2018 Tesla Model 3 Peter Bleakney photo The vast majority of Tesla Model 3 owners consider the cars Autopilot feature a real safety benefit, despite the fact the systems sometimes put them in danger.The overwhelming consensus about Autopilot is that it made owners feel safer while driving, according to a survey of Model 3 owners conducted by Bloomberg. Of the 5,000 owners polled, over 90 per cent touted the safety benefits of the system.The survey also found 13 per cent of owners say the Autopilot mode has put them into a dangerous situation before.Perhaps most interestingly, the overlap between Model 3 owners who answered those two questions that way was pretty big most of the drivers who reported being put in a dangerous situation by the system also said it made them feel safer. Were not sure what is going through those peoples minds, exactly.One owner surveyed, for example, admitted their car didnt slow down enough to take a bend in the road and ended up hitting a truck; they rated Autopilots overall safety four stars out of five. To be fair to to the capability of Teslas software, some 28 per cent of owners also say Autopilot has saved them from a dangerous situation.It would be interesting to see what other drivers think of Teslas Autopilot when they are driving down the same stretch of road as a Model 3. Do they feel more nervous that the Tesla might be driving itself? Or do they feel safer knowing that there is a second set of eyes on the road?For more on electric vehicles, listen to Drivings EV podcast Plugged In. Plugged In is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and Google
Origin: Tesla Autopilot users rate feature’s safety high, even after close calls, crashes
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Mitsubishi calls for plug-in hybrid grant to be reinstated
Mitsubishi is leading calls for the UK government to revive its axed financial incentive scheme for buyers of plug-in hybrid vehicles. The Japanese car maker says that UK owners of its Outlander PHEV hybrid SUV cover half their average weekly mileage in electric mode, substantially lessening the model’s environmental impact. The grant in question, axed in October last year, enhanced the appeal of hybrid vehicles by offering buyers a £2500 – £4500 subsidy depending on the model’s zero-emissions range. According to a survey commissioned by Mitsubishi but conducted independently, over two thirds of Outlander PHEV owners charge their vehicle daily, with 90% charging at least 2-3 times per week. Mitsubishi says the results of this survey oppose the notion that PHEVs are rarely plugged in, and are purchased as a means of paying reduced benefit-in-kind tax. The vast majority of Outlander PHEVs are charged at owners’ homes, with only 23% of drivers relying on public charge points, which Mitsubishi says “refutes the misconception that PHEVs are preventing electric vehicles from accessing charging units”. Mitsubishi says 25% of UK Outlander PHEV owners would consider a pure electric vehicle as their next purchase – implying that incentivising sales of hybrids could help the government in its mission to end the sale of conventionally fuelled vehicles by 2040. The company’s appeal comes days after it was revealed that UK sales of plug-in hybrids fell by 34.3% in April – a direct result of the government’s abolition of financial incentives for anything but pure-electric vehicles. The Outlander PHEV is the UK’s biggest-selling plug-in hybrid, with an estimated 45,000 currently on the
Origin: Mitsubishi calls for plug-in hybrid grant to be reinstated
Smart calls it quits in Canada and the U.S.
The Smart brand is being powered down in Canada and the United States. Mercedes-Benz Canada has confirmed that sales of the tiny car, which is currently sold only as a battery-powered electric vehicle, will end at the end of the 2019 model year. In a statement, the company cited “a number of factors, including a declining microcar market in the U.S. and Canada, combined with high homologation costs for a low-volume model.” Mercedes-Benz will continue its electric strategy with new EQ models, which will initially arrive in Canada with the new EQC in 2020. Smart initially launched in 1998 as a joint venture of Daimler-Benz and watch company Swatch – resulting in a tiny city car with replaceable coloured plastic body panels that could be switched out to change the car’s appearance, like a Swatch. The cars used a three-cylinder, 800-cc diesel engine, rated at just 40 horsepower, when they arrived in Canada in 2004. They didn’t arrive in the United States until 2008, when the powertrain switched to a three-cylinder gasoline engine. They were initially imported by United Auto Group, owned by Roger Penske, who transferred the distribution rights back to Mercedes-Benz in 2011. The car’s best sales years were shortly after its Canadian introduction, and declined after that. An electric EQ version was added for 2014, and for 2018, the Smart lineup of coupe and cabriolet dropped its gasoline engine and went strictly electric. Range was approximately 130 kilometres on a charge, which also limited its appeal when other electrics were offering much longer driving distances. Only 368 Smarts were sold in Canada in 2017, and that dropped to just 345 in 2018. The little car should carry on in other markets, though. Daimler recently announced a joint venture with Zhejiang Geely to build the electric Smart in China, with sales beginning in 2022. In both Canada and the U.S., Mercedes-Benz will continue to provide service and replacement parts for gasoline and electric versions through authorized
Origin: Smart calls it quits in Canada and the U.S.
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