from lively niche manufacturer for the specter of the auto industry: The Californian manufacturer Tesla shows how the electric vehicles could be a success with clever innovations. TR-author Kevin Bullis is test driven the S model.
For automakers now it is good form to develop its own electric model. Some companies have started so early, others have jumped in the last years on the train. Who will win the race on this Zukunfstmarkt, is not yet clear. After a test drive with the Model S from Tesla I believe, however, that the California automaker are ahead -. Due to innovations that could give them a competitive advantage
Cheap is the Model S in SE price of 70,000 to $ 100,000 not though. But with a range of 426 kilometers, it beats the competition hands down at the moment. By comparison, the Nissan Leaf creates only good 120 kilometers. Tesla hopes to push the price in the coming years 30,000 to $ 35,000 – with the same range. The company also wants to build a network of their own charging stations throughout the United States. You should restore a range of 322 kilometers within half an hour. Are of conventional stations for several hours needed.
My test drive began in Palo Alto, with a small shock. The dashboard showed a range of 335 kilometers, as someone had apparently forgotten einzustöpseln the car overnight. 335 km: too little for my planned trip to Santa Cruz in the south and Fremont back. Without reloading the road, I would not make the 370 kmAt ten clock I drove away from the Tesla parking, and rapidly. Model S accelerates from 0 to 50 km / h mark in 1.7 seconds . This struck me during the journey is beneficial when I’m on hills or when approaching traffic lights loose abhängte other cars.
My nervousness increased, however, when I saw some time on the display that the current only would stretch for 108 kilometers. The avionics calculated that in the nearest charging station juice for 32 km would be left. Half of what I had expected. I really liked it, do not leave me, because the current range depends significantly on driving style, terrain and traffic from. After the Model S shows two ranges of. One is ticking down as the fuel gauge, but the other indicates how long it would hold out if you continue to lead as in the previous minutes. For safety’s sake, I turned the air conditioning off, dimmed the huge touchscreen and reduced acceleration. When I finally arrived at the loading station, were still 27 kilometers left. Recharging went much easier than I had expected. My previous experiences were based on a Chevrolet Volt: Who had a whole afternoon used to draw power for nearly 50 kilometers. Quite different is the Tesla: The car recognized the RFID chip of the charging station, opened automatically the charging port, and while I just got a cheeseburger on the other side of the parking lot, the range was shot up again to 148 kilometers. I did have a short chat with another Model-S driver, and on we went. At the end of the day were still 207 km on the clock. Brings more than a fully charged battery of electric cars from Toyota, Nissan, Ford, GM, Honda, Fiat, Renault, Mitsubishi, Smart or Scion. The new models from Mercedes and BMW did not create this ReachAs impressive as the ride was the Model S, the two basic problems of electric cars are not yet solved. Costs and coverage. In the U.S., there is as yet only 16 super charging stations. If you forget to recharge overnight or else breaks down, is screwed. I had my jaunt through the area made north of Silicon Valley, I would have stayed on the roadside -. Lack of accessible charging station
While an infrastructure can be built from charging stations, the problem with the battery of electric cars is not so easy to fix . The batteries are still so expensive that a Model S for most drivers is beyond their means.
The fact that Tesla is already more than the competition yet here I was the day before my test drive in R & D center of the company close to Stanford University to see. Tesla CTO JB Straubel led me around, showed me a roadster, the first model of Tesla, and the chassis of a Model S. Both models testify impressively how far Tesla has come: while the batteries occupy one third of the car volume in the Roadster , they seem to have disappeared in the S model. In fact, they are accommodated in the vehicle floor flat – and still save more energy than the roadster. Moreover, the company could also halve the cost per kilowatt hour. Straubel showed me several variants of lithium-ion batteries that Tesla is testing. Among them are the small cylindrical batteries of the size of a AA battery, which are installed in the S model. With which Tesla has probably provides one of the most important strategic competitive advantages. Many major car manufacturers have opted for larger batteries. Make the battery control is more straightforward because you need fewer individual pieces. Due to their higher energy density but they are dangerous. Therefore, some manufacturers use materials for lower energy densities and flat single cells, but are in turn more expensive in production. Because the AA-type batteries were originally designed for laptops, let them now make very cheap. Tesla needs in energy density do not cut corners, because many small cells are safer than some large. Tesla was the real challenge for the interconnection of many thousands of individual cells. Straubel also invented a self-cooling system in which circulates a cooling fluid in the spaces between the batteries. Whose waste heat is dissipated as quickly, that overheated an adjacent cell can not affect. ! The arrangement in the vehicle floor flat is possible only thanks to the AA size. Large flat batteries, however, must be placed in the vehicle that they are not deformed in the event of an impact as possible or even catch fire. Result: The battery packs are located in the interior or trunk. Problems that Tesla has not. Crash test survived unscathed the batteries, the battery did not run out of coolant. According to previous estimates of the Model S batteries contribute to the overall price of the car with 42500-55250 dollars on. That would be half the price. However Straubel told me that travels the much lower costs subject – “much less than half the price, and in most cases, already less than a quarter of the price.” In order to reduce battery costs further Straubel cooperates with battery and material manufacturers to increase the energy density. Also on the shape of the cells they fiddle to simplify production. The other car manufacturers are observing closely what makes Tesla. General Motors boss Dan Akerson has even set up a special working group to study Tesla accurate. The California electric car company had “, the bustling little media darling to a company that brings the auto industry to ponder” blossomed says Brett Smith of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The did not change my mind on my test drive the following day. On the way back to San Francisco, I had a sudden feeling that electric cars are really the future. And that thanks to Tesla with its progress in batteries and charging technology that future might be faster because, as I previously thought<- googleoff: all ->.
