Category: Motoring

Researchers in United States have found a way to recharge EV batteries in 10 minutes, and a Chinese company has cut this to just five minutes. At present the United Kingdom’s fastest 150kW chargers take around 30 minutes to top up the batteries of models that can charge at this speed, such as the Audi E-tron and Porsche Taycan.

Scientists at Pennsylvania State University have found that heating lithium iron phosphate batteries to 60-deg Centigrade and keeping them at this temperature makes their lithium ions move faster, but avoids the damage to the battery usually caused by heat.

According to the head of research, Professor Chao-Yang Wang, this enables batteries to be fully charged in 10 minutes.

He said: “Finally, we are achieving parity with gasoline vehicles in both cost and convenience. We have the technology for $25,000 electric cars that race like luxury sport cars, have 10-minute rechargeability and are safer than any currently on the market.

“The (batteries) will not be more expensive; in fact, they allow automakers to downsize the onboard battery while still eliminating range anxiety, thereby dramatically cutting down the vehicle battery cost.”

The batteries provide a car with a range of 250 miles, and according to Wang they can be recharged 2500 times without battery degradation.

Ford, after losing an appeal to United States’ federal safety regulators last week, now must spend US$610 million to replace faulty Takata airbags in three million cars and trucks in the U.S. and Canada.

The recalled vehicles are from model years 2006 through 2012 and include some of Ford’s best sellers of that era, such as the Fusion sedan, Edge sport-utility vehicle, and Ranger pickup.

The automaker attempted to avoid the airbag recall, asserting the particular Takata inflators in its models weren’t as lethal as those that have been linked to more than a dozen deaths in the U.S. because they could propel shrapnel at drivers and passengers.

In its filing Thursday, Ford said its own study of its airbags found “the risks identified were so remote that they were inconsequential to safety.” The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration rejected Ford’s petition on January 19.

“We believe our extensive data demonstrated that a safety recall was not warranted for these driver-side airbags. However, we respect NHTSA’s decision and will issue a recall.,” Ford said in a statement. ”

Samsung, along with the Car Connectivity Consortium and FiRa Consortium, mid-January announced partnerships with several automakers to offer technology that will let people unlock and start their vehicle without a key, instead using their smartphone.

Audi, BMW, Ford, and Genesis have entered into an agreement with Samsung to offer the technology, which could be available as soon as August 2021.

“You’ll even be able to share your digital key across smartphones, regardless of brand or platform,” Samsung’s Kevin Chung announced during the company’s Galaxy S21 event.

Phones have multiple ways of transmitting signals nowadays — there’s WiFi, NFC, AM, FM, and not to mention the phone’s data connection. The one everybody is talking about is UWB, the latest and greatest form of connection that works with small, standardised pulses of energy to locate the phone’s position.

“You’ll be able to unlock your car door when you reach it, no sooner, no later,” Samsung said.

The newest iPhones already have UWB, and although Apple is part of the Car Connectivity Consortium, the brand will be working on its own car-key tech, set to be released in the future.

Volkswagen defied the pandemic to post operating profits of €10b last year, after the German group benefited from the late surge in global demand for cars.

The world’s largest carmaker, which looked set to record big losses in the early months of the COVID-19 crisis, hailed “quite robust” sales in the second half of 2020, in a short release ahead of fuller results in February.

VW, which includes the Audi, Porsche and Seat brands, said the final three months of last year were even stronger than the previous quarter, in which it made €3.6 billion in pre-tax profits. Final figures are not yet available for the fourth quarter.

The company said an aggressive cost-cutting campaign, which led to a clash with union bosses during the summer that almost cost chief executive Herbert Diess his job, had begun to bear fruit.

As a result, the Wolfsburg-based company said operating profits for the year, before one-off charges related to the diesel emissions scandal, were more than half that of the €19.3 billion it made in 2019, while net cash flow stood at about €6 billion.

Earnings from the group’s operations in China – its largest and most profitable market – will largely be reported separately as they are run as joint ventures, VW confirmed.

VW is the first big automaker to release figures for the pandemic-ridden year, in which overall sales are expected to dip by more than 15 per cent worldwide, according to IHS Markit.

The VW marque managed to break even in 2020, the company said, despite delayed launches of its Golf 8 model and its flagship electric car, the ID. 3, while the group’s premium brands enjoyed an extraordinary rebound, particularly in China.

Audi recorded its best-ever quarter in the last three months of 2020, selling more than half a million cars in the period for the first time.

Porsche sales dropped just three per cent over the course of the year, and deliveries in China were up by more than 2,000 units on 2019, despite widespread lockdowns and dealership closures.

Overall, the VW Group sold 15 per cent fewer cars last year than in 2019.

The preliminary figures followed the group’s announcement on Thursday that it would have to pay more than €100m to Brussels after failing to sell enough battery-powered and hybrid cars to meet the EU’s CO2 emissions targets.

By Tajudeen Adebanjo

Porsche has replaced the 2020 Panamera’s Turbo model with a more powerful Turbo S for the 2021 model year and added a new 4S E-Hybrid model as well. The rest of the Panamera lineup’s prices are unchanged, starting at $88,550 for the base model. Even the Panamera GTS ($130,650), which produces 20 more horsepower from its turbocharged V-8, sees no price increase. However, the base Panamera is still more expensive than other luxury sedans such as the Audi A7, BMW 8-series Gran Coupe, and Mercedes-Benz CLS-class.

The 2021 Porsche Panamera prices exclude the addition of the new Turbo S and 4S E-Hybrid models.

The 620-hp Turbo S, which replaces the 2020 Panamera Turbo, starts at $179,050, and the new 4S E-Hybrid starts at $114,650.

The 4S can now be had as a plug-in E-Hybrid, which, along with the rest of the E-Hybrid lineup (Panamera 4 E-Hybrid and Turbo S E-Hybrid), gets a larger 17.9-kWh battery pack, up 3.8 kWh from the previous models. The new 4S E-Hybrid starts at $114,650 and is powered by a twin-turbo V-6 in conjunction with an electric motor and the new battery pack and makes 552 horsepower. It’s also available as longer-wheelbase Executive ($125,950) and Sport Turismo wagon ($118,650) models, like other Panameras excluding the base model and the GTS, which only has standard and Sport Turismo offerings.

For the 2021 model year, Porsche dropped the 550-hp Panamera Turbo model in favour of a new, more powerful Turbo S. It starts at $179,050—$24,700 more than the 2020 Panamera Turbo—and is powered by a twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V-8 that produces 620 horsepower and 604 pound-feet of torque. Porsche claims that it’ll reach 60 mph in 2.9 seconds. The new Turbo S is also available as Executive ($189,450) and Sport Turismo ($183,050) models.

Porsche has also given the 2021 Panamera a few small visual changes as well including a slightly sportier front end, a full-width LED strip on the taillights, and some new wheels. In addition, wireless Apple CarPlay capability and wireless phone charging are standard on all 2021 Panameras.

By Tajudeen Adebanjo

Kia Motors Corporation has revealed its new corporate logo and global brand slogan that signify the automaker’s bold transformation and all-new brand purpose. The introduction of the logo represents Kia’s ambitions to establish a leadership position in the future mobility industry by revamping nearly all facets of its business.

The logo is a symbol of Kia’s brand purpose and the values it promises to offer customers through future products and services, and the experiences these enable. Kia seals its brand promise by developing the new logo to resemble a handwritten signature. The rhythmical, unbroken line of the logo conveys Kia’s commitment to bringing moments of inspiration, while its symmetry demonstrates confidence. The rising gestures of the logo embody Kia’s rising ambitions for the brand, and, more importantly, what it offers customers.

Kia’s President and Chief Executive Officer Ho Sung Song, said the logo represents the company’s commitment to becoming an icon for change and innovation.

“The automotive industry is experiencing a period of rapid transformation, and Kia is proactively shaping and adapting to these changes. Our new logo represents our desire to inspire customers as their mobility needs evolve, and for our employees to rise to the challenges we face in a fast-changing industry,” Song said.

The new logo was unveiled during a record-breaking pyrotechnic display in the skies above Incheon, Korea. The event saw 303 pyrodrones launching hundreds of fireworks in a synchronised artistic display, igniting and celebrating Kia’s new beginning. This set a new Guinness World Record for ‘Most unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) launching fireworks simultaneously’. The dazzling display can be seen on the Kia Global YouTube channel.

In addition to an all-new logo, Kia revealed its new global brand slogan, ‘Movement that inspires’. Details on Kia’s new brand strategy, including brand purpose and philosophy as well as application to Kia’s future product line-up, was shared through the digital ‘New Kia Brand Showcase’ on Friday.

Electric vehicles are better for the climate than gas-powered cars, but many are still reluctant to buy them. One reason: The larger upfront cost.

New data published last week shows that despite the higher sticker price, electric cars may actually save drivers money in the long-run.

To reach this conclusion, a team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) calculated both the carbon dioxide emissions and full lifetime cost — including purchase price, maintenance and fuel — for nearly every new car model on the market.

They found electric cars were easily more climate friendly than gas-burning ones. Over a lifetime, they were often cheaper, too.

Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu last November unveiled the N24 million Hyundai Kona, Nigeria’s first Electric Car assembled by Stallion Group at the VON Assembly Plant in Ojo, Lagos.

Climate scientists say vehicle electrification is one of the best ways to reduce planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions. The transportation sector is one of the largest sources of emissions, most of which come from cars and trucks.

Jessika Trancik, an associate professor of energy studies at MIT, who led the research, said she hoped the data would “help people learn about how those upfront costs are spread over the lifetime of the car.”

For electric cars, lower maintenance costs and the lower costs of charging compared with gasoline prices tend to offset the higher upfront price over time. (Battery-electric engines have fewer moving parts that can break compared with gas-powered engines and they don’t require oil changes. Electric vehicles also use regenerative braking, which reduces wear and tear.)

The cars are greener over time, too, despite the more emissions-intensive battery manufacturing process. Dr. Trancik estimates that an electric vehicle’s production emissions would be offset in anywhere from six to 18 months, depending on how clean the energy grid is where the car is charging.

The new data showed hybrid cars, which run on a combination of fuel and battery power, and can sometimes be plugged in, had more mixed results for both emissions and costs. Some hybrids were cheaper and spewed less planet-warming carbon dioxide than regular cars, but others were in the same emissions and cost range as gas-only vehicles.

Traditional gas-burning cars were usually the least climate friendly option, though long-term costs and emissions spanned a wide range. Compact cars were usually cheaper and more efficient, while gas-powered SUVs and luxury sedans landed on the opposite end of the spectrum.

Dr. Trancik’s team released the data in an interactive online tool to help people quantify the true costs of their car-buying decisions — both for the planet and their budget. The new estimates update a study published in 2016 and add to a growing body of research underscoring the potential lifetime savings of electric cars.

Take the Tesla Model 3, the most popular electric car in the United States. The MIT team estimated the lifetime cost of the most basic model as comparable to a Nissan Altima that sells for $11,000 less upfront. (That’s even though Tesla’s federal tax incentive for electric vehicles has ended.)

Toyota’s Hybrid RAV4 S.U.V. also ends up cheaper in the long run than a similar traditional RAV4, a national bestseller, despite a higher retail price.

Hawaii, Alaska and parts of New England have some of the highest average electricity costs, while parts of the Midwest, West and South tend to have lower rates. Gas prices are lower along the Gulf Coast and higher in California. But an analysis from the Union of Concerned Scientists still found that charging a vehicle was more cost effective than filling up at the pump across 50 major American cities. “We saw potential savings everywhere,” said David Reichmuth, a senior engineer for the group’s Clean Transportation Program.

Still, the upfront cost of an electric vehicle continues to be a barrier for many would-be owners.

The American government offers a tax credit for some new electric vehicle purchases, but that does nothing to reduce the initial purchase price and does not apply to used cars. That means it disproportionately benefits wealthier Americans. Some states, like California, offer additional incentives. President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. has pledged to offer rebates that help consumers swap inefficient, old cars for cleaner new ones, and to create 500,000 more electric vehicle charging stations, too.

Chris Gearhart, director of the Centre for Integrated Mobility Sciences at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, said electric cars will become more price-competitive in coming years as battery prices drop. At the same time, new technologies to reduce exhaust emissions are making traditional cars more expensive.

“With that trajectory, you can imagine that even immediately at the purchase price level, certain smaller sedans could reach purchase price parity in the next couple of years,” Dr. Gearhart said.

By Tajudeen Adebanjo

Mercedes-Benz has unveiled the newest member of its passenger car segment. The all-new GLB brings the best of both worlds from Mercedes with its strong Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) DNA. The all-new GLB is the eighth entry in Mercedes-Benz’s compact class as it joins the A-Class, B-Class, CLA, GLA, A-Class Saloon, CLA Shooting Brake and the long-wheelbase A-Class Saloon.

Now in the local market courtesy of the Weststar Associates Limited, Authorised General Distributor of Mercedes-Benz in Nigeria, the exterior design of the new GLB comes with great off-road appeal with its front apron. It has a visual skid plate that emphasises the GLB’s unmistakable SUV character. The radiator grille comes with a double louvre finished in chrome inserts and there is the option of a diamond radiator grille with pins in chrome for the AMG line. Another highlight on the front end is the headlamps which come with the Multibeam Led lighting technology. The side view comes with recognisable features like a raised roof railing in chrome finish, 17 – 20-inch light-alloy wheels, door panels and wheel arches (claddings). The rear-view features two-piece tail lamps with the reflectors relocated to the bumper, a chrome plated loading sill protector and visible tail pipe trim elements that complements the overall design of the vehicle.

Sporting a high-quality design, the interior of the all-new GLB stands out with several comfort and luxury features. From fully digital displays to an off-road character, the GLB’s interior is interpreted in a young way. The dashboard wears a technical, avantgarde look, with the Widescreen Cockpit free-standing, positioned on the lower part of the dashboard, while the air-conditioning control panel wears an analogue-look with buttons in an aluminum finish. Other standout features include; three different seat variants that offer good ergonomics and a high level of comfort, ambient lightening provided exclusively by energy-saving LEDs and a centre console that comes with a stowage compartment which houses a cup holder, a 12 V socket and a USB port. The GLB impresses with plenty of space combined with compact dimensions, at 2829 mm the GLB has the longest wheelbase of the current compact-class generation from Mercedes-Benz. The headroom in the first seat row is 1069 mm – an optimum in this segment. At 967 mm, the effective legroom in the rear of the five-seater is at an especially comfortable level. The GLB is equipped with MBUX (Mercedes-Benz User Experience), the system features as standard two 7-inch displays (optionally: 2 x 10.25-inch), a sports steering wheel with Touch Control buttons on the left and right, a USB port (Type C) and Bluetooth® connection for telephony and audio sources.

The new GLB places its trust in the four-cylinder petrol engines which have been completely updated to relaunch the compact model series. In comparison to the previous generation, they are characterised by significantly increased power and torque. The GLB 200 uses a 1.66 liters M282 petrol engine with an output of 163hp (120kw) and a peak torque of 250 nm; while the GLB 250 4MATIC uses a 2.0-liter M260 petrol engine with an output of 224hp (165kw) and a peak torque of 350 nm. The GLB 200 and the GLB 250 4MATIC engines are paired with the 7G-DCT and 8G-DCT automatic transmission systems respectively. The GLB is also equipped with the permanent all-wheel system 4MATIC, with fully variable torque distribution. This sporty all-wheel drive configuration allows the driver to use the Dynamic Select switch to influence the characteristics of 4Matic.

The latest driving assist systems from the S-Class are also on board the new GLB. Thanks to improved camera and radar systems, the GLB is able to see up to 500 meters ahead and drive in semi-automated mode in certain situations. This includes, for example, the convenient speed adjustment ahead of bends, junctions or roundabouts carried out by Active Distance Assist Distronic.  The Active Lane Change Assist also features as a new function of the Active Steering Assist in the GLB, and if the Active Parking Assist with Parktronic is additionally on board, it is included with the extended automatic restart function on motorways.

Weststar Associates Limited Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Mirko Plath said the company is proud to introduce the brand as addition in the Mercedes-Benz family to the market.

Plath said: The new GLB caters to a growing demographic which we have also identified here in Nigeria. We strongly believe that our customers will embrace this new product as they have with our better-known products.”