This is Autoline Daily reporting on all aspects of the global automotive industry.
TRUMP’S FIGHT WITH CALIFORNIA GETS NEW BACKERS
Lines are being drawn in the sand over the Trump Administration’s fuel economy fight with California. General Motors, FCA and Toyota, along with the Association of Global Automakers, have sided with the Administration. The automakers are seeking to intervene in a lawsuit between California and the government, to argue in favor of the administration’s position of their only being one fuel economy standard for the entire nation. This is in contrast to Ford, BMW, Honda and Volkswagen, who signed a deal with California, to boost the fuel economy average of their fleets to 50MPG by 2026. The Justice Department has launched an anti-trust investigation into the agreement. The Trump Administration is also seeking to revoke California’s ability to set its own standards. And as we’ve said all along, this will likely end up being a lengthy court battle.
ZEV STATES SHOULD BUY MORE ELECTRICS
California has a mandate for automakers to sell electric cars, but it also offers incentives for people to buy new and used electrics and it’s building a charging infrastructure. No wonder California leads the world in the adoption of EVs. So far 10 states have adopted California’s mandate, but not all of them offer these kinds of incentives. If these states are mandating that automakers sell electric vehicles, shouldn’t they at least buy them for their state-owned fleets? Most states own thousands of vehicles, but they buy very few electrics. It’s very easy for states to make mandates like this. But they ought to put their money where their mouth is. Otherwise, this just comes across as a bunch of political grandstanding.
VW RETOOLS FOR BIG BOOST IN EV PRODUCTION
Volkswagen has bold plans to boost its EV production. Reuters reports the company is retooling eight plants around the world by 2022 to produce around one million electric cars. That includes two plants in China that will have a production capacity of 600,000 vehicles. And by 2028, the VW Group will be able to produce 22 million electrics. By increasing its scale, VW hopes to push the price of its EVs to around 20,000 euros or a little over $22,000. And how will it help fund the shift? VW plans to increase sales of SUVs with combustion engines to 40% of overall sales by next year, which would be up from 23% in 2018.
MINI SETS U.S. SALES DATE & PRICE FOR 1ST EV
MINI’s first fully electric vehicle, the Cooper SE is going on sale in March of next year and is said to be available across the country, which leads us to believe it will not be sold in just California and the 10 states that have adopted its zero emission mandate. Price for the EV starts at $30,750, including destination charges, but not including any incentives. The Cooper SE has a 32.6 kWh battery that MINI claims has 235 to 270 kilometers of WLTP range, which would be about 130 to 150 EPA miles.
CONTINENTAL HELPS MOTORCYCLE RIDERS
Here’s a new technology that might interest motorcycle riders. Continental has developed a connected services solution that allows users to keep their cell phone tucked away someplace safe. Once the Continental app is downloaded users can integrate other services, like turn-by-turn navigation and music players right into the app. That information will then display in the instrument cluster. And since the system is connected to Continental’s cloud, information like possible road hazards or incoming weather could also be displayed.
BORGWARNER CREATES DUAL CLUTCH UNIT FOR EVs
BorgWarner is using its know how in internal combustion engines and drivelines to improve electric vehicles. Traditional torque vectoring systems for electric vehicles require two electric motors on the rear axle, but BorgWarner has developed a Torque-Vectoring Dual-Clutch unit that eliminates the need for one of those motors. Each of the two clutches can handle up to 2,600 Nm of force, can independently distribute torque to the left and right rear wheels and even has a disconnect feature when all-wheel drive is not needed. Borg says production will kick off in the first half of 2022 for a major OEM’s electric vehicle.
HYUNDAI WANTS INTO U.S. COMMERCIAL VEHICLE MARKET
Last week, Hyundai teased a fuel cell truck concept and now it just made its official debut at the North American Commercial Vehicle show in Atlanta. Called the HDC-6 NEPTUNE, it’s a Class 8 semi-truck whose styling was inspired by steamliner railway trains from the 1930’s. While the truck is meant to show off its fuel cell technology, it’s also to signal the company’s interest in jumping into the commercial vehicle market in the U.S. Hyundai sells commercial vehicles in 130 countries but this is the first time it’s shown one in the U.S.
R8TR TAKES THE WORRY OUT OF ONLINE CAR SHOPPING
Have you ever shopped for a used car online but were afraid you might get ripped off? Well, here’s a service that could alleviate your concerns. R8TR is the name of a startup that developed an app that allows automotive experts to evaluate used cars and send a report to any potential buyer. The service costs about $80, though they charge more for low volume and exotic cars. The rater follows prompts on the app to look for oil leaks, rust, and dents and any other problems.That way if you buy a car online at least you know what you’re getting into, and maybe use that info to negotiate a better price. R8TR already has 500 specialists to inspect cars but it’s looking for others too. So if you really know cars and are interested in making some side money look them up at R8TR.com.
WAYMO TO OFFER RIDER-ONLY SERVICE
Waymo took a big step with its autonomous ride-hailing service. Reuters reports it’s now offering rides without a safety driver onboard for a limited number of users in Phoenix, Arizona. CEO John Krafcik did not say when or if it will expand the rider-only service. Waymo is also testing its self-driving technology in Peterbilt trucks as a way to expand its business.
3D ILLUSION HELPS CLEAR UP HANDICAP PARKING
That striped area next to handicap parking space is there for a reason. It allows enough room for the ramp of a wheelchair accessible vehicle to deploy and for the person to get in and out. But what we didn’t know is too often people park in that access isle. So, in an effort to boost awareness, wheelchair accessible vehicle maker BraunAbility developed a 3D illusion painted into a parking space that might make someone think they’re going to damage their vehicle if they try to park there. With October as National Disability Employment Awareness Month, FCA has rolled out similar spots at its North American headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan.
But that wraps up today’s report, thanks for watching.
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Comments (37)
October 29th, 2019 at 12:12 pm
I looked at the r8tr website…looks like just a visual evaluation, no mechanical inspection. Is it worth $80?
Interesting idea, though
October 29th, 2019 at 12:27 pm
The fact that GM, Toyota and FiatChrysler have sided with the administration on the fuel economy battle is such a disappointment to me personally, knowing so many people at those companies. I’m sure they’re playing a Trump card in all of this but to sacrifice the planet for another billion is shameful. I can’t understand it knowing the people at these companies as I do.
October 29th, 2019 at 12:31 pm
R8TR could be useful, as a part time job. As a tool for me, as a potential buyer, it wouldn’t be for me. I don’t even buy new cars without seeing them, as with the currently popular “dealer trade” systems where you pay new car money for what has become a used car, after it is driven in from another dealer.
October 29th, 2019 at 12:47 pm
The Continental app looks interesting and may be the way the industry is going. I’ve heard rumours that Garmin won’t be coming out with a successor to the Nuvi 6. Problem with the app based system is they usually require data which doesn’t work for a lot of travelers.
October 29th, 2019 at 12:59 pm
The Hyundai Hydrogen heavy duty truck concept is very interesting, and is another confirmation that this technology combination (fuel cell and electric motors) is the most logical alternative to diesel powered semi tractors. Unless there is some monumental breakthrough in battery technology, pure electric semis will only make sense for short haul duty.
The streamliner styling certainly doesn’t hurt either. I think it looks great!
October 29th, 2019 at 1:00 pm
The thing I’d find a system like Continental’s useful for, would be turn by turn navigation, getting its information from google maps. I’d like maybe 3 bright “countdown” LEDs to tell when I’m one minute, 30 seconds, and “now” for a turn, to replace the voice turn-by-turn, along with arrow lights to tell which way. When I ride, I like to minimize noise by using ear plugs, and don’t listen to music or radio.
October 29th, 2019 at 1:02 pm
@2, I agree that this is most disappointing, especially from GM and Toyota, both of whom proclaim to be all about being green and reducing emissions.
October 29th, 2019 at 1:05 pm
5 You have really not been paying attention. THERE HAS BEEN MONUMENTAL CHANGE IN BATTERY TECHONOLOGY. HOW MANY DOZENS OF TIMES DO WE NEED TO SHOW THE 7 FOLD (600%!!) reduction of battery costs JUST BETWEEN 2011 and 2018?>?>???? (SEE BLOOMBERG NEWS ARTICLE OFTEN LINKED HERE). GEEZ!
PS Fool’s Cells are STILL DEAD and WILL NEVER AMOUNT TO ANYTHING BUT BILLIONS IN TAX LOSSES FOR THE UTTER FOOLS WHO KEEP BABBLING ABOUT THEM.
October 29th, 2019 at 1:05 pm
2 it’s a disappointment until the other automakers come back in 2025 and say they can’t reach 50 mpg and want an extension. Especially if CUV/SUVs continue to lead sales.
October 29th, 2019 at 1:08 pm
8 I CANNOT BELIEVE HOW MANY TIMES WE HAVE MENTIONED THIS!
“It might sound obvious to say batteries are getting cheaper, but we’re always amazed to see how many people aren’t aware of it. But battery price have indeed steadily come down for the past 20 years, especially for lithium-ion batteries.
The average price of a lithium-ion battery pack is down to $209/kilowatt-hour and the prices are set to fall below $100/kWh by 2025, according to a Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) survey”
https://cleantechnica.com/2017/12/11/batteries-keep-getting-cheaper/
AND SINCE THIS 2017 article came out, battery costs have CONTINUED TO PLUMMET AND WILL CONTINUE AT LEAST UNTIL THEY REACH $100 and below per KWH. (down from $700+ in 2011!)
October 29th, 2019 at 1:11 pm
9 You do understand that this 54 CAFE MPG has NOTHING IN COMMON with the actual current EPA MPGS?
A 54 MPG CAFE mandate translates to about 35 MPG EPA. Which is still clearly very tough to meet with a fleet of largely SUVs and Pickups. THIS IS where Plug-ins and BEVs are needed, but MASS produced, no losers selling 1,000 a month like the BOLT and the LEAF, who Still lose $10k per copy made.
We need the Detroit 3 to get all their thousands of talented engineers to MAKE A BETTER TESLA.
October 29th, 2019 at 1:27 pm
8 Battery price isn’t the end all of solving BEV shortcomings. It’s in conjunction with power storage. Right now we still have a 1000 lb battery that only has a limited range
October 29th, 2019 at 1:47 pm
http://www.ncsl.org/research/energy/state-electric-vehicle-incentives-state-chart.aspx
I agree with your comments that States should buy more EVs for their fleets, but you don’t have a link to any data, so I hunted for them, and got the above official link. You can click on any state and see what, if anything, they are doing.
October 29th, 2019 at 1:56 pm
10 Batteries are getting cheaper, but BEV over-the-road trucks still seem a long way off, no matter how cheap the batteries get. According to this article, it takes 214 hp, or ~160 KW to move a “big rig” 65 mph.
https://www.nap.edu/read/13288/chapter/7
That’s 246 kWh per 100 miles. If you want to go 600 miles in a day, without long stops, that’s 1476 kWh of batteries, or 16.4 typical Tesla S packs. Is there even room to carry all of that battery, without reducing volume and weight of the payload? I haven’t tried to look up info and calculate that, but it might not be easy to carry that much battery. If you can carry the batteries, with a major infrastructure for overnight charging at truck stops, it could work. It could, or will happen at some point, but not anytime soon.
October 29th, 2019 at 2:07 pm
# 8 Says the guy who drives diesels ,because in his own words said EVs are still too expensive.
October 29th, 2019 at 2:12 pm
There are 100 market segments for BEVs and the last one I would think about would be the long-distance 18 wheelers (most of which should be replaced by freight trains if there was efficient transport in the US)
But even in the 19th century, Clipper ships used sails to cross the Pacific, because if they filled their holds with coal they would have no place to carry cargo, for decades after steamships were 100% efficient for shorter routes. It took DIESEL to finally get rid of them.
October 29th, 2019 at 2:13 pm
Can someone explain how they will arrive at this 50 MPG figure? Will they take the figures of each model and add them and divide by the number of models for the average, or will they multiply the number of each units sold of each model ? Why I ask is say the EVs are being counted in against the average, but they sell very few while their trucks and SUVs that struggle to get to 15-20 MPG sell well It would completely skew the actual true average. What is going to be the penalty for not making the average? Take away all the carbon credit BS .
October 29th, 2019 at 2:19 pm
14 A rough estimate for the weight of cells for that 600 mile semi would be ~15,000 pounds, plus wiring, packaging, etc. I think batteries with higher specific energy than current tech will be needed to make BEV over-the-road big rigs practical, at least for carrying heavy stuff. The batteries, less packaging, would take about 116 cubic feet of volume, which should be available in the underbelly of the trailer. First applications might be for high volume, low weight cargo.
October 29th, 2019 at 2:21 pm
16 Yeah, freight trains are great, but most of the railroads in the US have been ripped up, and the rights-of-way given away, never to be recovered.
October 29th, 2019 at 2:24 pm
17 I repeat, the 50 (54) CAFE MPG has NOTHING TO DO With CURRENT EPA MPG. It is based on decades ago v ery optimistic EPA Numbers, so it is equivalent to about 35 MPG.
IS everybody paying attention? I don’t want to repeat it 100 times, like the drop in the battery costs.
October 29th, 2019 at 2:27 pm
17 The whole CAFE thing is complex, but basically, the CAFE calculations use un-adjusted measurements, and the corresponding EPA estimates are much lower, about 2/3 or less of the CAFE numbers. There are articles about it. Here is one of them.
http://lobby.la.psu.edu/_107th/126_CAFE_Standards_2/Agency_Activities/NHTSA/NHTSA_Cafe_Overview_FAQ.htm
October 29th, 2019 at 2:40 pm
20 Then don’t repeat it. That would be great.
So lets get this strait; VW is going to increase the number of EV capacity and they will fund this shift by almost doubling the sales of its gas burning SUVs. Does anyone else see the irony in this plan?
So similar to GM they plan to have expensive low mileage SUVs to help pay for the EVs that no one wants. Sounds like a great plan! While we are at it we should probably build more coal power plants to charge the electric cars.
October 29th, 2019 at 2:52 pm
22 what would be great would be if everybody was UP TO SPEED and PAYING ATTENTION and LEARNING Something from the time they spend here so we DO NOT have to see this daily nonsense about alleged no breakthrus in BEVs and many, including you today, believing that CAFE 54 is EPA MPG.
October 29th, 2019 at 2:53 pm
Not sure what the continental device costs but the handlebar mount I bought which allows my phone to be mounted and visible and do all those same things was about $15. Using a Bluetooth ear piece I can get directions, see the actual map with red lines showing congestion, music, and more. I don’t see them selling much of these.
October 29th, 2019 at 2:55 pm
22 It is ironic. I’m wondering if that 40% CUVs “next year” is global volume, or US. If US, it wouldn’t mean much, as VW greatly increased their CUV volume by replacing the nice, but pricey Touareg with the Atlas in the US market. I’ll try to find out what that 40% really means.
October 29th, 2019 at 2:56 pm
Larry (wiz)this was taken directly from the transcript so don’t see CAFE in there, do you?
“This is in contrast to Ford, BMW, Honda and Volkswagen, who signed a deal with California, to boost the “fuel economy average” of their fleets to 50MPG by 2026″.
October 29th, 2019 at 5:18 pm
What in the hell does the cost of a replacement EV battery have to do with mpg? NOTHING!
If Trump wins this battle, ICE and the SUV will still hold dominance.
Most people are not interested in a BEV because they are not knowledgeable, but smart enough to know there is an infrastructure problem, they take too long to charge, the range is limited, especially in winter, using A/C or the heater plus other electronics cuts mpg by at least 40% and frequent fast charging diminishes battery life. Believe it or not, once they learn that the battery life is less than anticipated, they won’t be very happy with the replacement costs, no matter of any fact they are becoming less expensive!
AGAIN, Battery costs have nothing to do with mpg’s.
October 29th, 2019 at 6:03 pm
Trump’s favorite coal barron declares bankruptcy. EVs become more environmentally friendly, as power production moves away from coal.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/murray-energy-files-for-bankruptcy-casualty-of-coals-decline-11572343311
October 29th, 2019 at 6:19 pm
I had to give myself a reality check and maybe it’s time for many of you.
How can a person so worldly, a scholar to many, a European second home and has owned so many costly cars(used of course), yet lacks the pc and communication skills one would expect from someone so well rounded and mature?
And how many people do you know of a high position have the time or interest to endlessly comment on this site from morning to late afternoon?
If you think there is something phony, you are right… this person does not exist; let’s just call this fella a clone from the past, but just more polished.
More than likely, the only V8 this person had came in a 4 oz can.
Now that we have refreshed ourselves, it will much easier to show tolerance.
I still think this guy should take up golf! sure is a lot more harmless.
October 29th, 2019 at 6:31 pm
Kit, I am not a fan of coal. The only thing good about coal is the need of coke.
My golf partner is the CEO of a huge coal/coke company. Even he feels the strain from the pollution problem. He met a guy from S. Africa trying to sell low quality coal at a good price. He says it is getting difficult to service the steel industry with coke made from high quality coal. he thinks next year is going to be a real rough one for him and the steel industry.
October 29th, 2019 at 7:53 pm
30 From 1940 to 1976, my father worked for a company that made steel from scrap. I’ve heard that the recycling rate of steel is higher than for any other material, but I can’t find the percentage of steel used is from scrap. It would be interesting to know. I know that the more pure the coal, the better it is for making coke for producing new steel. I think there is still some new steel production in northwestern Indiana. I’ve also read that there is a process to smelt iron using natural gas, rather than coke.
October 29th, 2019 at 8:05 pm
Steel from scrap is a good question. Let me ask. Let me also ask about the natural gas method and how common it is. I’ll get back with you
October 29th, 2019 at 8:24 pm
Out of curiousity can the current U.S. electrical grid handle a rapid increase in BEV ownership?
October 29th, 2019 at 8:48 pm
R8tr is about half the price of other auto inspection companies, pays its inspectors much less than other companies, and provides less information on their reports. You get what you pay for and maybe that is enough for most buyers. It also appears that they make a profit by selling shirts and other gear.
October 29th, 2019 at 8:49 pm
The “grid” can handle a lot of EV charging, if it’s mostly done off-peak.
October 30th, 2019 at 9:09 am
29 Many have pondered those same thoughts. Doesn’t make much sense how someone so “supposedly” educated and worldly would lack normal social traits such as manners, politeness, respect. I blame the internet
Its easy for people to hide behind a screen and spout stuff most would never say in person. Or maybe that person is just used to being the person in the room that is educating everyone else and has gotten used to talking down to his students. That has to be a God awful class.
Just like to say I appreciate everyone else that contributes helpful polite posts here. I don’t always agree with some but we can agree to disagree with mutual respect. Its never personal for me. Have a great Wednesday!
October 30th, 2019 at 12:10 pm
It’s 12:10 PM already. Why no show yet?