By Simon Acton – October 6th, 2020 As many of you know we had hoped to host a number of regional IEVOA meet-ups during the autumn. We have held off announcing any dates or locations in the hope that the COVID 19 situation would improve. At this stage it is increasingly clear that this kind of event simply isn’t going to be possible this year. Our priority is the health and safety of our members and the general public so with a heavy heart we will be postponing until Spring 2021 at the earliest. Regarding the EV Challenge, Dublin-Cork-Dublin or otherwise, this may still be possible as a socially distanced event but we are holding fire on this for now. We could do this anytime of year but with travel restrictions in place for some counties and likely to be extended we can’t plan this for now. On the upside, we are going to arrange some online events through the autumn and winter, on Zoom, similar to how we hosted the AGM. This will include updates from the committee, contributions from guests from around the industry and Q&A sessions. More details to follow soon. We hope this goes some way towards compensating for the disappointment of postponing the other events and giving everyone something to look forward to over the coming months. Best regards, Simon Acton, IEVOA Chairman
By Simon Acton – October 5th, 2020 In early September 2020 we asked our members for feedback on their experiences with the standard AC charging network since paid for charging was introduced in early August. Please find the Survey Results here Thanks to the contributors. The response rate to these surveys we’re sending are high and therefore significant. They are really important and help ESB Ecars and the charging infrastructure players to understand what us consumers need/want.
By Guillaume Séguin – October 3rd, 2020 We have never really covered light commercial vehicles (LCV) sales, just because these are relatively rare in a market where diesel is king. But lately, this is changing and no less than 327 100% electric LCVs were sold last year, mostly Renault Kangoo ZE. This year sales are growing further and we should hit the 400 units mark. And if 2020 of course started slowly, surprising sales of Q3 (July-September 2020) did show again massive Kangoo ZE sales. We don’t have the details of who bought these Kangoos ZE but just opening your eyes (and ears) you will probably have noticed that there are quite a lot of green AnPost vans going around (“192” and now “202” regs). Postal services have been purchasing Kangoo ZE all over Europe, thanks to reasonable purchase/lease prices and low running costs (and where the lack of DC capabilities do not matter). Fleet managers know! If you are curious about the Kangoo ZE, check out our review here. H = Half year / Q = Quarter photo credit : An Post
By Guillaume Séguin – October 2nd, 2020 New PHEV sales have reached a 3.57% market share in September, with 203 registrations recorded, a 3-fold growth over September 2019 (67 sales). No new entry this month but a top 5 made of 4 models launched this year (Ford Kuga, Volvo XC40, Kia Ceed and Audi Q5). A total of 2325 new PHEVs (2.77% market share) have now been registered in 2020, compared to 3618 BEVs during the same period. Ford Kuga PHEV, leader in September The interesting element is still to be looked on the used import side, with yet another record, as for the first time PHEVs passed the 500 units/month mark. representing now over 5% of all used vehicles imported into the Republic, thanks to the greatly reduced VRT compared to ICE variants of the same models. Over 100 used Mitsubushi Outlander PHEV were imported in September
By Guillaume Séguin – October 1st, 2020 The month of September has been exceptional for dealers this year, with sales up a surprising 66%, mostly dues to attractives offers and delayed-by-covid purchases. Again this month BEVs shine with a progress of 477% (!) over September 2019. BEV Market share has reached 11.68%! (4.28% year to date) Volkswagen ID.3 The newcomer (and leader!) of the month is the long-awaited Volkswagen ID.3. The first 238 units have been registered, and there is no doubt on the fact that it’s a mix of dealer demo cars and first customer orders, as the software issue bottleneck has now past, and thousands of ID3 produced over the last few months can now be shipped to their respective destinations. Behind the new Volkswagen is the Tesla Model 3, usually on top on the 3rd month of each quarter : it is now celebrating its first year in Ireland. It also take the year to date lead over the Leaf, with 41 extra units sold over the popular Nissan. Used imports are in line with previous months with just 50 BEVs registered in September. Tesla Model 3 – Year to date leader
ESB eCars introduced paid for charging on their standard AC network on 10th August 2020 so we would like to gather some feedback from you, our community and members, before we meet with them next later on this week. Thank you ! >>>>>Click here to fill out the survey<<<<<
By Guillaume Séguin – 2nd September 2020 Another month, another great push for PHEVs. 228 new vehicles were registered with the Niro leading ahead of the Kuga. Since July and its launch in Ireland, 28% of all Kugas were Plug-in, which shows that if you get a PHEV variant in your range, these will sell more than just a few units. And this is how we’re getting PHEVs representing already 4.68% of the total market. Kia Cee’d More than the new car sales, the used imports have again hit a monthly record, with 406 vehicles brought into the Republic in August, almost 1 of every 20 vehicles imported. The hype for the Outlander seems to slow down but German Premium are getting huge interest, BMW being by far the most imported brand. Peugeot 508 Estate
By Guillaume Séguin – 1st September 2020 On an August market almost stable (-4%), BEVs shine with sales up 72% and 296 units, brining the 100% electric cars market share above 6%! The year to date share is at 3.75%. This month Kia is doing great with both E-Niro and E-Soul on top. followed by their cousin the Kona. The Zoé and Model 3 sold 27 models each. The Tesla is still 2nd year to date behind the Leaf but September (end of quarter) sales could give the American model the lead. And big up for whoever ordered a Renault Twizy :) 214 E-Sould have been sold so far this year Used imports are back into negative territory after growth in July and are now becoming marginal, less than 10% of the level of new sales. One more Renault Twizy on the road this month!
By John Doyle with Eamon Stack and Barry McMahon – August 8th, 2020 I’m John Doyle. The beginning of my Vectrix story goes like this: I returned to motorcycling in April 2010 (after a 30 year hiatus) when I saw an Irish Times article on a new motor scooter, the Vectrix VX-1. I went on to purchase the ex-demo bike I had used for my demo ride. After 3.5 years of ownership, the battery temperature sensor circuit failed having been exposed to water after driving through a flooded road. In turn, this prevented the NiMh battery pack from charging and it died. This resulted in a temporary halt to my EV dream. John discusses Vectrix upgrade with Kevin McDonald Early in 2014, I noticed a Vectrix parked on Amiens Street, Dublin. Intrigued, as these bikes are a rarity, I waited to meet the owner who turned out to be Eamon Stack. After a chat we exchanged contact details. It was the beginning of an enduring friendship and meeting of minds in the world of electric motorcycles and cars. It was also the start of putting my Vectrix back on the road. In March 2014, with Eamon’s help, we sourced 40ah CALB LiFeP04 (Lithium Iron Phosphate) cells from Anne Klopenberg in The Netherlands (New Electric) and a BMS kit from Matt Casey in Perth, Australia. (Ireland, The Netherlands, Australia, Poland – the EV community is global). We put my Vectrix back on the road with I creased range. Eamon and myself are now part of a Vectrix community of 5 EV owners with Vectrix bikes we have successfully converted from NIMH to LiFeP04 and now to Leaf cells. The Vectrix VX-1 was designed around the millennium and launched in 2006. It is a maxi- scooter similar to the Honda Silverwing or Yamaha XMax and many similar bikes very commonly used by European commuters. The Vectrix, unlike many Asian small electric scooters, was a high-spec bike using quality bike parts like Brammo brakes, alloy frame by Lockheed martin aerospace and Italian forks. Its brushless motor gave 24 BHP of torque (equivalent to 350cc ICE bike) and its regen braking, by reversing the throttle, was revolutionary. Even Eddie Jordan had a Vectrix! John removes modules from Leaf battery pack The Achilles heel of the bike was the battery pack – it was designed too early for the Lithium battery revolution and relied on a battery chemistry that was great for Duracell bunnies but inadequate for Vectrix’ big motor. After a rumoured $100m investment, Vectrix went bankrupt, twice and there inventory was purchased by Vectrixparts.com in Poland set up by some emplyees from the original manufacturing plant. While our early Vectrix conversions were a success, the real breakthrough for Vectrix enthusiasts came when a Nissan Leaf was kindly totalled by its owner. Eighteen modules of a Leaf pack, entirely by coincidence, fit snuggly into the Vectrix battery case and have the right total voltage for the motor. Our latest project has been delivered by Barry McMahon using cells from the battery pack of a Gen2 40kwh Leaf. The BMS for the Leaf modules is designed by Vectrixparts in Poland and the result is a bike with I creased power and range of 160km. This is 60% better than the original design. Barry and Eamon now drive these beefed-up maxi scooters. Our friend Sean O’Callaghan is currently rebuilding a bike for his friend and plans to put Eamon’s old bike back on the road later in the year. Our EV community has learned the skills to upgrade the battery of any EV. The two challenges for reliable upgrade: to source affordable Lithium cells and for someone in our worldwide EV community to develop a upgrade kit. As Sean, Eamon and Barry have Gen 1 Leaf EVs, they are keen to upgrade their Leafs. Please read our other article on “Leaf – how to quadruple your range”. Vectrix with Leaf modules and BMS Keeping EVs on the road, for as long as possible, is an important aspect to living a more sustainable lifestyle. EVs can outlast ICE vehicles threefold. While the early vehicles suffered from underdeveloped or short-range battery packs, this need not be a fait-accompli with no or excessively expensive options. It is important that the EV community demonstrate the reality that we can upgrade older EV to give them a fully and happy long life. As we are all also EV car drivers, we share the delights of the EV community with the increased range of new and used EV cars for the public. However, we note that unlike the automaker sector, the motorbike sector has been very slow to design EVs. The only maxi-scooter alternative to the Vectrix is the BMW C-Evolution (BMW’s only e-bike to date). In the mainstream motorbike market, Harley-Davidson have the Livewire and Zero, the Tesla of motorbikes, have a good range of powerful bikes at different levels. Our concerns is that the price premium of EV motorbikes is 50% over their ICE equivalents and there is no Government grant to soften the financial hit. Four upgraded Vectrix maxi-scooters with Kevin We invite anyone interested to campaign for the introduction of a €3k EV grant for motorcycles, equivalent to the grant available in UK and most EU countries. Guest post – Leaf Battery Upgrade – Quadruple the Range (part 1) Guest post – Autumn 2020 is a new Spring for Irish Leafs (part 3)
By Guillaume Séguin – 7th August 2020 After the e-208 (and the 3008 PHEV as well as the 508 PHEV), Peugeot keeps developing its plug-in range this year with the much anticipated e-2008. Just like for the e-208, the e-2008 is a derivative from the ICE version, with the same 136hp motor, 50kWh battery, and a logically slightly lower WLTP range (310km vs 345km) as its smaller sister. And exactly like the e-208 it has only a very few aesthetic changes, such as the body colored grill and the dichroic badging. It goes from 0 to 100kph in just 8.1 seconds, and can charge on DC at speeds of up to 100kW, but just 7kW on AC (11kW tri-phase is a €390 option). e-2008 GT Line The great thing about the e-2008, is that it is (again, just like the e-208) not just an expensive trim, limiting is popularity, but a range of 4 versions : 4 trims, just like the ICE version, from the frugal Active to the sporty GT. The e-2008 Active offers already a great basic kit, with climate control, alloy wheels called “Elborn” (yes that’s the name of a Seat EV – still better than Mini SE’s “Corona” wheels), leather steering wheel, LED headlights, 4 USB sockets, rear parking sensor with 180° Camera (that’s front and back), 7 inch central screen with Android Auto and Apple Carplay. e-2008 Active The Allure adds larger 17 inch wheels, the fancy 3D i-Cockpit, rear privacy windows, front parking sensors and other features. The GT Line has a larger 10′ infotainment system with navigation, black roof, more powerful LED headlights with the claws design, a frameless electrochrome rear view mirror and the GT adds handsfree access, Adaptive cruise control with lane assist, 18 inch wheels, smartphone induction charging and Alcantara seating. GT Line and GT version have the claws signature If the range is not best in class, the price is very reasonable for a family SUV. At € 38,135 in its top trim, it is still cheaper than the Kia e-Niro (€39,495) and the Active version is just €2,000 more expensive than the base Leaf (SV 40kWh) which has a similar kit but a bit less range, and slower charging capabilities. Find out more about the e-2008 on www.peugeot.ie Peugeot e-2008 Active – €31,845 Peugeot e-2008 Allure – €33,785 Peugeot e-2008 GT Line – €36,315 Peugeot e-2008 GT – €38,135 Prices include the battery, VRT relief, SEAI grant and exclude metallic paint and delivery charges