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This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.
BYD ALMOST WORTH MORE THAN GM & FORD COMBINED
As we reported last week, BYD took the EV sales crown from Tesla in China in September. And thanks to that jump in sales, the automaker’s profit soared in the third quarter. BYD estimates that its net profit for Q3 will be between $765 to $820 million, which is up a staggering 333% to 365% compared to a year ago. BYD’s shares jumped 6% in Hong Kong on the news and the carmaker now has a market capitalization of $93 billion, nearly the same as General Motors and Ford combined. BYD has sold 1.2 million BEVs and plug-in hybrids through the first nine months of this year, up 250% compared to a year ago, making it number one in electrified sales in China.
CHIP SHORTAGE LASTING LONGER THAN THOUGHT
The chip shortage was expected to ease up by now but it looks like it will continue, at least in Europe. Speaking at the Paris auto show, Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said he expects chip supplies won’t be back to normal until the end of 2023. And Renault CEO Luca de Meo sounds less optimistic and says the company is still having trouble with supplies. And while they may improve, de Meo says the “problems are here to stay for a while.”
CANOO GETS ANOTHER LIFELINE
EV startup Canoo continues to rack up orders for its pod-like delivery van. Back in July, it received a 4,000 EV order from Walmart. Last week, fleet leasing provider Zeeba ordered another 3,000 vehicles. And now Kingbee, a U.S. based company that provides work-ready van rentals for small and medium-sized businesses, is ordering 9,300 of Canoo’s electric delivery vehicles with the option to double that. Kingbee will upfit, wrap and deliver the vehicles to its customers across the U.S. This is good news for Canoo, earlier this year it warned that it was running out of cash but with these recent orders, it looks like the startup will survive.
CADILLAC CELESTIQ UTILIZES MEGACASTINGS
The $300,000 Cadillac Celestiq is not about generating billions of dollars in profits. It’s about establishing Cadillac’s reputation as one of the greatest luxury brands in the business. We did a video all about the design of the car that you can find a link to in the transcript or the description box. But right now, let’s look into the engineering and manufacturing of the car. The Celestiq is hand-made and will be built at GM’s PPO building at the company’s Tech Center in Warren, Michigan. PPO stands for Pre Prototype Operations, which is where GM builds the first prototypes of all its new models. They will make less than two Celestiq’s a day, or about 400 a year. The car has an interesting skateboard design, made from six large aluminum castings, which GM calls megacastings. The front end section is made from two large wheelhouse castings, left hand side and right. The rear end module is the same: left and right hand wheelhouse castings. The floor is also made of two large left and right hand castings. The mega castings are made in the Detroit area, and each one eliminates 30 to 40 stampings. The composite doors are made from SMC, or sheet molding compound, while the rest of the body panels are carbon fiber. The floor houses the 111 kWh battery pack, which is also a structural part of the car. It uses GM’s Ultium battery pouches that are laid on their sides to get a lower floor height. The Celestiq will have a 300-mile-plus driving range. 115 parts in the car are 3D printed. In fact, GM uses 3D printing to make the sand cores for the mega castings. There are also over 300 parts that are fabricated at the PPO building. The Celestiq uses 2 electric motors for all wheel drive propulsion. Those motors generate a combined 600 horsepower that will accelerate the car from 0 to 60 in 3.8 seconds. DC fast charging with a 190 kw charger will deliver 78 miles of range in 10 minutes. Some of the other features on the car include active roll control, adaptive air suspension, magnetic ride 4.0, an active rear spoiler, 5-link suspension front and rear, and 23” wheels with Michelin sport sport summer tires. As I said, don’t forget to check out that other video we did that dives more into the design.
ROLLS-ROYCE REVEALS ITS 1ST ELECTRIC CAR
And speaking of ultra-luxury electric cars, Rolls-Royce pulled the wraps off the Spectre. The two-door, four-passenger car rides on a new aluminum architecture that’s unique to Rolls. A nearly 700 kilogram or over 1500 pound battery pack is mounted in the floor of the extruded aluminum sections and is estimated to provide 520 kilometers or 320 miles of range on the WLTP cycle. Rolls doesn’t say how many kWh the battery is, but it’s 75 kilograms or 165 pounds heavier than Tesla’s 100 kWh pack. Overall, the Spectre weighs nearly 3000 kilograms or over 6,550 pounds. Power output comes to 430 kW or about 575 horsepower, which is enough to provide a 0-60 time of 4.4 seconds. White, gold, red and black colors accent the interior and, like the Celestiq, is fairly minimalist and features display scenes that stretch from pillar to pillar. Customers can commission their car right now, but deliveries won’t happen until the 4th quarter of next year. Rolls says it’s pricing the Spectre between the Cullinan, which starts at about $350,000 and the Phantom, which starts at $460,000.
FOXCONN REVEALS EV PICKUP TRUCK
Foxconn unveiled a couple of new EV concepts. The first is a small crossover called the Model B that is aimed at younger buyers. It has a 2.8 meter or 9.1 foot wheelbase, a coefficient of drag of 0.26, which would put it between a Tesla Model Y and Ford Mustang Mach-E, and it has an estimated 450 kilometers or 280 miles of range. The other EV is a pickup, called the Model V. The 4-door truck is able to carry up to 5 people and has a payload of 1 ton and a towing capacity of 3 tons. While these are just concepts, Foxconn showed a similar prototype last year, called the Model C, which has already been turned into a production model and goes on sale in Taiwan in the second half of next year. With all its partners and now a manufacturing plant in the U.S. we wonder if these vehicles might be seen in other markets?
TOYOTA COROLLA HYBRID GETS AWD FOR 1ST TIME
The Toyota Corolla is getting a refresh. Styling wise, all models feature massaged front and rear fascias. The non-hybrid sedan now only comes with a 2.0L 4-cylinder engine that produces nearly 170 horsepower, while the hatchback only comes with a 1.8L engine and is now only mated to a CVT. The Hybrid features more powerful electric motors and the total system produces 13 more horsepower and 10 more lb-ft of torque. A lithium-ion battery replaces an old nickel-metal hydride pack and the Corolla Hybrid also gets an AWD option for the first time. But fuel economy numbers are way down. It’s rated at 50 MPG in the city, 43 highway and 47 combined. That’s 3 MPG lower in the city, 9 lower on the highway and 5 lower combined. Additional highlights include a new sportier trim for the Hybrid, called the Infrared Edition, as well as Toyota’s latest infotainment system and ADAS technology.
But that brings us to the end of today’s show. Thanks for tuning in.
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Comments (25)
October 18th, 2022 at 12:17 pm
That’s strange that the mpg of the Corolla hybrid decreased so much. The mpg of the Camry hybrid increased substantially with the 2018 model year, when they went from NiMH to lithium batteries. The extra bit of power shouldn’t make much difference with the Corolla.
October 18th, 2022 at 12:24 pm
With the enormous weight of some of these BEVs I have to wonder where the proper balance for range and weight meet. Reminds me of how guys would throw a super charger on a V8 4000 lb car just to be as quick as a little import with a 4 cyl engine and just over half the weight. At some point trying to provide a long range BEV has to really hurt for the majority of the short range driving.
October 18th, 2022 at 12:36 pm
On BYD’s valuation – Warren Buffet must be very pleased with his investment.
I hope Canoo makes it long enough to bring out their very cool looking pickup model. Waaaaay more interesting than the CyberTruck.
October 18th, 2022 at 12:47 pm
The Celestiq is certainly interesting. Time will tell whether the $300k+ crowd would prefer the GM or the Rolls Royce.
I think for my third of a million dollars I will stick with Rolls. The straight ahead styling appeals to me, and their dealer network, although small in size, are already familiar with taking excellent care of the very rich. This is not to criticize our local GM dealer who do a great job with normal priced vehicles.
October 18th, 2022 at 12:47 pm
Has Canoo built any vehicles yet?
October 18th, 2022 at 1:03 pm
5 – Only prototypes that I am aware of. They were looking for capital to allow them to start production. Having orders in hand should help with that. The Walmart infusion just kept them afloat for awhile but would not be enough to start even limited production.
October 18th, 2022 at 1:18 pm
4. At least in Houston Cadillac service is better vs anything from Germany, for sure. Of course I can’t speak for RR and the likes
October 18th, 2022 at 1:18 pm
4. At least in Houston Cadillac service is better vs anything from Germany, for sure. Of course I can’t speak for RR and the likes
October 18th, 2022 at 1:55 pm
7) When I had my Mercedes, I found even the local Lincoln dealer took better care of customers than Mercedes by leaps and bounds. Never been in a RR dealership though so who knows if GM can match that experience.
October 18th, 2022 at 2:20 pm
… so would it make sense for BYD to use their high valued stock price to merge (ie buy-out) Ford or GM to expand their production capacity?
October 18th, 2022 at 2:41 pm
that new caddy, very impressive
October 18th, 2022 at 2:45 pm
4 For a third of a million dollars, I’d probably stick with Rolls too, over an extremely low volume car from GM. Most cars this expensive are driven very little, and are around a very long time. How can any parts at all be available for the Celestiq when it is 40 years old? It would be bad enough for a somewhat higher volume BMW Rolls.
Also, for that money, I’d rather have a gas engine with at least 12 cylinders, and preferably 16. That would have special “character,” while the powertrain of a $300K+ EV wouldn’t sound or feel much different from a $60K Hyundai.
October 18th, 2022 at 2:49 pm
10 It would get them into the North America market in a big way. Some people would refuse to buy the products, if the company was Chinese owned, but that might not happen to a great extent.
October 18th, 2022 at 3:27 pm
13 I’m not sure if many people care about national loyalty anymore. With every auto being globally sourced. There really isnt that distinction of American made. There is American companies and American assembled but neither of those are fully American cars. Around the Detroit area there is still that stigma to support our own from the long history of families that have worked at Ford, GM and Chrysler, and suppliers. But even those families have seen their fair share of lay-offs and bankruptcies. The folks on the assembly lines see components come into their plant and see country or origin stickers. They know lots of stuff comes from China, Tiawan, India etc. That pride of American made isnt what it used to be. Folks were more than willing to buy up the Japanese cars in the 80′s and so flocking to the Chinese I dont see it being a big surprise. The Chinese will likely have no problem selling in the states if they do like the Japanese and come in with a decent product and can undercut everyone else in price. People will take a chance if they think they’ll save a few thousand on price. But if they are junk they’ll end up like Yugo’s.
October 18th, 2022 at 3:33 pm
Just saw this yesterday on Bloomberg. Chip shortage is likely to get worse before better.
“The Biden administration’s latest salvo of sanctions includes restrictions on so-called US persons supporting the development, production or use of integrated circuits at some chip plants located in China. Effective Oct. 12, the measures are broad enough to encompass holders of US green cards as well as US residents and American citizens, capturing a wide swath of senior executives at Chinese semiconductor firms.”
October 18th, 2022 at 3:39 pm
@13, 14 there are ways for BYD to minimize buyers’ resentment. Although that does not seem to be a big issue to begin with: a significant part of Mercedes-Benz is owned by Chinese and Middle Eastern investors. Including in 2019 (Wikipedia data from 2019) a 5% share by the Communist Party of China. Large shareholders like Bank of America Corporation (20%), BlackRock (5%) and Harris Associates (5%) could partly represent foreign investors, too, I believe.
October 18th, 2022 at 3:48 pm
BYD and Tesla sales in September 2022:
1) 106,032 PHEV by BYD
2) _94,941 BEV by BYD
3) _83,135 by Tesla
Bob Wilson
October 18th, 2022 at 4:38 pm
The Cadillac ultra luxury offering looks like it is in correct design neighborhood but the range needs to be in the 300 mile category for that sticker price.
t
October 18th, 2022 at 5:20 pm
#10, 13, 14.) Buying a ‘piece’ of Ford or GM (Stellantis, not being a US company, may already have pieces of it owned by a number of conglomerates already [im speaking of stock]) may not be a big thing, but an all out purchase of the company by BYD might raise some eyebrows. Yet, if it where done over time, as in the case of the Chrysler Group, it might not be as objectionable. While it might not be too difficult to separate companies, from the questionable actions of the government that they operate under. The fact that many Chinese automotive companies are owned by the government or the government has a stake in many of them, may create issues for customers, lawmakers, activists and may create a national security risk! Think about the outrage that would happen (with many believing that GM was bailed out by the US government tax payer money [which in fact was only a loan, to which they have paid back]), if a BYD purchased GM! How long would it take for many to say that US tax dollars went to save a U.S. manufactured, that is now under communist China control!!! Lawmakers and the Admin may feel that GM and Ford are too big, tied to too many US jobs and too closely associated with this country, to let that happen. I’m sure they would have done the same thing with Chrysler, if they thought that it’s merger of equals with Mercedes, would have ever lead to it and it’s products becoming just one of many brands in a International conglomerate, headquartered off these shores! The difference Stellantis is that it doesn’t have any political ties or any level of control by that of a ruling party. That may not be true of GM or Ford, if they were purchased by BYD! Even if that were not the case, I think many would still believe it to be true!
The Spector looks incredible and has a Continental GT look it it’s shape, to my eye. The range and power sound good too…kind of! I just can’t get my head around the fact that the Lucid Air has both more range and power for, in some instances, half the price! I understand stand that for your $200-400K, that your getting a LOT more in this RR then you will in the Lucid. Yet, the Spector has about ~1/3 the range and half the power! As great as the Spector will be, that doesn’t sit well with me.
As many have said, the Celestiq looks amazing too (IMHO, it would look better as a notchback, then it’s correct hatchback), but $300K+ for this, over a Bentley or Rolls Royce? I don’t think so! This takes nothing away from GM’s efforts on the Celestiq, for they will sell all the ones they make and will set new standards for the brand. It may do more for less Cadillac’s then this vehicle, but if GM/Cadillac doesn’t follow through on those other vehicles, then this is just another one-off. IMHO, Cadillac may have done better with the Celestiq being an SUV, then a sedan, but that’s just me.
October 18th, 2022 at 5:29 pm
If BYD owned GM or Ford, they might have a harder time getting contracts with the U.S military.
October 19th, 2022 at 8:33 am
19 I don’t think BYD’s sales automatically alludes to them buying Ford or GM. However, I guess if things continue, they could buy stock and eventually get to a position where a hostile takeover is possible. That I could see them doing.
Doing business with any Chinese business is risky as their government can do things that are not allowed here. It may sound paranoid, but the Chinese have been quite smart and are playing the global Monopoly game quite well. If you ever played Monopoly, you know the one with all the cash and assets wins. We are deep in debt and they are buying homes, farms, businesses and docks and many other assets here in the US. They are not invading with military but with money. Americans are foolishly allowing it because as long as they get paid, they personally won’t see the problem, until it’s too late. It’s a slow progression and then one day we will realize just how much they own. Far as I’m concerned any Chinese investment company or business might as well be the Chinese government as they can take control at any time, and that does make them a national security concern.
Ford and GM are not too big to be swallowed up and it could happen. Then again maybe I’m just being paranoid.
October 19th, 2022 at 9:20 am
21) They have been smart financially, but now they have a leader that is driven more by ideology than anything else. He also has a bit of a paranoia complex. What you see occurring is a pull back of business away from China. It is already beginning and will accelerate over the next 10 years. This is due to the irrational covid lockdowns causing substantial supply disruption, their alliance with Russia, and the saber rattling over Taiwan. Couple these issues with the fact that it is not really all that cheap to produce anything in China anymore. Labor is still cheaper but not appreciably so compared to places like Poland, india, vietnam. Shipping eclipses the cost and with the pandemic companies have realized that they are 1 boat shipment delay away from wiping any savings off the map and costing them millions of dollars. So the switch to a regional manufacturing footprint is occuring and you will see the balance shift dramatically as a result. All to say, don’t worry so much
October 19th, 2022 at 9:29 am
An Alabama factory that makes parts for Kia and Hyundai employed children as young as 13, a Labor Department investigation found yesterday.
The FLSA only permits children under the age of 14 to work in a limited range of jobs, including delivering newspapers, babysitting, and working for a business owned by their parents. Children aged 14 and 15 are prohibited from being employed in “hazardous” occupations.
They allegedly hired three workers aged 13, 15, to operate plastic bonding machines and did not obtaining proper child-labor permits.
SL Alabama, which has around 650 workers in the Alexander City area, manufactures headlights, rear combination lights, and side mirrors for automakers including Korean sister companies Hyundai and Kia.
October 19th, 2022 at 10:50 am
23) Wow. Putting aside the legal implications for the moment. I wonder where the parents were on this? Why did they allow their 13 year old to work in a car parts factory? Did the kid sneak out of the house for 40 hours per week? How did a 13 year old get to the factory? Did they ride their BMX bicycle? Did the factory work around the school schedule and did the school not notice anything? Then there are the other workers in the factory. Did they not notice their coworker was 13? So many questions….
October 19th, 2022 at 11:26 am
24 IDK but my guess would be these kids were children of maybe upper management and got a summer job or a few hours a week not thinking about the age restrictions. Maybe we will find out more.