Category: General

The Chinese battery maker Gotion unveiled more details on its new LMFP battery cell and pack.

 

Let’s see the press release.

 

New product release:Astroinno L600 battery can achieve a range of 1000km without relying on NCM material

At the opening ceremony, Dr. Qian Cheng, the executive president of Gotion Global, announced the company’s latest product, Astroinno L600 battery. Qian Cheng introduced that in order to break through the bottleneck of energy density of LFP battery, manganese doped as called lithium iron manganese phosphate(LMFP) was developed. Gotion has focused on the research and development of LMFP materials for the past decade. By utilizing co-precipitation,doping encapsulation technology, new granulation technology and new electrolyte additives, it has solved the problems of Mn leaching at high temperature, low electrical conductivity and low press density of LMFP batteries.In addition, the Cleveland Institute in Ohio, USA, has developed a new electrolyte for LMFP, which greatly improves the high-temperature cycling and storage performance. Using in-house developed LMFP materials and electrolyte, Gotion has successfully developed Astroinno L600 battery cell.

“Astroinno L600 LMFP cell achieves 240 Wh/kg in gravimetric energy density and 525Wh/L for volumetric energy density. It can achieve more than 4,000 cycles at room temperature and 1800 cycles at high temperature, easily achieves 18 minutes of fast charging, and pass all safety tests. Because of the high energy density of Astroinno battery, we can also achieve a range of 1,000km without relying on NCM material” said Cheng Qian, Gotion L600 battery cell are expected to start mass production in 2024.

Astroinno battery pack adopts the sandwich-structure double-sided liquid cooling technology and a minimalist design approach, which reduces the number of structural parts of the battery pack by 45% and lowers the weight of structural parts by 32%. The minimalist electrical design enables the length of the battery pack wiring harness to drop from 303 meters to 80 meters, which is only 26% of that of previous battery packs, but the volumetric cell to pack ratio has reached 76% and the pack energy density has reached 190Wh/kg, outperforming the energy density of NCM batteries currently on the market.In other words, without adopting the NCM battery system, Gotion High-Tech’s Astroinno battery pack has achieved a range of 1000km for the first time in the industry, and achieves over 1800 cycles of 18-minute fast charging.

 

 

On paper the Astroinno battery is quite impressive, with good energy density, long cycle life and great fast charging, all this with a cobalt-free chemistry.

Gotion is the most advanced battery cell maker specialized on LFP and LMFP battery cells by far, but it’s CATL and BYD that mass produce most of them. Volkswagen has been Gotion’s largest shareholder since 2020, which is funny, because both companies love to publish press releases about their future products.

 

Anyway, it’s nice to know that when Volkswagen finally gets serious about electric cars, the German automaker will have a good cobalt-free battery tech to power them. Meanwhile, BYD and CATL are already powering the electric revolution.

 

 

More info:

https://en.gotion.com.cn/news/company-news-260.html

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The UK car market saw plugin electric vehicles take 21.9% share of sales in April 2023, up from 16.2% year on year. Full battery electrics grew strongly in both share, and in volume. Overall auto volume was 132,990 units, up 11.6% YoY, though still down from the roughly 170,000 pre-2020 seasonal norm. The UK’s best selling BEV brand in April was Volkswagen.

April’s combined plugin result of 21.9% comprised 15.4% full battery electrics (BEVs), and 6.5% plugin hybrids (PHEVs). This compares with respective YoY shares of 16.2%, 10.8%, and 5.4%. We can see that BEVs have grown share strongly YoY, by over 1.4x.

Looking at volumes, against the backdrop of 11.6% YoY overall market growth, BEVs grew volume 59% to 20,522 units, and PHEVs grew 33%, to 8,595 units.

Most of the auto market’s volume growth, in fact, came from plugins. All other powertrains combined, only grew by 4% in volume YoY, and all non-plugins lost share. Diesel-only vehicles — already a fast diminishing slice of the market — fell in volume by over 13% YoY, to 5,825 units, and just 4.4.% share.

Bestselling BEV brands

Volkswagen was the UK’s bestselling BEV brand in April, led by the ID.3, which has recently been their top selling BEV model (and 4th BEV overall in 2022).

April’s runner up brand was MG, in large thanks to the popular new MG4, arguably Europe’s best value BEV, building on the success of the MG5, and the ZS.

Tesla, the long-term favourite, settled for 3rd spot in April, being in an off-month for international shipments. The Model Y, however, remains the year-to-date best selling BEV in the UK (and 7th overall), with 11,503 sales. Whilst March saw a huge 8,123 units, April dropped off to 1,550 units.

Beyond the normal monthly ebbs and flows resulting from varying international shipping schedules, there were no great changes in the popular brands in April. We can expect Tesla to jump to the top again, with large volumes, in June.

Let’s look at the longer term picture which evens out some of those monthly irregularities:

Here Tesla’s dominance of BEV brands is more clear, with twice the share of the next closest, MG Motor.

It’s a shame to see Renault fall so far from Grace. With the original Zoe, Renault was an absolute pioneer in EVs, regularly in the UK’s first or second spot a decade ago (along with the original Nissan Leaf).

The latest generation Zoe is still available, with a decent range (WLTP 238 miles, 383 km), but its slow charging speed versus rivals like the Stellantis cars (Peugeot e-208 and siblings), the VW ID.3, and now the MG4, is really making it seem technically outdated, especially for occasional longer trips. Renault also made missteps around cutting the Zoe’s active safety systems, leading it to drop its score in the ever-evolving EuroNCAP safety rankings — all important for a family car.

To recover, Renault will either need to quickly grow volumes of the new Megane (which seems unlikely), or need to wait for the upcoming Renault 5 BEV, currently due for European launch next year.

Group partner company Nissan has suffered a similar fate. Let us hope their upcoming CMF-B EV platform, which both the Renault 5, and an upcoming Nissan Micra successor, will be based on, can revive the fortunes of these two early BEV pioneers.

Talking of automotive groups, let’s look at the group performance in the UK BEV market:

Volkswagen group, with BEVs from Volkswagen brand, Audi, Cupra (and SEAT), Skoda, and Porsche (amongst others), is leading the trailing 3 months share, by a small margin over Tesla.

Over a longer time period, Tesla has been doing slightly better than Volkswagen Group until recently. The UK market, with its right-hand drive vehicles, is often delivered to in production batches, and we can only really look at full year results, or a trailing 12 month view, to get a balanced picture. In full year 2022, Tesla was about 19% ahead of Volkswagen Group on UK BEV volume. Over the most recent trailing 12 months to end-of-April 2023, the two are pretty much even. The good news for consumers is that both are growing volumes fast.

 

Outlook

The UK auto industry body, the SMMT, note that the annual growth in auto sales is one of the bright spots in an otherwise gloomy UK economy. The general UK economic outlook is currently for flat economic output in 2023, with a recent hopeful chance to avoid an outright recession, which is an improvement over how things looked a couple of months ago. It’s still one of the worst outlooks, globally.

For consumer spending, relevant to the auto market and EV sales, very high energy and food price inflation are weighing on consumer pocket books.

The SMMT’s April report notes that the very high electricity prices are now denting the growth trajectory of BEVs in the UK. The body has revised down its forecast for 2023 full year BEV market share, from 19.7%, down to 18.4%. The SMMT also repeats the need to improve UK charging infrastructure.

What are your thoughts on the UK’s transition to EVs? Please join in the conversation below.

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The German auto market saw plugin electric vehicles take 20.5% share in April, significantly down from 24.3% year on year. Full electrics, however, saw increased share, though were outweighed by a halving of plugin hybrid share, a result of recent policy adjustments. Overall auto volume in April was 202,947 units, 12.6% up YoY, though still one third below pre-2020 seasonal norms (around 305,000 units).  The bestselling full electric in April was the Volkswagen ID.4 / ID.5.

April’s combined plugin result of 20.5% comprised 14.7% battery electrics (BEVs), and 5.8% plugin hybrids (PHEVs). These figures compare YoY with 24.3%, 12.3%, and 12.0%. We see that — against a context of almost equal weighting a year ago — BEVs have since increased their share, and PHEVs have halved theirs.

Recall that Germany adjusted their incentive schemes for plugins, starting from January 1st this year. BEVs saw a modest trimming of support, but PHEVs had their ecobonus support cut entirely, amounting to a roughly 4,000€ effective increase in purchase cost for consumers. It was therefore fully expected that PHEV share would take a fall, and the YoY halving of share in April simply confirms this.

In terms of volume, BEVs outshone the overall auto market, growing 34% YoY to 29,740 units. Only plugless hybrids (HEVs) did similarly well, growing volume 36% YoY. Recall that HEVs are a transition technology that still derive 100% of their motive energy from hydrocarbons, and typically have no more than one or two kilometres of electric range. In the case of mild hybrids, they only have torque assist, not usually an outright electric mode.

As the market continues to settle down from the policy changes, we can expect PHEVs to recover slightly, and for BEVs alone to reach above 20% share by the end of Q3.

Bestselling BEVs

April’s bestselling BEV was the Volkswagen ID.4 / ID.5. The runner up was the smaller sibling, the Volkswagen ID.3,  and the Tesla Model Y came in third.

Apart from some shuffling of already established models, there is not much news to report from the top 20, and no new faces joined. Most models — in line with the overall market — saw more modest volumes in April, than in March.

Further down the rankings, the new Lexus RZ delivered its first 16 units to the German market, the only new BEV model to appear this month. April also didn’t see any fast-ramp-up growth stories from newer BEV models, with cars like the BYD Atto 3, and Smart #1 mainly just treading water (for now at least).

Let’s look at the normalised trailing 3-month model rankings:

Here, the Tesla Model Y shows its popularity, significantly ahead of even the second place Volkswagen ID.4 / ID.5.

There are not many significant changes in the top 20, apart from a couple of newish models that already climbed to claim their position in the rankings. One is the MG4 with, with first units delivered back in September, has now climbed to 11th spot. This is arguably Europe’s most affordable fully-competent BEV, so its fast climb to 11th is no great surprise.

Likewise, the BMW iX1, which debuted back in November, has already climbed to secure 16th spot, and has potential to go a bit higher. With the demise of the i3, the iX1 is now BMW’s most affordable BEV.

Just outside the top 20, currently in 24th, the new Ioniq 6 sedan (debuted in February) is already doing well, and may well regularly feature in the top 20 soon.

Let’s now check in on the manufacturing group performance:

Here, Volkswagen Group has a strong lead, from Tesla in second, the same top 2 positions as 3 months ago. Yet Volkswagen Group has grabbed an additional 1.8% share of the BEV market since then, while Tesla has maintained fairly steady share.

Mercedes Group leads the pack of followers, in third position, and has improved share of the BEV market, from close to 8% previously, to close to 12% now. BMW has likewise gained, from just over 5% share, to just over 8% share.

Conversely, both Stellantis, and Renault-Nissan, lost share over the period.

 

Outlook

The overall economic outlook in Germany is still cloudy, according to the latest data. Although February was more positive than had been feared, March was weaker, says ING. Some analysts fear that a decline in factory orders in March may signal a recession coming, even against the backdrop of a decently robust January and February. Overall inflation remains at 7.2%, with food and energy inflation that consumers are exposed to, much higher still.

The auto market’s 12.6% YoY growth was better than most other sectors, and the even stronger YoY growth in BEV share bodes well for the continuing transition to cleaner transport. The question will be whether the high inflation, and weak economy, will put a negative dampener on consumer sentiment. Especially for expensive purchases like cars, including BEVs.

What are your thoughts on Germany’s auto market, and transition to cleaner transport? Please join in the debate in the comments below.

The post April 2023 – Great month for the Volkswagen ID family in Germany first appeared on 🔋PushEVs.

Norway increased its plugin electric vehicle market share to 91.1% in April 2023, up from 84.2% year-on-year. The auto market is still settling down after policy changes that came in at the start of the year. Overall auto volume was 8,976 units,  down 7.7% year-on-year. The bestselling vehicle was, again, the Tesla Model Y.

 

This is the first time Norway has seen 3 consecutive months with combined plugin share staying above 90% (see graph below). April’s combined share of 91.1% comprised 83.3% full battery electrics (BEVs), and 7.8% plugin hybrids (PHEVs). This compares to respective YoY scores of 84.2%, 74.1%, and 10.1%. We can see that BEVs have continued to grow, whilst PHEVs have been squeezed.

Looking at unit volumes, against the background of a 7.7% overall market drop YoY, BEVs grew volume by 3.7% to 7,471 units. PHEVs shrunk in volume by some 28%, down to 703 units.

All other powertrains lost volume YoY, with petrol-only vehicles at their 2nd lowest volume of the modern era (just 112 units), and 3rd lowest share ever, just 1.25% of the auto market.

As we noted for the neighbouring Swedish market, plugless hybrids (HEVs) are now passée in Norway, such is the country’s advanced stage of the EV transition. Their share dropped from 7.3% to 4.4% YoY.

Recall that new tax changes have applied from January 1st. Although these introduced some BEV taxes for the first time, mostly falling on heavy and expensive BEV models, taxes fell harder still on vehicles with CO2 emissions. This is why, for example, we are seeing petrol-only models taking a steeper dive, relative to the diesels (and HEVs) which typically have slightly lower per-kilometre emissions ratings. PHEVs, with their middling emissions ratings, are taxed somewhere in between.

The auto market pattern should mostly resettle sometime in Q3, but there is also the confounding factor of the long time period between placing orders and taking deliveries (registrations). This can be 6 to 12 months or more in some cases (especially for BEVs), so the 2023 market will continue to be somewhat shaped by orders placed under the previous tax regime, perhaps into Q4 2023, or even Q1 2024. Nevertheless, we should get a decent sense of the new trend in powertrain shares, by the end of Q3 this year.

 

 

Bestselling BEVs

The Tesla Model Y took the top spot in April — the first time it has done so in the initial month of a new quarter. This is down to Tesla’s improved shipping logistics, thanks to increasing steady European supply coming from Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg. We can expect this pattern of more even monthly deliveries to continue to improve, though the Shanghai units, that continue for now to comprise a significant portion of Europe’s supply, will still arrive in peaks and troughs.

In second place was another favourite, the Volkswagen ID.4, and the third spot was taken by its sibling, the ID.Buzz.

 

In terms of notable performances, in the middle of the table, the Nissan Ariya registered its highest monthly volume to date, with 270 units, and may still have more room to grow.

Conversely, the Toyota BZ4x, which had claimed second place in March (with 1,016 units), seems to be suffering from international logistics irregularities (à la Tesla-of-old), and was back down to 225 units (and 12th spot) in April.

As for newcomer BEV models, just as we saw in neighbouring Sweden, the Toyota’s group sibling, the Lexus RZ450e made its debut in Norway in April. Although sharing most of the same underpinnings, the Lexus is slightly bigger, heavier, and a bit more powerful than the BZ4X, with more luxury (and price), at the cost of slightly lower range.

Due to having a relatively modest battery for a large-ish SUV (64 kWh usable), and underwhelming efficiency, the real-world range is not class leading, but may be enough for some folks, given Norway’s well developed DC infrastructure. Let’s see how it gets on.

We will now take a look at the longer term rankings:

In the trailing 3-month picture, the Tesla Model Y’s overall dominance is more clear to see (note that the Model Y still has to be trimmed to fit on the graph)! It has 5.4 times the volume of the runner up, Toyota BZ4X. Other models in the top 20 are mostly familiar faces, with no great surprises.

It’s interesting to see the Volkswagen ID.Buzz quickly becoming so popular, as the first “Minivan” BEV that is designed for families and private consumers (rather than commercial use, and taxis). It is looking like Volkswagen may succeed in its dream to reboot the popularity of the classic “transporter” van/bus that first launched with the “T1” way back in 1949.

 

Outlook

As we have discussed previously, having quickly become a more important fossil fuel exporter to Europe over the past year, Norway’s macro-economic situation is much more positive than that of its European neighbours. However, price inflation of traded products, including fuel and fuel, still affects the pocket-book of Norwegian consumers and families, including those considering auto purchases. Yet this is unlikely to put a noticeable dent in Norway’s EV transition in the medium to long term.

As discussed above, the auto market is currently resettling from the January 1st policy changes, and we will be able to get a sense of the new pattern by Q3. I would expect that — after September 2023 — plugins will only very rarely drop below 90% of the market. December should see closer to 95% than 90%, for the first time. In my view, the remaining few percent will still depend on new BEVs in the affordable sub-compact class (BYD Seagull anyone?), and a few other small niches (sports cars, farmers’ pickups, and others) to be filled out with compelling and relatively affordable BEV offerings.

What are your thoughts on Norway’s EV transition? Please join in the discussion below.

The post April 2023 – Plug-in car market share continues to grow in Norway first appeared on 🔋PushEVs.

Sweden’s plugin electric vehicle share reached 55.7% of the auto market in April, up from 48.2% year on year (YoY). Full electrics grew share strongly, whilst plugin hybrids lost share slightly. Overall auto market volume was 20,588 units, down some 6% YoY, and down 35% from pre-2020 seasonal norms. The bestselling full electric vehicle was the Volvo XC40.

 

April’s combined plugin result of 55.7% comprised 33.7% full battery electrics (BEVs), and 22.1% plugin hybrids (PHEVs). These shares compare, respectively, with YoY figures of 48.2%, 24.7%, and 23.4%. Thus, BEVs have grown share at a healthy clip, whilst PHEVs saw a slight trimming.

In terms of volumes, against a 6% shrinking overall market, BEVs increased YoY volume by some 28%, to 6,928 units. PHEVs lost just over 6% volume, thus shedding market share overall.

Whilst some other regions, less far along the EV transition, are seeing a rise in HEVs (plugless hybrids — a temporary transition technology), in Sweden (and Norway), this category is already becoming passé. Sweden’s HEV share dropped YoY from 11.5% to 8.3%.

Diesels also dropped share YoY, from 14.1% to 10.1%.

 

Bestselling BEVs

April’s bestselling BEV was the Volvo XC40, registering 695 units. This is the 5th time in the past 6 months the XC40 has taken the top spot.

The runners-up are the Volkswagen ID.4, and the Tesla Model Y, both close behind the Volvo.

 

 

Further down the rankings, the Toyota BZ4X — after 8 months of hiatus to resolve teething problems — has recently stepped up volume in Sweden, and hit a new high of 190 units in April (12th spot). The Lexus-brand variant of the BZ4X, called the Lexus RZ, also made its debut in Sweden in April, with a modest 12 units registered. It shares the same format and underpinnings as the BZ4X, but has greater motor power, is slightly larger and heavier (4805 mm long, and 2296 kg), with slightly less real-world range, and a higher price tag (from 67,000€ and up).

There was no other news about BEV newcomers. The Nio ET5, which first appeared last month with 6 units, is still just treading water for now, with 3 units in April.

Let’s look at the longer term sales charts:

 

 

Tesla significantly leads the trailing 3-month chart, with over 50% greater sales than the second placed Volvo XC40, thanks to a huge volume in March.

It is good to see a relatively affordable touring (or “estate”) BEV in 9th, the MG5. It seems this format may still be popular in some parts of Europe, though the MG5 is the only BEV example available so far.

The still-somewhat-new BMW iX1 (the brand’s most affordable BEV since the phasing out of the i3 in most markets) continues to make quiet but steady progress in Sweden. Since its November debut, it has already climbed into the top 20, and has recently posted monthly registration numbers between 120 and 150 units, with potential to climb further.

With few other new models arriving in volume, there are no major changes or large surprises in the charts since last month. Let’s keep an eye open for which, if any, new BEV models — in what volumes — might arrive later in the year and be able to shake up the rankings.

 

Outlook

The Swedish economy got a slight reprieve in Q1 with the Riksbank finding a (provisionally calculated) 0.3% growth YoY. This appears to point to a shallower and later economic downturn in 2023 than was previously expected. Despite this, consumer sentiment remains generally low, which will affect purchases in the auto market. This has already been mentioned by Mobility Sweden as the main reason for the 6.2% auto market shrinkage in April (and 9% decline YTD).

This climate combines with the November 2022 changes to the environmental bonus for plugin vehicles, which should start to be felt in Q3, once earlier backorders are worked through. We will have to see what happens to plugin  volume after that. As always, the long-term economics of plugins still has advantages, relative to plugless alternatives, at least for those consumers who are able to afford the higher initial entry-price.

What are your thoughts on Sweden’s EV transition and outlook? Please share your perspective in the comments below.

The post April 2023 – BEVs dominated car sales in Sweden first appeared on 🔋PushEVs.

France saw plugin electric vehicles take 21.1% share of the auto market in April, flat year-on-year, in a growing overall market. Full battery electrics, however, grew share, whilst plugin hybrids dropped share. Overall auto volume was 132,509 units, up some 22% YoY, though still far below pre-2020 seasonal norms (~183,000). The bestselling plugin was the Dacia Spring.

 

April’s combined plugin result of 21.1% comprised full battery electrics (BEVs) at 12.9%, and plugin hybrids (PHEVs) at 8.2%. These compare with respective YoY figures of 21.1%, 11.7%, and 9.4%. We can see that BEVs are still growing decently, whilst PHEVs are sliding.

In volume terms, against an overall market up 22%, BEV volume grew almost 35% YoY, to 17,112 units. PHEVs only grew volume by 6% YoY (to 10,878 units), trailing broader market growth, and thus losing share.

Diesel share shrank to a new record low of 10.5% (from 15.8% YoY). Petrol share however took up some of the slack, and grew to 40.4%, the highest level seen since July 2021! This is temporary, the clear long-term trend remains declining combustion-only share over time.

 

Bestselling BEVs

After Tesla’s record French volume push in March, other brands had a chance to shine in April. The diminutive Dacia Spring was back on top, with 2,432 units, followed by the Peugeot 208 in second, and the Fiat 500 in third.

 

 

There were no newcomers in the top 20, and most models saw a decline in sales volume compared to the end-of-quarter push in March. In fact, the only notable newcomer to the French market was the BYD Atto 3, with just 5 initial units for sampling. We will have to wait till later in the year for new models to be launched in volume.

 

Let’s now look at the trailing 3 months:

 

Here we find most of the usual faces, with some mild shuffling of ranking. The Tesla Model Y remains on top, largely thanks to its March performance. The Renault Megane has dropped off slightly in rank (and volume), from second to fifth, though mainly because the limited factory production is no longer just concentrated in the domestic market, but is now being shared across several European markets.

The movements in model ranking are modest and unremarkable, so I will skip the snakes-and-ladders analysis this time around.

That the Tesla Model Y is now dominating the French BEV market, remains remarkable. This is 1.5x to 2x the price of most other BEV models in the top 10, and almost 3x the price of traditionally popular vehicles. This goes to show the importance of — not just offering a compelling value BEV (as others in the top 20 are also, e.g. the MG4) — but producing it in large enough volume to meet all potential demand and avoid long wait queues.

 

Outlook

The French economy is not in a great place, but better than many of its neighbours. Inflation  remains high but somewhat stable at just under 6%. Economic activity remains sluggish, with just 0.6% growth forecast for 2023.

The auto market, with 22% YoY growth in April, is thus outperforming other areas of the economy and is a relative bright spot. Much of this is of course a rebound from the constrained auto supply chains of the past year or two. After the backlog of delayed orders is worked through, let’s look again at the auto market trend to see how it compares with the broader economy.

For those vehicle owners able to access time-of-use electricity rates, and able to afford the up-front price premium of a plugin vehicle, they remain better long-term value propositions than combustion alternatives. Continued growth in plugin market share will depend on energy price trends and consumer purchasing power — both shaped by the broader economic conditions.

What are your thoughts on France’s transition to EVs? Please jump in to the conversation below.

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The JAC Yiwei 3 is an electric hatchback in the B-segment that will arrive in June with LFP batteries, but a version powered by a sodium-ion battery is already confirmed to arrive at a later date.

 

Let’s see some known specs of the initial versions.

 

• Dimensions: 4.025 mm (length), 1.770 mm (height) and 1.560 mm (width)
• Wheelbase: 2.620 mm
• Seats: 5
• Motor: 70 and 100 kW
• Top speed: 150 km/h
• Range under CLTC: 305, 405 and 505 km (600 km version will come later)
• Battery type: LFP (LiFePO4) battery by Guoxuan Hi-Tech

 

The price of the initial versions with LFP batteries is expected to start at 100.000 yuan (13.117 euros).

Having 4 battery options adds production complexity, so I expect that later this year there will be only a sodium-ion battery version with around 405 km range and a LFP battery version with around 600 km range. Translated to WLTP this would be around 300 km for the budget version and 450 km for the long range version, which seems to hit the sweet spot.

Sodium-ion batteries can be charged faster than LFP, but since they’ll be used in budget versions, I don’t know if automakers will fully unleash their power.

 

Anyway, JAC Yiwei 3 will be renamed as EV3 or E30X for exportation. This hatchback will be a direct alternative to electric cars such as the Peugeot e-208 and the Renault ZOE.

 

I expect to see a lot of A and B segment electric cars powered by sodium-ion batteries announced this year. Exciting times.

 

 

More info:

https://carnewschina.com/2023/05/03/nios-manufacturer-jac-to-start-sales-of-yiwei-3-budget-ev-in-june/

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The Wuling Bingo was launched on March 29 in China with a starting price of 59.800 yuan (7.887 euros) and had 522 units delivered in March and 16.383 units in April.

This impressive small electric car is a direct alternative to the BYD Seagull.

 

Let’s see some details.

 

• Length × width × height: 3.950×1.708×1.580 mm
• Wheelbase: 2.560 mm
• Curb weight: 990 kg (lightest version) and 1.125 kg (heaviest version)
• Tire specifications: 185/60 R15
• Seats: 4
• Drive motor type: AC permanent magnet synchronous motor
• Drive motor maximum power: 30 kW (low level version) or 50 kW (high level version)
• Maximum torque of drive motor: 110 Nm (low level version) or 150 N.m (high level version)
• Top speed: 100 km/h (limited by firmware)
• Range under CLTC: 203 km (low level version) and 333 km (high level version)
• Battery capacity: 17,3 kWh (low level version) and 31,9 kWh (high level version)
• Battery type: LFP (LiFePO4) battery
• Fast charging time: 35 minutes from 30 to 80 % (high level version)
• AC charging: 3,3 kW
• Starting prices: 58.800 – 83.800 yuan (7.887 – 11.048 euros)

 

Small cars were very popular in Europe before automakers began to force customers into buying more profitable and bigger cars, such as SUVs and CUVs. Hopefully, the A-segment will become popular again with its electrification.

The BYD Seagull and the Wuling Bingo are great representatives of the electric A-segment, however its champion might come from Chery, since this automaker is the first customer for CATL’s sodium-ion batteries. Chery is already the biggest exporter of Chinese passenger cars and a small global electric car powered by a sodium-ion battery will help to reinforce its position.

Am I the only one to think that we need the A-segment to become popular again? Many people still think that electric cars are toys for the rich, and legacy automakers are the ones to blame for this.

 

 

More info:

https://carnewschina.com/2023/05/01/gms-rival-to-byd-seagull-scores-in-china-wuling-bingo-delivered-16383-units-in-april/

https://www.wuling.com/binguo.html

The post Wuling Bingo had a good sales month first appeared on 🔋PushEVs.

With the Seagull, BYD wants to dominate the electric A-segment market, first in China, then other countries.

 

Let’s see some details of this small electric car.

 

• Length × width × height: 3.780×1.715×1.540 mm
• Wheelbase: 2.500 mm
• Wheel base front/rear: 1.500 mm
• Minimum turning radius: 4,9 meters
• Tire specifications: 165/65 R15 (entry level version) and 175/55 R16 (for mid and high level versions)
• Seats: 4 (rear seat folds in one piece)
• Drive motor type: AC permanent magnet synchronous motor
• Drive motor maximum power: 55 kW
• Maximum torque of drive motor: 135 N.m
• 0-50 km/h acceleration time: 4,9 seconds
• Range under CLTC: 305 km (entry and mid level versions) and 405 km (high level version)
• Battery capacity: 30,08 kWh (entry and mid level versions) and 38 kWh (high level version)
• Battery type: module-less LFP (LiFePO4) battery (BYD Blade)
• Fast charging time: 30 minutes from 30 to 80 %
• DC charging: 30 kW (entry and mid level versions) and 40 kW (high level version)
• AC charging: 6,6 kW
• Wireless keys: bluetooth and NFC
• Air conditioner: efficient heat pump
• Interior and exterior lights: LED, except in the entry level version the headlights are halogen
• Rear parking sensors: 3
• Reversing camera system: standard
• Cruise control system: standard
• Vehicle warranty: Lifetime warranty for the electric system (first owner), and the warranty period for the whole vehicle is 6 years or 150.000 kilometers

 

Safety equipment (optional in the high level version)

• Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC)
• Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB)
• Lane Departure Warning (LDW)
• Traffic Sign Recognition (TSR)
• Intelligent Speed ​​Limit Alarm (ISLI)
• Forward Collision Warning (FCW)

 

Starting prices

• Entry level version: 78.800 yuan (10.445 euros)
• Mid level version: 83.800 yuan (11.108 euros)
• High level version: 95.800 yuan (12.699 euros)

 

The BYD Seagull shares much of its equipment with the Dolphin and the e2 – that are also part of the Ocean series. The lifetime warranty is probably referring to a 3 in 1 electric system, which includes the motor, motor control unit (MCU/inverter) and the gearbox, but it isn’t clear from the translation of the Chinese website.

 

Anyway, if the high level version comes to Europe for the same price of the Dacia Spring, it will have no problem dominating the A-segment market. The BYD Seagull is an awesome small electric car.

What do you think?

 

 

More info:

https://www.bydauto.com.cn/pc/carDetail/config?id=91

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