The management consultancy McKinsey has disassembled and analysed ten popular electric cars from Chinese manufacturers for a new study. From this, the consultants derived some interesting statements on possible profits and the market prospects of international manufacturers.
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The latest Electric Vehicle Index by McKinsey establishes China as the leader in electric mobility. In 2017, almost every second PEV sold was registered in China, where more than 600,000 plug-in cars found buyers.
Read moreNew chassis for EVs: ZF has taken the wraps off its intelligent rolling chassis (IRC), offering a flexible platform for urban electric vehicles. The first EV to build on it, will be Rinspeed’s Oasis (we reported), which was shown at the CES 2017.
zf.com
Pushing range: Samsung SDI presented its battery pack featuring new cells at the NAIAS in Detroit. The battery is said to allow for up to 600 km of range and can be charged up to 80 percent in just 20 minutes. Serial production start is scheduled for 2021.
yonhapnews.co.kr, businesswire.com
Battery price drop: According to the new study “Electrifying insights: how automakers can drive electric vehicle sales and profitability” by McKinsey, the cost for EV batteries dropped around 80 percent between 2010 and 2016. It currently lies by about 230 dollars per kWh. Moreover, 75 percent of German buyers have more confidence in established carmakers as opposed to newcomers when considering buying an electric car.
mckinsey.de (complete study)
Mysterious order: Castings specialist KS HUAYU AluTech GmbH, a member of German Rheinmetall Automotive, will manufacture components for battery boxes made from aluminium diecastings for an unnamed premium supplier. The boxes will be used in an all-electric SUV, as well as in an electric sportscar. The contract is said to be worth 65m euros, with production to kick off mid-2018.
rheinmetall-automotive.com
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EVs made in Germany: McKinsey’s latest Electric Vehicle Index (EVI) saw Germany overtaking Japan and becoming the second largest EV manufacturer behind leading USA. The consultants had a word of warning for the German carmakers though, to not concentrate their efforts on plug-in hybrids as the uptake of all-electric cars is much stronger, particularly in North America.
motor-traffic.de (In German), mckinsey.de (In German)
Fuel cell buses in Canada: Researchers from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have issued a full report on their two-year trial of fuel cell electric buses (FCEB) in Whistler, Canada (we reported). The 20 FCEB ran for 22 hours a day, thus reeling off three million kilometres.
greencarcongress.com
Refillable battery: Researchers from Argonne National Laboratory and the Illinois Institute of Technology have developed liquid electrodes. The new batteries, which in theory will be able to store five times more energy, could be recharged conventionally and refuelled like gasoline.
technologyreview.com
Pomegranate-like anode design: Researchers at Stanford University and the Department of Energy believe a new design inspired by pomegranates could open up the use of silicon or other volume changing materials as anodes for lithium batteries.
sciencedaily.com, greencarcongress.com
Opel range extender: The German arm of GM’s Vauxhall brand will present a new three-cylinder engine at the Geneva Motor Show. While it will primarily be used to power the small Adam model, it could soon become a lighter and more economical range extender for the Opel Ampera and GM Volt.
greencarreports.com
