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Runtime: 7:03
0:07 U.S. Car Sales Down in November
0:51 Hyundai Plans Huge Mobility Investment
1:34 McLaren Turns to Asia To Boost Sales
2:48 Ford Focus Active X Gets Vignale Treatment
3:28 Daimler Bus Expands Use of 3D Printed Spare Parts
4:06 Rinspeed MetroSnap Revealed
4:51 Ford & McDonald’s Partner on Sustainable Materials
5:37 Barn Find Revealed
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This is Autoline Daily reporting on all aspects of the global automotive industry.
U.S. CAR SALES DOWN IN NOVEMBER
Car sales were down slightly in November in the U.S. market. According to Wards Intelligence, automakers sold over 1.4 million vehicles, which is a decline of nearly 2% compared to a year ago. But the seasonally adjusted annual rate or SAAR, which dipped to 16.5 million units in October, rebounded to 17.1 million in November. That puts the industry back on track to hit a 17 million SAAR for 2019, which is still pretty healthy. Fleet sales were up 15% last month, while retail sales declined 1%. And through the first 11 months of the year, automakers have sold 15.4 million vehicles in the U.S., which is down 1% compared to a year ago.
HYUNDAI PLANS HUGE MOBILITY INVESTMENT
Hyundai is making a big bet on future mobility. The company announced it will spend $52 billion through 2025 to develop new mobility offerings. That not only includes automobiles but also passenger drones, robotics and last-mile services. These services will all be integrated into one platform. Hyundai also set a goal of selling 670,000 battery electric and fuel cell vehicles worldwide annually and to become a top 3 EV manufacturer by 2025. However, Reuters reports analysts weren’t impressed with the plan and will wait to see if Hyundai can deliver on its promises.
MCLAREN TURNS TO ASIA TO BOOST SALES
Last week, we reported on how McLaren is struggling to make a profit, it’s burning through cash and sales are down 4.5% so far this year. So to offset the downturn, the automaker plans to expand sales in Asia and will open dealerships in Vietnam and the Philippines. It’s also considering entering the Indian and Russian markets. And it hopes an upcoming hybrid, which will be unveiled next year, will help boost sales. But one thing it won’t do is come out with an SUV, even though that segment is growing rapidly. McLaren says it would cost too much to develop one and it wouldn’t fit the brand. It also doesn’t plan to develop an electric car until the cost of components come down. The owners of the McLaren Group are considering an IPO in 2025 but all parts of the company, including the racing group, must be profitable before an IPO occurs.
FORD FOCUS ACTIVE X GETS VIGNALE TREATMENT
The new Focus, which launched last year, has helped Ford of Europe pick up market share in the compact car segment and it continues to expand the Focus lineup. Ford is giving the Vignale treatment to the Focus Active X for the first time, which features a slightly raised ride height. The car comes standard with exclusive 17-inch wheels, black roof and door mirrors, LED headlights, Vignale leather seats and steering wheel and a number of driver assistance technologies. Ford is also going to introduce a new EcoBoost 48-volt mild-hybrid powertrain to the Focus lineup next year, which it says will improve efficiency and performance.
DAIMLER BUS EXPANDS USE OF 3D PRINTED SPARE PARTS
Daimler’s Bus division is expanding its use of 3D printed spare parts. It says it has looked at more than 300,000 parts as possible candidates for 3D printing and that about 200 have already been approved. These non-safety related components include everything from metal brackets to plastic caps and are oftentimes parts that are rarely ordered. Next year it will also expand into printing custom parts for customers. Daimler Bus says it can make door handle inserts, side paneling for seats, decorative parts for folding tables and even custom logos.
RINSPEED METROSNAP REVEALED
Swiss company Rinspeed unveiled another one of its modular vehicle concepts. At CES the past two years, it revealed the Snap and MicroSnap and now its showing off the MetroSnap. All of the vehicles are electric and autonomous, and feature a chassis that can separate from the body. This way the body, including the battery can be swapped in a short amount of time. The MetroSnap features two different body styles, one for passengers or one that can transport cargo, like food delivery for example. Rinspeed will display the MetroSnap at CES next month.
FORD & MCDONALD’S PARTNER ON SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS
Two of the most iconic companies in America are teaming up. Ford and McDonald’s are partnering to turn coffee bean skin into car parts. Every year, millions of pounds of coffee chaff, the dried skin of the bean, is created from roasting coffee beans. Researchers at the companies discovered that the chaff can be mixed with plastic and other additives to create a durable material. This composite can be used to make components like headlamp housings and other interior and under hood components. The parts are 20% lighter and require up to 25% less energy during the molding process. Ford says the heat properties of the components made from coffee chaff are significantly better than the ones it currently uses.
BARN FIND REVEALED
On Monday, we asked you to help Autoline viewer Michael B identify the car his father is leaning on in this picture of him after being discharged from the military around 1965. Of course, you all nailed it. It’s a Renault 4CV. While we’re not sure of the exact year, the 4CV was made from 1947 to 1961. It launched with a rear-mounted 760cc engine, had nicknames like “the lump of butter” and “four paws” and was the first French car to sell more than a million units. We got a ton of responses, which we would like to thank you for and even one from Phil in Europe, who sent a picture of his rear-engined Twingo GT tuned by Renault Sport, which he calls a distant relative to the 4CV.
And be sure to join us for Autoline After Hours this Thursday. Our special guest will be Ernie Brink, a backyard mechanic, who is back to share an update on his improvements to the rotary engine. That’s this Thursday at 3PM eastern time on our website, Autoline.tv.
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.