Tesla, Solarcity, Skoda, China, UK, Audi, Faraday Future.
Tesla presents solar roof and Powerwall 2.0: The newly unveiled and rather subtle solar roof tiles from Tesla and SolarCity not only collect sunlight, but are said to outlast, provide better insulation and cost less than regular shingles. They will be available from summer 2017 (after the merger?). Meanwhile, the new Tesla Powerwall 2.0 offers 13.5 kWh of storage – almost double the capacity than the previous version – and will be available for 5,500 dollars incl. the inverter from December.
insideevs.com, techcrunch.com, youtube.com (presentation video)
E-Skoda in 2019: Skoda wants to launch its electric SUV in 2019, Autocar reports – one year earlier than previously planned. Also, a PHEV variant of the Suberb will become available in 2019, while plug-in versions of the Octavia and Kodiaq are also in the pipelines.
autocar.co.uk
China bets on HEVs: After pushing electric and plug-in hybrid cars, the Chinese government is increasingly promoting pure hybrids as well. They are said to make up 8 percent of sales by 2020 and 25 % by 2030, Bloomberg reports, citing a government strategy paper.
bloomberg.com
UK expands subsidies: The British government increased funding available for electrified utility vehicles to 4m pounds. So far, subsidies had only been available for electric and plug-in hybrid commercial vehicles of up to 3.5 tonnes. Now, even heavy trucks qualify for up to 20,000 pounds in funding.
edie.net, fleetworld.co.uk, gov.uk
Audi A6 get plug: Audi kicked off production of its A6 in China. The new model is being manufactured at the FAW-Volkswagen plant in Changchun in the north-east of the country. It is Audi’s first PHEV made in China.
ihssupplierinsight.com
Troubles to launch? Six top managers allegedly left Faraday Future in the past months, while doubts about the start-up’s solvency continue to be raised. FF meanwhile teased its first series model (camouflaged) in a new video.
jalopnik.com (managers), latimes.com (solvency), youtube.com (teaser video)
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