This Week in EV News: Electric Mini Reveal Date, VW ID.3 Charging Rate, Electric Hummer?, and More!

Hello everyone and welcome to another addition of our weekly round up, where we recount the EV news that we didn’t cover at length. This week we got to see some news from upcoming compact electric cars such as the Mini Cooper S E, VW ID.3, and Renault ZOE. Along with the EV news that we did not cover, we have a recap of all the EV news that we did cover in length at the bottom as well, in case you missed it.

Even though the Mini Cooper S E has more or less been fully revealed in terms of its styling, we have yet to see any official information regarding its specifications. We have finally gotten confirmation that the Mini Cooper S E will officially be revealed in July 9th with hopefully with finalized specifications. The Cooper S E’s prototype was said to use a motor that was based on the BMW i3s’ 181 hp motor. However that prototype did have a range of only about 120 miles according to Autoblog. With 186 miles looking to be the new acceptable minimum when it comes to range, we hope that the final version will have a more respectable range. Luckily we only have a few weeks to wait and see.
Read More Via Autoblog

Volkswagen’s highly hyped ID.3 compact electric car has some new information revealed about. The first of which is the battery warranty. The ID.3’s battery will be covered for eight-years or 160,000km (almost 100,000 miles) if it retains less than 70% of its charge. This warranty is more or less in line with the rest of the industry. There has been data of Teslas going over 100,000 miles and not even losing 10% of their charge, so we think that the ID.3 will be able to keep its 70% charge. Secondly, the ID.3’s charging rate was also revealed to be 125 kW. While this is the not the fastest charging rate of any electric car, it is the fastest for anything within the ID.3’s class of car. With 125 kW charging a 30 minute charge will get you around 260 km (161 miles) of additional range.
Read More Via Volkswagen

We covered the rumored refresh of the Renault ZOE a few months ago, but now we can see the real thing for ourselves. The designers have toughened up some of the smooth lines from the previous generation and given them a more angular and sporty look. To go along with the new look, the new ZOE offers two different motor configurations, an 80 kW (107 hp) motor and a 100 kW (134 hp) motor. Most importantly is the upgrade to the battery. The battery pack is now 52 kWh and provides a WLTP rated range of 390 km (242 miles). Unfortunately the charging rate is still 50 kW, but given the increased range you won’t be charging as often. Official pricing has not yet been given, but rumors state that it will be only 500 euros more expensive than the outgoing ZOE.
Read More Via Renault

It seems that there are more and more startups trying to introduce some sort of low-volume electric supercar as the industry transitions. The most recent entry is the Drako GTE from Drako Motors. The GTE promises to seat four passengers comfortably along with their luggage. It promises 1,200 hp and a top speed of 206 mph, however no word on range. In fact there really isn’t anymore additional information regarding the GTE other than it is being designed by Lowie Vermeersch and his Italian GranStudio team. Vermeersch was the former Design Director at Pininfarina and designed such cars the Ferrari 458 Italia and Masaratti GranCabrio. Draco’s prototype was able to set a Nurburgring time of 7:49.04 which at the time was an electric car record for the course in 2015. The car will be fully unveiled at the prestigious Quail Motorsports Gathering on August 16th, so check for news at that time.
Read More Via Drako Motors

The day that we see an electric Hummer is the day that we consider the car industry to have fully embraced electrification. The Hummer was legendary for its amazingly poor gasoline mileage and the antithesis of environmentally-friendly cars as a whole. While the last Hummer came off the production line almost 10 years ago, GM had kept the brand in its portfolio. According to a source in GM, there have been talks about possibly producing an electric Hummer. Of course the possibility of this coming to pass is pretty low and is probably being used as a “what-if” to wonder what the upper limits of GM’s upcoming electric platforms and batteries should be. GM is currently working on 20 electric cars based on its BEV3 platform to be released by 2023. In addition to that is a separate project for the trucks and larger vehicles with no real timetable. Rivian has proven an interest in rugged trucks that happen to be electric, so maybe we’ll see an electric Hummer in the future. If we do see one, we’ll have to check to see if Hell froze over.
Read More Via Bloomberg

EV News You Missed:

• We give you the latest rundown of the Tesla Arcade and some of the games already available and ones not yet released.
• Not wanting to wait any longer for the real Tesla Truck, Simone Grietz took matters into her own hands and turned a Model 3 into one.
• Peugeot has revealed their new e-2008 electric SUV which boasts attractive styling and a 193 miles WLTP rated range.
• Fisker has been drip-feeding us with teasers for his upcoming electric SUV. The most recent one shows that the yet unnamed SUV will come with solar panels on its roof to provide extra energy.
• In an effort to help reduce owners’ long wait times, Tesla has announced that their Service Centers and Mobile Service will now be able to handle certain collision repairs without being sent to a third-party.