🤖The Robots are Coming...to Drive you

Good Morning, this is your Electric Daily. The email that gives you a daily jolt of electric vehicle trends, insights, and predictions, in 5 minutes or less.

In Today's Email:

• 🤖 Why EVs Make Good Autonomous Vehicles

• 🎂 Ford Mach-E Takes the Cake

• 💰 Italy Makes it Rain 9 Billion Ways on EV Infrastructure

• 🗒️ Five Nuggets

—Riz Nwosu

Why EVs Make Good Autonomous Vehicles

The tech world is due for the next big thing, and one of the best candidates to fill this position is autonomous vehicles or AVs. However, as a fan of electric cars, you might wonder if battery-powered vehicles make good AVs. In this article, we look at what it takes for EVs to make excellent self-driving cars.

Electric vehicles are the future of mobility, the same as self-driving. The former will save the environment by not producing emissions while the latter will save drivers’ lives, time, and effort, freeing them to engage in other activities while enjoying their rides. However, there are challenges to be met before EVs and self-driving can intersect in perfect harmony.

To make EVs self-driving, some compromises are required. One of such tradeoffs is range. EVs still have a limited driving range compared to ICE cars. Yet, the first set of self-driving cars is expected to be used as RoboTaxis that will have to cover hundreds of miles each day. Moreover, powering the sensors and onboard computers that enable self-driving will zap the battery, reducing the driving range.

However, a Carnegie Mellon study suggests that the tradeoffs necessary make EVs autonomous are not as crippling as once assumed. While it is true that some hardware parts will impact the driving range, some tweaks and better software could make autonomous EV fleets a reality.

The researchers point out other ways that battery efficiency can be improved. For example, the study concluded that constant starts and stops take between 10 and 15 percent of the battery. This implies that programming the EVs to drive themselves smoothly will result in some gains in range. Also, using chips custom-made for AVs will increase energy efficiency, while reducing the size and weight of the lidar hardware or finding a better way of integrating them into the car will improve the aerodynamics.

Interestingly, car makers do not have a consensus on whether the first batch of self-driving cars should be battery or gas-powered. For example, Ford plans to launch its autonomous tech using hybrid electric vehicles. The company claims that half of an EV’s battery will be consumed by self-driving software, air conditioning, and other secondary systems. Ford also claims charging an EV rapidly-a requirement for a successful fleet-will wear the battery out faster while still slowing down the fleet operation.

In contrast, Tesla, which makes only electric cars, is all in with self-driving tech. It wants to make self-driving happen as soon as possible. Showing its confidence in its self-driving tech, the carmaker recently increased the cost of its Autopilot feature from $10,000 to $12,000.

Ford Mach-E Takes the Cake

The Ford Mustang Mach-E has risen to the top of Consumer Reports' electric car rankings for 2022. Ford's flagship EV triumphed against Tesla's Model 3. When compared to the Ford Mach-E, the Model 3 fell short in self-driving safety and the steering wheel, among other areas.

According to Consumer Reports, the Ford Mustang Mach-E is now the best electric car to buy in 2022, dethroning the Tesla Model 3, which held the title last year. Consumer Reports' Jake Fisher explained to CNBC why the Mach-E is so highly rated. ”Not only is it a really fun vehicle to drive, it is sporty, but it is also extremely mature. When I say that it rides nice, it is very quiet. I mean it really feels well built.”

The Mustang Mach-E's dependability, customer evaluations, and independent testing were the driving elements in the organization's decision to name Mach-E its "Top Pick." The Model 3, on the other hand, struggled with input-free driving. According to Consumer Reports' tests, the Tesla Model 3 does not alert drivers as much as the Mach-E if they are not paying attention while the self-driving feature is active. The group also criticized Tesla's steering yoke, claiming that it makes turning the steering wheel more difficult. 

Yoke's on you Consumer Reports, Tesla owners are doing just fine with the yoke steering wheel.

Italy Makes it Rain 9 Billion Ways on EV Infrastructure

The Italian government authorized over 8 billion euros ($9 billion) in help to protect consumers and businesses from rising energy prices, which are dragging on the economy, including 1 billion euros for the car industry.

The spending package comprises the following:

• A fund of 1 billion euros every year for eight years to help the green transition in the automotive industry, including incentives to acquire electric and dual-fuel vehicles.

• Increasing Italy's domestic gas output from 3.2 billion cubic meters to almost 5 billion cubic meters.

• Simplifying the approval process for renewable energy facilities.

• Increasing gas storage capacity

The government said earlier this week that it will set aside hundreds of millions of euros to help Stellantis build a battery facility in Termoli, southern Italy. Kudos to Stellantis for securing the bag 💰

Here's a chart on the other ways Stellantis is securing the bag!

Five Nuggets

• Volkswagen Planning New EV Factory, Increase In Output - [Read more here]

• Harsh winter conditions an obstacle to EV adoption in Canada - [Read more here]

• Nissan and Infiniti Preview EV Sedans Coming in 2025 - [Read more here]

• Ford shares pop on report of CEO Jim Farley analyzing spinoff of EV business - [Read more here]

• EV batteries could complicate recovery of burning cargo ship with thousands of cars - [Read more here]

And one more gif for good measure...Mr. Bean was ahead of his time with his autonomous vehicle skit 🤣

Consider yourself 80% charged. Why 80%? Well, according to legend, charging your battery to 100% repeatedly will damage it faster than you can say...[Insert clever saying here]. See ya tomorrow!

What'd you think about today's email?

• ⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡ Fully charged

• ⚡⚡ Meh - was ok

• ⚡ Not even close

Written by Riz Nwosu

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