EV Canada Newsletter - Issue #14

Weekly Recap Issue #14 - Tuesday, April 19th, 2022

Canada

The Ontario Energy Board, Canada’s Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO), BluWave AI and Hydro Ottawa are partnering to utilize artificial intelligence (AI) to coordinate EV charging in Ottawa.

The pilot, named EV Everywhere, will utilize AI technology developed by BlueWave to create an online service for EV owners. It will gather information on an EV batteries’ storage and charging capabilities to smooth out demand peaks and leverage lower cost energy at off-peak.

“Distribution utilities in Ontario are faced with the challenges to support increased demand from EV chargers in customers’ homes and businesses,” stated Devashish Paul, CEO and Founder of BluWave-ai.

“BluWave-ai’s EV Everywhere eases the transition to high EV penetration using real-time network data to predict demand, considering forecasted consumer loads and behind-the-meter renewable generation. Integrated with utility systems, EV Everywhere provides optimal dispatch for intelligent scheduling of EV charging and available battery energy storage. It’s a non-wires alternative solution that can defer or reduce the need for capital infrastructure upgrades.”

Kia EV6 Wholesale Shipments Reached New Record In March 2022.

In March 2022, Kia EV6 wholesale sales, which is closely related to production has achieved a new monthly record of 7,667. South Korea kept 2,689 units while 4,978 units were exported.

Although production has been constrained, this is a positive sign considering the continuous strong demand for Kia’s EV6. In Q1, Kia EV6 volume exceeded 20,000, so the assumption could be made that approxiamtely 80,000-100,000 are possible during 2022.

In total, Kia has produced more than 50,000 EV6 and nearly 35,000 were exported. Unfortunately, Canada has only received 121 units. The demand for the EV6 is quite high in Canada as the automaker had to stop taking orders. Hopefully we will see more EV6s make their way to Canada.

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EV Around the World 🌏

VinFast reveals VF 8 and VF 9 pricing with battery subscription.

VinFast has announced that the VF8 will come with 2 different trim levels each with 2 different battery versions. See summary below:

In addition to associated costs above, consumers that choose a VinFast EV will also have to purchase a battery subscription that will add some significant cost to ownership. Although pricing details in Canada have not been released, they have been in the US and I would expect Canada to receive similar pricing. There are two options for a battery subscription: Flexible or Fixed.

The Flexible Plan costs $35 USD / month for the VF 8 and $40 / month for the VF9. That sounds relatively inexpensive, except that the fee only covers the first 310 miles (498km) you travel.

Go over that limit in any month, and you will pay an additional $0.11 per mile or $0.15 per mile for the VF8 and VF9 respectively. If a US resident were to travel 1,500 miles per month in their VF8, their plan would cost them the $35 USD + $130.90 for a total of $165.90 USD

If you drive more than that you can go with the Fixed Plan, which costs $110 USD per month for the VF8 and $160 USD per month for the VF9 with no mileage caps.

Tesla Orders Starting April 17 Won't Include Mobile Connector.

Tesla CEO (who definitely does not need an introduction), Elon Musk indicated last week that Tesla would not be providing the Tesla Mobile Connector which used to come standard with a Tesla EV purchase. However, you could purchase one for $400. Elon stated that usage statistics were low as the reason for removing the item.

After receiving A LOT of feedback from the EV community, voicing their displeasure, Elon met half-way and will allow Tesla buyers to add the Tesla Mobile Connector to their order for $200 and make it extremely easy to add the item on to their order.

Hyundai IONIQ 5 Named World Car of the Year, Electric Vehicle of the Year and Car Design of the Year.

The Hyundai IONIQ 5 won big at the prestigious 2022 World Car Awards in New York. Hyundai’s all-electric crossover was named overall World Car of the Year, World Electric Vehicle of the Year and World Car Design of the Year. World Car Awards revealed the results at a ceremony held at the New York International Auto Show (NYIAS).

Hyundai plans to introduce 17 new BEV models by 2030, including Genesis luxury brand models, and aims to boost annual global BEV sales to 1.87 million units by 2030.

“We are truly honored to receive these prestigious awards, which recognize the talent and hard work of all our people and business partners at Hyundai Motor Company. Our vision is to enable Progress for Humanity, and this endorsement of our approach will serve to embolden our commitment to make this vision a reality,” said Jaehoon Chang, President and CEO of Hyundai Motor Company.

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