AD #3372 – North America Carries Stellantis; New Colorado Drops V6 & Diesel; Simple Solution for Home Charging
July 28th, 2022 at 11:57am
Listen to “AD #3372 – North America Carries Stellantis; New Colorado Drops V6 and Diesel; Simple Solution for Home Charging” on Spreaker.
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Runtime: 11:33
0:07 Cap on EV Tax Credit Could be Lifted
1:04 Rivian Cutting 6% of Workforce
1:50 U.S. Senate Passes Bill to Help Chip Production
2:51 Apple Poaches Another Auto Exec
4:20 North America Carries Stellantis
5:16 Rivian Drags Down Ford
6:08 VW Shows VTOL for China
8:16 New Colorado Drops V6 & Diesel
9:54 Hyundai/Kia Thefts on the Rise
10:19 Simple Solution for Home Charging
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CAP ON EV TAX CREDIT COULD BE LIFTED
Good news for EV buyers, well most of them anyway. Congress is on the verge of lifting the 200,000 vehicle sales cap for the federal EV tax credit in the U.S. That means Tesla, GM and Toyota customers will once again be eligible for the full $7,500 credit. Democrats struck a deal in the Senate that would not only bring the EV tax credit back but also includes tens of billions of dollars for loans to build new clean vehicle manufacturing facilities and retool existing plants. But not everyone gets the EV tax credit. Trucks, vans and SUVs that cost more than $80,000 and passenger cars that cost more than $55,000 would not qualify. The bill is expected to be voted on by the Senate next week and, if approved, it will move to the House of Representatives.
RIVIAN CUTTING 6% OF WORKFORCE
Too bad for Rivian. Most of its electric trucks and SUVs cost too much to qualify for the credits. In fact, things are getting tough for Rivian. It’s going to cut 6% of its workforce. CEO RJ Scaringe told employees he blames the economy and says he can’t raise enough money to expand production. Rivian has around 14,000 employees so the cut would probably come out to about 840 people, but it won’t include any of them in manufacturing. As of May, Rivian had around $17 billion in cash on hand, so it’s a bit alarming to hear Rivian needs to let go of workers to help save money.
U.S. PASSES BILL TO HELP CHIP PRODUCTION
Going back to the Senate for a moment, it just passed a $76 billion bill to subsidize chip production in the U.S. The U.S. auto industry threw its support behind the bill. $39 billion will go directly to companies that will or are planning to expand chip production, $2 billion of that is earmarked for “legacy” chips used by automakers. Another $11 billion will be provided to companies for research and development, and it includes a 25% tax credit for companies that invest in new manufacturing plants or equipment. To get the money, companies must agree to not open new factories in China or “other countries of concern” for 10 years. And It prevents companies from using the money for stock buybacks or paying shareholders. The bill must now be approved by the House of Representatives before President Biden can sign it into law.
APPLE POACHES ANOTHER AUTO EXEC
Yes, Apple is still working on an autonomous, electric car and it just poached a Lamborghini executive to develop it, Luigi Taraborrelli. He worked at Lambo for 20 years and was most recently the head of its chassis and vehicle dynamics. He helped develop the Urus, Huracan and Aventador. He joins a list of former auto execs that Apple has hired, including ones from Ford, BMW and Tesla. Apple also hired dozens of former auto engineers and designers to work on the car, which supposedly will come out in 2025.
NORTH AMERICA CARRIES STELLANTIS
Carlos Tavares showed the automotive world once again why he’s considered one of the top CEOs in the industry. Stellantis just posted its first half earnings and the numbers are really impressive. Stellantis sold just over 3 million vehicles, down more than 7%. But its revenue jumped 17% to €88 billion and €8 billion of that dropped to the bottom line, which was 34% higher than a year ago. North America is the real money machine for Stellantis, and what was the old Chrysler, accounted for 60% of the company’s profits. Even more amazing, the old Chrysler group hit an operating profit margin of 18.1%. That’s even better than Tesla which hit an operating margin of 14.6% last quarter.
RIVIAN DRAGS DOWN FORD
Ford posted its second quarter numbers and they’re pretty impressive except for one, and that’s the most important number. Ford sold just over a million vehicles the last three months, which was up an amazing 35% compared to a year ago. Obviously the company got its hands on more chips to boost production that much. Revenue shot up 50% to just over $40 billion. But Ford only posted a profit of $638 million. That was up 15% from a year ago, but is nowhere near the kind of profit the company should be posting. That’s because Ford had to book a loss of $2.4 billion on its investment in Rivian stock. If not for that, Ford would have posted a comfortable net profit for the quarter.
VOLKSWAGEN REVEALS VTOL FOR CHINA
Automakers are getting more and more interested in passenger drones. Now it’s VW. Volkswagen’s group in China unveiled a eVTOL prototype that it plans to test later this year. Nicknamed the ‘Flying Tiger’ the aircraft features 8 rotors for vertical lift and 2 propellers to move it forward. It’s currently based on existing autonomous and battery technology, but in the future could carry up to 4 passengers and their luggage up to 200 kilometers or 124 miles. The next step is to build an improved prototype that will undergo more advanced tests in the summer of next year. VTOL by the way stands for vertical take off or landing.
Did you know that Tesla has the highest owner loyalty in the business? In fact, in March, 76% of the people who bought a new Model 3 in the American market already owned one. That’s the highest loyalty rate that’s ever been documented. Auto analyst Tom Libby from IHS Markit is the one who dug that up. And he’s our guest on Autoline After Hours this afternoon. He’s got a lot of great insight into who’s going well and who’s owner loyalty is in the dumps and we invite you to listen in on what he’s got to say. Joe White from Reuters will also be on the show, so join John and Gary for some of the best insights into the automotive industry when we go live at 3 pm eastern time on our YouTube channel.
NEW COLORADO DROPS V6 AND DIESEL
Chevrolet is bringing out a completely new Colorado later this year, and it truly is all-new. No more V6 and no more diesel engine. Instead it gets a 2.7 liter 4-cylinder turbo that comes with three different power ratings. The base version gets 237 horsepower, the next step up takes that to 310 horsepower, and the next step up from that has the same horsepower but adds another 40 pound feet of torque, bringing it to a total of 430 pound feet. Max towing is 7,700 pounds. And all 3 versions get an 8-speed automatic. There are other significant changes. The wheelbase is over 3 inches longer and the front axle was moved further forward. That improves the stance and minimizes the front overhang. And they’ve added a new trim line called Trailboss that gives you the look of the hard-core ZR2 off-roader, but not all the suspension bits, so it’s more affordable. The ZR2 gets what they call a Desert Package which includes 10 different camera views around the truck, including an underbody camera, for when you don’t have a spotter while rock crawling. The Z71 also gets those cameras. Inside the interior was redone and features an 11.3-inch screen. Sales of the existing Colorado are up strong this year and it’s actually outselling the Ford Ranger. So the new Colorado is probably going to do even better.
HYUNDAI/KIA THEFTS ON THE RISE THANKS TO SOCIAL MEDIA
Car thieves have really turned their attention to Hyundais and Kias ever since someone posted a social media video that showed that models without an engine immobilizer, which is standard on new models, could be started with a simple USB cable. Now it’s turned into a TikTok challenge. Viewers are supposed to report the videos right away, but the thefts continue to rise.
SIMPLE SOLUTION FOR HOME CHARGING
It’s estimated that nearly half of all U.S. homes would need an upgrade to their electrical panel to allow the installation of a typical Level 2 charger for an electric vehicle. But help is on the way. Siemens partnered with a company, called ConntectDER, to launch a new device that goes between the meter on the outside of your house and the meter socket. A cable then snaps into the adapter that goes directly to the charger. It said that it only takes about 15 minutes to install and reduces installation cost by 60-80%. We love simple solutions like this and it should help with EV adoption.
But that brings us to the end of today’s show. Thanks for tuning in and we’ll be right back here again tomorrow.
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Comments (26)
July 28th, 2022 at 12:31 pm
1) Sean you said they may extend the tax credit but never mentioned to what? Will it be until a number of vehicles sold or maybe until a particular date?
2)Things are not looking good for Rivian and I really though of the many start ups they had pretty good odds. Maybe not.
3)Colorado Drops the Diesel and V6.. You state towing capacity is 7700lbs, what was it before? I wonder how hot that exhaust gets towing 7700 lbs.
July 28th, 2022 at 12:43 pm
That connector for home charging looks like a good idea, as long as your meter is somewhere close to where you park. I think every house I’ve lived in has had the meter on the opposite side of the house from the garage, meaning it would still require a lot of work to run the wires. It is a neat idea, though.
July 28th, 2022 at 1:02 pm
@1 With big name investors, $17 billion in cash and already working on a second assembly plant, I’m not too worried about Rivian making it. But I agree with Sean. The layoffs are a head scratcher and I’m sure there is more to this story that hasn’t come out yet.
July 28th, 2022 at 1:04 pm
The Tesla loyalty number is highly suspect. Perhaps it was a very small sample size? Why would so many Model 3 owners decide to buy another one? Were many of them trading in their existing Model 3? If not, it would seem that many of them would buy a Model Y. Why have two sedans? I think this was a “tease story” to get us all to watch AAH later today!
July 28th, 2022 at 1:12 pm
Will Chinese Built BEV’s qualify for these $7,500.00 tax credits? The Biden Administrations has said it is Pro Unions, so will Non-Union built BEV’s be excluded from the tax credit? I guest we will have to wait and see the final legislation once it is approved by Congress.
July 28th, 2022 at 1:25 pm
4 Yeah I was wondering the same thing. A company like Ferrari that requires you to have been a previous owner to even buy certain models, I would think has to have pretty high customer loyalty.
Either way the volume involved paints the full picture. (which wasn’t provided) If only a 100 Tesla owners traded in their older one for a new one while most others are still very new owners the loyalty will be high. Start moving Millions of vehicles a year, and have them out for 10-15 years then see how the loyalty ratings are.
July 28th, 2022 at 1:53 pm
1 According to CR’s charts, the tow rating of the current Colorado is 7000 with the V6, and 7700 with the diesel. For comparison, it’s 7500 for the Ranger with the 2.3 turbo.
July 28th, 2022 at 2:02 pm
5 The idea of EVs needing to be union built for the tax credit didn’t get very far. With that stipulation, Lightning and Bolt would probably be the only ones that would qualify.
July 28th, 2022 at 2:12 pm
That simple solution may not be that simple. Many if not most prevent you from doing anything with the meter . I looked into a device that fits behind the meter that would allow you to plug in a generator to power your house during a blackout. It has a built in switching device that would detect incoming power from the EC and prevent the generator from backfeeding the powerlines. Every Electric provider in PA bans their use. I don’t see this being a lot different.
July 28th, 2022 at 2:16 pm
I suspect many/most of those Model 3 buyers that bought another one did so because they had two drivers that needed to be driving at the same time, and wanted two of them. The car has changed so little since introduction, I wouldn’t think a lot of people would trade a Model 3 they had for a new one, unless they wanted the “performance” which wasn’t made early on.
As far as buying a Model Y instead of another Model 3, the cheapest Y costs $19K more than the cheapest 3. That would make a difference to some buyers.
July 28th, 2022 at 2:20 pm
9 Siemens/whatever would need to sell utilities on the idea. Utilities that want to sell more electricity might go for it.
July 28th, 2022 at 2:25 pm
The entry level engine for the new Colorado is rated at 3500 pounds towing. The middle and H.O. engines rate the 7700 towing. The new Colorado grew slightly in overall length, I think around an inch, but I believe the weight went up, and it’s still too big for me to consider; looking for a Maverick sized Chevy. It is a sharp looking vehicle though, IMO, and the interior was nicely done as well.
July 28th, 2022 at 3:18 pm
I am all for zero tax payers funding of EVs. None at all. I keep hearing that they are the future and superior to ICE vehicles. Apparently they are not if tax payers have to fund purchases endlessly to get them to sell.
July 28th, 2022 at 3:58 pm
@13 Subsidies are meant to get new technology introduced and selling beyond critical mass.
If you are against any subsidy: were you against the $60 billion bail out of the oil and gas industry in 2009 and the $70 billion bail out in 2020?
July 28th, 2022 at 4:30 pm
12. Will they recommend or require premium gas for the higher power engines in the Colorado? If so, that would br a downer, especially if “required.” I’ll try to find out what they say re. the CT4-V with a version of that engine
July 28th, 2022 at 4:30 pm
Rivian is cutting 6% of jobs and none of them are in manufacturing, sounds to me that they feel there are too many mid managers. Or this is where they feel they can cut and not do the most damage to the over all performance of the company. They that other OEMs and startups are grabbing many of them up, I do not think they will be out of work long, if at all!
The new Colorado looks pretty sharp! With all the noise being made about the new Ranger, it’s ground up redesign and introduction slipped caught me by surprise.
While the Chrysler side of Stellantis may be the bread winner for the company, IMHO, they are still leaving a lot of money on the table by not offering more SUV/CUV/Crossovers from their other North American brands, at least in the US! They would do even more business, if the Chrysler brand had had a sub compact, compact, midsize CUVs and a full size SUV. Dodge would have the sub compact, compact, the Durango and a full size SUV too! Yet, they seem content to just have Jeep with all the CUV/SUVs, while the other brand limp along with a mini van and car platforms that date back to the mid to late 90’s!
July 28th, 2022 at 4:54 pm
16 Would a Chrysler version of Grand Cherokee add many sales, or just take sales from Jeep? Maybe a Chrysler version of Wagoneer would be good, with styling attempting to be “elegant,” a super bargain Cullinan.
July 28th, 2022 at 5:32 pm
#13 – Mind that there are active subsidies for oil companies ($20bi/yr, of which $14.7bi from federal govt). I’d argue your point goes both ways, they could just as well cut those instead of giving to EVs. You and I pay for it in the end anyways, be it at the pump or at our tax bill.
July 28th, 2022 at 6:10 pm
18 It seems that pump price of gas is still too cheap. This morning I did a “curbside pickup” at McDonald’s. The temp was mid-high 70s, about as good as it gets for windows open, but a vehicle next to me sat with the engine running for minutes. I don’t know if they were using a/c or heat, but there is no way they needed either.
July 28th, 2022 at 8:12 pm
#17.) Honestly, I believe the a full size Chrysler Aspen or New Yorker SUV should have been the Grand Wagoneer, to go head-to-head with the Escalade, Navigator, X7, GLS, LX600 and the like. With the Jeep Wagoneer to face-off with the Yukon (with real off road, rock climbing credentials to boot) and maybe a Grand Wagoneer to do challenge Yukon Denali and Land Rover’s Discovery! Then their would be the Dodge SUV, which the could call the Ramcharger, Dakota, Voyager or New Caravan (‘mI just pulling names from Chrysler vehicles of the past, so forgive me), to go again the likes of the Expedition, Tahoe, Suburban, Sequoia and Armada. And that’s just the full size SUVs. I know that Dodge is building a sub compact CUV, but there is still room with their other brands to support sporty vehicle for Dodge and luxury vehicles for Chrysler, with no direct over lap with Jeep! Yet, it seems that neither FCA nor Stelantis are interested in these types of vehicles for those brands. That’s why I feel that they are leaving money and sells on the table, especially in the North American market, when we can’t seem to get enough of these types of vehicles.
July 28th, 2022 at 9:31 pm
20 If Chrysler was still perceived as a near-luxury brand, as in the ’50s and ’60s when my first car was a 1957 Chrysler Saratoga, I’d definitely think the XXL Wagoneer should have been a Chrysler. The trouble is, younger people know Chrysler only as crappy Sebring sedans and decent, but not exciting minivans. In today’s world, Jeep is Stellantis’s North American brand with panache, thus Wagoneer/Grand Wagoneer rather than New Yorker or Imperial.
July 29th, 2022 at 5:54 am
#21.) Sad, but true! I know what, Chrysler can get that old feeling back, by building a $300K, hand built, 5 door, BEV sedan, right? No…wait a minute!
July 29th, 2022 at 8:23 am
14) Modern EVs have been out now for over a decade. It is not new technology at all. It is simply expensive tech and the article states that the OEMs are predicting it will get even more expensive. The OEMs argued that this increasing cost is why they need the tax payers to continually fund it. All the USA subsidy does is incentivize the OEMs to keep doing what they are doing and pass that cost along to the tax payers. It does not incentivize them to make BEVs cheaper and that is my real problem with the credit. Europe has the better idea by weighting the credit to vehicles that are cheaper. That incentivizes the OEMs to reduce cost thereby helping adoption in the long run. The USA subsidy will hurt long term adoption but it will transfer tax payer dollars to rich people buying $80K cars. So that is something.
July 29th, 2022 at 8:30 am
14) Yes I was against the bail out for any company including GM and Chrysler that asked for bail out money.
July 29th, 2022 at 8:50 am
21-20 I have been very confused with the direction of Chrysler I mean its surprising they are still around with nothing more than the Pacifica and 300. Both of which are close to 20 year old designs from 2004. I think it would be best for Stellates to convert that brand to high end luxury EVs. Maybe bring back names like New Yorker, Newport, Fifth Avenue.
But I also would like to see Dodge bring back the Caliber but designed for both powertrains. A nice 2.0L turbo ICE and EV version and let the public decide the mix. That was a nice sized 4 door hatch somewhat lifted and fits in great with the crossover segment.
I just think it would be interesting to have a vehicle designed from the ground up to support dual powertrains and for all other aspects be the same vehicle.
July 29th, 2022 at 9:02 am
23 I agree with your points and would add that if they want to continue with incentives then they need to be cash in hand rebates for one. Otherwise people are still financing the entire purchase price and only get a break come tax time. Take it off the purchase price. Also I think that they need to be much more of a sliding scale to help drive cost down.
Like the rebate could start at 8k for vehicles under 30k and drop a $1000 for every 5k increase. So if the price is 65k you get 1000 rebate and over that there isn’t one.
Then you don’t have manufacturers just charging just under the threshold of 80k for any EV. It not only is an incentive to the buyer but for the sellers to get the prices down.
But our government isn’t that smart. They’ll just throw money at the problem and hope it gets better.