Fisker electric pickup, Acura ZDX debut, Rivian R1S review, Tesla Standard Range: The Week in Reverse

Will consistent charging change the trend towards massive EV batteries?

Which company committed to a long-term Tesla Supercharger purchase this week?

This is the Week In Reverse search for the week ending August 18, 2023, right here at Environmentally Friendly Car Reports.

In a review of the Rivian R1S on a Rocky Mountain experience, familiarising oneself with its on- and off-highway capacity and travel modes, calculating its assortment and effectiveness, testing out rapid charging, and even camping within it, one will also note its assortment and efficiency. It offers an off-road experience—and a way of life—that is still not possible in any Jeep. Additionally, if you choose your wheels carefully, the Dual-Motor versions of the Rivian R1T and R1S have official EPA range ratings of 352 miles as of this week. This is true for the Big Pack, the middle of the three Rivian battery packs, which is encouraging news for the upcoming Max Pack and the possibility that those variations may travel more than 400 miles.

In addition, the company announced that the R1S is the first electric SUV to take on the Rubicon in stock output form, giving it an off-road bragging right in what may otherwise appear to be Jeep’s exclusive territory. Its “some beauty bumps and scrapes,” however, are a testament to the brand’s Quad Motor layout’s superior traction. Jeep does not currently have an all-electric SUV.

Fisker considers the upcoming $45,400 Alaska electric truck to be its “everything” vehicle, but it won’t reveal who would likely build it in the United States. After explaining this, Fisker presented a number of further fresh concept images of this truck, which has the same platform as its Ocean crossover but is still undergoing development.

Additionally, on Tuesday, Fisker said that it will join an increasing number of automakers in granting Tesla Supercharger access beginning in 2025—as well as the Tesla NACS charge connector on its vehicles in the long run. This could be a great example of letting the past go in the interest of development, given CEO Henrik Fisker’s antagonistic history with Tesla in the past.

The Acura ZDX will make its official debut in 2024, giving the high-end and powerful Honda brand its first EV. Although this vehicle is essentially a Cadillac Lyriq with a different skin, the ZDX outperforms the Lyriq in terms of variety and has a predicted range of 325 miles in some configurations.

According to rumours, Jaguar has confirmed that the I-Speed would be phased out by 2025. This first high-quality long-selection EV following Tesla was scheduled to arrive with additional improvements, but it looks Jaguar is focused on starting from scratch by the time its subsequent-generation EVs start shipping.

Tesla was able to successfully lower the base price of its Model S and Model X by introducing more affordable Common Selection versions. They hire a software lock to the battery pack, which lowers the range from the other versions’ 405 and 348 miles to 320 and 269 miles, respectively, for a $10,000 savings. Although the cost of the update has not yet been made public, when Tesla made it accessible for the Design 3, it cost $4,500 to access the full range of batteries.

The results of the latest Pew poll may come as a surprise to some who believe we have now reached a consensus over the importance of combating global warming, reducing tailpipe emissions, and switching to electric vehicles (EVs) while significant areas of the United States experience “heat hell.” Only 31% of respondents in the United States agreed that the country should completely phase out fossil fuels; no deadline was given. Additionally, there is a party gap on several fundamental issues, with far less than one in four Republicans viewing the improvement of the local environment alone as a serious concern.

Bloomberg has discovered that the average EV battery pack dimension is increasing at an alarming rate, even when compared to rated EV selection, driven by the potential buyers of large electric pickup trucks and electric SUVs. This is due to the fact that EVs are growing in size simultaneously, causing a “battery bloat” that will make assets and the supply chain more durable than expected. Will reliable, widely accessible charging—or technology like stable-state batteries or increases in power density—reverse the trend?

China’s CATL unveiled a modified lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery chemistry and architecture that, according to the company, delivers superior charging and performance in cold weather—two common drawbacks to the battery type that is popular in China—as well as 250 miles in 10 minutes. Ford refuses to say whether or not this technology is utilised as part of its Michigan LFP cell manufacturing licence.

Ford’s on-road wireless EV charging patent illustration

Ford outlined the technical building elements for enabling EVs to be wirelessly charged when they are pushed together in a recent patent filing. Ford hasn’t disclosed any plans to make money off the technology, which might be expensive, but it might be used for short-loop fleets and supply vehicles or, in the far-off future, customised cars.

Stellantis is apparently considering a $25,000 electric vehicle, despite assessments by the CEO of the company and the UAW suggesting that lengthy talks may be necessary before such a design is deemed feasible for U.S. production. However, considering the history of the EV tax credit, that component is currently below in the Chevy Bolt EV.

Disconnecting push motors while cruising or coasting can likely improve EV selection by 9%, as the supplier Magna recently argued—on behalf of products it frequently produces, we must be fair. The unit it is promoting is already scheduled to begin on “multiple cars of a German top quality automaker” soon.

First Faraday Long FF91 purchaser vehicle

primarily based in California Faraday About five decades after it was initially scheduled to arrive, Long Term has sent its first FF91 ultra-luxurious EV—one of them. For a company that first came out of stealth mode in 2015 and revealed the FF91 in 2017, it has been a long road.

In its most recent yearly look at the issue, J.D. Electricity found that public charging is still a concern and may even be worse in terms of dependability than it was last year. To highlight the issue, Power observed that one in five EV charging attempts failed, not only due to connector issues but also due to the charging stations themselves. And it was unexpected to learn that users discovered public charging to be even less dependable in California, where there are just more chargers located in more locations.