Monthly Archive: June 2023

Kia starts accepting pre-orders for EV6 in China, limited to 1,000 units

Kia has not yet announced pricing for the EV6 in China, which starts at $42,600 in the US.

Kia starts accepting pre-orders for EV6 in China, limited to 1,000 units-CnEVPost

(Image credit: Kia)

Kia Motors, an affiliate of Hyundai Motor Co, is accepting pre-orders in China for its first all-electric model, the EV6.

Starting June 28, Chinese consumers can pre-order the EV6 by paying RMB 666 ($92) for the model, which will be imported into China but is limited to 1,000 units, Kia announced today.

Kia has not yet announced the prices for the EV6 in China; the model has a starting price of $42,600 in the US, according to its website.

The car is based on Kia's EV-specific platform E-GMP and has a wheelbase of 2,900 mm.

The vehicle offers a variety of all-electric, zero-emission powertrain options, including a long-range version with a 77.4 kWh battery pack and a standard-range version with a 58-kWh battery pack.

The Kia EV6 has a maximum power of 125 kW and a maximum torque of 350 Nm in the standard range rear-wheel drive version and a maximum power of 173 kW and a maximum torque of 605 Nm in the standard range four-wheel drive version, which can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 6.2 seconds.

The EV6 long-range rear-wheel drive version has a maximum power of 168 kW and a maximum torque of 350 Nm. Its long-range 4WD version has a maximum power of 239 kW and a maximum torque of 605 Nm, and can accelerate from 0-100 km/h in 5.2 seconds.

The car supports 800 V charging and takes only 18 minutes to charge from 10 percent to 80 percent. For the long-range 2WD version, a 4.5-minute charge adds 100 km of range, the company said.

Kia announced its official entry into the Chinese EV market at an event on March 20, unveiling the EV5 concept, EV9 concept and EV6 GT.

Kia plans to launch its flagship electric SUV EV9 in 2024, an entry-level all-electric SUV in 2025, a premium electric sedan based on a next-generation EV-specific platform in 2026 and a mid-size all-electric SUV in 2027.

The EV9 concept car has a length of over 5000 mm and a wheelbase of 3100 mm, with a 3-row, 6-seat interior design.

In China, Kia is aiming for 450,000 units by 2030, with new energy models accounting for 40 percent of the total, according to its previously announced plans.

Kia enters China's crowded EV market, 1st model expected to launch in Aug

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Nio begins allowing consumers to lock in orders for new ES8

Deliveries of the new ES8, which starts at about $68,900 including the battery, will begin later today.

(Image credit: Nio)

Nio (NYSE: NIO) has begun allowing Chinese consumers to lock in orders for the new ES8, with first deliveries set to begin later today.

The new ES8 began accepting locked orders today, and show cars and vehicles for test drives are already arriving at the company's showrooms in various cities, according to a post on Nio's mobile app today.

The flagship SUV is Nio's transition to the NT 2.0 platform for its first production vehicle, with a length, width and height of 5,099 mm, 1,989 mm and 1,750 mm, respectively, and a wheelbase of 3,070 mm.

Nio is offering three options for the new ES8, including the regular, Executive and Signature editions, with starting prices of RMB 498,000 ($68,900), RMB 518,000 and RMB 598,000, respectively, including the battery.

If consumers choose to purchase the car using the BaaS (battery as a service) plan, the starting prices for the three versions are RMB 428,000, RMB 448,000 and RMB 470,000, respectively, and the monthly battery rental fee starts at RMB 980.

The first owners of the new ES8 will receive a 6-year or 150,000 km vehicle warranty and a 10-year unlimited mileage warranty on the battery, motor and electric control system. They will also receive free lifetime roadside assistance and up to 8 GB of traffic per month for 6 years of free car internet connectivity.

Consumers who purchase the new ES8 on or before July 31 will receive a home charging pile worth RMB 7,500, NOP+ two years free access worth RMB 9,120, Nio Air AR glasses and Nio Air smart ring worth RMB 2,597.

Nio launched the new ES8 on Nio Day 2022 on December 24, 2022, when the starting prices for the three versions including the battery were RMB 528,000, RMB 548,000 and RMB 638,000 respectively.

On June 12, Nio made the previously free battery swap benefit optional, thus reducing the price of all models by RMB 30,000.

Following this move, the starting prices of the three versions of the new ES8 were RMB 498,000, RMB 518,000 and RMB 608,000 respectively.

On June 24, Nio announced that the price of the Signature Edition of the new ES8 was adjusted to RMB 598,000, a further reduction of RMB 10,000. The prices of the regular and Executive editions remain unchanged.

Consumers can purchase the new ES8 with the optional benefit upgrade package in the vehicle configurator for RMB 30,000. The package includes four free battery swap services per month and a 10-year unlimited mileage warranty on the vehicle.

Consumers who purchase before July 31 can upgrade the 4 free battery swaps per month in the package to 6 per month if they forgo the free home charger.

Deliveries of the new ES8 will begin later today, Nio said.

Nio sold 3,200 units last week and 8,000 between June 1 and June 25, according to figures shared yesterday by .

The company guided for second-quarter deliveries of between 23,000 and 25,000 vehicles when it reported first-quarter earnings on June 9, meaning it expects to deliver 10,187-12,187 vehicles in June.

($1 = RMB 7.2274)

China NEV insurance registrations for week ending Jun 25: Tesla 16,700, Li Auto 7,500, Nio 3,200

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Volvo Cars Latest To Partner With Tesla On Tesla Supercharging

As expected, more carmakers continue to join in partnership with Tesla on Tesla Supercharger access for their cars. After Ford broke open the dam, GM, Rivian, and various charging networks have followed in partnering with Tesla on this. The latest news is that Volvo Cars is partnering with Tesla, too. Right at the beginning of […]

How Turbulent Winds Can Increase Efficiency in Concentrating Solar Power

Most people have seen solar photovoltaic panels mounted on rooftops or lined up across sunny fields, but fewer people are as familiar with concentrating solar power (CSP). This form of solar power uses mirrors to concentrate sunlight onto a receiver filled with fluid. The sunlight heats the fluid, producing energy, which can be used to generate […]

Sharing Expertise In Energy Efficiency & Weatherization To Advance Home & Building Performance

Researchers from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) recently brought their expertise in renewable energy and energy efficiency to over 2,600 home performance and weatherization industry professionals from across the country at the 2023 National Home Performance Conference (NHPC). “Conferences like NHPC allow our researchers to bring cutting-edge research and innovative energy conservation concepts directly […]

Nio partners with Chinese oil giant CNOOC on power-up network deployment

CNOOC -- one of China's three largest oil giants -- said it will provide with reliable sites, technology and service support to fuel the rapid growth of its charging and battery swap network.

(Image credit: Nio)

Nio (NYSE: NIO) has entered a strategic partnership with China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) at a time when the oil giant, like its other local peers, is seeking to transform itself into an integrated energy service provider.

On June 27, Nio's energy business unit, Nio Power, signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement with CNOOC Refinery, CNOOC's petroleum refining subsidiary, to jointly build charging and battery swap infrastructure, the electric vehicle (EV) maker said yesterday.

Wang Weimin, chairman and general manager of CNOOC Refinery, and Qin Lihong, co-founder and president of Nio, attended the signing ceremony in Hefei, Anhui province, and remotely witnessed the launch of the first joint battery swap station between the two in Huizhou, Guangdong province.

Wang visited one of Nio's manufacturing sites and a Nio House in Hefei and had a hands-on experience at a battery swap station, according to an announcement from Nio.

Guided by China's carbon peak and carbon neutral goals, CNOOC is actively building integrated energy sites and will gradually transform from an energy producer to an integrated energy service provider, Wang said.

CNOOC will next provide Nio with reliable sites, technology and service support to facilitate the rapid development of its charging and battery swap network, according to Wang.

 

CNOOC is China's largest operator of offshore oil and gas production, ranking 65th on the Fortune 500 for 2022 with $127 billion in revenue, according to the Fortune website.

CNOOC Refinery is CNOOC's business in charge of refining and chemical sales, with assets of more than RMB 100 billion, according to Nio's announcement.

Currently, Nio and CNOOC Refinery are already working together in several Chinese provinces and cities, which will provide users with a more convenient energy replenishment experience, the announcement said.

In 2020, China announced its goal of achieving carbon peak by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060. Since then, controlling carbon emissions has become a major concern for Chinese society, especially in the energy sector.

In addition to CNOOC, the other two largest Chinese oil giants, Sinopec and China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), have both made it clear that they will transform into integrated energy service providers.

Sinopec appears to be more aggressive in this transformation, stating in March 2021 that it will aim for carbon neutrality 10 years ahead of the national commitment, with net zero emissions as its ultimate goal.

As part of achieving that goal, Sinopec signed a strategic partnership agreement with Nio on April 15, 2021, to co-build charging and battery swap infrastructure.

At that time, the first Nio second-generation swap station was opened in a Sinopec gas station area in Beijing in the presence of both parties.

On April 15 of this year, the second anniversary of their partnership, the number of charging and battery swap stations they have built together reached 251, according to information previously shared by Nio.

These stations include 102 battery swap stations, 121 supercharging stations and 28 destination charging stations, covering 27 provincial administrative regions and 89 cities.

On November 24, 2021, the first two battery swap stations built by Nio and CNPC were put into operation, marking the official result of their cooperation.

In addition to its partnership with the Chinese oil giants, Nio also signed a strategic partnership agreement with Shell, the world's largest gasoline retailer, in November 2021 to collaborate on charging and battery swap facilities in China and Europe.

The two would jointly install 100 swap stations in China by 2025, according to a statement at the time.

On August 1, 2022, the first Nio-Shell partnership battery swap station and supercharger station went into operation in Xiamen, Fujian province, in southeastern China.

On May 16 of this year, Nio said the first battery swap stations it built with Shell in Europe went live in the Netherlands.

To date, Nio has 1,511 battery swap stations in China and 1,457 supercharging stations offering 7,176 supercharging piles, according to data monitored by CnEVPost.

In Europe, Nio has 17 battery swap stations and 8 charging stations.

Nio reaches 1,500 swap stations in China as it aims for 2,300 by year-end

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Solid-State Batteries Get Another Step Closer

Solid-state batteries have been hyped as the next big era of batteries for at least a decade. But there’s always “just one more thing” that needs to be fixed. We’ve covered so many “breakthroughs” in the tech, so many solutions that will help to make solid-state batteries finally competitive and commercially viable. Yet, they seem […]