This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.
TOYOTA SLASHING MORE PRODUCTION
Well, that chip shortage hasn’t gone away. Now it’s forcing Toyota to slash global production by another 100,000 units in June. It only expects to make 850,000 vehicles next month and says it will build that many vehicles on average per month through August. On top of that, Toyota is suspending production of 16 lines at 10 factories in Japan over the next few weeks because of parts shortages caused by the COVID lockdowns in Shanghai.
COVID LOCKDOWNS CRIPPLE CHINA’S SALES
And sales dropped dramatically in China because of those lockdowns. According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, sales were down nearly 50% in April compared to a year ago. Now, Gasgoo reports that the Chinese government plans to cut the passenger vehicle sales tax by nearly $9 billion to help kick start sales. And banks and state-owned automakers will defer principal and interest payments for commercial vehicle loans for six months.
CHINA LIKELY TO BAN ICE VEHICLES SOON
And sticking with China for the moment, the government wants to boost sales of electric vehicles but it hasn’t announced a ban of ICE vehicles like a number of countries have done. However, the Chief Manufacturing Officer at Chinese battery maker CATL, said at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos that he expects China to ban sales of gasoline and diesel cars by 2035, which is around the same time frame other countries have proposed.
STELLANTIS & SAMSUNG PICK INDIANA FOR NEW BATTERY PLANT
Stellantis and Samsung are going to build a new battery manufacturing plant in the U.S. in Indiana. Back in October, the two companies announced they were going to make lithium-ion batteries with initial production of 23 GWh a year starting in 2025. The plant will eventually ramp up to 40 GWh a year and will be located near the automaker’s casting, engine and transmission plants in Kokomo, Indiana. No word on the amount Stellantis is investing in the project, but securing batteries for future EV plans is critical for all automakers, so there will continue to be a lot of activity.
FORD TECH AUTOMATICALLY REDUCES SPEED
Ford is using connected vehicle technology to test out a system that automatically reduces a vehicle’s speed in certain areas, like school zones. The trial is being conducted in Cologne, Germany and as soon as the vehicle travels in one of the geofenced areas an alert pops up in the cluster showing the new speed limit flashing below the current speed and then it slows down to that speed. Another aspect we find interesting is that the speed limits could be set dynamically. Meaning, slowing vehicles when unexpected issues crop up, like potholes or road work. Ford also says the driver can override the system at any time. This test lasts until 2023 and is part of a bigger trial to use E-Transits in a number of different scenarios.
BMW IMPLEMENTING 3D PRINTED PARTS IN PRODUCTION
We keep hearing more and more news about 3d printing, and now BMW says it’s ready to start implementing 3D printed parts in production. It started on the project three years ago and now operates a fully automated 3D printing production line at its Additive Manufacturing Campus in Germany. It says it can cost-effectively make 50,000 components a year in common parts production as well as an additional 10,000 individual and new parts using 3D metal printing. For us the real benefit is that it’s fully automated, which means it can probably operate 24/7.
MAGNA LIGHTING TECH SHINES THROUGH PLASTIC
If you really want to know about the kind of future tech that will show up on cars, you’ve got to keep an eye on what automotive suppliers are working on. Check out this integrated lighting tech from Magna that could go on thermoplastic liftgates. The lighting is invisible until it’s lit up. But then it shines right through the plastic. It can be used for taillights, brake lights, turn signals, and even backup lights. And it’s reconfigurable, so the lighting can change for different situations, or even be used for styling differentiation. The lighting is crisp and uses zillions of pixels. It can be used to signal or communicate what’s going on with a car, like the charging status of an EV. Or it can even signal the car behind what’s going on ahead of the car it’s following, like a bicycle rider who’s holding up traffic. And it goes beyond lighting. Magna says that ADAS sensors can also be invisibly integrated into the body surface.
PHEV SALES CATCHING ON IN THE U.S.
Sales of electric cars are soaring in the U.S. market. But guess what? Plug-in hybrids are starting to catch on, too. Sales of PHEVs were up nearly 50% in the first quarter, with automakers selling over 43,000 of them. That’s only one-third of the number of BEVs that were sold, but it’s still an impressive gain. And almost all the credit for the increase goes to Stellantis. The PHEV versions of the Jeep Wrangler and Chrysler Pacifica have shot to the top of the sales charts for plug-ins. A year ago the Wrangler PHEV wasn’t even on the market, and sales of the Pacifica plug-in were up 76%. While the Toyota RAV4 PHEV also posted astonishing gains, that was offset by a big drop in sales of the Prius PHEV, so Toyota’s plug-in sales actually dropped in Q1. Even so, as consumers who are shopping for BEVs worry about range anxiety and an inadequate charging infrastructure, PHEVs might be just the solution for them. They can drive on electric power almost everyday, yet still be able to take long trips with piston power.
| TOP 5 PHEVs in the U.S. Q1, 2022 |
| 1. Jeep Wrangler |
8,199 |
—– |
| 2. Chrysler Pacifica |
8,180 |
+76% |
| 3. Toyota RAV4 |
5,233 |
+87% |
| 4. Toyota Prius |
2,589 |
-63% |
| 5. Audi Q5 |
2,074 |
-6.1% |
But that wraps up today’s show. Thanks for joining us.
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Comments (15)
May 24th, 2022 at 12:11 pm
Wouldn’t a better metric for the announcement of a new battery plant be how many batteries can be made and the range of how many vehicles those batteries would supply. 1.21 gigawatts (tongue in cheek) don’t tell me much.
And what about the increase in price of gasoline; what don’t I know, because I’m pretty sure we’re not hearing about any shortages (no lines, etc.), just more money per gallon.
May 24th, 2022 at 12:33 pm
1 23 GWh of battery would be 230,000 100 kWh packs a year, if I calculated correctly.
It’s interesting that the Wrangler is the best selling PHEV, because, overall, it is probably the worst PHEV. It has a maximum of 21 miles of electric-only range, if you drive very gently. If you drive at all normally, the ICE will run frequently. Then, after the battery is dead, it only ties the 3.6 automatic non-hybrid Wrangler in “combined” mpg.
https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/Find.do?action=sbs&id=44932&id=44930&id=44984&id=44913
May 24th, 2022 at 1:24 pm
I have said it for years, to anyone that would listen, a PHEV is the logical transition/bridge between ICE and BEV. The only surprising thing is it took so long for the PHEV to be accepted.
May 24th, 2022 at 1:28 pm
I would consider a PHEV but in no way would I buy a BEV. Get the true advantage of a BEV for most short trips and still the ability to travel and not be sitting at a charging station or altering my route to include charging stations. If I happen to be stopping for a mean and they have a charger great top off and be on my way but not required to stay 30-40 minutes.
May 24th, 2022 at 1:46 pm
I like that Magna lighting innovation, but wonder about how expensive it would be as an option on my next vehicle.
And, can I hit a button so it says “Get off my ass!” ?
May 24th, 2022 at 1:51 pm
We love our 2018 CT6 2.0E plug-in with 30,000 miles on it. We regularly see about 90 mpge, 43-45 miles on a charge, and close to 40 mpg on gas engine. The over 100 mpg and about 2,000 miles on a tank a gas every month is thr sweet spot for us. The almost 600 miles of range is thr icing on the cake!
May 24th, 2022 at 2:25 pm
#5. Imagine the insurance rate to cover a car where the complete rear end is one big lighted billboard. Yikes!
May 24th, 2022 at 3:30 pm
My view may not be accurate, please help me if that’s the case. If you looked for hybrid Lexus and non-Prius Toyotas, and Hondas, and Hyundais – they were advertised but were never in stock. I’m talking since 2018 or even before! Marketing gimmicks they were. It seems obvious that given a choice and similar or reasonably similar pricing, people go for the fuel efficient choice. Now that the world is moving to bev, of course stellantis is playing with phev volume prioritization, as it’s the only card they have! They are allocating chips to vehicles that will keep them in the game once no one looks for pistons, if that turns true. Also helps them with supply chain, scale in preparation of their late arrival to the ev market.
May 24th, 2022 at 3:52 pm
those fancy tail lights will perhaps permit you to type in messages, a new form of social media
May 24th, 2022 at 5:14 pm
3,4 The PHEV I liked was thr Chevy Volt, which actually worked as an EV while the battery had charge, but still got decent highway mpg on gas, with a clutch system to connect the ICE ditectly to the wheels above a certain speed. Between its being politicised, and its not looking like an SUV, it didn’t sell well.
May 24th, 2022 at 5:25 pm
8 When I bought my 2018 Camry hybrid, there were a few in stock, but not many. With the Highlander hybrid I recently bought, none were in stock, and I “pre-bought” one coming in to a dealer, that was close to what I wanted. I didn’t know any of them were advertised much, but I don’t pay much attention to ads.
May 24th, 2022 at 5:34 pm
With the significant reduction in ICE vehicles, and the amazing increase in BEV sold there should be an increase in percentage of BEV dramatically in the total market. What do you think the percentage will be at the end of the year?
Thanks for your great news report.
May 24th, 2022 at 8:57 pm
Thanks Kit. I was never so lucky, and I looked for Lincoln’s too, as those were sold for the same price. Two weeks ago my Lexus dealer told me they don’t see many hybrid RXs. The impression I had was that these companies advertised on their website at least, but only incentivized dealers to stock the lower cost items to produce. Maybe this is a function of where I am (tx), lower demand for hybrids back then.
May 24th, 2022 at 9:59 pm
12 The RX hybrid is a V6, while the Highlander hybrid is an i4, so the Highlander gets significantly better mpg, but the RX gets good mileage, especially city. The Highlander hybrid is available FWD, which is what I got, but the RX hybrid is AWD only.
https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/Find.do?action=sbs&id=44438&id=44436&id=44685&id=44651
You should be able to order a Lincoln, but it might take a long time to get it. There are plug-in hybrid version of Corsair and Aviator. They might, or might not make sense, depending on how much of your driving is on plug-in power. The Aviator hybrid is kind of thirsty when running on gas, compared to the RX hybrid.
Toyota won’t let you customer order. I don’t know if Lexus is different.
May 25th, 2022 at 8:51 am
5) That would be good, but only if there can be one on the front that tells the left lane cruiser to “MOVE OVER”