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Runtime: 9:33
0:08 VW Names Keogh Head of New Scout Brand
1:19 BEVs Hit 10% Market Share in Europe
2:03 U.S Car Prices Hit Record High
4:07 Renault Converting Old ICE Vans into EVs
5:12 Ford Tests Robot EV Charging Station
6:00 Cadillac Offers Discount to Track Lyriq Customers
7:23 Nissan Launches New X-Trail
8:09 Amazon’s Zoox Ready to Jump into Robotaxi Business
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VW NAMES KEOGH HEAD OF NEW SCOUT BRAND
Volkswagen announced that it is appointing Scott Keogh, the head of its American operations, as the President and CEO of its new Scout electric brand. Replacing Keogh is Pablo Di Si, who’s currently in charge of VW’s South American operations. The changes take effect on September 1st. Back in May, VW announced its reviving Scout in the U.S. market, which was a Jeep-like vehicle sold between 1961 to 1980 by International Harvester. But VW is bringing it back as an electric pickup and SUV brand, not just as a single vehicle. It makes sense VW is appointing someone with lots of experience in the American market. Keogh has been the head of VW of America since 2018 and prior to that was the President and CEO of Audi of America. By the way, if you want to learn more about VW’s revival of Scout, check out this video from John and why he thinks Scout could become the equivalent of the Jeep brand for Volkswagen. Look for the link in today’s transcript or description box below.
BEVs HIT 10% MARKET SHARE IN EUROPE
Like in the U.S., overall car sales are down in Europe. But also like in the U.S., sales of electric vehicles are growing despite the overall sales drop. Last month, EU car sales hit their lowest levels since 1996, with just over a million units sold. But BEV sales were up 11% in the second quarter of the year and now account for nearly 10% of the market. And hybrids account for more than 22% of the market. Gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles still make up the majority of market share, nearly 56% but sales of those vehicles fell by more than 20%.
U.S CAR PRICES HIT RECORD HIGH
Car prices continue to climb in the U.S. According to Kelley Blue Book, the average transaction price for new vehicles hit a record of $48,403 in June. But that’s largely due to luxury vehicles. Cox Automotive reports luxury sales were up 18% last month and the average cost was nearly $66,500, an increase of $1,100 month over month. EVs are also contributing to the higher transaction price with an average of about $66,000 in June. That’s an increase of roughly 4% from May. But if you’re looking for a deal go with a compact or mid-size vehicle. Compacts sell for about 30% less than the average transaction price and were up only $146. And mid-size car prices were up just $325. Even still demand remains high, which means dealers will be able to sell cars at or above MSRP and automakers can slash incentives. In other words, don’t expect prices to come down anytime soon.
RENAULT CONVERTING OLD ICE VANS INTO EVs
Renault wants to generate more value from its vehicles throughout their lifecycle. One of the more interesting ways it’s doing this is by converting one of its plants so it can recondition used vehicles. The process could even include replacing worn out door panels or seats. But the site will be able to do so much more. Renault is partnering with Phoenix Mobility to convert old combustion power light commercial vehicles into EVs. The first step will be to develop a retrofit kit for the Renault Master van before the end of next year. They hope to install around 1,000 of the kits to show the benefits of the system to customers and then extend it to other models. It’s also reconditioning old robots from other factories to update them to work on new vehicles. After a deep clean, workers can upgrade or replace electronics, wire harnesses, motors and arms. But it’s not a quick process. It takes about 40 hours to retrofit each robot.
FORD TESTS ROBOT EV CHARGING STATION
Speaking of robots, Ford is testing out a robotic charging arm for electric vehicles. The system is activated by a smartphone app while the user is still inside the vehicle. The charging door automatically opens, the charging arm extends out and uses a small camera to adjust before plugging into the vehicle. While this is still just a trial, Ford says it would be useful for anyone with disabilities, people with reduced mobility or the elderly. But it also says in the future when there’s autonomous cars, charging could be done fully automated. A user would select and send out their vehicle to a charging station, the robotic arm would plug in and the vehicle would come back when it’s done. And that sounds pretty cool to me.
CADILLAC OFFERS DISCOUNT TO TRACK LYRIQ CUSTOMERS
Some Cadillac Lyriq buyers and lessees are getting a pretty big discount as long as they’re willing to give up a little of their privacy. Cadillac offered a $5,500 discount to people who agreed to share their vehicle information and customer behavior with the company. But this also required them to sign a nondisclosure agreement. The program started for people who received their Lyriq on June 28th, although it doesn’t sound like Cadillac is engaging every customer. But it goes through to August 31st, so more will likely get the discount. Cadillac says, “We’re doing everything possible to get this launch right,” and with the entire 2023 model year sold out it should have some extra time to do that.
NISSAN LAUNCHES NEW X-TRAIL
Nissan is launching the all-new X-Trail in Japan, which is sold here in the U.S. as the Rogue. But with one big difference. The Rogue comes exclusively with a 1.5L turbo engine, but the X-Trail will only be sold with Nissan’s e-Power technology. This uses a variable compression turbo engine as a generator to charge the battery. It’s similar to the system that was used in the Chevy Volt. But the X-Trail also comes with electronic all-wheel drive, which Nissan calls e-4orce and adds an electric motor on the rear axle. The all-new model goes on sale on the 25th, but we wonder if Rogue will get these upgrades as well?
AMAZON’S ZOOX READY TO JUMP INTO ROBOTAXI BUSINESS
Amazon is planning to jump into the robotaxi business. Its self-driving business Zoox, applied for a permit to test autonomous vehicles in California and it revealed a shuttle called the VH6 which doesn’t have a steering wheel or pedals. It can seat four passengers, with two facing each other. Interestingly, Zoox self-certified the VH6 to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards instead of seeking an exemption with NHTSA, which companies normally do with AVs without pedals or a steering wheel. That means Zoox is liable for the safety of the vehicle. But it also means Zoox won’t be limited to the number of vehicles it can manufacture. Zoox says its already built dozens of models and its current factory can manufacture tens of thousands of vehicles.
But that brings us to the end of today’s show. Thanks for making Autoline a part of your day.
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Seamus and Sean McElroy cover the latest news in the automotive industry for Autoline Daily.