Ahhh... I hatttte front license plates (state plates) but score one!!!! Saved your bumper!!

 

So I was talking to a friend who is an exec at my power company. They have a program where they'll install an EV charger at your house (provide the unit, get permit, do installation) at no upfront cost. You just pay a flat $31/month which covers the equipment PLUS your charging fees for the month. I told him I already have the Tesla charger and I've noticed my bill is up about $70-$80/month from what I can tell. He said I could switch to this and save $50/month... I would assume the power company can tell the difference in what type of electricity I'm using based on the voltage coming from the charger. I'm going to see him again tonight and ask about how long the commitment is and what happens if I sell my house in a year, etc. But that's a pretty compelling offer. I paid $400 for my charger and around $1k for electrician to install it I think.

Anyone else's power company offering something like this? I thought it was kinda cool. They have some other slick ancillary products that fall into the IoT realm of products that I had no idea they offered.

 

 

Yeah, sounds to me like the power company wants a piece of it all!

They are like that with internet here, and we may switch to them.

 

BYD launches Tesla Model 3 rival Seal electric sedan in North America

BYD launches Seal EV in North America as Tesla rival

BYD revealed the Seal landed in Mexico last week as it expands the brand in the region. The Seal is the second EV under BYD’s Ocean series to launch in Mexico, following the Dolphin in Sept.

It will be the fifth BYD EV in the region, joining the Dolphin, Han sedan, Tang SUV, and Yuan Plus launched in June. The electric sedan is offered in two versions: RWD or four-wheel drive.

The RWD variant will start at 778,800 pesos ($44,600), while the four-wheel-drive will cost 888,800 pesos ($51,000).

BYD’s Seal RWD is powered by a 150 kW rear motor and 61.44 kWh LFP Blade battery, offering up to 460 km (286 mi) WLTP range. The AWD version has 390 kW power combined with an 82.56 kWh LFP Blade battery for 520 km (323 mi) WLTP range.


In comparison, the Tesla Model 3 starts at 881,900 pesos ($50,500) with 638 km (396 mi) WLTP range. The AWD version starts at 985,900 pesos ($56,500), while the Performance version costs 1,154,900 pesos ($66,100).

The news comes as BYD closes in on Tesla in global EV sales. BYD topped Nissan for the first time last month, with over 170,000 fully electric vehicles sold.

Electrek’s Take

BYD’s overseas sales continues growing. The EV maker is already a leader in key markets like Thailand, Brazil, and Columbia.

In addition to Mexico, BYD is expanding in Australia, India, Hungary, and several other international markets. The company has sold nearly 1.4 million EVs so far through November. Another 170,000 would mean around 1.57 million EV sales. Tesla says its on track for 1.8 million.

BYD also launched two new electric SUVs recently, the Sea Lion 07 and Song L (pictured above), poised to rival Tesla’s Model Y. The company said its Song L had over 11,000 pre-orders in 17 days as demand builds.

Although the global EV leader race is fun to watch, it’s even better knowing they are both stealing share from gas-powered vehicles.

Mexico could serve as a key region for Chinese EV makers to set up production in North America. It could also be a gateway to bring EVs into the US, according to analysts.

BYD is likely the only Chinese EV maker that builds and sells vehicles in the US. The company operates a 550,000 square foot electric bus factory in Lancaster, California.


https://electrek.co/2023/12/07/byd-l...north-america/

 

superchargers are mostly used by people traveling through so the size of your city's pop is pretty irrelevant.
my town is maybe 75k people and there's also about 8 supercharger stations here just off the interstate, so to me, intended for people passing through.

 

about byd article... it probably should have said mexico and not 'north america' as the new seal isn't available in the u.s.
interesting they already have a factory in california though making electric buses.

so if i read it right, there's already now 5 chinese ev's for sale in mexico. i've written many times about the coming tidal wave of chinese vehicles. of course it hasn't happened yet, but i believe, barring tariffs and regulations to block it, it will happen. or maybe they'll just build them in the u.s. heck, maybe tesla will even end up with excess capacity and build them for byd! anything's possible.

reviews of the byd seal are mixed but it certainly looks good and has a more 'normal' interior.

tesla will need to continue to innovate to stay ahead and continue to grow. they can do it through hardware, software, services, charging and straight up unique designs and features.

 

It's elektrek they always need a little clickbait

 

Mexico, NA... same thing .

There are a lot of hurdles BYD will have to go through to sell in the US that will add a lot to the price tag. Like safety features. Traveling all over Asia and the middle east, you will see cars made by Toyota, Nissan, Suzuki, Hyundai that would never see the daylight in the US. I once road in a Suzuki that was so small, two people could pick it up. It was a four seater sedan. A car like that would probably cost around $10k... except there is no way it would be road legal here in the US because of safety standards

 

What's an article without a little click bait

 

so i looked and in the larger area around knoxville plus in town, you have 40 stations (8 + 8 + 24).

 

This "idiot" (me) had trouble entering the car wash, and as usual I had anxiety about the conveyor tracks. It felt like a high-stakes game of wheel roulette, and I was hoping that I wouldn't damage my wheels.

Funny story: the first and only time I ran my former ES 350 through an automated car wash, I was still getting used to the features. Well, this particular car wash had a conveyor system. Driving into the correlator was fine, but then the fun began. I didn't realize I had unknowingly left the Brake Hold feature on once I put the vehicle in neutral. So, when the conveyor rollers kept trying to pull the car forward, the vehicle kept bucking and rising, yet going nowhere. Of course, this was a bit of a tense situation because I had no idea what was happening, and the attendants were becoming very animated—repeated attempts to get me going kept failing. Eventually, I realized what I had done, turned off the Brake Hold feature, and was good to go. But it was nerve-racking, to say the least. Now, my EQS has a Car Wash Mode Setting that disables the Parktronic features and alerts, making the entire car wash ready. I won't likely be using any auto car wash, but it's there if I need it.

 

Yes, Bucee's just opened. I don't think they're Superchargers, though.

I've tried to get up there to check it out more than once on the way to and from the lake house but it's so crowded traffic doesnt move and phones don't even work it's so crazy. I would worry about driving an EV into Bucees on battery fumes just FWIW for info on these forums.

 

No, totally get it. That's not idiotic, thats just knowing what's up. The washes I use all have conveyor belts, your rims don't go into one of those "things". They ride on a belt. I've seen rims get damaged from the other kind and all mine are in very good shape, my LS430 chrome wheels have not one blemish.

All these huge rims these days I hatttttte using the ones you're describing... I feel you.

BTW, the Carwash mode on your EQS, nice lol.

 

YEP! It was a one-time deal! If I can find a touchless one like you described, I might consider it just to try out the Car Wash Mode setting.