you see in the Model 3 is also BMW’s — rather than Tesla branding it. It’s pretty much a generic for luxury vehicles. Makes sense. Why reinvent the wheel? (Image via Stuttgart Auto Body)

Tesla Fremont hands-on trained technicians are passionate about returning a car to an owner in pre-accident condition. Using only Tesla OEM and diagnostics, they make it happen.

Denver Tesla Club members, including winners of the EVANNEX Tesla car cover raffle, and Stuttgart’s luxury packages of in-vehicle beverage containers — all enjoying this special club event. (Image via Stuttgart Auto Body)

From 3M insane automotive adhesive, riveting under equally insane pressure to meet Tesla’s over-and-beyond safety ratings, an owner can feel completely safe in the vehicle, post-collision. Good as new.

Kay Talley is a long-time Tesla Model S owner and member of the Denver Tesla Club. Kay was kind enough to send along an overview and photos from this event to EVANNEX.

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About the Author

Guest Contributor is many, many people. We publish a number of guest posts from experts in a large variety of fields. This is our contributor account for those special people. 😀

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It’s a Linux-powered car world

Linux is everywhere including your car. While some companies, like Tesla, run their own homebrew Linux distros, most rely on Automotive Grade Linux (AGL). AGL is a collaborative cross-industry effort developing an open platform for connected cars with over 140 members. This Linux Foundation-based organization is a who’s who of Linux-friendly car manufacturers. Its membership includes Audi,… Continue reading It’s a Linux-powered car world

VW increases sales in the US by more than four percent

The car market in the US is causing problems for many manufacturers – but not VW: despite the exhaust gas scandal, the Wolfsburg-based group is significantly increasing its US sales. By contrast, things were worse for Audi and Daimler in 2018. VW boss Herbert Diess at the Detroit Auto Show (January 2018) Friday, 04.01.2019 09:10… Continue reading VW increases sales in the US by more than four percent

In 2019, We’ll Have Taxis Without Drivers—or Steering Wheels 3 Jan

Daimler and Bosch Will Launch a Pilot Robotaxi Program in San Jose in 2019