On today’s show…Ford could begin retail sales of autonomous cars by 2025…Chevy reveals the driving range of the Bolt EV…and why California believes automakers won’t have trouble meeting its ZEV mandate. All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.
This is Autoline Daily for September 13th, 2016.
FORD HINTS AT AUTONOMOUS SALES BY 2025
The Ford Motor Company strongly hinted at selling fully autonomous cars to retail customers around 2025. The company previously announced it will have autonomous cars in commercial ride sharing programs in 2021. At a media event at the company’s headquarters yesterday, Ford CEO Mark Fields said retail sales could start in the middle of the next decade. He also said Ford has a number of advantages over the tech companies that are getting into autonomous cars and mobility services. First, he said Ford already has the capability to manufacture cars in scale. Second, it is an experienced systems integrator of technology and automobiles. Third, it has a huge finance arm which is critical to handling payments for mobility services. And finally, it has a huge wholesale and retail network all around the world. Mark Fields says that as Ford adds mobility services the nature of the business will change. “It’s no longer about how many vehicles we can sell,” he said, “it’s about how many services we can sell.”
NVIDIA INTRODUCES AI COMPUTER
And speaking of autonomy, chipmaker NVIDIA just introduced a new artificial intelligence computer for self-driving cars. Called Drive PX2, it’s a palm-sized single-processor that can handle driving and mapping for autonomous cars. The company revealed that Chinese tech firm Baidu will use the new computer for its autonomous cloud-to-car system. But this won’t be the first application for Drive PX2, as we reported earlier this year, Formula E is using the computer for its autonomous Roborace series.
Still to come… California sets a lofty electrified sales goal but thinks automakers won’t have a tough time meeting it. More on that right after this.
CARB DEFENDS ZEV MANDATE
California’s Zero Emission Vehicle mandate stipulates that by 2025 around 15% of an OEMs sales need to be plug-in hybrids, pure EVs, fuel cell vehicles or some other sort of zero emission vehicle. But as we’ve been reporting, sales of those vehicles are miniscule and instead consumers are snapping up SUVs and crossovers. So can the state meet its goal? On Autoline This Week, John is joined by Mike McCarthy, from the California Air Resources Board, and in the following clip he explains why the state can hit its target.
(The ATW preview is only available in the video version of today’s show.)
For a closer look at how the industry is coming along in meeting fuel economy and emission regulations, you can watch that entire discussion right now on our website, autoline.tv or you can find it on our YouTube channel.
Coming up next, Chevy announces the official range of the Bolt, Renault-Nissan hits an EV milestone and Hyundai upgrades the Sonata Hybrid.
CHEVY REVEALS BOLT DRIVING RANGE
There had been rumblings that the Chevy Bolt would exceed its estimated 200-mile range, but now it’s official. The Bolt will be able to travel 238-miles on a single charge. As you may know, that’s about 20 more miles than Tesla is currently estimating for its affordable EV, the Model 3. But as you also know, there’s no way Tesla CEO Elon Musk will allow it to remain this way, even if the Model 3 only boasts 1 more mile of range.
RENAULT-NISSAN HIT EV MILESTONE
And in other EV news, Renault-Nissan revealed it has sold 350,000 EVs worldwide since its first electric car, the Nissan LEAF, went on sale in 2010. And while that’s not a huge number, it does represent half of all EVs sold. The LEAF makes up most of that total, with over 230,000 units sold globally.
HYUNDAI UPGRADES SONATA HYBRID
Hyundai is offering upgraded infotainment and connectivity features for the Sonata Hybrid for 2017. Improvements include a larger 7-inch hi-res touchscreen, HD radio in now standard as is Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and it offers the next-generation of Hyundai’s Blue Link Connected Car system. There are also 7 new exterior colors to choose from. Look for the 2017 Sonata Hybrid to start hitting dealer showrooms soon with a starting price of just under $27,000.
But that wraps up today’s show, thanks for watching and join us again tomorrow for the latest news in the global automotive industry.
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Comments (27)
September 13th, 2016 at 11:57 am
Services eh? So can anyone imagine a future where Ford charges per mile of autonomous driving service in the car you bought?
September 13th, 2016 at 12:04 pm
how is it bolt has 238 mi range, opel ampera has 250 mi range arent they the same car? and i agree i believe when model 3 is available it will have 300 mi range
September 13th, 2016 at 12:07 pm
I have a friend of mine who works for a major OEM. He made a comment a while back that car manufacturing rules today are all about control of public movement. At the time I thought this was ridicules. Today, I’m thinking he might be right. Wages have and look to remain flat for what is now coming into it’s second decade. The cost content of cars is raising. Thus ride sharing is born out of financial need. Cars are now moving from necessity to luxury. Need to get to work? move close, Want to move up switch jobs results in we rent housing rather than buy. For those that stay put, you now get to rent or lease a ride on a temporary status. How did we go from “a chicken in every pot and a car in every garage” to an electric car and charging station on every street?
September 13th, 2016 at 12:19 pm
@Rick – It all has to do with how the vehicles are tested in the U.S. compared to the EU. The New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) is easier.
September 13th, 2016 at 12:20 pm
If I had stock in Tesla, I’d be unloading it soon. Now that the major players are ready to build ground up electric vehicles, I think Tesla’s days are numbered. When M-B & Audi sell direct competitors to the Model S, I look for people to flock to the brands, leaving Tesla in the lurch. On the low end of the scale, I think Chevy has the right idea of building a 4 door hatch (CUV?) rather than a traditional sedan, like the “Pens down” Model 3.
Current trends are showing the sedan market shrinking, leaving Tesla without a player in the field. The Model X is too wierd for most and I’m not sure I’d classify it as a CUV.
As for range, battery technology is improving fast, so a 90-120kw pack the size of the Bolts 60kw can’t be too many years off.
September 13th, 2016 at 12:41 pm
3 Regardless of a person’s financial resources, at some point, the American “car culture” will fade away. I spent last weekend going to different locations to see some of the best of the cars made from ~10 to 30 years before I was born. Unlike today’s “baby boomers,” I doubt that today’s kids will be doing that when they are 70 years old. People will find, and use the most convenient way to get where they need to go, but there will be very few “car nuts,” as we know them.
September 13th, 2016 at 12:58 pm
@Lisk#5.
I believe you are wrong about Tesla. Tesla will survive in the brave new world of autonomous driving and electric vehicles. Tesla will be the Ferrari of the future. I believe people are thrilled with the possibility that their vehicle can take them anywhere with the least amount of effort on their part. This will be the Monday to Friday 9 to 5 crowd. Others like myself who enjoy driving and look forward to getting on the open road and feeling the freedom of putting the pedal to the metal and feeling the acceleration. there is something to be said when you are pushed back into my seat and the miles click bye. Maybe one day we too will have a super highway like the Autobahn in Germany where the left lane is reserved for those of us brave enough to push their vehicle and driving skills to the limit.
Tesla was always a dreamers car and it will attract that type of people to own one. I love the idea of not needing to go to the gas station to refuel my vehicle. I much prefer the acceleration you get from an electric motor and that the Sun will one day be the source to recharge and power my car.
September 13th, 2016 at 1:10 pm
Someone remind me again why I should care about an autonomous electric racing series. Driverless, robotic “cars” racing each other’s programmed instructions. No Andrettis, no Unsers, nobody at all to root for. Last time I was that bored, my wife convinced me to see some movie called Brokeback Mountain. And we all know how THAT turned out.
September 13th, 2016 at 1:21 pm
#2 – Tesla would have no problem designing a 300 mile Model 3. It is whether they can do it for the quoted $35k and make a profit. They have actually boxed themselves into a corner by accepting so many order deposits. To honor that commitment, they need to be focused on designing the “cheapest” base version possible. So do they offer a “base” with 200 miles range, then a $10k option for a 300 mile version? Will that alienate their customers if they decide to do that? Slippery slope.
I can also see GM having a 300 mile range battery ready for their 2019 MY Bolt for about the same $35k price, undercutting the Model 3 (which probably will have been in production for a few month if you look at Tesla’s history of slipped schedules).
September 13th, 2016 at 2:13 pm
8 They might be fun to watch if they crash a lot, with spectacular fires when all of those lithium batteries get damaged.
September 13th, 2016 at 2:35 pm
I would like to know what it costs to charge a bolt.
September 13th, 2016 at 2:41 pm
11 The battery is 60 kWh, so if it is completely dead, (it won’t be), and if the charge efficiency is 100% (it’s not), it would cost $6.00 to charge the battery at a power cost of 10 cents/kWh, which is fairly typical.
Since the battery will have some charge when you start charging, but charge efficiency is less than 100%, it might typically cost, about $6.00 to charge it. Just guessing, of course, and power cost varies, depending on where you are located.
September 13th, 2016 at 3:16 pm
In Florida I pay $.07 per kWh , and Chevrolet claims I need 1.1 kWh from the grid to charge the battery 1 kWh. So assuming a complete charge on a Bolt it would be $4.62. (Actually it would be less since Chevy does not allow driver to use entire battery capacity). This is $0.02 per mile (230 miles range)
If your car gets 40 MPG gas would need to cost $0.80 per gallon to match it.
September 13th, 2016 at 3:21 pm
If EV’s looked like CUV/SUV’s instead of weird ,
they would outsell every thing else.
September 13th, 2016 at 3:23 pm
13 Thanks for that info. The charge efficiency, 1.1 kWh from the grid to put 1 kWh into the battery, is better than I would have guessed.
For anyone who might be interested, here is a chart of average power cost by state. The actual cost varies within a state, with different utility companies, and other factors.
http://www.eia.gov/electricity/state/
September 13th, 2016 at 3:30 pm
14 EV’s won’t outsell much of anything, until there is a place to plug them in for those in high density housing, both in large cities, and places like my condo in a beach town in Florida..
September 13th, 2016 at 3:33 pm
More fuzzy math; so 6 bucks for full charge, 238 miles driven, at a two bucks a gallon (of gasoline), we’re talking about 79 miles per gallon equivalent. Buts that’s optimal and using fuzzy numbers to begin with (but still pretty cheap to run on electricity).
September 13th, 2016 at 3:35 pm
Again—kiss principle needs to be applied to EV’s –minimum non lithium batts, constant duty mini gen, no mechanicals ,no wall charger possible inwheel motors.
Proper driver training would be better & cheaper than autonomy , but as Ron White says—”You can’t fix stupid”
September 13th, 2016 at 4:26 pm
Go California! Here are some recent rankings for my old state. (I recently moved back to Michigan). Cost of living 47th, Cost of doing business 49th, Business friendly 50th, Education 38th, Infrastructure 33rd (even MI is better), environmental quality 44th including the worst air quality. The twelve least affordable cities to live in (USA) are all in California. So, to the legislators in CA – keep up the good work.
September 13th, 2016 at 7:34 pm
…but California is 10 happiest, while Michigan is 43rd.
https://wallethub.com/edu/happiest-states/6959/
September 13th, 2016 at 10:17 pm
If you drop a Chevy Bolt, does it roll away? (Sorry).
September 14th, 2016 at 12:40 am
As more and more EVs hit the road, what are the chances that the cost of electricity will go up drastically? Utilities will say they will need to do it to expand and upgrade due to the extra stress on the grid with all of the extra EVs using more. And it won’t just go up for EV charging. Let’s say for example it doubles, that’s for everything. Especially if certain political factions are successful in limiting even more the use of coal for our nation, which is used to produce the majority of our electricity cheaply. So now my FL summer heavily used AC electricity bill will go from about $350 a month, to $700!!! So even without getting an EV, I may now have to pay an extra $3000 or so just for electricity at home…
September 14th, 2016 at 6:24 am
Bill-S #22; now that there is some real fuzzy math. You may be on to something, but with the slow adoption. so far, of ‘electrics’, the power companies should have good lead time to increase capacity (if needed). And as everything else, rates will rise (but I doubt on the order of double; at least not in a short term).
September 14th, 2016 at 8:12 am
#19 Bob; You keep your winters and I’ll keep mine. There is a reason that housing is so expensive here in CA. Yes, we have many problems that I don’t like but the weather is the best.
Sean and John, Really enjoyed the show with the Hudson. Unibody, hmmmm… Didn’t know that. Thanks.
September 14th, 2016 at 8:20 am
Bill S., you must have a really big house, or keep it really cold, to have a $350 electric bill.
Anyway, if charged at low useage times, a lot of EV’s could be added to the fleet, without adding much generating or distribution capacity. The utility companies can adjust rates by time of day, to encourage charging at low useage times.
September 14th, 2016 at 10:48 am
#22 – To follow-on to #25, if EV charging is done during non-peak times, there would be no additional infrastructure costs and the utilities could actually make more profit. And since most utilities are regulated, more profit means few future rate increases, so in theory, adding EVs gradually could help all consumers.
September 14th, 2016 at 9:40 pm
Oh yes, I know double may be high, but then again maybe not by 2025 when they expect to have much higher EV numbers on the road. Around where I am in FL, electricity is about $0.11/KWH. My house is about 2200 sq ft, and keep it about 74. My summer electricity bills run about $350, and in winter about $125. I’ve got natural gas heat, which doesn’t cost much at all to keep the place very toasty. But our power company Gulf Power also raised rates a few cents from last year, so it has gone up maybe $25 a month in the summers. I can see electricity going up a lot in the next 10 years. Especially if consumption really increases due to EVs, and coal use is heavily restricted by the EPA, our main cheap source of electricity now, also with natural gas. A new Carbon tax can raise that price too. Wind, solar, and hydro power are limited in most of the US, and still very pricey to implement. And nuclear would be very cost effective, but no new plants have been allowed in the US for decades. So just something to consider.
Off peak charging is probably the best way to go for an EV, charge up at night when you can. But not everyone will be able to do that. Off peak rates are good in some ways, but when I need AC the most during the day while the sun is beating down on the house, high humidity, and 90-100+ degrees outside, off peak rates aren’t going to help lol