AD #3356 – EV Jobs Growing, ICE Jobs Falling; Tesla Has Best Brand Loyalty; Used Car Shortage Looming Next Year
June 29th, 2022 at 11:54am
Listen to “AD #3356 – EV Jobs Growing, ICE Jobs Falling; Tesla Has Best Brand Loyalty; Used Car Shortage Looming Next Year” on Spreaker.
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Runtime: 11:04
0:08 EV Jobs Growing, ICE Jobs Falling
0:56 Tesla Has Best Brand Loyalty
1:46 2022 Sales to Drop Below 2020
2:23 Buick Tops JD Power Quality Index
3:47 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Is One Swoopy Car
5:03 Citroen C4 Goes Electric
5:55 Got A Dodge? Head to HWY 93
6:34 Clarios Low-Voltage Battery Perfect for EVs
8:02 Tesla Axes 200 Autopilot Workers
8:31 Used Car Shortage Looming Next Year
9:42 Cadillac Lyriq Pioneers Manufacturing Technique
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EV JOBS GROWING, ICE JOBS FALLING
EV jobs are growing, while ICE jobs are falling. That’s according to the U.S. Department of Energy. It says jobs related to battery electric vehicles jumped 26% in 2021, adding nearly 22,000 in total. Jobs related to hybrid, plug-in hybrid and fuel cell vehicles also made big gains and added more than 42,500 jobs in total. At the same time, jobs related to the fossil fuel industry shrank last year, falling by more than 31,500 and coal jobs dropped by more than 7,000 workers. However, the bio-fuel industry saw a slight increase of about 1,200 in 2021.
TESLA HAS BEST BRAND LOYALTY
Guess which luxury brand has the highest customer loyalty in the business? Tesla. I’m interested to know if you think Tesla is still a luxury brand? But this new loyalty study is according to auto analyst Tom Libby at S&P Global, which used to be known as IHS Markit. More customers come back to buy another Tesla than do customers who own a Mercedes, BMW or Audi. In fact, Audi has the worst brand loyalty of the luxury brands. Tom Libby says that in March, the loyalty rate for the Tesla Model 3 hit a stunning 76.6% and that this represents, quote, “an ominous trend for the rest of the industry.”
2022 SALES TO DROP BELOW 2020
Remember when we thought 2022 was going to be the recovery year for the auto industry? We all thought the pandemic and chip shortage would be over by now. But in fact, things are actually getting worse. Cox Automotive says new car sales in the American market will be lower than they were in 2020. Before the year got started, Cox Automotive thought new car sales would hit 16 million vehicles. Then it dropped that to 15.3 million. And now it’s dropped it to 14.4 million. In 2020, automakers sold 14.6 million vehicles.
BUICK TOPS JD POWER QUALITY INDEX
Supply chain issues not only hurt car sales, they also hurt vehicle quality. According to JD Power’s 2022 Initial Vehicle Quality study, problems per 100 vehicles rose 11% to 180 problems, up from 162 last year. A lower score translates to higher quality. But it’s now the highest mark in 36 years. The survey included responses from nearly 85,000 new car owners and lessees and only 9 of the 33 brands in the study improved vehicle quality with Buick topping the list. Mass-market vehicles had fewer problems than premium ones. And electric vehicles reported more problems compared to ICEs.
HYUNDAI IONIQ 6 IS ONE SWOOPY CAR
It’s common for a production vehicle to look nothing like the concept that inspired it, but that’s not the case at Hyundai. Following in the footsteps of the IONIQ 5, Hyundai revealed the IONIQ 6, a swoopy all-electric sedan that bears a strong resemblance to the Prophecy concept. I’m interested to know what you think of the design. I really like the rear end but not sure if I’m sold on the front yet. I can’t wait to see one in person. A couple of things we’d like to point out are the pixelated lighting, which is picked up on the front and rear as well as a newly designed ‘H’ emblem, and the use of digital side view mirrors. That’s something that’s not featured on the IONIQ 5 but does appear on Genesis’ all-electric CUV, the GV60. The interior is highlighted by two 12-inch display screens combined into the infotainment and instrument cluster. No details on the powertrain were provided but it’s built on the same platform as the IONIQ 5, so we should be able to expect a similar layout. It has both rear- and all-wheel drive and a 77.4 kWh battery pack that returns up to 303 miles of range. But more concrete details will be released sometime in July.
CITROEN C4 GOES ELECTRIC
Speaking of EVs, Citroen is coming out with a new version of the C4, called the C4 X. You’ll probably notice a strong resemblance to the new Peugeot 408 we showed the other day. It has that same combination of sedan and fastback SUV, but with Citroen’s design flare thrown on top. It’s powered by a 100 kW or 134 HP electric motor and features a 50-kWh battery pack that provides 360 kilometers or 224 miles of range, based on the WLTP test cycle. ICE versions are also available with a range of gas and diesel engines. Sales kick off soon and in many European markets only the electric version will be offered.
GOT A DODGE? HEAD TO HWY 93
Despite high gas prices, many people are still planning summer road trips. And if you’re a muscle car head and are in the U.S., Dodge just might have something for you. It’s charting a course along what it calls HWY 93. It’s not an actual highway, but is a route that connects 93 Dodge-inspired events and locations all across the country, one for every one of the 93 days of summer. Dodge says it will leave no roadhouse, rest stop or drag strip unturned. We’ll provide a link in the transcript or description box if you’d like to learn more.
CLARIOS LOW-VOLTAGE BATTERY PERFECT FOR EVs
Did you know that when you plug in an EV, that the high-voltage battery is actually disconnected from the rest of the vehicle? So you need an auxiliary, low-voltage battery so you don’t have to reset the clock and radio stations every time you charge or perform an OTA update. Clarios is a battery company that says it has a better auxiliary battery and it’s all about what it calls AGM, or absorbent glass mat. Mark Wallace is the CEO of Clarios and he’ll be joining us for Autoline After Hours tomorrow to talk about the batteries that nobody else seems to talk about.
TESLA AXES 200 AUTOPILOT WORKERS
Earlier this month, Elon Musk warned that layoffs were coming because Tesla grew too fast and he had a bad feeling about the economy. But we never thought those cuts would involve people working on Autopilot. Tesla closed a facility in California and let go of 200 employees working on Autopilot, most of whom were data analysts. The site employed about 350 workers and those that got to keep their jobs were transferred to a nearby facility.
USED CAR SHORTAGE LOOMING NEXT YEAR
We thought that the prices of used cars would start to be easing up by now. That’s not happening and it’s going to get a lot worse next year, says Scott Painter, the CEO of a company called Autonomy, which offers subscription services for the Tesla Model 3. Scott Painter points out that the best source of used cars is from cars coming off lease. Most people lease a car for three years and at the end of the lease, those cars end up in the used car market. But in March of 2020, when Covid lockdowns hit, new car sales dropped off dramatically. So in March of 2023, three years after the Covid shut downs, we’re going to start to see a big shortage of off-lease cars. In fact, there will be several million fewer cars coming off lease next year. Painter says the thought of that terrifies him, because you know what that shortage means. Prices are going to go up higher than they are now. The average price of a used car right now is around $28,000. And this suggests it will go well over thirty grand.
CADILLAC LYRIQ PIONEERS MANUFACTURING TECHNIQUE
Some of the things that impressed us so much about the Cadillac Lyriq involve new manufacturing techniques. Take a look at what looks like the grille on the front end. It’s a polycarbonate panel that is painted black on the backside of it. Then to get all those lines you see, they use a laser to etch out the black paint into the pattern they want. And then they backlight it so you can see the pattern. Cadillac says it can easily change the pattern simply by reprogramming the laser. So they can designate different models, like a V-Series, by etching out a different pattern. That panel went through all of GM’s stone chip tests and because the outside surface is smooth, it won’t collect dirt and is easy to clean. Cadillac says it’s the first automaker in the world to use this technique.
But that brings us to the end of today’s show. Thanks for tuning in.
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Comments (28)
June 29th, 2022 at 12:25 pm
I don’t see Tesla’s loyalty rating as ” ominous “, they are a bit of an outlier in the industry. If you want an electric vehicle they are the standard but once the manufacturers start offering more choice I would think that will change.
June 29th, 2022 at 12:28 pm
Sean I’m not really surprised that ICE jobs are falling while EV jobs increase but I really do question how the Dept. of Energy calculates those numbers. I assume they know it affects X number of bodies to build an ICE and X number for EVs and just assume based on sales that’s where we are. Reality is for many suppliers who build lights, glass, tires, seats. Doesn’t matter if its for a ICE or EV so dont care as long as they have a job. Yeah they are technically an EV job now but for many its not like a ICE job was lost.
June 29th, 2022 at 12:37 pm
Tesla has a cult following rightfully so. They were first to the market with a large array of firsts that made EVs attractive. They have set the bar which everyone else is compared to.
However with a 76.6% loyalty rating and a study showing that 18% go back to a ICE means only 6% may actually switch to another EV brand.
In the attached study you read that the biggest reason for the switch back to ICE has been lack of a 240V home charger as many here have said would be the reason to keep them from going Electric.
Just food for thought. https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/ev-owners-switch-gas-power-study/
June 29th, 2022 at 12:47 pm
Tesla does all its own software and of the historic auto makers very few write the majority of their code this can change but tough to break corporate culture and lack of home charger? is there a shortage of dryer plugs???
June 29th, 2022 at 12:50 pm
Although initial quality is important I would be more interested in how a vehicle is performing after that vital 3 year 36 month warranty expires. Also if the warranty work was broken down by $$. Because if I have to return my new car to have a $20 switch replaced verses leaving the vehicle at the dealership for 3 weeks to have a Bronco Engine replaced it makes a huge difference. Both are a single incident but impact the consumer quite differently.
June 29th, 2022 at 1:00 pm
With price new cars being so high a lot of people decided to buy their leased car when the lease ended. So fewer leased cars hitting the used car market has been going on for more than a year now. With the impending recession coming fewer people will be in the marker for a vehicle (new or used). We are already seeing dealer inventories improving. Chip shortage is starting to ease. Soon markups will go away. So, I don’t foresee any shortage in the use vehicle market.
June 29th, 2022 at 1:09 pm
Your new studio set…Ummm…not a fan. The lighting has your eyeglass arm shadows on you face. The peg board background has a distracting pattern. Too much tannish color in the frame. Citroen DS artwork won’t connect with a North American audience. Its better if you’re closer to the camera, you’re larger in the frame and the background is far enough behind you to get some depth of field. I’d like to focus on you and the video screen in the upper left corner but right now, everything is competing for my attention and the focal point is not clear. Having said that, your content and reporting is great, but the set is sub-par. Thanks
June 29th, 2022 at 1:10 pm
Citroen is correctly pronounced:
sih-tro-ANN
try it, you’ll like it
June 29th, 2022 at 1:18 pm
Sean, I like the new set and your glasses. Keep up the good work.
Steven
June 29th, 2022 at 1:22 pm
#4 Interesting comment on dryer plugs – most 220V dryers are on 30 or 40 amp breakers. Tesla charger is recommended to have 50 amp, though
other chargers may be lower. But a great comment – I run my 220V stick welder (SMAW) off a 6 gauge extension cord (about 20 feet long) running from the garage plugged into my dryer outlet in the house. I just don’t weld enough to need to put a dedicated welding outlet in the garage. And dryer outlet is underutilized, probably used less than 6 hours a week.
June 29th, 2022 at 1:48 pm
@Kelly – Thanks for your feedback.
June 29th, 2022 at 2:01 pm
I still don’t understand why the “industry” calls Tesla a luxury brand. It’s a cult/performance brand, but even a Model S is not that luxurious, and a Model 3 is less luxurious than a Camry or Accord.
As far as Tesla brand loyalty, are people buying additional Teslas, to have a fleet of 2,3,or 4, or are they replacing ones they have with new ones?
June 29th, 2022 at 2:04 pm
8 I’ve generally heard the accent on the first syllable of Citroen, including in France.
June 29th, 2022 at 2:07 pm
6 Buying out leases should be a great deal, because the residual value for a 3 year lease would have been set in 2019, before the pandemic and chip shortages. I’d think someone could buy out their lease, and in most cases, sell the vehicle for more than they paid for it.
June 29th, 2022 at 2:17 pm
To my eye, the Hyundai IONIQ 6 looks like a poor knockoff of the Porsche Tayan, much like the VW Bug “inspired” car from China you just reported on.
June 29th, 2022 at 2:18 pm
Sean, As far as the Ioniq 6 styling goes, I liked the show car better. It looked more like a 911 to me. I prefer the ‘lower nose’ look of the 911 and the rounded rear of the 911 to the distorted look of the Ioniq 5 nose and tail. Maybe they changed it because it looked TOO much like a 911?
June 29th, 2022 at 2:49 pm
@15 yes, to me the Ioniq6 looks like a New Beetle after having been run over by a steamroller.
June 29th, 2022 at 4:17 pm
Hey Sean, what stood out to me as one of the most in-your-face similarities regarding the rear end of that new Hyundai Ionic 6 is the rear of the Infiniti J30 – https://hooniverse.com/lamest-classics-the-infiniti-j30/
Also, I must agree with Kelly. The modified set seems to have taken a step backward in terms of lighting, visual interest, and thus quality. It honestly makes you look like the store attendant at AutoZone about to ring me up for my brakes and rotors.
June 29th, 2022 at 4:21 pm
I really like the exterior of the IONIQ6 in photos, including the wheels! But then there is the somewhat deal breaking modernesque (is that a word) interior, such a shame (only my opinion).
In a side note on design, I really hope Ford does not mess up the S650 Mustang interior. Spy photos do not give me a good feeling about it compared to my S550 that I love. We will see.
What??? Initial quality of electric vehicles is worse than the outdated evil ICE. ‘The revolution is upon us’… err well, ‘pay no attention to that quality report behind the curtain’….
June 29th, 2022 at 5:07 pm
19 Could the poor initial quality of EVs have to do with most EVs being Teslas, and Teslas having poor quality?
June 29th, 2022 at 5:14 pm
I like the appearance of the Ioniq6 if, for no other reason, it’s a car, rather than yet another generic CUV.
June 29th, 2022 at 6:05 pm
If “loyalty” is defined as consumers repurchasing the same model, has the Model 3 been on sale long enough to generate meaningful statistics in this category? How many first-year owners could have already bought another Model 3? Can’t be very many, and so low sample sizes usually give inaccurate ratings or projections.
Damn! That stats class finally came in handy!
June 29th, 2022 at 6:40 pm
22 I’m wondering the same thing. How is “loyalty” defined? Are people trading 5 year old Models S on Models Y? Are people adding to their fleets of Teslas? I’m curious.
June 29th, 2022 at 7:55 pm
22,23 Yep, give me the numbers, let me know how you want the data to be interpreted and through statistics, voila, there’s your answer.
June 29th, 2022 at 8:38 pm
if the ionic 6 was supposed to look like the prophecy concept they missed it by a mile, they ruined it. darn that thing’s ugly.
June 29th, 2022 at 8:52 pm
There are three versions of Telsa Model 3 listed by the EPA city/highway range mi:
(1) 2019 – 140/124 240 mi;
(2) 2020 – 148/132 250 mi;
(3) 2021 – 150/133 263 mi.
All three have nearly identical styling but newer ones have longer range and improved efficiency.
June 29th, 2022 at 10:05 pm
26 Do people trade them for a newer one to get slightly better efficiency and range?
June 30th, 2022 at 9:30 am
Yea I have an EV start up that sold 2 cars 3 years ago and each person is buying my new model this year so I have 100% customer loyalty.. Meanwhile OEM X sells 2 million cars and has 1.5 Million repeat customers for a 75% customer loyalty.
That’s how statistics is misleading.