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Runtime: 6:12
0:29 More Renault-Nissan Drama
1:27 Toyota & Panasonic To Form Battery JV
2:00 VW Chairman Says EVs Could Become Unaffordable
2:55 Hyundai’s Multi-Collision Airbag System
3:47 Dodge Challenger to Get Electric Motor
4:49 2018 India Car Sales
5:35 Chevy Creates Silverado Made from LEGOs
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On today’s show…VW’s chairman says EVs could become unaffordable for low income buyers…there’s more drama between Nissan and Renault…and Hyundai comes out with the first multi-collision airbag system. All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.
This is Autoline Daily the voice of the automotive industry.
MORE RENAULT-NISSAN DRAMA
The Renault-Nissan soap opera just came out with another episode. Here’s the latest: Renault wants to merge the two companies under the umbrella of a new holding company, though no specific proposal is on the table yet. The French government also wants Renault to name the new chairman of Nissan, but Nissan thinks the French already have too much power. So to prevent that from happening, Nissan is looking at eliminating the position of chairman. Meanwhile Carlos Ghosn, the former CEO of Nissan and still the chairman of Renault, is asking Japanese authorities to let him out of jail on bail, promising to wear an ankle tether and not flee the country. But before that’s likely to happen, the French government wants to dismiss Ghosn as chairman of Renault. Wow, what a soap opera. And when the next episode comes out we’ll tell you all about it.
TOYOTA & PANASONIC TO FORM BATTERY JV
Toyota and Panasonic are getting set to launch a joint venture to produce batteries for electric vehicles. Reuters reports that Toyota will own 51% of the company while Panasonic will own the rest. The two companies may officially announce the tie-up as early as this week. The deal would expand upon a partnership Toyota and Panasonic formed in 2017 to develop prismatic batteries. The new joint venture will help Toyota reach its goal of selling 1 million zero-emission vehicles by 2030.
VW CHAIRMAN SAYS EVs COULD BECOME UNAFFORDABLE
But not everyone will benefit from the shift to electric vehicles. Volkswagen’s chairman, Hans-Dieter Poetsch, told a German newspaper that EVs may become unaffordable to people with lower incomes because the technology will make entry-level cars more expensive. He said VW is trying to make EVs affordable to as many buyers as it can but it will be difficult to keep prices of small electrics down. If that’s true, it will create an even bigger headache for automakers to hit EV sales requirements.
Still to come…the next-gen Dodge Challenger will use an electric motor.
HYUNDAI’S MULTI-COLLISION AIRBAG SYSTEM
Multi-collision accidents are primary impacts followed by impacts with secondary objects, like trees or other vehicles. According to NHTSA, 30% of all accidents have secondary impacts. So, in an effort to improve its safety, the Hyundai Group is developing a new kind of airbag system that’s designed for these types of collisions. If the first part of the crash is not intense enough to make the airbags deploy, the system will recalibrate to lower the threshold and deploy the airbags even faster if a significant enough secondary collision occurs. This can be especially important because the initial impact can force passengers into unusual positions. You can expect to see this system on future Hyundai and Kia vehicles.
DODGE CHALLENGER TO GET ELECTRIC MOTOR
The Dodge brand has gasoline pumping through its veins, but soon it will be getting a boost from electric power. CEO Mike Manley says some of the engines used in its muscle car platforms will have to move on. “They can’t exist as you get into the middle-2020s. New technology is going to drive a load of weight out, so we can think of the powertrains in a different way… I think that electrification will certainly be part of the formula that says what is American muscle in the future.” So in other words, don’t wait too long for that Hellcat you’ve always wanted.
Coming up next, a look at the Indian car market in 2018.
2018 INDIA CAR SALES
We like to keep you up to speed with the entire global auto industry. So let’s take a look at how automakers fared in India in 2018. According to WardsAuto, light vehicle sales topped 4 million units, which is an 8% gain compared to 2017. While passenger cars outsold light trucks, the truck segment is growing at a much faster pace. The top automaker in India by a wide margin is Maruti Suzuki, which accounts for more than 40% of the Indian market. It’s a big drop off to Hyundai, which is number two on the list. And It’s followed by Indian automakers Tata and Mahindra. But that’s a quick snapshot into the Indian market in 2018.
2018 INDIA CAR SALES | ||
---|---|---|
Passenger cars | 2.3M | +3.6% |
Light Trucks | 1.8M | +15.0% |
Total Light Vehicles | 4.05M | +8.3% |
Top Automakers | ||
Maruti Suzuki | 1.75M | |
Hyundai | 550K | |
Tata | 487K | |
Mahindra | 485K | |
Source: WardsAuto |
CHEVY CREATES SILVERADO MADE FROM LEGOS
We’ve seen a number of these Lego vehicles in the past, but this replica of the new Silverado has got to be one of the closest representations to the real thing. We wonder if that’s because trucks really are just bricks on wheels?
But that wraps up today’s report, 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.