AD #3304 – BMW Won’t Commit to Full EV Lineup; Honda Axes Insight Hybrid; bZ4X Is Exactly What You’d Expect from Toyota
April 15th, 2022 at 11:47am
Listen to “AD #3304 – BMW Won’t Commit to Full EV Lineup; Honda Axes Insight Hybrid; bZ4X Is Exactly What You’d Expect from Toyota” on Spreaker.
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Runtime: 9:27
0:08 BMW Won’t Commit to Fully Electric Lineup
0:54 Honda Axing Insight to Replace with Civic Hybrid
1:40 VW Makes Big Profit on Nickel Price Surge
3:03 Stellantis Partners with Qualcomm On Connected-Car Technology
3:39 Baidu To Provide VOYAH With AV & Connected Car Tech
4:15 Ford to Start F-150 Lightning Deliveries Soon
4:40 Mustang Is Top Selling Sports Coupe Globally
5:38 bZ4X EV Is Exactly What You’d Expect from A Toyota
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BMW WARNS AGAINST EV-ONLY STRATEGY
The future is electric, but BMW CEO Oliver Zipse thinks automakers need to be careful going EV-only. If an automaker only focuses on electric, Zipse says it could force them to become too reliant on a select few countries. He cites the disproportionate supply of raw materials for batteries coming out of China as an example. A lack of public EV charging and higher prices could also hinder certain customers from buying a new EV and Zipse says there’s still a market for internal combustion cars. And if you’re not the one making an ICE car for that person, someone else will, he says. But offering more efficient engines is still a key for moving forward.
HONDA AXING INSIGHT TO REPLACE WITH CIVIC HYBRID
And even though it just made a huge EV announcement, Honda, too, will focus on coming out with more fuel-efficient ICE vehicles. It plans to boost its volume of hybrids. The all-new CR-V Hybrid is being introduced this year, followed by the Accord Hybrid and then later by the Civic Hybrid. And with the Civic Hybrid on its way, it should come as little surprise that Honda will stop making the Insight in June, since it’s based on the Civic. Eventually Honda expects the hybrid versions of the CR-V and Accord will make up 50% of those vehicle’s sales and is going to help the company reach its goal of 100% zero-emission vehicle sales in North America by 2040.
VW MAKES BIG PROFIT ON NICKEL PRICE SURGE
As we reported last month, the price of nickel is surging this year, up 55% in the first quarter. The spike is partly due to increased demand from automakers, since it is a key material used to make EV batteries. While the price increase isn’t good news for the industry, Volkswagen is actually profiting off of it. That’s because it is hedging nickel and has a long position on the London Metal Exchange as a way to protect it from volatile price swings. VW says its commodity hedging will add 3.5 billion euros or $3.8 billion to its first quarter earnings and bring its total operating profit to 8.5 billion euros or $9.2 billion.
STELLANTIS PARTNERS WITH QUALCOMM ON CONNECTED-CAR TECH
As we’ve reported, Stellantis is partnering with Qualcomm on connected-car technology. As part of the multi-year deal, Stellantis will install Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Digital Cockpit, which includes 5G telematics, into vehicles. That includes all 14 of its brands and Maserati will be the first in 2024. Snapdragon will be used to power the in-car communications and infotainment systems for the automaker’s STLA SmartCockpit, which is being developed with Amazon and Foxconn.
BAIDU TO PROVIDE VOYAH WITH AV & CONNECTED CAR TECH
Chinese tech giant Baidu is forming a partnership with EV startup VOYAH to build in the areas of autonomous and connected car technologies. You may remember the name VOYAH from a story we ran a few months ago. It’s the new premium EV brand from Dongfeng that will start selling an SUV, called the Free, in Norway this June. VOYAH has plans to expand to other European markets and will be the second state-owned Chinese car company to sell vehicles in the region. SAIC has also been selling cars in Europe under the MG brand.
FORD TO START F-150 LIGHTNING DELIVERIES SOON
The all-new F-150 Lightning is about to start reaching customer hands and Ford is throwing a party to celebrate. It’s holding an event on April 26th at Ford’s Rouge plant in Dearborn, Michigan, to mark the launch of the electric pickup. Company and UAW leaders along with customers and employees will be there to celebrate and it will also be livestreamed for those not invited.
MUSTANG IS TOP SELLING SPORTS COUPE GLOBALLY
And speaking of Ford milestones, the Mustang was the best-selling sports coupe globally in 2021, the seventh year in a row. According to IHS, Ford sold just over 69,000 Mustangs globally. Not surprisingly, the U.S. is the muscle car’s top market and accounted for 76% of global sales.
BZ4X IS EXACTLY WHAT YOU’D EXPECT FROM A TOYOTA
It might seem like it’s taken a long time for the company that brought us the Prius, but Toyota will soon be putting a mainstream EV in dealer showrooms. Chad Kirchner, from our partner EV Pulse.com, got to drive the new electric crossover. Despite its brutalist design, he says it’s every bit what you’d expect from a Toyota.
Toyota is now building its first mass-market electric vehicle. The bZ4X is the brand’s new electric crossover designed to go after the likes of the Volkswagen ID.4 and Ford Mustang Mach-E. Toyota offers the bZ4X in two different trims. There’s a basic XLE model. Then there’s a Limited model that’s fully loaded. Both trims are available in front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive configurations.
A front-drive XLE bZ4X has a range of 252 miles and a starting price around $43,000 with delivery. The same XLE fitted with all-wheel drive comes in just shy of 230 miles and bumps the base price up to $45,295. Upgrading to the Limited trim gets you a ten-mile penalty on front-wheel drive variants. The Limited model starts at $47,915. All-wheel drive configurations with the same top-of-the-line trim are rated for 222 miles and sticker for $49,995 to start.
Acceleration is brisk in both front-wheel and all-wheel drive models. Toyota says its single-motor versions can get to 60 miles per hour from a standstill in 7.1 seconds. That number drops to 6.5 seconds when two motors are sharing the load.
That’s plenty of oomph to reach highway speeds, quickly overtake with ease, and shoot gaps in traffic. Ride and handling are fine for an everyday crossover. The suspension is geared more towards comfort and performance, and this would make an excellent commuter car. It’s quiet at highway speeds and outward visibility is decent. All models include Toyota Safety Sense 3.0, which is the company’s latest suite of driver assist functions.
The weirdest thing to get used to in all bZ4X models is the instrument cluster sits on top of the dash. You position the steering wheel so that the cluster is visible above the wheel and not through the wheel. It’s almost as high up in your visibility as a head-up display. We got used to it over time, but it’s weird. Maybe you’ll love it. Maybe you’ll hate it. It’s interesting, to say the least.
The Toyota bZ4X is, in a lot of ways, the Toyota of electric vehicles. It drives well, it’s reasonably well-equipped, and it should appeal to a lot of people. However, it doesn’t break new ground in the EV space. Opting for the bZ4X is the safe choice because it’s a Toyota.
Chad tells us that one other quirk of the B-Z-4-X is that all-wheel drive and front-wheel drive models charge at two different rates. And neither of them are particularly fast. For more details on that, plus a comparison to its closest EV competitors, click the link in the transcript or description box, or look for the EV Pulse channel on YouTube.
But that’s a wrap for this week. Make sure to keep your eyes peeled because we’ll have some more content coming for you this weekend. And I hope to see you back here again on Monday.
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Comments (20)
April 15th, 2022 at 12:03 pm
It looks like the bZ4X took some styling ques from the Lexus line (a lot of sharp angles), so for me, that’s a negative. The numbers don’t really impress either; Toyota loyal may still make this a successful launch for BEV though.
April 15th, 2022 at 12:32 pm
If Honda makes a hybrid Civic hatchback, Prius will have a worthy competitor, though the mpg of the Honda won’t be quite as good.
Toyota is going a different direction on drive wheels with their EV than many of the newer entries, with the 2WD version being FWD. That will make it better in snow than the RWD Model 3 and Mach-E, but most will probably be sold with 4WD anyway. While I like Toyota hybrids, I’d probably do elsewhere if buying a BEV.
April 15th, 2022 at 12:57 pm
I never saw the point of the Insight, after they downgraded it from a liftback to a sedan. The current Insight is, basically, a more expensive competitor to the Corolla hybrid.
April 15th, 2022 at 1:42 pm
1&2 your right, i don’t get the angles or the two tone paint.
April 15th, 2022 at 2:04 pm
BMW did the same mistake as GM when they chased off their brilliant EV engineers. GM after killing the EV1 and BMW after the i3. Now they play catch-up with their B team engineers.
Commitment is having quality products, not press releases. Catalog engineering EVs will always be second place.
April 15th, 2022 at 2:10 pm
The big advantage the bz4x has is the fwd. All the rwd ev models coming out limit themselves to fair weather regions in today’s market. With the Toyota, some customers in snow country will be willing to take the entry model because of the longer range and lower cost. It also charges faster.
I wonder how long it will be before manufacturers develop a motor shut off system for awd versions so in nice weather one motor could be disengaged and range would be improved. As well, by having the awd model with the same total power as the single motor version, they could improve range.
April 15th, 2022 at 3:13 pm
Some use an induction motor in the front that can freewheel. But there are CVT losses and weight. There is no free lunch.
April 15th, 2022 at 4:35 pm
6 It’s funny how everyone thinks they need 4wd, even in Florida. My first 16 years of driving in Indiana, where it snows, were in rwd cars. After that, I had fwd cars which were much better. It’s only since I’m old enough to not be concerned about running out of money that I’ve had Corvettes, clearly not good snow cars.
April 15th, 2022 at 10:17 pm
#6, 8.) I don’t know that FWD EVs benefit the same as FWD ICE vehicles in the snow. With FWD ICEs vehicles, they have better in the snow, due to the engine being on driving wheels, providing better traction. In FWD EVs, while the motors as on the front axles, the vehicle is now dragging the heavy battery behind the drive wheels! With that dynamic, I maybe wrong (and probably am), but I don’t believe there is much difference between a FWD and a RWD in the snow under those circumstances. One is pulling a load of heavy batteries through the snow and another is pushing them!
IMHO, much like the Chrysler Airflow concept in yesterday’s program, this bZ4X is an even bigger disappoint! I have no words! To have as much time as they have had, to survey the competition and come to the table with this?!? We all know that making EVs are hard, but who knew it would THIS difficult for some legacy OEMs, to field a serious competitor to the upstart automakers. It’s hard to except that Toyota has produced a vehicle that is barely mediocre and falls so far behind in power, range and charge time! No one is asking Toyota to make a 2000hp, 650 mile rage, AWD hyper car, with a 0-60 time of 1.99 seconds, neither are we asking that they build vehicle better than they Model Y, but can they after all this time, NOT be this far away?
April 15th, 2022 at 10:55 pm
9 FWD EVs won’t have the 60-40 weight distribution of FWD ICEers, but FWD still is better in ice and snow. The back end won’t be sliding to the side of the crowned road, unrelated to the steering, a problem with bad drivers. An aunt of mine had a Plymouth Arrow, an RWD Mitsubishi sold in the late ’70s-early ’80s, and repeatedly ran off the road when things got slick, because she didn’t understand what was going on when spinning her rear wheels. She did much better with a Neon that replaced the Arrow. Also, with FWD, the drive wheels “climb” the snow, doing better than RWD at keeping moving in winter conditions.
As far as the Toyota EV, for people who will buy it and charge it at home, it will work fine. It has plenty of power, and will probably be reliable. 6.5-7 seconds 0-60 is better than at least 3/4 of the gas CUVs being sold. I wouldn’t buy it, but Toyota loyalists will. I buy Toyotas, but just Toyota hybrids.
April 16th, 2022 at 8:17 am
I remember that 30 years ago, a rear-wheel drive sedan with the appropriate electronics could easily cope not only with snow, but an asymmetrically slippery road.
Great interview with Mark Reuss, by the way. It’s rare that one gets to listen to someone in his position laying it out at length.
I still have to wonder what a conceptually sound hybrid Hummer could have been. Similar performance, far greater offroad range, half the battery size, and a gross vehicle weight a little less on the insane side of things.
It’s not like there are unlimited amounts of cells to go around.
April 16th, 2022 at 12:12 pm
John made a good YouTube video discussing EV efficiency (see link.) I could not find a reference in the web page hence my post.
Some minor comments, the 2021 Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus has improved EPA 24 kWh / 100 miles due to more efficient heating and air conditioning. Also, the EPA kWh value needs 1/10 kWh precision as there is up to 1 kWh between the buckets.
Regardless John’s YouTube video is fairly short and accurate.
April 16th, 2022 at 4:29 pm
12 That was interesting. It looks like the Europeans don’t do so well with EV efficiency. The obscene Hummer is no surprise, but the iPace is pretty bad, for the size of the vehicle.
April 17th, 2022 at 7:56 pm
There is a lot grief in the Tesla community about Tesla dropping the portable EVSE connecting 120 VAC to a Tesla plug. I’m not affected because my 2019 Model 3 came with one and I added grid adapters for NEMA 14-50 and other 240 VAC power plugs. But the newer buyers have to pay $200 more, an option, and they are out of NEMA 14-50 (240 AC, 40 A) adapter plugs.
Turns out there are lots of 3d party dual voltage, 120-240 AC and 40 A EVSE. Just new Tesla buyers may face an extra cost and delay. Sort of like finding no spare tire, jack, and tire tool.
April 17th, 2022 at 10:48 pm
14 I recently read that Teslas have special foam lined tires to decrease road noise. If you’ve replaced your tires, did you get OEM tires? If not, is there a very noticeable increase in tire noise?
April 18th, 2022 at 2:36 am
The original Tesla tires did not last longer than 30k miles. In contrast, my replacement Bridgestones go twice that distance, lower rolling resistance, and lighter. However, there is a tight king-pin clearance on the front that has to be checked.
The tire foam ‘road noise’ suppression is more subtle than my ears can detect especially in traffic. Furthermore, the foam liner makes plugging an OEM tire to stop a leak a challenge. In contrast, the Bridgestone tires are easy to plug.
April 18th, 2022 at 6:59 am
It’s funny that before the late 70s people seemed to be able drive in snow without FWD or AWD . No traction control none of the electronic doodads that just seem to make people drive worse year after year. The fact that we get less snow every year makes no sense. My Dad who was born in 1931 said when he was a kid it would be snow covered from Thanksgiving to Easter most years in the Northeast and people were still able to get around .
April 18th, 2022 at 7:16 am
16. Thanks for the reply.
April 18th, 2022 at 7:37 am
17 My dad was born in 1914, and the cars of his youth, like a Model T with really skinny tires were good in snow, and on the muddy dirt roads still in Indiana when he started driving. Wide tires may be good for cornering on dry pavement, but their need to plow snow is not good for getting around in snow.
My last RWD vehicle that I drove in snow was a 1995 S10. I got by just fine with it in Indiana, but I started driving in the 1060s, when people still had to learn to drive without traction control, 4WD, or even FWD. Also, the short bed, regular cab S10 had 205 width tires, unfashionably narrow by today’s standards, but better in snow than wider ones.
April 18th, 2022 at 9:58 am
17,19 I think your both on to something; people got around (though certainly less crowded roadways than now), skinnier tires back then (VW Beetle was stellar in the snow). I did fine with my ’66 Tempest with F-70′s in the snow, so even though four and all wheel drive with traction control etc., maybe a general reliance on the new tech and maybe us old-timers did know how to drive a little better, by necessity.