Listen to “AD #3456 – Tesla to Redesign the Model 3; E-Fuels Will Not Save The ICE; Renault Toys with Return to U.S.” on Spreaker.
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Runtime: 10:29
0:08 Tesla to Redesign the Model 3
1:07 EU Demands IRA Fix
1:38 Hyundai Group Adds More U.S. Battery Plants
2:22 Stellantis Stiff Arms Its EU Dealers
3:31 New Nissan Serena Minivan in Japan
4:40 Renault Toys with Return to U.S.
5:47 Chevrolet Unveils Handsome EV Sedan in China
6:57 Foreign Automakers Lose Ground in China
8:03 E-Fuels Will Not Save The ICE
8:56 Tesla FSD Beta Now Available to All North American Owners
9:27 Tesla Can Now Detect Autopilot Defeat Devices
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TESLA TO REDESIGN THE MODEL 3
Looks like Tesla is going to redesign the Model 3. Reuters reports it’s part of a program codenamed Highland, which is an effort to cut manufacturing costs and update the styling. Tesla is going through the existing Model 3 to figure out where it can get rid of unneeded parts and reduce its manufacturing complexity. The redesigned model will be built in Shanghai and Fremont and will come out in the third quarter of next year. Tesla is also working on an all-new low-cost platform, what some have called the Model 2, but the Highland project is different from that. Apart from a slight front-end styling change on the Model S and X six years ago, Tesla has deliberately avoided redesigning its EVs, so a design change to the Model 3 would indicate the company recognizes it needs to refresh the way its vehicles look to keep sales strong.
EU DEMANDS IRA FIX
European automakers are really mad about the Inflation Reduction Act in the US. The IRA only gives subsidies to EVs that are made in North America, with batteries made in the US or approved partners. The EU is demanding an immediate fix so its vehicles can qualify. And time is running out. The IRA goes into effect in 2023, and it would take a minor miracle to get the US Congress to act that quickly.
HYUNDAI GROUP ADDS MORE US BATTERY PLANTS
Meanwhile, it looks like the Hyundai Group is doing a better job of reading the political tea leaves. It already announced it’s going to invest nearly $2 billion to open a battery plant in the U.S. in 2026 with SK On. That plant will produce 20 GWh annually, which is enough to power 300,000 EVs. And now Hyundai and LG Energy are considering opening two more battery plants in the U.S., likely in Georgia near the new EV plant Hyundai is building. Those battery plants will have an annual capacity of 35 GWh, enough to power 1 million EVs.
STELLANTIS STIFF ARMS ITS EU DEALERS
Stellantis is shaking up its dealer network in Europe. Starting next July, it’s going to adopt what they call an “agency model.” That’s where the automaker takes control of sales and pricing and the dealer only does deliveries and service. The agency model will first be applied to dealers in Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands and then roll out to other markets in Europe. While Stellantis, Ford and GM would love to do this in the U.S., strong dealer franchise laws prevent that from happening.
NEW NISSAN SERENA MINIVAN IN JAPAN
Nissan is launching an all-new version of its Serena minivan for Japan, which first went on sale in 1991. It’s a fairly narrow vehicle with upright sides, which gives it an overall rectangular shape. That’s then highlighted with a few angular kick ups at the front and rear as well as a large grille and backglass and LED lighting. The Serena is powered by either a gas engine, which is paired to a CVT, but it’s not providing a lot of details or Nissan’s second-gen e-Power system that uses a 1.4L gas engine to only charge a battery pack, which powers the electric motor. The small van can hold up to 8 passengers and features two digital display screens along with a flat control panel that houses the push button gear selector. It’s also available with Nissan’s driver assistance system, called ProPilot. Sales of gas models start in the winter, while e-Power models kick off next spring with prices ranging from about $20-grand up to roughly $34,700.
RENAULT TOYS WITH RETURN TO U.S.
Renault’s performance brand Alpine is going electric and wants to expand to more markets and that could mean a return to the U.S. As part of its future “Dream Garage,” Alpine has already teased what looks like a sporty version of the Renault 5, a small crossover and a likely replacement for the Alpine A110. But Renault CEO Luca de Meo says it will have two additional EVs; a mid-size and larger SUV. The first is scheduled to hit the market sometime around 2027 and they’ll be developed on either a Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi platform or one from–and this is intriguing– a “leading EV player.” And it’s these vehicles that de Meo thinks would fit in in North America. We’ll believe it when we see it. Relaunching the Alpine brand in the US will be expensive and time consuming. It would be far faster, cheaper and simpler to launch them as Nissans.
CHEVROLET UNVEILS HANDSOME EV SEDAN IN CHINA
GM may have killed off sedans in North America, but it’s keeping the segment going in China. Chevy showed off the design of a new Ultium-based electric vehicle, called the FNR-XE Concept, which previews a production model that’s supposed to debut next year. We think the front-end design looks closely related to the Blazer and Equinox EV, while the roofline extends nearly to the back of the vehicle, creating a short decklid, which leads to a long lightbar that stretches across the entire rear of the vehicle.
FOREIGN AUTOMAKERS LOSE GROUND IN CHINA
Foreign automakers had a great time in China in the last decade. But not so much right now. Ford and Mitsubishi saw their production drop 65% from 2017 to this year. GM is down 40%, Volkswagen 33% and Mercedes was down 8%. There are two winners. BMW saw its production go up more than 7% and Toyota was up more than 14%. In fact, Toyota now produces more vehicles in China than any other foreign automaker. Here’s our Autoline Insight. Foreign automakers kind of took sales in China for granted and failed to introduce a steady cadence of new models. And they failed to recognize that EVs would catch on so quickly and did not anticipate that domestic Chinese automakers would be so competitive in EVs. Now the foreign automakers are scrambling to make up for lost time. But they will probably never regain the production levels they enjoyed only 5 years ago.
E-FUELS WILL NOT SAVE THE ICE
Could low-carbon e-fuels save the internal combustion engine? Yes, they could. If you can take the carbon out of gasoline, ICE vehicles would have almost the same carbon footprint as electric vehicles. But we learned some problems with e-fuels at the SAE’s North American International Propulsion Conference. Like this. It takes three times the energy to make e-fuels compared to gasoline, and the cost is three times higher, too. Even more problematic: there are no large-scale production facilities for e-fuels today and none are being built. Meanwhile, EVs and fuel cell vehicles continue to make significant improvements. So, it seems highly unlikely that e-fuels will arrive in time to save the piston engine.
TESLA FSD BETA NOW AVAILABLE TO ALL NORTH AMERICAN OWNERS
Tesla’s Full Self Driving beta software is now available to all customers in North America. Previously, it was only available to a limited number of owners with a high safety score. The system allows the vehicle to automatically drive to a location entered into the nav system. But the driver must still pay attention while its activated. So now it’s available to anyone in North America as long as they paid for the FSD package, which was recently raised to $15,000.
TESLA CAN NOW DETECT AUTOPILOT DEFEAT DEVICES
Tesla has also been criticized over the lack of driver monitoring for its Autopilot and FSD systems. The technology requires drivers to keep their hands on the wheel while it’s engaged. However, the vehicle is not able to detect if the driver’s hands are on the wheel, it can only detect torque applied to it. That led to some owners using “defeat devices” to apply pressure to the wheel in order to trick the system. But now Tesla has issued an update that can detect the defeat devices and automatically shut Autopilot down.
And that’s a wrap for today. Thanks for making Autoline a part of your day.
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Seamus and Sean McElroy cover the latest news in the automotive industry for Autoline Daily.