On today’s show…people all over the world keep buying more and more cars…Magna lands a big Lidar contract with BMW…and Mahindra explains why its off-road vehicle looks like a Jeep. All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.
This is Autoline Daily the show for enthusiasts of the automotive industry.
GLOBAL SALES UP IN Q1
Global car sales continue to grow. WardsAuto reports that automakers sold over 24 million vehicles in the first quarter, which is a 2% gain compared to last year. In Europe, sales reached 5.5 million units, which is a 2% increase. Sales in Asia hit 11.7 million vehicles, up over 2%. Carmakers sold 4.2 million vehicles in North America, which is a 2.4% improvement. And sales in South America soared 15% in the first three months of year, to just over a million units.
BMW TO USE MAGNA LIDAR SYSTEM
A few months back we showed you a new kind of Lidar that the supplier company Magna developed. And now comes news that Magna will supply BMW with solid-state LIDAR for autonomous cars. The system, which was developed with Israeli start-up company Innoviz, can support Level 4 and Level 5 autonomous driving. The LIDAR generates a 3D point cloud in real time of the vehicle’s surroundings, even in difficult settings like direct sunlight, varying weather conditions and multi-LIDAR environments. And 3D mapping is a critical component of making autonomous cars a reality.
Lexus has found a way to boost sales of its hybrids and that’s coming up next.
LEXUS TAKES THE “PREMIUM” OUT OF ITS HYBRIDS
The hybrid version of any car tends to only be available on the higher trim levels, making an already pricy package even more expensive. But Lexus is finding success by taking “some of the premium out” of its hybrid models. Or in other words, making them less expensive. According to WardsAuto, in the first quarter, RX Hybrid sales are up over 33% and the NX is up close to 170%. Lexus will do the same with the new ES sedan that just debuted at the Beijing auto show and is currently only seeing a hybrid take-rate of 10%. That could be a nice shot in the arm, sales wise, for a vehicle that has been the best-selling Lexus car since 1992.
JEEP EXPANDS PARTNERSHIP WITH HARLEY
Jeep is trying a new way to boost the brand outside of the American market. It will sponsor driving events and rallies that Harley-Davidson is holding in Europe, the middle East and Africa. Mopar is also part of the festivities and will be showcasing its products and services. Jeep and Harley have been doing these events for four years and are extending their partnership because it’s been so successful.
Don’t forget to tune into Autoline After Hours this Thursday. Our special guest is Steve Miller, the CEO and Chairman of the International Automotive Components Group or IAC. He has held that position since 2015, but also worked at Ford, Chrysler, Federal-Mogul and Delphi and is known as a bit of a business restructuring expert. So, you know he’ll have something to say about the current state of the automotive industry.
Mahindra, the Indian automaker is making an off-road vehicle that sure looks like a Jeep. Coming up next, we’ll tell you how they can get away with that.
WEEKEND RACE RESULTS
In racing news over the weekend, Lewis Hamilton won the Formula One race with his Mercedes at the crazy, crash-filled Grand Prix of Azerbaijan. Joey Logano took the win in his Ford Fusion at the Talladega superspeedway. And Steve Torrance won the Top Fuel category at the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals in North Carolina.
MAHINDRA EXPLAINS JEEP RESEMBLANCE
Recently, Indian automaker Mahindra introduced a new off-road vehicle for the American market called the Roxor. It bears a striking resemblance to the original Jeep. On last week’s Autoline After Hours we were joined by Rich Haas, the President and CEO of Mahindra North America. And he told us about the company’s relationship with Jeep that goes back to the Second World War.
(The AAH preview is only available in the video version of today’s show.)
For a deeper dive into the Roxor, you can watch that entire discussion right now on our website, Autoline.tv or you can find it on our YouTube channel.
But that’s it for today, thanks for watching and please join us again tomorrow.
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Comments (12)
April 30th, 2018 at 3:35 pm
No comments as of 3 PM eastern, hmmm; okay, I’ll bite: last week’s AfterHours was really a good show (the guest was quite entertaining, knew his stuff and shared much about Mahindra).
April 30th, 2018 at 5:35 pm
It’s a slow comments day.
How about that F1 race? I bet Lewis H. loved it, but I suspect some “interesting” conversation has been going on at Red Bull.
April 30th, 2018 at 6:06 pm
So a ford fusion won a nascar race. Will Ford still be racing
When the Fusion is gone?
April 30th, 2018 at 6:57 pm
Just a quick comment: Thanks for the info on the race schedule and the results!!
April 30th, 2018 at 7:02 pm
3 They’ll race an Expedition next year. Actually, they will run a Mustang, but it all means nothing, since all of the cars are basically alike.
April 30th, 2018 at 9:51 pm
What is also adding to the increase in Toyota hybrid sales is the change in design that took place in about 2013. The updated 2.5 liter hybrid system and the vehicle launched using the electric motors meant that most of the slop was eliminated from the drivetrain. Especially the Camry became an enjoyable car to drive.
April 30th, 2018 at 11:33 pm
I have not watched a F1 race in a long time. I caught the last half of that race, and have got to ask are they mostly that interesting? The drivers don’t seem to have much personality except for the Perez fella. That was one of the craziest races I have ever seen. The Red Bull team is going to have an interesting week. It is too bad that no one on any of the general sports shows picked up on that race.
May 1st, 2018 at 6:42 am
@7
F1, while exciting to me, usually aren’t as ‘crazy’ as yesterday’s race. I think F1 did a poor job of clearing the track (and getting the Safety Car off the track), which hampered actual racing. It was almost like they let NASCAR officials run the end of the race (tongue in cheek). One of the reasons I quit watching NASCAR is that the officials pretty much are going to make it a ‘crap-shoot’ at the end (negating all the good racing up until that point), and that’s what happened in F1 this weekend, so I hope it was just an anomaly. JMO
May 1st, 2018 at 7:47 am
7 Ctech, everything Chuck said, and regarding that question about “most of them being that interesting,” an emphatic no. Many F1 races are won on Saturday. It is not uncommon for the pole sitter to lead from start to finish.
May 1st, 2018 at 8:07 am
Knowing it will never happen, wouldn’t it be nice to have a true stock car race series? It could still have all the saftey rules but the sheet metal shape should have to match what the road version of the car wears. Engine block size and design features match the production engines but allow the parts to be upgraded to race quality. Have more than one tire company for the teams to chose what they think will be better on a given day. I’m sure there are many other things could be included to make a race more exciting. How about shorter races.
May 1st, 2018 at 11:03 am
10 There was something a little like that in the 90′s, called North American Touring Car Championship. The cars were Honda Accord, Dodge Stratus, and maybe others. Similar racing does well in some parts of the world, but it didn’t go over in the U.S., lasting only two years. Maybe a racing series for “stock” Tahoes and Expeditions would be more popular in America.
May 1st, 2018 at 2:21 pm
I actually wondered myself whether the end of the Fusion would mean the end of Ford in NASCAR. What else could they run? It would give Ford an easy excuse to bail.