electric car and transport, wire news

[moinsdewatt]

Volvo Trucks takes the turn of the electric, with a production based ... in France

Julie Thoin-Bousquié Factory New the 13 / 04 / 2018

The Swedish automotive brand is starting the electrification of its range with its first commercial vehicle, the FL Electric. Intended for urban uses, it will be produced on the French site of Blainville-sur-Orne, not far from Caen.

After shaking up car manufacturers, Tesla, again, shook the world of road transport by presenting its prototype of an electric semi-trailer at the end of 2017. Called "Semi", this vehicle with a range (announced) of 800 kilometers should be produced in December 2019, warned Elon Musk. Faced with this new competition, the traditional players are therefore all embarking on a massive scale, like the manufacturers of private vehicles, in the electrification of their ranges. The German Mercedes-Benz Trucks has thus delivered a few examples of its 100% electric Urban e-Truck to customers in the context of tests.

For its part, Volvo Trucks presented its first 12% electric truck, the FL Electric, on Thursday April 100 in the city of Gothenburg in Sweden. Equipped with two to six batteries as needed, the FL Electric has a maximum range of 300 kilometers. With this first vehicle, the manufacturer of heavy goods vehicles is initially targeting urban use. Not without reason: "I believe that in the near future, manufacturers will all offer an electrified version of trucks intended to meet uses in the city, such as for example the distribution or collection of household waste", insists Claes Nilsson, president from Volvo Trucks to L'Usine Nouvelle.

An opinion shared by the officials of the municipality of Gothenburg, who see in the development of electric trucks a means of reducing polluting emissions, of course, but also noise pollution and traffic. "By being quieter, these vehicles can be used early in the morning or in the evening, or even at night. This will have a positive effect on the congestion of cities", wants to believe Ann-Sofie Hermansson, the mayor of the Swedish locality.

Tricolor production

FL Electric sales should begin in 2019, with production based ... in France, at the Renault Trucks site - which is owned by Volvo - in Blainville-sur-Orne in Calvados. A logical choice, since Volvo Trucks' FE and FL range vehicles are already produced on this site. Overall, Volvo and Renault Trucks should benefit from synergies in the electrical sector, confirms Claes Nilsson. "There is no doubt that we will share the electrical technology with other entities of the Volvo group", indicates the Swedish boss, who points to the fact that Volvo Trucks "already shares the technology with the Volvo Bus division". Since 2010, this Volvo subsidiary has already marketed 3 500% electric buses.

At Volvo Trucks, however, no figures relating to sales or market share targets are given. "The growth of our sales will depend entirely on the evolution of the demand", justifies Claes Nilsson, which counts on a "limited increase in the production of FL Electric to be sure that the quality is there". The additional cost of an electric vehicle compared to a traditional diesel is probably not for nothing in the caution displayed by the manufacturer of heavy trucks. According to Tobias Bergman, manager in charge of alternative transmission systems at Volvo Trucks, the cost difference between electric and diesel solutions could however narrow by 2025. Enough to take off the embryonic market for electric trucks.

https://www.usinenouvelle.com/article/v ... ue.N679494

[moinsdewatt]

UPS announces "end of end" of heat engine dependency

Bernard DEBOYSER 10 Apr 2018

The American logistics giant is showing more and more its preference for electric mobility. After ordering 125 Tesla trucks and announcing its decision to develop its own electric vehicles, the company mentions in a recent statement the "beginning of the end of dependence on thermal engine vehicles".



With more than 35.000 trucks or vans in operation, UPS, the global 1 courier company, operates one of the world's largest commercial vehicle fleets. For several years now, the company has been experimenting and testing the use of electric vehicles. But until recently his progress towards the electrification of his fleet was still slow. At present, less than 1% of the famous brown vehicles with the UPS logo are electric. After the record order of 125 Tesla electric trucks passed end of December 2017, UPS seems however to have taken a decisive turn. In February, the company announced in a statement its decision to embark on the development of its own models of electric delivery vans. This project will be done in partnership with the manufacturer Workhorse Group Inc. with which UPS already collaborates since 4 years.

"Electric vehicle technology is improving rapidly with advancements in battery, charging and smart grid technology that allow us to design delivery vehicles by eliminating emissions, noise and dependence on diesel and diesel fuel. gasoline, "said Carlton Rose, fleet manager for UPS. The 50 first vehicles of the series will have an autonomy of 160 km and tested this year on urban courses located in Atlanta, Los Angeles or Dallas. "We see this vehicle as a major shift in the field of the electric truck. It is also a first, because its purchase cost, without any subsidy, is comparable to that of a thermal model "added Carlton Rose who also underlines that the running costs will be significantly lower than those of vehicles with diesel engine or gasoline.

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http://www.automobile-propre.com/ups-an ... thermique/

[moinsdewatt]

Japanese police receive a fleet of Nissan Leaf

20/04/2018


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http://www.moteurnature.com/29346-la-po ... issan-leaf

[moinsdewatt]

Volkswagen orders 40 billion euros

Michael TORREGROSSA 4 May 2018

While announcing in mid-March that it has selected partners in Europe and China for an order for 20 billion euros of battery cells, the German group has just announced that it has raised this amount to 40 billion.

As a result of chance or deliberate action, Volkswagen's announcement comes just days after Tesla's presentation of its quarterly financial results.

By 2025, Volkswagen and its various brands intend to sell 3 million electric vehicles per year, Herbert Diess announced at the annual General Assembly of the group, adding to want to bring its order batteries to 40 billion euros, twice more than what was announced just six weeks ago. Faced with Tesla and a dieselgate that continues to pursue, the German group now out of financial strength to win in a market on which it has fallen far behind.

"By 2020, we will be offering our customers more than 25 new electric models and more 20 plug-in hybrids," confirmed Herbert Diess to the group's shareholders.

Arrival of the MEB platform, participation in Ionity for the high-power load, investment in batteries, transformation of its industrial sites ... if Volkswagen is definitely not one of the pioneers of the electric, the arsenal that it is in the process of put in place risk of hurting!

http://www.automobile-propre.com/breves ... rds-euros/

[Bardal]

Yes, no doubt, it will once again be very painful. French employers are reputed to be one of the most stupid in the world, it will probably wake up too late ...

Although, in Germany, electricity is highly carbonaceous (CO2 emissions nearly 10 times higher than those of the French kWh), their electric vehicles will emit more CO2 than ordinary diesel current; we understand very well why Germany is so opposed to a carbon tax.

Remain our great political leaders, who consider themselves the most effective and the best in the world ...

[moinsdewatt]

Batteries: Renault and Nissan turn to Chinese CATL

Michael TORREGROSSA 11 May 2018

Nothing seems to stop the rise of Chinese manufacturers in the battery sector. Already a supplier of several European manufacturers, including BMW, Volkswagen and Daimler, CATL has signed a new contract with Renault and Nissan according to the Japanese newspaper Nikkei.

Under the terms of the agreement, CATL will produce the Sylphy batteries, an 100% electric sedan presented by Nissan at the Beijing Motor Show. First electric car of the assembled manufacturer in China, it is expected in the course of the second half of this year and loads 38 kWh of batteries.

At Renault, the Kangoo ZE should be equipped. At this stage, it is not clear whether CATL will fully replace Korean LG, the current supplier of Kangoo packs, or whether the agreement will only affect certain markets. Ditto about the possible improvement of the capacity of the pack, brought to 33 kWh last year.

Offering cells for light vehicles, trucks and buses, CATL is expected to finalize a new 2 billion dollar fundraiser by the summer. What to accelerate its offensive on the European and American markets where the manufacturer aims to install factories production.

From 23 GWh to 2017, CATL plans to bring its annual production capabilities to 30 GWh by the end of 2019 and 50 GWh by the end of 2020. If Europe wants to launch its Airbus battery, we will have to hurry ...

http://www.automobile-propre.com/breves ... nois-catl/

[moinsdewatt]

Mercedes will produce a "compact" electric car in France

Michael TORREGROSSA 18 May 2018

Formalizing a new investment of 500 million in electro-mobility, Daimler announced the production of a new electric car in France. A first for Mercedes in the hexagon.

This future electric car of the EQ range, presumably the EQA, will be assembled in Hambach, Moselle, on the same site as the current Smart ForTwo and ForFour electric. "With the inauguration of the Hambach site, we started 20 years ago as an exemplary Franco-German project. Today, we are going one step further with, for the first time in our century-old history, the production of a Mercedes-Benz in France, "said Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Directors Daimler AG.

In total, the manufacturer intends to invest nearly 500 million euros devoted to the adaptation of the industrial tool and the construction of new buildings with the latest technologies in production. Preparatory work should start soon.

"As part of our electrical offensive, the production of a compact electric vehicle in Hambach brings our manufacturing capacity to 6 sites spread across 3 continents. Hambach is integrating our compact vehicle production network alongside the Rastatt Leader plant, "added Markus Schäfer, Member of the Executive Board and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars plants worldwide.

For the Daimler Group, this announcement is part of a huge drive for electric mobility. While Smart will be exclusively electric in Europe starting from 2020, Mercedes plans to market more 10 electric-powered models on all types of segments, from smart to SUV, by 2022. For 2025, the group estimates that its electric models could represent between 15 and 25% of its sales worldwide.

http://www.automobile-propre.com/breves ... te-france/

[moinsdewatt]

The VW brand expects to sell 1 million electric cars a year by 2025

Usine Nouvelle the 28 / 05 / 2018

The VW brand of Volkswagen Group plans to sell more than 1 million electric cars a year by 2025. The brand relies in particular on the European and Chinese markets to achieve this goal.
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read: https://www.usinenouvelle.com/article/v ... es.N699234

[moinsdewatt]

Daimler unveils a big electric truck

Posted on 07 / 06 / 2018 New Factory by Eric M. Johnson and Ilona Wissenbach


Roger Nielsen, the CEO of Daimler Trucks North America. Daimler unveiled Wednesday Freightliner eCascadia, a big electric truck that he promises to produce in 2021. / Photo taken on 6 June 2018 / REUTERS / Eric Johnson

FRANKFURT / PORTLAND (Reuters) - Daimler unveiled on Wednesday a big, all-electric truck that it promises to produce in 2021, a big competitor for other European automakers and Tesla.

Daimler said that its eCascadia Freightliner, with a range of up to 400 km and a gross weight of 36 tons, would be suitable for regional distribution.

The group also unveiled a Freightliner eM2 106, a medium-duty truck with a range of up to 370 km, designed for local distribution, food and beverage delivery, and "last mile" logistics services. .

Daimler said it will deliver some 30 trucks to some of its customers for field testing later this year and plans to start production by 2021.

Tesla plans to launch that of his big electric truck in 2019. Other manufacturers, including Navistar International and its partner Volkswagen, are also working on similar models.

Industry analysts say China could be the main market for such trucks.

Commercial trucks can travel up to 170.000 km per year and Tesla has promised a saving of 20% on current operating costs per mile (1,6 km).

Analysts have said that truck operating costs continue to fluctuate and that Tesla's expected savings may not be as significant.

Daimler's heavy-duty division had previously announced the creation of a research and development (R&D) center dedicated to autonomous driving in the United States.

Engineers at the new Portland, Oregon site will use R&D resources from Daimler Trucks in Germany and India to create a global network of hundreds of autonomous driving specialists, the group said on Wednesday.

Daimler will invest more than 2,5 billion euros in R&D of its truck business by 2019, of which more than 500 million will be devoted to heavy-duty electric vehicles, connectivity and autonomous driving, including the new Portland site, he said.

"We are experimenting with all the technologies for automated vehicles, which make roads safer and help heavy-duty companies increase their productivity," said Sven Ennerst, manager of truck engineering at Daimler.

These announcements were made during Daimler Trucks Capital Market and Technology Day in Portland, where the division already has a large R&D center.

https://www.usinenouvelle.com/article/d ... ue.N703494

[Remundo]

I'm not very sure that convoys 36 tons always run less than 400 km ... not to mention the management of such an elephant failed at the edge of a road out of batteries 10 km from the target ... Electric traction is good, the hybrid is better!

Generator sets, they do not know at Daimler? Warum nicht ein Stromaggregat?