Listen to “AD #3423 – Legacy ICE Specs Hurt EV Design; The Grid Can Handle All Those EVs; Tesla Uses Tribal Land as Legal Loophole” on Spreaker.
Raise the bar on just how good car entertainment can sound. With greater details, clarity, and depth —Dolby Atmos is the future of car entertainment. Click here to learn more.
Follow us on social media:
Runtime: 10:57
0:08 Tesla Uses Tribal Land as Neat Legal Loophole
0:53 Renault Wants Nissan To Invest in Ampere
1:56 The Grid Can Handle All Those EVs
3:48 Renault To Build Its Own Charging Network
4:28 BMW EV Sales Up 114%
5:07 All-New Kia Niro Driving Impressions
8:13 Legacy ICE Specs Hurt EV Design
9:15 Scout Execs Had to Resign from VW
Visit our sponsors to thank them for their support of Autoline Daily: Bridgestone, Dolby Atmos, Intrepid Control Systems, and Schaeffler.
This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.
TESLA USES TRIBAL LAND AS NEAT LEGAL LOOPHOLE
Tesla has found a neat loophole that gets around states that ban selling cars directly to consumers. It opened a service center near Santa Fe, New Mexico that sits on tribal land. New Mexico doesn’t allow Tesla or any automaker to sell direct-to-consumers, but tribal land is considered sovereign territory. Legally speaking, it’s not part of the United States. So tribes can make their own laws and regulations. Looks like it’s working out for Tesla. It’s going to open a second service center on tribal land, this time closer to Albuquerque. Lots of states have tribal lands, and it will be fascinating to see how far Tesla pushes this idea.
RENAULT WANTS NISSAN TO INVEST IN AMPERE
OK, this next story is a bit complicated, but stick with me for a minute. The alliance between Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi has never really delivered on its promise. All three companies are struggling and Nissan thinks Renault has too much power in the alliance. Renault owns 43% of Nissan, but Nissan only owns 15% of Renault. Now Nissan wants Renault to sell off enough stock so that both companies own 15% of each other. But then there’s the French resistance. The French government, which also owns 15% of Renault, likes Renault having the upper hand. And Nissan stock is down 70% from 4 years ago, so Renault would take a bath if it sold now. But Renault wants Nissan to invest in its EV spin-off called Ampere. And so if it wants Nissan to invest, Renault is going to have to sell off a big chunk of the stock it owns in Nissan.
THE GRID CAN HANDLE ALL THOSE EVS
Can the grid handle all the EVs that will be coming to the market? Looks like it can. Bloomberg estimates there will be 27 million plug-ins, including PHEVs, in the world by the end of this year and that those EVs will use 60 terawatt-hours of electricity. But that will only add 0.2% to the total demand of electricity. Even in a place like Norway where 20% of vehicles are electric, electricity demand will be up around 1.4%. Bloomberg estimates BEVs, including trucks and buses, will make up three-quarters of the market by 2040 and increase demand to the grid by only 11 to 15%. There are outliers, of course. California recently asked EV owners not to plug in during peak times during a recent heat wave. But Bloomberg says the grid will be able to handle EVs.
RENAULT TO BUILD ITS OWN CHARGING NETWORK
Renault is following in Tesla’s footsteps and will open its own EV charging network in Europe. The chargers will be installed at the automaker’s dealerships near highway exits and will also feature dedicated areas where customers can wait while their car is charging up. The sites will use a stationary storage system that’s capable of charging six vehicles at a time. This will allow the company to avoid having to install new power grid equipment. The first station will open in the next few months in France and Renault plans to install 200 more by mid-2024 in France, Belgium, Italy and Spain.
BMW EV SALES UP 114%
As automakers bring out more EVs, sales are going up. BMW reports that it sold over 52,300 all-electric BMW and MINI models in the third quarter and has sold more than 128,000 in the first 9 months of the year. That’s 114% higher than last year. By the end of next year, the BMW Group will double its current BEV lineup to 8 vehicles, which will help it meet its goal of having 2 million fully-electric vehicles on the road by the end of 2025.
ALL-NEW KIA NIRO DRIVING IMPRESSIONS
The all-new Kia Niro will arrive at dealerships in the U.S. soon and we just got the chance to get behind the wheel of the new model. As you may know, this small crossover is available with three different electrified powertrains, a hybrid, a plug-in hybrid and a BEV. Engineers did a good job of keeping the driving experience similar for the different versions but obviously, there are differences. The pure electric is the most enjoyable to drive. With its punchy torque and linear acceleration, we had fun darting around on the twisty roads of southern California. It features a 64.8 kWh battery and a 150-kW electric motor, a setup that provides a 253-mile EPA range. The hybrid and plug-in hybrid are fine to drive, but they’re a bit more sluggish than the all-electric model and aren’t as responsive. Both models feature a 1.6L four-cylinder engine matched to a six-speed dual clutch transmission. But the hybrid comes with a 32-kW electric motor whereas the plug-in is a 62 kW one. The hybrid gets an impressive 53 MPG combined and has a total range of 588 miles. And the PHEV has an all-electric range of 33 miles. One drawback for all the models is the lane-keep assist technology, which is very noticeable and will tug at the wheel to keep the car centered in the lane. It always seemed to activate a fraction of a second before we would turn, which takes a bit to get used to and can be a bit frustrating on the road. Like I mentioned, the Niro will soon arrive at dealers. The hybrid starts at about $27,800 and the plug-in starts at just over $35,000. Both prices include destination charges. But Kia hasn’t revealed pricing for the all-electric Niro, at least not yet.
BUICK’S BOB BONIFACE ON AAH
You saw that stunning Wildcat concept car from Buick, didn’t you? Well, we’ve got Bob Boniface, the head of Buick design coming on Autoline After Hours this week. Is the Wildcat a sign of things to come from Buick, or was that just a one-off that was designed as click bait? We want to know too, and we invite you to join us this Thursday when the show goes live.
LEGACY ICE SPECS HURT EV DESIGN
One reason why legacy automakers are struggling to catch Tesla in manufacturing costs is that they continue to use specs that are needed for internal combustion cars, but are not needed for EVs. A great example is with the hoses used for the cooling system for the battery pack. Caresoft Global, a company that does vehicle tear downs and competitive benchmarking, says legacy automakers use the same specs on their battery pack that they use for radiator hoses on piston engines. So their hoses can withstand up to 21 psi. But Tesla’s hoses are designed for 5 psi, which is all that the system really needs. That means the legacy automakers have thicker hoses that are over 4 pounds heavier and cost $16 more than what Tesla uses. Caresoft says legacy automakers need to review their legacy specifications that are not needed in an EV world.
SCOUT EXECS HAD TO RESIGN FROM VW
When Volkswagen announced it was bringing back the Scout brand and would spin off the operation as a separate company, it really meant as a separate company. Seven executives volunteered to lead the effort to start the Scout company, but that also meant they had to resign from Volkswagen of America. They had to cash in their company 401k savings plan, give up their company healthcare benefits and even turn in their company-issued laptops. Three of those execs include Scott Keogh, who is the president and CEO of Scout, Chris Condon, the CFO and Ryan Decker, the director of strategy. That’s a pretty gutsy move. But if they’re successful, they will be handsomely compensated. By the way, we did a video that explains a lot more of what’s going on at Scout, and you can find the link to it in today’s transcript or description box.
And if you like this kind of information which you’re not going to find anywhere else, we encourage you to subscribe to our YouTube channel so you don’t miss any of it.
And with that we wrap up today’s report, thanks for tuning in.
Thanks to our partner for embedding Autoline Daily on its website: WardsAuto.com
Seamus and Sean McElroy cover the latest news in the automotive industry for Autoline Daily.