Written by Bridie Schmidt / The Driven / 22 March 2019

Luxury carmaker Porsche has given fans a glimpse of it’s all-electric Taycan as it gears up to debut its premium electric vehicle this September 2019.

With the carmaker reporting that over 20,000 people have pre-ordered its first full electric vehicle, the Taycan will come equipped with an 800-volt system that will charge at rates of 350 kW – making recharging its battery a task that will take as little as 4 minutes to add an extra 100km range.

The interest has been so great that Porsche have already doubled initial production from 20,000 to 40,000.

Stefan Weckbach, head of battery electric vehicles at Porsche, says the emphasis in creating the Taycan has been on ensuring it is not set apart from its ICE counterparts by virtue of its electric powertrain.

“As the first fully electrical Porsche, the Taycan has to show that it is a fully­-fledged member of the Porsche brand,” he says. “Of course, this is a great challenge – and a huge expectation, both internally and externally.”

The camouflaged image appears to show a vehicle that differs somewhat from its concept version, the Mission E (although granted, this could be due to its wrap).

As part of a €6 billion ($A9.6 billion) investment in electromobility, the Taycan will Porsche says will also be joined by its second electric mode, an all-electric Macan, and will also be produced as in a crossover GT style.

It will be produced at Porsche’s Zuffenhausen car plant, which it has been readying for production and says will eventually operate as a totally carbon neutral factory and will provide an additional 5,000 jobs.

In addition to its pure electric drivetrains, Porsche says its hybrid models are also doing well – 60% of its Panameras sold in 2018 were “e-Hybrids”.

“In the 2018 financial year, our attractive product range enabled us to once again significantly increase deliveries. Porsche is synonymous with emotional petrol engines and high-performance plug-in hybrids; in the future it will be just known as well for pure electric drive systems,” said chair of Porsche AG’s executive board, Oliver Blume, in a statement to the press.

Energy Stuff specialises in Residential Solar with emphasis on Repairs, Replacements and upgrades. We also provide new systems, battery storage, Off-Grid systems and smart monitoring systems so call us if we can be of support 1300 656 205 or go to our website at http://www.energystuff.com.au

Written by James Wong / Car Advice / 20 March 2019

‘Electric vehicles can therefore serve as units of temporary energy storage and become key drivers in the development of renewable energy. In this way, the electricity grid optimizes the supply of local renewable energy and reduces infrastructure costs.’

French manufacturer Renault has announced its first large-scale pilot into reversible electric charging, kicking off in the Netherlands and Portugal.

In a statement released this week, the company says: “Our alternating-current technology has the particularity of placing the reversible charger inside vehicles, so it just requires a simple, inexpensive adaptation of the existing charging terminals”.

Renault will introduce a fleet of 15 Zoe electric hatchbacks (pictured) fitted with vehicle-to-grid charging during the course of this year.

The pilot programs will first launch in Utrecht in the Netherlands, and Porto Santo Island in Portugal this week. Further trials are scheduled to roll out in France, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden and Denmark.

For those unfamiliar with the idea of vehicle-to-grid charging, Renault describes it as the following:

Vehicle-to-grid charging—also called reversible charging—modulates the charging and discharging of electric-vehicle batteries in accordance with users’ needs and the grid’s supply of available electricity. Charging reaches its maximum level when the electricity supply exceeds demand, notably during peaks in production of renewable energy. But vehicles are also capable of injecting electricity into the grid during peaks in consumption.Electric vehicles can therefore serve as units of temporary energy storage and become key drivers in the development of renewable energy. In this way, the electricity grid optimizes the supply of local renewable energy and reduces infrastructure costs. At the same time, customers enjoy greener, more economical consumption of electricity and are financially rewarded for serving the electricity grid.

The French manufacturer says its pilot will lay the groundwork for its future vehicle-to-grid offerings, including underlining the technical and economic advantages of the technology, and establishing common standards to facilitate an industrial-scale rollout.

Renault also says the program will help it assess the “value of services produced for the local and national electricity grid” like encouraging the use of solar and wind energy, reducing infrastructure costs, and working on the legal framework of a mobile-energy-storage scheme.

Energy Stuff specialises in Residential Solar with emphasis on Repairs, Replacements and upgrades. We also provide new systems, battery storage, Off-Grid systems and smart monitoring systems so call us if we can be of support 1300 656 205 or go to our website at http://www.energystuff.com.au

Written by Bridie Schmidt / 7 March 2019 / The Driven

The most affordable version of Tesla’s Model 3 electric sedan is now available in the US, but there will still be a wait for those in other parts of the world, according to CEO and founder Elon Musk.

The Tesla Model 3 has been a game changer for the electric vehicle market, becoming the best-selling car in its class in 2018 and its arrival in Australia in mid-2019 will also mark a major milestone for the local automotive market.

With an asking price starting at $US35,000 (just under $A50,000 at today’s rates, but before GST and other add-ons)) before incentives and fuel cost savings, the addition of the “Standard range” Model 3 last week to Tesla’s US configurator was so gladly received it sent the EV maker’s website into meltdown.

Tesla also added a second upgraded version of the base Model 3 to its website, known as the “Standard Range Plus”, which for an additional $US2,000 gives the driver 20 miles (32km) more range, 10mph (16km/hr) higher top speed and a slightly faster acceleration of 0.3 seconds from 0-60mph (0-96.5km/hr).

However, although the more expensive Long Range and Performance versions of the Model 3 are now being delivered to long waiting customers in Europe and China, there will still be a wait for those wanting to purchase the cheaper versions.

Following the announcement of the Tesla Model 3 on Friday, Musk stated via social media channel Twitter that the base versions would arrive in Europe in around 6 months, with Asia in 6 to 8 months.

The Model 3 is slated to arrive in Australia in mid-2019, but it is expected that the Long Range and Performance will be the versions first made here in Australia, as has been the case overseas.

If the arrival of the base Model 3 follows the same delay as its appearance in China (about 4 months), this means that Aussies may not see the base Model 3 until early 2020.

That is of course dependent on when right hand drive versions of the base model begin production – Musk confirmed in a press conference on Friday that a blend of high and low-priced models would be in production at the same time, which suggests that the RHD base Model 3 production could start sooner than later.

With both the UK and Australia are patiently awaiting the start of RHD production, reports that Tesla has registered at least 2 RHD VINs has many reservation holders hopes up that a mid-2019 arrival in both countries will be achieved.

Of course, registration of VINs does not mean those cars have yet been built, but it is a step in the right direction.

When the base version of the Model 3 does arrive, it’s worth taking note that Musk himself has suggested that the Standard Range Plus version is better value for money.

“For a small amount more you can get basically a whole lot more like roughly 6% price increase gets you … almost 10% range increase and a 6% power increase and … mostly towards the premium interior,” he said at Friday’s press conference.

Worldwide, demand for the Model 3 is expected to be up to 500,000 units per year (annualised). Although Tesla has not released numbers of how many reservation holders there are in Australia, Musk said on Friday that those holding reservations would have first choice to purchase the base Standard Range Model 3 once it arrives.

Energy Stuff specialises in Residential Solar with emphasis on Repairs, Replacements and upgrades. We also provide new systems, battery storage, Off-Grid systems and smart monitoring systems so call us if we can be of support 1300 656 205 or go to our website at http://www.energystuff.com.au