Global boosts for EV development, but it's not a totally smooth road ahead.
Europe is predicting growth in 48-Volt mild hybrids in the short-term, according to a report by Strategy Analytics. Despite a huge rise in EVs, model driving range and recharging times will limit a mass conversion from diesel to battery electric overnight. However, in the UK, the Chancellor delivered a significant boost to the nation's EV infrastructure as part of his Budget speech, with announcements of new money being made available.
Shell's Recharge station Image: Insideev |
Amongst the manufacturers, Nissan, in partnership with ENEL, is developing a Vehicle to Grid system which has a special two-way charger and energy management system.
Owners will be able to charge at low-demand, cheap tariff periods, with an option to then use the electricity stored in the vehicle’s battery at home when costs are higher, or even feed back to the grid to generate additional household income.
Meanwhile, Shell has taken the bold step of introducing rapid chargers at some of its major fuel stations around London, with plans to add 10 further sites in the South East England.The 50kW DC Chargers are branded Shell Recharge and are based on sites where cafe and shopping facilities are also available.
Shell has made it's charging point intentions clear with news of the company's acquistion of NewMotion, one of Europe's larges EV charging providers. NewMotion already operates more than 80,000 private and public charging points with a presence across 25 European countries.
An in Germany, Sortimo is planning to build the largest electric vehicle fast-charging station in the world in 2018 with capacity to charge 4,000 cars in a single day. Located in “the industrial area in Bavarian-Swabia, between Ulm and Augsburg” the site plans include places to rest, eat, shop and work.
The German website claims: “Of the planned 144 charging columns, 24 are to be superfast chargers, with a charging capacity of record-breaking 350 kilowatts, so that a vehicle battery can be charged in a few minutes."
Further afield, Chian's chronic air pollution has led to a further boost for the EV market, with the country's tougher limits on vehicle emissions now mandating 8% of auto makers' sales to consist of zero (tailpipe) emission vehicles by 2019.
China's Sinopec and PetroChina are likely to see the biggest impact from the latest regulations, with the former's petrol sales around a quarter of the company's total revenue. PetroChina controls around 20,000 of the nation's petrol stations. However, in 2016, EVs still only accounted for less than 2% of China's vehicle market share, partly caused by a bottleneck in battery production.
Meanwhile in the US, a Republican tax bill proposal aims to eliminate current federal EV tax incentives worth up to $7,500 per vehicle. The proposal won't affect state EV incentives; good news for California - one of several Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEV) States - which is aiming for 4.5% of EV sales in Model Year 2018 and 22% of sales in Model Year 2025.
Navigant senior research director John Gartner stated: "The next two years are a critical time as OEMs are increasing the number of EV models available and make the technology mainstream. The existing tax credit would make the total cost of buying and operating an EV competitive with combustion-engine vehicles and is essential for consumers to consider purchasing zero-emission technology."
And finally, Tesla is reporting that only 260 of its latest Model 3 range were produced due to "production bottlenecks", well below its 1,500 target for the Quarter. The company hasn't provided an updated prediction for its future production capacity.