Runtime: 8:22
0:29 Bosch Announced Diesel Breakthrough
3:14 BMW Reveals iX3 Concept
3:38 Lexus Unwraps New ES
4:16 Kia Unveils YI PAO And K5 Plug-In
5:03 You Said It!
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On today’s show…Bosch says it developed a breakthrough in reducing diesel emissions…BMW, Lexus and Kia reveal new vehicles in Beijing and I answer your questions and comments in You Said It! All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.
This is Autoline Daily the show for enthusiasts of the automotive industry.
BOSCH ANNOUNCED DIESEL BREAKTHROUGH
Bosch announced a major breakthrough today in reducing diesel emissions. Even more impressively, it uses existing components so the technology is available immediately for automakers and will not add cost. Today European emission regulations limit NOx emissions to only 168 milligrams per kilometer. In 2020 that drops to only 120 milligrams. But Bosch says its breakthrough can achieve only 40 milligrams in city driving and only 13 milligrams overall.
EURO NOx EMISSIONS | |
---|---|
Today | 168 mg/km |
2020 | 120 mg/km |
Bosch City | 40 mg/km |
Bosch Combined | 13 mg/km |
Source: Bosch |
Here’s how it works. Bosch is using advanced fuel injection, a new air management system and an intelligent temperature management system. The air management system relies on a new way of handling EGR or exhaust gas recirculation, and on a turbo that is optimized to spool up faster at launch. Bosch says the key is keeping EGR temperatures above 200 degrees Celsius. Typically the EGR fails to reach those temperatures in city driving, especially in grid-lock or stop and go driving.
Bosch says diesel engines have not yet reached their full potential and that it’s working on applying artificial intelligence to make them cleaner and more efficient. Bosch’s CEO Volkmar Denner also calls for fuel economy and emissions testing to be done on the open road, what the company is calling real driving emissions. He also says that regulators should include all the emissions produced from making fuel and generating electricity so that consumers have a clearer idea of their true CO2 footprint. We here at Autoline completely support this, because consumers will then be aware that electric cars are not zero emission vehicles. In fact, we say it is unethical to call them zero emission vehicles. Moreover, we’d say that Denner is not going far enough. We need to include all the CO2 emissions that go into manufacturing cars and into recycling them. That will give consumers a true picture of their CO2 footprint when it comes to choosing the kind of car they want to drive.
Still to come…BMW, Lexus and Kia take the wraps off new vehicles at the Beijing auto show.
BMW iX3 Concept
OK, over to the Beijing auto show. This is BMW’s all-electric crossover called the Concept iX3. It features fifth-generation eDrive technology, and a range of 400 kilometers or about 250 miles. Interestingly, its electric motor doesn’t use rare-earth metals. The production version will be built in China.
LEXUS UNWRAPS NEW ES
Lexus took the wraps off the new ES. It’s built on a new global architecture and is longer, lower and wider than before. And for the first time an F SPORT model is being added to the ES line-up. Two powertrains are available. A 3.5L V6 that’s mated to an 8-speed automatic and a hybrid that’s powered by a 2.5L four-cylinder, which gets an estimated 44 MPG combined. It’s also available with new safety and infotainment features. The new ES doesn’t go on sale until September of 2019.
KIA YI PAO AND K5 PLUG-IN
Kia unveiled two new vehicles for the Chinese market. First up is the YI PAO, a small SUV that goes on sale in the second half of the year. The company didn’t share any other details about the vehicle. And it revealed a plug-in hybrid called the K5, with a 2.0L gasoline engine, a 50-kW electric motor and a lithium-ion battery pack. The K5 goes into production in China in the second quarter of this year.
Coming up next, it’s time for you Said It!.
Kevin Anderson wants to know, “Do GM, Ford, FCA have closed or grossly underutilized assembly plants? If so, would it make sense for them to do contract assembly for the Tesla Model 3?”
No they don’t and no they would not lift a finger to help Tesla.
Tom in Ocracoke has an idea for V2V technology. “I don’t get the DSRC vs LTE battle. Seems to me that the right answer is BOTH.”
Two systems means twice the cost. Better we pick one and the only one ready right now is DSRC.
Len Engler wants to know, “How does the Pacifica plug-in compare to the others in percentage of sales?”
Great question. The plug-in Pacifica represents 7% of sales. That compares to 14% for the Prius plug-in and 8% for the Volvo XC90 plug-in.
Oldsmo says, “How the heck can you discuss whether EVs can catch on or not without bringing up the price of gas? It’s all about that. It just doesn’t pay at $3/gal.”
Oldsmo, that’s a very American point of view. Gasoline costs $7 a gallon in Europe and EVs are a very small percentage of sales over there.
Keith Hamilton “Question – do car makers base their production numbers on a 5 or 7-day work week? Tesla uses a 7-day basis which does not seem healthy. What about a proper work/rest cycle and scheduled machine down time for maintenance?”
Automakers base their production capacity on two 8-hour shifts, five days a week. And you’re right, if Tesla does not schedule enough down time for maintenance it’s going to run into problems. And you can only run your plants 24/7 for so long until your workforce burns out.
Ego Equus says, “Sandy should create a reality show called “Factory Makeover” where he goes in like Gordon Ramsay (Kitchen Nightmares) and whips them into shape.”
Fantastic idea! It would be a hit. By the way that Autoline After Hours with Sandy last week is on track to have the highest viewership in the history of the show. Bloomberg News even did a piece on it and it was picked up by Jalopnik and InsideEVs.
And don’t forget to join us for After Hours tomorrow when we’ll have the CEO of Mahindra North America with the Roxor off road vehicle they’re manufacturing in Michigan. Henry Payne from the Detroit News will be with us, sharing his on-track experience with the new Corvette ZR-1. So join Gary Vasilash and me for some of the best inside info in the automotive industry.
And that wraps up today’s report, thanks for watching.
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John McElroy is an influential thought leader in the automotive industry. He is a journalist, lecturer, commentator and entrepreneur. He created “Autoline Daily,” the first industry webcast of industry news and analysis.