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Runtime: 7:02
0:07 UAW Strike Costs GM Millions of Dollars
0:55 PSA & Hyundai To Use Continental E-Drive Axle
1:55 New Autonomous Vehicle Consortium Formed
2:49 New Bosch Semiconductor Boosts EV Range
3:26 Commute Times in U.S. Increase
4:00 Volvo Reveals More Details About Electric XC40
4:46 BMW M8 Gran Coupe Debuts
5:56 Chevy Updates 2021 Colorado
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This is Autoline Daily reporting on all aspects of the global automotive industry.
UAW STRIKE COSTS GM MILLIONS OF DOLLARS
The UAW strike against GM is in its third week and progress on a new deal has been slow. But now we have a clearer idea of how much of an impact it’s had on all parties. The consulting firm Anderson Economic Group released a study that found about 150,000 workers have been affected by the shutdown, including 75,000 workers at suppliers who have been temporarily laid off or seen their wages cut. Researchers estimate that the strike has cost GM about $660 million and around $412 million in lost wages for all employees. As we’ve said, UAW leaders want to drag this out because once the strike is over, the attention will turn back to the union’s corruption scandal.
PSA & HYUNDAI TO USE CONTINENTAL E-DRIVE AXLE
Vitesco Technologies, the former Powertrain division of Continental, has two major automakers signing up to use its integrated electric drive axle. The PSA Group will use the unit in the electric version of the Peugeot 208 and the Opel Corsa-e, which are built on the same platform. And Hyundai, along with its Chinese joint venture partner Beijing Hyundai, will use the axle in the Encino compact SUV and the Lafesta sedan. Benefits of the system include the electric motor, high voltage inverter and gearbox integrated into one unit, which allowed the company to remove a number of connectors and cables to reduce weight and cost. It weighs less than 80 kilograms or roughly 175 pounds, has power outputs from 100 up to 150 kW and a max torque rating of 310 Nm or about 230 lb-ft of torque.
NEW AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE CONSORTIUM FORMED
To help autonomous vehicles become a reality, a group of companies from the auto industry and tech world are partnering up to form the Autonomous Vehicle Computing Consortium. The group includes GM, Toyota, Bosch, Continental, Denso, NVIDIA, NXP Semiconductors and Arm Holdings, which is owned by Japan’s Softbank Group. The companies will first develop a common computing architecture and platform for self-driving vehicles. The goal is to move autonomous cars from the prototype phase to deploying them on a large scale.
NEW BOSCH SEMICONDUCTOR BOOSTS EV RANGE
Last month we had a story about a company named Cree that’s dropping a billion dollars into silicon carbide microchips because it sees that market swelling to $9 billion by 2025. With that kind of growth, it’s no wonder we’re seeing Bosch make a similar move. The supplier has developed its own silicon carbide chips that can increase the range of electrified vehicles by 6%, compared to a vehicle that uses silicon chips. As we said before, big battery breakthroughs are hard to come by, but little developments like this can really add up over time.
COMMUTE TIMES IN U.S. INCREASE
According to the United States Census Bureau, Americans are spending more and more time in their vehicles. The average one-way commute in 2018 was just over 27 minutes long, which is an increase of 2 minutes over the last 10 years. Another way to look at it is, the average person spends over 9 days driving in their car. It’s no wonder people are excited about self-driving cars. Just imagine what you could do with that time. And with a growing population, commute times aren’t likely to shrink.
VOLVO REVEALS MORE DETAILS ABOUT ELECTRIC XC40
Last week, Volvo teased the upcoming all-electric version of the XC40 and now it’s sharing more details. The infotainment system is powered by Android Automotive OS, which is Google’s open source platform. It has Google Assistant, Google Maps and Google Play Store built-in to the system. Volvo is the first company to offer this. The XC40 will also be the first in the company’s lineup to receive software and operating system updates over-the-air. The electric XC40 makes its debut next week.
BMW M8 4-DOOR DEBUTS
BMW is showing off a new version of the M8, this time with 4 doors. It gets the same 4.4L twin-turbo V8 as the 2-door, which comes in two outputs; 600 horsepower for standard models or 617 horses in the M8 Competition. The engine is mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive. The standard model hits 60 miles-per-hour in 3.1 seconds and the Competition does it in 3 seconds. There’s a number of unique touches inside and out, but the Competition model gets a few extra goodies, like stiffer engine mounts, a dual-mode exhaust, suspension tweaks and larger front brakes. While the 4-door is 9.1-inches longer, 1.4-inches wider, 2.3-inches taller and has a wheelbase that’s 7.9-inches longer than the 2-door, it’s actually cheaper. The M8 Gran Coupe starts at nearly $131,000 and the Competition starts at about $144,000. Sales kick off in the first quarter of next year.
CHEVY UPDATES 2021 COLORADO
The 2021 Chevrolet Colorado gets a small design change, starting with the tailgate. Like the Silverado, the new Colorado gets embossed lettering spelling out the Chevrolet name, instead of the traditional bowtie. The basic WT trim, along with the LT and Z71, get a minor change to the front fascia and front skid plates. If you want to get the all-new, lettered, flow-through “Chevrolet” front grille, you have to bump up to the ZR2 trim, which also gets new red tow hooks for the 2021 model year. Lower trim Colorados are debuting tomorrow at the Laughlin Desert Classic in Nevada. We’ll get to see the ZR2 at the SEMA show in Las Vegas in November.
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.