EV News Daily | 2024 Audi Q8 E-Tron Unveiled | Ford to Invest in a $4.5 Billion Nickel Processing Plant | Porsche Taycan Prices Hiked

In today’s edition of EV News Daily, we have covered headlines from, Audi which has unveiled the 2024 Audi Q8 e-Tron for the US market; Ford which is investing in a $4.5 Billion Nickel Processing Plant in Indonesia, Porsche which has announced a price hike across the entire Taycan lineup for the 2024 model year.  

2024 Audi Q8 E-Tron Unveiled, US Pricing Starts at $74,400

• The German premium automaker Audi has unveiled the 2024 Audi Q8 e-Tron for the US market and the prices for the electric SUV start at $74,400 before destination, taxes, title, other options, and dealer charges.
• Audi Q8 e-Tron is anticipated to arrive in U.S. showrooms by the Summer of 2023 and will be offered in two variants, Q8 e-Tron, and Q8 Sportback e-Tron.
• The 2024 Q8 e-Tron features a more energy-dense battery pack having a net capacity of 106 kWh (114 kWh gross), compared to the previous model battery capacity is 23 percent greater and the battery’s usable capacity has also improved by 2 percent.
• The maximum DC charging rate has also been increased from 150 kW to 170 kW, permitting recharging from 10 to 80 percent capacity in about 31 minutes. Under ideal Level-2 charging conditions, the Audi Q8 e-tron can recharge in around 13 hours at 9.6 kW (240V/40A), or in around 6.5 hours at 19.2 kW (240V/80A).
• The Q8 Sportback e-Tron with the ultra package offers an EPA estimated range of 300 miles, an increase of around 30 percent compared to the 2023 e-Tron Sportback. 
• Aerodynamic advancements and improvements to battery cell chemistry have led to the improved driving range, the Q8 e-tron SUV has a coefficient of drag value of 0.29 and 0.27 in the Sportback model. 
• All Q8 e-tron versions are all-wheel-drive with a 300 kW dual-motor powertrain, the Q8 Sportback e-Tron with the ultra package sprints to 60 mph in as little as 5.3 seconds.
• The Q8 e-tron will also benefit from two years of DC fast charging included at no additional cost via the Electrify America network.

Original Source: Audi USA

Ford to Invest in a $4.5 Billion Nickel Processing Plant in Indonesia

• Ford is investing in a $4.5 billion nickel processing facility in Indonesia’s Southeast Sulawesi as the auto giant aims to secure a supply of critical minerals used in electric-vehicle batteries.
• Ford has partnered with Vale Indonesia, which controls a sizeable nickel-mining area on Indonesia’s Sulawesi island, and China’s Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt, a leading refiner, to build the processing plant jointly.
• Lisa Drake, Ford’s vice president of EV industrialization said, “This framework gives Ford direct control to source the nickel we need—in one of the industry’s lowest-cost ways.”
• Commercial operations at the plant are expected to begin in 2026 and are expected to produce 120,000 tonnes a year of mixed hydroxide precipitate, a material extracted from nickel ore that is used in batteries for electric vehicles (EV).
• The plant will use High-Pressure Acid Leaching process to refine the mineral
• Indonesia has the world’s largest reserves of nickel but the government has imposed a ban on the export of raw nickel to draw global EV producers to manufacture batteries and electric vehicles in the country.
• Ford’s investment in the nickel processing plant is its first in the South-east Asian country. Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution are also constructing a battery-cell plant in Indonesia which is expected to begin production next year. 

Source: Reuters

Porsche Taycan Prices Hiked by Upto $7,500 for the 2024 Model Year

• Porsche has announced a price hike across the entire Taycan lineup for the 2024 model year, however, a Porsche spokesperson has confirmed that the new MSRP will only apply to new orders.

For Yesterday’s edition of EV News Daily, Please click here