AD #3457 – Only BEVs Can Hit Carbon Neutrality; NIO Planning U.S. Expansion; Audi Pumps ICE Power Into RS 6 & 7
November 29th, 2022 at 11:50am
Listen to “AD #3457 – Only BEVs Can Hit Carbon Neutrality; NIO Planning U.S. Expansion; Audi Pumps ICE Power Into RS 6 and 7″ on Spreaker.
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Runtime: 9:23
0:00 EU Worried About U.S. EV Subsidies
1:00 U.S. Car Sales Could End Year Strong
1:42 Improve Traffic Flow, Cut Emissions
3:11 Three Quirky EV Vans Debut in China
4:43 Mercedes Sees Near 50% CO2 Cut for EV Batteries
5:31 Audi Pumps ICE Power Into RS 6 & RS 7
6:58 NIO Targets U.S. Market w/ Next-Gen EVs
7:38 Legacy Supplier Lands Big EV Contracts
8:10 Only BEVs Can Hit Carbon Neutrality
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EU WORRIED ABOUT U.S. EV SUBSIDIES
Europe is worried that the IRA and all the EV incentives it provides will push more European companies to open EV and battery plants in the U.S. Now Swedish battery maker Northvolt is considering opening a new plant in the U.S. instead of Germany. Why? It could get more than $830 million in incentives from the Inflation Reduction Act, which is four times more than what it would get in Germany. And then there’s energy costs, which have soared in Europe ever since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Thomas Schaefer, the head of the Volkswagen brand, warns that if the EU doesn’t address high energy costs, it won’t be feasible to produce batteries in Europe. So what do you think? Should the U.S. provide exemptions to the IRA, or should Europe adopt its own version of the legislation.
U.S. CAR SALES COULD END YEAR STRONG
Interest rates are sky high, inflation is running rampant, the stock market is going through a major correction, but the U.S. auto industry could end the year on a high note. That’s according to Ward’s Intelligence, which says that rising inventory levels are giving automakers some tailwind. More inventory means dealers won’t be able to charge as much over the MSRP. And it means automakers can make more cars, trucks and vans available to fleets, which have been starving for vehicles. Ward’s says automakers have 1.6 million vehicles in inventory, which is 58% higher than it was at this time a year ago.
IMPROVE TRAFFIC FLOW, CUT EMISSIONS
There are lots of ways to make vehicles run cleaner, and some of them have nothing to do with building better vehicles. Nissan, the Tennessee Department of Transportation and four universities did a test using 100 Nissan Rogues with artificial-intelligence cruise control technology. They drove the Rogues on a four mile stretch of Interstate 24 just outside Nashville, which is equipped with 300 sensors that can capture 260 million vehicle miles of data per year. The idea is to figure out how to smooth out traffic and reduce congestion. And that can have a dramatic impact on fuel efficiency and emissions. Some studies suggest that with better traffic management emissions could drop more than 20% without any change in the current fleet of vehicles.
THREE QUIRKY EV VANS DEBUT IN CHINA
I love cars, but I can get bored with how similar most look, which is why I get so excited for weird stuff, like this electric delivery van from a Chinese EV startup, called Jenhoo. This is the EV48. Small wheels, small windows mounted high on the front doors, near vertical grille and a single, B-pillar-less side door opening all add to this van’s quirkiness. It’s powered by a 60 kW or 82 horsepower electric motor and features an LFP battery from CATL. Jenhoo was founded less than two years ago, but the EV48 will launch sometime early next year and will be built by another Chinese automaker, Jiangling, which also has a JV partnership with Ford. But wait, there’s more weird stuff coming out of China. A company, called Derry Auto, says it plans to launch a series of EVs and just revealed a couple of last-mile delivery vehicles. One is a small, wedgy van with squared off design features, called the Neomor 03 and the other, called the Neomor 01, is an even smaller vehicle with a more bubbly design and a face similar to the Honda e. The 01 features a tiny 8 kWh battery, but is said to return a somewhat impressive 120 kilometers or 74 miles of range. It sounds like these vehicles should hit the market before 2024. (PICTURED: Jenhoo EV48 – Top; Derry Auto Neomor 01 – Bottom)
MERCEDES SEES NEAR 50% CO2 CUT FOR EV BATTERIES
Mercedes did a life cycle assessment of the EQE and found a few ways to cut carbon emissions. First, It based the assessment on 250,000 kilometers or 155,000 miles of driving. Mercedes found that the EQE has 184 components that weigh over 78 kilograms or about 172 pounds that can, at least, be partly made with recycled or renewable materials. But the one we found most intriguing is that the total lifecycle CO2 of the EQE can nearly be cut in half if the battery cells are made with renewable energy, like hydroelectric power. We’ll provide a link in the transcript or description box if you’d like to read more.
AUDI PUMPS ICE POWER INTO RS 6 & RS 7
Audi’s RS models are already strong performers but it’s giving the RS 6 and RS 7 even more power. The turbos of the car’s 4.0L V8 have been increased which boosts output by roughly 30 horsepower to nearly 630 and torque by about 37 lb-ft. That makes them two tenths of a second faster from 0-100 km/h compared to the base RS 6 and 7. They’ll now do that run in 3.4 seconds. Audi also removed insulation to improve sound and reduce weight, it added a new self-locking center diff and wrapped the unique 22-inch wheels in performance tires. The new RS 6 and 7 performance editions go on sale December 8th in Germany and cost 135,000 euros.
NIO TARGETS U.S. MARKET WITH NEXT GEN EVs
Chinese EV maker NIO is currently expanding into Europe and now is setting its sights on the U.S. market. The head of the company, William Li, told employees that it will sell its next-gen vehicles in the U.S. but he didn’t share any details about when or what vehicles it will sell. That raises the question, will Nio just eat the 27.5% import tariff on Chinese cars shipped to the U.S.? Or will Nio start assembling cars in the U.S. to avoid those tariffs? Some auto analysts believe Chinese OEMs will have to build cars in the U.S. if they want to crack into the market.
LEGACY MAHLE LANDS BIG EV CONTRACTS
Legacy automotive suppliers can still be competitive in the EV game if they come out with the right components. Mahle says it has €1.4 billion in orders for an AC compressor it developed specifically for electric vehicles. The compressor can run on up to 900 volts, has a peak power of 18 kilowatts and only displaces 57 cubic centimeters, so it can be used in everything from small passenger cars to heavy duty trucks.
ONLY BEVs CAN HIT CARBON NEUTRALITY
Automakers all over the world are committing to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. And that’s a problem for hybrid-electrics and plug-in hybrids, unless low-carbon e-fuels become widely available. That’s one of the findings that came out of the SAE’s North American International Propulsion Conference this month. While hybrids and plug-ins do reduce CO2 emissions, they don’t go far enough. Only BEVs can get automakers to carbon neutrality by the middle of the century. And it doesn’t look like e-fuels are going to ride to the rescue for hybrids and plug-ins. As we reported yesterday, e-fuels need three times the energy to make than gasoline and also cost three times as much.
But that’s a wrap for today. Thanks for tuning in.
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Comments (18)
November 29th, 2022 at 12:10 pm
“Sky high” interest rates are less than half what they were in the early ’80s. They probably don’t affect car buying decisions very much.
Maybe the U.S. and EU should both dispense with EV subsidies. Do we really need another trade war?
Is there a 27.5% tariff on Buick Envisions, or would that apply only to Chinese companies?
November 29th, 2022 at 12:22 pm
Jenboo. Does it have a back window? Umm, hope so.
November 29th, 2022 at 12:27 pm
IRA -Proving once again that a carrot works better than a stick, a subsidy works better than a tariff and or trade war.
The Derry van looks interesting, wonder if it could pass North American crash testing without the B pillar.
I used to drive a service van, most of the techs wouldn’t use the back doors much because often in parking lots some knob would park close to your back bumper making is almost impossible to get in the back, no matter how much room you left, when you backed into a spot. I may or may not have stepped on a few hoods.
November 29th, 2022 at 12:33 pm
What about Tesla getting into the Semiconductor Industry via a JV with Annex Semiconductor.
November 29th, 2022 at 12:43 pm
#1. I agree Kit. My first brand new car was an 84 Celebrity Eurosport with the HO V6. They knocked $800 off the sticker and gave me 9.9% APR financing! I thought I got a killer deal!
November 29th, 2022 at 12:48 pm
Cutting waste is a great way to combat emissions. Vehicles sitting idle on any road due to construction, stop lights, congestion is not only a 20% improvement to emissions but a great savings of people’s time. I dont think anyone would be upset with being able to get where they are going without unreasonable delays and the productivity improvement of produce and products getting where they are headed would be significant.
Good Job Tenn! Maybe they can start to determine actual savings in dollar form to justify more work like this. If adding a third lane to bridge is a 20 million dollar endeavor but can save 10 Million each year plus reduce emissions that will help make those decisions a no-brainer.
November 29th, 2022 at 12:51 pm
#5 our first mortgage was at 9.99 % and we thought that was good. It had just come down.
November 29th, 2022 at 12:57 pm
Sorry but I still don’t see BEVs hitting carbon neutrality ever. Its a nice term to make everyone feel warm and fuzzy that something is being done when in reality you can achieve neutrality by just off-setting your footprint with other green initiatives. Unless they change how we mine for the steel and materials required for batteries. They don’t use plastic which is a petroleum product. The BEV may be carbon Neutral while driving but not including a full life cycle. But hey it sounds good.
November 29th, 2022 at 1:01 pm
Bummer stats on phevs. But I still think that until charging network becomes viable, phevs are a better technical option to pure electrics other than teslas. They will likely cost more and they should, they do more.
Carbon neutral ICE with biofuel makes sense for racing, aviation and future classics, ICE will eventually die. But not until long range trucks and buses have a viable technical route, fuel cells and batteries are not there yet.
November 29th, 2022 at 3:47 pm
some unusually nice landscapes in the Mercedes and Audi features.
November 29th, 2022 at 3:57 pm
#7 Our first mortgage was at 10 3/4% which really looked good when the neighbors moved in a couple years later with a 17%. Remember people could lock in 10% interest in their money at the bank.
November 29th, 2022 at 4:25 pm
11 My parents had bank CDs at ~14% Even though inflation was high, you could come out ahead with CDs with no risk, unlike the last 2-3 decades where you have needed to put money at risk to come out ahead.
November 29th, 2022 at 5:09 pm
Other countries should get their own versions of the IRA! This way they have control of what and how it’s used and for how long it’s in place. It just amazes me that, with so many REAL issues in the world, that would benefit from world governments working together unilaterally to solve, so many would come together to discourage the US IRA, or get them to make exceptions for products made in their countries! It is a shame that so many leaders can speak in unison when it comes to money! Not life or one’s quality of! Shouldn’t they be encouraging their citizenry, to buy the vehicles produced in their own countries too?! So, the leaders of country “A”, are attempting to shame or force the leaders of country “B”, to allow the incentives of country B to be used to buy product produced by the multi-billion dollar companies in country A, for the citizens living in country B. Forget about the people of their own country who, TOO, purchase those same products and put them in office! These leaders are stepping up so these billion dollar companys can make more money abroad, by making easier for people in another country and buy the wears. Yet, haven’t given much thought to the citizens of their own country, by drafting their own version of the IRA at home! Chinese OEMs are looking to make bigger inroads into Europe and other parts of the world. If they do so as many fear, by offering high quality, premium BEVs, at a much lower price (which I doubt; for I believe their pricing will be in keeping with what is currently on sell in those markets), will they not want their own version of the US IRA to help level the playing field?! It’s all about the money!
IMHO, if the US doesn’t budge on their current stand on the IRA (which I believe they will), I don’t think a trade war would happen either; not over the sell of passenger vehicles, that is. The US doesn’t export a lot of vehicles to most of the countries that are complaining the most about the IRA! The OEMs that do business in those countries already have facilities in those countries to build their products. The trade imbalance between the US and those countries for like product is so off, such a threat would only impact a few marquee products built in North America and shipped oversees (I.e.: the Mustang, Corvette, Mach-E, Wrangler, etc.).
Is there a tariff on all Chinese made goods (iPhones, TVs, computers and the like), or just on passenger vehicles? I thought the ‘chicken tax’ applied just to trucks and SUV/CUV/Crossovers and not cars and other products? If this is so, how is it cheaper for GM to build and ship their midsize Buick CUV all the way from China, for sell here in the US??? That said, I always thought, for the most part and in most situations, the best cost for OEMs would derived by building locally? Build where you sell! On top of that, with all the political back-and-forth between the US and China, wouldn’t it make more sense (and be in their best interests) for them to build here. Wouldn’t this kind of absolve them, from some of the political tension between two nations?
November 29th, 2022 at 6:02 pm
13 The US exports a lot of vehicles, 1.6M in 2021, and a lot of them are pricey ones from BMW and MB.
November 30th, 2022 at 5:40 am
@14.) What I mean then is vehicles built in North America from local US automakers. I forgot to include some Tesla as well as Lucid models that would be impacted by a trade war. Yet, I would imagine the number of vehicles from other countries that come into the US, is much greater then those that leave these shores bound for other markets. The most that do are from transplant OEMs with factories here, that ship to other markets.
November 30th, 2022 at 7:17 am
Foreign-made vehicles imported into the U.S., whether new or used, either for personal use or for sale, are generally dutiable at the following rates: Auto 2.5% Trucks 25% Motorcycles either free or 2.4%
November 30th, 2022 at 3:52 pm
E-Fuels cost 3 times more now. 27 years from now, with R&D and government incentives, who knows how much it will fall. E-Fuels will also be needed for all of the used PHEVS, HEVS, and ICE vehicles still on the road in 2035/2040 as well to stave off the global warming effects. Current cars average 12-14 years on the road, so expect total vehicles on the road to still be non-BEV up to 2047 or later.
November 30th, 2022 at 3:52 pm
E-Fuels cost 3 times more now. 27 years from now, with R&D and government incentives, who knows how much it will fall. E-Fuels will also be needed for all of the used PHEVS, HEVS, and ICE vehicles still on the road in 2035/2040 as well to stave off the global warming effects. Current cars average 12-14 years on the road, so expect total vehicles on the road to still be non-BEV up to 2047 or later.