EVPlus - July 2018
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BMW addresses its future plans at Australian launch of the
i8 Roadster
Added by admin 19/07/18
Loz Blain July 19, 2018
 At
last night's Australian unveiling of the new i8 Roadster, BMW
celebrated its leading position in European plug-in car sales,
and took the opportunity to fire a couple of understated shots at
the direction the US government is taking, both on sustainability
and global trade.
After drawing the covers off the gorgeous i8 Roadster in front of
a group of Australian media and global BMW leadership assembled
in Melbourne for a future strategy session, Vice President of
Governmental Affairs Andreas Klugeschied spoke briefly about the
brand's global outlook, taking time to quietly address the
shifting sands on which global trade seems to be sitting.
"Yes, we are sticking to our engagement in the US," said
Klugeschied. "But also to our engagement in Mexico. Yes, Brexit
is out there, and we're highly engaged in Great Britain, not only
as a production platform, but also as one of our major markets."
He also made it clear that BMW does not intend to join the United
States in backing off from environmental commitments.
"It's a good time to mention that we do think the reduction of
CO2 emissions is vital, not only for the industry but overall. So
whatever you might hear from others, be assured that BMW has a
clear commitment to the Paris accord, to the idea of CO2
reduction, and is willing to actually take responsibility here.
It's not about the ultimate goal of CO2-free mobility, it's more
about the how and when. It's not about the why."
BMW is addressing electrification in a sensible way as the
revolution slowly begins. As well as fully electric models like
the i3, it's put a lot of effort into plug-in hybrids, which
allow owners to drive fuel- and emissions-free (and experience
the unique performance of EVs) for the majority of their daily
driving, but without having to worry about range on longer trips.
The i8 and its new convertible counterpart offer another angle to
the bridging solution, combining the massive performance
potential of electric with the emotionally engaging, roaring
soundtrack of a combustion engine that drivers expect in a
supersport car. When we drove the i8, we absolutely loved the way
it combined these strengths.
BMW now has a fully electric or plug-in option in every car
category it services, and the strategy has paid off, with the
company taking a commanding lead in European sales of plug-in and
fully electric cars. Its 21 percent market share dwarfs the
efforts of Volkswagen in second place at 13 percent, third place
Renault at 11 percent, Tesla at 10 percent and Mercedes at 9
percent.
More (photos and text)...
Story and image courtesy:
New Atlas
Daimler unveils heavy-duty eCascadia and medium-duty eM2
electric trucks
Added by admin 10/06/18
Aaron Turpen - June 7th, 2018
 Daimler
Trucks is establishing a global organization for electric
mobility called the E-Mobility Group. To kick that off, the
company announced that its division in the United States,
Freightliner, will be adding two new electric commercial trucks
to its offerings: the Freightliner eCascadia and the eM2 106.
The Freightliner electric trucks will add to the production
Mercedes-Benz eActros and the FUSO eCanter trucks as well as the
Mercedes-Benz Citaro city bus and Thomas Built Saf-T Liner C2
Jouley school bus. All of these will now fall under the
newly-formed E-Mobility Group.
Daimler says that over the course of 2018, the company will hand
over an innovation fleet of 30 units of the two new Freightliner
electric trucks to its first customers in the US for fleet and
operations testing. The two new trucks are slated for the North
American region and are based on already-established models.
The Freightliner eCascadia, based on the Cascadia class 8 truck,
offers 730 horsepower (544 kW) through its motors. Those are
powered by 550 kWh of batteries, which give the truck a
fully-loaded range of up to 250 miles (400 km). Charging to 80
percent can be achieved within 90 minutes, resulting in an
additional 200 miles (320 km) of range.
The Freightliner eM2 106 is a local distribution truck and
last-mile delivery service vehicle. Its power output can be as
high as 480 horsepower (358 kW). Battery size is 325 kWh for a
total of 230 miles (370 km) of expected range. Recharge time to
80 percent is about 60 minutes, adding 184 miles (300 km).
More (photos)...
Story and image courtesy:
New Atlas
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