February 2021 – Electric Vehicle News Round-Up

electric vehicle news round-up

Welcome back to electric vehicle news round-up. Here are the top 5 electric vehicle news for the month of February 2021.

In case you missed the previous news roundup posts they are here

If you are new to GetElectricVehicle, here is a short introduction. We write about the basics of electric vehicleselectric vehicle articles, electric vehicle project ideas, reviews, and more. Follow our YouTube channel for electric vehicle-related videos.

#1 Michelin Announces Pilot Sport EV Tires for Sporty Electric Cars

The selection of the tire would greatly affect the range and performance of an electric vehicle. The range of an electric car would be affected by the tire rolling resistance. The low rolling resistance ensures a high range for the vehicle but you have to compromise with the grip on the road.

Michelin says that they have a solution for this issue. The new pilot sports EV tire specially designed for sports cars that has ElectricGrip Compound technology which features a hard compound for the center of the tread to provide the grip required to handle the high torque characteristics of the electric sports cars. [Reference]

We have a video about the airless charging technology by Michelin.

Airless Tire for Electric Cars [Video]

#2 Bolt EV software update addresses fire risk

The 2017 -019 model Chevrolet Bolt EV’s came across fire concerns and the manufacturer says that they will apply a software fix to prevent the fire hazard by limiting the charge capacity to 90%. They request the vehicle owners to get a software update from the dealers to limit the charging limit to 90% to avoid potential fire hazards.

GM says that they have made substantial progress in identifying the root cause and remedies for the issue. They expect a final solution in April 2021 to restore the 100% battery capacity. [Reference]

#3 Earth Energy’s Electric Motorcycles are Now Open for Booking

Earth Energy is a Mumbai-based electric vehicle manufacturer that works under the parent company Grushie Energy Private Limited. They manufacture electric motorcycles, scooters, commercial vehicles, and autonomous vehicle drivetrains.[Reference]

It has started the pre-booking for two new electric motorcycles – EvolveR and EvolveZ. These are having a futuristic design with a sporty sharp full faired setup. EvolveR is a smart urban commuter and EvolveZ is a smart urban cruiser.

EV News Round-Up [Video]

If they could deliver the vehicle soon then they are going to be one of the first electric cruisers in the market.

Both of these vehicles offer a range of 100 km. They can be prebooked with Rs. 1000 and the ex-showroom prices would be Rs 1,30,000 and 1,42,000 respectively. There are early bird promotion offers for motorcycles. This includes year-long access to free charging at any Earth Energy dealership and a discount of Rs 2000.

#4 It shows a 50% Expansion for the Plug-in EV market in Europe

The EV Sales Blog reports that some 112,593 passenger plug-in electric cars were registered in January 2021 that represents 14 of the total market. The growth is around 50% compared to the last year. The PHEV dominated the market in January with a 58% share. The most popular model in the year was Volvo XC40 PHEV [Reference].

The other popular models in the month are the following

  • Volvo XC40 (3,543)
  • Renault ZOE (3,420)
  • Kia Niro EV (3,123)
  • BMW 330e (3,058)
  • VW ID.3 (2,978)

Interestingly, Tesla Model 3 is outside of top 20!

That’s all for this month!

Don’t forget to share the post with your friends and follow us on FacebookLinkedInTwitterInstagramand YouTube!

Conclusion

  • Michelin Announces Pilot Sport EV Tires for Sporty Electric Cars
  • Bolt EV software update addresses fire risk
  • Earth Energy’s Electric Motorcycles are Now Open for Booking
  • It shows a 50% Expansion for the Plug-in EV market in Europe