Additionally, Tesla is prioritizing Cybertruck deliveries to high-value shareholders, and Volvo says charging times for future EVs will be 30% faster.
March 12, 2024 in 11am (Eastern Standard Time)
Remember when little dongles came out that offered insurance companies the possibility of lowering their premiums? Insurance companies tell great stories. All you have to do is connect to her OBDII port in your car, record telematics data, beam it back to the mothership (in today's case, beam it), and potentially lower your insurance premiums based on this data. It turns out that's not always the case, and some people quickly find that their insurance premiums have skyrocketed because of their driving behavior.
welcome to important materials, your daily roundup of all things EV and automotive technology. Today we're talking about how many automakers have made those little dongles obsolete by building data sharing capabilities directly into the car. We also cover who Tesla is prioritizing for Cybertruck deliveries, and Volvo's goal to reduce charging times for future vehicles by 30% with a new technology partnership.
30%: Car manufacturers share your driving data with insurance companies
Insurance is a risk-based game, and anything an insurance company can do to better determine risk is an advantage.New report by new york times This includes peeking at the new connected car driving data provided by automakers and using it to customize your Premium, as well as an optional small OBDII dongle.
In one example, a NYT report revealed that a 65-year-old driver in a 2022 Chevrolet Volt saw his insurance premiums jump 21%. When he started shopping to find a lower market price, the market price was also high. He asked insurance agents who were told that the LexisNexis report was a factor in the rate hike.
LexisNexis is a data broker. Basically, it tracks driving behavior data from driving records, citations, car accidents, and more recently, connected cars. This data is converted into a risk score for insurers, which they can use to tailor premiums to individual drivers without the need for cumbersome optional dongles. The aforementioned driver requested his LexisNexis data and was provided with a 258-page disclosure report detailing 640 individual trips. This includes start and end times, distance traveled, speeding, hard braking, hard acceleration, etc. Location information was not included.
As it turns out, the driver had turned on GM's OnStar Smart Driver service. A GM spokesperson told the NYT that drivers may have turned it on through a mobile app or when they purchased the vehicle. The NYT also said that drivers may have unwittingly opted in at the dealership because salespeople can reportedly receive bonuses for enrolling drivers in OnStar services.
However, this is not limited to GM. Kia, Mitsubishi, and Subaru all have ways to send data to LexisNexis. This is why the company's telematics exchange database collects information from over 10 million vehicles as of 2022. Similarly, Ford, Honda, and Hyundai all have data sharing partnerships with Verisk. , another telematics data broker. Tesla also has a safety score system that is used to tailor insurance quotes for its insurance products. All of these data sharing programs are expected to require opt-in consent.
If you want to know if your car can collect this data, please enter your VIN in the Vehicle Privacy Report. You can also request a copy of your LexisNexis or Verisk report.
60%: Tesla prioritizes Cybertruck deliveries to high-value shareholders
Looking to purchase a brand new Tesla Cybertruck and stock up on your Tesla inventory? Well, we have some good news. Tesla is prioritizing Cybertruck deliveries to “long-term” shareholders.
The automaker recently announced a Cybertruck early delivery program for shareholders on its website, offering long-term stockholders who have reserved a Cybertruck a limited run 2024 Tesla Cybertruck Foundation early delivery program. provide the option to receive The series is said to be limited to 1,000 units, with a $20,000 premium on waiting-list models.
Those who wish to take advantage of this offer must not only own 500 Tesla shares as of the end of February 2024, but also own at least 50% of the stock as of the end of February 28, 2021. Must be. Shareholders cannot. But don't just book your truck today and jump on the list. Tesla says Cybertruck reservations must be made before March 1, 2024 to be eligible.
On the last trading day of February 2021, Tesla stock was trading at $269. This means that the shareholder must have purchased at least $67,250 worth of Tesla stock in 2021. Currently, 500 shares of Tesla stock is worth $88,885.
Tesla's decision to prioritize shareholder returns is not the first time it has allowed potential buyers to prioritize. The automaker also offered a referral benefit that allows owners who earn at least his 30,000 referral credits early delivery of their reserved Cybertruck.
Interested buyers must register for the offer by March 22nd.
90%: Volvo aims to reduce charging time in future vehicles by 30%
Most new EV buyers take some time to get used to the concept of public charging. While the thought of plugging into a charger and waiting may be daunting to some, the reality is much easier to deal with. Still, automakers are trying to find ways to break away from that stigma as quickly as possible to make it easier for consumers to transition from gasoline to battery power.
Specifically, Volvo has partnered with Breathe Battery Technologies, a company focused on building better battery management software that helps create healthier batteries that charge faster without making any additional changes to the pack. doing.
Specifically, Breathe has developed software that Volvo believes can reduce the time it takes to charge a battery from 10% to 80% by as much as 30%. Volvo says the new EX90 takes about 30 minutes to fully charge on a 250-kilowatt DC fast charger. A 30% reduction means you'll spend just 21 minutes on the charger to reach 80%. That's about as fast as the Hyundai Ioniq 5's nominal charging time of 18 minutes.
Volvo says this new software enables a fully adaptive charging method and allows for real-time battery control. This is slightly different from gradual charging, where the current is “stepped down” as the battery voltage increases. Volvo claims this software does not affect battery health and the improvements will last for the life of the battery.
Volvo Cars Tech Fund CEO Anne-Sophie Ekberg said this was a “huge step in the right direction” in the transition to electrification.
As we continue to strengthen electric mobility and make it available to more people, reducing charging times in areas where customers typically fast charge is a big step in the right direction.
Currently, Volvo has not said when this particular technology will be installed in its vehicles, but it could be a hint if charging times are significantly reduced in the coming years. . The good news is that the software is said to be fully compatible with the vehicle's existing hardware, making scaling up easy.
100%: How often do you fast charge?
Fast charging is great, but it got me thinking about how often I actually have to stop at a fast charger compared to charging at home. Over the past year, about 15% of my charging has been at Tesla Superchargers, which equates to about 29 sessions, or 1 session every 550 miles.
Each of these sessions was fairly painless, and the majority of the recharging sessions were completed before I got out of the car to go to the bathroom or grab a snack. In fact, I only remember him on the infotainment screen twice, when he was waiting in the car with nothing to do but watch Netflix. So I guess I don't mind fast charging for boring sessions, but if you're mainly charging at home, I feel like a few long stops on a fast charger wouldn't be too inconvenient. . Well, unless you're driving something, it's equipped with a large 212kWh battery.
What about my stats and yours? Let me know in the comments.