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Runtime: 10:15
0:08 Nissan Plans New Battery Plants in UK & Japan
0:45 Analysts Differ on May Sales Forecasts
1:41 GM Restarting Production at Several Plants
3:13 Hyundai Plans to Slash ICE Lineup in Half
3:54 Tesla Comes Out with Driver Monitoring System
4:32 Russian Startup Reveals 1st Autonomous Shuttle
5:28 Rolls-Royce Returns to Coachbuilding Roots
7:05 VW Golf GTI Very Impressive
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NISSAN PLANS NEW BATTERY PLANTS IN UK & JAPAN
Another day, another battery plant announcement. On Wednesday, Ford announced it’s going to build two battery plants in the U.S. with SK. Today, Nissan announced it’s going to invest $1.8 billion to build two battery plants; one in Japan and one in Britain. Collectively they’ll be able to build enough batteries for 700,000 vehicles a year. Nissan’s partner is Envision AESC which is based in China. Reuters reports that Nissan and Renault have also agreed to common battery specifications to cut costs.
ANALYSTS DIFFER ON MAY SALES FORECASTS
New car sales in May in the U.S. market are either going to set a record, or reflect the first real impact of the chip shortage. It all depends on how you look at the numbers. JD Power and LMC Automotive predict that retail sales will set an all-time record for the month of May. But the key word there is retail. That doesn’t include fleet sales. They expect automakers to sell a very healthy 1.5 million vehicles, including fleet and retail. Meanwhile, Wards Intelligence points out the SAAR will only reach 16.5 million vehicles compared to the 18 million SAAR in March and April. Wards says it’s all because there simply are not enough cars in inventory. Sales would be higher if automakers could make more. And it expects a strong surge in sales once the chip shortage is solved.
GM RESTARTING PRODUCTION AT SEVERAL PLANTS
But it looks like General Motors is starting to replenish its stockpile of semiconductors. The automaker announced yesterday it will restart production at four plants in North America over the next month that were idled due to the chip shortage. Two of the plants are in Mexico, one is in Canada and the other is in the U.S. Also, one of its assembly plants in South Korea, which was operating at 50% capacity, will resume full production at the end of the month. However, GM is not completely out of the woods yet and its Fairfax plant in Kansas, which has been shut down since February, will remain idle until at least early July. AlixPartners estimates that the chip shortage will cost automakers $110 billion and 3.9 million vehicles in lost production this year.
HYUNDAI PLANS TO SLASH ICE LINEUP IN HALF
The Hyundai Group is aiming to sell 1 million EVs a year by 2025 with a goal for full electrification by 2040. To help pay for the development of all those new electrics, Reuters reports that Hyundai will cut the number of ICE vehicles in its lineup in half. The automaker will pour that money into developing electric motors, batteries and fuel cells. And according to Reuters sources, Hyundai has already stopped developing new powertrains for ICE vehicles. With Europe and China implementing stricter emissions regulations, automakers, like Hyundai, need to accelerate their transition to EVs.
TESLA COMES OUT WITH DRIVER MONITORING SYSTEM
Tesla has received heavy criticism over not having a driving monitoring system in its vehicles to make sure drivers are paying attention when using Autopilot. But it’s finally coming out with a remedy for that. The EV maker released a software update that will enable the vehicle’s cabin-facing camera to detect and alert the driver if they’re not paying attention while Autopilot is engaged. However, even with the new safety feature, Tesla still requires drivers to keep their hands on the steering wheel, to take over if needed. While it may be a little late, it’s good to see the company address this issue.
RUSSIAN STARTUP REVEALS 1ST AUTONOMOUS SHUTTLE
Here’s a new company we’d never heard of before, Sber AutoTech. It was just founded last year by Sberbank, a large, state-owned bank that’s headquartered in Russia. Its focus is on transport, IT services, unmanned technologies and automotive and is showing off a new mobility shuttle, called FLIP. It’s built on a modular architecture that can accommodate a number of body types and powertrains, including electric, gas and hydrogen. The one seen here is electric and powered by a single electric motor that’s fed via a swappable battery pack. As you probably guessed, it’s autonomous and has enough space to carry 6 people comfortably. The company is currently bench-testing prototypes on closed tracks in Moscow, so it’d be a while before we ever see one in operation.
ROLLS-ROYCE RETURNS TO COACHBUILDING ROOTS
Rolls-Royce is letting everyone know that it wants true, one-off coachbuilt vehicles to become a permanent fixture of its product portfolio by showing off this beautiful car, called the Boat Tail that’s based on the Phantom platform. Commissioned by a couple that’s no stranger to the brand, it’s easy to see how this car got its name. And it’s just so well proportioned, everything seems to be just where it’s supposed to be. And the wood decking on the back opens like butterfly wings with the push of a button to reveal a custom picnic kit. One last note. Check out those flying butracess at the back of the roof. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that done with a convertible before.
VW GOLF GTI VERY IMPRESSIVE
I’m always amazed at VW’s MQB architecture at how much the company can stretch and manipulate it to turn out a wide variety of vehicles that still handle good to really good. It underpins everything from an Atlas to an Audi TT and this week’s latest test vehicle, the Golf GTI. And it was easy to see why this vehicle is always taking home awards. There’s no better sporty vehicle that can match the hatchback’s usable space. It’s powered by a 2.0L turbo 4-cylinder that makes 228 horsepower. There’s a little bit of lag but – ooh buddy – once that turbo spools up, hold on, because it takes off. It’s even better if you’re on a nice stretch of twisty road where you can keep the RPMs up. Volkswagen engineers did a fantastic job of tuning this chassis. Even though it’s front-wheel drive, the Golf GTI feels really well balanced in the corners, which helps give you confidence, as the driver, that you can stick it into any turn. The seats are sporty enough to keep your butt firmly planted but not so much that it crushes your kidneys or makes your legs go numb after an hour of driving. A leather wrapped steering wheel with crossed, contrast stitching, which is picked up on other parts of the interior, also provides a nice feel for the driver. The only complaint that we had about our test car was that it had the dual clutch automatic instead of the manual transmission. I know the dual clutch is probably faster, but the engine was just too sweet to not want to row through the gears and as we know, there’s times when DCTs can be herky-jerky. So, the manual would have made the experience a bit smoother. Price for our tester came in right around $37,000. That does seem a little on the high end. You can get a Hyundai Veloster N for less money, for example. But you’re not going to rattle your teeth out in the process, like you would with the stiff suspension of the N.
And a quick note before I sign off. There won’t be a new Autoline Daily on Monday because we’ll be off for the Memorial Day holiday. But we’ll be back on Tuesday. So thanks for watching and have a great weekend.
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Seamus and Sean McElroy cover the latest news in the automotive industry for Autoline Daily.