AD #3455 – EV Costs to Fall Below ICE; ZF Pioneers Braided EV Motor Wiring; Mercedes G-Wagon Going All-Electric
November 23rd, 2022 at 11:49am
Listen to “AD #3455 – EV Costs to Fall Below ICE; ZF Pioneers Braided EV Motor Wiring; Mercedes G-Wagon Going All-Electric” on Spreaker.
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Runtime: 10:32
0:08 I’ve Been (Not) Working on The Railroad
0:56 Baidu AV Is Only $37,000
1:36 EV Costs to Fall Below ICE In 2025
2:52 Jeep Compass Gets New ICE Powertrain
4:00 Mercedes G-Wagon Going All Electric
5:18 Ford Launches E-Tourneo
6:53 Audi Q8 e-tron Uses Recycled Plastics
7:32 ZF Pioneers Braided EV Wiring
8:44 What’s with Automakers and Giant Art Displays?
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This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.
I’VE BEEN (NOT) WORKING ON THE RAILROAD
Boy if it isn’t one thing, it’s another. The auto industry keeps getting hit by supply chain disruptions. Whether it’s Covid, or the chip shortage, or a big ship getting stuck in the Suez Canal, the industry can’t seem to get a break. Now there’s another problem looming. A railroad strike in the United States. There are 12 railroad unions in the U.S. and so far, four of them have rejected a new labor contract. The deadline for a final agreement is December 8th, and the White House is now directly involved to try and resolve the dispute. Congress has the power to mandate a settlement. But even a short strike could totally disrupt the flow of raw materials going into car factories and the shiny new cars coming out of them.
BAIDU AV IS ONLY $37,000
Everyone says that autonomous cars will cost too much, but Chinese tech giant Baidu seems to have cracked the cost code. It’s getting set to launch the sixth-gen version of its all-electric, autonomous, robotaxi next year. Called the Apollo RT6, it has Level 4 self-driving capability, it’s equipped with 38 sensors including 8 lidars and 12 cameras and it features a detachable steering wheel. Even more impressively, it’s priced at only $37,000. And that is going to make it very appealing to companies that want to offer robotaxi service.
EV COSTS TO FALL BELOW ICE IN 2025
2025 or 2026. That’s when electric cars are expected to be cheaper to manufacture than ICE cars. That was one of the predictions at the SAE’s North American International Propulsion Conference last week in Chicago, which is attended by most of the top powertrain executives in the industry. Battery prices fell 89% from 2010 to 2021, and they’re going to continue to fall. By 2030 they’re expected to drop to only $60 per kilowatt hour, which will make it much easier for automakers to come out with entry level EVs that are priced for the masses.
JEEP COMPASS GETS NEW ICE POWERTRAIN
Let’s take a short side track off all the EV news and look at the new ICE powertrain going into the Jeep Compass. The small SUV used to offer a naturally aspirated 2.4L 4-cylinder engine that produced 177 horsepower and 172 lb-ft of torque and could be mated to either a 6- or 9-speed automatic. For 2023 that’s being upgraded to a 2.0L turbo 4, which is mated to a new 8-speed automatic. The engine features a cast-aluminum block with cast-in iron piston liners, a diamond-like coating on the piston pins for reduced friction, direct injection and a twin-scroll, low inertia turbo that’s mounted directly to the cylinder head. Instead of 177 horse and 172 torque, the new turbo engine makes 200 horsepower and 221 lb-ft of torque. Jeep says it provides a quick 0-60 launch but it didn’t provide any stopwatch times.
MERCEDES G-WAGON GOING ALL ELECTRIC
Mercedes says the new electric G-Wagon will offer “unparalleled combination of luxury and off-road ability for electric vehicles.” Testing of the EQG is going on right now and WardsAuto has some interesting details. It is built on the same platform as the ICE version, which means it will roll down the same assembly line. That plant is operated by the supplier Magna and is the same one in Austria that also makes the Fisker Ocean. The EQG will feature a four-motor layout with varying levels of performance that will drive the wheels individually. But no, these are not hub motors. Power from each motor is fed through a mechanical 2-speed gearbox for low- and high-range 4X4 settings. Mercedes says it’s too early for performance figures but says it should be able to match the performance of the ICE vehicle, which includes an AMG version that can do 0-60 in around 4 seconds. It says it’s also too early for range figures, but the battery will have around 100 kWh of usable space. Sales of the EQG are expected to kick off in the U.S. in 2024.
FORD LAUNCHES E-TOURNEO
Speaking of EVs, Ford revealed the all-new Tourneo van in both plug-in and all-electric forms. The BEV version uses the same cell technology as the F-150 Lightning which allowed it to cram more usable energy in its pack than the bigger E-Transit. The E-Tourneo features a 74-kWh battery vs the Transit’s 68 kWh pack. But its 160 kW or 214 horsepower electric motor is smaller. The setup returns up to 370 kilometers or 229 miles of range. As for the PHEV, it features a 2.5L gas engine paired to an electric motor and a 11.8 kWh battery pack, which returns over 50 kilometers or 31 miles of range. The all-new Tourneo is built in Turkey and deliveries to European customers start in the middle of next year.
AUDI Q8 E-TRON USES RECYCLED PLASTICS
Automakers are good at recycling metal used in vehicles but not so much when it comes to plastics. So Audi is making seat belt latch covers from recycled plastics in the Q8 e-tron. The covers are manufactured from waste plastic using a chemical recycling process. Plastic components are stripped from cars, then broken down into smaller pieces and then processed into pyrolysis oil by chemical recycling. The oil is then used as a raw material to manufacture new plastics. Audi says the recycled plastics meet the same standards as virgin plastic.
ZF PIONEERS BRAIDED EV WIRING
Earlier in the show we reported on how the cost of making BEVs will drop below ICE vehicles somewhere around 2025 or 2026 as battery prices come down. But it’s not just the batteries. ZF is coming out with a new generation of 800 volt electric motors that use a new kind of wiring on the stator. Today, most EV motors use what they call hairpin wiring because the wiring looks like a bunch of hairpins connected together. In fact, there are 200 weld points that are needed with hairpin wiring. So ZF developed what it calls braided wiring, in which the hairpins are braided together just like women might braid their hair into pigtails. That takes the motor from 200 weld points down to only 24. And that reduces the overall size of the wiring by 10% which eliminates 10% of the copper wiring. So just by changing the wiring on the stator, ZF is coming out with an EV motor that is smaller and lighter, with lower cost and more power density. And all that is going to make electric cars even more affordable.
WHAT’S WITH AUTOMAKERS AND GIANT ART DISPLAYS?
What’s with automakers creating gigantic outdoor art displays for their cars? At the auto show in Detroit, Jeep captured national headlines with a giant inflatable rubber duck outside the convention center. At the LA Auto Show, MINI had an over-sized EV charger shaped like an RC controller at its display. And now Porsche is using a giant display at an art museum in Miami. It’s a regular 911 Carrera 4S that looks tiny next to a large figure wearing a racing helmet. It’s part of Porsche’s “Art of Dreams” initiative it launched last year to display interactive art installations in major cities around the globe. But it sure is amazing that in these days of social media, virtual reality and the metaverse, that displays which look like parade balloons are getting all the attention.
A programming note here. Autoline Daily will be off for the next two days as we celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday. We hope you enjoy it too, and we’ll see you back here again on Monday.
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Comments (11)
November 23rd, 2022 at 12:37 pm
Time for an internal combustion engine question to challenge the viewers over the Thanksgiving holiday: How can an engine rev past it’s peak torque engine speed if the torque is what is enabling the engine to spin in the first place? You would think that once the engine reaches peak torque then that would be as fast as it would be able to spin, but we know that engines go many RPMs beyond their peak torque engine speed.
November 23rd, 2022 at 12:50 pm
1 You are confusing the TQ required to spin the engine vs peak TQ. Just as the engine is capable to spin prior to Peak TQ it can continue to spin beyond peak TQ. Besides TQ is a measurement or result of the spin not its purpose.
November 23rd, 2022 at 1:04 pm
1,2 Peak torque of brush type electric motors is at zero rpm, but some of them spin to to 50,000 rpm.
November 23rd, 2022 at 1:23 pm
For all those that were in support of this $15 minimum wage you are now seeing the affects. As the obvious places like fast food joints raise prices to account for higher wages and costs of product. All those folks in median jobs just went backwards. When folks that had skilled jobs like a paramedic, tool maker, forklift driver and so many other $15-20 per hour job workers realized they can forget all the stress and flip burgers for the same wage its a bit depressing. Some may have worked for a few years to be where they are and now a high school drop out can start at Burger king for the same rate. Even the better paying jobs like RR workers have gone backwards. While minimum wage in many states is still under $10 many of the employers are having to pay 15-20 a 100% increase. While cost of living increased 6-8% raises have not. So if a RR worker got a 3% increase and cost of living went up 6% they essentially lost 3%. So now we are starting to see everyone above minimum wage pushing for a raise to keep up with the inflation. Its a vicious cycle and RR folks at least have a Union to fight for them. This too will tack on an increase to everything and continue to jack up costs. In the meantime as Sean stated the Auto industry could face a major blow to parts distribution to make the vehicles and distribution to sell completed vehicles. They just cant catch a break anymore. Hopefully they will reach an agreement before any Strikes but if they dont 2023 could start out with horrible 1st quarter numbers.
I dont think automakers can even use sales over previous year anymore as they have been so screwed up for 2 years now.
November 23rd, 2022 at 1:27 pm
Sean, Is the new Jeep engine a Peugeot design or all new? If I recall correctly, the old engine came from the Chrysler-Mitsubishi-Hyundai cooperative venture. (Tigershark?)
November 23rd, 2022 at 1:51 pm
4 Car sales have been down for three years. They were down 15.83% in 2020, and were up a little in 2021. It’s too early to know about 2022, but if there is a rail strike, they will pretty definitely be down from ’21.
5 According to Wikipedia, the 2.0 turbo currently used in Jeep Wrangler is an Alfa Romeo design.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FCA_Global_Medium_Engine
I don’t know if the one to be used in Compass would be a detuned version of that one, or something different. Yep, the old 2.4 is the Tigershark. It’s been time to retire it for a while. It was always underwhelming in power, efficiency, and NVH compared to most of the competition.
November 23rd, 2022 at 3:31 pm
@Autoline Team on G Wagon: not that it matters because many people in the U.S. call it ‘G Wagon” but its name is “G-Wagen” with an e, the abbreviation of “Gelaendewagen”, which is Off-Road Vehicle in German.
November 23rd, 2022 at 4:06 pm
To the AutoLine Team and all the commenters to ALD, have a safe and fun Thanksgiving!
November 23rd, 2022 at 4:55 pm
@4.) What your saying makes since, yet, while your reasoning has merit, it’s hard to feel too sorry for the companies when the execs at the top, many of which are making hundreds of millions, or in the case of Mr. Musk, billions of dollars! In my next statement, understand that I’m not implying that the leaders of a company do now work and that they should not be rewarded for how they are leading a successful company! Yet, the people on the shop floor, the railroad works who are doing the physical work that is making the company the success that their decision have directed, and others, they are the ones the closest to and feel the impact of inflation the most! So why shouldn’t they too, receive some to the financial benefits the company as a whole brings in?! Where I have worked for the past 17 years, the current leadership, though we have a union, is forcing the workers to except a contract that, despite inflation, gives the work force no raises over the life of the contract, requires workers not only to continue to their current pay check contributions for benefits they receive, but is switching to a high deductible format. This requires participants to pay out of pocket for all doctor visit, medical procedures and medications, until they reach a threshold of $2000 for those who are single and $4000 for those with families! This is touted as a means to save money, by having the employees take up more of the cost of healthcare. This is not a problem for younger workers, since they have fewer health issues, for the most part. The workers who are up in age and after years of sacrificing themselves for this employer, are the ones who will feel the weight/cost of this new initiative! Yet, they have hired more middle managers, department heads and other members of leadership, then we have ever had in our history. All of them with salaries that range from $70K to over $130K+! We have become so top heavy, but the work force is shrinking and all are being asked to do a LOT more, for the same amount, which means we’re actually making less! Yet, if we successed, it’s said to be as a result of the folks we have in charge! If we experience anything less then greatness, then it’s the fault of the legacy employees, because they can’t see to get along with the new direction! I agree with you that perhaps raising the minimum wage does impact the skilled work force, but shouldn’t that increase compel business leaders to do more for their skilled labor?! For, as great as their leadership may be, it means nothing if they don’t have the work force to implement that direction! Just a thought.
November 23rd, 2022 at 9:12 pm
The electric G-Wagen will be useful only for commuting with a 100 kWh battery, given how draggy and heavy the gas one is, having 14/17 EPA gas mileage ratings with the smaller engine, and 13/16 for the AMG version. It seems unlikely to have even 200 mile range.
November 28th, 2022 at 7:56 am
9 Absolutely agree! I certainly do not feel sorry for the companies that can pay their CEO’s the ridiculous increase while taking more away from the workers. But the increase in pay at the bottom pushes everyone above to want a similar increase. While at the very top the gap from workforce and CEO’s has increased dramatically. I was never so frustrated than when K-mart was going belly up and they continued to bring in a new CEO after new CEO that was going to turn things around and all they did was collect a pay in the millions leave after 12 months with a bonus multi-million dollar exit fee. Paid for doing nothing but closing more stores. Thats just so wrong.
Granted many of the CEO’s today have converted traditional pay into stock options and in the case of Elon knows he will be compensated extremely well, however only if the company does well. I have less of a problem with that other than he does tend to manipulate the stock with news briefs or twitter comments about things that don’t always materialize. That group at the top still operates like the “Good old Boys” club where the CEO’s are on the boards of their buddies companies and approve the ridiculous pays. They protect their own and make sure they get paid in the process. That goes back to ethics which is getting harder to find within business. Much harder to stop than just pushing for a raise.
Your example is exactly why unions are still needed. Its not the early days where workers needed protection from harsh working conditions, child labor or abuse. We have laws and organizations like OSHA to protect workers from many of those problems but the pay and work-load negotiations can be resolved with a strong union where it may not with individual complaints. I wish you well and hope they do not accept a contract with zero increases. Especially right now when cost of living is taking a huge jump and workers are in demand. Workers have the current situation in their favor. This will make negotiations fierce and a lot less predictable. The workers know that have a good hand the company cannot afford to be disrupted nor hire replacements easily. Everyone is looking for workers. But Companies know everyone is feeling the pressure of inflation and how long can they hold out for a great contract. My guess is the RR contract wont be resolved until the last minute if not after a strike.