Bisa Nitip Bisa Dititp: A range war is brewing among EV sedans

Friday, October 15, 2021

A range war is brewing among EV sedans

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Tesla gets ready to launch Berlin Gigafactory, VW wants to fill cities with autonomous EV shuttles, and Lucid reveals a system that will compete with Tesla's Autopilot. But first:

Mercedes EQS Gets EPA Rating as Range War Heats Up

Mercedes EQS Gets Official EPA Rating as Range War Heats Up.

As the Tesla Model S approaches the decade mark, shoppers of electric luxury sedans will soon be spoiled for choice, with the latest entrants kicking off nothing short of a range war (though some automakers won't admit they're engaged in it).

Just days after the Lucid Air received a 520-mile rating from the EPA, seeking to dominate not just its own segment but the entire world of EVs, the EPA numbers for the Mercedes-Benz EQS were released. The sedan will begin arriving at US dealers soon.
And the results? The single-motor version of the 2022 Mercedes-Benz EQS 450+ received a 350-mile rating, while the dual-motor, all-wheel-drive version came in at 340 miles, losing only a tiny bit for all-wheel-drive performance. This puts Stuttgart's electric flagship well above electric sedans offered by Porsche and Audi by this metric... but well south of the Long Range Tesla Model S top-dog Lucid Air sedan.

An AMG version of the EQS is on the way as well.

Of course, each automaker will point out that there are factors beyond pure range in which their cars stand above the competition. And they're hoping buyers will agree, trading range for some other features.

There is something to be said, however, for the ability to go 250 miles in one direction and then have enough juice to head 250 miles home without recharging, which is a feature Lucid hopes luxury EV shoppers will value.

Honda EVs are on the way, but the US may not actually receive most of them.

Speaking of brands, this week Honda announced plans to launch an EV sub-brand, with the first vehicles due next year. Dubbed e:N, the lineup previewed in concept images includes three SUVs, a sedan, and a coupe, complete with very distinctive styling.
"The name 'e:N' represents Honda's desire to energize people who are trying to do things based on their own initiative in this era of electrification," the automaker explained. "The 'e:' is from 'e:Technology,' the collective brand name for Honda's electrification technologies with which Honda strives for carbon neutrality. The letter 'N' stands for 'New/Next,' representing new value creation for the next-generation of mobility."
There's a catch: These EVs will be built in China and offered only in that country, at least at first. Honda does indicate it aspires to export these as well.
The good news is that Honda is working on other EVs that will be offered stateside, with one Honda SUV and one Acura SUV due in 2024, slated to be built on GM's Ultium powertrain. Honda will also offer EVs on its own platform down the road, some of which are expected to land stateside as the automaker builds out its electric lineup. Whether any of them will be sold under the e:N sub-brand in the states remains to be seen.

BMW i4 M50 and i4 eDrive40 Match Performance with Electricity

What's missing in our broad electric future is a sporty entry right there in the middle, and starting early next year we will have one when the BMW i4 M50 rolls silently into showrooms. That and the less-expensive but only slightly less sporty i4 eDrive40 will inject some serious sports sedan sensations into the class.

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Here's How VW Wants Autonomy to Change City Life

This week Volkswagen is giving the world a preview of its robotaxi tech in the city that will be the first to host the company's autonomous ride-pooling service. Revealed in prototype form last month at the IAA in Munich, the robotaxi version of the ID. Buzz was developed in a partnership with Argo AI, and will be a part of a ride-pooling program in Hamburg operated by Volkswagen's MOIA unit focused on mobility tech and services.

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