AD #3128 – Trevor Milton Charged; CATL Reveals New Sodium-Ion Battery; VW Introduces New Taigo for Europe
July 29th, 2021 at 11:47am
Listen to “AD #3128 – Trevor Milton Charged; CATL Reveals New Sodium-Ion Battery; VW Introduces New Taigo for Europe” on Spreaker.
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Runtime: 11:04
0:07 Trevor Milton Charged by Prosecutors
0:32 Ford & VW Earnings Beat Expectations
1:29 CATL Reveals New Sodium-Ion Battery
2:30 QuantumScape Testing New Solid State Battery
2:52 GM Frees Up Chips for Big Trucks
4:16 New Outlander PHEV Has More Power & Range
5:03 VW Introduces New Taigo for Europe
5:37 VW Needs to Change Its EV Strategy in China
7:12 Genesis Has BMW in Its Sights
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TREVOR MILTON CHARGED BY PROSECUTORS
A bit of breaking news hit us right before we were getting ready to record the show, so we’ll keep this short. Former Nikola chairman, Trevor Milton has been charged by federal prosecutors for misleading investors. He’s in federal custody after voluntarily surrendering to the authorities and also faces complaints filed against him by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
FORD & VW EARNINGS BEAT EXPECTATIONS
Despite the chip shortage, automakers are posting better than expected earnings. Volkswagen Group and Ford reported their second quarter earnings and did better than Wall Street expected. VW sold 2.4 million vehicles worldwide, bringing in €67 billion euros in revenue, and posting an impressive €5 billion net profit. Ford only sold 764,000 vehicles, but said it lost over 700,000 vehicles due to production cuts caused by the chip shortage. Ford earned over $26 billion in revenue and posted a net profit of only $550 million. Even so, that beat Wall Street expectations. Ford also raised its guidance for the second half of the year as it expects the chip shortage to start to ease.
| VW Group Q2 Earnings 2021 | |
|---|---|
| Sales | 2.4 Million |
| Revenue | €67.2 Billion |
| Net Profit | €5.0 Billion |
| Ford Q2 Earnings 2021 | |
| Sales | 764,000 |
| Revenue | $26.7 Billion |
| Net Profit | $553 million |
CATL REVEALS NEW SODIUM-ION BATTERY
This could be a huge development for electric cars. CATL, the Chinese company that’s the world’s largest manufacturer of EV batteries, announced it developed a new sodium-ion battery. It works similar to a lithium-ion battery but doesn’t use any lithium, cobalt or nickel. That results in a lower energy density compared to lithium iron phosphate batteries, but the company says it performs well during fast charging and at low temperatures, and would be a lot cheaper. Because of that lower energy density, the battery is ideal for low-speed EVs, not long-range passenger models. CATL says it plans to set up a supply chain for the sodium-ion batteries in 2023. And for the best of both worlds, CATL also developed a battery that integrates sodium-ion cells and lithium-ion cells in the same pack.
QUANTUMSCAPE TESTING 10-LAYER SOLID STATE BATTERY
And speaking of battery breakthroughs, Quantumscape says it’s now testing a 10-layer solid state battery. Earlier in the year, the company produced a 4-layer cell but the challenge now is to be able to produce the new cell at scale. Quantumscape will reveal more testing data for its 10-layer cell later in the year.
GM FREES UP CHIPS FOR ITS BIG TRUCKS
GM is getting a little relief from the chip shortage. Last week it cut production of heavy-duty trucks at its Flint Assembly plant and stopped production at its two plants that make the Silverado and Sierra. But GM announced those plants will resume full production on Monday. It’s a good thing too. Those are some of GM’s most profitable models. But it’s not out of the woods yet. In order to free up chips for the big trucks, it had to extend downtime in a number of its plants across North America, which impacts the Chevy Malibu, Equinox, Blazer and Traverse; GMC Terrain and Acadia; Buick Enclave; as well as the Cadillac CT4, XT4, CT5, XT5 and XT6.
NEW OUTLANDER PHEV WILL HAVE MORE POWER & RANGE
Mitsubishi has continued to sell the plug-in hybrid version of the Outlander with the old body style alongside the all-new Outlander, which shares a platform with the new Nissan Rogue. But it’s getting ready to launch the all-new Outlander PHEV that it says will have more output from the motor and a bigger battery. The current setup pairs a 2.4L engine, 70 kW rear mounted motor and a 13.8 kWh battery pack, which combines for 221 horsepower and 24 miles of EV range. So, expect to see those figures topped. The new Outlander PHEV will first go on sale in Japan and is expected to arrive in the U.S. in the second half of next year.
VW INTRODUCES TAIGO FOR EUROPE
Volkswagen introduced a new crossover for the European market, called the Taigo. As you can see it’s one of those fastback utility vehicles or what VW calls an SUV coupe. It’s based on the automaker’s MQB architecture, which underpins a number of vehicles in the group’s portfolio and means it will likely come with a range of 4-cylinder engines. The interior features an all-digital cockpit and the latest generation of infotainment systems. No word yet on when the Taigo is scheduled to launch.
VW NEEDS TO CHANGE EV STRATEGY IN CHINA
Speaking of Volkswagen, it wants to become the number one EV maker in the world. But if it’s going to achieve that goal, CEO Herbert Diess says it needs to change how it’s selling EVs in China. VW thought it was going to sell between 80,000 and 100,000 EVs this year in China. But through the first half of the year, it only sold a little over 18,000. Diess says EV customers in China are younger and different from its traditional customer base. So VW needs to change its sales approach to attract those customers, especially through social media.
GENESIS HAS BMW IN ITS SIGHTS
Even though sales of sedans continue to go down every month, the Genesis G70 sure makes a compelling reason to get a sedan. It looks good, drives really well and delivers a lot of value for the money. Our test drive shows that Genesis clearly has BMW in mind as it tries to claw its way into the luxury segment. The G70’s driving dynamics are very similar to BMW’s, but the whole package is wrapped in a more expressive design, both inside and out. Our test car was fitted with the powerful 3.3 liter turbo that generates 365 horsepower and 376 pound feet of torque. Better still it generates a thrilling exhaust note when you really step into the throttle. As the auto industry transitions to electric cars the one thing we’ll miss are great sounding engines like this one. The G70, as with so many performance cars with different driving modes, has a Dr. Jeckle and Mr. Hyde kind of personality. If you leave it in Eco mode it drives like a car meant for grandma and grandpa to go grocery shopping. But put it in Sport or Sport Plus, and the change is electric. The side bolsters on the driver’s seat automatically close in to hug your ribcage. The revs jump by 500 rpm, the shift points come quicker and snappier, and the exhaust note brightens up. Genesis claims that with Launch Control, it will hit 60 miles an hour in 4.5 seconds. The car has great balance. You can cruise comfortably on the highway, or confidently flick it through a slalom course of S-turns. Inside, the G70 is beautifully crafted. There sure are a lot of buttons and switches as well as an 8-inch touch screen. But after a couple of days of driving you seem to automatically know where to find what you need. A base G70 starts at $38,570 and walks all the way up to over $55,000 for the all-wheel-drive Launch Edition. So it’s several thousand dollars cheaper than a BMW 3-series. Will that be enough to pry customers out of their 3-series? Maybe not. But Genesis is clearly going to give BMW a run for its money.
We mentioned the transition to electric vehicles. The auto industry is well on its way towards doing that. But it will take years. And until that happens automakers will have to sell millions of vehicles with internal combustion engines. But they have to make those engines better–better emissions and better fuel economy. That’s what the topic is about on Autoline After Hours this afternoon. How to make the ICE more efficient. We’ll have Sujit Jain from Bosch on the show talking about the technology they’re working on. Kelsey Mayes from Cas.com will also be joining us. Some of the other topics we’ll get into include: Is Magna becoming more powerful than an OEM? Why is VW developing another new platform? And was Tesla bitten by its investment in Bitcoin. Join John and Gary when they go live at 3 pm eastern time.
But that wraps up today’s show, thanks for watching.
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Comments (38)
July 29th, 2021 at 12:05 pm
BMW M-cars’ specialist Albert Biermann has been with Hyundai six years so it’s no surprise that Genesis has become the go-to brand for driving enthusiasts.
July 29th, 2021 at 12:21 pm
This “grandpa” likes cars with zip too. The G70 sport mode sounds good to me!
July 29th, 2021 at 12:38 pm
Trevor Milton finally to face the music? What took so long? He sure did pull the wool over GMs CEO Mary Barras eyes! Almost succeeded too, until some Wall Street short exposed him, then he went undercover, or is that MIA?
July 29th, 2021 at 12:39 pm
They need to make a wagon version of the G70, with a Toyota-style hybrid powertrain.
July 29th, 2021 at 12:51 pm
I guess we are extending the lease on our car since the XT4 isn’t showing up anytime soon.
July 29th, 2021 at 12:53 pm
When Trevor was on Autoline After Hours a year or so ago, I was talking back to the PC that he was a crook. Surprisingly, neither of the ALAH crew seemed to doubt a word he said. Anyone with a bit of common sense should have challenged him.
July 29th, 2021 at 1:00 pm
I don’t think a G70 wagon would ‘fly’, though if anyone would try to test the waters again, Genesis might be the manufacturer. On a similar thought; have the Genesis’ taken off (in sales) yet; many tries, great’ish reviews, but sales always flat.
July 29th, 2021 at 1:42 pm
Yea Trevor Milton was just one of those charismatic people you wanted to believe but when it came to the details he sure raised more questions. Snake salesmen been around a long time and when there is money to be made they’ll always be there to make sure a fool and their money soon part. Glad the law caught up with him. Seems more than a few EV start ups have been plagued with misleading investors.
That’s why I don’t put much faith in the whole pre-order numbers. Someone as wealthy as Elon could set aside 10 Million into a side venture that just generates people to place a $100 refundable Deposits. Boom you have 100,000 preorders.. Stock goes thru the roof and you haven’t really done or made anything. But you make money on the stock.
Not saying Elon is doing this but he could.
July 29th, 2021 at 1:43 pm
7 I don’t know if Genesis are in Europe, but if so, a wagon, if properly done, might do ok there.
July 29th, 2021 at 1:57 pm
@Kit #9 – They are and they do: https://media.genesis.com/news/all/genesis-premieres-the-g70-shooting-brake/s/0f609f39-97ee-4c07-aaac-03e3cfef36f0
July 29th, 2021 at 2:04 pm
9 Kit – I think Genesis is presently launching in select markets here in Europe.
In case you missed it, the mystery concept is the Chevrolet Corvair Astro I from 1967. I posted some links. Sleek machine.
I’m looking forward to AAH and am just as intrigued as the crew about VW Corp. developing another new platform for their future EVs.
Incidentally, and regarding Nikola, I remember Mary Barra saying something along the lines that GM (capitals back then) had a top notch team for doing their due diligence.
July 29th, 2021 at 2:06 pm
The Genesis Shooting Brake looks more like a hatch as opposed to a wagon but that’s half a wagon…right?
July 29th, 2021 at 2:07 pm
Trevor Milton is a visionary, but not a disciplined CEO. The concept first brought forth for hydrogen fuel cell/battery electric long-haul semi trucks is now in development at every major truck manufacturer, but Nikola was the first to develop and promote it. His concept of strategically placed refueling stations that make their own hydrogen onsite using solar farms is still the best concept I have seen for efficiently operating this type of trucking fleet.
The problem is he is a very excitable guy. And he would get very animated when he talked about what they were doing. Unfortunately, his excitement caused his mouth to run ahead of his brain and good judgement, and he tended to say things he really shouldn’t have. Again, not a seasoned CEO, but a guy with a vision and the passion to get others to jump on board with him.
I don’t think Mary Barra was snookered. I also don’t think the large investors that preceded GM to the party were hoodwinked either. They saw the logic in the concept. Sadly, Trevor continued to talk ahead of his brain and some of the things he said caught up with him and severely tarnished Nikola’s reputation. GM does not like controversy. They scaled back their involvement to that of a supplier to reduce their exposure. They had been carefully working to build their stock price with an all-EV future strategy and did not want the Nikola circus to derail that effort. So, they pulled back and it was the right move. If Nikola does produce fuel cell powered semi tractors, they will use GM fuel cells and batteries.
July 29th, 2021 at 3:01 pm
I noticed thatyou had to take a deep breath to just go down the “X list” of Cadillac models or rather the rebadged proliferation. Seems Cadillac has again lost their way!!
July 29th, 2021 at 3:34 pm
Genesis has BMW in its sights….I’ve heard that before. Every new iteration of cars that Cadillac came out with was going to show up the BMW 3 series. Lots of smoke but no fire.
July 29th, 2021 at 3:58 pm
Can we get an engineering sample of “sodium-ion battery” from CATL?
There is nothing about dendrite shorts nor any engineering units in the announcement. Then this gem, “by rearranging the electrons” suggests they are using Trevor Milton physics.
July 29th, 2021 at 3:59 pm
#13 GM vet, you sure are a Nikola and Trevor fan , it seems, anybody with half a brain and doing his due diligence could have seen thru all the smoke and mirrors,specially if one has read and done all they can find out how to scale Hydrogen production(it aint gonna happen,efficiently and cheaply), not in our lifetime , but hey I got a Brooklyn Bridge to sell you, and some swampland in Florida Trevor was a scammer , his lies finally caught up with him.
July 29th, 2021 at 4:03 pm
#8 lambo, you so funny, still throwing stones @ Elon and Tesla,no make that mud, it sticks better.
July 29th, 2021 at 4:12 pm
#8 Elon Musk and Trevor are worlds apart, Elon is an engineer, he owns a Rocket Co.Went to Russia to buy a used rocket/ICBM, put together a team of ex NASA employees that were laidoff,taught himself about Rockets, he is comfortable talking to his Rocket engineers about all aspects of the design and work of Space X, which is more than any CEO can do, maybe a video of Sandy Munro in Munro live can educate or make a believer out of you, but I won’t hold my breath, just keep throwingg mud, maybe one day it will stick.
July 29th, 2021 at 4:15 pm
#13, Trevors past and allegations vs him is nothing to be proud of, maybe Google can help you.
July 29th, 2021 at 5:55 pm
A few days ago, I ran across the origon of “shooting brake,” with a picture of a woody wagon with a rifle or shotgun extending out an open window. I think the original shooting brake was actually a horse drawn vehicle.
July 29th, 2021 at 6:05 pm
how appalling is it the us is subsidizing the chinese market for tesla? raising prices for americans to lower them for chinese. have you no shame elon, or the great leader.
July 29th, 2021 at 6:20 pm
15 BMW has lost their way, with their ugly nosed, automatic-only cars that don’t handle as well as CT4 and CT5. BMW still has one thing, though, those sweet in-line 6 engines.
July 29th, 2021 at 6:59 pm
I think Tesla had at least 7 , maybe 9, price increases of various models this year. Not across the board.
For those like me, who refrain on buying Chinese autos; Besides the auto, I’ll have to include not purchasing any vehicle with a Chinese battery pack.
July 30th, 2021 at 2:02 am
24 cwolf – the Tesla Models 3 & Y are the top and 3rd most American-made cars by content, with the Mustang sandwiched in between. Source cars.com https://bit.ly/3ydB3pz
Though cars.com probably doesn’t go so far as to rate the provenance of battery cells’ materials.
Just a pity that Fremont now mainly serves North America, with the balance currently shifting to Shanghai/Pudong, since the German plant isn’t up and running yet. But compared to local timelines for big projects, they’re fast. Tesla simply can’t wait any longer to bring the Model Y to the European market.
July 30th, 2021 at 8:33 am
18-19 I’m sorry did I hurt your fragile feeling for Elon? I wasn’t even throwing any stones at Tesla. Just pointing out that any EV manufacturer with some access to some cash can very easily make the pre-order for their vehicles look way better than the actual interest. If you had some reading comprehension skills you would have seen at the end I said not that Elon is doing this but he could.
Just used him as an example cause he does have a ton of money. Sorry if that was too much for you to handle.. This why people assume you are Larry with a new user name.. Same type of Tesla cheerleader.
July 30th, 2021 at 9:03 am
Just happen to be on MSN and ran across this just posted. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/a-tesla-megapack-caught-fire-at-the-victorian-big-battery-facility-in-australia/ar-AAMK75h?ocid=ientp.
Tesla Mega pack caught fire.
July 30th, 2021 at 9:45 am
25) Sean, I do not dislike Teslas any more than any other brands. I just choose to avoid products made or of significant content in China. IMO, we do too much of that already.
July 30th, 2021 at 11:36 am
#27 lambo , LG makes the battery cell for your beloved GM who has a recall,( finally) for the Dolt , sorry Bolt, also LG made cells for the Hyundai Kona EV which was recalled and replaced before GM was forced to, who knows who is the supplier of the cells for the new Australian stationary storage project in Victoria, the Hornsdale cells were Panasonics im sure.
#24 C wolf, the MIC Teslas being exported to Europe are to meet that demand, Tesla has its hands full with North American orders, mod3 &Y are sold out into the 3rd Qtr.
#22rick???????.
July 30th, 2021 at 11:47 am
29 Beloved GM? I could care less about the Volt or Bolt of LG I have no interest in an EV. I, like cwolf support the American auto industry and that includes Tesla. I assume I will own an EV maybe, someday but they just don’t make sense for me now with their current capabilities and cost. Your assumptions that everyone is either Tesla butt kisser or hater and if they hate Tesla love Ford and GM are pretty narrow minded.
July 30th, 2021 at 11:47 am
#8 ,#27 , im sure you’d think Elon has better things to do than try to manipulate orders or stock price, he does after all owns 3 or 4 companies or entities, why even make that comment is beyond ridiculous, but you worship @ the altar of Detroit it seems and English is my 2nd language, yes I could learn some more, just like you could learn some Chinese or Tagalog or Spanish & Vietnamese,and Malaysian.
July 30th, 2021 at 11:53 am
#30 my aversion to legacy auto is from experiences with their products and their outlets , yes that’s the Stealerships, over 45 years of experiences and being shafted by them and I was just speaking to a Bznz owner yesterday who had the same type of experiences from a Cryco dealer an Acura, Toyota and Ford and GM,from their service dept, not to mention the sales dept.
July 30th, 2021 at 11:57 am
Just spent an hour yesterday with a friend , he was telling me of tales the Stealerships pulled on him and his clients and friend, $700+ Bill for a $130 repair in parts and 5 min of labour.
July 30th, 2021 at 12:03 pm
Lambo, having owned 2 VWs ,3 Fords, all kinds of Cryco minivans 2 GMs, two Toyotas and a Nissan,a Volvo,2 Subarus, for over 45 years,I think would more than qualify me to be quite open minded.
July 30th, 2021 at 3:04 pm
You think Elon doesn’t have enough time to manipulate stocks and make a few Million dollars. Hum guess you didn’t hear about him being in trouble with the SEC for doing exactly that. Worship is what you do to Elon and Tesla. I favor American products which includes Tesla, big difference.
I cant begin to list all the vehicles I’ve owned including Datsun, Ford, Pontiac, Chevy, Dodge, Ram, Toyota, Honda, Suzuki, Cadillac and wrenched on so may more.
My dealership experiences haven’t been bad other than they waste time to get to the same spot that could have been achieved in half the time. You just have to know how to deal with sales people. I’m sure that’s a struggle for some. I also never take a vehicle back for service unless its covered by warranty or insurance.
July 31st, 2021 at 10:30 am
#35 , you not going back to Stealerships after warranty period speaks volumes how crooked they are, and why should we need how to haggle or go thru all their shenanigans, think of all the folks who don’t have a clue how to do that negotiation or are timid to do so, all customers should be treated equally, the Chinese will go direct sales when they come to the North American market , guess who will lose market share , it is time to do away with NADA and Stealerships , that is a sales and service for the 19th century.
July 31st, 2021 at 10:39 am
#35 , you not going back to Stealerships after warranty period speaks volumes how crooked they are, and why should we need how to haggle or go thru all their shenanigans, think of all the folks who don’t have a clue how to do that negotiation or are timid to do so, all customers should be treated equally, the Chinese will go direct sales when they come to the North American market , guess who will lose market share , it is time to do away with NADA and Stealerships , that is a sales and service for the 19th century.The Chinese , when they start selling BEVs will make Ford and GM look like schoolboys, just .ike the Japanese and S Koreans have taken a chunk of North American marketshare, not to mention the whole of Asia and Europe, your GM is done like toast, burnt to a crisp.
July 31st, 2021 at 10:39 am
#35 , you not going back to Stealerships after warranty period speaks volumes how crooked they are, and why should we need how to haggle or go thru all their shenanigans, think of all the folks who don’t have a clue how to do that negotiation or are timid to do so, all customers should be treated equally, the Chinese will go direct sales when they come to the North American market , guess who will lose market share , it is time to do away with NADA and Stealerships , that is a sales and service for the 19th century.The Chinese , when they start selling BEVs will make Ford and GM look like schoolboys, just .ike the Japanese and S Koreans have taken a chunk of North American marketshare, not to mention the whole of Asia and Europe, your GM is done like toast, burnt to a crisp.