Watt Happened: News from Feb. 12-18
By Phil Royle – Feb. 18, 2021
This week was packed with yummy EV and hybrid reveals, some as vehicle refreshes and others boasting completely new form factors. Of those the biggie, believe it or not, was the Chevy Bolt.
Chevy’s Bolt steps up its game for 2022, with a standard EV and a larger but-don’t-call-it-an-SUV “EUV.” Both Bolts sport a fancy outer wrapper that offers grown-up good looks rather than the mostly OK metal the 2017-’21 models sported. The EUV extends the wheelbase by 2.9 inches and the body by half a foot, with most of that additional wheelbase going to the rear passengers. Therein, Bolt EV and EUV luggage room is largely comparable.
With a roughly 250 mile range and $32,000-$34,000 price tags, the 2022 Chevy Bolt EV and EUV are compelling buys. (Image courtesy Chevrolet)
Both models sport a 65 kWh battery on a non-Ultium platform, with the EV claiming a 259 mile range, nine miles greater than the EUV, and Super Cruise can be had as an eventual subscription service. Beyond the included 120/240-volt combo charger that has the capacity to charge the battery in as few as seven hours without a dedicated wall charger, the big news was the price. The Bolt EV now starts some $5,000 less than the previous generation with a sticker of $31,995, while the EUV is slightly pricier $33,995. And for that price, Chevy will also throw in a free home charger installation that bumps 240-volt charging from the supplied plug’s 7.2 kW to a more impressive 11 kW.
Should the federal tax credit return, this and the Nissan Leaf are solid bang-for-the-buck contenders against almost any ICE vehicle and certainly against other EVs (although Tesla subsequently announced the price for its Model 3 SR+ would dip to an impressive $36,990). You’ll be able to pick up your very own 2022 Bolt EV and EUV as early as this summer.
Other announcements this week include the facelifted 2022 Hyundai Kona Electric, which goes on sale in the spring, as well as McLaren’s first plug-in hybrid, the $225,000 Artura. The McLaren combines a 577 hp 3.0L twin-turbo V-6 with a 7.4 kWh battery-powered 94 hp electric motor. Want to drive on the electric motor only? You’ll make it 19 miles – at speeds under 25 mph. Expect to see the McLaren hit showrooms in late summer 2021.
The redesigned 2022 Hyundai Kona Electric sports similar specs to the 2022 Bolt in battery size and range, but with a price closer to $40,000, Chevy will probably win this round. (Image courtesy Hyundai)
CNBC toured the Lucid Motors facility in Casa Grande, Ariz., interviewing Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson. Rawlinson revealed that Lucid is aiming for its facility to produce 34,000 cars annually – roughly one car driving out every 10 minutes – in Phase 1. Phase 2 doubles the facility’s size and ups the capacity to 90,000 Airs and Gravity SUVs per year. Phase 3 will see another doubling of the plant accompanied by the capacity to output 400,000 EVs annually. Rawlinson also hinted at “platform two,” where Lucid Motors will then produce “serious volumes,” he said. Can someone say Model Y competitor? The Air is still on schedule for a spring 2021 release, with Gravity hitting the ground running in 2023.
Jaguar Land Rover CEO Thierry Bollore announced that Land Rover will release six EVs by mid-decade, with the first coming to market in 2024. Furthermore, Land Rover expects 60% of its sales volume to be electric by 2030. Meanwhile, Jaguar is set to be fully electric by 2025 – although that plan no longer includes the electric XJ that had been previously hinted at.
“It’s time to re-imagine the next chapter for both brands,” Bollore proclaimed, adding that the company will be investing more than $17 billion into electrification through 2025.
Not to be outdone, Ford’s European arm says it will go all electric by 2030. As CNBC reported:
“In plans announced Wednesday morning, Ford said its entire passenger vehicle range in Europe would be ‘zero-emissions capable, all-electric or plug-in hybrid’ by the middle of 2026, with a ‘completely all-electric’ offering by 2030.”
On the rougher side of things was a Toyota 4Runner with the heart of a Nissan Leaf that won the Every Man Challenge at this year’s King of the Hammers. The team used a slick-sounding quick-change battery system that enabled the removal of a 20 kWh battery and installation of a 62 kWh battery in a speedy seven minutes.
And it wouldn’t be a week without Tesla news. To that end, InsideEVs reported that in the U.S. luxury segment, Tesla vehicle registrations in 2020 surpassed Audi. That puts Tesla in fourth, with BMW leading Lexus and Mercedes-Benz, then comes Tesla and Audi.
Audi’s 2020 U.S. sales came in roughly 17,000 units shy of Tesla’s, dropping the brand down the luxury automaker list, where it now sits fifth. (Image courtesy Audi)
Oh, and Elon Musk doubled down on the mythical Tesla Roadster using rockets, saying those rockets will be hidden behind a fold-down rear license plate – oh, and the car might be able to hover. Perhaps he figured NHTSA wasn’t busy enough investigating the legality of the yoke steering wheel in Tesla’s redesigned Model S and X.
(Main image courtesy McLaren)
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