AD #2715 – California Slashes EV Incentives, Mercedes Consolidates Proving Grounds, Mitsubishi Teases Updated Mirage
November 11th, 2019 at 11:50am
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Runtime: 8:15
0:07 China Considers Cutting EV Subsidies Again
0:46 California Slashes EV Incentives
1:45 Mercedes Consolidates Proving Grounds
2:32 1955 Hill Valley McDonald’s
3:11 Lyft Expands Autonomous Testing
3:41 Ford Tests 3D Knitting Seat Covers
4:40 Magna Improves Door Latches
5:20 Mitsubishi Teases Updated Mirage
5:39 PSA & FCA To Keep All Brands
6:14 Carbon’s Unique 3D Printing Approach
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This is Autoline Daily reporting on the global automotive industry.
CHINA CONSIDERS CUTTING EV SUBSIDIES AGAIN
Life could be getting a lot harder for automakers who want to sell electric cars in California and China. Earlier this year, China cut subsidies in half, from roughly $7,000 down to about $3,500, and sales of battery electrics began to drop immediately. Last month, they plunged 45%. And now Bloomberg reports that China is considering cutting subsidies yet again. No doubt China was starting to worry about the cost. In 2017, it handed out $3 billion to people buying electric cars, and that was before sales really started to get going.
CALIFORNIA SLASHES EV INCENTIVES
Meanwhile, California will cut subsidies for EVs and plug-in hybrids next month. Under the new rules, car buyers can only apply for one rebate for one electric car. Before they could buy two EVs and get a rebate for each one. Moreover, the rebate is capped at cars that cost $60,000. That eliminates Tesla’s Model X and S, the Jaguar I-Pace, the Audi e-Tron and Porsche Taycan. Rebates for EVs were cut from $4,500 down to $2,000. Plug-ins were cut from $3,500 to $1,000 and their pure EV driving range has to increase from 20 miles to 35 miles, or they don’t qualify. Look for a big surge in EV sales this month in California as everyone rushes in to buy one before the subsidies drop.
MERCEDES CONSOLIDATES PROVING GROUNDS
Mercedes used to have proving grounds strewn around the world. Not anymore. It just consolidated all of them to one main proving ground and tech center at Immendingen in southern Germany. Repurposed from its prior use during WWII, the facility is now home to 68km, or about 42 miles, of test roads. Daimler is developing its gas, hybrid, electric and autonomous vehicles here as well as driver assistance tech. The company claims it invested over 200 million euros, or about $221 million, to construct the facility which has tracks simulating global roadways and driving conditions. And we suspect it’s closing down all its other proving grounds as a cost saving measure.
1955 HILL VALLEY MCDONALD’S
Kevin Hisel is a guy we follow on Facebook because he always has humorous posts that put a smile on our face. We liked this one that allegedly shows a picture of a McDonald’s from 1955. And we especially appreciated one of the cars that supposedly showed up in the parking lot.
LYFT EXPANDS AUTONOMOUS TESTING
Lyft continues to expand testing of autonomous vehicles. The ride hailing service says it’s driving 4 times as many autonomous miles every quarter than it was 6 months ago. Soon it will be adding to its fleet of vehicles. Lyft is currently using Ford Fusions, but is also adding Chrysler Pacifica minivans because they offer size and functionality. Lyft is opening a second self-driving facility in Silicon Valley as well, so it can increase the number of tests it runs.
FORD TESTS 3D KNITTING SEAT COVERS
Ford is testing an interesting new process to make seat covers. Traditional seat covers can be made of up of 40 different pieces that have to be sewn together, but by using a process called 3D knitting they can be made from a single piece of fabric. Not only does it reduce production steps and waste material, but different types of yarn can be used and customers can add unique touches like pockets or extra padding. On top of that, built-in connectivity, integrated heating elements, wireless charging and sensors to monitor the driver’s health could be added as well. This is not a new concept. The supplier Delphi developed a 3D knitting machine for seat covers back in the 1990s, with the idea of allowing customers to customize their covers, such as printing pictures of their favorite pet or sports team. Maybe Delphi was just ahead of its time, but the idea never went anywhere.
MAGNA IMPROVES DOOR LATCHES
It’s amazing how much innovation comes out of the supplier industry. And it doesn’t always have to be hi-tech. Magna came up with an improvement that makes door latches operate more smoothly and with less effort. It simply added a ball bearing to the latch. So instead of metal sliding on metal, the latch slides on the bearing. That reduces the opening effort by 40-60%. As automakers add bigger and stiffer door seals to make cars quieter, the opening and closing effort has gone up. This door latch, what Magna calls Comfort Plus, more than compensates for that.
MITSUBISHI TEASES UPDATED MIRAGE
Mitsubishi is going to show off refreshed and updated versions of the Mirage, which is called the Space Star in some markets and the Attrage, which is the Mirage G4 in some areas. As you can see, the vehicles, which debut on the 18th of this month, feature new grille designs and lighting signatures.
PSA & FCA TO KEEP ALL BRANDS
Many have wondered what will happen to all the brands with an FCA & PSA merger. PSA CEO, Carlos Tavares has cleared that up. He says they could keep all of their brands if the two companies merge. Of course, that’s what the top brass says anytime one company buys another: “No one is going to lose their job and nothing is going to get cut.” Until they change their minds.
CARBON’S UNIQUE 3D PRINTING APPROACH
3D printing has made big strides in the last decade but one of the big drawbacks to using it in mass production is the amount of time it takes to make a component. However, a company called Carbon has come up with a solution to speed up the process. On last week’s Autoline After Hours, we were joined by Dr. Joseph DeSimone from Carbon and he explained how its process is different.
Dr. Joseph DeSimone, Carbon
“But basically, chemists grow crystals, right? We grow things. And so we took an approach where we use light and oxygen to grow parts. And we grow them 25 to 100 to 1,000 times faster than traditional 3D printing. And it gives you the power of light. I think of light as our chisel. So, we can make really complex objects very quickly. That was the first breakthrough. The second breakthrough was, how do you get a real part out of a light-based printer? Cause most people think of 3D printing you think of trinkets, you think of brittle plastics. We had a breakthrough where we combined what we call dual-cure reactive resins. Think about epoxy, two liquids come together, a great material. No one ever went down that kind of path because the printers were too slow. Because we’re going really, really fast we knew we can get into reactive liquids, we also made them UV curable. And now we have over 50 different resins, that have the properties to be a final part in a whole host of applications that you can make digitally without molds.”
To learn more about Carbon and its unique approach to 3D printing, you can watch that entire show right now on our website, Autoline.tv or you can find it on our YouTube channel.
But that’s it for today, thanks for watching and please join us again tomorrow.
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Comments (39)
November 11th, 2019 at 12:36 pm
Elon had better hurry and start delivering cars in China while there is still a market. I wonder if this news has affected Tesla stock? They certainly have to be concerned with a 45% drop.
John great observation on the FCA/PSA merger. Spot on!
November 11th, 2019 at 12:37 pm
Oh that rascally Marty McFly! The only thing that would have appeased Doc Brown as a result of the spy shot is that it didn’t appear until 2019, well beyond the possible effect on 2015.
November 11th, 2019 at 12:45 pm
The McDonald’s shot with the DeLorean was more likely 1956….not 1955 , unless the 1956 Ford next to it was brand new, 4th quarter 1955. Just showing you I pay attention.
I really enjoy your daily reports.
November 11th, 2019 at 12:46 pm
When you combine auto companies one is always cannibalize.Just ask any one who worked at American Motors…”What happened to you?”
November 11th, 2019 at 12:57 pm
I watched the show about the 3D printing, pretty amazing what they are doing. There sure are some smart people in this world.
November 11th, 2019 at 2:00 pm
If the FCA/PSA deal goes through, there will be a lot of job losses, especially in Europe, even if they keep all of the brands. Some Opel/Vauxhall models are already becoming badge engineered Peugeots, or nearly so, and more of that will happen with Fiat.
November 11th, 2019 at 2:09 pm
3 You know your mid-’50s Fords better than I do. I can tell a ’55 and ’56 Chevy or Plymouth when I see them, but not the Fords.
November 11th, 2019 at 2:17 pm
John/Sean: on the 3D printing AAH (I watched but was wondering about something). At one point, I think one of the moderators asked if the sequence that was shown (growing the part) was real time. Dr. DeSimone said, no it was speeded up. Did he ever reveal how fast the sequence was sped up. I ask because he also stated that his process could be 10, 100 or even faster than current 3D printing.
November 11th, 2019 at 2:21 pm
I just wanted to say a big Thanks to all of our veterans on Veterans Day, without your sacrifice our great country would cease to exist.
Really liked the story on the ball bearing door latches, as a former human factors engineer I know how important it is to make machinery user friendly, and as a mechanical engineer it is nice to see something new without a dozen wires sticking out of it.
November 11th, 2019 at 2:39 pm
#8. No he did not mention how fast they sped up the video. If you’ve ever seen other industrial 3D printers, they are as slow as molasses. If you see Carbon’s printers they don’t look that fast, but they are much quicker than everything else out there.
November 11th, 2019 at 2:50 pm
9 Those latches sound like a great idea. Now, if car companies would get over the gimmicky handles used to release them. Tesla and Jaguar come to mind, but I’m sure there are others. How about those simple, recessed ones like on a 1957 Chrysler? I’ll try to find a picture.
November 11th, 2019 at 2:53 pm
11 Like on this car:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/45676495@N05/26794505952/in/photolist-Nk8GHs-yLArWp-Nm1rWG-NCeEeh-HreU7D-KMRQQt-xfwm9g-nm8dXj-zKhkJg-8svPsD-NVtUR7-NNCBFP-ywMr2h-N2H86W-Nm1oxh-GPJR7y-FMhSj6-GVx61A-7vTJwv-7vTKoP-7vTKNe-7vTK3n-7p8gra-zncrXF-NMnnmt-8Mjbpv-NMxg5k-9mpKBf-7p8han-7pc8B9-7p8gYV-7p8hHn-7p8gPr-EtJf5o-GVx7pC-8YBKbk-4PjvGb-EKnPgw-EtJePo-7pc9ro-DY8JDW-KwUKtL-KwUHNw-KwUJpS-KwUGU7-KwULom-KVh2pf-KVh4GS-KRjAwc-K2GUaV
November 11th, 2019 at 3:10 pm
Did we catch a brief glimpse of the new Ford Mustang-influenced EV in that piece on the 3D knitted seat covers? As the woman turned the fabric, the Ford logo appeared and then a vehicle image that doesn’t look to me like any current model Ford. Check it out at 4:33.
November 11th, 2019 at 4:00 pm
7,11: The easy to spot differences between a ‘55 and ‘56 Ford are the grille on all models and the sweep spear on the Fairlane. The ‘55 grille has round parking lights and the ‘56 has oblong ones. The ‘56 Fairlane sweep spear has ribs on the horizontal part and is wider than the ‘55. There are many other differences, but that should be enough to tell them apart. That ‘57 Chrysler is one beautiful car but I like the handles on my Flex better: just grab and pull.
November 11th, 2019 at 4:12 pm
So China, with the trillions and trillions in US treasuries, and the 12 trillion US dollar Economy, and you say this with a straight face, China is worried it paid three lousy billion in EV subsidies? Seriously?
$3 billion means $1.60 for each Chinese Citizen, PER YEAR. Seriously, guys? Are you sure you passed Arithmetic 101 in first grade, or did you draw Camaros on your notebook instead of paying attention?
Shi Jin Ping, CHina’s Supreme Leader (for life too!) will be having the laugh of his life if anybody tells him the above.
November 11th, 2019 at 4:15 pm
As a resident of Michigan, who does not even allow Tesla to sell cars here directly and avoid the fat dealer middleman, my heart goes out to the poor Silicon Valley Billionaires who will not be allowed any more to go out and buy two EVS at once AND get two subsidies, but just one. What a tragedy! Sophocles should be alive to write it.
CA is already saturated with BEVs. AND they Can STILL Buy a Model 3, can’t they. AND a Model Y later. Neither will cost more than $50k, let alone 60 (base model)
November 11th, 2019 at 4:19 pm
“FORD TESTS 3D KNITTING SEAT COVERS ”
Seriously, is this ALD or Saturday Night Live? Kudos for the Laughs! I am sure that Humpty Dumpty Hackett, with this bold move, has revolutionized the automotive landscape, and his face will be in the Auto Hall of Fame, maybe 1,000 steps below Elon Musk’s. Here is to dreaming, Humpty!
November 11th, 2019 at 4:23 pm
Happy Vet’s Day (also happy Pet’s day). Actually it is already Nov 12 in CHina. I told you, it is REALLY Advanced.
I noticed my neighbors in the $500 Billion Shanghai Economy are scrambling to come up with that $1.60 per capita, PER YEAR, so China can continue to give out $3 billion in BEV Subsidies.
Still, as that congressman said, “A billion here and a billion there, and soon we are talking about real money”
November 11th, 2019 at 4:30 pm
14 I found some ’55 and ’56 Ford pictures, so now I’ll know how to tell the difference, at least from the front. With the Chrysler door handle, you just put your fingers in the lower part, palm up, and pull. My first car was a ’57 Chrysler. Those cars look good, had great powertrains, but rusted badly, even before there was much road salt.
November 11th, 2019 at 4:35 pm
18 China probably still has the much bigger incentive for EVs, essentially free registration, and permission to bring them into the cities.
November 11th, 2019 at 4:45 pm
20 China does not mind ICEs in the poor rural areas, but does not want them in the big cities (and there are a lot of them, with 5-10 to 22 million population each).
Not only do they have to pay a $15,000 license fee to use an ICE in Shanghai, (and similar in 5 other huge cities like Beijing etc) they may not even get a slot, they award very few of them, if any, and have some lottery scheme to award them.
November 11th, 2019 at 5:02 pm
But the loophole is that a Plug-in Hybrid also counts as a clean vehicle and saves the $15,000 US and is allowed to operate here in Shanghai, as my assistant who bought that BYD Rav4 sized plug-in crossover last year (for only $26k US) told me
November 11th, 2019 at 5:24 pm
https://europe.autonews.com/automakers/vws-new-china-ev-plant-starts-trial-production?utm_source=daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20191111&utm_content=article6-headline
VW EV plant in China also starts trial production (they will eventually make 600,000 a year there, even more than Tesla’s 500,000)
November 11th, 2019 at 5:25 pm
22. That’s a big loophole, if there is no way to assure that they have enough range for city commutes, or if they are even plugged in.
November 11th, 2019 at 5:25 pm
https://europe.autonews.com/automakers/electric-suv-lead-chinas-charge-european-market?utm_source=daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20191111&utm_content=article5-headline
While the Chinese invade Europe with the first of several EV exported there.
November 11th, 2019 at 5:32 pm
24 Commutes here are short, the secretary with the Caddy XT5 has a… 6 KM commute. And many live within walking distance of work, it;s not like in the US.
At noon I will have lunch with my colleague/assistant who will then drive me back to the hotel, and will ask him if he can recharge it at home, and how many times (if any) did he put gas in it.
I bet in downtown Shanghai with the 50 story apartment buildings and the 100-150 story Business hi rises, they cannot recharge on the street, but maybe they built 20-story underground garages with plugs. I would not put it past the Chinese, they really like to build, and build big, and it has not changed in 2,500 years.
November 11th, 2019 at 7:04 pm
18. That was senator Everett McKinley Dirksen of Illinois, who besides being quite an orator, apparently also had a sense of humor.
November 11th, 2019 at 8:38 pm
27 I saw Dirksen from the senate gallery in about 1966 when visiting a college friend in northern Virginia, and “touristing” in DC.
November 11th, 2019 at 11:33 pm
27 Thanks, I supposed it was Proxmire with his golden fleece awards.
I just came back from lunch, my colleague/assistant cannot plug-in at home, so he uses the U parking plugs, they are not 100% free, he still has to pay something (very little, he told me) for the electricity. His commute is only 9 km, so the 80 km range on electric is more than sufficient and the battery is always full on weekdays. he has done 12,000 km in one year, so he also takes it on long trips.
November 12th, 2019 at 1:14 am
The end of December will see the last Federal tax credit disappear for Tesla purchasers. My expectation is a 2019 Q4 sales bump as 2020 Q1 purchases were moved forward. The 2020 Q2 numbers will tell the tale of Tesla sales in the USA going head-to-head with everything else.
TSLA the company will still get emissions credit revenue … as long as other companies sell vehicles that need emissions credits.
November 12th, 2019 at 8:57 am
30 People will probably “move forward” some Tesla purchases to get the tax credit, but I can’t imagine the tax credit’s going away will affect sales much, long term. The $3750 credit is only about 6-7% of the total sale price of a typically equipped Model 3, with sales tax, and less than 5% of the price of an S or X.
November 12th, 2019 at 9:03 am
If Elon really wants to sell more cars in the US, he needs to come up with a system to make Billy Bob’s Used Cars in Waco TX a franchised dealer, while adding little additional cost in selling the cars. Well, maybe he should start in Austin and San Antonio, but it would seem that you could have franchised dealers, by state laws, without having a fancy showroom and shop, and not add much to the price of the cars.
November 12th, 2019 at 9:40 am
31 Tesla should take a page from the Elio sales plan. Since Elio was not planning to set up a huge dealer network they partnered with Pep Boys. They would be the service and sales centers had they ever made it into production. Tesla could license an already existing service centers like Midas, Goodyear, etc and make them dealerships. I would think they could still retain the same no haggle pricing similar to what Saturn did. Kick a few hundred bucks to the service center to deliver the cars and they make their money on repairs as a certified service center.
Either way I’m with you Kit and doubt that tax credits will have much affect here in the states. The people that want an EV will buy one regardless of a 6 or 7% tax credit.
My concern for Tesla and VW is they have plans for large volumes of EVs to be sold in China with their new plants and we might be seeing the peak of sales this year with a gradual decline after 2020.
November 12th, 2019 at 9:53 am
15 I’m pretty sure the folks at AD not only paid attention in math class but probably also drew Camaros in their notebooks. The problem they face is people not paying attention to what they report on. China paid 3 billion in 2017. That’s two years ago and when EVs were just getting started. If sales doubled in 2018 then again in 2019 your talking 12 Billion. Which I could see why the government would start to be concerned with how much they were subsidising as sales continue to grow.
Like many people here we are talented enough to do math and sketch cars and can do it without being insulting.
November 12th, 2019 at 10:33 am
34 Yeah, using an existing chain like Midas would be simpler, and probably better than using one-off businesses like I said in #32.
November 12th, 2019 at 11:18 am
35 Maybe Bob knows, but what do you do if you buy a Tesla and have a mechanical problem? Especially if you bought in a state like Michigan? Specifically, warranty work and if your model-3 is broken down along side the road do you have to have it towed to another state?
November 12th, 2019 at 11:31 am
33-35) Tesla will need a sales plan like the ideas you suggested, but Musk and his ego may have a different idea.
Never the less, I expect Tesla will have a decent Q4. They have more orders for the more profitable cars, like the S. If they are able to meet their annual prediction, Tesla just may prove they can hold a profit while making capital investments.
One the other hand, after the New Year will tell all.
November 12th, 2019 at 12:27 pm
I wonder how many millions Tesla saves every year not having to deal with emissions compliance testing.
November 12th, 2019 at 2:38 pm
#36 – I’m going through that problem now. I live in Huntsville but the nearest Tesla service is in Nashville, 122 mi away. Like BMW, they seem to have delays getting some parts like the HW 3 computer for full self driving.
The Model 3 is usable but things like tires and wheels Tesla service asked me to work with local tire shops. Sad to say some shops seem terrified of Tesla’s … which is fine by me. More fun for me.
One way to create independent Tesla mechanics is to let retired engineers fix their own cars.