This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.
GM MEXICO WORKERS TO VOTE ON NEW UNION
The USMCA, which is the new trade agreement between the U.S., Canada and Mexico, could have a profound effect on labor costs in Mexico. They’re starting to go up a lot. Mexican unions historically were toothless organizations that did whatever management wanted. Under the USMCA, Mexican workers can now freely choose the union they want to represent them. And General Motors workers in Silao will vote in two weeks for a new union. Silao makes Silverado and Sierra pickups. To avoid a 25% tariff, any vehicle exported from Mexico to the U.S. has to have 40% of its parts made with $16 an hour labor. And right now we’re seeing automakers in Mexico triple the wages of their workers to meet that requirement.
TESLA SIGNS GRAPHITE DEAL
Tesla continues to lock up its own supply chain for the raw materials it needs to make batteries. Last week it locked up a source for nickel. This week it’s graphite. Tesla signed a deal with Syrah Resources to get graphite, which is used in the negative pole of the battery, starting in 2025. While Syrah is an Australian company, it sources the graphite from Mozambique and it’s processed at a plant in Louisiana in the U.S. And that’s a big deal for Tesla. It wants to reduce its dependence on China. Right now China accounts for 70% of graphite production globally. It’s also a good move because, as we reported at the end of last year, the next shortage to hit the industry will probably be a graphite shortage. Producers can’t keep up with demand.
BP SAYS EV CHARGER PROFITABILITY CLOSE TO GAS STATIONS
Here’s a pretty big milestone. BP says its fast EV chargers are close to becoming more profitable than its traditional gas pumps. The fast charging division isn’t expected to become profitable until 2025 but on a margin basis, it’s nearly on par with filling up with gasoline. BP currently has 11,000 charging points and plans to grow it to 70,000 by 2030. But here’s our Autoline Insight. Gas stations don’t make much profit on selling gasoline. That’s the loss leader. They make their profit selling lottery tickets, cigarettes and beer. Electricity at public EV chargers is quite expensive. It can cost twice as much as residential rates and three times more than commercial rates.
KIA SHARES MORE NIRO DETAILS
Kia introduced the all-new Niro back in November but now it’s sharing more details. Its styling has been updated and it’s a bit larger than the outgoing model. Inside, it features a 10.25-inch display screen. Like before, it’s available as a hybrid, plug-in hybrid and battery electric vehicle. The hybrid is powered by a 1.6L four-cylinder gasoline engine that’s mated to a six-speed dual clutch transmission. Its fuel economy is 20.8 kilometers per liter or about 49 MPG but that’s based on the Korean standard. The hybrid goes on sale in Korea this month and will be available in global markets later in the year. The plug-in hybrid and BEV go on sale at a later date and Kia will reveal specs for those models closer to when they go on sale.
LOCAL MOTORS GOES OUT OF BUSINESS
Sad to say, the startup company called Local Motors went out of business. It’s best known for becoming the first company to 3D print a car back in 2014. It also introduced an autonomous shuttle called Olli that is partly manufactured using 3D printing. Local Motors was formed in 2007 and was based in Phoenix, Arizona. But it simply ran out of money. Critics tell Autoline that it tried to do too much, too fast.
ELECTRIC COOPER SE BEST SELLING VEHICLE IN MINI’S LINEUP
Some brands are doing a much better job of selling electric cars than others. Amazingly, the best-selling car in Mini’s lineup last year was the Cooper SE, which is a pure BEV. Mini sold nearly 35,000 of them, up 98%. But all those sales were in Europe and China. The Cooper SE is just going on sale in the U.S. now, which some have criticized as a compliance car because it only has a range of 114 miles.
Ford is going to beat Chevrolet to the market with an electric pickup. That’s because Ford took its existing F-150 and jammed it full of batteries. That saved Ford a ton of time. But GM went with a totally clean sheet design, using zero carryover parts. And that took longer to develop. So Chevrolet is going to come out with a more efficient electric truck. Want to learn more about what GM did? Then join us on Autoline After Hours this Thursday when our special guest will be Nicole Kraatz, the chief engineer on the Chevrolet Silverado. We’ll take a deep dive into how GM engineered its all-new electric pickup, from road to roof and bumper to bumper.
CATL JUMPS INTO BATTERY SWAPPING BUSINESS
Battery swapping is becoming more popular in China. Even CATL, the biggest battery maker in the world is getting in on the action. It’s launching battery swapping stations under the brand name EVOGO. And CATL says it’s ready to work with any automaker that wants to do battery swapping.
CHINESE STARTUP DEVELOPS AV TRUCK WITH SWAPPABLE BATTERIES
Along those lines, a Chinese startup called Westwell developed autonomous trucks that also use battery swapping. Westwell is operating 100 autonomous trucks at ports in China, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates. The company says it only takes 6 minutes to swap the batteries in its trucks, and it will open battery swapping stations in four countries this year.
BUICK GL8 AVENIR NOW AVAILABLE WITH HANDS-FREE DRIVING
Buick customers in China will be able to get their hands-on GM’s newest version of SuperCruise. Although, it doesn’t call it SuperCruise. It calls it eCruise Pro. Available as an over-the-air update on GL8 Avenir models, the feature allows for hands-free driving on more than 200,000 kilometers of city streets, elevated roads, highways and freeways. It also includes an all-new Instructed Lane Changing function, which can change lanes automatically when the turn signal is hit. Buick doesn’t say what customers will be charged, if anything, for the OTA, but claims it takes just 5 minutes to download.
NIO OFFERS 1ST OTA UPDATE OUTSIDE OF CHINA
Speaking of OTAs, Chinese automaker NIO is offering its first over-the-air update outside of China. For users in Norway, the update improves the operating system to include manual battery warmup, extends cabin pre-conditioning and makes searching for charging easier.
But that brings us to the end of today’s show. Thanks for tuning in and we’ll be right back here again tomorrow.
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Comments (20)
January 17th, 2022 at 12:32 pm
Please allow me to challenge the claim that the Silverado EV is a “clean sheet” design. Although it is not a derivative of the ICE Silverado, it is a derivative of the Hummer EV pickup… and as other people have commented, it is a better Avalanche replacement than a Silverado variant.
January 17th, 2022 at 12:54 pm
It sure seems like BP could buy their electricity at the commercial rate and then be able to provide EV charging at very competitive rates to the public while still making a nice margin.
January 17th, 2022 at 12:59 pm
As someone who has owned both an Avalanche and a Sierra pickup, in my opinion, the Avalanche was a far superior vehicle in most respects. It cost GM more to build, which ultimately spurred its demise once they were routinely offering CrewCab pickups with more optional content. Still, even at that point, the Avalanche had more to offer because of the way it was made.
I am interested in the new Silverado EV because of its design. It could be what all Silverados eventually become.
January 17th, 2022 at 1:08 pm
That the gas stations make more money on store purchases is precisely the reason I can’t understand why more stations aren’t putting in chargers. The customers will be at your location for at least 20-30 minutes. There is a new company building stations across the south with 150 fuel pumps and a huge store with food and other shopping. Not putting in the charging ports seams to me they are building for the past and not the future.
January 17th, 2022 at 1:27 pm
#1. Drew you silly boy! The Ultium GM BT1 platform program is a clean sheet design which was planned from day 1 to underpin the Hummer and Silverado with more to come.
January 17th, 2022 at 1:52 pm
When I first saw Local Motors at SEMA, in 2014, it was interesting but I couldn’t see how they could produce in large enough scale to make a profit. Guess they couldn’t figure-out that one either.
January 17th, 2022 at 2:26 pm
A comment on all the EV pickups, the weight is an underreported issue for those of us in California. We have a “weight fee” in California for anything with a pickup box. When you get much over 6000 lbs it can be the largest part of the already expensive California registration. Therefore, I hope my 2001 GMC 2500HD lives forever (or at least as long as I need a pickup),
January 17th, 2022 at 2:42 pm
With the drug cartels being so strong in Mexico, i wonder how long it will be before they infiltrate organized labor and their unions, in that country, if they have not done so already?
That is an interesting development, regarding BP and their charging stations. I had herd that there was not much money in sell fuel/gasoline and thought stations would go the way of the dinosaur if and when EVs took over sells from ICE vehicles! Yet, with companies transitioning from suppling gasoline to electricity, they are able to set their on prices for the convenience, as opposed to whatever scraps Big Oil leaves on the table!
January 17th, 2022 at 3:09 pm
great show to kick off the new autoline week,thanks
January 17th, 2022 at 3:41 pm
Gas stations not making money on fuel sales is not a new phenomenon. My father has a service station in Arizona in the sixties that I worked at in high school. Breaking even on fuel sales was about as good as it got – Could be worse since the proprietor paid for the fuel when purchased & it was based on the selling price at that time. If pump price went down, you could lose money on each gallon. Since this was before the days of selling lottery tickets, beer, & groceries in service stations, we made money in the garage portion – Oil changes, tires, mechanical repairs, etc.
January 18th, 2022 at 8:23 am
Seems to me that people just look at EV charging the wrong way. Its a completely different way to “fill up” than gas, so why they keep thinking of it in terms of a gas station that is beyond stupid. No I don’t want to spend 20-30 minutes in the local carry out. They need to be installing chargers where people already spend 30 min or more. So restaurants, Hotels, Parking garages and your employer will be the ones to provide a great charging opportunity.
They should also be thinking wireless with plenty of charging spots so if your there for 4 hours and you recharged in an hour people aren’t waiting for you to move to use your spot. And your not required to stop what your doing to go unplug and move your car.
Its certainly going to be a learning curve but anyone foolish enough to invest in a Charging station/carry out will likely be very disappointed. These are the types of things that will make or break owning an EV for many people. It needs to make their life easier not harder.
January 18th, 2022 at 8:33 am
Ideally my first EV will have enough autonomy that I can get out at the front entrance of say the mall, my car will go park at a charging pad. Once fully charged I’m billed thru an app on my phone and notified. Then it will go park itself elsewhere so another EV can use the charging pad. When I’m done shopping I summon my car via my phone and it picks me back up at the door. That’s when I’ll buy an EV.
January 18th, 2022 at 8:51 am
re:11&12, I agree Lambo, and have thought the same thing about the charging infrastructure. Wireless pads and autonomy will be game changers, but we aren’t there yet; I do see that as the future. In addition to destinations offering charging, the “filling stations” will need to become more “destinations”. Even as charging times come down, the charging stations will need to have enough draw to make us want to spend a little time there, like a restaurant area, a comfortable area showing short entertaining videos, video games, a bar, something to entertain future generations.
January 18th, 2022 at 8:54 am
In the meantime, until the wireless charging and autonomy are the norm, I could see pesky people bugging the person charging just like the phone chargers at work. People here are always asking, “Are you still using that?”… “What charge are you at?”… “Can I use that for a little while?”… Even if you own the charger!
January 18th, 2022 at 9:37 am
There is some Tesla buzz about ‘Green Hills Software’ and their New York Times ad, “The Dawn Project.” Unfortunately Green Hills is trying to build a b buisness criticizing Tesla Full Self Driving. But they do this by reviewing YouTube videos.
A Full Self Driving beta (FSD) tester, I have hundreds of miles and hours driving three different versions of FSD in my hands. In contrast, Green Hills only has YouTube video views. So who might have a better understanding of FSD?
The Green Hills YouTube claims are BS which raises questions about their other products and services.
January 18th, 2022 at 11:31 am
11 Lambo – Excellent posts, totally agree.
In fact, I’m a bit mystified why Tesla hasn’t been pushing that limited but very useful level of autonomy more. Ideally combined with advanced wireless charging, or their “snake” robo-charger.
The technology exists. Is there a first-mover disadvantage?
January 18th, 2022 at 11:49 am
11,13 Charging at restaurants is the thing that could possibly get me to buy an ev, without having home charging. Level 2 charging would be enough for a car I use most of the time.
January 18th, 2022 at 11:52 am
Wireless charging, as it exists, would be an environmental disaster, like wireless phone charging, as it is about 40% less efficient than wired charging.
January 18th, 2022 at 12:05 pm
Supposedly, there have been lots of wireless EV charging trials in the UK since 2017, and Plugless Power is going to reveal their third generation wireless chargers for home/industrial use soon -available in 2022. Maybe this is something Autoline will cover when they release the details.
Between this news, and Bob Wilson’s autonomy report, maybe they are closer than I thought.
January 18th, 2022 at 1:28 pm
12, Lambo, I hope you live a looong time! 18, Kit, I agree that wireless charging is bad for the environment.