The Weekly Round Up - EV News for January
Bringing you the EV news dominating the headlines in January.
Welcome to BookMyGarage’s EV Hub Weekly Round-Up, where we bring you the EV news that is dominating the headlines this week. With only the essential details about the week’s biggest EV news articles, we aim to keep you in the loop with all things EV.
January 30th
Apple Electric Car Pushed Back To 2028, Reportedly
Bloomberg has reported that the production of the ‘Apple Car’ has been pushed back to 2028 at the earliest.
Californian multinational technology company Apple has been rumoured to be working on ‘Project Titan’ since 2014, an electric car with ‘self-driving capabilities’. The project brought in more than 1,000 car experts and engineers to work on the EV.
Initially, the car aimed to be fully autonomous, meaning the car would require no interaction from the driver. Apple has been forced to scale back, and reportedly the car will now be Level 2 Autonomy – the same as the Autopilot feature on Tesla’s vehicles.
Bloomberg alleges that the company has been meeting with several potential manufacturers in Europe and plans after its initial release to release an upgrades autonomy to Level 4. This means that the vehicle will be capable of operating completely by itself under certain circumstances.
In 2017, Apple CEO Tim Cook said: "We're focusing on autonomous systems. It's a core technology that we view as very important. We sort of see it as the mother of all AI projects. It's probably one of the most difficult AI projects actually to work on."
Saudi Arabia Invests Billions To Join EV Race
Saudi Arabia has spent ‘billions’ of dollars to become competitive with the EV industry.
The kingdom has invested at least $10 billion in Lucid Motors, a US based electric vehicle manufacturer, as well as setting up Saudi EV company Ceer, and built an EV metals factory. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman hopes the plan will help create jobs and diversify the country’s economy.
The Public Investment Fund (PIF), Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, has a goal to produce as many as 500,000 EVs annually by 2030 – up from the initial target of 150,000.
Saudi Arabia faces the issue of a lack of auto parts supply, as there is no major local industry to produce parts such as engines and doors. They hope to combat this issue once the Ceer factory is completed.
Gaurav Batra of EY, a business advisory company, said: "There is tremendous competition that the country will face from established manufacturing power houses and from established supply chains," said Gaurav Batra of EY, a business advisory company.”
Allstar Adds 30% More EV Charge Points to its Network
Digital payment solutions company Allstar have announced a 30% increase to its overall number of UK charge points over its multi-branded EV charging network.
This brings their total number of charging points to over 18,000, and 28,000 connectors around the UK.
Allstar Chargepass aims to simplify EV charging payment and claims to be the only solution in the UK for both electric and mixed fleets. They aim to provide businesses with the ultimate flexibility when it comes to their fuel and charging expenses.
Ashley Tate, Managing Director of Allstar Chargepass UK said that the company is ‘ensuring’ Allstar’s network of chargers ‘meets the changing needs of fleets’.
Allstar offers a number of different card options, from electric only to all fuel types, and specific cards for businesses and fleet managers.
January 23rd
Trojan Energy Secures £26 Million to Grow Kerbside EV Charging Network
Trojan Energy has secured £26 million in investments from BGF and the Scottish National Investment Bank to help achieve its EV charging network growth plans.
Formed in 2016, Trojan Energy aims to ensure that everyone benefits form the energy transition.
The company’s chargers sit flush to the pavement and offer charging speeds up to 22kWh, while leaving city streets clutter free, allowing households without a driveway access to EV charging.
It began testing its ‘flat and flush’ on-street EV charging points in Brent and Camden in London during 2020, and are manufactured at the headquarters in Aberdeen, Scotland.
Ian Mackenzie, CEO at Trojan Energy, said: “We welcome this new investment from BGF and follow on funding from the Bank.
“This funding will allow Trojan Energy to continue its journey and deploy several thousand more charging points across the UK, serving tens of thousands of customers.
“Trojan will be firmly on track to become one of the biggest providers of on-street EV charging in the UK, continuing our work as the world’s largest ‘clutter free’ on-street charging solution.”
The company recently announced a partnership with Barnet Council to install around 1,300 charging points in the local area.
Gridserve to Invest £1 Billion to install nearly 1000 Ultra-Rapid Chargers by Year-End
Leading sustainable energy business Gridserve have unveiled a £1 billion plan to deploy over 1000 ultrarapid charging points at major service stations.
The plan aims to reduce wait times at charging stations to get EV drivers back on the road as quickly as possible and shorten the queues we frequently see at charging stations.
Gridserve claim the ultrarapid chargers will be able to charge electric vehicles in as little as five minutes.
Toddington Harper, Chief Executive Officer of Gridserve, pointed out the remarkable growth in funding for charging infrastructure, citing a tenfold expansion since the beginning of 2023 - when only 124 chargers were in operation.
On December 29 2023, Gridserve announced their record year, delivering 1.9 million charging sessions, as well as the addition of 300 new charging bays across their Electric Super Hubs and Electric Retail Hubs, tripled the amount installed in the previous year.
Tesla Appears to Move Forward with Huge Expansion Of Nevada Gigafactory
Elon Musk’s Tesla seem to have finally moved forward with the Gigafactory expansion, initially announced a year ago.
They had announced that the expansion will add production of Tesla Semi trucks, and 4680 battery cells in January 2023, expanding the factory to its originally planned size – of which it is currently only 30% of.
The news comes after Youtuber ‘Zanegler Tesla Semi Stalker’ published new drone footage of the factory, showing Tesla moving ground preparing to begin construction.
It appears that the work is being completed outside of the original planned area.
Watch the drone footage from Zanegler Tesla Semi Stalker below.
January 16th
Record Rate of Charge Point Installations in 2023, Finds ZapMap
Leading e-mobility service provider Zapmap has recorded a record growth in the number of EV charging point installations in 2023.
Data shows a year-on-year growth of 45% in the total number of net new public chargers installed in the UK last year, up from 31% for the years 2021 to 2022.
The rate worked out at an increase of 1400 devices every month, representing an 89% growth in pace of monthly installations. A total of 53,906 charge points were installed in 2023, and 264 total hub locations opened.
Much of the growth came from ultra-rapid chargers, which provide 100kWh or more of power, accounting for 46% of high-powered devices across the country. The report also found that there are 72% more low powered, on-street chargers than there were this time last year.
Melanie Shufflebotham, Co-Founder and COO at Zapmap, said: “Overall 2023 was a very good year for EV charging with the rate of installation showing record growth, particularly for the higher-powered chargers to support EV drivers on longer journeys.
“As we move into 2024, we look forward to continued progress in both these areas as more and more drivers make the positive move to driving electric.”
Electric Vehicle Charging Forecourt Launched at London’s Gatwick Airport
An electric vehicle forecourt has opened at London’s Gatwick Airport, the first of its kind to be introduced by an international airport.
Powered by Gridserve, it has 30 EV chargers available, with options for both high-power and low-power, and are all powered by 100% net zero energy.
The forecourt features a convenience shop, lounge with high-speed Wi-Fi, and a Costa Coffee, as well as an ‘interactive EV experience area’, which has a dedicated EV guru on-site to support any customer questions or queries.
The chargers are located close to the South Terminal, with the charging points available 24/7, and the building open from 4:30am to 10:00pm.
Bronwen Jones, Development Director at London Gatwick said, “We are proud to be the first international airport to open a GRIDSERVE Electric Forecourt®. The charging station has been placed in a strategic location and will be available to millions of passengers, commuters, staff, residents, and businesses that pass through the area each year.
“We are making sustainability part of everything we do here at London Gatwick, and we are committed to creating a low-carbon economy by providing new infrastructure that everyone can use, so together we can reduce emissions. As we invest in our long-term, future growth additions such as GRIDSERVE are vital to London Gatwick’s ecosystem.”
$623 Million Grant Announced by the Biden-Harris Administration to Continue Building EV Charging Network
The Biden-Harris Administration has announced that they will give $623 million in grants to help build out an EV charging network across the USA.
They hope the grant will ensure more Americans can charge their EVs where they live, shop and work, as well as create jobs. The goal states that the charging network is primarily ‘made in America’ and aim to build at least 500,000 publicly available chargers by 2030.
Under President Biden’s leadership, US EV sales have more that quadrupled, with more than 4 million EVs on American roads. Publicly available charging points have increased by 70%.
The grants are made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s $2.5 billion Charging and Fuelling Infrastructure (CFI) Discretionary Grant Program, a competitive funding program. It will fund 47 EV charging and alternative-fuelling infrastructure projects in 22 states and Puerto Rico, including construction of around 7,500 EV charging ports.
U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm said, “The Biden-Harris Administration is bringing an accessible, made-in-America charging network into thousands of communities while cutting the carbon pollution that is driving the climate crisis.”
January 9th
China’s BYD overtakes Tesla as Top-Selling Electric Car Seller
US investment billionaire Warren Buffett backed the company in 2008 and has beaten Tesla’s production for the second year running.
Tesla announced on January 2nd that they achieved their target of 1.8 million units, by making 1.84 million cars in 2023. BYD said it produced 3.02 million. However, this figure represents both electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles – leaving Tesla at the top spot for battery-only vehicle production.
BYD – which stands for ‘Build Your Dreams’ – was founded in February 1995 as a high-tech company, which currently has over 30 established industrial parks across 6 continents. Their vision states they aim to ‘cool the Earth by 1°C’, by electrifying urban public transport, as well as producing high-quality alternative-fuelled vehicles and selling them at an accessible price point.
BYD has an advantage over US and European competitors; the ability to manufacture their electric vehicle batteries in house. Tesla and other EV companies must rely on partnerships to obtain batteries for their vehicles. Tesla is partnered with Japanese company Panasonic. In fact, 52.3% of lithium-ion batteries come from China alone.
BT Group to Turn Old Street Cabinets into EV Charging Points
British telecommunications company BT Group have announced that thousands of their old green street cabinets will be converted into electric charging points.
Traditionally used to store broadband and phone cabling, the metal cabinets are a reoccurring sight on Britain’s roads. As the UK moves to full fibre broadband, BT claim repurposing these cabinets as EV charging points will help work towards the goal of 300,000 UK charging points by 2030. This will be beneficial for EV drivers everywhere, but especially for those without private parking.
The pilot project by BT will begin within weeks, with the first conversion happening in East Lothian, Scotland.
The cabinets that are due to be decommissioned will be fitted with one charge point per unit, and there is no need to create a new connection as they are already connected to a power source. As well as defunct cabinets, the ones which are still providing broadband can be retrofitted with a device which will allow renewable energy to be shared alongside the broadband service.
Stuart Mason, from The Car Expert, said: “Harnessing existing street furniture is a great way to increase the number of public EV charging points without further adding to clutter along our footpaths.
“Making this even more valuable, many of these green street cabinets are located in residential areas across the UK, including smaller villages and towns, where charging infrastructure is most severely lacking."
Tesla Recalls 1.6million cars in China Over Autopilot and Steering Defects
It has been reported that over 1.6 million Model S, X, Y, and 3 Teslas that have been exported to China have been recalled due to concerns about the car’s automatic assisted steering system and door latch controls.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the recall affects the majority of the cars sold by Tesla in China.
The recall is due to the increased risk of accidents when using the automatic steering function, as well as an issue with the door unlock logic control, the latter affecting Model S and X EVs made between 26 October 2022 and 16 November 2023.
The recall comes after a two-year investigation conducted by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The study investigated a number of crashes, some of which were deadly, that occurred whilst the Autopilot mode was in use. Results showed that the system was defective.
Luckily, Chinese Tesla owners will be able to use their cars after installing an over-the-air software update, meaning that drivers will not have to return their car to a Tesla dealership or workshop to rectify the issue.
In 2022, 128,000 Teslas were recalled in China due to a rear motor inverter defect.