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Elon Musk Says German Gigafactory Will “Hopefully” Produce First Vehicles In October

Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk, told media he hopes the company’s German gigafactory in Gruenheide, near Berlin, will open in October during a tour of the plant that is still under construction.

“We’re looking forward to hopefully getting the approval to make the first cars maybe in October if we are fortunate,” Musk said during the plant visit, which, Reuters reports, hosted Armin Laschet, the conservative candidate set to succeed Angela Merkel as chancellor.

The factory was initially supposed to open in July 2021 but its opening was pushed back to late 2021, with some reports claiming that production wouldn’t start until January 2022. Musk publicly blamed German bureaucracy for the delays and has apparently found a kindred spirit in Laschet, who has been critical of the German government’s red tape.

“Sometimes one has the impression that inventing something new is technologically easier than dismantling bureaucracy in Germany,” Laschet said during the tour.

The factory has been investigated several times for its construction practices. In May, German labor authorities investigated the site for allegedly paying construction crews less than the national minimum wage and housing them in cramped living quarters where cases of the coronavirus were able to spread.

In April, meanwhile, the site came under the Brandenburg Ministry of the Environment’s scrutiny for allegedly using illegal plumbing that diverted wastewater from the factory into the local drinking water supply. Reuters reports that the environmental agency has yet to give the site its final approvals, meaning that further delays are impossible to rule out.

Regardless, Musk was excited about the plant’s prospects, later tweeting out an invitation to the local community to visit the plant on October 9.

Priority for residents of Brandenburg & Berlin, but also open to general public

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 13, 2021

Renault Previews Electric Range And Details EV Manufacturing Strategy

During the “Renault eWays Electro Pop” event, the French company gave away more information on its electrification strategy towards a 90% electric range for the whole Renault Group by 2030.

The announcements were not limited to the upcoming electric models but also included information about the platforms and the new factories to be built in France through partnerships.

Starting with the product launches, Renault announced 10 battery-electric vehicles by 2025. The Renault 5 supermini, the Renault 4ever SUV, and the equivalent LCV will be based on the CMF-BEV platform allowing for a WLTP range of up to 400 km (249 miles). As you guessed from the name, the electric CMF-BEV will be an evolved version of the CMF-B currently underpinning conventional B-Segment models of the group.

Thanks to the shared components, the interchangeability of the batteries, and the low-cost 100 kW powertrain, the upcoming Renault 5 will be 33% cheaper compared to the current generation Zoe electric supermini, making electric cars more affordable to the masses. For a good measure, the Renault Zoe starts from €32,500 (about $38,500 at today’s rates) in France, but the base price drops to €23,000 (~ $27,300) after the ecological and conversion bonuses. This means the Renault 5 could be more than €10,000 ($11,900) cheaper, bringing it close to the price level of similarly-sized conventional cars like the Renault Clio which starts from €15,900 (around $19,000).

Moving upwards in the range the production version of the MéganE electric crossover will launch in 2022 with a larger and yet-unnamed electric SUV following later on. Both of those models will be based on the CMF-EV architecture developed for Renault Group’s C-Segment and D-Segment cars. Models based on this architecture will offer a WLTP range of up to 580 km (360 miles). They will also have roomy cabins, low center of gravity, ideal weight distribution, quick steering ratio, and multi-link rear suspension. The CMF-EV will be also used by other brands of the alliance, representing the production of 700,000 units by 2025.

By 2025, over 65% of Renault models will be either electric or hybrid, and by 2030 up to 90% of the range will be battery-electric. Finally, starting from 2024, the Alpine performance brand will get its own three-model all-electric range consisting of a sportscar, a hot hatch, and a grand tourer.

Setting aside the new models, the event also included a detailed presentation of the “Renault ElectriCity” ecosystem in Northern France. Three factories on Douai, Maubeuge, and Ruitz, will reach an annual production of 400,000 electric vehicles by 2025.

The electric powertrains will be built by Renault’s own MegaFactory in Normandy, batteries will be manufactured in Envision AESC’s gigafactory in Douai starting from 2024, while French start-up Verkor will help in developing a high-performance and sustainable battery for Renault and Alpine models by 2022 to be produced in a new gigafactory starting from 2026.

By 2030, a total of 1 million units of NMC (Nickel, Manganese & Cobalt) batteries will be built for all brands of the group. Renault wants to bring costs down by 60% at pack level in less than ten years with a target of under 100 dollars/kWh by 2025. This cost could reach even lower with the use of solid-state batteries, aiming for under 80 dollars/kWh by 2030.

French Start-up Whylot will undertake the development of an “innovative automotive axial flux e-motor” to be produced on large scale from 2025. This motor will allow a 5% cost reduction to hybrid powertrains and save up to 2.5 g CO2 on a small or medium-sized car. In the future, Renault Group will build a new kind of a e-powertrain integrating the e-motor, reducer, and power electronics in a smaller package (-45% in volume). This will bring a 30% cost reduction in cost, 45% less wasted energy, and up to 20 km (12.4 miles) of added range.

Finally, the Mobilize brand will focus on “generating added value throughout the battery lifecycle” offering a residual value of up to €500 per battery to used EVs and a potential benefit of up to €400 per year through Vehicle-to-grid technologies.

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The MINI Convertible Will Survive Into The Electric Era, All-New Model Coming In 2025

Coupes and convertibles are becoming increasingly rare, but MINI is sticking to their guns as they have announced a successor to their popular drop top.

Little is known about the model at this point, but the next-generation Convertible will be fully electric and is scheduled to be introduced in 2025.

MINI boss Bernd Körber said: “The MINI Convertible has a large and particularly loyal fan base. We are therefore firmly convinced of the success of this vehicle concept for the future.”

Also Read: Next-Generation MINI EV Spied In Ahead Of 2023 Launch

Körber went on to note nearly one in five customers in Germany opted for a Convertible last year and he said this “demonstrates the great enthusiasm of the MINI community for a vehicle concept like this in the future.” Germany is the biggest market for the Convertible and it’s followed by the United States and Great Britain.

The Convertible is a relatively new addition to the lineup as a prototype was introduced at the 1992 British Motor Show and caused such an enthusiastic reaction that it was put into production. Following the brand’s relaunch in 2001, MINI was quick to bring back the Convertible three years later.

Of course, not all open-top MINI models have been successful. The Roadster was arguably one of the brand’s better looking vehicles, but it failed to resonate with consumers as U.S. sales topped out at 2,806 units in 2013. Sales quickly dropped off and MINI pulled the plug two years later.

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Porsche Taycan Joins Carmaker’s U.S. Subscription And Rental Program

The Taycan is now available through the Porsche Drive Subscription and Rental program in the United States.

Porsche first launched its subscription and rental plan through a pilot program in Atlanta in October 2017. It has now grown to operate in Houston, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Monterey, San Diego, San Francisco, and San Jose as well. The all-electric Taycan will be able to drive for a day, a week, or a month.

The Taycan 4S will initially be available through the Single-Vehicle Subscription or rental plan and won’t form part of the Multi-Vehicle Subscription that allows users to swap between different models each month. The subscription plan consists of a flat monthly fee that includes vehicle maintenance and insurance, but doesn’t include charging fees.

Those who opt for the Taycan 4S will need to cough up $3,250 per month while the rear-wheel drive Taycan is available from $2,500 per month. For shorter rentals, the Taycan 4S is offered for $335 per day for 1-3 days and $295 per day for 4+ days. The entry-level, rear-wheel drive Taycan will be added to the Multi-Vehicle subscription plan later this spring.

“Think of Porsche Drive as sports car-as-a-service, a convenient digital way to access the Porsche experience,” Porsche Cars North America president and chief executive Kjell Gruner said of the program. “In three years of testing and growing the concept, together with our dealers, we have created a solution for people who prefer shorter-term and more flexible access. We always want to welcome new friends to our brand, and the fact that 80 percent of Drive customers are new to Porsche is a mark of the program’s success.”

Audi Confirms Q6 E-Tron SUV Will Debut In 2022, Share Underpinnings With Electric Macan

Audi‘s first SUV based on the electric platform it is co-developing with Porsche will arrive in 2022, CEO Markus Duesmann said at the brand’s Annual General Meeting.

According to Auto Express, the executive confirmed that it will be named the Q6 e-tron and will be built in Ingolstadt, which Audi is converting into an electric vehicle facility. Duesmann also announced that the company will build a battery assembly facility in the vicinity of its Ingolstadt plant.

Based on the Premium Platform Electric (PPE) architecture, the Q6 e-tron is expected to share many of its components with the electric Porsche Macan in much the same way as the e-tron GT shares much of its parts with the Taycan. It will sit between the Q4 e-tron and the e-tron SUV in Audi’s lineup.

The PPE architecture will be the basis for the Volkswagen Group’s premium electric vehicles. Whereas the Q4 e-tron is based on VW’s MEB electric platform for volume vehicles, the Q6 will be more luxurious. The e-tron SUV, meanwhile, was built on a modified version of Audi’s existing MLB platform.

The PPE platform is already the basis for the Porsche Taycan and the e-tron GT sedans. In the Taycan 4S, the platform is good for 225 miles of electric range according to the EPA, though the e-tron GT is capable of more than 300 miles on the European test cycle. Its platform will also give the Q6 E-Tron access to 800V fast-charging.

The Q6 e-tron should be roughly the same size as the Q5. The SUV is one of the brand’s biggest sellers, so getting back into that market segment with an EV may prove crucial to Audi’s electric ambitions.

Photo Credit: CarPix for Carscoops

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Porsche Taycan 4S Art Car Heading To Auction Next Month

Porsche will soon auction off a special Taycan 4S art car and the proceeds will benefit Swiss non-profit Suisseculture Sociale to support local artists in the country who have struggled during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The man behind the Taycan Art Car, which actually came to life at a pop-up restaurant in Zurich last December, is Richard Phillips. Adorning the exterior of the EV is a custom wrap based on the artist’s ‘Queen of the Night’ 2010 painting that’s dominated by brightly-colored flowers, a blue sky, and butterflies.

A handful of other custom touches were made. For example, there is an illuminated inscription of ‘Queen of the Night’ on the door sill panels thanks to Porsche Exclusive, and an illuminated version of Richard Phillip’s signature that is projected onto the pavement.

Watch Also: Entry-Level Porsche Taycan Proves You Don’t Need To Spend More To Have Fun

The car has been on display at various Porsche Centers in Switzerland in recent weeks and is currently on display at Porsche Center Geneva. On March 22, it will be moved to Porsche Center Zurich and will later be displayed at Porsche Center Zug, south of Zurich, where it will be handed over to the winning bidder.

“Porsche’s first purely electric sports car, the Taycan, represents a new chapter in the company’s history,” Porsche Schweiz AG chief executive Michael Glinski said. “We wanted to capture this achievement by working together with a leading artist. The result is this creation, which reflects the guiding principles of sustainability and electromobility and of course also places a strong focus on nature in Switzerland.”

“By auctioning the work and donating the proceeds we want to help the Swiss cultural landscape, which has been hit especially hard by the pandemic. Porsche has set a confident course through this crisis and we are eager to give something back to the community.”

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Hyundai Ioniq 5 Is The Company’s Most Popular New Model In Europe So Far

Hyundai is pretty happy with the reception of the new Ioniq 5, announcing that the recently revealed electric model has already attracted 236,000 enquiries from customers in Europe, the highest-ever for a new Hyundai model.

In addition, the 3,000 units of the special edition Hyundai Ioniq 5 ‘Project 45’ were almost three times over-subscribed within the first 24 hours of reservations opening.

The new Ioniq 5 is Hyundai’s first model to be based on the new EV-specific architecture and also the first model to introduce the Ioniq sub-brand.

“The exceptionally high interest in IONIQ 5 underlines the strength of Hyundai in zero-emission mobility,” said Andreas-Christoph Hofmann, Vice President of Hyundai Motor Europe. “With its ultra-fast charging, long range and customisable interior space, the IONIQ 5 is a game-changer that sets the benchmark in its class – and these outstanding characteristics have immediately proved to be attractive to significant numbers of European customers.”

The new Hyundai Ioniq 5 will be available with two battery pack options, 58kWh and 72.6 kWh, as well as a dual-motor setup. The most powerful variant will offer a combined 302 HP and a 0-62 mph (100 km/h) in 5.2 seconds. If you want the longest possible driving range, you’ll have to pick the single-motor version with the 72.6 kWh battery, which is estimate to offer between 292 and 298 miles (470 to 480 km) on the WLTP cycle. Base models feature a single electric motor with the 58 kWh battery pack, producing 167 HP and 258 lb-ft (350 Nm) of torque.

One of the stand-out features of Hyundai’s new electric crossover is the 800-volt charging; when plugged into a 350kW charger, the new Ioniq 5 will be able to recharge from 5 to 80 percent in just 18 minutes, while just five minutes of charging will be enough to add 62 miles of range on the WLTP cycle.

The limited-edition Hyundai Ioniq 5 ‘Project 45’ will be the first variant to enter production and delivered to customers in Europe by the middle of the year. It will feature pretty much all the equipment you could want, including a solar roof and a set of 20-inch alloy wheels.

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Porsche Taycan Turbo S Goes From 0 To 155 Mph (250 km/h) In 15 Seconds

The Porsche Taycan Turbo S is one of the best electric cars in the market. It combines the practicality of an executive sedan with all the bells and whistles expected from such a model, supercar-like performance and instant thrust.

Sitting at the top of the Taycan range, the Turbo S has up to 750 HP and 774 pound-feet (1,050 Nm) of torque with the Overboost function enabled, or 616 HP without it.

See More: Tesla Model S Performance Can’t Keep Up With Porsche’s Taycan Turbo S

In the sportiest driving mode, it needs only 2.8 seconds for the 0 to 62 mph (0-100 km/h) sprint, and will hit the 60 mph (96 km/h) mark in just 2.6 seconds after setting off, while flat out, it will do 161 mph (260 km/h).

Now, as we all know, certain sections of the German Autobahn do not have a speed limit, and that is where this Taycan Turbo S demonstrated its 0 to 155 mph (0-250 km/h) acceleration in a continuous sprint. Mind you, the entire video is only 16 seconds long, and it actually took a bit less for the electric sports sedan to complete it.

In case you want a Taycan Turbo S, then get ready to pay a minimum of €186,336 ($226,514) in Germany, and at least $185,000 in the United States, where it has an EPA estimated driving range of 201 miles (323 km).

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Tesla’s Sentry Mode Camera Will Melt Snow To Give It A Clear View

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The Sentry Mode of the Tesla Model 3 is one of its most useful features and as it turns out, not even snow can stop it from working.

Sentry Mode uses the Model 3’s exterior cameras to monitor what is going on around the car when it is parked. If the system detects something suspicious, it will start recording. While the side cameras and rear camera are quite well protected from the elements, the front-facing camera at the top of the windshield could easily be covered by snow – and, wouldn’t you know it, Tesla has already thought of that.

Watch Also: Tesla Model 3’s Sentry Mode Captures Two Men Keying Car

Images recently shared by owners online reveal that the camera unit is able to heat up to melt snow that may be blocking its view. More specifically, The Drive, who published photos from Model 3 owner Jon Herrity, writes that there are defrosting lines in front of the camera unit that work like the ones you’ll find on rear windows.

It appears as though the system is always enabled, just in case an owner wants to use Smart Summon and drive the car remotely through their smartphone.

Since Tesla rolled out its Sentry Mode function, heaps of videos have surfaced online of people breaking into Model 3s or intentionally damaging them. In fact, we’ve shared more than a couple of videos that show individuals keying the sides of Teslas while unknowingly being filmed by the exterior cameras.

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Tesla Came Oh So Close To Delivering 500,000 Vehicles In 2020

Tesla managed to deliver a total of 499,550 vehicles in 2020, just short of Elon Musk’s goal of 500,000.

Figures released by the electric automaker reveal that in the final quarter of the year, it delivered 180,570 vehicles to customers around the world. Of these, 18,920 were Model S and Model X vehicles, while the remaining 161,650 were Model 3s and Model Ys. During the quarter, a total of 179,757 new Tesla vehicles were produced.

While Tesla didn’t quite hit Musk’s goal of 500,000, these figures represent significant gains over previous years. Tesla increased deliveries by 36 per cent this year compared to 2019, a particularly impressive achievement when you consider just how crazy 2020 was.

Moreover, despite very narrowly missing the target, Tesla said it had “produced and delivered half a million vehicles, in line with our most recent guidance”, which Elon Musk said was a “major milestone”. In fact, Tesla manufactured more than 509,000 cars in 2020.

In a press release confirming the production and delivery numbers, the company added that production of the Model Y recently commenced at its Shanghai Gigafactory and that customer deliveries will “begin shortly.”

This year could be just as fruitful, if not more so, for Tesla. Just a few days ago, Musk and the transport minister of India revealed that the automaker will begin selling its vehicles in the country this year. India is the world’s fifth-largest auto market and its government is making efforts to promote electric vehicles, including a plan to offer $4.6 billion in incentives by 2030 to establish EV battery manufacturing sites in the country. A measly 3,400 electric vehicles were sold in India in 2019.

The first Tesla to be sold in India will be the Model 3, priced from 5.5 million Indian rupees (over $74,000).