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Porsche Taycan may be delayed in delivery for 8-10 weeks
Recently, Norwegian reservation holders of the Porsche Taycan received an email from Porsche regarding the delay in delivery of their orders. The email reads:
Taycan is our first purely electric sports car, developed from scratch and produced in our new factory with the full commitment of Porsche employees in order to meet the high standards our customers expect from us. Unfortunately, due to the highly complex production process, we must report that taking delivery of your Taycan is, unfortunately, going to be somewhat delayed compared to our previous estimates. We currently expect that this new delivery date will be 8-10 weeks later than originally planned, but nevertheless, we will do our utmost to deliver your Taycan as soon as possible. We apologize for any inconvenience this delay may cause.
Quick Review: People used to say that traditional car companies making electric cars will make Tesla disappear, yet we have yet to see a traditional car company completely outcompete Tesla. Even strong traditional brands like Porsche are still unable to overcome the production hurdles of making electric cars. This shows that making electric cars is not an easy task. Nonetheless, we hope Porsche will overcome these challenges and deliver the Taycan as soon as possible. After all, we are excited to experience what a Porsche-made electric sports car is like when we get the chance.
Tesla Cybertruck Officially Revealed
On November 21, Tesla revealed its highly anticipated electric pickup truck, the Cybertruck, at the SpaceX factory near Los Angeles.
This time, Tesla broke away from their traditional sleek and streamlined design philosophy and went for an intimidating and polarizing “cyberpunk” look. In contrast to its flashy exterior, the Cybertruck has a minimalist interior, resembling a larger version of the Model 3 interior, with seating for six. The dimensions of the truck are approximately 5,885mm x 2,027mm x 1,905mm.
There are three versions of Cybertruck with the following basic configurations and selling prices:
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Single-motor rear-wheel drive: EPA range of 250 miles (400 km), 0-60 mph in 6.5 seconds, top speed of 110 mph (176 km/h), selling price of $39,900.
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Dual-motor all-wheel drive: EPA range of 300 miles (480 km), 0-60 mph in 4.5 seconds, top speed of 120 mph (192 km/h), selling price of $49,900.
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Tri-motor all-wheel drive: EPA range of 500 miles (800 km), 0-60 mph in 2.9 seconds, top speed of 130 mph (208 km/h), selling price of $69,900.
In addition, Tesla has equipped the Cybertruck with more safety and technology features:
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Body steel uses the same material as SpaceX’s Starship body.
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The strength of the windows reaches the level of bullet-proof.
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The Cybertruck pressurized version will serve as the official vehicle for landing on Mars (the real “Mars Car”).
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The rear trunk cover is made of solar panels, which can increase the range of Cybertruck.
Quick comment: After watching the press conference, the only thing I want to say is that “Iron Man” is still Iron Man! If there is one automaker whose press conference can surprise people most nowadays, it must be Tesla. Bullet-proof glass, Starship material, Mars vehicle – each adjective added before Cybertruck indicates Tesla’s innovative gene, which also attracts a group of technology enthusiasts who believe in Musk’s future vision.
Just when most people thought that Tesla would endlessly copy the Model 3’s appearance, the Cybertruck’s appearance exceeded everyone’s expectations. Although the direct and tough styling of the Cybertruck has polarized online evaluations, the vehicle has received 200,000 orders in just three days, which is enough to prove Cybertruck’s appeal.
The Ideal ONE officially rolls off the production line for mass production, and delivery will begin in early December.
On November 20th, Ideal Cars announced that its first vehicle, the Ideal ONE production version, rolled off the production line at its owned manufacturing base in Changzhou, with mass delivery scheduled to begin in early December.
In addition, the display cars and test drive cars of the 2020 model of LI ONE will also arrive at LI Automotive’s retail centers across the country on December 1. On October 15, LI announced that it will upgrade LI ONE before delivery and deliver the 2020 model directly to users.
Brief comment: Over a year after its release, the LI ONE finally announced mass production. Among China’s new forces in the auto industry, LI Automotive may be the most low-key one. Except for participating in the Shanghai Auto Show at the beginning of the year, LI ONE did not participate in any other auto shows and rarely appeared in media articles. The result of the car made by the founder of Autohome is about to be revealed.
Volkswagen ID.3’s manufacturing cost will be 40% cheaper than e-Golf’s
Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess revealed that the manufacturing cost of the Volkswagen ID.3 will be 40% cheaper than e-Golf! Most of the savings come from the power battery cells and battery systems. In addition, because a factory dedicated to producing electric vehicles has been built, there will be a cost reduction of about 5%-10% in this regard.
Volkswagen stated that reducing costs is one of the reasons why Volkswagen is confident in transitioning from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles, and the transition to electrification will not harm the company’s profit margin.
Brief comment: Bob Carter, Toyota North America’s executive vice president of sales, said in April of this year that no one can make a profit through electric vehicles without policy support.
Certainly, due to the high cost of batteries, the manufacturing cost of electric vehicles has always been higher than that of traditional fuel vehicles. After subsidy withdrawal, the challenge of electric vehicles facing in terms of price gradually increases.
Tesla’s Q3 profit and Diess’s statement undoubtedly injected a shot in the arm to this negative industry. Of course, a very important common point between Tesla and Volkswagen is scale.
When the entire industry is working together toward this direction, I think it won’t be long before electric vehicles become profitable.
Lexus UX 300e debuts at the Guangzhou Auto Show and is planned to be introduced in China in 2020.On November 22nd, the first all-electric car from Lexus, the UX 300e, was launched at the Guangzhou Auto Show. The new car is positioned as a compact SUV with an NEDC comprehensive range of 400 km and is planned to be launched in China in 2020.
This time, Lexus did not bring a very eye-catching appearance for the UX 300e, but continued the family’s classic design style. The air grille still has a highly recognizable spindle shape. In terms of interior design, the UX 300e is basically consistent with the UX model, with the only difference being a change to an electronic shifter. In terms of power, the Lexus UX 300e will use a front-mounted motor with a maximum power of 150 kW and a peak torque of 300 Nm. The price and acceleration time for 0-100 km/h have not yet been announced.
Quick Comment: As the first all-electric car under the Lexus brand, the UX 300e can be said to be old wine in a new bottle. The exterior and interior are similar to the UX, and the 400 km range is not enough to excite people in the crowded new car market in China in 2019.
This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.