29 Feb 2020 | Mercedes Teases Three New Plug-In Hybrids

Show #712



Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Saturday 29th February 2020. It’s Martyn Lee here and I go through every EV story to save you time.



Thank you to MYEV.com for helping make this show, they’ve built the first marketplace specifically for Electric Vehicles. It’s a totally free marketplace that simplifies the buying and selling process, and help you learn about EVs along the way too.



GENEVA CAR SHOW CANCELED

"Two of Switzerland’s largest trade fairs fell victim to the coronavirus epidemic, with organizers of the Geneva International Motor Show and the Baselworld watch fair pulling the plug on this year’s salons as the outbreak spreads in Europe." writes Bloomberg: "The car show, which was due to start Monday, was canceled as a force majeure after the Swiss government barred large gatherings, the organizers said in a statement Friday. German manufacturers Daimler AG and Audi AG said they supported the decision to cancel the show."



https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-02-28/geneva-car-show-canceled-in-swiss-bid-to-contain-virus-outbreak?sref=W369vOBR



EUROPE’S CAR OF THE YEAR AWARD GOES LIVE ONLINE

Despite the cancellation of the Geneva International Motor Show, the organizers have decided to broadcast the Car of the Year award ceremony via live streaming on Monday, March 2, at 3 p.m. Seven candidates are part of the list of nominees for the Car of the Year 2020 including Porsche Taycan and Tesla Model 3. Jury members will have to award 25 points, spread over at least five of the seven models. This will take place on Monday, 2 March 2020 at Palexpo. It will be broadcasted live on the Geneva International Motor Show website and on the #GimsSwiss Facebook page. This will enable you to discover the winner in real time.



For the US audience, 3pm in Geneva is 9am in New York



VW ID.3 ELECTRIC CAR'S SOFTWARE BUGS THREATEN SUMMER LAUNCH

"Volkswagen is still struggling with "massive" software problems with its ID3 compact electric car, according to a German business magazine. The software glitches may force to abandon the EV's planned sales launch in summer, Manager Magazin reported." reports Automotive News Europe: "The problems stem from the basic architecture of the ID3's software, which was developed "too hastily," the magazine said, citing VW's own experts. Many of the system's elements do not understand each other, leading to dropouts and other difficulties, the report said. Hundreds of test drivers of the car are reporting up to 300 errors a day, the magazine said. More than 10,000 technicians are trying to solve the problems, which could delay the ID3's launch by up to a year, the report said. A VW spokesman told Automotive News Europe that the timeline for the ID3 has not changed and the car will be launched this summer."



https://europe.autonews.com/automakers/vw-id3-software-problems-threaten-summer-launch-report-says



CHINA'S CATL AIMS TO RAISE $2.85 BILLION FOR EV BATTERY PROJECTS

"CATL, China's top electric vehicle battery maker, said it aims to raise up to 20 billion yuan ($2.85 billion) in a private placement of shares to fund its battery projects and boost working capital." writes Autoblog: "The fundraising will help CATL to expand its battery-making capacity in Fujian, Jiangsu and Sichuan, as well as an energy storage research project, the company said in a filing to the Shenzhen stock exchange late Wednesday. The company has partnerships with Tesla, Volkswagen and BMW. In a separate filing on Wednesday, the battery maker said it plans to invest 10 billion yuan in a battery manufacturing base in Ningde, where it is headquartered."



https://www.autoblog.com/2020/02/28/catl-electric-car-battery-maker-funding/



GILLETTE STADIUM SCORES A TOUCHDOWN WITH 50 NEW ENEL X EV CHARGERS

"Gillette Stadium is diving into the wonderful world of EV charging with the installation of 50 new JuiceBox Pro 32 amp units mounted on 25 JuicePedestals." says Kyle Field at CleanTechnica: "The new stations will provide EV charging services to patrons of the stadium as they arrive to watch the New England Patriots or the New England Revolution."



https://cleantechnica.com/2020/02/28/gillette-stadium-scores-a-touchdown-with-50-new-enel-x-ev-chargers/



TESLA’S MASSIVE 1GWH MEGAPACK BATTERY PROJECT WITH PG&E IS APPROVED

"Tesla’s massive project to deploy 1GWh of Megapacks to create a giant energy storage system in California with PG&E has received approval from the local authorities." says Electrek: "It involves four separate energy storage projects and two of them should become the world’s largest battery systems. the Tesla project will be a 182.5MW / 730MWh, which could eventually go up to 1.1GWh. Tesla is listing the project as having a total capacity of 1,200MWh,...