2014 Tesla Model S on 2040-cars

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Recharge Wrap-up: Kia Niro caught at Nurburgring, Tesla & Ben & Jerry

The Kia Niro hybrid was spied testing at the Nurburgring. The prototype of the 2016 Niro — which originally appeared as a concept at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show — is heavily camouflaged, so it is hard to tell which exterior features have been carried over. Its plate is registered to a hybrid, but other powertrain details are unavailable (the concept was equipped with a 1.6-liter turbocharged engine and electric drive system good for 158 horsepower). When it goes on sale, positioned below the Soul in Kia's lineup, it will only be available as a hybrid, with a plug-in hybrid version expected in later years. See the video above, and read more at Autoevolution and at Hybrid Cars. A new report from IHS Automotive predicts the EV charger market to surpass 12.7 million units by 2020. In Japan, the number of EV charging stations has surpassed the number of gas stations. The Netherlands, UK and Norway are the leaders in EV chargers in Europe, while Germany and France are slow in their infrastructure growth, relative to their size. CHAdeMO is the more popular charging standard worldwide, but CCS is expected to close the gap. According to the report, PHEVs will become more abundant than BEVs in 2016, and will remain so for a while. Read more at Green Car Congress. Kandi Electric Vehicles has signed a strategic agreement with telecommunications company ZTE Corporation and EV leasing company Zhejiang ZuoZhongYou Electric Vehicle Service (ZZY). The three groups will work together to improve Kandi's "Micro Public Transportation (MPT)" carsharing program. They'll collaborate on promotion, creating a research institute, doing research and development for wireless charging and making their operating system easier to use, among other endeavors. "We are excited to connect Kandi's innovative MPT model with ZTE's cutting-edge technologies," says Kandi Chairman and CEO Hu Xiaoming. "By leveraging ZZY's premium services, our goal is to accelerate MPT's market penetration, maintain our leadership position and achieve greater success in China's booming EV industry." Read more in the press release below. Ben & Jerry's debuted a new ice cream flavor at the Tesla Motors factory in Fremont, CA. Tesla built a special Model S in honor of the event and the new flavor, which is called Save Our Swirled.

Dealers claim factory-owned Tesla stores are illegal

Unlike typical dealers, Tesla has a network of "stores" and "retail stores." While reservations can be made for a new Model S or Roadster at the retail store, Tesla says other versions of the store merely direct potential customers to make their reservation online. Most of these boutique-style stores are in shopping malls, and Tesla asserts that they are not sales facilities. It's an assertion with which traditional auto dealers are taking issue.
Dealers associations and networks across the country are doubling down their efforts to make Tesla's OEM showroom network illegal. Tesla has opened 17 stores in 10 states, as well as the District of Columbia.
Dealership associations contend Tesla's notion that sales are not made at these stores, stating that the showroom experience is still part of the sales process. To that end, dealer groups across the country have embarked in legal battles with the electric carmaker. The Illinois Secretary of State has informed Tesla that it is illegal to list CEO Elon Musk as the owner of its Chicago store. The Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association is looking into legal options against Telsa's Westchester store, as well as two others in New York. In Massachusetts, the opening of a store in the suburban Natick Mall is having its legality challenged by the dealer association in that state. California has laws in place that allow for a manufacturer to run its own dealership, as long as it is not within 10 miles of an existing dealer. That practice caught the ire of Chrysler dealers when the American automaker opened its own multi-brand showroom near downtown Los Angeles.

Tesla Gigafactory will be capable of supplying packs for 500,000 EVs a year

We made our gigafactory predictions the other day and, it turns out, we were pretty much on target. Today, Tesla Motors released the first official details on its upcoming massive battery plant and we see sun and wind power feeding energy into a plant that will employ around 6,500 people and make enough packs for around a half-million Tesla EVs a year. You read that right. Tesla is getting ready to produce 500,000 EVs a year, and that's already in 2020. Tesla hopes to start selling a lower-cost EV, the Model E, in about three years. The finalists for where the Gigafactory will be built include the Southwestern states of Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas (our money is on Nevada). We were a little low on the estimated battery output. Instead of being able to make 30 Gigawatt-hours of batteries per year, Tesla is saying that it will have enough capacity to produce 35 GWh of cells and 50 GWh of packs a year. We think that's for both EVs and stationary applications and have reached out to Tesla for confirmation on this point. You can see the details for yourself here and in our gallery below. Through 2020, Tesla will directly invest around $2 billion in the plant and its partners will pony up another $2-3 billion for a total cost of $4-5 billion. That's a lot of cash, but Tesla says that it will make buying an EV much, much cheaper. The company is saying that, once the plant is up and running for the first year, the per-kWh cost of a Tesla battery pack will be lowered by "more than 30 percent." Maybe that Model E isn't such a pipe dream after all. Also today, Tesla announced a new convertible notes offering worth $1.6 billion. Details are available in the press release below. Tesla Announces $1.6 Billion Convertible Notes Offering Wednesday, February 26, 2014 PALO ALTO, Calif., February 26, 2014 – Tesla announced today an offering of $1.6 billion aggregate principal amount of convertible senior notes in an underwritten registered public offering. Of the total offering, Tesla will offer $800 million aggregate principal amount of convertible senior notes due 2019 and $800 million aggregate principal amount of convertible senior notes due 2021.