range

Since the “Dieselgate” scandal, the Volkswagen group has promised to introduce several new electric vehicles in the coming years. CEO Matthias Müller is said to announce a new strategy this summer that will see the company bring to market 20 new electric vehicles (all-electric or plug-in hybrid) through the group’s 12 brands by the end of the decade.

The company also plans to build on its current limited lineup of electric cars, including the e-Golf, which should see a significant increase in range with the introduction of its next generation.
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A few months back, reports came out of BMW looking to introduce a new battery pack for the i3. The new pack was believed to enable up to 124 NEDC-rated miles of range on a single charge, which would represent a ~25% increase in range over the current battery pack offered by BMW.

Now we learn from a BMW official that the increase could be closer to 50%.
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Last month we reported on comments made by BMW CEO Harald Krüger about the BMW i3 getting a new battery pack with more range in 2016. Now we learn through an article coming out of Autocar yesterday that sources close to BMW are saying that the new battery pack should enable “up to 124 miles of range on a single charge” and be available as a retrofit to current i3 owners – something Krüger hinted could be possible.

Autocar’s Greg Kable didn’t say on what he is basing his “124 miles” figure, but he compared it to the current range of the i3 which he said is “just under 100 miles”. This means he is working with the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) which is not very accurate in predicting real world range.
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When Tesla first unveiled the Model X in September, the vehicle was widely reported to cost $132,000, but a lot of publications failed to understand that it was the sale price of the limited “Founders series”. Then Tesla opened orders for the “Signature series” – for people who reserved the vehicle with a $40,000 deposit – and now Tesla finally opens the order book to the reservation holders for the production version.

There’s no surprise. The base version is the “Model X 70D”, which starts at $80,000 ($5,000 more than the Dual Motor version of the Model S) and has an EPA-rated range of 220 miles. Tesla says that new orders will start shipping in “mid to late 2016”.

You can see a screenshot of the Model X design studio below:
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BMW CEO Harald Krüger talked to German magazine Die Zeit earlier this week and confirmed that the company will introduce an upgraded battery pack for next year’s version of its flagship all-electric vehicle, the BMW i3.
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Zero Motorcycles, a maker of battery-powered motorcycles, is at the American International Motorcycle Expo in Orlando, Florida today to unveil its 2016 lineup and announce 2 new models.

On top of the new models, the company is also presenting a new motor design, a faster charging infrastructure, a new lithium-ion cell chemistry for more capacity and efficiency, and it will lower the price on two base models while adding more features and performance throughout its lineup.
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Earlier this month when Audi unveiled its all-electric SUV, the quattro, some media were quick to dub it a “Tesla killer”, but now that Tesla officially launched its own SUV, I think it’s clear that it was a premature assessment. The quattro is set to have a similar range as the Model X, ~250 EPA-rated miles, but Audi is aiming at releasing the quattro in 2018, while Tesla delivered the first few units yesterday and already has between 25,000 and 30,000 reservations for the all-electric SUV.
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If you have been following news about Tesla Motors lately you know that the company is launching the Model X today, but you might have also heard that they will launch a “600+ miles vehicle” in about 2 years. Several publications have been publishing articles with a variation of the following headline: “Elon Musk says Tesla will have a 600 miles vehicle by 2017“.

These headlines, to no fault of Musk, are due to either a severe lack of knowledge about electric vehicle range or a malicious click-baiting attempt.
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Casey Spencer, a Tesla Model S owner, set a new record for the longest distance traveled on a single charge in a Model S by driving 550.3 miles in 26 hours. Spencer surpassed Bjorn Nyland’s record of 452.8 miles set just last month. Although Nyland used a Model S P85D, while Spencer used his Model S 85D.

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Proterra impresses again with its entirely battery-powered bus: the Catalyst XR. The South Carolina-based company announced today that its 40-foot bus drove 258 miles on a single charge under test conditions at Michelin’s Laurens Proving Grounds (LPG).

It’s without a doubt an impressive feat to power a ~27,500 lbs vehicle for 285 miles on batteries alone…
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Taken at face value, the Tesla Roadster 340-mile trip from San Jose to Santa Monica in California is a significant milestone. The direct drive in under 6 hours all without refueling will leave most EV owners’ mouths agape. There was even 40 minutes with the heater turned on and that huge climb (and subsequent decent) out of the Grapevine.

As we announced in December, the Roadster 3.0 upgrade will feature enhancements in battery cell technology, aerodynamics, and rolling resistance. These modifications should boost the Roadster’s range by 40 to 50%.

But I think this is bigger. This shows what the technologies Tesla has developed mean for the next generation of EVs. It means the Model X, even with its higher profile and expanded room, will be able to still handily be able to make it between Superchargers in the winter. Even more importantly, it shows that Tesla can make a BMW 3-series sized car go 200 miles with a lot less battery that previously expected.

If the new pack in the Roadster has 70kWh and goes 400 miles, doing a little math and guesswork, you only need about 45kWh to get a slightly bigger car to go 200 miles. (Assuming the car lies between the 35kWh and the 60kWh for the Model S with 200 mile range).

And that’s assuming technology stands still between now and then.

Tesla’s Blog entry on the Trip here and pasted below:
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