On today’s show… BMW introduces its most powerful diesel engine ever, FCA drops plans to develop a CUV based on the Pacifica minivan and why Chinese automakers are a lot bigger than you realize. All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.

This is Autoline Daily for May 17th, 2016.

NEW STARTUP CREATES SELF-DRIVING SEMI TRUCKS
Google has been working on developing autonomous cars for a number of years. But two employees working on that project recently left to create their own start-up company to focus on self-driving semi-trucks. Called Otto, it was founded by former Google car and maps employees Anthony Levandowski and Lior Ron. The New York Times reports that the company is testing three Volvo trucks and has logged over 10,000 miles. The company also tested an autonomous truck over the weekend in Nevada. Levandowski switched his focus to trucks because he believes the technology will be adopted sooner by the commercial trucking industry. But Otto is going to have its work cut out for it, since most of the major truckmakers are working on this technology too.

FCA AXES PACIFICA-BASED CUV
FCA just axed plans to come out with a crossover vehicle based on its Pacifica minivan platform. Reportedly, the plan was to add the multi-purpose vehicles to the Chrysler brand. But Autoforecast Solutions reports that production of the vehicle, which was to go into production at its assembly plant in Windsor, Ontario in 2018, was cancelled. Instead, FCA will continue to build the old Dodge Caravan at that plant until mid 2019. Look for FCA to start adding generous incentives to the Caravan. What’s already an old van will be ancient by then.

Still to come… Ford introduces carbon fiber wheels for the new GT and it develops new components made from captured CO2.

BMW’S MOST POWERFUL DIESEL EVER
Diesels are getting a bit of a bad rap right now due to the VW scandal, but BMW is forging ahead with its most powerful diesel engine ever. The 3.0L inline 6-cylinder boasts not 1, not 2, not 3, but 4 turbochargers. That pushes peak output to 400-horsepower and 560 lb.-ft. of torque. The engine will first be used in the 7 Series and despite the sedan’s size, it really gets up and goes. 100 kilometers an hour comes in a scant 4.6-seconds. Look for the new diesel to launch sometime this summer.

CARBON-RICH FORD GT GETS MORE CARBON
Automakers and suppliers face tough regulations to improve fuel efficiency and lower emissions. Making cars lighter can pay big dividends and every gram counts. And Ford just announced it will offer carbon fiber wheels on the new GT. You may remember Ford also offers carbon fiber wheels on the Mustang GT350R. Unlike the Mustang’s black-painted wheels, the GT’s will come in either a matte or glossy finish to show of the carbon fiber weave. By going with carbon, Ford will save more than 2-pounds per wheel and reduce inertia by 25%. While we’re seeing these wheels make their debut on expensive performance cars, it’s likely we’ll see them sometime down the line on more mainstream vehicles as well.

FORD DEVELOPS COMPONENTS FROM CAPTURED CO2
And in other Ford news, it’s developing new foam and plastic components created from captured carbon dioxide. The company is currently testing the products which are formulated with up to 50% CO2 based polyols. The new components could help reduce petroleum use by 600 million pounds annually. Ford says it hopes to have the new materials in production vehicles within the next five years.

Coming up next, John has one of his Autoline Insights that shows the Chinese automakers are a lot bigger than most people realize.

RANKING AUTOMAKERS BY PRODUCTION
Here’s an eye-opening statistic for you. Chinese automakers are a lot bigger than you think. While most comparisons of the world’s automakers rank them by sales, or by revenue, let’s look at the rankings by production.

That’s important because several large automakers, especially Volkswagen AG and General Motors, rely heavily on their Chinese joint venture partners to manufacture millions of their cars. When you look at how much each company actually makes, a new world order starts to emerge.

The biggest car company in the world by production is Toyota, with 9.3 million vehicles produced in 2014, the most recent data available. In second place is Volkswagen AG with 6.4 million vehicles. That’s a huge gap, 3 million vehicles, and helps to explain why Toyota is so profitable. It doesn’t rely as heavily on China, where foreign automakers have to split their profits with their Chinese partners.

The Hyundai Group is the third largest producer, with 6.3 million vehicles. General Motors is only 4th on the list with 6.1 million. The big surprise comes with Number Five, the Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation. SAIC makes 5.6 million vehicles, ranking it ahead of the Ford Motor Company in 6th place with 5.2 million.

Fiat-Chrysler comes in 7th place with 4.8 million vehicles, followed by Nissan at 3.8 million. Rounding out the Top Ten are Chinese automaker Dongfeng with 3.7 million vehicles, which puts it ahead of Honda at 3.6 million. If we made a list of the top 20, three more Chinese companies would be added to the list, ranking ahead of Daimler, BMW, Renault and Mazda to name a few.

The point is, Chinese automakers are playing a much bigger role than generally acknowledged because we tend to look at who sold the car, not who made it. And you can be sure of one thing: their influence is only going to grow.

We like providing this kind of insight on Autoline Daily because you’re not going to get this kind of information from other media outlets. This is how Autoline Daily helps keep you better informed about what’s going on in the global automotive industry.

And that wraps up today’s show, thanks for watching and please join us again tomorrow.