AD #3547 – Xpeng Copying Tesla Architecture; Mid-Size Ram EV Almost Certain; BMW Reveals Most-Powerful EV
April 17th, 2023 at 11:52am
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Runtime:9:36
0:00 Indonesia Gets More EV Investment
0:44 Porsche Sales Up, But EVs Down
1:26 Xpeng Copying Tesla Architecture
3:00 VW Pulls Camo Off ID.7
4:23 Lancia Concept Hints At Its Next 10 Years
5:34 Volvo Increases Rear Seat Luxury
7:01 i7 M70 is BMW’s Most-Powerful EV
7:59 Ram Leaves Little Doubt About Mid-Size EV
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INDONESIA GETS MORE EV INVESTMENT
Indonesia is aggressively trying to become a hub for electric vehicles. It’s trying to lure Tesla to build a plant in the country. It recently proposed a free trade agreement with the U.S. for minerals needed to produce EV batteries. And now Volkswagen is joining a $4.5 billion nickel mining project with Ford, the miner Vale and a Chinese mineral producer. Indonesia wants to build up its EV sector because it sits on the largest nickel reserves in the world. And nickel is an important metal needed for EV batteries.
PORSCHE SALES UP, BUT EVs DOWN
Porsche sold a record number of cars in the first quarter. The automaker delivered more than 80,700 vehicles worldwide, a gain of 18%, compared to last year. But unlike its German rivals, Mercedes and BMW which saw significant growth with their electric vehicles, sales of the Porsche Taycan declined 3% in the first three months of the year. It delivered a little over 9,000 models of the EV. Porsche blames the decline on supply chain issues. Overall, The company recorded gains in all markets but it was especially strong in the U.S. and China.
XPENG COPYING TESLA ARCHITECTURE
And over in China, EV maker Xpeng saw its sales fall off a cliff in the first quarter. They were down nearly 50%. But maybe this can help turn around sales. It just introduced a new platform that it developed in-house that it says will help reduce the cost of developing cars and manufacturing them. Called the Smart Electric Platform Architecture 2.0, it’s very similar to what Tesla is doing right now. It integrates the batteries into the vehicle’s body and it includes front and rear aluminum die castings. Xpeng says the new platform reduces the costs of the powertrain, including the batteries, by 25%. Xpeng’s G6 SUV will be the first model to use the new architecture. And with a price war going on in China, the company says the platform will give it a cost advantage with its competitors.
VW PULLS CAMO OFF ID.7
I think it would be fair to say that the VW Group has done well with the electric vehicles off its MEB platform, but also that they haven’t performed quite as well as the company would have liked. That’s why we’re so interested to watch its newest electrics, like the refreshed ID.3 and all-new ID.7, which feature multiple platform upgrades. And we can finally show the uncamouflaged version of the ID.7, a vehicle that it refers to as the top model within its EV family. It features a new, in-house developed electric drive unit and improved charging system. The new motor produces 210 kW or 282 horsepower and VW expects charging of up to 200 kW, which is up from 135 kW. It also expects a pretty impressive WLTP range of 700 kilometers or 435 miles that is partly due to a pretty impressive coefficient of drag of 0.23. So, when do we get to see if these improvements really translate to the real world? The ID.7 launches in Europe and China this year and the U.S. next year.
LANCIA CONCEPT HINTS AT ITS NEXT 10 YEARS
Lancia, which is part of Stellantis, showed off a wild-looking concept, called the Pu+Ra HPE. That’s a mashup of pure and radical, while HPE stands for High Performance Electric. The 2-door, 4-seater is said to be its brand vision for the next 10 years and will first inspire a new vehicle, called the Ypsilon. That vehicle will come out next year and will be sold with both a hybrid and electric powertrain. Speaking of electrification, Lancia will launch an all-new EV, called the Delta in 2028, which is the same time it will transition to only selling electrics. But back to the Pu+Ra and its styling. We see a little of the Hyundai Ioniq 5 in the front lighting, but motoring fans may also see some inspiration from the famed Lancia Stratos. The interior is also pretty wild with futuristic bucket seats and a large dashboard that seems more like a digital drafting table than it does an actual dash.
VOLVO INCREASES REAR SEAT LUXURY
Volvo customers in the back seat of this next vehicle will have to turn up their pinky before taking a sip of anything. It debuted a new version of the EX90, called the Excellence, that has a much more luxurious rear seat environment. Instead of two rows in the back, there’s only one. And all those seats have been replaced with two well appointed captains chairs. Those chairs flank a small center console, partially topped in natural wood, that features multiple cup holders and the controls for the seat heaters and massagers. Rounding out the interior upgrades is a small fridge between the two seats. But also in its own words, the exterior of the EX90 Ecellence, will undergo “a few small tweaks.”
i7 M70 IS BMW’S MOST POWERFUL EV
BMW took the wraps off its most powerful pure electric model, the i7 M70 xDrive. The all-wheel-drive sedan cranks out a combined 650 horsepower and 748 lb-ft of torque. When the launch control or sport boost function is activated, its torque jumps to 811 lb-ft. The car can move from 0 to 60 MPH in 3.5 seconds and has a top speed of 155 MPH. The vehicle features a 101.7-kWh battery which provides an estimated 295 miles of range. The i7 M70 xDrive debuts at the Shanghai auto show this week. It will be built in Germany and it goes on sale worldwide in the second half of the year. Pricing will be announced closer to the start of production.
NO DOUBT ABOUT AN ELECTRIC MID-SIZE RAM
There should be no doubt in your mind that Ram is working on an electrified mid-size pickup truck. In September of last year Ram CEO, Mike Koval, said it was considering showing a mid-size concept to dealers in March to “see what they say, and go from there.” Then in February, referencing the same dealer meeting, he said of an electric mid-size pickup, “We can clinic it to see if it is the right truck.” Well, now that March has passed, Koval was asked about the truck again and, according to Green Car Reports, said “I had 6,000 of my best friends in the arenas, and I was looking for the thumbs up or the thumbs down. And they would have to tell you but I think it’s overwhelmingly positive.” This all made it seem like the electric mid-size truck’s fate rode on the dealer’s reaction and with things looking positive it should be moving forward. But it’s quickly becoming a crowded space with Ford, Toyota and others working on their own models to launch.
But that brings us to the end of today’s show. Thanks for tuning in.
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Comments (30)
April 17th, 2023 at 12:22 pm
With Ferrari now on it’s own, shouldn’t Stellantis develop a replacement? I don’t see Maserati expanding their model range to fill the gap or Alpha Romeo’s models growing in size to fill the gap either. Is there a place for Lancia there? I could see a reborn Lancia Stratos for Italy, while also being sold as an Opel GT in Germany and a performance Citroen to fight Alpine in the French market. With a bigger motor, it could even be an Alpha Romeo. What do you think?
April 17th, 2023 at 12:35 pm
@1 Ferrari is not on its own: 25% of Ferrari is owned by EXOR N.V., controlled by the Agnelli family, which is also heavily invested in Stellantis.
April 17th, 2023 at 12:40 pm
@1,2 the influence of the Agnelli family is significant: John Elkann is Chairman of the Ferrari Board of Directors and he has appointed Ferrari’s CEO Benedetto Vigna.
April 17th, 2023 at 12:42 pm
So Ram is going to create a truck to compete with its own Jeep Gladiator? Personally, I think they would be better off to go after the Ford Mavrick and Santa Cruz go a bit smaller than mid-size but even if they did both they will probably sell okay.
April 17th, 2023 at 1:21 pm
Caution – opinion to follow… That BMW i7 is super ugly.
April 17th, 2023 at 1:21 pm
Caution – opinion to follow… That BMW i7 is super ugly.
April 17th, 2023 at 1:38 pm
4 Wouldn’t there be a market for an actual smaller pickup truck? You know, 2 doors, one row of seating, and a 7 or 8 foot box? No one has that, and I’d think there would be a market, especially with an efficient gas powertrain like Maverick hybrid. An EV would be ok too, for local use by “handymen.”
April 17th, 2023 at 1:47 pm
@5 I was thinking the same, what an ugly vehicle. It may be appealing in the Chinese and Middle Eastern markets, though.
April 17th, 2023 at 1:50 pm
I agree, Drew. There was a time when BMW was a sporting, luxury brand with refined styling. Each new model seems to be an styling experiment. The front fascias in particular keep getting more crowded with odd looking tidbits, strange angles and openings that all may or may not have an actual purpose.
April 17th, 2023 at 1:51 pm
Caution all players: be careful not to mix up the two segments of the name of that Lancia concept!
April 17th, 2023 at 1:52 pm
Did BMW rehire Chris Bangle?
April 17th, 2023 at 1:59 pm
Where’s Chris Bangle now that we really need him?
April 17th, 2023 at 2:04 pm
@Lambo – In the September report, Ram’s CEO said he also wanted to test the waters with the smaller and all-new version of Ram 1200. However, there’s challenges with taxes and homologation with that exact model because it’s going to built in Brazil.
April 17th, 2023 at 2:40 pm
7 +++++++++++++++++
April 17th, 2023 at 2:46 pm
What I think makes several BMW models ugly is the new grill; two side by side grills shaped sorta like stop signs
April 17th, 2023 at 2:46 pm
What I think makes several BMW models ugly is the new grill; two side by side grills shaped sorta like stop signs
April 17th, 2023 at 2:46 pm
What I think makes several BMW models ugly is the new grill; two side by side grills shaped sorta like stop signs
April 17th, 2023 at 2:46 pm
What I think makes several BMW models ugly is the new grill; two side by side grills shaped sorta like stop signs
April 17th, 2023 at 2:48 pm
@4 & 13.) A Ram midsize vehicle and compact would be great, especially the compact. IMHO, the compact may be better coming first, since they could beat some of the others to market, with the other focused on their midsize pickup BEV. It would close to one of their compact CUVs, so much of the development may mostly be done. Then they could turn to their midsize truck! I don’t think that the Gladiator would see much cross showing, unless they did a TRX version.
April 17th, 2023 at 2:48 pm
The Bangled BMWs looked pretty good compared to most of their recent stuff.
April 17th, 2023 at 3:02 pm
While I love BMWs (but will never be able to afford), their current styling/exterior design motif is hard to look at, but, the hardest thing to let go of, is their BEV vehicle range! It makes no since to me, that Mercedes and BMW would be OK with the luxury upstart Lucid and the premium automaker Tesla, both have EVs with greater range AND horsepower, then their M and AMG sporting divisions! The fact that the M7 in today’s report, gets about 250 miles of range is sad!
April 17th, 2023 at 3:17 pm
20 that is so true. He left and they got even more unpleasant
April 17th, 2023 at 4:01 pm
I disliked the Bangle BMWs. The new BMWs seem to be trying to unseat the Bangle era for the ugliest BMWs.
April 17th, 2023 at 4:52 pm
Again on the i7M, as big and filled out as it is (flat floor) and the battery pack still doesn’t have as much usable storage/power as either the Model S or Air. I get that the Plaid and Sapphire use three motors, yet they also get 400+ miles of range, too! I think this is a clear case, as John Mc says, where scar tissue is hurting this model. While Genesis was able to make it work when they retrofit it the ICE version of the G80, to its EV sibling, the ICE and EV versions of the 7-Series, does not seem to be as successful. While the EQS/EQE might not have the range and power of Tesla and Lucids, having gone with a ground up, clean sheet approach for the EVs , they have been able to hit closer to their targets and only need to make incremental updates and changes to better align themselves with the leaders of the pack! While neither Licud and Tesla comes close to the appointments and boutique status of either Mercedes or BMW, their offerings may be good enough to make potential buyers think twice. Don’t get me wrong, either OEM will not be able to build the new i7 and EQS fast enough to me demand. Yet, IMHO, their shortcomings may have given these two upstart competitors, a bigger opportunity convent more then a few of their loyal fan.
April 17th, 2023 at 5:15 pm
24 So far, EVs are mainly commuter cars for those with home charging, so does range matter much?
April 17th, 2023 at 5:16 pm
23. I agree.
April 17th, 2023 at 5:35 pm
About the ‘mega factory’ sites story, the solution is a deep basement and upper floors. Build up and down but if they can’t make cars anyone wants or can afford to buy, why bother?
The Chinese joint venture factories turned out to be applied, apprenticeships for the current and future Chinese auto manufacturers. But Tesla is teaching the Chinese a better way so legacy autos and their management practices are doomed.
One caution for auto reviewers of pre-production cars like Hyundai’s IONIQ series. Even today, the IONIQ are not listed on the EPA site, Fueleconomy.gov. The term ‘vaporware’ comes to mind and hurts the reviewer’s credibility more than the laggard manufacturer. Reviewers might as well run articles about Fisker or Nicola vehicles.
April 17th, 2023 at 5:41 pm
Based on Edmund’s EV range test most EV’s the i7 295 miles will be on the low end and can see almost 20% more range in the real world testing is done on ix and i4.
https://www.edmunds.com/car-news/electric-car-range-and-consumption-epa-vs-edmunds.html
April 18th, 2023 at 7:31 am
25 I agree that EVs really shine when it comes to the daily commute and if you have home charging. I also believe they have promise as fleet vehicles that stay within the range of the batteries. The battery swapping thing makes sense if you have 25+ of the same exact vehicle, maybe even less.
Thats why I think the EV manufacturers that have locked up deals with Amazon or other large delivery companies to sell them EVs have a much better chance of making it. The stand alone luxury EV manufacturers have an up-hill battle ahead and unlike Tesla there are lots more options to choose from so they have a tough road ahead. No doubt we will see more EV manufacturers go belly up in the next few years. If I were running one of these start-ups Id make sure we had a fleet delivery vehicle and use that to help support some volume cause even a really nice EV isnt going to be enough to keep a company afloat. Think about Tesla. If they had stayed with just the model S, Tesla would be done by now. They needed the Y and 3 to make it. But all new start ups need either an amazing hit that sells like hot cakes or a few good offerings to make it now and thats going tomake it so much harder.
April 18th, 2023 at 7:41 am
27 That’s strange that Ioniq 5 and 6 are not on the EPA site because they do, in fact, exist. There are a few in inventory, and I’ve seen a couple Ioniq 5s on the road.