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Runtime: 10:31
0:07 BYD To Make Its Own Chips
1:07 U.S. Falls Far Short in EV Charging Stations
1:59 Tesla Could Surpass BMW
3:33 AMG’s First Plug-In Hybrid
4:37 Bentley Upgrades Rear Seat Entertainment
5:25 GM Design Creates Futuristic Steering Wheel
7:04 VW Updates the Tiguan
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This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.
BYD TO MAKE ITS OWN CHIPS
BYD is going to make sure it has a steady supply of chips in the future no matter what happens. The Chinese automaker invested in a company called Vertilite which designs and manufactures microprocessors. And BYD obviously has big plans. It already invested in five other Chinese chip makers and established its own business unit called BYD Semiconductors. Tesla is the only other automaker that has talked about designing its own chips. But BYD is going well beyond that, and it makes us wonder if other automakers will consider getting into the chip business. One interesting aside here. A very good source in the industry tells Autoline that Chinese battery makers can get all the chips they want. They’re not facing any shortage. Chinese car companies are running into shortages, but not the battery companies.
US FALLS FAR SHORT IN EV CHARGING STATIONS
If EVs are ever going to catch on in the U.S., it needs a lot more charging stations. But a report from the ICCT, the International Council on Clean Transportation, says the U.S. is falling far short of what it needs. Even though California has poured billions into EV chargers and has the most stations in the country by far, it’s not enough. The ICCT says California only has 40% of the stations it needs to accommodate the EVs that are expected to be on the state’s roads by 2025. The infrastructure bill recently passed in Congress allots $7.5 billion to building more chargers. But Capgemini Americas says it will take $50 billion to build enough of them.
TESLA COULD SURPASS BMW
Of course, one of the reasons why Tesla continues to sell more EVs than anyone else is that it built its own charging network in the U.S., China and Europe. And as it continues to grow Tesla is going to quickly catch up to and surpass several automakers that might surprise you. With its assembly plants in Fremont and Shanghai, Tesla can currently make about 1 million vehicles a year. As Tesla’s new plants in Texas and Berlin come on stream, they’ll have the capacity to make another million vehicles once they get up to line speed. So here’s our Autoline Insight. Sometime next year Tesla is going to surpass Mazda and Mitsubishi in total production. And by the end of next year, Tesla could be at a run rate that will push it past BMW. If you think Tesla gets a lot of media coverage now, wait until it surpasses BMW.
Annual Vehicle Production (2019) | |
---|---|
Mazda | 1.1 Million |
Mitsubishi | 1.1 Million |
BMW | 2.0 Million |
Source: Wards Intelligence |
AMG’S FIRST PLUG-IN HYBRID
Mercedes-AMG introduced its first performance plug-in hybrid, a four-door “coupe” called the GT 63 S E Performance, which features technology derived from Formula 1. It’s powered by a 4.0L V8 twin turbo engine, along with a 150-kW electric motor that’s placed at the rear axle, which combined produce 830 horsepower and over 1,000 lb-ft of torque. It rockets from 0 to 100km/h in 2.9 seconds and it has a top speed just under 200 MPH. As you might imagine for such a powerful vehicle, its electric range is pretty puny. Minuscule even. It will only go 12 kilometers or just 7 miles on battery power. Mercedes did not reveal how much it will cost or when it will be available. But those are the highlights, you can find the link in the transcript or description box below to learn more.
YOU SCREEN, I SCREEN, WE ALL SCREEN FOR TOUCH SCREENS
Riding in a Bentley is about to become even more posh. The automaker is showing off the new rear-seat entertainment system for the Flying Spur and Bentayga. Two, 10.1-inch high-definition touchscreens are attached to the back of the front seats, which are also removable. Riders can stream video from their smartphone or tablet to the screens. Netflix is also pre-installed, so riders don’t have to use their own device to stream. Audio can also be streamed via Bluetooth to the user’s headphones or the sound can be streamed to the car’s audio system. The entertainment system can also be upgraded through OTA updates. Bentley didn’t reveal pricing but our guess is, it’s not going to be cheap.
THE YOKE’S ON YOU
And speaking of interiors, GM Design released a couple images to its Instagram page of a futuristic steering wheel or what it’s calling a steering pad. As you can see, the yoke-like wheel features a screen in the middle of the yoke, with leather wrapped handles at the sides. The company didn’t reveal any details about the pad but as you know the new Tesla S and X already have a yoke steering wheel, so maybe this is going to turn into something of a trend. The Tesla yoke created a storm of controversy. Most people seemed to hate it. So what do you think? Are yoke’s the future of steering wheels? Or will people stick to the tried and true round wheel?
VW UPDATES THE TIGUAN
As long as it can get the chips to make them, Volkswagen will offer a mildly refreshed Tiguan in the U.S. market in about another month. The updates are largely cosmetic: standard LED head lamps, a thin light bar that runs across the grille to connect the lamps, new steering wheel, new bumpers, and new stitching on the seats. The Tiguan keeps its 2-liter turbo four which is mated to an 8-speed automatic. And while it generates the same 184 horsepower and 221-pound feet of torque, it gets 1 more mile per gallon. The front drive version is rated at 26 MPGs, the all-wheel drive one gets 25. VW said it did some tuning that bumped the fuel efficiency up. While driving impressions are embargoed for now, as you can well imagine, with so few changes, it drives just like the outgoing model. As we reported on that model, the Tiguan has superb cabin isolation, the seats are comfortable yet supportive and the front drive version has a pleasant, supple ride. The 2-liter turbo has excellent part throttle acceleration. Just a bit of tip in easily keeps you out ahead of traffic. The one thing that did change is the price. VW raised the base price about $1,000. A base S model starts at $27,190. The SE model, which represents the highest sales volume is up by about $700 to $32,190 but the top of the line SEL R-Line dropped by $2,200. Guess that one wasn’t selling as well as expected. All the prices we’re quoting include destination charges and VW raised that too by $175. It’s now, $1,195 per vehicle. Interestingly, SUVs and CUVs now account for 71% of all of VW’s sales in the U.S. And the Tiguan is the company’s best-selling model, not only in the US, but all the world over.
GETTING INSIDE THE NEW NISSAN FRONTIER
Nissan made a big mistake leaving the Frontier pickup in the market without updating it for 17 years. Even though the company saved a ton of money by not investing in the truck, it lost half its customers. Now it hopes to lure them back with an all-new Frontier. So what were the big changes? That’s what we’re going to get into on Autoline After Hours on Thursday when Melaina Kovaks from Nissan comes on the show. She played an important role in determining what they had to do to improve the Frontier. If you’ve got questions you’d like us to ask her, tweet them to us or drop an email to viewermail@autoline.tv.
And that brings us to the end of today’s report. It’s our pleasure to bring you some of the latest developments in the global automotive industry.
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Seamus and Sean McElroy cover the latest news in the automotive industry for Autoline Daily.