AD #2264 – Byton Reveals Affordable Electric SUV, Future Mobility Solutions for Businesses, Kia to Connect Entire Lineup
January 9th, 2018 at 11:49am
Runtime: 8:01
0:30 Car Sharing to Hurt Car Sales?
1:17 Big Trucks Post Big 2017
1:54 Musk to Open Old-School Drive-In
2:45 Byton Reveals Electric SUV
3:56 Toyota Develops Mobility Solutions for Businesses
5:40 Kia Presents Vision for Future Mobility
6:49 Hyundai’s Next-Gen Fuel-Cell Vehicle
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On today’s show… a new study says ride hailing services are hurting car sales… Hyundai reveals its next-gen fuel-cell vehicle… and Toyota introduces an autonomous pod vehicle aimed at businesses. All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.
This is Autoline Daily the show for enthusiasts of the automotive industry.
CAR-NOT-SO-SHARING
Are ride hailing and car sharing going to hurt car sales? That’s what a study from AlixPartners suggests. The consulting company interviewed 5,000 people in seven major countries, aged 16 and up. It found that 9% of millennials in the U.S. have avoided getting a driver’s license thanks to ride hailing services like Uber. If the same percentage of Americans had a driver’s license today as they did in the year 2000 there would be 10 to 12 million more cars on the road. In Europe half the respondents say they have postponed or avoided buying a new car thanks to ride hailing and car sharing. Alix Partners says that ride hailing is increasing in popularity.
BIG TRUCKS SEE BIG SALES
We’ve tracked the success of big truck sales in the American market and that trend continued in December. Orders for Class 8 semis topped the 37,000 unit mark, which was an increase of 77% compared to December of 2016. In fact, sales of those big rigs for all of 2017 saw the same increase, 77% and production is forecast to keep increasing in 2018. That’s good news because big truck sales can be an indicator of where the economy is headed.
DINERS, DRIVE-INS & FAST CHARGING
His vehicles are futuristic with cutting-edge technology, but Elon Musk just announced, on Twitter of course, that he’s going to open an old-school drive-in, equipped with a diner and roller skating wait staff no less. The establishment will be at one of Tesla’s new Supercharger stations in LA. Now there’s a nice way to forget about “production hell.” Well, for a few hours at least.
Still to come… a look at new vehicles and technology revealed at CES.
BYTON REVEALS ELECTRIC SUV
Last week we told you about Byton, a new autonomous EV startup from China and now here’s its first vehicle, an SUV concept. We got a pretty good look at the front end in the teaser shots, but it also features a swept back roofline that flows toward those recently highlighted “shark fin” styling elements and into the rear, which has an LED lighting signature just as radical as the front. Byton will offer both a rear-drive and all-wheel drive version of the SUV. The single motor, rear-drive model produces nearly 270-horsepower and about 250-miles of range with a 71-kWh battery pack. The all-wheel drive model has almost 470-horsepower, a 95-kWh battery and 323-miles of range. In addition to the giant front screen, rear seat passengers get their own touchscreen as well. When it goes on sale, in China next year and 2020 in the U.S. and Europe, the SUV will have a starting price of $45,000, but no word if that price includes incentives.
TOYOTA’S SOPHISTICATED e-PALETTE
When it comes to autonomy most of the focus is on moving people from point A to point B. But the technology can also be used to help businesses expand. That’s why Toyota just launched the e-Palette Alliance, to develop mobility solutions for business applications. Amazon, Mazda, Pizza Hut, Uber and DiDi, have all joined the Alliance to begin with. And in the short-term, the companies will help develop a new concept Toyota just revealed at CES called the e-Palette Concept Vehicle. The pod-like electric vehicle is fully autonomous and comes in three different lengths that range from 13- to 23-feet. The e-Palette concept is designed to be scalable and customizable, so for example it could be used for ride-sharing, delivering packages or other applications. And it’s also been designed to allow partner companies to install their own automated systems. Toyota plans to test the e-Palette in the U.S. and other regions beginning in the early 2020s.
Coming up next, Hyundai reveals its all-new fuel-cell vehicle and Kia takes the wraps off an all-electric version of the Niro.
KIA PRESENTS VISION FOR FUTURE MOBILITY
Kia presented its vision for future mobility at CES. It will start equipping its vehicles with connected car technology in 2025, with the goal of having every model in its line-up connected by 2030. The company also revealed it will introduce 16 electrified vehicles by 2025, including a fuel-cell that will debut in 2020. As part of the strategy, the company showed off an all-electric concept of the Niro crossover. It’s powered by a 64-kWh battery pack and a 150-kW electric motor which provides close to 240 miles of range. The Niro EV concept features a new HMI, which controls the infotainment and HVAC systems with touch and gestures controls. Kia is also showing off a second cockpit that features 5G connectivity and its sound separation technology, which allows front and rear passengers to listen to their own music at the same time. And that sounds like technology that would be perfect for ride-sharing.
HYUNDAI’S NEXO-GEN FUEL CELL VEHICLE
And in related news, Kia’s parent company Hyundai revealed its next-gen fuel-cell vehicle. Called NEXO, it’s the first fuel-cell in its line-up built on its own platform, the previous version was a modified Tucson. The NEXO has an estimated range of 370 miles, which is 105 more than the outgoing model. NEXO will be available in select markets around the world starting early this year, and that is part of Hyundai’s strategy to have 18 green vehicles on the market globally by 2025.
And for more from CES, be sure to check out our coverage of the show. John is talking to suppliers and automakers about their developments in technology. Look for those interviews on our website, Autoline.tv starting later today.
But that’s it for this show, thanks for watching and please join us again tomorrow.
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Comments (18)
January 9th, 2018 at 12:37 pm
I used to think Musk as a modern day Howard Hughes, and to some extent I still do, however, more and more he seems to me, more like Harry Houdini, Penn Gillette, David Blaine, Teller (you get my drift). Just saying.
January 9th, 2018 at 12:47 pm
I’ll get to see, and hear Musk’s next big thing in a few weeks. It is the Falcon “heavy” rocket. It uses 27 engines in clusters of 9, and they will attempt to land each cluster separately, two on land, and one on a barge.
January 9th, 2018 at 12:56 pm
#1 Yea! Chuck, hey look at the cute women on roller skates to distract you from the fact that my production facility oops there goes your money. Hey look over here I have another concept.
January 9th, 2018 at 1:11 pm
I used to think that ride sharing might actually bring people together within a community. Get people socializing and getting to know their neighbors. Right now with cell phones, people bury their nose in them and use ear buds to avoid talking to one another. People are very brave and cruel behind a screen and keyboard and say things they would never say in person. Having to share a ride with a stranger with different aspects and opinions and likes in music could be a good thing. So with the creation of sound separation people will be allowed to stay in their own little bubble.
Well I suppose they would anyway with their phone in hand.
January 9th, 2018 at 1:33 pm
Will Elons drive-in just stream the movie to the in-car screen, making it only viable for Teslas like he did his charging stations?
January 9th, 2018 at 2:27 pm
4 Related to your post, I just heard a radio program about excessive alcohol abuse. The show mainly pertains alcohol use by adults, but it was mentioned that there is less alcohol use, and sex, among teens, because they don’t actually spend much time together socializing; they just socialize via electronic gadgets. Even in the same room, they play with their phones, as adults would in a ride sharing situation.
January 9th, 2018 at 2:35 pm
I watch every day and every episode shows more about electric vehicles. I am in admiration of the concepts but WHY are they all so car/SUV look alike? I know people will purchase what they are used to but will no vehicle manufacturer step into the future with designs that do not replicate what we already drive.
Look at Woody Allen’s electric ride in his movie Sleeper from 1973.
January 9th, 2018 at 2:51 pm
ALD – regarding Kia’s future plans to have every vehicle “connected” by 2030… how do they define “connected”? What functions?
You can argue every vehicle with Bluetooth connections to a driver’s cell phone is connected. Or every OnStar-equipped GM vehicle is connected. But if Kia is referring to CT6-like DSRC, then I’ll be impressed. Or is Kia referring to something else?
January 9th, 2018 at 4:21 pm
#8 I took the comment to mean all cars in 2030 will be interconnected to each other not like today with bluetooth or cell connections. Meaning they will share spacial information about their surroundings, braking, road conditions, speed etc.
January 9th, 2018 at 4:33 pm
I wonder if Kia has some grand concept that somehow a brand-exclusive interconnection will be a value-add in the eyes of the customers.
January 9th, 2018 at 4:38 pm
The Byton is a beautiful work of art!!
January 9th, 2018 at 5:55 pm
Again, it would be nice if you could give us the breakdown for the Class 8 trucks if you have that information available. I used to work for Freightliner Trucks and at the time they were number 1 in sales, wondering if they still are and how their competition is faring. If you don’t have that info let me know so I can stop asking. Thanks.
January 9th, 2018 at 9:25 pm
12, Ziggy, This might interest you:
https://www.statista.com/statistics/245369/class-8-truck-sales-by-manfuacturer/
It looks like Freightliner is still on top, at least through 2016.
January 9th, 2018 at 10:50 pm
as a technician who travels to various shops for warranty inspections, I am starting to see more vehicles used by Uber and Lyft drivers in shops. The increase in miles driven takes its toll on trans, engines, and brake systems. The sad part is that for some of these drivers the cost of repairing their vehicles wipes out the profit they make using them for ride-sharing.
January 10th, 2018 at 8:52 am
#14 Thats why its cheaper to use Uber and Lyft than a taxi. They have taken the maintenance costs out and put it on the driver. I doubt if many of those drivers set aside a portion of their earnings to cover the increased wear, let alone depreciation.
I would guess many drivers think its great for about a year or two then the increased use catches up, and soon they have a 3 year old car with 100k miles needing its second set of tires and lots of other maintenance while still owing 2 or 3 more years of payments.
January 10th, 2018 at 8:59 am
#14 Wonder if the change in vehicle use will ever spark a change by the manufacturers to offer warranties that decrease time but increase mileage. Like a 150,000 mile 3 year warranty. That could be a huge draw for people buying a vehicle specifically planning to ride share or drive for something like Uber. The first manufacturer to offer a 150k mile warranty could basically lock up that business.
January 10th, 2018 at 10:48 am
A Prius should be an ideal Uber car. They are very reliable’ and the major potential “wear out” expense, the battery, is age related more than mileage related. Toyota could probably change the battery warranty from 8/100K to 8/150K with little additional warranty expense.
January 10th, 2018 at 12:14 pm
#16 I would think just the opposite… OEMs could offer longer duration with the same or less miles (e.g., 6 year/36,000 miles) for very little extra risk/cost to attract buyers who will buy a car, but also uses mobility when it makes sense, so their annuals miles on their owned cars are less.