Electric Vehicle & Charging NEWS

smart #1's dedicated reveal event on April 7th took place in at STATION-Berlin, a historic landmark and disused train station in the German capital, and builds on last year’s reveal of the dramatic concept #1 showcar.

With the renewal of its brand, product and business model, smart has entered a new era of development, with the expansion of its product portfolio and global reach.

The smart #1 is the inaugural product of the new joint venture between Mercedes-Benz and Geely Automobile, reflecting the brand's vision of exploring the best solutions for future urban mobility, and co-creating powerful brand experiences.

The combination of Mercedes-Benz design and smart engineering creates a compelling proposition. A pure and elegant exterior design provides a perfect balance of aesthetics and aerodynamics, underpinned by depth of engineering and premium quality.

The smart #1 has recently completed extensive pre-production testing in northern China, with its battery and technology systems being put to the ultimate test in -40°C temperatures.

The smart Europe team is also supporting testing through the original smart research and development centre in Renningen, Germany.

The team, led by Tilo Schweers (Vice President of R&D), put the smart #1 through its final testing, whilst carefully preparing the showcars for the Berlin reveal.

smart UK CEO David Browne. said:

With the luxury saloon EQS and the sporty executive saloon EQE, Mercedes-Benz has entered a new, all electric era in the upper market segments. The EQS SUV, the third model series with this architecture developed for electric vehicles, will soon follow.

The SUV offers plenty of space, comfort and connectivity for up to 7 passengers in its luxurious interior.

Thanks to powerful electric motors, responsive 4MATIC allwheel drive and an intelligent OFFROAD driving mode, the EQS SUV is also capable of tackling light terrain with ease.

All EQS SUVs have an electric drive train (eATS) on the rear axle, and the versions with 4MATIC also have an eATS on the front axle. In the 4MATIC models, the Torque Shift function ensures intelligent, continuously variable distribution of drive torque between the rear and front electric motors and thus the use of the most efficient eATS in each case. The electric motors on the front and rear axles are permanently excited synchronous motors (PSM). The advantages of this design include high power density, high efficiency and high power constancy.

The EQS SUV has expanded vehicle functions in several areas that can be activated via over-the-air updates (OTA)- eg.Trailer Manoeuvring Assist or MBUX Augmented Reality Navigation which can be activated at a later date.

The new EQS SUV shares the long wheelbase with the EQS Saloon, but is over 20 centimetres higher. The chassis of the new EQS SUV has a four-link axle at the front and an independent multi-link suspension at the rear. The AIRMATIC air suspension with continuously adjustable damping ADS+ is standard equipment.

The vehicle level can be raised by several centimetres. In addition to the DYNAMIC SELECT modes ECO, COMFORT, SPORT and INDIVIDUAL, the 4MATIC versions feature OFFROAD, a further mode for off-road driving. Furthermore, rear-axle steering with a steering angle of up to 4.5 degrees is standard. It provides plenty of manoeuvrability in the city and agility over land. Optionally and also via an OTA update, a version with up to 10 degrees steering angle is available.

The second row of seats can be electrically adjusted as standard. Up to 4 golf bags fit in the boot. A third row of seats with two additional individual seats and extensive comfort features for all passengers is available as an option.

The European version of the EQS SUV is the first Mercedes-Benz model to be able to detect whether rear seats are actually occupied. If a passenger in the rear is not wearing a seat belt, the driver receives a specific warning. Another new feature at Mercedes- Benz is what is known as the occupant presence reminder. This system can indicate children who may have been overlooked in the rear of the vehicle (standard for Europe, Australia and New Zealand).

The interior sports the MBUX Hyperscreen (special equipment). This large, curved screen unit comprises 3 screens that seamlessly merge almost from A-pillar to A-pillar. The 12.3-inch OLED display for the front passenger gives them their own display and control area.

In Europe, and in a growing number of countries, the front seat passenger is also able to watch dynamic content while the vehicle is on the move because Mercedes-EQ is able to rely on an intelligent, camerabased blocking logic: If the camera detects that the driver is looking at the passenger display, the system automatically dims the dynamic content.

With the EQS SUV, Mercedes-Benz is taking a major step towards zero-emission mobility. The model is produced in a completely CO2-neutral way.

A new British company, EVIOS, has recently launched the smartest and most intuitive electric vehicle (EV) home charger on the market, developed from the outset to help drive mainstream adoption of EVs.

The EVIOS One features a jargon-free user interface, the largest colour screen of any home charger, and a smartphone app that allow users to configure each charge to suit their needs and preferences - prioritising low price, enhanced sustainability or high speed. Users can easily see exactly how many miles have been added in each charging session, and the cost.

It can integrate with home energy tariffs to charge during off-peak times to significantly reduce running costs, and it can be paid for via interest-free monthly instalments, helping to make EV ownership a viable option for more motorists. There is also an all-inclusive package that includes the cost of installation.

The EVIOS One is the first unit of its kind to support separate user profiles, making it an ideal option for shared residential or business parking areas, or homes with more than one EV. Access is protected via PIN to prevent unauthorised use, and up to eight profiles can be stored. Owners and users can download detailed reports outlining their energy use and expenditure to help keep a track of outgoings.

The EVIOS One is fully internetenabled to enhance the ownership experience. Via the app, users can access and control charging when away from the unit itself, and there are ‘push’ notifications (via the app or email) so users can be kept updated on key details relating to their charges.

In addition, over-the-air updates ensure users always have access to the most up-to-date functionality and features.

It even connects with Amazon Alexa and Google Home devices, allowing users to adjust settings and review charge status via voice commands.

Available with either a 5m or 7m tethered cable lengths, handy if you can’t park your car close to your house. more at » www.myevios.com

ZipCharge, have revealed the GoHub, the world’s first portable Electric Vehicle charging infrastructure for shared, public use.

The GoHub provides a community-based solution that can be installed anywhere, at a much lower cost and at a much faster rate, while enabling any parking space to be a charging spot. The ability to roll-out EV charging infrastructure at speed is essential to allow national and local governments to deploy it at a faster rate.

In the UK over 40% (8.5m) of car owners don't have designated parking (on or off-street), and in dense metropolitan areas this increases to 65%. According to recent research 59% of participants worried about being unable to charge at home.

The GoHub hosts multiple ZipCharge Go EV powerbanks to address the need for convenient, flexible, and low-cost energy. It is a secure way of housing, recharging, and providing access to the ZipCharge Go so that anyone can access a portable powerbank at the lowest cost. The GoHub is modular and flexible in size, suitable for a diverse number of locations, including on-street, in car parks, at work and in private environments. EV owners will now have the choice to purchase the Go outright, on subscription or rent one through the GoHub.

ZipCharge co-founder, Jonathan Carrier “We intend to establish the world’s first vertically integrated ‘energy point operator’ (EPO) to serve hundreds of millions of people around the world so everyone can access convenient and low-cost energy. The ZipCharge Go and the GoHub enable the storage of clean energy, which can then be distributed for a multitude of uses from charging an EV to powering equipment.

We predict our portable powerbanks will outsell fixed home chargers by 2030, in the same way mobile phones overtook landlines. That’s because the Go can be used for more than charging EV charging, it’s a portable energy storage device for personal energy management. We have the bold ambition to deploy 100,000 GoHubs globally by 2030 to support EV charging, local grid resiliency and energy democracy.”

In its base form, the GoHub comes in two variants; a single sided unit houses five ZipCharge Go portable powerbanks, or a double-sided GoHub with ten. Both fit comfortably into a regular parking space. It can also be sited on the pavement or close to where power already exists. All GoHubs can be intelligently reconfigured, expanded and connected together with minimal investment, growing in tandem with the adoption of electric vehicles.

Through the GoHub, ZipCharge Go powerbanks will be available to rent 24 hours a day with the option to pre-reserve a Go in the app. As the user approaches the correct bay door of the GoHub automatically opens. They then easily pull out the charger from its dock inside the GoHub, wheel it to the vehicle and plugit in. Once finished, the user is notified on their smart phone, they collect the Go and return it to the bay allocated via the app.

After launching in March '21 for the New Fiat 500, the Kiri Technologies in partnership with the Stellantis e-Mobility Business Unit rewards program (Stellantis is the group that encompasses the Fiat and Jeep brands amongst others) is now being extended to the entire Jeep 4xe line-up including the Plug-in Hybrid versions of Renegade, Compass, Wrangler and the all-new Grand Cherokee, the latter to be launched in the second half of 2022.

In the 'Jeep' app, customers can view their KiriCoin balance, their charging performance and their driving style, all in real time. The program is primarily aimed at encouraging private and public charging of Jeep 4xe models, and customer use of the full-electric driving mode as a result.

In a nutshell, 'the more you charge, the more you drive with respect for the environment, the more you reduce the running costs of your Jeep and the more KiriCoin you receive'.

Specifically, the Kiri project rewards environmentally conscious drivers by accumulating a digital currency, KiriCoin, which can be used to purchase goods and services in a dedicated 'green' marketplace, including over 350 brands with sustainable offerings.

Mauro Di Benedetto CEO of Kiri Technologies the London based green tech start-up said

All this is made possible by Jeep 4xe connectivity, which sends usage data (eg. charging frequency and driving in electric mode) in real time to Kiri, who in turn processes the data to determine the KiriCoin generated by Jeep customers.

Exclusive 4xe plug-in hybrid technology has resulted in the most efficient and technologically advanced Jeep models ever, which retain the brand’s legendary 4x4 capabilities, while ensuring environmentally friendly mobility.

For Anne-Lise Richard, Global Head of the e-Mobility Business Unit: