This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.

GM LAUNCHES CHINA PRODUCT OFFENSIVE
We start today in China, a market which grew at a breathtaking pace over the last decade. In fact, the growth rate was so strong year after year, that some automakers started to take it for granted. General Motors and Ford both failed to refresh their product lines quickly enough and saw sales plummet even before the COVID pandemic hit. Now Reuters reports that GM is getting ready to launch a product offensive. And it’s all about SUVs and battery electrics, both high-end and entry-level. GM is also going to bring hands free driving to the Chinese market with Super Cruise. Starting next year, it will offer it on Buicks and Chevrolets, not just Cadillacs. Bloomberg reports that 40% of all new vehicles GM launches in China over the next 5 years will be battery electrics, which will be made in China using local components. By 2022, almost all new models will have 5G connectivity. And this year, it’s going to launch V2X connectivity on the Buick GL8 minivan. 

NOKIA WINS LAWSUIT AGAINST DAIMLER
OK, now over to Finland where Nokia just won a lawsuit against Daimler. Nokia says the German automaker would not license its technology for connectivity. Or at least it would not license it the way Nokia wants to. Instead of a one-time payment to license the technology, Nokia wants a royalty on every vehicle sold. But Daimler says the costs would be too high and is going to appeal the ruling. We wonder how far Daimler will get with its appeal. BMW and VW have already accepted Nokia’s royalty agreement.

MYSTERY OEM WILL BUILD NIKOLA’S BADGER PICKUP
And now from Nokia we move to Nikola. EV blogger Sean Mitchell reports that Nikola signed a deal with an OEM to build the Badger pickup truck. Nikola founder Trevor Milton held a roundtable discussion with a small group of reporters yesterday and confirmed the deal. It would seem to be one of the five OEMs who make full-size pickups in the U.S. market: GM, Ford, FCA, Toyota and Nissan. But it’s unclear if this is just a memorandum of understanding or a full-blown contract. Stay tuned, when Trevor Milton was on Autoline After Hours, he said the full announcement would come sometime around September.

THE MOST & LEAST EXPENSIVE CARS TO INSURE
If you’re in the market for a new vehicle, one thing you’ll want to consider is how much it will cost to insure. Rates can vary depending on the age of the car, price of the car, size of the engine, vehicle make and model and theft rate. That’s why QuoteWizard looked at what the least and most expensive vehicles to insure are. Not surprisingly, the most expensive are luxury vehicles with powerful engines. The 2019 BMW M5 is number one at $5,542 annually, followed by the Jaguar XJR and then the Nissan GT-R. On the other end of the spectrum, the 2018 Jeep Wrangler Sahara is the cheapest at $1,306 a year, followed by the Buick Encore and Honda Civic. The study says medium-sized, plain looking vehicles are the least expensive vehicles to insure.

MOST EXPENSIVE TO INSURE
	Model Year	Annual Insurance Cost
BMW M5	2019	$5,542
Jaguar XJR	2019	$5,478
Nissan GT-R	2019	$4,253
LEAST EXPENSIVE TO INSURE
Jeep Wrangler Sahara	2018	$1,306
Buick Encore	2018	$1,417
Honda Civic	2019	$1,511
Source: QuoteWizard

HONDA CR-V HYBRID IMPRESSIONS
We just had a Honda CR-V Hybrid come through the Autoline Garage. From a styling standpoint, it’s a rather subdued design. But then again, we drove a dark blue one which tends to hide the styling lines and design features, while a brighter color brings them out better. Inside the instrument panel has that multi-layered look that Honda is so fond of. And the gauges are all electronic. They’re perfectly fine, but not as crisp and purposeful as you will find in a vehicle like the Kia Seltos with its analog gauges. But when you start it up and drive, the Honda sets itself apart in a separate class. It starts in EV mode and is whisper quiet. It’s actually hard to hear the transition when the engine comes on. The CR-V has a hefty and substantial feel to it, which was a pleasant surprise for a vehicle in this class. And it’s quiet in all driving situations. But then again, you pay to get all that, with the price coming in at just a tick over $37,000. It provides good leg room, shoulder room and cargo space. And, being a hybrid, it offers excellent fuel economy for an all-wheel-drive crossover. It’s rated at 38 miles to the gallon, but we were getting 40. So far the hybrid accounts for about 7% of CR-V sales, but no doubt Honda wants to ramp that up.

 
WHY JEEP IS STRUGGLING IN CHINA
Jeep is one of the most well-known brands around the globe with tons of die-hard fans. But in the biggest market in the world, China, it’s struggling. On Autoline This Week, Chinese auto expert Michael Dunne from ZoZo Go, explains why Jeep is doing poorly in a market that loves SUVs.

Michael Dunne, ZoZo Go
“That’s a great question. People in Auburn Hills must be just kicking themselves because they find themselves in the largest SUV market in the world. And with consumers who love brands, who love the Jeep brand in fact. They know it has a global allure. Chinese people who have studied here and worked here, see how well Jeep does in North America. And yet, they cannot get traction with the consumer back in China. Why not? Well, there’s lots of reasons of course but the biggest single reason is that when Jeep came to market they thought we’ll go bottom up. We’ll go low price and gradually up the ladder to our better and better products. That was a strategic misstep in my view. They could’ve started up on the high-end where the German SUVs do very well and then come down. So, now that they’ve started at the bottom and it didn’t work, how do you turn that around and go back up top? That’s what they’re wrestling with right now.”

For more insight into the Chinese auto industry, you can watch that entire interview right now on our website or our YouTube channel.

Tomorrow we’re going to learn a whole lot more about the Ram TRX, the performance pickup that’s aimed right at the Ford Raptor. Jeff Roselli from Ram will be joining us for the show. And if you have questions you’d like to ask Jeff, send an email to viewermail@autoline.tv or tweet us @Autoline. Then join John and Gary for some of the best insights as to what’s going on in the automotive industry. 

FORD INTRODUCES RALLY INSPIRED VANS
We recently showed off some more off-road capable vans from Ford of Europe, but now it’s taking them in the other direction. The MS-RT Transit Custom and Connect are inspired by Ford’s Fiesta rally car. Upgrades include a completely new front fascia with restyled grille, more aggressive air intakes, integrated fog lights and a diffuser element. Bigger wheel arches make the vans look wider and are filled with bespoke 18-inch OZ Racing wheels. Body color side skirts, rear diffuser, roof spoiler, dual exhaust on the Transit Custom and quad exhaust tips on the Transit Connect round out the exterior changes. But as you can also see, there’s a number of bold paint colors to choose from as well as optional decal kits. The interior features handcrafted leather and suede seats, sport steering wheel with carbon fiber accents and MS-RT branded clocks and floor mats. The Transit Custom is powered by a roughly 185 horsepower 2.0L diesel engine that’s mated to either a 6-speed manual or automatic transmission. The Transit Connect receives a 1.5L diesel that makes about 120 horsepower and is mated to a 6-speed manual or 8-speed automatic. Both MS-RT vans will be available to order in a number of European countries in just a few weeks.

MERCEDES-AMG PROJECT ONE UPDATE
Mercedes-AMG’s supercar, the Project ONE, entered a new phase of testing and is now getting a chance to stretch its legs out on the test track. If you’ve forgotten, the Project ONE, at its core, is a street legal car with a complete Formula 1 drive unit stuffed inside. That hybrid setup will have an output of more than 1,000 horsepower and we get our first chance to hear it in this video that Mercedes released. The sound is said to be authentic and, as you would guess, it bellows just like an F1 car. In addition to the powertrain testing, several pre-production Project ONEs are being used to develop the car’s pretty complex active aerodynamics setup. So, what’s the next step for the supercar? The Nürburgring.

That’s all for this Autoline Daily. Thanks for watching and we’ll be right back here again tomorrow.