We're back with another Electro Beat; where we find the latest EV news so you don't have to!
This month we dive into a new law passed by the EU parliament, the EVs making their mark in the racing world, the UK's first ever EV charging loyalty scheme plus an emerging front runner in the race to electric!
Let's get plugged in...
There are plenty of ongoing projects determined to improve the sustainability of EV batteries and extend their usage beyond their EV lifespan. But now, there’s more than just determination, there’s a law!
As part of the European Green Deal, the European Parliament has passed an exciting new law; setting higher standards when it comes to the environmental impact of the EV battery lifespan.
The EU Batteries Regulation law will encourage the greenification of EV batteries’ manufacturing and recycling processes, setting environmental standards at every point in their lifespan:
Sourcing of raw materials
Production
Recycling
So, what are some of the new processes battery manufacturers will have to undergo?
Carbon footprint restrictions:
Starting this month (July 2024), those who want to sell in Europe must report the entire carbon footprint of the product. The data collected will then be used to generate a maximum amount of CO2 allowed to be produced during the manufacturing of the battery. Once this is established, the manufacturing plant must stay below the threshold, therefore encouraging them to use cleaner, greener energy sources!
Recovery of raw materials:
Batteries will be accompanied by documentation, disclosing information regarding the materials inside. These will then come with mandatory recycled content targets, ensuring the maximum amount of materials have been reclaimed.
Limitation of hazardous substances:
Certain substances will be disallowed or limited in the battery manufacturing process.
There are plenty of other regulations within this new EU law, all with the aim to reduce the environmental impact batteries can have on our planet - exciting stuff!
Before this law was implemented, EV batteries had already been used to power some pretty awesome projects! Find out more about what happens to batteries after their EV lifespan ends by checking out our blog on The Life of an EV Battery!
There is a new major player bursting onto the global EV stage: India!
The global electric vehicle market is currently in a stage of phenomenal growth thanks to amazing advancements in tech, governments policies making ownership easier and more affordable, plus an increased awareness of the environmental impacts. Forecasts predict a continued rise over the next two decades, and India is no exception.
By 2040 India is forecasted to achieve 5.9 million EV sales annually.
India is emerging as a crucial player in the global EV market with the country expecting to see huge leaps in adoption numbers due to a growing consumer interest, infrastructure development, and supportive government policies.
India is accelerating its EV adoption with a series of impactful policies.
The FAME-II scheme, with a ₹10,000 crore budget, supports electric buses, three-wheelers, four-wheelers, and two-wheelers.
The PLI scheme, launched in 2021 with ₹25,938 crore, boosts domestic manufacturing of advanced automotive tech.
To cut costs, the GST on EVs has been slashed from 12% to 5%, and customs duty exemptions are extended for EV battery machinery.
The EMPS 2024 allocates ₹500 crore for rapid adoption of electric two- and three-wheelers.
A new battery swapping policy standardises EV batteries, enhancing infrastructure for quick exchanges.
Reduced road tax and permit exemptions make EVs more affordable, reflecting India's strong commitment to green mobility and positioning it as a leader in the global EV market.
Although Formula E debuted its first season back in 2014 at the Olympic Park in Beijing, in 2024, leading racing brands are yet to launch their first electric vehicle. However, in the past few weeks, there have been rumblings that Ferrari are finally gearing up to announce its first fully electric vehicle.
Although rumored to be the most expensive model in Ferrari’s line up (estimated at 500,000€), the price tag won’t be the only thing that fans of the brand will find familiar as Ferrari announce patented technology that will mimic the famous sound of its engines in electric models.
Rather than just merely parroting an engine noise, the patented technology will produce sound in correlation with the power being delivered. Meaning the noise of the ‘engine’ will be directly proportional to the vehicle speed and dynamics - different from any other electric vehicle on the market.
But Ferrari are not the only luxury sports brand making noise in electric vehicle sports racing as the McMurtry Spéirling has just beaten the track record of the Mercedes-AMG One at Hockenheimring circuit by 14.1 seconds. Completing the lap in 1 minute and 24.4 seconds.
Driven by former F1 driver Max Chilton, the lap was completed on 8th June, the Spéirling demonstrated its exceptional performance and unique downforce-on-demand system, which provides instant downforce from 0 mph. For this track record, the Spéirling was running at 75% power and 75% downforce.
This achievement follows the Spéirling's success at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, where it set a new all-time hillclimb record of 39.08 seconds in 2022.
The Spéirling can reach 0-60 mph in 1.55 seconds and generates a peak output of 1,000 horsepower, all of which is channeled to the rear wheels. If you didn’t know, that's quite speedy…
Learn more about the Spéirling’s record breaking track here.
In an exciting move to squash the unfounded argument that ‘electric vehicles are no better for the environment than fuel vehicles!’, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has launched an interactive tool to explore and compare the lifecycle of greenhouse gas emissions from passenger vehicles with different powertrains—battery electric, fuel, and plug-in hybrid.
Not just a comparison of tailpipe emissions, the tool evaluates the entire lifecycle of cars, from raw material extraction to production and usage!
It allows users to customise variables like vehicle size, powertrain type, fuel efficiency, and lifespan across various regions, highlighting their true impact on emissions. It also lets users adjust assumptions about energy supply, such as electricity production emissions or biofuel blending in conventional and hybrid vehicles.
Not to shy away - we put it to the test and here were our results.
The criteria:
Vehicle country of purchase = United States
Vehicle size = medium
Driver Profile = long-distance commuter
Average mileage = 59 km/36 miles per day
Vehicle lifetime = 15 years
The results?
According to this tool, electric vehicles - despite their higher manufacturing emissions - cumulative emissions are lower than its fuel-powered equivalents after 1 year. Pretty impressive, right?
Want to test it out for yourself? Try the EV Life Cycle Assessment Calculator here.
ChargePoint and LG Electronics are teaming up to supercharge the EV charging scene!
By combining ChargePoint's top-tier software with LG's cutting-edge hardware, they're aiming to deliver a seamless charging experience for EV drivers worldwide.
Kicking off this summer, their commercial solutions will integrate ChargePoint's charger management software with LG's chargers. And they're not stopping there – future plans include merging LG's energy storage and smart home tech with ChargePoint's systems.
Pasquale Romano of ChargePoint says this partnership will "accelerate EV adoption," while LG's Mike Dobbs promises "unparalleled innovation in EV charging."
In a move that is an EV industry first supermarket giant Sainsburys announced that from the 24th of June customers charging with Smart Charge will be able to collect Nectar points. This makes it the UK’s first national EV loyalty scheme!
Smart Charge is an ultra-rapid EV charging network with over 400 charging bays and counting. This announcement happily coincides with the launch of the retailer's 50th Smart Charge location with 12 new bays now available at the Sainsbury’s London Enfield Superstore.
Any EV driver that charges with Smart Charge and has an active Nectar account will be able to collect one point for every £1 spent. These points can be used at ‘spend’ partners such as Sainsburys themselves, British Airways, Argos and more!
Patrick Dunne, Sainsbury’s Director of Property, Procurement & EV Ventures, said:
China is surging ahead in the EV landscape and their sights are set on the Latin American market next!
Whilst the US and EU are initiating complex tariff and protection measures in regards to their EVs and importation, places like Brazil and Mexico are still interested in local EV investment, open to importing and allowing Chinese companies to develop new tech (and mine essential minerals).
China’s exporting numbers have jumped up in the last few years, growing by 102% from 2021 to 2022! Since their focus shifted to developing markets, Latin America is notable in these numbers, however places that are geographically closer to China such as Southeast Asia still make more of an appearance, contributing to 10% of China’s exports.
To get a foot in the door of Latin America’s trade market, China started by creating commercial BYDs first - providing electric buses and other commercial vehicles - only once these were popular did they start producing and selling EVs!
In Brazil, China has already started to localize! Chinese manufacturers, such as BYD and Great Wall, have established R&D (research and development) centers plus production and sales centers. Amongst these, BYD has expanded to a consumer level, constructing a $611 million EV and battery factory in Bahia.
In Mexico, at least three Chinese EV brands have been preparing to produce vehicles (or expand existing operations) to a consumer level! Changan and BYD are planning to make a move into Brazil whilst JAC have stated they’re aiming to expand their current facilities.
In April this year (2024), 1.2 million new EVs were registered worldwide - 25% more than last year!
Across the first four months of 2024, 4.5 million plug-in models took to the roads around the world - BEVs (Battery Electric Vehicles) claimed 11% of the total market share alone!
Whilst Tesla Model Y managed to stay at the top of the global EV sales in April 2024, with nearly 70,000 sales worldwide, the BYD Song (BEVs and PHEVs - Plug-In Hybrids) followed quite closely behind, with over 60,000 sales overall. On top of this, the next five EVs listed on the sales scale were also BYD models!
Due to the amount of BYD models sold in April 2024, the brand soared above the rest, delivering over 300,000 vehicles and accounting for 25.3% of all plug-in registrations! When you compare the rate of BYD’s increase in market share to Tesla’s decrease, it’s possible BYD could surpass Tesla in BEV registrations in the third quarter of 2024.
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