EV News Round-Up: Power2Drive, Tesla's latest pay packet, and cheapest EV tariff

We're back with another round-up of the latest in EV news after a busy week in the industry. To start off this week's round-up, we asked our team returning from Europe's largest eMobility show what they took away from our attendance. Check out the full list of stories below:

Power2Drive Munich: key takeaways on Europe's EV charge

You may have seen from our socials leading up to the event, but the Clenergy Four team attended Europe’s biggest eMobility event in Munich last week at Power2Drive / Intersolar. Some of the team’s key takeaways included:

• OCPP 1.6 standardisation: The event showcased that the industry has come leaps and bounds in adopting the OCPP 1.6 protocol, meaning a more fair and open system where EV charging software can easily communicate with hardware across the board.
• A record turnout for EV charging software companies: With a higher-than-ever turnout for EV charging software companies, it’s obvious that more are becoming alert to the value of software in our EV rollout. We expect to see competition heating up.
• Solar on the scene: We saw several large solar and renewable energy companies making the natural conversion into EV charging hardware and software. With a wealth of tech and renewable professionals already at hand, it makes sense that these companies would want to look at an industry projected by many for ‘hockey-stick’ growth.
• Fleet electrification far from over: Despite the fleet market leading the charge in electrification figures in recent years, it’s clear from our time at the show that this process is far from over. Some fleets are further ahead than others, and having begun their transitions are now in a better place to understand their needs, and the potential pitfalls of continued fleet transformation. We expect lots of changes still to come in this particularly dynamic market.

Alongside all those interesting industry insights, we had a great and fruitful time at the show, meeting both old faces and new and strengthening our relationships across the industry.

Until next year!

Elon and Tesla’s $56bn stakeholder payout: what does it mean for EVs?

Last week, Tesla's shareholders voted through Elon Musk’s pay packet of $56bn of funding despite strong opposition, making it the largest payout in US corporate history.

The announcement was made at Tesla’s annual shareholder meeting in Austin, Texas, although an ongoing case in the Delaware court system could still block the funding from being received.

In January, the judge nullified the pay package, calling it "unfathomable."

The announcement comes at a time of relative turbulence for the automaker, with Deliveries falling nearly 9% during the first quarter of 2024 (Tesla’s first annual drop in almost four years), causing much speculation in the industry as to its future as one of the world-leaders in manufacturing ZEVs. 

The cash injection, if it does go through following legal challenges in Delaware, will likely go towards further development of the ‘Tesla Model 2’. The ‘Model 2’ has been described as a cheaper $25k-range model, widely reported to have been scrapped earlier this year. Tesla, however, has doubled down on its commitment to produce the vehicle, with speculative release dates of late 2025 being mentioned. 

With the secondhand EV market booming despite a slump in new car sales and many experts citing steep upfront costs as the key deterrent to mass adoption of electric vehicles, further investment in vehicles in this price range looks to represent a safe bet from the company as they attempt to bounce back from a steady decline in stock prices since 2021.

Musk’s celebratory dancing at the Tesla shareholder’s conference after the vote has been shared across the internet… we’d suggest staying away.

EDF launches cheapest EV tariff

EDF has launched what it claims is the cheapest EV tariff on the market for drivers with any EV or charger.

The move means customers could save up to £200 a year compared to similar tariffs, while never paying more than the Ofgem price cap.

EDF’s EVolve Sep25 electricity tariff, priced at £1,067, gives customers five hours of off-peak electricity overnight for both their home and car.

The variable tariff offers the same electricity day rate as the standard variable, and an off-peak rate priced 10p lower than the Standard Variable Direct Debit price cap rate between 12-5am daily. 

The EVolve tariff is available to motorists with any make or model of electric vehicle or charger, and for an average motorist driving 7,000 miles a year, it will cost £247 a year to charge with the EVolve tariff, compared to £1,292 for petrol.

When paired with home EV charging software, drivers can access charge scheduling features which means these savings can be achieved without any change in charging habits, able to make the most of the staggeringly cheap off-peak tariffs while they sleep.

We recently covered how the same software has allowed our CEO and founder Will David to save over £2,000 a year on his charging costs using the popular Octopus Go tariff. Still, as more competitive energy prices become available, the savings potential becomes even greater.

Rich Hughes, Director of Retail at EDF, said: “Some EV tariffs negatively impact customers based on their daytime home usage and they can end up worse off.

“EVolve is a penalty-free EV tariff that benefits customers who charge off-peak, with the peace of mind of no premium peak prices during the day.”

Car EV rental fleet reports 200% growth

We mentioned that one of the key takeaways from Power2Drive Munich this year was the huge potential of further fleet electrification, even with fleet leading the way in the EV market in the UK. It seems we weren’t wrong, with news broken by Transport + Energy last week showing that EV fleet rental has grown 200% since 2022, according to a new BVRLA report.

The report illustrates, that with 90,000 private cars taken off the UK roads as well, vehicle rental “makes an essential contribution to UK society.”

The ‘Rental Credentials’ report includes feedback from more than 1,250 customers and operating data from companies responsible for around 70% of the UK’s car and van rental fleet.

Alongside the top lines on fleet growth and emissions, the report found the average rental car is eight years younger than its privately-owned alternative 58% of car hire and 82% of van hire is with business customers, and critical national infrastructure relies on vehicle rental.

BVRLA Chief Executive, Gerry Keaney, said:

“Anyone making a significant journey on the road network will pass dozens of unbranded rental vehicles.”

“This report captures the vehicle rental sector’s impact and the scale of its contribution to the UK’s economy and society. Rental is a proactive, innovative industry that policymakers should work with to unlock fairer, more sustainable, and affordable mobility in Britain.”

That’s all for our round-up this week! Stay tuned in to our social channels, as we cover more on the EV charging software industry and the latest features to help guide you on your way to electrification.

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