Electric cars?

[JohnDe]

Hybrid owners must keep your oil changes up to date, regardless of kilometers.

Hybrid vehicles are a great solution to improving fuel economy, but they have their own unique challenges. Because hybrid engines start & stop frequently, this often results in lower engine temperatures, which in turn can create issues with water and fuel dilution. Frequent start/stops, water, and fuel, can all create problems that exacerbate engine wear. ​

Hybrid engines can have a number of oil problems, including:

Low oil temperatures
Hybrids often operate at low temperatures, which can cause water and unburnt fuel to build up in the oil. This can lead to increased oxidation, corrosion, and the formation of a white sludge in the engine.

Fuel dilution
Unburned fuel can mix with the engine oil, which can happen more frequently in hybrids.

 

[JohnDe]

Ampol looks to be the first in Australia to speed up their EV charging infrastructure.

“Having just unveiled our 100th AmpCharge public charger bay, we recognise our electric vehicle charging ecosystem has the potential to play a critical role in supporting customers reduce their transport emissions,” said Brent Merrick, Ampol executive general manager for commercial fuels and energy. “Despite our best efforts the pace of the rollout was impacted by the time taken to obtain approval to make the electrical connection across numerous network service providers and other development approvals including working with third party landowners,”​

Ampol rolls out first EV charging bays located away from convenience stores​

Australian petrol retailing giant Ampol has rolled out the first of its ‘at-destination’ AmpCharge electric vehicle (EV) charging bays as it seeks to expand its future business away from its petrol forecourts and its network of convenience stores.

The six new EV charging bays were opened at the East Village Shopping Centre which is operated by Australian property group Mirvac.

This marks the beginning of Ampol’s planned rollout – through its AMPChanrge business – to its third-party portfolio sites which aims to provide customers with EV charging access at convenient locations across the country.

“Having just unveiled our 100th AmpCharge public charger bay, we recognise our electric vehicle charging ecosystem has the potential to play a critical role in supporting customers reduce their transport emissions,” said Brent Merrick, Ampol executive general manager for commercial fuels and energy.

Ampol currently operates AmpCharge branded EV charging stations in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, and Western Australia, with 82 charging bays installed across 36 sites by the end of 2023.

Ampol also secured $100 million from the Australian federal government to help roll out a further 200 EV fast charging bays by 2025.

This funding – along with a deal with shopping centre owner Stockland announced in April to locate more than 100 EV charging bays – will hopefully help Ampol to accelerate the rollout of its AmpCharge EV chargers which have been beset by delays.

“Despite our best efforts the pace of the rollout was impacted by the time taken to obtain approval to make the electrical connection across numerous network service providers and other development approvals including working with third party landowners,” the company wrote in its 2023 annual report.

“This meant that only 82 bays were able to go live during 2023 with many more in various stages of completion. We continue to manage the approvals processes as we continue to expand the EV charging network during 2024.”
http://www.reddit.com/submit?url=ht...ng-bays-located-away-from-convenience-stores/

 

[Value Collector]

I found this Tesla Super charging station in Germany. It’s a pretty normal 18 bay charging station, except it has a lounge with 3 toilets, some vending machines/fridges, a coffee machine and a pizza vending machine.

Seems like a great facility to have a a road trip.

 

[JohnDe]

I have no doubt that the world is about to see the closure and amalgamation of many automotive vehicle manufacturers. The climate for vehicle has changed (pun intended). Cities are becoming more condensed and harder to drive, costs to own a vehicle keeps going up with insurance, registration, fuel and traffic fines. Smaller hoes with one car park, off street parking limited, people looking down on your choice of vehicle. Everything in your budget range looks the same and costs more than you want to spend, but the Chinese vehicles are very affordable and come with a great warranty.

There’s talk now that the German government wants to put higher tariffs on Chinese imports, but VW is opposed to this because China would retaliate, which would make Volkswagens in Beijing cost more than space rockets.​

The only solution is to make savings. It’s been reported that, for the first time in the company’s history, factories may have to close and mass redundancies will be necessary. And this isn’t possible, really, as Germany has feverishly powerful laws on workers’ rights.​

This sounds familiar, Australia went through the same process in the early 1980's. And look where that ended, our last vehicle manufacturer closed in 2017.

WOLFSBURG, Germany, (Reuters) - Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE), opens new tab plans to shut at least three factories in Germany, lay off tens of thousands of staff and shrink its remaining plants in Europe's biggest economy as it plots a deeper-than-expected overhaul, the company's works council head said on Monday.​

Europe's biggest carmaker has been negotiating for weeks with unions over plans to revamp its business and cut costs, including considering plant closures on home soil for the first time, in a blow to Germany's industrial prowess.​

 

[qldfrog]

During this trip in Europe, it is not so much EVs but hybrids which seem to rule.
And very short car..for city life.
Our knobheads will undoubtedly use Europe as an example in their next rules and regulations totally inadequate
This jeep (ice) Renegade is built on a fiat 500 platform.. it's a jeep
And micro cars many EVs are everywhere



Taken in France and Italy in the last week..
At best glorified scooters, you may not have much but will you be happy?

 

[Value Collector]

During this trip in Europe, it is not so much EVs but hybrids which seem to rule.
And very short car..for city life.
Our knobheads will undoubtedly use Europe as an example in their next rules and regulations totally inadequate
This jeep (ice) Renegade is built on a fiat 500 platform.. it's a jeepView attachment 186820
And micro cars many EVs are everywhere
View attachment 186821

View attachment 186822View attachment 186823
Taken in France and Italy in the last week..
At best glorified scooters, you may not have much but will you be happy?

Most of what I have seen has been pretty standard midsized cars and SUVs, but yeah you see some weird stuff too, apparently it’s made to comply with a legal loop hole that lets 16 year olds drive., I was half expecting it to tip over as it turned the corner.

 

[Value Collector]

Fiat 500, “trike” allows 16 year olds to drive in Germany.

https://www.carthrottle.com/news/whats-deal-mad-fiat-500-trike

 

[SirRumpole]

Aussie technology that can be used as range extenders in EV's.

 

[mullokintyre]

Ford is having a hard time of making an electric pickup truck work.
The good old boys who drive pickups just don't seem to want to play the game.


And in the meantime, within China itself, Chinese EV makers are kicking more goals than Tony Lockett.



Mick

 

[mullokintyre]

Ford is having a hard time of making an electric pickup truck work.
The good old boys who drive pickups just don't seem to want to play the game.
View attachment 187060

Perhaps Fords problems have been exacerbated by John Dere, who have just released their 2026 John dere Pickup.
Farmers are just as picky about their AG equipment as they are about their trucks.
Some like the Green and yellow of John Dere, some like the red of IH, others like Ford blue.



Mick

 

[qldfrog]

Perhaps Fords problems have been exacerbated by John Dere, who have just released their 2026 John dere Pickup.
Farmers are just as picky about their AG equipment as they are about their trucks.
Some like the Green and yellow of John Dere, some like the red of IH, others like Ford blue.



Mick

I thought it was a joke..or is it?

 

[Value Collector]

Perhaps Fords problems have been exacerbated by John Dere, who have just released their 2026 John dere Pickup.
Farmers are just as picky about their AG equipment as they are about their trucks.
Some like the Green and yellow of John Dere, some like the red of IH, others like Ford blue.



Mick

On the topic of John Deere and electric vehicles, and farmers, I think the trend is going to continue and there will be less and less “farmers” and food production continues to become less and less labour intensive and more and more capital intensive.

 

[basilio]

BYD is hitting the ground running with their Shark electric ute.
It will run 80-100k on pure electric then has a small petrol motor to recharge the battery.

BYD’s hybrid EV ute that could rival Australia’s bestselling vehicles goes on sale​

Orders roll in as Chinese carmaker launches Shark 6 in move that could signal electrification spreading from sedans and SUVs to large ute market

• Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates
• Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast

Toby Hagon
Wed 30 Oct 2024 10.51 AEDT


A new plug-in hybrid EV ute that could rival Australia’s top selling vehicles, the Ford Ranger and Toyota Hilux, has received almost 1,000 pre-orders within hours of going on sale.
The BYD Shark 6, which has a range of about 80km on battery electric before switching to petrol, could be the start of China muscling in on the market dominated by diesel vehicles.

Australian customers interested in the ute, which has an introductory price tag of $57,900, were asked to pay a refundable $1,000 deposit to secure a pre-order.


Electrifying the farm: ‘It could add a couple of hundred thousand to our bottom line’

Read more

Almost 1,000 pre-orders were received but BYD expects the total to be higher because dealers were forced to manually log orders late into the night after the website crashed.

BYD’s hybrid EV ute that could rival Australia’s bestselling vehicles goes on sale

Orders roll in as Chinese carmaker launches Shark 6 in move that could signal electrification spreading from sedans and SUVs to large ute market

www.theguardian.com

​

 

[JohnDe]

BYD is hitting the ground running with their Shark electric ute.
It will run 80-100k on pure electric then has a small petrol motor to recharge the battery.

BYD’s hybrid EV ute that could rival Australia’s bestselling vehicles goes on sale​

Orders roll in as Chinese carmaker launches Shark 6 in move that could signal electrification spreading from sedans and SUVs to large ute market

• Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates
• Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast

Toby Hagon
Wed 30 Oct 2024 10.51 AEDT


A new plug-in hybrid EV ute that could rival Australia’s top selling vehicles, the Ford Ranger and Toyota Hilux, has received almost 1,000 pre-orders within hours of going on sale.
The BYD Shark 6, which has a range of about 80km on battery electric before switching to petrol, could be the start of China muscling in on the market dominated by diesel vehicles.

Australian customers interested in the ute, which has an introductory price tag of $57,900, were asked to pay a refundable $1,000 deposit to secure a pre-order.
View attachment 187328
Electrifying the farm: ‘It could add a couple of hundred thousand to our bottom line’
Read more
Almost 1,000 pre-orders were received but BYD expects the total to be higher because dealers were forced to manually log orders late into the night after the website crashed.

BYD’s hybrid EV ute that could rival Australia’s bestselling vehicles goes on sale

Orders roll in as Chinese carmaker launches Shark 6 in move that could signal electrification spreading from sedans and SUVs to large ute market

www.theguardian.com

Let's hope it does better in the crash ratings than the other Chinese ute -

 

[mullokintyre]

Accord ing to This writeup at Car expert , the Shark cannot legally be driven on the Australian roads as it has no ANCAP rating yet.
The writeup is all about its offroad capabilities, as that is where the experts were confined to driving.
For anything other than very basic offriod, its glaring lsack of a diff lock in either front or back would turn a few potential rock crawlers off.
But its a damn good start.
Mick

 

[sptrawler]

BIG step forward, the Govt has actually developed a standard before it is required, usually the standards are developed after a catostrophic mess has happened.
This is the first time I can remeber, that the Govt has got the horse before the cart. Lol
It would have been nice if it had been introduced before they allowed E.V's into the country, but the technology is in its infancy, so credit where it's due.

Australian Government to announce electric Vehicle-to-Grid household standards today

New Australian Standards will allow families to power their homes using energy from their electric cars – or sell it to the grid.

www.drive.com.au

 

[JohnDe]

BIG step forward, the Govt has actually developed a standard before it is required, usually the standards are developed after a catostrophic mess has happened.
This is the first time I can remeber, that the Govt has got the horse before the cart. Lol
It would have been nice if it had been introduced before they allowed E.V's into the country, but the technology is in its infancy, so credit where it's due.

Australian Government to announce electric Vehicle-to-Grid household standards today

New Australian Standards will allow families to power their homes using energy from their electric cars – or sell it to the grid.

www.drive.com.au

The industry has been waiting on approval.

Hate big power bills? Interested in a home battery but can’t justify the cost? Vehicle to grid technology is about to offer solutions to both problems.​

​

This will allow said devices to interface with distribution networks and allow a vehicle to feed energy to the grid or home. Approval for mainstream use of V2G tech is expected before the end of the year.​

​

In theory, this new development allows some electric vehicle owners to bypass the need for a home battery system and power their home directly from the car’s battery. While most home battery systems currently are in the order of 10 - 15kWh, a car battery is generally over 40kWh, allowing a significant amount of energy to be utilised for home or grid power, where previously it could only be used for transport.​

​

As an example, this could allow an electric vehicle owner to charge their vehicle using solar during the day, then sell excess energy not needed for driving at peak times during the night. Alternatively, the car could buy cheap energy from the grid and store it in its battery overnight, then sell it back to the grid at a higher rate during peak times in the morning or afternoon.​

​

However, it is worth noting that in most cases, EV owners will need to invest in a home charger and smart metre which is capable of supporting V2G protocols and required software.​

​

Not only will V2G and V2H capability help the government meet its emissions targets, but it will also improve grid stability and make better utilisation of energy resources in the grid, by providing a way for idle energy to be stored en masse and used in times of shortage.​

​

However, few electric vehicles in Australia are currently capable of supporting vehicle-to-grid. For example, the popular Tesla Model 3 and Tesla Model Y, which make up the vast majority of electric vehicles which have sold in recent years, do not support the technology, and for many manufacturers, V2G has either not been made available, or isn’t available in Australian-delivered vehicles.​

​

Hyundai, Kia, BMW, Ford, Honda, Toyota and Volkswagen have all announced their intention to invest in V2G support in their vehicles going forward, some of which already support the tech in markets overseas.​

​

In the meantime, Nissan Leaf, Mitsubishi Outlander and Eclipse Cross owners will be the first to take advantage of this new development, as all three vehicles were used as part of a trial of the technology in the South Australian energy grid in 2022 thanks to their Japanese-standard CHAdeMO connectors, which have supported V2G since they were released. At the time, the trial required a circa $10,000 vehicle-to-grid supporting inverter to allow energy from the car to be sold back into the grid.​

 

[JohnDe]

Worth a watch -

 

[basilio]

Came across this a number of stories that could see a practical way to create a new industry in converting ICE cars to Ev

EV retrofit specialists wins Australian innovation challenge​

• November 12, 2024
• 10 comments
• 2 minute read
• Joshua S. Hill

Kyle Van Berendonck (centre) receives Supercharge Australia Innovation Challenge award from Megan Fisher, CEO of EnergyLab (left)




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Australian plug-and-play EV control system provider Veepower has won a major innovation award for its technology that simplifies the process of EV retrofitting vehicles.

Hosted by EnergyLab and New Energy Nexus, this year’s Supercharge Australia Innovation Challenge focused on accelerating the transition of Australia’s vehicle fleet to electric with the goal of developing a scalable solution capable of retrofitting over 10 million vehicles.
Veepower, an offshoot of Melbourne-based electric vehicle controls consultancy Cuedo Controls, has developed the Veepower Veepilot, which provides a plug-and-play control system that integrates supervisory control of critical components for the powertrain, body, and charging.

Unlike traditional electric retrofit solutions which often require bespoke software development or complex integration of numerous third-party systems, the Veepower Veepilot is a unified platform designed from the outset to streamline the retrofit process.

EV retrofit specialists wins Australian innovation challenge

Australian plug-and-play EV control system provider Veepower has won a major innovation award for its technology that simplifies the process of retrofitting vehicles.

thedriven.io

 

[mullokintyre]

Came across this a number of stories that could see a practical way to create a new industry in converting ICE cars to Ev

EV retrofit specialists wins Australian innovation challenge​

• November 12, 2024
• 10 comments
• 2 minute read
• Joshua S. Hill

View attachment 187831 Kyle Van Berendonck (centre) receives Supercharge Australia Innovation Challenge award from Megan Fisher, CEO of EnergyLab (left)




Share

Tweet

Australian plug-and-play EV control system provider Veepower has won a major innovation award for its technology that simplifies the process of EV retrofitting vehicles.

Hosted by EnergyLab and New Energy Nexus, this year’s Supercharge Australia Innovation Challenge focused on accelerating the transition of Australia’s vehicle fleet to electric with the goal of developing a scalable solution capable of retrofitting over 10 million vehicles.
Veepower, an offshoot of Melbourne-based electric vehicle controls consultancy Cuedo Controls, has developed the Veepower Veepilot, which provides a plug-and-play control system that integrates supervisory control of critical components for the powertrain, body, and charging.

Unlike traditional electric retrofit solutions which often require bespoke software development or complex integration of numerous third-party systems, the Veepower Veepilot is a unified platform designed from the outset to streamline the retrofit process.

EV retrofit specialists wins Australian innovation challenge

Australian plug-and-play EV control system provider Veepower has won a major innovation award for its technology that simplifies the process of retrofitting vehicles.

thedriven.io

View attachment 187832

Unfortunately , its still vaporware.
Their website is still under construction, so there is no information about the products, no weight, no specs, no costs, no dimensions, no interface details, what existing ICE parts are replaced just for starters.
Having been stupid enough to embark on a conversion, I can tell you its a hideously complex mess, and if I had known what I was getting myself in for, would not have undertaken it.
Mick