Audi鈥檚 first all-electric vehicle, the e-Tron, will offer a 鈥渉igh level of calm,鈥� the automaker says, making it the ideal venue for listening to music through an optional custom-designed Bang & Olufsen 3D sound system. The full-size utility vehicle also offers a new digital operating and display system and is the first volume-production electric car to employ virtual (digital) exterior mirrors. To make its point, the automaker unveiled the vehicle, wrapped in camouflage, at the Royal Danish Playhouse in Copenhagen, Denmark. 鈥淟ike a concert hall, the electric SUV offers a pure sound experience. This system reproduces the music precisely how it was recorded, without any artificial effects,鈥� through 16 loudspeakers and a 705-watt amplifier.
Jaguar Land Rover boosts EV spending: The British builder of luxury, speed and beauty said it will increase spending on electrification for future vehicles by 25聽per cent to $18 billion US, reports the Bloomberg news service. The luxury automaker stated that the catalyst for the increased spending was failing demand for diesel-powered vehicles across Europe. JLR announced in 2017 that all its products would be available in an electric version after 2020. The new investment, announced in late June, will see JLR offer three versions of each vehicle: a gasoline-powered model; a hybrid; and a pure electric version. That could change, however, depending on the public鈥檚 appetite for electrics. A company spokesman told Bloomberg it will offer a full-electric version of each model only if there is sufficient customer demand.
California utility to make EV charging convenient everywhere: A pilot program by utility Southern California Edison, which recently installed its 1,000th charging point in the Golden State, wants to spend an additional $760 million US to expand it by another 48,000 outlets. SCE鈥檚 Charge Ready program will have as part of its focus making charge points available at apartment buildings and condominium complexes throughout the state, reports Charged Electric Vehicles magazine. In addition to installing and maintaining the system, the program offers rebates to help reduce costs to EV owners. Hyundai鈥檚 Fountain Valley headquarters installed 44 charging stations under the program, exposing more individuals in the local community, said Mike O鈥橞rien, Hyundai vice-president for planning, including students, teachers and staff to charge their EVs.
鈥楽uper silicon鈥� for batteries found: Scientists at Norway鈥檚 Institute for Energy Technology say they have found a cheaper, more efficient alternative to lithium anodes for batteries: abundant silicon, a non-metal with semiconducting properties. It could mean future batteries with 10 times the capacity of current ones, at much reduced costs, they said. The difficulty to date with using silicon is that it decomposes as the battery charges up (known as cycling), but the researchers said a new material they developed 鈥� called SiliconX 鈥� has overcome that problem. It is the 鈥渪 factor鈥� they had been searching for. Where regular silicon particles expand by up to 400 per cent during charging, returning to normal size during discharging, which causes them to rupture. SiliconX remains stable throughout the cycle, they said.
Brief briefs:
鈥� BMW has guaranteed production rights to its China-based partner, Brilliance Automotive Group Holdings, to build more than a half million vehicles per year, including exclusive production rights for the upcoming BMW iX3 electric SUV. BMW reportedly sold 560,000 vehicles in China in 2017.
鈥� Honda and Panasonic Corp. are working to bring shareable, detachable mobile batteries to Indonesia, the world鈥檚 third-largest motorcycle market. Honda鈥檚 Mobile Power Pack, designed for electric mobility products including motorcycles, is at the heart of the program.
鈥� Uber has applied for a patent for a new technology that avoids 鈥渦nsafe areas,鈥� reports Motor1.com. The app would allow users to select a route through urban areas that takes聽safety considerations compiled from academic databases, news media, government and even social media into account.
