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Tesla produced the 5 millionth vehicle

Tesla recently celebrated the production of the 2 millionth car in Gigafactory 3, and now the American manufacturer has shown why it is considered the largest manufacturer of electric cars in the world. A new phenomenal achievement is the production of the 5 millionth car and the installation of 50,000 Supercharger stations.

The growth of production started three years ago when in just 18 months Tesla exceeded the production of two million vehicles, three million in just 11 months, and four million seven months later. All this was achieved thanks to the large capacities of Tesla’s factories, but also to the great demand. At the beginning of July, the company announced that it had built the first Cybertruck in Giga Texas and that it had received more than 1.9 million orders.

Other plants such as the one in California that produces the Tesla Model 3, Y, S and Model X have an annual production capacity of 650,000 units, while the Berlin plant has a capacity of 375,000 units/year. It should also be noted that the Tesla Model 3 is the best-selling electric car ever.

The large number of electric cars on the road also requires solving the issue of fast charging stations. Tesla is a leader in that field as well. The company recently installed the 50,000th Supercharger in California, which will also be used by electric cars from other brands.

Source: Tesla

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VinFast VF8 is coming to the European market

While the European Union is thinking about how to protect domestic electric car manufacturers from Chinese companies, another Asian company is sending its electric cars to the EU. It is Vietnamese manufacturer VinFast, which plans to deliver 3,000 electric VF8 models by the end of this year.

VinFast has received approval to import its first electric SUV into the EU, which is manufactured at a factory in northern Vietnam. The cars will be delivered to the French, German and Dutch markets, making the EU the largest overseas market for this Vietnamese company. Earlier this year, the company delivered about 2,100 electric vehicles to the United States.

“We expect to deliver the first VF8 models to French, German and Dutch customers in the last quarter of this year,” said CEO, Le Thi Thu Thuy. He also added that other models VF6, VF7 and VF9 will be delivered to the European market next year.

VinFast VF8 is a mid-size crossover SUV that comes in options of one or two electric motors. The VF8 in a single-motor variant with front-wheel drive, delivered 201 hp (150 kW) and 236 lb-ft (320 Nm) of torque (FWD).

The VF 8 with a dual-motor all-wheel-drive comes as ECO with 348 hp (260 kW; 353 PS) and 368 lb⋅ft (499 N⋅m) or as Plus with 402 hp (300 kW; 408 PS) and 457 lb-ft (620 Nm). Two types of batteries are offered, 82 or 87.7 kWh, which allows a maximum range of 264 miles on a full charge. The more powerful VF8 Plus reaches 62 mph in 5.5 seconds with a top speed of 124 mph (200 km/h).

Source: VinFast

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BMW charges an extra 500 euros for the manual gearbox

Automakers are trying to squeeze more money out of their customers in various ways, like BMW which has started charging extra for the manual gearbox on the BMW M2.

“The vast majority of BMW cars are now offered exclusively with an automatic transmission, as few buyers are looking for a manual transmission. It would be easier if only automatic cars came off the assembly line. Instead we have a small number of customers looking for a manual transmission in the M2 series which creates additional complications and increases costs,” said CEO at BMW M GmbH Frank van Meel.

In the UK, buyers pay an extra £545 for the manual gearbox, while in Germany it’s €500. Frank van Meel justifies this by the fact that automatic transmissions are more practical, but that the manual gearbox will remain in the offer because it is more like a matter of tradition. “A manual gearbox is slower, results in higher fuel consumption and sometimes affects the top speed, so from an engineering point of view this type of gearbox no longer really makes sense,” said van Meel. He also admits that there are still a decent number of people looking for a manual gearbox, because that’s the only way they can experience the full potential of the car.

As automakers increasingly embrace automatic transmissions, it wouldn’t be a surprise if BMW’s manual transmission surcharge system became an industry-wide practice.

Source: BMW

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