Understanding lithium demand, page-1211

EU Aims to Have 30 Million Electric Cars on the Road by 2030

The European Commission seeks to have at least 30 million electric vehicles on the region’s roads by the end of the decade under a plan that would require the auto industry to massively accelerate its transformation.

The target for zero-emission cars is included in a draft strategy document obtained by Bloomberg News that is scheduled to be published next week.

The goal is ambitious considering some 1.4 million battery-electric vehicles are being driven in Europe now, according to BloombergNEF.

The researcher is forecasting there will be 28 million plug-in hybrid and pure-electric cars on the road by 2028.

The plan maps out targets for the broader transport sector, calling for high-speed rail traffic to double by 2030 and for scheduled travel between cities of under 300 kilometers (186 miles) to become carbon-neutral.

Zero-emission large aircraft and vessels should be “ready for market” by 2035, it says.

Looking further ahead, the goals include doubling rail-freight traffic and tripling high-speed train traffic by the middle of the century. The road map is expected to lead to draft legislation in the coming months.

The proposals for the transport industry come amid a brewing spat between European Union members over a plan to toughen its 2030 emissions-reduction target to at least 55% by the end of the next decade from 1990 levels.

Raising that goal from the existing 40% is a key element of the European Green Deal and would require more spending on energy production and infrastructure.

“We need to make all modes of transport sustainable” to meet climate goals and enable European companies to remain industrial leaders, the draft document states, noting that zero- and low-emission vehicles still represent a too-small part of the vehicle fleet.

The Commission will revise the CO2 standards for cars and vans by June 2021, and for heavy duty vehicles in 2022, it said, calling for a policy “to stimulate demand for zero-emission vehicles.”


Biden’s Charging Plan Could Sell 25 Million EVs

The president-elect wants to install 500,000 charging stations, but he’ll have to persuade Congress to plug in first.


Germany’s Electric-Car Market Is Poised to Overtake California’s

Electric-vehicle sales in Germany will surpass California’s for the first time this year, with a range of government incentives propelling Europe’s biggest auto market ahead of Tesla Inc.’s home state.

Customers in Germany bought 98,370 fully electric cars in the first nine months, roughly a third more than what California sold, according to a report from Berlin-based Schmidt Automotive Research.

State-funded subsidies of as much as 9,000 euros ($10,900) per battery-powered vehicle have boosted Germany’s electric-car fleet to twice the size of Norway’s, which still reigns as the country with the highest per-capita EV penetration.

Europe is taking unprecedented steps to phase out gasoline and diesel cars, with U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson banning sales of cars that lack a plug from 2030.

Germany last month said it will extend cash bonuses for purchasing EVs until 2025, expand the country’s charging network and make payments for topping up batteries easier.

California will phase out sales of new gasoline-powered cars by 2035 as part of its fight against climate change, Governor Gavin Newsom said in September.

Schmidt Automotive Research said it used data from IHS Markit, Germany’s motor transport authority KBA and Experian Plc’s AutoCount for its report.



Final quality check on a Volkswagen electric ID.4. in Zwickau, Germany.


www.bloomberg.com


Opel Mokka-e Already Sold Out For An Entire Year Of Production

It sold out just over a month after pricing was announced and Opel began accepting pre-orders.




In late September, Opel was announcing pricing for the Mokka-e, the all-electric version of the company’s new small crossover, the Mokka (the high-riding cousin of the Corsa hatchback). It is essentially the same car underneath as the Peugeot e-2008, and just like the French car, it’s proving very popular.

According to information obtained by Edison Media from Opel’s German dealer network, the Mokka-e has apparently already sold out - just ten weeks after pre-orders were opened.

And it’s not just the high-spec launch edition (the first to be manufactured and delivered), but reportedly even the first full year of production in advance; not a single car has even been delivered to a customer yet - deliveries are slated to commence in early 2021.

https://insideevs.com/


Audi Will Increase EV Investment To €12 Billion By 2025

The automaker wants to accelerate the rate at which it is switching to building electric or electrified vehicles.




Back in 2018, Audi announced its intention to sell up to 800,000 fully electric or hybrid cars by 2025, and now it has renewed that commitment by announcing how much it plans to invest to achieve it.

It has just announced that it will be investing €12-billion in electric cars alone, a big chunk of its entire planned spendings of €37-billion between 2020 and 2024.

In order to achieve the 800,000 sales figure, Audi has plans to launch over 30 electrified or fully-electric models, out of which it says 20 will be of the latter variety.

This will incur a restructuring of its business generally speaking, so some factories will see a reduction in the workforce - some 9,500 jobs will be eliminated by 2025, but at the same time around 2,000 new jobs will be created around the manufacturing of EVs.

According to Herbert Diess, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of AUDI AG,

' With the investment planning that has now been carried out, we are making Audi stronger for the upcoming transformation of the core business.

Technological leadership in electric-powered and fully networked driving is the aim of the supervisory board and management board.

We are providing Audi with the necessary resources for this. '

Even Audi’s home factory, in Ingolstadt, is currently being retooled and reconfigured to build premium electric vehicles, along with its Neckarsulm factory.

In order to not put itself in a delicate financial situation, the automaker is also looking to cut costs, with a set goal of saving €10-billion between 2018 and 2022.

So what is next for Audi electric vehicles?

Well, the next big launch will be for the e-tron GT, a sister model to the already very popular Porsche Taycan.

Next, it will be followed by the Q4 e-tron and Q4 e-tron Sportback models (based on the MEB platform that also underpins the VW ID.4).

There will also be a Q2 e-tron model and there is a very strong chance that the R8’s replacement will only be available as an electric vehicle (they may ditch the V10 altogether, although this is reportedly still being debated).

The e-tron GT will be built at Audi Sport’s Böllinger Höfe plant in Neckarsulm where it will share the production line with the R8 supercar.

The automaker announced late last year that it was beginning the process of modifying and expanding the facility in order to accommodate the electric sedan. In the press blurb it published at the time of the announcement, the automaker mentioned

The e-tron GT will be the first battery-powered Audi to actually be manufactured in Germany.

In case you were wondering, the e-tron and e-tron Sportback electric SUVs are actually assembled at Audi’s Brussels plant in Belgium and it will also go into production at the VW group’s Changchun plant in China as part of a joint venture with FAW.

https://insideevs.com/audi/e-tron-gt/





That's all you need atm imo

Food for thought

Frank