AD 2628 – EV Sales Up, New Charger & Challenger Delayed for Negotiations? All-Electric Off-Road Racing Series
July 9th, 2019 at 11:54am
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Runtime: 7:44
0:07 June EV Sales Up
0:51 U.S. Governors Want 50-State Fuel Regs.
1:18 Chevy to Livestream Corvette Reveal
2:15 New Charger & Challenger Delayed for Union Negotiations?
4:03 Charger & Challenger Going Electric
5:13 MINI Electric Details
6:01 Bosch Helps Prevent T-Bone Accidents
6:27 New Electric Off-Road Racing Series
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This is Autoline Daily reporting on the global automotive industry.
EV SALES UP
Sales of electric cars shot up 120% in the U.S. market last month. Automakers sold 28,600 BEVs but almost all the credit goes to Tesla, which accounted for almost 24,000 of those sales, giving it 83% of the EV market. Not including Tesla, sales of BEVs were up 30%, but the numbers are puny. Eleven other automakers only sold about 4,700 electrics. So how are the newest competitors to Tesla doing? Jaguar sold 236 I-PACEs, Audi sold 726 e trons and Hyundai sold 127 Konas.
| U.S. EV Sales June, 2019 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Total | 28,632 | +120% |
| Tesla | 23,914 | +156% |
| All Others | 4,718 | +30% |
U.S. GOVERNORS WANT 50-STATE FUEL REGS
Automakers have already asked the Trump Administration to come up with a 50-state deal for fuel economy regulations, and now the governors from 20 states are asking for the same thing. Three of those states, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and North Carolina went for Trump in the last presidential election. Bloomberg reports that the EPA and NHTSA will submit their proposals to the White House in the coming weeks.
CHEVY TO LIVESTREAM CORVETTE REVEAL
Well the wait is almost over. Chevrolet unveils the highly anticipated mid-engine C8 Corvette next week and you can watch all the action. Chevy is livestreaming the reveal globally at media.chevrolet.com/nextgenCorvette at 10:30 PM eastern time on July 18th. Then Chevrolet will take the new C8 to more than 125 dealerships across the U.S. The tour kicks off after the reveal and will run through early 2020. Dates and cities will be made available the day after the reveal.
UNION TALKS PLAYING ROLE IN CHARGER & CHALLENGER DELAY?
Where in the world are the new Dodge Charger and Challenger? We thought they’d be out by the end of this year, but Autoforecast Solutions says there are no replacements on the horizon. Back when Sergio Marchonne was still CEO of FCA, the plan was to put those cars on the Giorgio platform from Alfa Romeo. But it didn’t work out. A source in the supplier industry that worked on the cars told Autoline that the Giorgio platform could not accommodate cars as wide as the Challenger and Charger. So FCA decided to keep the current platform, which started out life as a Mercedes E-class and goes back to the DaimlerChrysler days. But the plan was to make significant modifications to that platform. In early 2017 Marchionne told the Motor Authority that “by the time we finish with that architecture, you will not recognize its origins.” Autoline also talked to a source that saw the new cars and described them as sharper, more angular and more European-looking than the current rounded retro-versions. So if the platform was upgraded and the new bodies are already designed, why haven’t we seen them? Here’s our Autoline Insight. Those cars are made at FCA’s assembly plant in Brampton, Ontario in Canada. And next year FCA will sit down with Unifor, its Canadian union to hammer out a new contract. At this point that plant is “unallocated,” to use a suddenly popular word in the industry. So dangling out the prospect of building a new Charger and Challenger would be a powerful bargaining chip for FCA. And if we’re right, we’ll see a new Charger and Challenger around 2021.
CHARGER & CHALLENGER GOING ELECTRIC
Those next-gen Dodge’s will probably be electrified. Speaking with Automotive News, Tim Kuniskis, the head of passenger cars for FCA, said “I think the absolute future is electrification of these cars. That’s not necessarily bad. It could be battery electric, it could be plug-in hybrid, it could be regular hybrid, could be e-axles, any one of the number of electric technologies. But I am a firm believer that electrification will be the key to high performance in the future.” The only thing holding them back, according to Kuniskis, is the price of batteries.
Our special guest on Autoline After Hours this Thursday is Paul Eichenberg, a strategist on electrification, autonomy, connectivity and mobility. So join John and Gary and Joe White from Reuters for some of the best insights as to where this auto industry is headed.
MINI ELECTRIC DETAILS
MINI’s upcoming all electric model, the Cooper SE is based on the 2-door hardtop but has unique accents both inside and out. Depending on the model, its range is 235 to 270 kilometers or 146 to 167 miles and those figures are based on the WLTP test cycle and converted to NEDC. The batteries are incorporated into the floor, the electric motor produces 181 horsepower and 199 lb-ft of torque, and it will go 0 to 62 mph in 7.3 seconds. It will be built at the company’s plant in Oxford, England alongside the gasoline powered versions of the model.
BOSCH HELPS PREVENT T-BONE ACCIDENTS
To stop motorists from getting t-boned at intersections, Bosch created what it calls Front Cross Traffic Alert. Radars are placed at the front corners of the vehicle, to give it an extra set of sensing. The system monitors intersections and will alert you if there is a car you weren’t expecting that is coming through. It can give audible or visual warnings as well as automatically apply the brakes.
NEW ELECTRIC OFF-ROAD RACING SERIES
The people that helped bring about Formula E, the all-electric racing series, are starting a new all-electric racing series, but this time for off-roading. Extreme E plans to field 12 teams that will race head-to-head using a round-robin format on short 3-6 miles tracks in places with extreme environments, like the arctic, a rainforest, desert or ocean. The wild SUVs are made by the same company that makes the Formula E cars and feature special tires from Continental. One is made for summer conditions, the other for the winter. Teams will be allowed to have custom body panels inspired by production vehicles and develop their own powertrains. The vehicle seen here has 536-horsepower with a battery from Williams Advanced Engineering. Extreme E is scheduled to start in 2021.
But that wraps up today’s show, thanks for watching and we’ll see you again tomorrow.
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Comments (20)
July 9th, 2019 at 12:03 pm
Sean,
Automotive News’ AM edition video says (and even has it in its title on the web) that this MINI will have range of only 114 Miles. are your higher estimates those phony European Range numbers? And what about the price?
July 9th, 2019 at 12:09 pm
looking at the link you provide:
” Its model-specific lithium-ion battery enables a range of 235 to 270 kilometers*. (NOTE: US EPA estimated range figures not available)”
I thought so. Fake news from Europe. it will be lucky to have 99 miles range in the winter.
July 9th, 2019 at 12:32 pm
Sean, I think you are right that the slower replacement of the Charger and Challenger is mainly about the UNIFOR negotiations. UNIFOR has been very vocal and active about lost production in Canada. They really took on GM very aggressively about the Oshawa facility shutdown. FCA has always been more Canadian focussed than GM or Ford. I think they want these negotiations to be smooth and having a big gimme in their back pocket is a great way to start.
July 9th, 2019 at 12:52 pm
[Quote]” The only thing holding them back, according to Kuniskis, is the price of batteries”. [Unquote] Well that has been the “Gorilla in the Room” from the start and will continue to be until that ultimate break-through (I know, nothing new in my statement but we keep hearing the same old thing so I’m also regurgitating the obvious too).
July 9th, 2019 at 1:05 pm
I wouldn’t doubt that the tariff threats might also play into FCA’s decision to not announce build location for the Challenger/Charger.
Could the electric accessory assist that Ram put on the trucks be considered going electric? I could see the Charger/Challenger using that same system. Cannot see adding more weight/cost to an already heavy car to add a hybrid version.
Off road racing series; Watching an EV race has to be much like a silent amusement park. The roar of the engines has long been a part of the experience. I recently visited a full electric go-cart track and they were fast and fun to drive and inside with no fumes, but they even piped engine noise thru the headrest to help keep it exciting.
July 9th, 2019 at 1:26 pm
Will Mini even bother to try and sell the Mini E in the US? With all other makers besides Tesla selling so few units, and the Mini is on the higher side of the price range for that segment.
I see they sold like close to 372,000 units world wide in 2017 but only like 25k were in the US down from almost twice that amount from 09 to 15 when they were selling over 50K a year. A more expensive EV version with less range… Cant say flop fast enough.
July 9th, 2019 at 1:46 pm
Lots of love of electric cars in this column. But setting aside California (which provides a rich state subsidy along with the federal subsidy), the average percent of cars being sold as electrics, for the 49 other states, is only 1.1%.
July 9th, 2019 at 2:00 pm
About the Mini, “a gross energy content of 32.6 kWh” compared to our 2014 BMW i3 with a gross energy content of 22 kWh has a 72 mi EPA range. A straight-line approximation suggests the Mini will have (32.6 / 22) * 72 ~= 107 mi range. But it gets worse.
They are planning 50 kW, fast DC charging, which means like our 2014 BMW i3, barely able to reach another fast DC charger. Then facing a minimum, 45 min charging session. With 2,207 BMW i3 sold in 2019, the Mini can only cannibalize the BMW i3.
Did someone ‘steal’ 2014 BMW i3 design specs and decide a 5 year old design is the way to go? Add an Atkinson optimized engine or even a small diesel and it could take BMW i3-REx sales … all 10 dozen.
July 9th, 2019 at 2:40 pm
8 interesting data. I did see a rare i3 as I was walking down the three blocks from my summer home to the beach for my evening swim tonight. (7:45 PM till sunset 7 days a week). it looked very spacious inside. Here most cars are tiny hatchbacks so it benefited from the comparison too.
July 9th, 2019 at 2:52 pm
7 you do realize that the first gas cars in the late 1800s and early 1900s faced exactly the same problems and challenges? TINY market share vs horses and buggies, NO gas pump infrastructure, etc? You should study your history. And if I would guess, there is no love in you for EVs, is it? We want our cancer-causing emissions, don’t we.
July 9th, 2019 at 3:02 pm
#5 Yeah, I suspect the “electrification” of Charger/Challenger means the mild hybrid system used in Ram pickups. Not-so-coincidentally, the cars and trucks use the same basic powertrains.
July 9th, 2019 at 3:59 pm
10 I wouldn’t say it was the exact same problems. Gas was available actually in drug stores before the first gas station as farmers has gas tractors in the late 1800s. The biggest problems they had was reliability. Having a flat tire was as common as twice a day. Plus antifreeze hadn’t been developed so blocks would freeze in the winter. Then there was issues with no paved roads so in the spring getting stuck was pretty common. Reliability or infrastructure is not what is holding back EVs. Its cost, charging time, and unknown longevity of a very expensive battery which equals depreciation. When someone develops the Model T of EVs and offers an inexpensive EV that out performs a gas vehicle like the model T out performed a team of horses then EVs will sell.
July 9th, 2019 at 4:00 pm
Is it possible the new Dodges have been sidelined due to lack of cash at FCA?
July 9th, 2019 at 5:00 pm
Speaking of EVs, today I test drove one, a Zero motorcycle. Not surprisingly, it was quick at lower speeds, and the quietness was cool. It handled well, by usual “standard” motorcycle criteria.
Even more than an electric car, though, the bike would not be suitable for road trips, with the longest range version going only 112 miles at 70 mph. Still, if I were in the market for a bike to replace my KLR650, in Indiana where I could charge in my garage, the Zero would be high on my shopping list. While the KLR is a “dual sport,” I ride it only on the street, and almost entirely on short enough trips that the range would be adequate with a home charge.
July 9th, 2019 at 5:13 pm
As long as the Challenger and Charger sell in reasonable numbers, they should probably keep making them, more-or-less as they are. The Challenger is truly a one of a kind, a big, but semi-affordable two door car, with a big trunk and a usable back seat. It nominally competes with Mustang and Camaro, but it doesn’t really compete with those cars, in that it trades a lot of handling finesse for more room. The Challenger just “drives big” in comparison, at least to me, and yes, I’ve driven all of them.
I can’t help but think that if they tried to make a Challenger on the Alfa platform, they would screw it up, and it wouldn’t sell as well as the current one, even though done properly, it should compete with the Ford and Chevy “pony cars” in all aspects of performance.
As far as Charger, I suppose the main market is police cars, and they seem to be losing that market to Ford trucks. If the Charger market completely evaporated, it would complicate things, because it would be hard to justify making Challenger with no platform mates, and a volume of ~65K/year.
July 9th, 2019 at 6:04 pm
8 When the i3 was introduced, a lot of what I read was that it was largely an exercise in use of new materials, like carbon fibre, with a little styling quirkiness thrown in. I found the range extender interesting, using the engine from the “C” scooter. Comparing the i3 with a Chevy Bolt in CR’s charts, the Bolt is a little roomier, but is 6 inches longer. To me, both are best as commuter cars, charged at home, but can be used for trips with some extra effort. Well, the i3 needs to be a REx to do road trips at all.
July 10th, 2019 at 6:50 am
Wait, what Ocean? E racing, you did say ocean? Are they going to use or make amphibious vehicles?
July 10th, 2019 at 8:39 am
17 Yeah what is ocean racing? I would assume the beach but not sure how that would be much different than desert.
July 10th, 2019 at 8:52 am
18 Maybe they need extra protection from salt spray on the electronics.
July 11th, 2019 at 1:30 pm
The Brampton plant has cranked out those cars for years. IF Chrysler was serious about relocation, what plant is the natural heir?
What Sean didn’t mention or address is if the 300 is out of the picture or not. Being a big sedan in Chrysler’s abandoned car line makes it a target…or did I miss the news that it is done.
Either way, the plant has found a market for north of 200k units a year for a long time, making it a money maker on paid-for tooling. (Don’t know 2018 numbers though.)