1184: First VW ID.4 Made In America | 19 Aug 2021 - a podcast by EV News Daily

Show #1184.

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Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Thursday 19th August. It’s Martyn Lee here and I go through every EV story so you don't have to.

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- The first VW ID.4 electric SUV pre-production units have rolled off the assembly line at Volkswagen’s Chattanooga, Tennessee, factory.

- Scott Keogh, president and CEO at Volkswagen Group of America, has confirmed that the first pre-production units have rolled off the assembly line. He shared images in a LinkedIn post:

- That moment certainly came during my last visit to the Volkswagen Chattanooga assembly plant in Chattanooga, TN. While I was there to tour our electric vehicle expansion at the plant, I had the pleasure of watching a pre-production version of the VW ID.4 come down the line with Thomas Du Plessis. This early model is a way for us to validate the build process, components, and procedures in advance of full assembly which is scheduled to begin next year. Just as important, it represents our $800 million dollar investment in EV assembly for the region – and our commitment to the high-tech jobs that will keep this facility humming.

- VW most recently launched the ID.4 AWD Pro electric SUV in the US starting at just $36,175 with incentives.

Original Source : https://electrek.co/2021/08/19/vw-id4-electric-suv-pre-production-units-roll-off-the-line-chattanooga-factory

- The Lucid Air was supposed to launch in the spring of 2021. but because of COVID-19, it caused a delay in the arrival of the eagerly awaited Lucid Air. In a letter from Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson, the company announced that vehicles would not be delivering this spring as initially promised. Instead, customer deliveries will begin sometime in the second half of 2021. We are almost two months into the second half of 2021, but nothing has really happened...until now.

- This morning (August 18th, 2021), customers who reserved the Lucid Air Dream Edition got an email update that says: Get ready to confirm your Dream Edition It's nearly time to confirm your order.

- we know that Lucid Motors is currently testing the range of the car. Once again, these tests are a must for Lucid Motors to start delivering its car. If the Lucid Air Achieves an Estimated EPA Range of 517 Miles on a Single Charge, it would be the first EV to achieve that

Original Source : https://www.dailylucid.com/post/expect-lucid-air-deliveries-soon

- Hyundai says it will launch a cheaper, shorter-range all-electric Kona on the Australian market in a bid to make it more affordable and accessible to more drivers.

- Priced from $54,000 before on-road costs in the Elite trim, the “Standard Range” Kona Electric has a 39.2kWh battery and offers 305km driving range (

- Hyundai is further dropping the price of both its long-range Kona Electric variants by $1,500 and $2,000 respectively, after price reductions from Tesla for its popular Model 3.

Original Source : https://thedriven.io/2021/08/19/hyundai-launches-cheaper-short-range-kona-electric-and-drops-long-range-price

- Japanese carmaker Subaru wants to become more competitive in the all-electric vehicle segment and is therefore planning to build a $272 million e-mobility research and development centre near Tokyo.

- the seven-storey technology centre will open in spring 2024 and employ about 2,800 people in the fields of engineering, product planning and design. The development complex is not only intended to speed up the market launch of new models, but also to increase flexibility – in order to be able to react to the regionally varying demand for electric cars.

- The new models will feature new hybrid powertrains, driver assistance systems and connectivity, according to a Torquenews report, and will achieve this with “very responsive electric motors, Subaru’s AWD capability and further improved driving dynamics”.

Original Source : https://www.electrive.com/2021/08/18/subaru-invests-in-e-mobility-rd-centre/

- Hyundai’s Genesis luxury brand has revealed its first dedicated electric vehicle, in the form of a sporty-looking crossover that, it says, will be delivered to customers in North America in 2022. 

The GV60 will be built on the E-GMP modular platform

- GV60 follows a hatchback form—remixed here with a racy roofline and an unexpectedly (for its luxury pedigree) bright, splashy yellow-green hue.

- Like the Ioniq 5, the GV60 offers a clamshell hood that wraps around to the hood and fenders. Electric door handles automatically extend when you walk up to the car.

- Performance and technology details for the GV60 is forthcoming. So far the performance leader of the E-GMP models is the Kia EV6 GT, with a claimed 0-62 mph dash in just 3.5 seconds, from a dual motor system making a combined 577 hp

Original Source : https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1133287_all-electric-genesis-gv60-is-a-luxury-counterpart-to-hyundai-ioniq-5-and-kia-ev6

- Some Tesla customers have been waiting as long as four months to receive their cars as the company repeatedly pushes back delivery dates, CNBC reports.CNBC said it spoke to five Tesla customers who said they had suffered delivery delays on cars purchased earlier this year. The delays appeared to be affecting a range of Tesla models including its Model Y and its deluxe $124,000 Model S Plaid, CNBC said.

- Musician David Crosby tweeted on Tuesday that he ordered a Tesla car seven months ago and the company has "lied to us 4 times about when we would get it."

- The delays also appear to be affecting the $40,000 Model Y. CNBC reported a customer as saying that they placed an order in May for a Model Y and was told he would get his car at the latest by July 28. The date then switched to August 10 on his online account, and kept getting pushed later. His expected delivery window was last set at September 4 to September 24

Original Source : https://www.businessinsider.com/report-tesla-model-s-and-model-y-big-delivery-delays-2021-8

- JATO Dynamics shared its latest report on the evolution of the electric vehicle markets in China, the US and Europe.

- analysis in the report finds that not enough is being done to produce affordable EVs across several markets.While the pricing of EVs in China – the world’s largest market for EVs – has significantly fallen by almost half (47%) since 2011, US and European markets have seen EV prices rise over the same time period, by 38% and 28% respectively.

- China’s success in producing affordable EVs comes down to a number of factors, including its government’s decision to invest heavily in the domestic market from as early as 2009. Today, consumers in China can buy a brand new EV for as little as €3,700.  In stark contrast, the average retail price for an EV in the US continues to rise faster than any other major global market and now stands at €36,200, up from €26,200 in 2011.

- . In May 2021, EVs were on average 52% more expensive than ICE cars in the UK, and 54% more expensive in the Netherlands. In Germany, the average retail price of an EV is €39,755 compared to €36,979 for ICE vehicles. Norway is the only exception – the average retail price for EVs is €44,500 compared to €53,000 for ICE cars.

Original Source : https://electriccarsreport.com/2021/08/report-china-cuts-ev-pricing-by-almost-half-since-2011-while-prices-continue-to-climb-in-the-us-and-europe/

- Interestingly, the Tesla Model S costs a whopping $67,699 more when purchased in Israel than it does in the US.

- While the Tesla Model S starts at $79,990 in the US (the price is $89,990 now), its average global price based on the 30 markets comes in at $108,196

Most expensive:

1.       Israel $147,689

2.       Denmark $132,374

3.       Hungary $120,441

4.       United Kingdom $116,896

5.       Sweden $115,216

Cheapest:

6.       United States $79,990 (currently $89,990)

7.       Estonia $90,665

8.       Canada $93,553

9.       Japan $97,512

10.   Norway $97,544

· Highlighted Source : https://share.getliner.com/zGaaX/

· Original Source : https://insideevs.com/news/527399/cheapest-expensive-countries-tesla-models

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