With it's unveiling set for Sept 9th inside a Boeing 777F from the Lufthansa Cargo fleet, BMW has given a sneak peek at their next gen electric car.

"While the video is edited so that we can barely see the vehicle, it’s another thing if you use freeze-frame and tweak the exposure a little," says Fred Lambert of Elecktrek. "We can see that it is more of a crossover than a sedan – meaning that it is sitting a little higher."

Click for full article and video

[Fred Lambert - Electrek - 4 Sept 2018]

Drive Electric Week starts in New Zealand on September 8 with a growing number of events being added to the list.

It will be launched first internationally on September 8 from 7am with an EV display at the Whangarei Growers Market, the display returning on September 15.

The September 8 event is followed by a morning tea at the Totara Cafe in Tikipunga, Whangarei, 10.30am.

Corporate EVs will be displayed and rides and drives available at QBE Stadium in Albany, Auckland, September 8, noon-4pm.

Wellington EV advocates Sigurd Magnusson and Jorn Scherzer talk EVs at the War Memorial Library in Lower Hutt on September 8, 1.3pm-2.30pm.

Flip the Fleet’s Henrik Moller provides short presentations at an EV presentations and drives afternoon the same day at the Central Stories Museum & Art Gallery in Alexandra from 3pm. The event links with an exhibition on climate change.

Complete List of Events here

[Geoff Dobson - EV Talk - 1 September 2018]

Read full EV Talk article here

More than three-quarters of owners who took part in a new "Flip the Fleet" poll believed cash incentives would be needed if more than half of new vehicle registrations were to be electric by 2025.

Of more than 66,000 new or used light vehicle registrations in the first three months of this year, just over 800 were EVs.

As at last month, New Zealand's EV fleet stood at 9,241 - although that was still a big leap from the 206 EVs recorded at the same time five years ago.

Richard Pither's workshop (Porirua Motors) is one of 24 around the country that have banded together to offer customers electric courtesy cars while their own cars are in for repairs.

Most of the workshops are also sending technicians on training courses to upskill in electric vehicle (EV) service, maintenance and repair. EVs have only a fraction of the moving parts in a typical petrol or diesel car so are much cheaper to maintain. But they still have brakes, wheels, tyres and electronic issues, and they still need regular checks and servicing. "We're fully trained to look after the whole EV," says Pither.

Courtesy EVs give people a convenient way to see what the electric cars are like to drive and to practice charging up at home – a first step to buying one in the future, says Mark Nixon, EV advocate and driving force behind the scheme.

Read Full Article

[Stuff Motoring - 26 Aug 2018]

This week, Opel has revealed its concept car and renewed their intention to release four BEV/PHEV by 2020 and an ambitious complete electrification of its lineup by 2024.

Earlier this year, Opel announced plans to build its own electric cars as its Chevy Bolt EV deal with GM isn’t working out.

The newly unveiled concept car will be released in the competitive Compact SUV segment of the market.

Read Full Article and view more images

[Fred Lambert - Electrek - 23 Aug 2018]

Tesla plans to open-source its vehicle security software for free to other automakers for safer self-driving future

A leading New Zealand electricity generator and retailer, Contact Energy, is well on track to electrifying its fleet, with the charge being led by the organisation’s geothermal operations near Taupo.

“We have nine EVs at the moment,” fleet manager Chris Girling says.

These comprise four Mitsubishi Outlander PHEVs, three Renault Zoes, a Hyundai Ioniq and a Gen 1 Nissan Leaf.

Professor John Goodenough, celebrated his 95th birthday last year An immigrant to the United States, a World War II veteran, a graduate from Yale University, a physics doctorate from the University of Chicago, a research scientist at MIT, a tenured departmental head at Oxford University, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin, an emeritus professor at the Cockrell School of Engineering at the University of Texas, Austin, a multi-award recipient, and a multi-society active and honorary member, has been involved in lithium batteries since at least 1980 when he was 57-years of age. Now, at the tender age of 96-years old he continues to develop the field.

Battery Breakthrough

A low-cost, safe, high-energy-density, long-life, and low-degradation battery has been designed in a paper co-authored by John Goodenough, Maria Helena Braga, Chandrasekar M Subramaniya, Andrew J. Murchison (all four from the Texas Materials Institute and the Materials Science and Engineering Program at The University of Texas at Austin) and Maria Helena Braga (from LAETA, Engineering Physics Department, FEUP, at the University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.)

It overcomes every single problem of current battery technology. In my (Eric Cosak) opinion, this happens as a result of overcoming both the lithium-ion SEI (solid electrolyte interphase) battery problem and material degradation due to volume expansion.

[Eric Cosak - EV Obsession - 23 July 2018]

Read Full Article

EVworld organiser Conferenz has announced the finalists for its ‘champions’ awards – set to be revealed at the August event.

The awards recognise the pioneering individuals, businesses and towns who are committed to championing the uptake of EVs in New Zealand.

[Richard Edwards - EV Talk - 18 July 2018]