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Electrify America Is Shutting Down All Its 150-350kW Chargers Due To Potential Cable Defects (cnet.com)
Electrify America, a Volkswagen subsidiary created as part of the German automaker's $2 billion settlements with California Air Resources Board (CARB) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over its use of emission test cheating devices in its diesel vehicles, is shutting down all of its high-powered 150- and 350-kilowatt electric chargers due to a potential manufacturing defect with the liquid-cool charging cables. CNET reports: The cables in question come from a supplier called Huber+Suhner. Electrify America's release didn't specify what the defect might be or whether any injuries or damage had occurred. "The safety of our customers is our highest priority," said Giovanni Palazzo, president and CEO of Electrify America. "Out of an abundance of caution, Electrify America is shutting down all of our stations that use the Huber+Suhner high-powered cables until we can confirm that they can be operated safely. We are confident that Huber+Suhner will investigate and resolve this issue as quickly as possible." Thankfully, 50-kilowatt CCS chargers, Level 2 chargers, and CHAdeMO units will still be running.
E-Tron is a 5-seater with an interior space is only slightly more than Model 3 (the driver's seat and dash are further back from the front end than in the Model 3, eating up its extra ~30cm length, and part (though only part) of its extra height is a mix of ground clearance and pack thickness; width is basically the same). It does get a larger boot however due to its reduced rear taper (though smaller than the Model S's - 605 vs. 894L; Model 3's is 424L). Overall space is far smaller than a Model X. Yet its energy consumption is way higher than even Model X, which is not only much larger, but also uses an inefficient induction motor (unlike the Model 3). It's just a crazy level of consumption for a 5-seat vehicle. Nothing short of an electric F350 should use that much power on WLTP.
Remember that when someone uses the term "CUV" (or more misleadingly, "SUV", although that's outright wrong), that's a statement of form factor, not size. Even the Kona has been being referred to as a "SUV", and that thing is quite small.
"Are you hungry? I haven't eaten since later this afternoon." -- Primer
As defined by EV charging standard SAE J1772:
Level 1: 120VAC (nominal) up to ~2KW
Level 2: 208-240VAC (nominal) up to ~20KW
After that you have "quick chargers" which there is multiple standards for, and all bets are off. They usually involve putting power directly into the battery, bypassing the vehicle's on-board charging hardware.
=Smidge=
A "Tesla killer" needs to have a decent price point (the long range Model 3 is still on the expensive side), with good range. Good range means that it'll fill your need as a daily driver under any condition, without ever having to worry about a roadside top-up of the battery. If you have that, fast charging isn't even that important for most people; just look at the insane demand for the Hyundai Kona which has good range (> 400km WLTP) but only charges at 50kW max (some say 70kW, not sure if that's the case). There's quite a few people who'll say Tesla's superfast charging is a must-have, but those are generally people who drive their car all day, like sales reps or taxi drivers. Tesla taxis are a very common sight here.
On the short range end, I really wonder how well the Tesla 3 will sell. It might still be too expensive compared to what the competition is offering.
If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
1. Your "cheaply built saloon" has the highest resale value retention of any car in the US in the US, from a company with the highest owner satisfaction. But don't let facts interfere with a good attack line.
2. Model 3 is on sale in Europe. First customer cars arrive in Europe on a week from now.
1. There are two primary factors that determine how long you're waiting at charging stations on a road trip: A) the charging power, and B) your vehicle's consumption. As described above, E-Tron is such a guzzler that even if it can charge on 175kW stations it still would only charge at 3/5ths the number of miles/kilometers per minute. Of course, most CCS stations are far from 175kW.
2. "Soon be everywhere" is a funny statement. You know that Ionity network that's supposed to be making them in Europe? You may be surprised to know that the vast majority of what they're actually building is only CCS v1 (capped out at 200A, not 500A as in CCS v2). It's not even clear that they support 800-1000V yet either, rather than just 400-500V. The "350kW" moniker is designed to be a "later upgrade"; they're 350kW "design intent".
3. Even if this weren't the case, they're years behind the Supercharger network.
They've pointed out that all of their current production can take powers well faster than current superchargers can deliver, which is ~117kW. The onboard computer, when put into factory mode, shows a current limit of 525A, which would be ~180kW, give or take.
"Are you hungry? I haven't eaten since later this afternoon." -- Primer
Charging parked BEVs would be a good application for solar in appropriate climates. Use solar panels as a roof over those large office parking lots where the cars sit all day, and you could do a substantial amount of charging. At the same time, shaded parking is highly valued in such climates, and generally only available to neurosurgeons. Every week in here we get another article telling us how solar is too cheap to meter, so how hard can this be?
So far, I have seen one example of this idea in use, at one of the large Krogers in Phoenix.
I'm over here in China (been here for a week), and right now in Shenzhen and Xiamen, most of the cabs are BAIC electrics. I was in one, when the driver asked if we can "change the battery". Of course! We drove to a station, drove into a little "stall", heard stuff underneath for about 3 minutes, then drove away. Swapped the entire battery pack. That makes a BEV a bit more useful... Telsa needs to get off their "supercharger" kick and either get with the new high-power standard here (350 kW) or a swappable battery like BAIC, BYD, and others use (which all use the same, standardized battery pack of 60 kWh size).
Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
Not exactly. An SUV is by most definitions built on a truck chassis.
Nope. The first unibody SUV was the 1983 Jeep Cherokee, few would even attempt to argue that it's not a SUV.
What a SUV is not is based on a car. If it's unibody, it's got to be a unique one, or at least so changed from the original that it's unrecognizable. Of course, VW blurs that line, too.
CUVs are clearly car-based SUVs, but there's no firm definition for what an SUV is. It's really just marketing.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"