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    2022 Chevrolet Bolt EUV Adds a Crossover Body to the Bolt Lineup

    Chevy’s 2022 Bolt EUV is a slightly larger version of the Bolt EV, starting at $33,995 with a range of 250 miles, compared to the 2022 Bolt hatchback’s $31,995 and 259-mile range.
    The Bolt EUV will be the first Chevrolet to offer GM’s Super Cruise hands-free technology as an option.
    The 2022 Bolt EUV will go on sale this summer.
    A new companion to the Chevrolet Bolt EV, the 2022 Bolt EUV puts a slightly larger body on the same platform without sacrificing too much range. This latest EV from GM isn’t built on the company’s new Ultium platform, but it will be the first Chevy product to get the hands-free Super Cruise driver-assistance package, as well as the first EV with Super Cruise to go on sale, ahead of the upcoming Cadillac Lyriq EV and GMC Hummer EV.
    The Bolt EUV hits the market looking nearly identical to the smaller Bolt EV hatchback. The two vehicles borrow some of the design cues from the previous generation. But overall the EUV’s more aggressive angles borrow heavily from the 2021 Blazer.

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    With a length of 169.5 inches, the 2022 Bolt EUV crossover is six inches longer than the 2022 Bolt EV. Chevy says that translates into an additional three inches of rear legroom. At 63.6 inches tall and 69.7 inches wide, the electric crossover is only 0.2 inch both wider and taller than the Bolt hatchback. Even that amount of extra legroom does cut into cargo space. Despite its larger size, the EUV has slightly less storage space than the Bolt EV at 16.3 cubic feet with seats up, versus the hatchback’s 16.6. Overall cargo space with the seats down in the Bolt EUV is 56.9 cubic feet compared with the Bolt hatchback’s 57.0 cubic feet. Both vehicles beat the 2021 Kona Electric’s 45.8 cubic feet of cargo space and the 2020 Kia Niro EV’s 53.0, but both lose to the Ford Mustang Mach-E’s 59.7 cubic feet of space behind the front seats.
    Inside, Chevy has ditched the slightly futuristic interior found in the current Bolt EV for something more contemporary and comfortable-looking. The automaker made the change after receiving feedback from current Bolt owners. Instead, other than the digital layout in the dash cluster that is EV focused, the interior resembles the rest of the GM lineup with a few triangle flourishes in the dash and seats. A standard 10.2-inch display houses the infotainment system. Support for wireless connections to Apple CarPlay and Android Auto is standard, as is wireless smartphone charging (which is optional on the Bolt EV hatchback).
    Both the Bolt EUV and Bolt EV sit on the same BEV2 platform used in the outgoing Bolt and even have the same motor and battery. The result is 250 miles of range for the Bolt EUV from the same 65.0-kWh battery pack found in the electric hatchback. The smaller Bolt EV beats it by nine miles. The front-wheel-drive Bolt EUV is powered by a single 200-hp motor that puts out 266 pound-feet of torque. The vehicle comes standard with DC fast-charging support up to 55 kW. The pricier Kona Electric (starting at $38,575) and Niro EV (starting at $40,265) both support DC fast-charging up to 100.0 kW, which could put the Bolts at a disadvantage when it comes to waiting for a charge on long journeys.

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    Chevrolet

    What those competitor vehicles don’t have, though, is access to GM’s Super Cruise hands-free driver-assistance package. The Bolt EUV will be the first Chevrolet to get the system and will go on sale ahead of other GM EVs that will offer it. Super Cruise will only be available on the Premier trim level of the EUV and will add an additional $2200 to the price. Those who splurge on Super Cruise will get three years of the OnStar subscription, needed for the feature, for free. It’s the same deal Cadillac owners got in their vehicles with Super Cruise, but Cadillacs get automatic lane changing on their Super Cruise packages, and the Bolt EUV won’t have that.
    On the Super Cruise EV horizon, both the 2022 Hummer EV and 2023 Cadillac Lyriq will also have Super Cruise. They will also both be based on the new Ultium platform. The Hummer EV will go on sale in the fall of this year while the Cadillac Lyriq is expected in showrooms in late 2022.
    For those not interested in driving hands-free, the Chevy Safety Assist package is standard on the Bolt EUV. It includes driver-assistance features including lane-keeping assist, automated emergency braking, and forward-collision alert. Adaptive cruise control and rear cross-traffic alert are available options.
    With the Bolt EUV, Chevy is entering the crowded electric-crossover market by modifying an offering that has sold well for the company in the past. The EUV doesn’t use GM’s new Ultium platform and is essentially just a slightly larger Bolt EV, but at a starting price of $33,995, it might keep those waiting for Ultium-powered vehicles happy for the next few years. The Bolt EUV will go on sale this summer.

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    2022 Chevy Bolt EV Has Same 259-Mile Range but Is $5500 Cheaper

    In addition to a price drop, the 2022 Chevy Bolt EV also gets a new exterior design and a more comfortable and contemporary interior according to the automaker.
    Underneath the new design, some updated tech features, and the now-standard 55-kW DC fast charging support, the battery range and powertrain are the same as the 2021 Bolt.
    The 2022 Chevy Bolt goes on sale this summer.
    Chevy has a bit of a problem. General Motors, along with Tesla, has already sold enough EVs that its products no longer qualify for the federal tax credit that still lowers the purchase price of an EV from Hyundai, Volkswagen, Ford, and other brands. So what do you do when the government won’t help you bring down the price? You do it yourself. The 2022 Chevy Bolt starts at $31,995, a price drop of $5500 compared with the 2021 Bolt that’s currently on sale. It’s also $2000 cheaper than the brand-new, just introduced 2022 Bolt EUV crossover.

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    It’s not just less expensive, though. The 2022 Bolt has been improved based on customer feedback, GM says, claiming the seats are more comfortable and the interior is more contemporary. And, in fact, rather than the 8.0-inch digital layout of the dash cluster that carries over from the current Bolt, the dash and interior look more like a regular Chevy and less like a futuristic electric car. A 10.2-inch display houses GM’s latest infotainment system and supports wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connections. A wireless charger is optional, and the company has updated the shifter to a push-button system that sits in the center console.
    The 2022 Bolt also now has a button on the center console that lets the driver enable one-pedal driving, which uses regenerative braking to bring the vehicle to a stop without using the brake pedal in certain driving situations. When drivers lift their right foot off the accelerator, the EV begins to slow down, instead of coasting like a traditional gasoline vehicle. It’s as if the person behind the wheel had placed their foot gently on the brake. As the vehicle slows down, it recharges the battery. With a little practice, EV drivers can drive around town using only the accelerator pedal.
    While the look got an upgrade, the size of the Bolt is nearly unchanged. It’s the same 69.5-inch width, but a half-inch taller at 63.4 inches and about 0.8 inch shorter, lengthwise, at 163.2 inches. This makes the Bolt EV roughly the same size as the now more expensive 2021 Kona Electric. Trunk space is 16.6 cubic feet, 0.3 cubic foot less than the 2021 model. With the 60/40 split seats down, that goes up to 57.0 cubic feet. The Bolt bests the Kona with the seats down by 11.2 cubic feet but loses to the Hyundai in trunk space by 2.6 cubic feet.

    View Photos

    Chevrolet

    While the interior and exterior look different, the vehicle specs themselves are nearly the same as the 2021 Bolt. The 2022 Bolt still has a targeted 259 miles of range from a 65.0-kWh capacity battery. That’s down 1.0 kWh from the 2021 numbers. AC Level 2 charging has gotten a bit of a boost and supports up to 11 kW, but DC fast charging, which is now standard on all models, sits steady to support up to 55 kW, just like the previous generation. Chevy says that via DC fast charging, drivers would be able to add 100 miles of range in about 30 minutes.
    The 2022 Bolt EV is still powered by a single motor delivering 200 horsepower and 266 pound-feet of torque to the front wheels. The underlying tech beneath the vehicle remains the same because the Bolt is still based on the BEV2 electric-vehicle platform, not GM’s new Ultium platform. In fact, GM’s executive chief engineer of the Bolt and Bolt EUV Jesse Ortega said during a call, “There are no plans to incorporate the Ultium system into the Bolt EV or Bolt EUV.”

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    While the 2022 Bolt EV doesn’t get access to GM’s Super Cruise technology like its new sibling, the Bolt EUV, the 2022 Bolt comes standard with the Chevy Safety Assist package that includes lane-keeping assist and safety features including automated emergency braking and forward-collision alert. Adaptive cruise control and rear cross-traffic alert are optional.
    Overall, the 2022 Bolt is more of the same, with a design refresh that takes into account customer feedback but at a much lower price. It’s looking a bit like a placeholder in the Chevy lineup while GM as a whole transitions to electric vehicles built on the Ultium platform. Its lower price for basically the same product with the same amount of range shows that EV prices will continue to drop as the market matures. The 2022 Chevy Bolt EV will be in showrooms this summer.
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    Average EV Owner Drives Half as Many Miles as Other Drivers—Study

    Without access to everyone’s odometer, researchers working for the National Bureau of Economic Research have used a limited set of utility and electric-vehicle registration data to see how much extra electricity EV owners use each day.
    The number, 2.9 kWh, was then run through a formula with a number of other factors to come to an estimate that EV drivers go around 5300 miles a year. That’s about half of what gas-powered cars do each year.
    This is all from a non-peer-reviewed study, so there may be adjustments down the road, but a separate survey conducted by Plug In America found that EV drivers are more than happy with their cars, and 96 percent plan to buy an EV when the time comes for new wheels.
    Check Out Our EV Hub
    Electric-vehicle drivers put about half as many miles on their cars as the average driver. At least, that’s what a new study, conducted by researchers working for the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), is estimating. Those results are based on calculations that look at the increase in home energy usage for homes with EVs in California.

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    The study authors did not ask the EV drivers themselves. Nor did they check odometer readings through service records or using other methods. They do admit that getting that kind of information would be best but that these numbers are “within the vehicles themselves” and that automakers keep charging information private “due to strategic business interests and privacy concerns.”
    So, as a workaround, researchers from the University of Chicago, University of California Davis, and UC Berkeley instead drew their estimates from a sample of roughly 10 percent of the residential electricity meters from Pacific Gas & Electric (a total of 362,945 households). These meter readings were then compared with EV registration records from 2014 through 2017 and the addresses where an EV was registered—a total of 57,290 electric vehicles—were then checked to see how much extra energy was used there to arrive at an estimate about how much extra household electricity was required once an EV was purchased. The result was 0.12 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per hour, or 2.9 kilowatt-hours each day. Another factor taken into consideration came from the California Air Resources Board, which has estimated that “upward of 85 percent of EV charging occurs at home.”
    The official miles-per-kWh energy use of the vehicles in the survey was also included, and all of these numbers were then used to estimate that “EVs travel 5300 miles per year, under half of the U.S. fleet average,” the study said.
    As for what this all might mean for electric utilities and regulators, the paper doesn’t get into, other than to say that the 5300-mile annual estimate is “roughly half” the amount assumed by regulators in California. The reason for this could be smaller sample sizes used by those regulators and “selection bias in the official estimates.”
    For the auto industry as a whole, it’s interesting to contemplate the study’s conclusion that EVs just don’t travel as many miles as gas-powered cars. The authors say this “raises important questions about the potential for the technology to replace a vast majority of trips currently using gasoline.” The authors say their results suggest that “EVs may not be as easily substituted for gasoline vehicles as previously thought.”

    Sign up for our new weekly EV newsletter, State of Charge. SIGN UP

    However many zero-emission miles EV drivers are actually putting on their vehicles, it appears they’re pleased with the results. A new survey put out by Plug In America (PIA) found that 96 percent of EV owners are likely to purchase an EV as their next vehicle and that the ability to charge their car cheaply at home was the second-highest consideration for EV buyers (the federal tax credit was number one, but only just). PIA’s study of EV owners also found that, while over 90 percent of them charge at home every day or at least every week, “the majority also charge in public.”

    It should be noted that the NBER study has not been peer reviewed and is being circulated “for discussion and comment purposes” at this point.
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    IIHS Study Tells Why Women Have Higher Injury Risk in Car Crashes

    A new report from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety finds that women are at a higher risk of being injured or killed in crashes than men are when involved in crashes of a similar severity.
    Though more men than women are injured and killed in car crashes, women are more likely to be injured in any given crash than men in a crash of similar severity would be, the study found.
    IIHS explained that the discrepancies are due to differences in the cars many women drive and the circumstances of the crashes they are involved in—not physiological differences between men and women.
    The not insignificant risk of being involved in a serious car crash is one of the hard truths of life for those who rely on cars for fun and transportation. New cars are safer than they have been at any point in the past, but people are still hurt and killed in car crashes every day. What’s disturbing is that, although men get in more car crashes, women are more likely to be injured. A new study from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) explains the discrepancy, and it’s not physiological: it’s down to vehicle size and type as well as what kind of crashes are involved.

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    The insurance group found that about 70 percent of women in crashes were in cars rather than larger vehicles, compared with about 60 percent of men, while 20 percent of men were in pickups, compared with less than 5 percent of women. So, even though more men are injured in car crashes overall, and even though men tend to engage in riskier behavior and drive more miles on average than women do, women are still at higher risk of being hurt in crashes that, statistically, men are likely to escape from unscathed.
    When researchers compared police-reported front and side crashes that occurred between 1998 and 2015, they found that women were three times as likely to suffer a moderate injury and twice as likely to suffer a severe injury as men. But by narrowing the evaluation to what researchers called “compatible” crashes—front crashes involving either a single car or two cars of similar size and weight—they found that the discrepancy in injuries between women and men shrank significantly. The sample size was too small to run a study on side crashes between compatible vehicles.
    Even in the sample group that showed a similar risk of injury between men and women overall, women were more likely to suffer a moderate lower body injury. IIHS said women were 2.5 times as likely to have moderate leg injuries and 70 percent more likely to have serious leg injuries compared with men. That’s a gap that IIHS says could be closed with targeted safety improvements by manufacturers.
    Researchers say that overall, the variance in risk is related not to physical differences between men and women but to differences in behaviors and vehicle choice. In two-car crashes, men are more likely to be driving large, heavy vehicles (especially pickup trucks), which offer more protection for occupants. And men are more likely to be in the striking vehicle than in the vehicle being struck, which also corresponds to a lower risk of injury.

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    The good news is that careful vehicle selection can mitigate your risk of being hurt in an accident, no matter who you are. IIHS found that occupants of vehicles that had earned IIHS’s top Good rating in its moderate front overlap crash test corresponded to a lower risk of head and lower body injuries for all drivers.
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    2021 Hero Passion Pro New TVC – Celebrates 100 Millionth Edition

    New Hero Passion Pro
    Hero Passion Pro is one of the top-selling motorcycle in the country

    Hero Passion Pro is a commuter bike. It is priced from Rs. 67,608 to 69,808 in India and is presented in two variants and four colour options. In its BS6 avatar, to which it was updated earlier last year, it gets several design updates. Detailed in a new TVC, the Passion Pro appeals to buyers to ‘Chalo Apni Chaal’ and to break away from the ordinary and set new standards following their own paths.
    Hero MotoCorp 100 Millionth Unit
    Earlier this month, in celebration of the production of the 100 millionth unit, Hero MotoCorp unveiled special editions. These were of Xtreme 160R, Passion Pro, Glamour, Destini 125, and Maestro Edge 110.
    All these are now on sale across India. Hero MotoCorp become India’s only two wheeler brand to achieve this feat of producing 100 millionth two wheeler and this milestone model was the Hero Xtreme 160R which rolled out of its Haridwar plant.
    New TVC for Passion Pro 2021
    Hero Passion Pro is powered by a 110cc BS6 engine. This engine makes 9.02 hp power and 9.89 Nm torque. Though power figure drops as compared to that seen on its BS4 counterpart, there is a hike in torque. It gets drum brakes at the front and rear and combined braking system on both wheels. Weight is at 117 kgs and tank capacity of 10 liters. New TVC can be seen below.
    [embedded content]
    Where styling is concerned, the BS6 Passion Pro 110 looks sportier than its earlier counterpart. It receives a black visor, 3D Hero badging and 18 inch alloy wheels. New graphics also make the bike stand apart while the Passion Pro is also offered with F1 and i3s technology.
    It also gets larger and more angular headlamps with new bikini fairing, fuel tank extensions with ‘PRO’ decals and under seat panels along with a sharper tail lamp. Feature updates include a new semi digital instrument cluster offering real time fuel efficiency and other data while suspension travel is increased by 15mm for a more comfortable ride.
    For even easier riding through traffic, the new Hero Passion Pro gets a feature called Auto Sail. This eliminates the need for the rider to use the clutch in traffic and prevents the bike from stalling.
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    Hero MotoCorp has revealed that the company will be launching 10 products each year over the next 5 years. These will include new models or updated variants of its existing products while the company will also pay special attention to reduce its carbon footprint with eco-friendly facilities and fuel efficient models.
    The company has also set up a separate unit to sell Harley Davidson bikes in India after the US based company shut down its operations in the country. Hero has added 11 new dealerships for the Harley Davidson brand and Hero will also develop motorcycles to be sold under the Harley brand. More

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    Tesla India Electric Car Plant To Be Setup In Karnataka – Report

    File Photo
    Tesla India has been registered as Tesla India Motors and Energy Private Ltd – as per Ministry of Corporate Affairs

    Earlier this year, Karnataka CM, B S Yediyurappa had tweeted that Tesla will commence operations with an R&D unit in Bengaluru. He had announced this on twitter. But soon after, he had deleted the tweet. A State Govt document, accessed by Reuters points to the fact that Karnataka will also be the home to Tesla’s car manufacturing plant.
    This update comes on the back of statements from Gujarat and Maharashtra – both stating that they have invited Tesla to setup their Indian manufacturing unit in their respective state. Tesla is yet to confirm the report.
    Tesla in India
    Entry of the US based electric vehicle maker Tesla, into the Indian automobile sector, is particularly noteworthy as both the Central and State Governments are vying for higher adoption of green vehicle technology to conserve energy and preserve the environment.
    Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc. has set up a subsidiary in Bengaluru with plans to introduce their range of electric cars in India later this year. The R&D Center is at Lavelle Road in Bengaluru and marks the company’s entry into the country with a paid up capital of Rs.1 lakh and authorized capital of Rs.15 lakhs.
    Karnataka CM tweet which was deleted soon after it was posted
    With plans to launch a range of electric vehicles in India in 2021, Tesla has named Vaibhav Taneja, Venkatrangam Sreeram and David Jon Feinstein as its three directors. Plans are afoot to launch the new Tesla Model 3 in India for a start, with local assembly and manufacturing to commence later.
    First Tesla Car In India
    It is rumoured that Tesla Model 3 will be the first to launch in India as it is the most affordable Tesla product. The all electric sedan will be brought in as a CBU initially. It will attract a 100 percent import duty unless the Government of India offers any concessions to Tesla so as to give electric vehicle entry a push. Standard range of 423 kms on a single charge.
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    South of India and more specifically Bengaluru is a hub of automotive engineering with centres of Daimler, Bosch, Continental, Fiat Chrysler. Electric vehicle segment is also seeing increased participation with mobility startups like Ola, Uber, Bounce and Vogo planning to introduce more electric vehicles into their fleets.
    Ola is also keen on manufacturing electric vehicles with a new EV plant in Tamil Nadu. Ola will setup the world’s largest electric scooter manufacturing plant in Tamil Nadu – for the same they have signed an MoU of Rs 2,400 crores.
    Ather Energy has also gone ahead with their plans. Production is now shifted to Hosur, Tamil Nadu from where the company aims to produce around 1 lakh units of electric two wheelers per annum.
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    Royal Enfield Hunter 350 Instrument Cluster Spied – Tripper Navigation Missing

    Royal Enfield Hunter 350 Spied
    The Royal Enfield Hunter 350 employs an eccentrically placed digi-analog instrument console

    A camouflaged prototype Royal Enfield Hunter with some accessories was spied up close while stationary. The test mule appears to be not fully production ready but not far from it either. The latest spy shots give us a clear idea on how the motorcycle’s instrument panel looks like.
    Royal Enfield Hunter 350
    Royal Enfield is currently working on building a strong and eclectic range of 350 cc motorcycles based on its new generation J platform. The Meteor 350 which replaced the Thunderbird was the first of many new RE’s to come. While the loyalists are eagerly waiting for the next generation Classic 350, Royal Enfield threw a surprise in the form of another retro-classic Roadster.
    The Eicher-owned two wheeler brand has registered Hunter as a trademark, leading us to believe that the new 350 cc roadster will carry this moniker. To be positioned alongside the new Classic 350 as a sportier alternative to lure younger audience, the Royal Enfield Hunter 350 will feature a sleek fuel tank, circular headlamp, possibly with LED elements, single-piece seat, LED taillight and a simple tailpiece.
    Going by the prototype, the Hunter 350 is most likely to be equipped with alloy wheels and black finished engine and exhaust pipe. The prototype was wearing chrome finished headlamp cowl but we expect the final production version to feature a black unit.
    Production version is expected to offer Tripper Navigation as well
    The Royal Enfield Hunter 350 employs a unique digi analog instrument console with a rectangular MID. While this particular mule does not feature an additional dial for Tripper Navigation system (Smartphone enabled turn-by-turn navigation), it is reasonable to assume the motorcycle to be offered with it at the time of launch.
    Specifications
    The Royal Enfield Hunter 350, as the spyshot shows, borrows its 349 cc air-cooled engine from the Meteor 350. Widely acclaimed for being much more refined than its predecessor, the new mill dishes out 20.2 hp and 27 Nm of torque. Gearbox is a conventional 5-speed unit.
    There is nothing particularly interesting about the suspension or braking system. The roadster employs traditional telescopic front forks covered with rubber gaiters, and twin-rear shock absorbers. Like all modern Royal Enfields, the Hunter is equipped with front and rear disc brakes with dual-channel ABS.
    Royal Enfield Hunter 350 Instrument Cluster – Analog Speedometer, Digital MID
    On board the Royal Enfield Hunter, the speedometer is analog and is seen with markings in kmph as well as mph. The speedo is listed till max speed of 160 kmph / 100 mph – just like the new Meteor 350. Other details like fuel level, trip meters, etc are expected to be listed in the digital MID.
    Market positioning
    With the Royal Enfield Hunter 350, the company would be aiming to fend off fresh competition like the Honda CB350. Royal Enfield’s leadership in the Indian medium displacement segment continues to be strong even during the challenging year that was 2020.
    The Classic 350 continues to be a cash cow for the brand and with the new gen model coming later this year, things are only going to get stronger. The Hunter will be playing a consolidating role.
    Royal Enfield Hunter 350 Spied More