EV news Round-up: September 2024

Hypervolt begins beta testing for Intelligent Octopus Go support and VW unveils the new ID.3 GTX

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EDF trials Intelligent Octopus Go rival

Following the launch of their EVolve tariff (which holds the title for the lowest peak price for any EV tariff), EDF announced that it's trialling an app-controlled EV tariff called OptiCharge.

Currently being trialled by 300 customers, the tariff allows users to set a target charge for their EV and when they want it charged by via an app, just like Intelligent Octopus Go and OVO Charge Anytime. Nothing has been said about how much the 300 participants are paying for a charge session but EDF says that the data will be collected to monitor how the tariff impacts customer bills and their usage.

Does this mean that EDF will soon be rolling this tariff out to the public and joining the likes of Octopus and OVO in offering smarter energy tariffs? Subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date.

Electric forecourt pioneer goes global

Gridserve, the owners of the Electric Highway and the famous electric forecourts based in Braintree, Norwich and Stanstead have announced plans to expand beyond Britain as the company goes global.

Headed by Gridserve's current CEO Toddignton Harper and his brother Heston, Gridserve Global will focus on bringing the charging network's technology such as the Electric Highway network and electric forecourts to new countries.

The Electric Vauxhall Grandland revealed

Vauxhall has pulled the covers off the new Grandland and from first impressions, it's a looker.

Based on Stellantis' new STLA-M platform that's also present on the new Peugeot E-3008, the new Vauxhall Grandland comes with a 73kWh battery and a 210ps motor which can power the car for up to 325 miles and be rapid charged from 10-80% in less than half an hour using a 160kW rapid charge point. There's also a longer range 98kWh battery version that claims a range of up to 435 miles coming later in the year.

On the outside, Vauxhall has really gone to town on the styling and taken the Grandland from looking like a budget-focused SUV to a more premium one. A part of the exterior that particularly premiumises the car is the front, which now features a gorgeous 3d illuminated 'visor' and Griffin logo that make the daytime running lights and logo look like they are floating within the bumper.

The new Grandland is bigger too (17cm longer to be exact), which bumps up boot space from 514 litres to 550 whilst also giving rear passengers 20mm of extra leg room. Hop into the front of the new Grandland to find a range of different materials that give the car a more premium feeling as well as a decently sized 10-inch infotainment screen which can be bumped up to 16-inches on the higher trim levels. The driver gets their own screen too, in the form of a 10-inch digital drivers' display. Buyers of the higher trim levels are also treated to Vauxhall's new Pixel box, a translucent cubbyhole located below the infotainment screen that houses the wireless phone charger which illuminates when the car comes to a stop so that occupants don't forget their phone when leaving the vehicle.

Prices start from just over £40,000 for the all-electric models with release dates yet to be announced.

Easee wins best home EV charger by What Car

The Easee One has won yet another award, this time by car review website, WhatCar.

The award is for the best home EV charger, where over 2000 EV drivers and a number of WhatCar's in house staff were surveyed on the level of satisfaction they have for their charge points.

Out of all the participants that had Easee One's, all of them rated the charger highly for its ease of installation, dependability and how fast (and free) Easee was able to resolve problems when they occurred. In fact, the only category that Easee scored average in was price.

Runners-up included Hypervolt Home 3 Pro, Andersen A2 and the Ohme Home Pro.

Pre-sales start for the VW ID.3 GTX Performance (AKA the electric Golf GTI Clubsport)

Want an all-electric hot hatch but the likes of the Cupra Born and MG4 XPower just aren't tickling your fancy? Well, Volkswagen just might have the car for you!

Dubbed the "electric equivalent of the Golf GTI Clubsport" by VW's Brand Board of Management, this GTX performance version of the ID.3 comes with a beefed-up 240kW (326ps) motor that propels the car from 0-62mph in less than six seconds and outputs more drive power than VW's V6 turbocharged engines. It's so powerful in fact that VW is forced to electronically limit the motor to 124mph.

Other modifications over the regular ID.3 include a new 79kWh battery that has a range of up to 373 miles and is located dead in the center of the car for precise stability, stronger stabilisers, an exclusive bumper design that features a black air intake with a customised signature light, a new progressive steering system and a modified Sport DCC adaptive chasis control system that monitors how the wheels and body are moving to ensure precise handling and road holding at all times.

Inside the cabin of the ID.3 GTX you will find red accents (in keeping with GTI fashion), a 12.9 inch infotainment display loaded with VW's latest version of their IDA voice assistant onboarded with ChatGPT and an option to upgrade the sound system to a harmon Kardon one.

Prices will start from around €52,295 (around £44,369) with release dates yet to be announced.

Used EVs begin to match prices with their petrol counterparts

Car buying platform Autotrader reports that EVs aged between 3-5 years old are now averaging at the same price as their petrol counterparts at around £18,964. They're selling fast too, with low emission vehicles accounting for 60% of the top 10 fastest selling vehicles taking 28 days on average to sell.

EVs less than a year old are lingering around longer however with them taking around 50 days to sell which could be due to them costing around £10,000 more than the equivalent petrol car.

Thinking about a used EV? Check out our guide for advice.

Hypervolt unveils beta for Intelligent Octopus Go Integration

As part of an ongoing trial, lucky Hypervolt Home 3 and home 3 Pro owners who have signed up for beta testing are enjoying the benefits of Intelligent Octopus Go support.

Due to be fully rolled out at the end of September, Hypervolt owners will receive an app update that allows them to switch to a brand new ‘Octopus mode’ when choosing the charging mode in the app settings. When in this mode, users will be able to link their Octopus app to their Hypervolt, similar to how Ohme users do currently.  

Alongside Intelligent Octopus Go support, Hypervolt have also announced that they will be bringing out an update that will enable their chargers to communicate with any home battery system storage. This update is also set to be released at the end of September.

Smart Charge joins Zap-Map’s live data program

Zap-Map users can now see how many charge points are available and out of service at a Smart Charge charging hub thanks to the recently added live data support.

To find out how many chargers are available at your nearest Smart Charge Charging hub, simply find it on the Zapmap map and the charging hub’s description will show how many are in use and even if any are out of service.

Are you a Zap-Map user who is curious about Zap-Map's premium service? Be sure to check out our review!