AD #2208 – OEMs Could Miss EU CO2 Targets, Cruise Makes Impressive Progress, Mazda & Mitsubishi Tease Tokyo Concepts
October 10th, 2017 at 11:34am
Runtime: 7:17
0:30 Automakers Could Miss EU CO2 Targets
1:19 LNG Volvo Trucks Meet Euro 6 Standards
2:08 VW to Cut Number of Dealers in Europe
3:10 LIDAR Market Set to Explode
4:15 Cruise Automation Makes Impressive Progress
5:43 Mazda Concepts Focus on Product & Design
6:17 Mitsubishi Hints at Near Future
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On today’s show… uh-oh, looks like European automakers are going to miss their CO2 targets… Mazda and Mitsubishi tease some concept cars ahead of the Tokyo show… and GM’s autonomous cars are showing amazing situational awareness. All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.
This is Autoline Daily the show for enthusiasts of the automotive industry.
AUTOMAKERS COULD MISS EU CO2 TARGETS
Europe is dead serious about reducing CO2 emissions from cars, but most major automakers will not meet the 2021 European emission standards. That’s according to the PA Consulting Group. Only four of the top eleven carmakers are on pace to hit the goals, including Volvo, Toyota, Renault-Nissan and Jaguar Land Rover. Automakers will be penalized 95 euros or $113 for every gram of CO2 per car above the limit. As it currently stands, VW would be slapped with the largest fine, $2 billion, followed by FCA at $1.4 billion. The researchers say automakers will need to make radical changes to meet the targets or they’ll have to potentially fork over billions in fines.
LNG VOLVO TRUCKS MEET EURO 6
Meanwhile, Volvo Trucks just introduced several semi-trucks that can meet Euro 6 emission standards. But that’s because they run on liquefied natural gas, or LNG. Compared to a diesel, the LNG trucks cut CO2 emissions by 20%. If biogas is used CO2 can be reduced up to 100%. However, the engine does use some diesel fuel. When the engine is started, the liquid gas in the tank is heated and turned into compressed gas. Before it’s injected, a small amount of diesel is added to the engine to ignite the gas. The trucks are also 15 to 25% more fuel efficient. They have a range of 1000 kilometers or about 620 miles, and go on sale in Europe next spring.
VW TO CUT NUMBER OF DEALERS IN EUROPE
Volkswagen has made a number of cost cutting moves over the past year to help pay for its diesel scandal and to invest in EV technology. And now Reuters reports the company wants to trim its dealer network in Europe. VW is looking to improve profitability of its dealers by 10%. The company has 3,000 dealers in Europe but it did not say how many will be dropped. To help offset the loss, VW will begin selling cars online. Franchise laws in the United States prohibit automakers from selling cars direct to consumers, but that’s not the case in Europe.
GM is making impressive progress with its autonomous cars and that’s coming up next.
LIDAR SET TO EXPLODE
Elon Musk says that autonomous cars don’t need LIDAR, but he seems to be the only one who believes that. Yesterday General Motors announced it is buying a LIDAR company called Strobe. It has a solid state LIDAR that’s expected to cut the cost by 99%. We think that means it would be less than $100. Many others believe in LIDAR, too. Ford and Baidu have invested in Velodyne, Toyota invested in Luminar and there are a bunch of other startups making LIDAR including Innoviz, Quanergy, Leddar, Oryx and Ibeo, to name a few. Others, like Waymo and Uber, are making LIDAR systems in-house. The market for LIDAR is ready to explode. IHS Market says LIDAR sales were $230 million last year and will hit $2.5 billion by 2025. And it expects 15 suppliers to jump into the market. Who knows? Maybe Mr. Musk will end up changing his mind and jump on the LIDAR bandwagon.
CRUISE MAKES IMPRESSIVE PROGRESS
Meanwhile, Cruise Automation, which GM bought, is making impressive progress with its level 4 autonomy. Kyle Vogt, the CEO of Cruise, says they’re testing cars in San Francisco because it has such absurd driving situations. He says one minute of testing in San Francisco is worth one hour of testing in the suburbs. For example, here’s a six-way intersection in the Castro neighborhood of San Francisco with flashing red lights in all directions, yet their autonomous Chevrolet Bolt successfully drives through. And here’s another example. Construction zones are very difficult for autonomous systems. Vehicles may have to follow paths marked by cones or flares, and sometimes they must obey hand signals from workers as you see here. Vogt says they encounter construction zones 39-times more often in SF than in suburbs. But what these videos show is the amazing improvement in “situational awareness” for autonomous cars.
Coming up next, a sneak peek ahead of the Tokyo auto show.
MAZDA FOCUSES ON PRODUCT & DESIGN
The Tokyo Motor Show is going to see a number of new reveals and here’s the latest from Mazda and Mitsubishi. Mazda will have two concepts, the first is a compact hatchback that will focus on product. It adopts the automaker’s SKYACTIV-Vehicle Architecture and is powered by the SKYACTIV-X spark compression ignition engine. The other model will focus on design. It’s said to be “a more profound expression of its KODO design language and will define the next generation of Mazda design.”
MITSUBISHI HINTS AT NEAR FUTURE
Now we’ll switch over to Mitsubishi, who’s all-electric e-EVOLUTION CONCEPT SUV is said to “indicate the direction Mitsubishi Motors will take in the near future.” Highlights include a 3-motor, one in front, two out back, 4-wheel drive system and Artificial Intelligence that augments the driving experience and even has a driver coaching function. The e-EVOLUTION is a pretty wild-looking concept and we point out that its side profile looks strikingly similar to the Faraday Future FF91. The Tokyo show kicks off at the end of the month.
And that wraps up today’s show. Thanks for watching and we invite you to join us again tomorrow.
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October 10th, 2017 at 12:05 pm
I am impressed by what Cruise Automation are doing.
Having driven in San Francisco, I appreciate what they have achieved. Had no idea they were able to handle construction hand signals etc..
I enjoy highway and rural driving, but would love to flip a switch when approaching a big city & let the car take over. What a dream…
October 10th, 2017 at 12:07 pm
GM should have the Cruise Autonomous car drive in New York, New Jersey metro area. Let’s see the CPU overheat from the stop and go traffic. Then tell it to find a parking spot, it would burst into flames. I’m not knocking GM or the Cruise, it’s just there are tougher places to test it.
October 10th, 2017 at 12:11 pm
I see Porsche is seeking 200+ million euros in damages from Audi over costs related to manipulated diesel engines.
So one VW group member is suing another group member.
Another WTF moment brought to you by Volkswagen…
October 10th, 2017 at 12:33 pm
These penalties to be imposed by the European Union on automakers is definitely the reason the VW Group is moving to EVs. In this way they can clean up their product line and possible earn EV credits to sell to other automakers similar to what Tesla is doing. This might even create a new sub-brand of electric vehicles “Volts-Wagen”.
October 10th, 2017 at 12:38 pm
Do these autonomous cars blow their horns at human drivers that screw up?
October 10th, 2017 at 12:40 pm
The Mitsubishi e-EVOLUTION looks to me as a modern take on a DMC Delorean. So if Mitsubish offered it with a stainless steel skin and hybrid – electric powertrain in both sedan and CUV body styles now that would attract buyers back to the brand. Just as long as it could travel faster than 88 mph.
October 10th, 2017 at 12:42 pm
The European CO2 emission standards must be kind of strange, when JLR, producer of almost only gas hogs, meets the standards, while other companies don’t.
October 10th, 2017 at 1:15 pm
#7. That EU CO2 prediction is for 2021. And by that time JLR will be a predominantly turbo 4-cylinder engine company with hybrids and EVs.
October 10th, 2017 at 1:19 pm
#8 Thanks for info.
October 10th, 2017 at 3:25 pm
#2 My bet is they prefer the testing environment of SF over the slushy snowy mess of the East coast. Make sure it works in somewhat normal weather conditions before throwing all that into the mix. Have to walk before you can run, right?
October 10th, 2017 at 3:31 pm
#2 Don in reference to the parking woes. I know while out west Google was beta testing a parking app that identified open parking spots closest to your location to help reduce traffic just searching for parking. How it worked exactly I couldn’t tell ya but they trial tons of apps out there.
However that wont resolve the problem of not enough spaces for the vehicles in the area. Just fill em up quicker.
October 19th, 2017 at 8:50 am
Peugeot-Citroen sell mostly smaller cars and invested alot into small petrol engines and diesels co-designed/built by BMW. Now that VW has burnt all trust (even in Germany) don’t expect any delay on the fines from the EU. Don’t expect any help to VW from the other Euro car makers. BMW is aiming to move its best selling diesel-power cars to hybrid (and the i-range). Jag just needs to cut Land rover emissions. Volvo is moving to hybrid or pure EV and dropped all V6+ developments.