Hey guys, welcome to another edition of our weekly wrap up, where we hit you with the EV news that we didn’t get a chance to write about. This week had some announcements from Nissan and BMW regarding new electric models. Along with that we had a big commitment coming from ChargePoint regarding building more charging stations. Hope you guys have a great day, here’s the EV news we missed:
ChargePoint Commits to Building 2.5 Million Charging Spots by 2025
ChargePoint is one of the oldest electric-car charging networks in the United States with 45,000 different charging locations across the country. At the Global Climate Action Summit this week they made the commitment to expand to 2.5 million spots by 2025. The company projects there to be 20 million electric EVs on the road by that time, and their expanded charging network will help support that growth. “Our commitment to deploy 2.5 million charging spots by 2025 comes as the company embarks on the most significant period of growth in our history and in the midst of a revolution in transportation,” said Pasquale Romano, president and CEO, ChargePoint.
Read the Press Release via ChargePoint
The Microlino Reaches 8,000 pre-orders
The cute little electric bubble car that we reported on a while ago is making good progress in its reservations. The company announced this week that they have surpassed 8,000 reservations thus far in front of its December 2018 release. The majority of reservation holders were from Germany and Switzerland with the UK as distant third. Obviously this really isn’t going to be a car that’s about practicality, and instead will mostly be used for its quirky fun. So we are happy that it is getting some sort of love from the people over in Europe. Micro is hard at work on producing the first 25 Microlinos that will come off the line by December.
Read More via Micro
BMW Announces X5 xDrive45e with an Electric Range of 50 miles
BMW’s first round of plug-in hybrid vehicles were pretty lackluster in terms of their all-electric range, with most getting “0-14 miles” according to the EPA. Hopefully this xDrive45e is the start of the second generation of plug-ins from BMW as the range and power have both drastically improved from the old xDrive40e. The power bump is from the old 308 hp to 389 hp on the new model. It’s important to note that the 50 mile range while impressive is based on on the NEDC test, so temper your expectations for the real world mileage of this X5. But regardless, its a step in the right direction for BMW.
Read More via BMW
VW is Planning a 100,000 Car per Year Output from its First EV Factory
Volkswagen has some big plans for its Zwickau plant, which is currently being converted to build EVs. The Zwickau will start production of the upcoming VW ID in 2019. As early as 2020 it aims to have the factory outputting 100,000 cars per year. This is only one factory at that, other factories will join in on the action. By 2025 VW is aiming to produce 1 million electric cars per year. In comparisson to VW’s total production, 100,000 units a year doesn’t seem like much. But in comparison to other automakers who haven’t really set any numbers for their upcoming electric cars, this is a really good start.
Read More (in German) via Handelsblatt
NIO Doubled its Stock Value in its First Days of Trading (and then Promptly Fell back Down)
Last month, we reported on Chinese EV startup NIO seeking a $1.8 billon IPO in the United States. NIO didn’t reach the $1.8 billion mark, but it did get up to a respectable $1 billion. Anyone who bought in was lucky enough to double their money as the stock jumped up from $6.26 to $12.80 within a matter of days. The hype died down a little bit after as the stock dropped down to the high $9 range. But it’s still above the IPO price and it shows the enthusiasm for the company that many are saying can give Tesla a run for its money.
Read More via Bloomberg
Tesla Launches in-house ‘Body Repair Centers’ to Reduce Repair Times
Tesla’s repair times have been a growing pain for the company. You can read many complaints from owners who have waited unreasonable times for simple repairs. The EV-loving country of Norway has even ranked Tesla last in terms of quality of service. The company typically relies on third-party body shops that they approve to do the body work for customers. But in an effort to help speed up repair times, Tesla has opened up 9 ‘Body Repair Centers’ around the country:
- Bellevue, Washington
- Dallas, Texas
- Eatonville, Florida
- Houston, Texas
- Las Vegas, Nevada
- Marietta, Georgia
- Owings Mills, Maryland
- Van Nuys, California
- Villa Park, Illinois
Unfortunately, these centers “exclude major repairs” so if it’s something major, you car will still probably have to go to a third-party shop. Hopefully these shops will always be stocked with the necessary parts so owners don’t have to wait months for simple fixes.
Read More via Tesla
Nissan Announces Pricing for U.S. spec 2019 LEAF, still no Long-Range Version
Nissan has released the pricing for the US model 2019 LEAF trims, as follows:
- LEAF S: $29,990 USD
- LEAF SV: $32,490 USD
- LEAF SL: $36,200 USD
The prices of the new model year LEAFs isn’t the interesting thing here.For some time now we’ve had leaked information detailing a 60 kWh battery version of the LEAF that goes over 225 miles on one charge. Nissan hasn’t detailed this long range version of the LEAF, but they did state within this release that “A longer-range version will be available in the future.” How far into the future? Who knows, but hopefully within 2019.
Read More via: Nissan
