On today’s show… VW complains that the fines it faces from U.S. regulators are excessive, the auto industry dives head first into mobility services and John shares his insight into Volvo’s strategy to move upmarket. All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.

This is Autoline Daily for May 25th, 2016.

TOYOTA INVESTS IN UBER
It seems that every time you turn around another car company is announcing a big move into mobility services. Now Toyota and Volkswagen are taking the plunge. Toyota invested an undisclosed amount of money in Uber and is going to offer sweetheart lease deals to Uber drivers to encourage them to drive a Toyota or Lexus. The companies are also going to collaborate on developing apps for Uber drivers, and accelerate their research into mobility services.

VW GETTS INTO RIDE SHARING
Meanwhile Volkswagen invested $300 million in the ride-sharing company Gett, formerly known as GetTaxi. VW says it sees the market for ride sharing, or what it calls ride hailing, to have the greatest potential in the development of the mobility services market. In fact, it says it expects to see a substantial amount of its sales come from ride sharing by 2025. And it’s about more than just ride sharing. Gett provides delivery and logistics services, leverages big data, develops predictive algorithms, and uses artificial intelligence. The next step is on-demand autonomous car services.

GOING MOBILE
If anyone questioned whether the race to mobility services was just some pie in the sky dream, these moves prove that automakers are dead serious about it. Make no mistake, the disruption and transformation of the auto industry is well under way. General Motors, Ford, BMW and Mercedes have already placed significant bets and PSA just got on board with its investment in Koolicar. No doubt we’re going to hear about investments from other car companies, because this train is about to leave the station.

NHTSA TESTS BACK SEAT SAFETY
And guess what? Even the regulators are getting on board. With more people using ride sharing services, NHTSA wants to make sure those back seat riders are properly protected. It’s going to start using crash test dummies in back seats as part of its 5-star ratings starting in 2019. Surprisingly back seat protection isn’t factored into its ratings, only the driver and front passenger.

OK, enough about mobility services, coming up next, how the glass in cars represent a huge opportunity to cut weight.

OEMS GO APE OVER GORILLA GLASS
The new Ford GT is one of the first vehicles to adopt lightweight Gorilla Glass, like the stuff used for smartphone screens, but it certainly won’t be the last. According to Corning and French supplier Saint-Gobain, the companies that produce automotive Gorilla glass, it can save up to 40-lbs if it’s used in all the windows. That’s a heckuva lot of weight. And because that’s removing mass positioned high in a vehicle, it would lower the center of gravity. So, handling would get better too. That makes a lot of sense for sports-cars, and for EVs: the less weight, the more range. As of right now, Gorilla Glass costs automakers an additional $2 to $4 for every pound that it saves, but with tough emissions and fuel economy regulations, every gram counts.

BWAAAH!
Volkswagen has made about every mistake in the book when it comes to the handling of its diesel scandal and now it may have made another one. Bloomberg reports the automaker is now whining that the fines the U.S. government wants are excessive. It wants them reduced. Good luck with that. As a panel of experts concluded on a recent Autoline This Week, the scandal will probably cost VW $70 billion before it’s all over.

MAN OH MAN
There’s a lot of talk about autonomy for passenger vehicles but the commercial side of the industry is also heavily involved. Last year Daimler revealed self-driving truck technology. Last week we told you about a new start-up called Otto that’s developing autonomous semi-trucks. And now VW’s truck unit, MAN, is expanding its self-driving capability. Bloomberg reports that it’s nearly tripling its technology team from 45 people to 120 by the end of the year, all with an eye on developing autonomous trucks.

Coming up next, John has something to say about the strategy behind why Volvo is targeting the top luxury brands.

VOLVO MAKES WAY FOR GEELY
Volvos used to be boxes on wheels. Today they’re beautiful sculptures. And that’s not just about esthetics. It’s part of a master plan.

Volvo’s newest cars, the XC-90 and S-90, are beautifully styled both inside and out. In fact, Volvo deliberately designed these cars to go up against Mercedes, BMW and Audi. It’s no longer content to be just a premium brand, Volvo wants to play in the luxury segment.

Of course almost every automotive brand aspires to move upscale. But in Volvo’s case there’s a bigger plan in play. Remember, Volvo is now owned by Chinese company Geely, which is rushing into the market with a whole new lineup of its own vehicles.

So Volvo had to move upscale to make room for Geely. In fact, Volvo is clearly going to be the luxury brand of the Geely group. And before this decade is out I would not be surprised to see Volvo dealers to add Geely stores, yes, even in the American and European markets.

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