Random EV thoughts.....

Fair, I do see site limitation at times there, sometimes the chargers are limited to 3kW each side. Strange setup. I have been there recently with all 4 in use though. It's one of my favorite park and charge locations as there is a tesco and dealz on site so good for doing the shopping if I'm in dublin.

I guess it's to do with the fact that they're renting the land from a forecourt operator. The likes of Circle K might not want to advertise a charging network which will likely be a competitor in the next few years

I wonder will this change with Ionity going for bigger hubs like Mornas which have a shelter and a big Ionity sign on the top

It'll be a long time before we see that in Ireland however

I'm going to go on a limb here and suggest that it's probably cheaper than a 1.5MW grid connection 😉

TII won’t give permission to put advertising signs along a motorway. (I’m not sure about their policies for Dual Carriageways like the N7.) That’s why you see advertising painted on the side of trucks parked in a field.

I'm going to go even further out on a limb than before and suggest that painting "Ionity, high speed EV charging, located at Cashel and Kill" on a couple of trailers and paying to park them in a few fields along the M7 is definitely cheaper than getting a 1.5MW grid connection 😁

I think his dublin to mayo and back is a specific reference to a recent EQS coast to coast video from Derek Reilly where he said he could go coast to coast to coast in it

I absolutely agree, but if home charging is the objective, and we can take it from the SEAI spokesman that it probably is, then AC chargers on footpaths will be the solution

And unless councils dramatically change their opinions on having homeowners put a charging pillar the kerb, or cut a covered gully for cables across the pavement, then it falls to the council. In that case it's likely to be a "public" charger even if it's outside your house

Just copy what already works in other countries. No need for reports or trials.

Good old Andy calling out The Sun for it's bullsh!t articles on EVs

TLDR version, a couple supposedly went in holiday for two weeks and found their Leaf had lost ~40% of battery somehow, possibly after leaving the preheating timer on (even though the Leaf won't allow you to preheat below 20% SoC)

They then somehow failed to search for any rapid chargers in the area and ended up at an AC charger and had to charge for 3 hours to get home. Now they own a BMW instead

Right...

The "journalist" in question seems to get their articles from social media, always a very reliable source 😏

I'm willing to bet the writer also posted the story to social media under a fake name. Nothing like making up something on a slow news day

As Andy correctly pointed out, 30 seconds of fact checking would reveal that, if true, the couple just f**ked up instead of there being a deep problem with EVs.

While I sympathise, this is the equivalent of writing an article saying you can't use a petrol car long distance because someone got stranded after leaving their engine idling for a week and then driving past 4 petrol stations

If it smells like bullsh!t, and looks like bullsh!t, then it's probably bullsh!t

Karaoke and avatars…..

https://www.ft.com/content/64b52fa1-6db9-48ae-86fb-69c15f346a9e

VW ramps up investments in electric car transition with €180bn injection

Money will be used over next five years to produce batteries and fund expansion in US and China VW chief Oliver Blume aims to use investments to strengthen the carmaker’s position in China despite pressure to diversify supply chains and sales away from the country

Volkswagen is ramping up its investments in electric vehicles, committing €180bn over the next five years to manufacture its own batteries and expand in the world’s biggest markets in the US and China. It is a 13 per cent increase on last year’s pledge of €159bn with just over two-thirds of the money set aside for the transition to electric vehicles and software as the car increasingly becomes a connected device, where the smartphone links with the functions in the vehicle.

Chief executive Oliver Blume said the world’s second-largest carmaker by volume would use the investment to target growth in “key markets”, adding that 2023 would be a “decisive year” for the group. Despite pressure to diversify both supply chains and sales away from China following rising geopolitical tensions, VW aims to use investments to strengthen its position in the country, where it makes half its profits. It has taken the view that China is unlikely to invade Taiwan in the short term because of the shock this would cause to its own economy, according to one person who has been part of internal discussions.

Blume said that VW had to “listen to the Chinese customer more strongly”, adding that in-car karaoke machines and the ability to craft avatars were among trends its China-based software division Cariad was developing. An in-car avatar would be like a passenger that could be used to visually give the driver guidance and assistance on directions and hazards.

The German carmaker’s announcement comes as the industry steps up the switch from combustion engines to battery-powered vehicles. VW has gone further than rivals with plans to not only assemble batteries but also manufacture cells. It recently announced plans to build an electric vehicle plant in the US and a supporting battery factory in Canada, lured by US president Joe Biden’s $369bn package of subsidies and tax incentives for green energy in the Inflation Reduction Act. Blume said on Tuesday that he had hashed out plans with Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau, welcoming the country’s approach to investment “risk sharing” as it agreed to offer VW tax incentives based on sales. The owner of brands such as Porsche, Škoda and Audi also revealed it had taken a €2bn hit related to the sale of its business in Russia.

Ahh.. Give me strength! They are looking at flipping avatars! They need to focus on the basics like sorting out OTA and scheduled charging, not karaoke for the Chinese!!!

Just enough knowledge to be dangerous but not enough to be helpful.

Here is the flip of the story. This morning I stopped to charge at Ionity Kill, arrived with 2% SoC it was 4 Celsius and raining. The charging peaked at 191kW

I stopped charging after 11 minutes, at a charging speed of 125kW SoC 40%

I pumped 30kWh in 11 minutes, enough for about 200km and it cost me a tenner. Average charging speed bit more that 150kW. It is not the first time when I do this, but this time I documented it because of a previous discussion when people were saying it is better to have multiple 50kW instead of less high powered. I did not go to the toilet, did not eat pastries as it would have slow me down, with the morning queues from the ICE drivers. Would they publish that? No cause it doesn't sell