Category Archives: Uncategorized

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Electric Vehicle Ownership is on the Rise, Tesla Dominates the Market

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Via Teslanomics:

As sustainability becomes increasingly important to car owners, more and more people are exploring purchasing an electric vehicle. As a result, EV sales in the U.S. are soaring. In week’s episode, we explore the electric vehicle sales market, including its overall change, plugins vs. batteries as well as the Model 3 and Tesla overall.

Diving into the data, electric vehicle sales were up 47% in Q1. This is a big leap for electric vehicle sales, especially when you compare it to overall vehicle sales – a market that isn’t doing so hot. This suggests a tread towards more sustainable forms of transportation, including both plug-in electric vehicles and battery plug-in EVs, like a Tesla.

Tesla dominates the battery electric vehicle (BEV) category – accounting for half of all electric vehicle sales in Q1. From January – March, 40,7000 plug-in electric vehicles were sold in the US. These sales have been driven largely by longer range EVs coming to market, like the Chevy Bolt. With the release of the Tesla Model 3, the Nissan Leaf and similar vehicles coming to market, sales will likely continue to trend upwards, especially as affordability and accessibility also increases.

Worldwide the overall growth of electric vehicles sales was 72%, with China leading the way with a 140% jump in EV sales. While the numbers in the US aren’t as strong, the significant jump in Q1 shows the increasing desirability of electric vehicles in the US.

The Tesla Model 3 has a lot to do with EVs popularity in 2017. EV Volumes are predicting that 50,000 Model 3 will be delivered in the US this year. From a production standpoint, Tesla recently reported that they’ll be producing approximately 5,000 per week – putting them in good shape to meet the demand.

A big question about the Model 3, and one that you’ve asked me, is: what about the tax credit? According to Clean Technica, it’s likely that anyone who purchased a Tesla this year will receive the $7,500 tax credit. But it’s important to remember that after 200,000 Teslas are sold, the phase out begins. I dove deeper into the electric vehicle tax credit in a previous video, you can learn more here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWHgB…

As I previously mentioned, Tesla dominates US electric vehicle sales. When you combine the Model S and Model X, Tesla accounted for nearly 48% of US BEV sales. This is huge! There isn’t really any other industry where one brand dominates the market so highly. And looking forward, while the other players will make an impact, Tesla is likely to continue ruling the electric vehicle market.

You can check out the sources I mentioned via the links below.
http://www.ev-volumes.com/news/usa-pl…
https://cleantechnica.com/2017/01/20/…

As always, for the latest Tesla news, visit us at Teslanomics.co

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Google Reveals Street Level Pollution Data, and It’s Worse Than You Thought

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There have been pollution monitoring sensors and stations for a while now, which measure particulate matter, ozone, NO2, carbon monoxide, and a few other hazardous emissions. You can view global pollution data readings in real time, and that is great news if you are sensitive to toxic air. However, there is a very big drawback to the ways these numbers are collected. Geography, wind, buildings, proximity to traffic all add a lot of variability to readings. The air at the top of a US embassy building might be fair, but the air at the intersection down the street among the buses, diesel delivery trucks, and street vendor stoves can be absolutely noxious. Height of the sensors is extremely important, especially when gases tend to settle low in avenues and streets, among the bikers, commuters, and baby strollers. Air quality sensors have been a topic of debate in Delhi, India, as the uniform height mandates caused the true level of pollution in the city to be underrepresented and misunderstood.

The map shown above is part of Google’s recent project to show the air quality right down to the block you are standing on in Oakland, California. The project is in partnership with the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and Aclima, a pollution sensor startup it has been working with to map environmental changes in the Bay Area, Central Valley and Los Angeles since 2015.

Google strapped Aclima sensors to its StreetView cars shortly after it began working with the company and its maps can now give you street-level data in areas with higher amounts of nitric oxide (NO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and black carbon particulates — all pollutants coming from car exhaust, all very hazardous to lung tissue and carcinogenic.

The project was able to identify local hot spots of pollution, which was critical to modelling what how intersections, congestion patterns, and street setups affect the air that we actually breathe every day.  They also plan to correlate the data to medical histories of asthma attacks to better understand how pollution afflicts sensitive lungs.

One good example of how the map can help environmental scientists in the Bay Area is the ability to track higher pollution due to cars speeding up near the Bay Bridge to cross under or merge onto I-80, which is a freeway with frequent traffic congestion that goes beyond just rush hour and can sometimes even be affected on the weekends.

In a Google blog post, out today, Google claimed its pollution data set to be the largest ever published, “With nearly 3 million measurements and 14,000 miles captured in the course of a year,” and said it could apply the data to other cities in the future.

Hopefully, this data will provide even more incentive to invest in clean transportation solutions.  Whatever your feelings on climate change, protecting the air that we actually breathe in our city streets, stores, and homes should be a national and global undertaking.  It’s nice to see Google assuming a leadership role.

Model S, Tesla Model X, Tesla Motors, Uncategorized

Norway Is Rich with Oil, but They All Drive Teslas

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On Vox Borders this week, I couldn’t help but think of a quote from Scarface,”Don’t get high on your own supply.”


Journalist Johnny Harris described Norway as “full of Teslas”.  While he doesn’t know much about the popular electric plug in, “0-60 in like… 5 seconds”, he does bring up an interesting observation about environmental and economic policies working together to affect change. In 2014, Tesla broke a record for number of cars sold in a month for a single model, of any kind of car, not just electric cars. In America, we’ve all seen the occasional electric vehicle, but in Norway, other Scandinavian countries,  and Iceland, electric vehicles are becoming omnipresent on all city streets. This is partly due to forward thinking politicians, and their fortunate access to renewable resources to generate electricity, like geothermal generation.  This renewable electricity makes electric vehicles much more beneficial over internal combustion cars, so it makes more sense to go all-in on a plug-in transportation future.

In 2016 in the United States of all the new cars that were purchased about 1% were electric, more like 0.9%. In Norway it was 29% and that trend is only speeding up: in January this year[2017] the share was like 37% or something of all the cars purchased being electric.

Many countries are adopting policies that make it cheaper for someone to buy a Tesla or any other electric car than to buy one in the United States.  In Norway, you get free parking if you drive an electric car, you get access to the HOV Lane, which has way less traffic, you don’t have to pay registration fees, you get tax deductions on your income tax, and perhaps the biggest incentive of all is on the business side: companies like Tesla don’t have to pay sales tax for selling in Norway.

Furthermore, you don’t have to pay for gas to drive an electric car in Norway, and you don’t even have to pay for electricity because that is on the house.  It’s all payed for by the sovereign wealth fund, which is comprised almost entirely of oil and gas money. Norway’s a huge producer of fossil fuels and they sell that to other countries.

While some might disparage Norway for funding their sustainable, clean future with dirty money, when you look at the situation objectively, they are still reducing their carbon footprint and fueling their own economic good compared to a business as usual approach. Using profits from older fossil fuel resources to improve the environment and wellbeing of their citizens is possibly the most beneficial way to spend tax dollars in the long and short term.

An most Norwegians are simply unapologetic for this caveat of their economy.  And why should they be?  If somebody else will pay their oil and natural gas, the Norwegian economy is much obliged to take their dollars, bitcoins, or yen and invest it in their transportation projects.  If it worked for Tony Montana, it works for Norway (I don’t remember the full plot to Scarface).

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Top 5 Safe Cars of 2017

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The modern car is built with safety very much in mind. Endless tests are done to help prevent accidents from happening in the first place, and if they do, protecting the driver and passengers in the vehicle is a priority. Though all manufacturers now make safety their aim, some cars are better than others. So, let’s take a look at some of the safest cars on the market these days and what it is that makes them so great.

Hyundai Ioniq

When it comes to small family cars, the Ioniq stands up there with some of the very best on the market. Many people will be impressed to read that it boasts a five-star Euro NCAP rating which is very difficult to obtain. It is available in three distinct models: standard hybrid, plug-in hybrid and pure electric model. The looks are fairly standard, but beneath the surface, it is a car that has safety at its very core.

Toyota Prius

It would be hard to write an article about the safest cars on the market without giving the Toyota Prius a mention. The original car that popularised the hybrid trend, the Prius is now in its fourth generation and safety is very much a priority. The main advantage of the Prius is that it is packed with the latest technological features including an autonomous braking system and lane-keeping assist. Not only this, it was voted Euro NCAP’s safest large family car in 2016.

Honda Jazz

If you are looking for a small vehicle that is also very safe, look no further than the latest Honda Jazz. Though this is a car that is targeted at a younger market, it may well be parents who are impressed by the safety features and suggest this as a perfect first car. For added peace of mind, it is worth having them take a defensive driving traffic school online. Spaciousness and practicality are two features that have always been focused on, but now the five star Euro NCAP crash test rating is an added bonus.

VW Touran

With a comfortable interior and good level of driveability, the VW Touran is an excellent choice for family buyers. The engine is economical, meaning that running costs are relatively low. And with regards to safety, it has scored well across the board. It scored particularly highly in the Child Occupant category which means that children ride in the safest seats possible.

Ford Galaxy

Those who after a large vehicle that is also safe, the Ford Galaxy comes right near the top of the list. It performed very well across all categories of the Euro NCAP which means that it is a very safe car indeed. New additions include better quality materials and a touchscreen infotainment system. Despite its large size, the steering and suspension are good which means that it is fun to drive as well as being practical and safe.
These are just five of the top safe cars on the market. The general rule of thumb is that the newer the vehicle, the safer the car tends to be.     

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Beijing to Replace All Taxis with Electric Vehicles

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This is news very near and dear to my heart and lungs. Reducing toxic air pollution in urban environments is crucial to improving public health. If you live in an urban city, you may or may not be familiar with AQI, the air quality index. This measures the amount of ground-level ozone, particulates, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide in the air. Depending on where you live, the AQI will exclude some of these measures. But ground level inhaled particulate matter and other toxins spewed from internal combustion vehicles have adverse affects on local lives, including asthma, bronchitis, sinus infections, cancer, and death. Especially in Asia, which has developed so much industrially and socioeconomically, pollution is a very big, very visible problem. Many months of the year, citizens are encouraged to wear face masks, and you can forget about exercising outside unprotected. So it is great to see China taking action against localized deadly pollution.

China will begin to replace all taxis in Beijing with electric vehicles. All new replacement models for decommissioned taxis will have to be electric starting in 2017. Hopefully, China will make a serious push to lower their toxic emissions, because as of right now, the smog can reach as far as the west coast of the United States, thanks to prevailing wind patterns. But the most harmful pollutants are happening on the streets, as localized emissions are trapped between buildings and hover on the sidewalks and windows where people live, work, and play. This type of pollution is usually not expressed by AQI indexes because of where the monitors are set up, so the harmful effects are much worse than indicated.  Electric vehicles are the best way to reduce localized air pollution in urban environments.

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New Battery Technology will transform the Electric Car Market

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Imagine a future where electric cars are normal. Petrol and diesel pumps will be a thing of the past and instead fuel stations will simply be recharging points. There will be far less pollution resulting in better health and fitness levels in the population. There will also be far less noise, with the quiet, serene hum of the electric car all you can hear. There are of course many people who already drive electric vehicles. The Tesla, Toyota Prius and Nissan Leaf are all examples of cars that have either electric or hybrid technology and they are already being driven about the roads.

 

Porsche 2016 NAIAS

If the vision is so good however, why don’t we all have electric cars? Are we missing out on a perfect reality already, simply because we are all too lazy to make the switch?In reality, there are still several problems with electric car technology. First and foremost is the battery technology.

The future of car battery technology

Batteries on the market today are so big that they take up much of the car. The Tesla Model S, for example, has a battery pack that is 1.2m wide and yet it will only last about 300 miles (482km) before it needs to be plugged in and recharged again. Recharging is a bit of a pain also and takes a long time. Filling the tank up with petrol and then being able to use the car straight away seems, for many of us, a much better deal.

However, we are at the dawn of a new age when it comes to battery technology, the key thing that is holding the electric vehicle market back. Researchers from the MIT and from Peking University in China have suggested the industry moves towards a new kind of lithium oxygen batteries that are up to 15 times more efficient than current batteries.

What’s the problem at the moment?

Currently, although lithium-oxygen batteries are used in the industry, they require a reaction that involves carbon dioxide and water in addition to oxygen. When a battery is running it takes in air which causes a reaction to take place and then there is a need for an outflow so that the battery can recharge. This requires the battery to be very large and results in the charging process being quite long and tedious.

Porsche 2016 NAIAS

How do the researchers solve the problem?

The researchers have come up with a method which means that oxygen does not ever have to revert to a gas in the charging process. This means that there is no need for a two way flow in the charging system and so the battery size needn’t be so large. Instead, oxygen transforms directly within the enclosed battery. In the current system, most of the energy is wasted as heat, due to the chemical reaction resulting in carbon dioxide and water. This results in the batteries being far less efficient than their potential. In the new system the heat is not generated to such an extent and so the batteries can run for much longer.

No risk of overcharging

Because there is no risk of overheating and because it is an internal reactive process, there is no risk that the batteries will overcharge. The research team experimented with overcharging and found that there was almost no risk of this happening.

Conclusion – the future is bright

It seems that the future for the electric car is much brighter thanks to this new battery technology. The researchers aim to get it out to the real world within a number of months so that manufacturers can move the technology forwards. Once this happens, it is only a matter of time before the electric car can manage long journeys without the need to recharge. A future with electric car technology seeming normal now looks far more likely.

2016 Ford GT

Today’s top car manufacturers are striving for perfection. Just look at Porsche Boxster parts or at the newest Tesla. It’s only normal for things to get better with every year that goes by. However, even if these two are currently at the top, it doesn’t mean that less known manufacturers won’t come to the surface. Because they will, and their batteries might be more ground-breaking.