Runtime: 6:59
0:33 Ford to Merge with VW in Europe?
1:17 F1, IndyCar & NASCAR Race Results
2:59 New European Fuel & Emission Test Creating Havoc
3:46 EU Fleets Turning to Daily Rentals
4:15 Ford Using Drones to Inspect High Places
5:15 Baojun Shows New Small EV
5:53 FCA & Mahindra Battle Heating Up
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On today’s show… Ford is thinking of merging its European operations with Volkswagen… a new procedure for testing emissions is creating havoc in Europe… and FCA is suing Mahindra for that little off-road machine that looks just like a Jeep. All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.
This is Autoline Daily the voice of the automotive industry.
FORD TO MERGE WITH VW IN EUROPE?
Is Ford going to merge its European operations with Volkswagen? That’s what the Times of London is reporting. It says Ford is getting ready to fire 24,000 employees in Europe as part of a massive cost cutting effort. The Mondeo, Galaxy and S-Max will also get the axe, according to the report. None of this will happen soon. The Mondeo is getting a refresh this fall. And getting rid of employees in Europe is a time consuming and expensive process. But Ford is losing money in Europe and that is forcing it to take drastic action, including the possibility of forming a joint venture with the Volkswagen group.
HAMILTON EXTENDS LEAD IN F1
It was a great weekend for motor racing, with a lot of action and controversy on the track. In Formula One, Lewis Hamilton put in a masterful performance, driving his Mercedes past both Ferraris to win the Italian grand prix. Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel banged wheels on the first lap, spinning out Vettel’s Ferrari and dropping him to last place. Vettel charged back to finish fifth, but Hamilton extended his lead in the driver’s championship.
INDYCAR A TALE OF YELLOW FLAGS
In Indycar, Takuma Sato benefitted from a series of yellow flags to take his Honda-powered race car to the win. In fact, Honda powered cars took the top three positions. Much of the race was a duel between Alexander Rossi and Josef Newgarden, but they got caught out by untimely yellow flags and finished 8th and 10th respectively. Scott Dixon finished 5th and was able to extend his lead in the championship with only one race remaining.
PENSKE DOMINATES AT DARLINGTON
And at NASCAR’s Southern 500 in Darlington South Carolina, Penske teammates Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano powered their Ford Fusions to first and second place.
Coming up next, Europe adopted a much tougher way to test cars for emissions and some companies are having a hard time dealing with it.
WLTP CREATING HAVOC IN EUROPE
The European Union’s new fuel economy and emission test procedure, the Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure or WLTP, is creating havoc in Europe. The WLTP uses on-the-road test driving, not just lab results. The Volkswagen Group cannot sell half of its cars yet. It has only gained regulatory approval for seven of its 14 main model lines, not including the Golf. It expects that vehicle to pass the new standards by the end of the month. But the new test takes 2- to 3-times longer than before, so everyone expects more delays. The new test procedure is a response to Diesel-gate where Volkswagen and others were caught cheating.
FLEETS TURING TO DAILY RENTALS
And other areas are being impacted by WLTP too. Fleet operators don’t want to wait for the government to approve cars for sale, so they’re turning to daily rental companies to fill the gap before making the decision to keep the cars they have or buy new ones. One daily rental company has seen a 17% increase in bookings compared to last year. If this doesn’t get sorted out soon, we could see consumers hold off on buying a new car as well.
FORD USES DRONES TO INSPECT HIGH PLACES
It’s not uncommon to hear the buzz of a drone almost anywhere you go and now they’re making their way into manufacturing plants. Ford is using drones mounted with cameras at its plant in Cologne, Germany to inspect high places, like pipe work and roof areas. The drones are about 10-times faster, inspecting each area in 12-minutes and the entire plant in just one day. That means the facility doesn’t have to be shut down and Ford is risking employee injury less not working up so high as often.
FCA does not like that off-road vehicle from Mahindra that looks like a Jeep.That’s coming up next.
BAOJUN SHOWS NEW SMALL ELECTRIC CAR
Baojun is a car brand that General Motors created in China. We’ve already showed you the E100, the brand’s first electric car. Now meet the E200, which is an upgraded version. It has a range of 167 miles, which is about 50 more than the E100. The two-seater also features more than 200 upgrades, including improving the design and making the interior quieter. That comes from reducing the noise from the AC compressor and fan, as well as making the transmission quieter and making the electric motor smoother.
FCA & MAHINDRA BATTLE HEATING UP
The battle between FCA and Mahindra is heating up. FCA recently filed a patent violation complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission against Mahindra, accusing it of infringing on the Jeep design with its Roxor off-road vehicle. While it does look like a Jeep, Mahindra says it has a deal with FCA. Back in April we interviewed Rich Hass, the CEO of Mahindra North America on Autoline After Hours, and asked him about the similarity between the vehicles and he told us “We have legal agreements with FCA, we followed them and that’s what this product represents.” So it sounds like this battle could drag on for some time.
But that’s it for today, thanks for watching and please join us again tomorrow.
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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.