AD #3373 – PHEV Sales to Dry Up in Germany; GM Racks Up EV Reservations; Autoliv Develops Air-Bag Bike Helmet
July 29th, 2022 at 11:52am
Listen to “AD #3373 – PHEV Sales to Dry Up in Germany; GM Racks Up EV Reservations; Autoliv Develops Air-Bag Bike Helmet” on Spreaker.
Follow us on social media:
Runtime: 10:18
0:08 PHEV Sales to Dry Up in Germany
1:11 Bentley Having a Banner Year
1:49 Renault Profits Drop Drastically
2:24 Nissan Posts Poor Earnings
3:27 Rolls-Royce Readies Its First EV
5:00 Alfa Romeo Turns to Chrysler Group for Next Model
5:41 Chevrolet Launches New ICE SUV In China
7:18 GM Racks Up EV Reservations
8:07 Autoliv Develops Air-Bag Bike Helmet
8:57 Mercedes Starts Renting RVs
Visit our sponsors to thank them for their support of Autoline Daily: Bridgestone, Intrepid Control Systems, MEDC and Schaeffler.
This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.
PHEV SALES TO DRY UP IN GERMANY
Plug-in hybrids have been selling quite well in Germany, but LMC Automotive says that may be coming to an end. It’s all because Germany is getting rid of incentives which were worth up to €6,750 off the price of a PHEV. There are 80 different PHEV models available in Germany, triple what was available just a few years ago. And Germany accounts for one out of three PHEVs sold in Europe. LMC says demand for plug-in hybrids is at its peak and expects a steep sales decline. Another problem they face is that to qualify for incentives, PHEVs have to be able to travel 60 kilometers on pure electric power. That means most of them need a 30-kilowatt-hour battery, and with raw material prices going up, those batteries are pretty expensive. Anyone care to guess what the best-selling PHEV in Germany is? That honor goes to the Ford Kuga.
BENTLEY HAVING A BANNER YEAR
When it comes to automakers posting their latest financial earnings, there’s good news and there’s bad news. Let’s start with the good. Bentley is having a banner year. It sold nearly 7,400 cars in the first half, and the average price tag on each of them was €213,000, up from €186,000 a year ago. That brought in €1.7 billion in revenue, up nearly 29%. And it posted an operating profit of €398 million, up a staggering 124%.
RENAULT PROFITS DROP DRASTICALLY
Meanwhile, the news at Renault isn’t so rosy. It only sold 348,000 vehicles in the first half which was down 18%. It brought in €21 billion in revenue which was fractionally higher than a year ago, but its net profit dropped by €2 billion to only €368 million. In the past, Renault could always count on lucrative dividends from Nissan to pump up its bottom line, since it owns over 43% of Nissan. But Nissan is not in any position to pay dividends.
NISSAN POSTS POOR EARNINGS
Nissan sold 819,000 vehicles globally in the first half, down nearly 22%. It brought in about $16.4 billion in revenue, which was up an impressive 129%. But even so, its net profits fell 67% to only $367 million.
ROLLS-ROYCE READIES ITS FIRST EV
Rolls-Royce’s first ever BEV, the Spectre, sounds pretty impressive. It’s built on a new all-aluminum architecture that is exclusive to Rolls. This yields the largest doors at roughly 1.5 meters or nearly 5 feet in the company’s history, which is kind of surprising with some of the monster cars from its past. The Spectre also has the largest deep-draw or stamped part in its history. The one-piece side panel is almost 4 meters or over 13 feet long and extends from the A-pillar to behind the rear taillights. Getting Rolls’ ‘magic carpet ride’ was another key area of focus. It features a new suspension system that not only has new hardware, but now uses sensors to look at steering, braking, power delivery and even the road ahead to provide the best setup. While it doesn’t say how much capacity the battery will have, it did reveal that the pack weighs 700 kilograms or over 1,540 pounds, which suggests it will be quite large. For comparison, the 100-kWh battery pack from a Tesla Model S is said to weigh about 625 kilograms or about 1,380 pounds. With recent testing, development of the Spectre is about 40% complete and the first customer deliveries are scheduled for late next year.
ALFA ROMEO TURNS TO CHRYSLER GROUP FOR NEXT MODEL
Speaking of new models, Alfa Romeo says it’s developing a new vehicle in the U.S., but it also must be a fit for Europe and China. Stellantis has four platforms for future models and this is said to be a large-size vehicle, but it’s not known if it will be a sedan, crossover or SUV. It’s also not known where the model will be built. Those decisions will likely come by the end of the year. In the first half of the year Stellantis’ brands in North America accounted for 60% of the total group’s profits, so it makes sense that it would want to develop it in the region where it knows how to make money.
CHEVROLET LAUNCHES NEW ICE SUV IN CHINA
Chevy revealed its new SUV for China, the Seeker, which we teased the other day. But this is not an Ultium-based EV, like I thought, it’s an ICE vehicle. The Seeker is available in two RS variants and both feature a turbocharged 1.5L 4-cylinder engine. Styling is pretty similar to the Blazer and Equinox, which are also sold in China alongside the Trailblazer, and the Seeker is actually a little shorter than the Equinox. The interior is highlighted by round vents with a red accent bar that cuts through them onto the dash and two 10 and a quarter inch display screens. Chevy says it hopes to appeal to younger buyers with the Seeker.
GM RACKS UP EV RESERVATIONS
GM sure is racking up some impressive reservation orders for its EVs. CEO Mary Barra says they have more than 150,000 reservations for the Chevy Silverado EV and that nearly two-thirds of them are from customers new to GM. That’s not too far behind the Ford F-150 Lightning which capped its reservations at 200,000. GM says it has 80,000 reservations for the Hummer pickup and SUV and that 75% of them are new to the GMC brand. It did not reveal how many reservations it has for the Cadillac Lyriq but says 70% are conquest buyers. GM is aiming to sell 1 million EVs a year by 2025 and this is a good sign that it can reach that goal.
AUTOLIV DEVELOPS AIR-BAG BIKE HELMET
The supplier Autoliv, which makes airbags and other safety equipment, is taking airbags beyond automobiles. It’s teaming up with a company called POC, to develop a bicycle helmet with an airbag built into it because more than half of all cyclist injuries are to the head area. Initial tests show the helmet significantly improves protection and reduces head injuries. And it does that without drastically changing the design, weight and comfort of the helmet. The companies estimate that the integrated airbag helmet can reduce the risk of fatal head injuries from 80% to 30% in a 20 km/h or 12 MPH impact. But no word yet on when the helmet could hit the market.
MERCEDES STARTS RENTING RVs
RVs became really popular during the pandemic but they can be quite pricey. So, Mercedes is now offering motorhome rentals in Germany for its Marco Polo camper van. It can currently be rented at 25 locations and soon will offer online booking. And while it didn’t say how many customers it has, it must be gaining popularity. Mercedes will triple the number of vans to rent by the end of year. And next year, it will add Sprinter-based motorhomes to the rental service.
But that’s a wrap for this week. Enjoy your weekend and we’ll be right back here again on Monday.
Thanks to our partner for embedding Autoline Daily on its website: WardsAuto.com
Share
Permalink
Comments (20)
July 29th, 2022 at 12:40 pm
Sean if the PHEV market has topped out in Germany, any idea the % of sales they achieved. It will be interesting to see how sales change without incentives and if that will be any indication of what to expect from BEV’s.
July 29th, 2022 at 1:41 pm
Maybe the Chrysler Group stylists can help craft an Alfa Romeo that US consumers will actually want to buy in the quantities that Alfa execs want to sell them. So far, they have come up dramatically short of their goals and I can’t imagine that Alfa is a profitable division even when considering their worldwide sales.
July 29th, 2022 at 3:01 pm
I could see an Alfa 3-row SUV coming, if they want something that has a chance of selling in the US!
July 29th, 2022 at 3:12 pm
2 Styling isn’t the problem with Alfa’s U.S. entries. They actually look pretty good. They don’t sell many because they are a little pricey for an unknown brand in the U.S., and they have only a handful of dealers. Also, the word is probably out that reliability is bad.
July 29th, 2022 at 3:28 pm
Does the world really need an airbag bicycle helmet? If you are that concerned about your head when riding a bicycle why not just use a motorcycle helmet?
July 29th, 2022 at 5:18 pm
5 The full face motorcycle helmets I wear would be kind of heavy and hot for bicycling, but I’d think a regular bicycle helmet would be a lot better than nothing. The linked article said the air bag helmet didn’t add much weight. If true, it could be good when riding in dangerous areas.
July 29th, 2022 at 5:56 pm
Re: Solar Cells on Cars
A bit of a different application than providing electricity for motive power, but my wife’s 2001 Audi Allroad has solar cells on the top of the sunroof that will power the ventilation fans when the car interior temperature goes over that set on the climate control. Obviously not enough power to actually run the AC, but the interior does not turn into a solar oven in the sun. It is immediately pleasant to enter, and the AC does not have to get rid of all the thermal load when you drive away. Nice feature. Part of the original ‘hot weather package’ along with integral sunscreens for the rear seats and back window of the station wagon. Audi only offered it for a few years, then further restricted it to the ’8′ models. Not sure if it still exists. Anyway was an interesting and sensible application of solar cells.
Interestingly, we initially had a problem with the car battery running down when away for 2 weeks or more. The dealer in Fargo ND had an intrepid technician who tracked the problem down to a wiring error that did not let the main computer go to power down mode, sleep, as it was staying active to look for the non-existent sunlight in our garage. As a result the worldwide wiring diagrams were apparently corrected! Admittedly probably not that many.
July 29th, 2022 at 6:32 pm
7. They had something like that on 2nd or 3rd generation Priuses. I think they only had it briefly, so apparently not many people wanted to pay much for it.
July 29th, 2022 at 8:09 pm
#2, 3, 4.) I believe Kit hit the nail on the head regarding Alfa. They have the perception of being a little expensive, which may be okay, but (highly) unreliable, which is not! The only auto maker that has been able to do fairly well, while not being both very luxuriant and very reliable, has been Land Rover. An Alps Romero doesn’t carry the same panash and respect as that legendary brand does, to be able to get away it as Rover does. That said, IMHO, a three row SUV doesn’t fit the motif of the Alfa Romero brand. A sporty, shapely, midsize SUV would do the brand some good, but would move into Maserati territory. Forcing them to move their current SUV, from being an over sized midsize SUV, to an actual full size SUV.
July 29th, 2022 at 9:45 pm
The next Alfa in the pipeline for the US market, called Tonale, is a CUV a notch smaller than the Stelvio. There will be a plug-in hybrid version, along with the regular ICEr.
If Alfa wanted to get back to their “roots,” they would have something like a faster, fancier Miata. Maybe it should be mid engine, to kind of replace the Boxster that, as we know it, will soon be going away, replaced by an EV.
July 30th, 2022 at 5:57 am
Kit, you were asking about the 2.7 in the upcoming Colorado and whether it would require premium fuel in the premium engines. I can’t be sure, but I looked up the 2.7 in the Silverado and the recommended fuel is 87 octane and the 2.7 in the Silverado is rated at practically the same hp and torque (actually a little higher; 310 hp 348 torque). So maybe (probably), regular fuel, which would be a good thing.
July 30th, 2022 at 6:13 am
11, My post; got my numbers wrong, sorry; torque is a lot higher in the premium 2.7 Colorado’s; so maybe (probably) the opposite of what I said, premium may be required. Again, brain fade on my part.
July 30th, 2022 at 8:23 am
11,12 A Car & Driver article I found shows the 2023 Silverado 2.7 having 310 hp and 430 lb-ft of torque, the same as the “hottest” Colorado, so maybe you were right in #11. The 2.7 in the Cadillac is 325 hp and 380 lb-ft, and “requires” premium. The EPA site doesn’t show the 2023 Colorado or Silverado.
https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/Find.do?action=sbs&id=44742&id=44234
August 1st, 2022 at 8:09 am
5-6 I wouldn’t expect many takers for the airbag helmet but maybe the many extreme sport enthusiasts like the mountain biking/motocross. or maybe a cycle carrier in NYC. The casual bike rider probably wont spend the money.
August 1st, 2022 at 8:21 am
7 That seems like a perfect use for vehicle solar cells. In fact I think I saw an aftermarket set up. Had a small solar panel that could be laid on the dash and it powered a small fan that could be placed in the sunroof opening or a cracked window. I’m guessing it failed with security concerns of leaving a window cracked. In fact I think it was advertised for a way to allow you to leave your pet in the car. Which may also have killed it.
But it makes sense to avoid having the AC try and reduce the temp from the 130 it could be, or with a fan something like 80.
August 1st, 2022 at 8:40 am
15 This is what they had as an option on Prius. I think they only had it a year or two, probably because it was kind of pricey, about $2000, and few Prius buyers wanted to pay for it.
https://youtu.be/CchHIy7JgvA
August 1st, 2022 at 9:07 am
14 Yeah, NYC bike couriers would seem likely customers for the air bag helmet, if it actually works. Their riding is especially high risk.
August 1st, 2022 at 10:08 am
17 Oh the Prius one wasn’t actually intergrated? Then yeah maybe that’s the one I remember seeing.
August 1st, 2022 at 10:30 am
10, Fiat did sell a version of the Miata (designed together) from 2016-2020. The FIAT 124 Spider was their throwback to their old 124 Spider from the 60s-80s. They even had an Abarth version.
August 1st, 2022 at 11:55 am
19 I thought the Fiat Miata looked good, but most reviewers didn’t like the Fiat’s 1.4 turbo as well as the Mazda’s larger n/a engine.