This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.

EV BATTERY CELL COSTS JUMP +52%
The cost of EV battery cells jumped more than 52% this year. You can blame supply chain bottlenecks, soaring raw materials costs, and even speculators. Reuters reports that the average cost of a cell is now $160 per kilowatt hour, compared to $105 last year. And car companies are passing those costs along to customers with higher EV prices. Even so, the cost of gasoline and diesel fuel has also shot up, so consumers still see a lot of value in electric cars. Global sales of EVs are up 120% this year. 

CHINA TO AX FREE PLATES FOR PHEVs
In China, sales of New Energy Vehicles, or NEVs, are going strong at the same time that sales of piston powered vehicles are falling. NEVs include BEVs, PHEVs and fuel cells. And one reason they sell so well is that in major cities in China like Shanghai, anyone registering a NEV gets a free license plate. That’s a major subsidy. The plates– if you don’t know this already, will want to sit down–can cost over $15,000. It’s all about limiting car sales to try and keep a lid on traffic jams and pollution. Gasgoo reports that starting next year, cities like Shanghai are going to stop giving free license plates for PHEVs. And that’s all about pushing even more car buyers into electric.

AUTO ENGINEERS DEVOUR ICE TECH PAPERS
Last week the Society of Automotive Engineers held its annual World Congress. That’s where engineers from all over the world get together to share their latest technical developments. And the SAE just published the list of top technical papers that were downloaded from the Congress. And amazingly, only one of the top 10 papers had anything to do with EVs. The rest were all about internal combustion engines. For example, the most popular download is titled, “Visualization of Pre-Chamber Combustion and Main Chamber Jets with a Narrow Throat Pre-Chamber.” Even though the auto industry is making a massive pivot to EVs, it still needs ICE vehicles to generate the profits that will pay for those EVs. And so powertrain engineers all around the world are feverishly studying how they can keep internal combustion engines relevant for as long as they possibly can.

BMW’S STUNNING NEW 7-SERIES 
Wow! BMW just revealed the all-new 7-Series and what a look. We’re going to love to hear your thoughts. But it features a clamshell hood design and a new, large twin-kidney grille flanked by the lighting assemblies that are separated by a thin strip of body color. The lower part of the front fascia differs depending on if it’s a gas or electric model. The gas versions have additional cooling vents around the grille, which creates a different look leading up into the lighting. The EV, called the i7, obviously doesn’t need that extra cooling and we think the front end looks a little less aggressive. The rear of the vehicle features a more upright sloping roof that leads into a short trunk, a look we’ve come to associate more with Bentley or Rolls-Royce. As we slip inside the luxury sedan, we see a fairly minimalistic layout with a large thin display that combines the instrument cluster and infotainment screens, which are controlled with a set of buttons and knobs at the end of the center armrest. But now let’s get to some specs. Rear-wheel drive versions are powered by a 3.0L turbo in-line 6-cylinder engine that produces 375 horsepower. AWD is available in both gas and electric. Gas models have a 4.4L turbocharged V8, which pumps out 536 horsepower. The EV has the exact same amount of output from its two electric motors. A couple of other interesting notes about the EV are that it has more than 2 cubic feet less of cargo volume than gas models, it weighs nearly 1,000 pounds more than the V8 AWD and it has 101.7 kWh of usable space in the battery pack. BMW says it will get 625 kilometers of range on the WLTP test or up to 310 miles on the EPA. The new 7-Series goes on sale in the 4th quarter. Gas models start out a little over $94,000, including destination, while the i7 starts over $120-grand, including destination, but before incentives.

LEXUS ROLLS OUT ITS FIRST BEV
Speaking of new EVs, Lexus pulled the wraps off its RZ electric crossover. As we expected, it’s very similar to its siblings, the Toyota bZ4X and Subaru Solterra. But it gets in some Lexus design cues, like its signature spindle grille, although it’s covered over, for the same reason as the i7. The interior is also quite a bit different. There’s not much but a thin vent in front of the passenger that leads into a large center display screen. Also note how the air vents flow up and over and almost create a hood over the instrument cluster. Getting back to the similarities. The RZ is powered by two electric motors; one 150 kW unit in the front and an 80-kW unit in the rear. It comes with a 71.4 kWh battery pack, which is estimated to return 225 miles of range. Also like the BMW, the RZ goes on sale at the end of the year.

ROB DICKINSON OF SINGER DESIGN ON AFTER HOURS
Have you ever heard of Singer Vehicle Design? It’s a California company that customizes air-cooled Porsches, with an attention to detail and craftsmanship that truly transforms 911s into works of art. Ask any auto designer, they all know about Singer. Rob Dickinson the founder of Singer is our guest on Autoline After Hours tomorrow. He’s an interesting guy. Before he started the company, he was in an alternative rock band called Catherine Wheel. So how do you go from rocker to world famous car customizer? Join us tomorrow and we’ll all find out. 

MAGNA & LG TO MAKE EV PARTS FOR GM
The auto industry is making a massive pivot to electric vehicles, and automotive suppliers are investing heavily to keep up. LG Electronics and Magna broke ground on a new plant in Ramos Arizpe, Mexico, that will build EV components, including inverters, motors and on-board chargers, for General Motors. It’s located near GM’s assembly plant there which begins making EVs next year. 

SCHAEFFLER SECURES RARE EARTHS FROM EUROPE
And the German supplier Schaeffler did a deal with the Norwegian company REEtec AS to get rare earth metals that are used in magnets for electric motors. REEtec developed a sustainable process to produce the metals and its new plant in Norway will process rare earth carbonates produced by Vital Metals in Canada. The five-year deal starts in 2024. European automakers and suppliers want to make sure they have sources for raw materials that are based in Europe so they don’t have to import them.

GKN SAYS ALL EVS GOING 800v
And the supplier GKN thinks higher-voltage architectures will become mainstream very soon. Pretty much all EVs today run on 400-volt architectures, with the exception of Audi, Porsche, Hyundai and Kia EVs, which have 800-volt architectures and the Lucid Air, which has 900 volts. GKN told Automotive News that most EVs will have an 800-volt architecture by 2025 and pointed out that Hyundai has proved that 800 volts can be competitive on price. A key advantage of an 800-volt architecture is faster charging speeds.

FORD LIGHTNING SCREEN PLAYS VIDEO GAMES
Like Tesla, Ford is going to allow people to play games on its big center screen in the F-150 Lightning. Ford’s VP of Global EV Programs showed a short video of his kids playing a racing game on the screen, using the volume knob as a controller. He says it’s in final testing, which sure suggests it’ll make it to production. You may remember Tesla got in trouble for allowing games in its cars, but that’s because some could be used when the vehicle was in motion. Then it did an update that blocked the games unless the vehicle is parked. As long as Ford does the same thing, it should be good to go.

But that wraps up today’s report, thanks for tuning in.