AD #3227 – NIO Introduces New ET5 Sedan; EV Subsidies Dead in The Water; Nikola Delivers First Battery Electric Trucks
December 20th, 2021 at 11:49am
Listen to “AD #3227 – NIO Introduces New ET5 Sedan; EV Subsidies Dead in The Water; Nikola Delivers First Battery Electric Trucks” on Spreaker.
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Runtime: 8:50
0:08 EV Subsidies Dead in The Water
0:57 Why Dan Ammann Was Fired from Cruise
1:44 Toyota Opens Up Proving Ground to Any Automaker
3:00 Nikola Delivers First Battery Electric Trucks
3:52 Audi Opens First Charging Hub in Germany
4:29 Ford Offers CA EV Owners Zero-Carbon Charging
5:28 NIO Introduces New ET5 Electric Sedan
6:63 ZF Shows Off Steer-By-Wire System
7:42 Low Rolling Resistance Tires Have Longer Braking Distances
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EV SUBSIDIES DEAD IN THE WATER
Automakers in the American market are counting on the U.S. government to provide more subsidies to consumers to buy electric cars. But that’s not going to happen anytime soon. Those subsidies were part of a bigger package championed by the Biden Administration called “Build Back Better.” But the Administration lost a key vote yesterday when Senator Joe Manchin, a Democrat of West Virginia, said he would not support the plan. Without Manchin, President Biden does not have the votes to enact the legislation. General Motors and Tesla have already run out of the $7,500 credits. Ford and Toyota will run out of them next year. Maybe a new round of EV subsidies will resurface in a separate bill next year. But for now, it looks like they’re dead in the water.
WHY DAN AMMANN WAS FIRED FROM CRUISE
We’re getting a better idea of why CEO Dan Ammann was fired at GM’s Cruise unit. And yes, he was fired. It’s all about money and control. Bloomberg reports that Ammann wanted to take Cruise public and keep it independent from General Motors. But GM CEO Mary Barra wants to keep Cruise in-house and have it develop autonomous technology for GM’s car brands. She also wants GM to have its own robot taxi service. GM bought Cruise for $1 billion in 2016. Today, based on the funding it’s raised, Cruise is worth $30 billion. Dan Ammann would have made tens of millions of dollars if Cruise went public. But this move leaves no doubt that Mary Barra is the one calling the shots.
TOYOTA OPENS UP PROVING GROUND TO ANY AUTOMAKER
OK, we’ve never seen this before. Toyota is opening up its Proving Grounds in Arizona to anyone who wants to use it. The facility opened in 1993 and Toyota uses it for vehicle testing and development. While automakers sometimes open up their proving grounds to other companies, they don’t open them up to direct competitors. Toyota says it’s doing this to help advance mobility for all, but we think it’s more about money. It costs a lot of money to operate a proving ground and by leasing it out to others, Toyota is turning it from a fixed cost into a revenue generating asset.
NIKOLA DELIVERS FIRST BATTERY ELECTRIC TRUCKS
Nikola is not dead. It just delivered its first battery electric semi-trucks, called the Tre, to Total Transportation Services in Southern California. Two trucks will be tested at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. The Tre BEV has a range of 350 miles. In the future, two fuel cell powered versions will be added to the pilot test. Those trucks have a range of 500 miles. Once the pilot test is complete, 30 Tre BEVs will be added to Total Transportation’s fleet in 2022 and 70 fuel cell trucks in 2023. Nikola and Iveco also signed a deal with the Hamburg Port Authority in Germany to deliver 25 Tre BEVs throughout 2022. So while its controversial founder Trevor Milton is long gone, Nikola keeps on rolling.
AUDI OPENS FIRST CHARGING HUB IN GERMANY
And speaking of EV pilot projects, Audi is about to open its first EV charging hub in Nuremberg, Germany. It features a lounge area where owners can wait while their vehicle is charging up, since it can take 20 to 30 minutes to get to an 80% charge. The hub has six charging points with up to 320 kW of power, which users can reserve with an app and costs 31 cents per kilowatt hour. The hub, which opens to customers of any brand on December 23rd, is aimed at EV owners in urban areas who can’t charge at home.
FORD OFFERS CA EV OWNERS ZERO-CARBON CHARGING
And in other EV charging news, Ford is launching a new service for customers in California to opt into carbon-neutral charging at home. Owners join through the FordPass app, which then automatically tracks the amount of electricity used while charging at home. Ford, then buys or generates an equivalent amount of Renewable Energy Certificates, which record the generation and usage of green energy. Ford then sends that to the California Air Resources Board to ensure all home charging is matched with zero-carbon electricity. The program is available to all owners in California of current Ford BEV and plug-in hybrids.
NIO INTRODUCES NEW ET5 ELECTRIC SEDAN
Chinese EV startup NIO introduced its newest model, an all-electric mid-size sedan, called the ET5. Its steel and aluminum body was styled similar to its ET7 sedan, which launches early next year. And note how designers did a pretty good job of integrating the autonomous sensors at the top of the windshield. NIO’s system allows for automated highway and urban driving, parking and battery swapping. We don’t get the greatest look at the interior here, but NIO says the digital cockpit features both augmented and virtual reality technology. The ET5 will have three battery sizes available; 75 kWh, 100 kWh and 150 kWh. Those will provide ranges between 550 and 1,000 kilometers or 341 to 621 miles based on the China test cycle, which is similar to WLTP. 0-100 km/h can be done in 4.3 seconds. The ET5 starts as low as about $40,500 or roughly 36,000 euros if you rent the battery pack instead of buying it, otherwise you can add $11-grand or 9,700 euros to the price tag. Deliveries of the new sedan start in September of next year.
ZF SHOWS OFF STEER-BY-WIRE SYSTEM
Giant German supplier ZF is showing off the benefits of its steer-by-wire system. It features redundant battery and communication networks and with no physical connection between the wheel and steering gear, the feel, steering ratio and effort can be adjusted with software. For example, a tight turn that might normally require you to cross your hands over one another can be done in one motion. That’s great for new steering wheel shapes, like Tesla’s yoke, which can be difficult to use. A system like this will also help enable Level 4 autonomous driving and it can clear up room for an AV system with a retractable steering wheel. ZF says it can even integrate rear-steering systems as well as braking and chassis functions too.
LOW ROLLING RESISTANCE TIRES HAVE LONGER BRAKING DISTANCES
Tires with low rolling resistance can help hybrids get better fuel economy. But Consumer Reports says using those tires result in longer braking distances. It says the hybrid version of the Chrysler Pacifica takes 9 feet longer and the Hyundai Sonata hybrid takes 8 feet longer to come to a stop in a 60 to 0 mile an hour test. A Toyota Camry hybrid takes 12 feet longer. Consumer Reports compared braking distances of those cars to their gasoline-only versions that do not have low rolling resistance tires. CR says you’re better off with a car that stops in a shorter distance even if that means giving up a few miles per gallon.
But that brings us to the end of today’s show. Thanks for tuning in.
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Comments (39)
December 20th, 2021 at 12:09 pm
Is a Pacifica plug-in hybrid eligible for the current tax credit?
December 20th, 2021 at 12:14 pm
Why would Toyota need a proving ground? Doesn’t Subaru and BMW make their sporty cars for tthem?
With their feet dragging into BEV’s it sounds like their battery manufacturer will be making their cars for them. Toyota doesn’t make of anything today foe the automotive market.
December 20th, 2021 at 12:24 pm
mary b could loose some sleep if GM customers do not get the govt tax breaks for buying EVs unless old joe can keep gasoline prices high.
December 20th, 2021 at 12:26 pm
The EV purchase subsidies were get production rolling and it worked. The significant operational savings and improved performance works to sell real EVs. As for purchase cost, ICE prices increased while EV manufacturing costs continue to go down.
Given Consumer Reports poor reporting on tire rolling resistance, I’ll continue to pass on their recent tire advice. At least in Europe they have rolling resistance rankings versus manufacturer claims.
Since the earliest Prius days, Consumer Reports rankings have been at odds with the feedback from their readers who loved the Prius. This pattern remains with Consumer Reports and Teslas. I feel no desire to financially support such poor reporting.
December 20th, 2021 at 12:31 pm
Sean, Is the change in rolling resistance proportional to the change in stopping distance? (ie 6%) If the rolling resistance change is greater than the stopping distance increase, then I say it is still worth it. I can adjust to less stopping power, but I can’t easily get more mpg.
December 20th, 2021 at 12:32 pm
Also, the result they reported is what I would have expected. Skinny tires are narrow and hot coffee is hot. Why was CR surprised?
December 20th, 2021 at 12:33 pm
Wrt CU testing: how did the weight of the hybrid .vs. non-hybrid vehicles compare? If hybrids weigh substantially more than non-hybrids, then (assuming no other difference aside from power train) hybrids would take more distance to start. For a hydrocarbon-only car, one might try braking with and without a 3 – 400 pound weight in the passenger seat to see how braking distance varies.
December 20th, 2021 at 12:34 pm
oops…I meant hybrids would take more distance to __stop__.
December 20th, 2021 at 12:35 pm
The low rolling resistance tire segment made me wonder if that is accounted for when they calibrate these auto braking systems. Stopping 8′ further can be the difference of 6″ from the bumper or 7ft into the next car.
Fords Zero Carbon charging reminds me of a nice game of finding the ball under the cup. Or when a company plans to already donate X% to charity and then tells the employees we donated in your name. Makes everyone fell good but doesn’t really change anything.
December 20th, 2021 at 12:39 pm
GMs MaryBarra backslapping from US President Joe Biden isn’t going to help movingGM with it forward into BEVs, John McElroy was right in saying the $4,500 Union part of subsidiaries wasn’t going to fly,and other Souhtern States and countries like Canada and Mexico and Europe and Japan challenging it in US and WTO Courts that bill is dead, GM has wasted precious time getting its BEV program going. Balancing ICE production and sales vs BEV is going to be tough for legacy auto.GM BEVs are going to be uncompetitive vs Teslas , let alone the Chinese like BYD , Nio , XPeng,and more.
December 20th, 2021 at 12:39 pm
#3 Remember the 2020 Covid isolation crisis when oil prices tanked and drilling and fracking shut down as unprofitable? Biden was not Pres then. Oil production takes a long time to restart. As demand returned, production did not. That is capitalism at work.
December 20th, 2021 at 12:45 pm
Many thought Dan Ammann was going to be crowned next GM CEO , now the Queen Mary put a kibosh to that, Me thinks she wants to be GMs Queen for life, good luck to GM, they are going to need it, maybe a Bailout #2 will be in the works for ” To big to fail”.
December 20th, 2021 at 12:47 pm
Seems everyone here is smart enough to realize a skinner tire on a heavier vehicle will take longer to stop. Too bad CR didn’t realize that they were not comparing apples to apples.
Sure when given the option most everyone would prefer the better grip. However its a lot like having an airbag. Important if you need it but forgettable any other time. Cannot remember the last time I stopped hard enough to engage the ABS so in my case I would take the better mileage 100% of the time over the slightly longer braking that I may never ever use.
December 20th, 2021 at 12:58 pm
There is no free lunch when it comes to tires. It’s always a compromise. Might as well run a spot next that proclaims 180 treadwear tires shave another 8 ft from stopping distance and we should all demand that.
You guys missed the opportunity to slap your autoline insight on the end of that one and call it out for what it was: a media grab.
Cheers!
December 20th, 2021 at 12:59 pm
6 It would be partly the skinny tires, but also, LRR tires are probably less sticky compound than most tires.
4 Is there any real source of information about rolling resistance of tires? My sample of two brands on a Camry LE hybrid showed that the Firestones that came on the car had lower resistance than the Contis that replaced them.
December 20th, 2021 at 1:05 pm
11 Although its a nice try to blame past administration for gas prices today. Your facts are a little off. Production has been slow to ramp up but nothing to do with CV and more to do with the current admin energy policies. By 2019 the US was a net energy exporter. Biden’s 1st day in office he killed the Keystone pipeline, he also nixed any new oil and gas leasing on federal land and waters. He also placed heavy regulations on domestic energy production. In addition to the Michigan L5 pipeline which he wants to close and I’m not sure of that status but gas prices are speculative and that info alone drives prices up. The president doesn’t set gas prices but policies absolutely affect them.
December 20th, 2021 at 1:07 pm
4 What has been wrong with CR’s evaluation of Priuses and Teslas? I’ve had two Priuses, and their evaluations certainly fit my experience. I’ve driven a Tesla M3 only briefly, but what they say fits what I experienced. It’s quick, but rides kind of stiffly for a mid-size sedan, and the controls/user interface suck. I wouldn’t care about the ride, and could get used to the controls, but that doesn’t make those things good.
December 20th, 2021 at 1:13 pm
i have driven new vehicles 200,000 miles with just minor repairs and they brought reasonable $$ when sold. who is going to buy a used vehicle that will need a $15K battery down the road when the vehicle is worth $10K.
December 20th, 2021 at 1:16 pm
16 The prior admin was “full speed ahead” on the Keystone pipeline, but not much happened in those 4 years. Biden has nothing to do with its not running. Production was cut back a lot in 2020, and it takes a while to adjust when demand increases a huge amount over a few months.
December 20th, 2021 at 1:24 pm
Didn’t some hurricanes damage gulf oil production in 2021?
December 20th, 2021 at 1:25 pm
20 Yeah, that too
December 20th, 2021 at 1:26 pm
And oil refining in Texas and Louisiana?
December 20th, 2021 at 1:28 pm
https://carbuzz.com/news/ford-issues-stop-sale-order-on-maverick-and-mustang-mach-e
December 20th, 2021 at 1:49 pm
20 That’s actually hilarious considering 2016 through 2019 was the costliest 4 year stretch for tropical cyclones in the US according to the NOAA. Three of the 5 costliest hurricanes in US history occurred in 2017 alone. Harvey Irma and Maria. Yet gas prices never climbed anywhere near where they are now. Keep believing their excuses..
December 20th, 2021 at 1:54 pm
19 Not sure where you get your false news but Biden is absolutely responsible for the XL pipeline not running. Here read this; Its ABC so I purposely didn’t grab coverage from Fox.
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/work-keystone-xl-pipeline-suspended-ahead-biden-action-75371464
December 20th, 2021 at 2:36 pm
#1. All PHEVs qualify so a tax rebate, but it varies by the battery size & range. Here’s more info: https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/taxevb.shtml
December 20th, 2021 at 2:43 pm
25 Trump and gang had 4 years. Anyway, the extremely environmentally bad oil won’t be needed abyway, as more EVs hit road.
December 20th, 2021 at 3:00 pm
companies are raising their prices getting ready for the $15/$20 hour minimum wage that old joe talked about while campaigning. you can’t pay a dish washer $15 hour and expect the price of ham and eggs not to go up. the next thing that will happen is the worker already making $20 hour is also going to want a raise and here come your inflation. the person living on a small pension and SS is going to take it in the shorts when this happens
December 20th, 2021 at 3:41 pm
I suspect the weight difference between an HEV and it’s ICE sibling will explain most of the difference in stopping distances. CR and IiHS seem to be cornering the market for poor analyses, and most media are too gullible to challenge them.
December 20th, 2021 at 4:08 pm
@11, 3, 20, 21, 22, 24 when demand tanked last year crude oil prices dropped to $20-40/barrel. Break-even point for most U.S. oil wells is $50-60/barrel, so most were shut down.
When crude oil prices recover to $70/barrel from $20-40/barrel fuel prices obviously increase proportionally.
December 20th, 2021 at 4:15 pm
@25: don’t lie. Keystone 1, 2, and 3 have continued to pump 1.2 MM barrels per day. The permit for the future phase 4 has been revoked.
No president has had any effect on transported volumes during the past years including 2021. Keystone is privately-owned and operated.
Post here based on reality, facts and figures, not based on your petty political opinions.
Spew your political nonsense on Facebook, not here. Thank you.
December 20th, 2021 at 4:43 pm
26 Thanks, John
December 20th, 2021 at 5:51 pm
It’s sad to hear that the subsidies, as the currently stand, are dead in the water! I was intent on making the Mach-E my next vehicle purchase. Maybe a used one fresh of lease then? I here that, currently, BEVs, while good cars, their resale value is very low. So perhaps I may be able to get one at a n8ce price still?!
I’m glad to see that Nikola’s previous CEO fiasco, is not holding them back from moving forward on their vehicle initiatives!
The NIO ET5 (seems preety close to the Cadillac CT5, honestly) looks pretty sharp! With a mix of Tesla, Porshe and even a little Aston Martin, on the exterior. It’s nice to see that, while many were rightly worried that EVs may be bland in appearance, designs are figuring out ways to keep their vehicles looks interesting. While there are some duds out there (Bolt, Leaf and that Toyota thing, I’m looking at you), there are some that are trying to push the needle, but not building space ships!
ZFs drive by wire tech is interesting, but I feel that it would become too close to driving a computer game. With some EVs being so powerful, not having a feeling of what the wheels are actually doing, seems like that would make it more difficult to adjust to changing road conditions! While in may make it easier for converting to autonomous driving/vehicles, not some much for when people are driving behind the wheel.
December 20th, 2021 at 7:12 pm
26 I find that the Pacifica hybrid is good for a $7500 credit. Does anyone here know who makes the powertrain for it?
December 20th, 2021 at 7:41 pm
watching the 11:00 news they show the hottest or coldest temp on this date in history in the area. the hottest days are mostly always in the late 1800s or early 1900s. since it was not my 2018 silverado causing that back then what was causing global warming (climate change) back then??
December 21st, 2021 at 8:16 am
31 Okay you obviously cant be helped with actual facts that I provided. That was not my opinion I posted a link from ABC and yet your incapable of absorbing the truth. Its amazing to me how many people in this country make decisions and provide support based on emotion rather than actual facts. Doesn’t matter your political affiliation or if your on the right or left but if you are incapable of realizing what is happening around you and don’t see that the price of everything has gone up then explaining anything to you wont help either.
A couple guys recently went out and asked for people to sign a petition for free tuition. Everyone was eager to sign it and then they asked what additional % of their income they were willing to donate to provide this new service.. Almost everyone quickly decided they no longer wanted to sign the petition.
Tons of people will support lots of great ideas in theory until it comes to pay for it. Doesn’t matter if its to curb environmental impact, be carbon free or provide healthcare or tuition it all sounds great until you see the impact.
Biden shut down the pipeline and any future drilling to support his promise to the environmentalists and sorry to say doing so has an effect and it costs money.
Does his policy help the environment? Is the extra cost in gas worth it? that’s what really needs to be determined. But in case it doesn’t its always easy to blame hurricanes, past admin, wait and even the next admin will catch some blame. The true reality is what we see today is a result of Biden’s policies and as Clem said you cant raise the wage for everyone at the bottom and not expect it to trickle to everyone on up. Those skilled trade folks are not going to work for the same as minimum wage.
December 21st, 2021 at 8:28 am
31 BTW I also take offense that for some reason you think that only your opinion is correct and that mine is only facebook worthy. Even though I provided an actual link to support my opinion and didn’t just spew stuff I think or feel.
Maybe your the one spewing nonsense.
December 21st, 2021 at 9:06 am
Somehow, most of congress thinks it’s great to spend $.8 trillion a year, every year, on the military, but can’t afford to spend money to improve heath care, early childhood education, or the environment.
December 21st, 2021 at 9:52 am
38 Couldn’t agree more. We waste so much money and just keep printing it now that we are off the gold standard. Many Americans could be so much better off than they are.