EV Brief 4/30/21 EV Brief 4/30/21

Electrify America Opens its 600th EV Charging Station in the United States

It’s only taken three years for Electrify America to roll out 600 EV ultra-fast charging sites across the continental United States. That’s nearly 2,600 individual DC fast chargers, with Hawaii, South Dakota, Wyoming and Vermont to receive ultra-fast charging sites by early 2022. This follows the completion of two cross-continental routes completed late in 2020, from Jacksonville, FL to San Diego, CA via I-10 and I-8, and from Washington DC to Los Angeles, CA.

Electrify America charging site with solar canopy in Baker, California.

Electrify America’s cross-continental routes. Image: Electrify America

“With our rapid station deployment, we are on track to have 800 charging stations with about 3,500 chargers open or under development by the end of this year - delivering on our commitment to make EV driving easier and more accessible,” said Giovanni Palazzo, president and chief executive officer, Electrify America. “We’re proud to be on the forefront of expanding the nation’s EV charging infrastructure and are excited to see our continued growth, as we help meet EV demand and climate priorities set by the Administration.”

Electrify America is also continuing its rollout in states with a smaller population of EV drivers — and greater distances between metropolitan areas — such as Minnesota, Montana, and New Hampshire.

It’s network consists of 150kW DC chargers, which can add about 7.5 miles (12 kilometres) of battery range per minute for capable vehicles, while highway locations feature 150kW and 350kW chargers, which can add an estimated 23 miles (37 kilometres) of battery range per minute for capable vehicles.

The network isn’t perfect however, with a number of YouTubers and EV drivers experiencing multiple issues with charging on the network, from software to hardware, on vehicles such as Ford’s Mustang Mach-E, and Volkswagen’s ID.4. This is particularly ironic given Volkswagen’s involvement with the rollout of the Electrify America network. Charging station reliability is even more important than charging station ubiquity and and speed in our opinion, and is crucial to increasing the uptake of battery electric vehicles, and providing peace of mind to all current and prospective EV drivers.

EV Brief 1/5/21 EV Brief 1/5/21

NIO's First Autonomous Driving Sedan to be Unveiled on NIO Day

Chinese automaker NIO is set to unveil the company’s first autonomous driving sedan at an event on January 9, 2021. NIO claims the vehicle will premiere the latest autonomous driving technologies and a 150 kWh battery pack, which would be the largest fitted to a production passenger vehicle. We can expect NIO has Tesla’s Long Range Model S in its sights with this battery, and will be aiming to exceed the 647km (402 mi) range of the Model S.

Chinese automaker NIO (NASDAQ: NIO) is set to unveil the company’s first autonomous driving sedan at an event on January 9, 2021. NIO claims the vehicle will premiere the latest autonomous driving technologies and a 150 kWh battery pack, which would be the largest fitted to a production passenger vehicle. We can expect NIO has Tesla’s Long Range Model S in its sights with this battery, and will be aiming to exceed the 647km (402 mi) range of the Model S.

From the teaser released by NIO, the new sedan appears similar — in silhouette at least — to the company's ET Preview Concept released at the 2019 Shanghai Auto Show, with the fastback roofline, pronounced hip flare running from the front fender to the rear, and the short, squat front end.

According to NIO, “the event will feature a range of exciting activities, including performances by the famous music composer Shi Lei Chang, NIO BAND, whose NIO Day 2020 theme song "The Future is Ahead," and leading Chinese musician Wang Feng.”