AD #2781 – New Hyundai i30 Unveiled; NTSB Rips Tesla & NHTSA Over Autopilot; NIO May Receive Bailout
February 26th, 2020 at 11:53am
Listen to “AD #2781 – New Hyundai i30 Unveiled; NTSB Rips Tesla and NHTSA Over Autopilot; NIO May Receive Bailout” on Spreaker.
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Runtime: 10:04
0:07 Global Sales Projected to Drop Due to Coronavirus
1:14 NIO May Receive Bailout
1:45 Rivian Struggling to Open Stores
2:31 NTSB Rips Tesla & NHTSA Over Autopilot
3:25 Slow I-Pace Sales Force American Axle to Adjust
4:24 Study Says Ride Hailing Increasing CO2 Emissions
5:29 PSA Reveals New DS 9 Luxury Sedan
6:42 Mahle Is Adapting to EV Growth
7:34 Lordstown Motors Receives First Order
8:21 New Hyundai i30 Unveiled
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This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.
GLOBAL SALES PROJECTED TO DROP DUE TO CORONAVIRUS
The coronavirus continues to be a major disruption in the auto industry. FCA warned in a regulatory filing that it poses a risk to its global business. Toyota also warned that manufacturing in Japan will be affected by parts shortages in the coming weeks and it’s also banning non-essential travel for all employees in Japan. Meanwhile, car sales continue to plunge in China because the virus is keeping customers out of showrooms. Last week sales dropped 83%, which followed a 92% decline in the first two weeks of February. But the sales decline won’t be limited to China. Moody’s is forecasting that global sales will fall 2.5% in 2020, which is worse than the 0.9% drop it previously projected. And LMC Automotive says if things get worse, sales could fall by as much as 3 to 4 million units, which would represent a 4.4% decline. As we’ve said, 2020 is going to be a lousy year for the auto industry.
NIO MAY RECEIVE BAILOUT
NIO, the Chinese EV maker looked like it was going to run out of money. Despite spending heavily on flashy advertising and dealerships, sales of its electric SUVs have been underwhelming. But NIO could be getting a bailout from the provincial government in Hefei and says it’s going to raise $1.4 billion. That sent its stock soaring. Even so, one analyst who follows the stock says the outlook for NIO is still dubious.
RIVIAN STRUGGLING TO OPEN STORES
Tesla spent years battling states for the right to sell its vehicles directly to customers. Thanks to loopholes and negotiating its own deals, it now has stores or showrooms in 28 states. But Tesla’s efforts haven’t paved the way for other EV startups. Bloomberg reports that Rivian is running into trouble in Colorado to sell directly to consumers without a franchised dealer network. It hoped to open its first store in the state this year but it’s been lobbying legislators for the past year with no luck. Rivian will instead open its first showrooms in California. The company is also lobbying legislators in Washington, New York and Pennsylvania and it hired a former Tesla lobbyist to lead the effort.
NTSB RIPS TESLA & NHTSA OVER AUTOPILOT
The chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board ripped into Tesla and NHTSA over the safety of Tesla’s Autopilot system. The remarks were made during a hearing to determine the cause of a fatal crash in California in 2018 that involved a Tesla Model X, where the driver was playing games on his phone. The chairman said Tesla has ignored safety recommendations issued in 2017 to make Autopilot safer. And he criticized NHTSA for not acting on a recommendation from the NTSB to create safeguards for systems like Autopilot. And because of these findings, Consumer Reports is calling on all automakers to include driver monitoring technology with these types of driver assistance systems. And it wants NHTSA to enforce that rule and says it needs to take real action to keep people safe.
SLOW I-PACE SALES FORCE AMERICAN AXLE TO ADJUST
The other day we reported that Jaguar and Audi were cutting back on EV production and Mercedes was delaying production for a year because of battery shortages. We said we don’t believe them, because we believe it’s really about dismally slow EV sales. At a presentation for investors yesterday, David Dauch, the CEO of American Axle, said sales of the Jaguar I-Pace are running at half of what Jaguar expected, and that American Axle had to adjust its business accordingly. With the exception of Tesla, all EVs have sold well under their sales targets which is putting a financial strain on the car companies and their suppliers.
STUDY SAYS RIDE HAILING INCREASING CO2 EMISSIONS
While a recent study from the University of Oxford in England found that ride-hailing led to a 9% reduction in serious accidents, a new report from the Union of Concerned Scientists says that those services are increasing carbon emissions. The group found that on average a solo ride-hailing trip emits nearly 50% more carbon dioxide than a solo trip in a private vehicle. The reason for the big increase is that ride-hailing vehicles have to drive to the customer before taking them to their destination and oftentimes have to wait with the engine idling. For that same reason, ride-hailing emits 70% more carbon dioxide on trips than a person who would have otherwise taken a bus, train, bike or walked. While shared rides are better, they only account for 15% of all ride-hailing trips in the U.S. We agree with the conclusion of the Concerned Scientists: ride-hailing companies need to do a better job of encouraging shared rides and need more electric vehicles.
PSA REVEALS NEW DS 9 LUXURY SEDAN
The PSA Group’s luxury brand DS is expanding its lineup. It revealed the all-new DS 9 mid-size sedan, which rides on the same platform as the Peugeot 508 but with a longer wheelbase. Overall exterior design is pretty muted but it does have an expressive running light that almost looks like a tear streaming down from the headlamp assembly. Engine choices are all gasoline and will range from 225 horsepower up to 360. They can be paired with 2- or all-wheel drive and are mated to an 8-speed transmission. A plug-in hybrid is also available, which combines a turbo engine with 80 kW electric motor and a 11.9 kWh battery. It returns 40 to 50 kilometers of WLTP range or about 22 to 27.5 EPA miles. Other highlights include a fairly luxurious-looking interior with lots of leather, a large center display screen and Level 2 autonomous capabilities. The DS 9 is made in China and will be sold in global markets starting in the second half of this year.
MAHLE IS ADAPTING TO EV GROWTH
Automotive suppliers that make traditional components are under threat from electric vehicles, unless they adapt. And a good example is the German supplier Mahle. It started making electrically powered air conditioning compressors for electric cars. Even more, its compressor is not just used to cool the passenger cabin, it’s also used to cool the battery, the traction motor and the power electronics. Mahle says it is also beneficial for hybrids and traditional internal combustion engines since the compressor can be used on demand, which increases fuel economy and reduces CO2 emissions.
LORDSTOWN MOTORS RECEIVES FIRST ORDER
The other day we showed you how Lordstown Motors is using hub motors on its electric pickup truck, called the Endurance. Today Lordstown announced it got its first order. First Energy, an electric utility company in Ohio says it will buy 250 of the electric pickups for its service fleet. First Energy says one of the reasons it likes the electric trucks is that they will also serve as power units for field repairs instead of using portable generators or leaving the engines running in their traditional trucks. Lordstown says the Endurance will start at $52,000, have a driving range of 250 miles and a towing capacity of 7,500 pounds. It’s supposed to go into production at the end of this year.
NEW HYUNDAI i30 UNVEILED
Hyundai revealed the new i30. It comes as a sedan, wagon and hatchback, which is also sold as the Elantra GT in some markets. Hyundai describes the design as bold and sleek and it now features a grille similar to the new Sonata. The automaker’s sporty trim, called N Line is now available on all body types, a first for the wagon. The interior sees a new 7-inch digital instrument cluster, a ten and a quarter inch infotainment screen and 3 new accent colors. It also has a number of driver assistance features. Depending on the market, there will be a number of new and updated powertrain options to choose from. The engines range from a little over 100 horsepower to about 160 and can be paired to a 6-speed manual or 7-speed dual clutch transmission. 48-volt mild hybrid technology is also an option on a few of the setups. The new i30 will debut in Geneva.
And be sure to join us for Autoline After Hours tomorrow afternoon. The topic will be about creating a racing series for autonomous cars and joining John and Gary for that discussion is John Warniak from SEMA, and the one and only Autoextremist, Peter DeLorenzo. It should be a fun show and it kicks off at 3PM eastern time on Thursday.
But that’s it for today, thanks for watching and we’ll see you again tomorrow.
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Comments (35)
February 26th, 2020 at 12:11 pm
Did the study on ride hailing and emissions take into account the reduced numbers of vehicles manufactured? Like NYC’s taxi and other public transport network, it allows many to not even own a car. Obviously, it’s probably a fairly small number of overall ride hailing users, but I’m sure at least some users would have to buy a car without it, and as we know, building a car has a huge environmental impact.
February 26th, 2020 at 12:14 pm
A. the DS-9. Not bad for a car made in China, not? In fact, not bad even for a car made in Germany! Sleek exterior, pleasant interior (despite the utter absence of wood veneer in a ‘luxury’ car). But the name “DS” is the heir to the amazing DS 19 and 21 of the 50s and 60s, a car too advanced for its time, a copy of which is owned by John Mc, if I’m not mistaken.
B. Compare the DS interior with the dreary, joyless, plastic grey and black interior of that cheap Hyundai. Light Years apart. In fact, few mass produced cars today have really attractive interiors.
C. as for AAH, the topis is really of no interest to me. Who cares about racing robots?
February 26th, 2020 at 12:19 pm
I think the new grille design language works much better on the i30 than the Sonata. The Sonata looks flat and square up front, and this is where the smaller rounder dimensions of the i30 really help! Plus, just look at that grille texture, far out!
February 26th, 2020 at 12:20 pm
This whole dealership requirement is such bologna especially when it comes to manufacturers that do not already have dealerships. There is no good reason to not allow manufacturers to sell direct to consumers. If I was Tesla or Rivian I would just partner with a global repair shop like Goodyear, Tireman, Midas and establish them as my dealer network. Sorta what Elio had planned with Pepboys.
Speaking of Elio have they died a slow death or what?
February 26th, 2020 at 12:21 pm
Sean, the DS 9′s teardrop running light is a unique touch on an otherwise solid and attractive design that doesn’t really break any new ground. However, there is one feature that I am surprised you did not include in your report. The rear blinkers are tucked into the C pillar, nearly at roof height. This allows them to be seen more easily and hearkens back to the DS model of the 50′s that used a similar placement.
February 26th, 2020 at 12:26 pm
And, I agree with Larry. The DS 9 is a nice execution with a beautiful interior. Its a shame we won’t be able to buy or lease them here in the U.S.
February 26th, 2020 at 12:33 pm
So no more business to American Axle from Merc or Jag after calling them out on the BS battery shortages. Don’t imagine they’ll be too thrilled to have their half baked excuse debunked.
Autonomous racing? So its watching cars with no drivers run around a track? Sounds about as exciting as starting the washer and dryer at the same time to see which one finishes first.
Actually this has potential to be detrimental to AVs. If they have any crashes it would just solidify consumer concern for this technology. I could see it being a useful learning tool for further development but not good as a spectator sport.
February 26th, 2020 at 1:04 pm
Just got this email from my utility (DTE)
“Did you know that charging an electric vehicle overnight is like paying around $1.00 per gallon of gas?
Simply plug in at night and start each day fully charged when you install a Level 2 EV charger at your home. One hour of Level 2 charging can provide up to 30 miles of range, so you are ready to go each morning.
Plus, through DTE’s Charging Forward Program, you could be eligible for a $500 rebate with the installation of a qualified Level 2 charger.”
that charger does not seem very impressive. I wonder how much it costs, too, if you get a $500 rebate. And $1 a gallon equivalent does not sound too much of a bargain.
February 26th, 2020 at 1:05 pm
7 I think autonomous racing would be interesting, at least at first, to see what the number, and nature of crashes would be. If they just go round and round with occasional passes, and nothing else, it would be boring very quickly, especially with no “favorite drivers” as many people have with regular racing.
February 26th, 2020 at 1:12 pm
The PSA new sedan would be great rebadged as a Chrysler for North America.
February 26th, 2020 at 1:16 pm
If a significant part of the extra gas used by ride sharing is related to idling to keep A/C going, using hybrids would be a huge benefit. If I’m sitting in my car, I normally turn it off, and open a window, depending on the weather, but if it is 95 degrees, I’d leave the A/C on. Doing that with a Prius or Camry hybrid, the engine runs probably 10% of the time, at most, to keep the HV battery charged to keep the A/C going. Electric A/C, as Mahle is now making, would also be very worthwhile for 48 mild hybrids, for the same reason. Is electric A/C ever used with a regular ICE car with only a 12 volt system? I wouldn’t think there’d be enough battery, or alternator capacity for it to be worthwhile in that case.
February 26th, 2020 at 1:19 pm
I like the PSA sedan, as others here. If it is a good car, in how it drives, efficiency, refinement, etc., It might make sense to sell it in North America sometime in the future. As Victor suggests, sell it as a Chrysler, if the FCA-PSA merger happens.
February 26th, 2020 at 1:32 pm
9 Yeah! Like I said I could see AV racing being interesting from the engineering/learning perspective of which manufacturer has the best system and which one could manage its way through the field effectively. Also which one is the worse and possibly ends in a crash. But as a regular spectator sport I think it would flash like battle bots did. Was cool for a couple years and then got old.
The only way I think they could keep it exciting would be to introduce new obstacles with each race. A few fake children running lose on the track, add some rain or snow, tunnels and potholes, random stopped vehicles, stuff like that. Id watch that.
February 26th, 2020 at 1:34 pm
I watch the NTSB hearing and their reasonable recommendations are in the web link. However, there were technical flaws: (1) did not discuss the radar unit but only optical sensors; (2) did not give a count or frequency of Autopilot updates (five in my first year), and; (3) NTSB kicked Tesla out of the investigation team. There is one sliver lining.
The current administration is hostile to government regulations. I don’t see the NTSB having much success with their recommendations.
BTW, the NTSB did not look at relative accident rates of Autopilot vs Teslas not using Autopilot and those Teslas that have turned off the other safety features. There will always be some fatal Autopilot accidents but looking at these without looking at the big picture, doesn’t bode well for the big pictures. Like “Bell the Hybrid,” focus on making hybrids and EVs make noise delayed pedestrian detection systems and ignores the “A” column width problem.
February 26th, 2020 at 1:47 pm
Maybe Infinity dropped their trademark for I30, never had one or sold it to Hyundai; anyway, when I saw the story on the Hyundai that’s where my mind went to. I30, i30; seems the same to me.
February 26th, 2020 at 1:50 pm
13 I know people who do battle bots and drone racing, and have a lot of fun with it, but both have/had a limited lifetime as spectator sports on TV. I might have gotten interested in drone racing, had it existed when I was younger.
Your ideas for autonomous racing would be good, especially the fake children, or deer and dogs running around on the track.
February 26th, 2020 at 1:52 pm
You only need to use stop/start to your advantage as our Regal TourX stops the engine for about a minute and a half. I seldom idle and when I do I wish I had a little more stop time from the engine.
Plus those that are mostly riding Lyft/Uber are 1-3 miles which a decade old ICE engine would be spewing much more that got 15-25 mpg highway.
February 26th, 2020 at 2:01 pm
So tired of the media trying to scare the public and make a bigger threat out of the Coronavirus than need be. As I have read by the reputable media the Coronavirus is no more harmful or deadly than any regular strain of the flu. The big difference is that it has a much longer incubation period, so it is likely to spread further before people infected realize the are sick. The most likely to become very ill or die are the elderly, very young or those with a weakened immune system.
February 26th, 2020 at 3:27 pm
18 Ken I agree, as the common flu kills between 300,000 to 600,000 people each year. What we don’t hear is that the people that have died from this Coronavirus have been elderly or had pre-existing health conditions. In fact the median age of the first 19 deaths was 75.
Although I have read some great conspiracy theory’s like this was a bioweapon created by the Chinese government designed to weaken and subjugate freedom fighters in areas like Taiwan and Hong Kong.
But the hype keeps people tuning in for the latest news and media outlets love that even if it is mostly hype. Seems to be similar when a thunderstorm rolls through the area. Watching the news you would think the end is near. Sensationalizing is big business.
February 26th, 2020 at 3:59 pm
Is there any evidence that any that have dies had received a flu shot this fall or even had one a year ago?
February 26th, 2020 at 4:41 pm
18,19 Most of the world seems to be taking it seriously, so I’m not going to second guess actual epidemiologists who are concerned about it. Hopefully, it will just go away in a month or so, but we really don’t know what will happen.
February 26th, 2020 at 5:24 pm
All flu virus are different in characteristics. No two are alike and each one attacks the body in different ways. What is important is the infection rate; is it 10/100 people or 60/100 people? Everyone is alarmed because everything about this virus is an unknown.
February 26th, 2020 at 5:33 pm
I think any new manufacturer producing only EVs should be able to sell their product in any state. Those who make both EVs and ICEs feel they are at a disadvantage but this should be short lived. Buyers still want to test drive and kick the tires on the car they want to buy. They, who are selling both ,then, will have the upper hand. Call it a transition period.
February 26th, 2020 at 5:39 pm
23 They should just work out arrangements with Walmart to make them dealers.
February 26th, 2020 at 7:08 pm
Don’t think that would be fair to all the dealerships and rules required of them. They should build there own establishments and follow the same guidelines.
February 26th, 2020 at 9:25 pm
25 Maybe they could comply with the rules, if they wanted to. Maybe they wouldn’t want that business, though.
February 27th, 2020 at 7:17 am
19 You are off by a factor of 10. The flu does NOT kill 300-600,000 (I assume you mean in the US, not the WORLD) but 30-60,000 a year, which is still a HUGE number, but maybe most of the victims must have very weak immune systems and probably other health conditions.
This epidemic has already killed thousands in CHina AND, worse, it has spread in dozens of other nations, including the US, and even Switzerland. In Italy, 50,000 are already quarantined. Korea has more than 1,000 cases.
So we should and I think we are taking this extremely seriously. The US seems to be the best prepared to deal with it than any other of ther 200 or so nations, as a Johns Hopkins study indicates.
February 27th, 2020 at 7:19 am
21 It’s receding in CHina now, but it is spreading into all kinds of other nations every day.
February 27th, 2020 at 7:46 am
How many “technicians” does it take to fix a VW iD3 EV ‘software glitch”?
a. 5
b. 10
c. 100
d. 1,000 (!)
e. 10,000 (!!!!!!)
And what exactly is a “technician”? Is it some nerd with a computer science PhD or your corner Electrician?
https://www.autonews.com/manufacturing/vw-id3-software-problems-threaten-summer-launch-europe-report-says?utm_source=daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20200226&utm_content=article17-image
February 27th, 2020 at 7:49 am
29 “Hey VW,
If you give me $5 bill I can fix your software glitches.
What, am I asking for too much? $5 bill? you paid six times that to fix your diesel scams!
Love,
ELON”
February 27th, 2020 at 8:41 am
27 The flu DOES kill 300k to 600k per year world wide.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-does-the-flu-actually-kill-people/
Quarantining people is precautionary and the right thing to do but still doesn’t equate to deaths. I was just saying I haven’t seen anything to indicate this flu is any more deadly than any other flu.
February 27th, 2020 at 9:11 am
31 I already said that in 27. I also CLEARLY STATED that in the USA it kills 30-60,000 each year. You are bringing coals to Newcastle.
February 27th, 2020 at 9:14 am
And actually it is extremely surprising that it only kills 600,000 in the world total, since the US has only 5% of the world population and we spend trillions on health care, WHILE the billions in India, Africa and Lat America, and even in China, have horrible hygienic conditions and poor health care. It should be 10 times that, 6 million, if the US has such a huge number, 30,000-60,000, the upper limit is more than ALL the traffic fatalities in one year, they are actually closer to the lower limit.
I bet in the rest of the world there are millions unreported flu deaths not included in the 600,000.
February 27th, 2020 at 9:37 am
33 While the US has good “high tech” medical capabilities, it has lousy preventive care, and basic access to health care for many millions, which may have to do with the high number of flu deaths for the size of the population.
Yeah, there are probably a lot of unreported deaths around the world. Also, though, is it possible that people in places with poor hygienic conditions have better immune systems than people in the US, western Europe, etc.?
February 27th, 2020 at 10:18 am
32 You CLEARLY showed what an arrogant idiot you are. In an effort to correct my post which was correct. you stated. “You are off by a factor of 10. The flu does NOT kill 300-600,000″.
Then when I cite the source you back track and say you didn’t say what is CLEARLY in print. Are you that delusional or so infatuated with being right all the time that you cant even admit when you are wrong and would rather pretend you didn’t say something you obviously did. You should become a politician. I’m amazed at your lack of comprehension about anything that you haven’t written yourself. I have no doubt you are single and for very good reasons.