This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.
FORD, GM LAY OFF UAW WORKERS
The UAW strike shows no sign of slowing down, but now GM and Ford are sort of turning the tables on the union. The UAW went on strike at part of Ford’s Wayne assembly plant, so Ford laid off the rest of the 600 workers at the plant who were not on strike. And GM laid off 2,000 workers at its Fairfax plant that makes the Cadillac XT4 and Chevrolet Malibu. That’s because the union shut down the Wentzville plant that makes the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon pickups, but it also makes stampings for the Fairfax plant. We’re likely going to see more if the union expands its strike to other plants. It makes no sense for the car companies to keep plants open if they can’t get the parts they need. And this also puts pressure on the union because if it strikes more plants, more of its members are going to get laid off.
FITCH SAYS D3 HAVE LIQUIDITY TO RIDE OUT LONG STRIKE
Fitch Ratings says that the Detroit Three have plenty of liquid cash assets to withstand a long strike. But it warned that a strike that lasts several months could erode their liquidity and potentially affect their credit ratings. At the end of June, GM reported that it had $46 billion in cash, securities and accounts receivable. Ford had $40 billion. Stellantis had over $52 billion. The UAW started with $825 million in its strike fund. So both sides have quite a war chest. However, none of them want to spend all that money, or even a chunk of it. So hopefully, they’ll find a resolution to this before the month is over.
GM COMPENSATION FOR UAW WORKERS
Most people are unfamiliar with the kind of compensation that UAW workers get, so let’s lay it out for you. At General Motors, workers who are “in progress,” or “in transition,” have a total compensation package worth $116,000 a year. In progress, or in transition refers to workers who were hired after 2007. It takes them 8 years to transition to full wages, and at that point their total compensation package rises to $141,000 a year. One of the union’s demands in a new contract is to slash that 8-year transition to only 90 days. The automakers are offering to cut it to 4 years. Meanwhile, skilled trades people earn $171,000 a year. Now, that’s not what all these workers see in their paychecks. It includes wages and all of their benefits such as bonuses, overtime, profit sharing, health care and retirement payouts. GM says that if you blend the in-progress, the traditional and the skilled trades packages together, each UAW worker costs the company an average of $134,000 a year. The UAW wants to increase that significantly while the automakers want to try and keep a lid on any increase, Also, it’s important to note that this does not include temporary workers who earn far less than those who are full time.
NIO OPENS 1,800TH SWAP STATION & LAUNCHES NEW EC6
Chinese EV maker NIO is really the only company that has had any sort of success with battery swapping and it just hit another milestone. Gasgoo reports that it opened its 1,800th swap station in China. In 2023, NIO has built 500 new locations, which will help service the refreshed version of the EC6 that’s launching in unique fashion. It first revealed the new model sometime after we recorded our show on Friday, but it immediately put the SUV up for sales to customers. It’s the last vehicle in NIO’s lineup to transfer to its NT2.0 platform, which offers a number of upgrades. Either a 75- or 100-kWh battery pack is available, which power two electric motors that combine for 360 kW or 482 horsepower and acceleration of 4.4 seconds from 0-100 km/h. The new platform also features an NVIDIA operating system that controls the advanced driver assistance system, which includes Lidar as standard, as well as the digital experience for passengers. Pricing for the EC6 starts at roughly $49,000 and $57,000, depending on the battery size or customers can buy the vehicle for just over $39,500 and lease the battery for $135 or $230 a month, again depending on the battery size.
TESLA INSTALLED 50,000TH SUPERCHARGER
Speaking of milestones, Tesla hit a few of its own. It recently installed its 50,000th Supercharger globally, which is located in California. It’s a unique unit, painted in the same Ultra Red color as some models and with a numbered plaque at its base.
TESLA CYBERTRUCK HITS 2 MILLION RESERVATIONS
The other milestone is that Cybertruck reservations now reportedly top a whopping 2 million. This is according to a Google spreadsheet that is updated with crowdsourced information. Elon Musk once bragged that the Cybertruck got 250,000 reservations within the first week of its unveiling but a lot has changed since then, maybe most notably the pricing. So, how many reservations it can convert into paying customers will be a question. But if Tesla can build the Cybertruck in good volume there’s clearly a lot of initial buyer interest.
CHEVY EQUINOX EV TO LAUNCH SOON IN CHINA
China’s Ministry of Industry and Information posted images of the Chevy Equinox EV just ahead of the model’s debut in the country. This is the RS version, which looks pretty much the same as the one shown in the U.S. The Equinox EV is slightly longer and taller than a Tesla Model Y but it’s not as wide. The Chinese version will be manufactured by GM’s joint venture with SAIC, while the U.S. version will be made in Mexico. GM said the entry-level Equinox will start around $30,000 in the U.S. and will arrive at dealerships this fall.
GM HALTS ELECTRIC VAN PRODUCTION UNTIL NEXT SPRING
GM’s struggles to produce batteries continues. And it’s forcing the automaker to halt production of its BrightDrop electric van in October. The line at its plant in Ontario, Canada will be down until next spring due to a battery-module delay. That’s when the plant will launch its battery module line to support production. GM blames the battery-module delays on a supplier and didn’t reveal what the issue is but it has sent an engineering team to the supplier to help resolve the problem.
LAMBO & DUCATI DEMONSTRATE V2V TECHNOLOGY
Lamborghini and Ducati demonstrated vehicle to vehicle technology or more specifically vehicle to motorcycle technology. The two companies are working with the Connected Motorcycle Consortium to help standardize the safety system for cars and bikes. The test focused on the most dangerous accident cases for motorcycles which involves a hard to see rider in relation to oncoming traffic and those that put motorcyclists where they can’t see what is happening in front of them. The prototype bike has an additional screen on it to help warn the rider about any danger. In this phase of development, the goal is to help reduce the reaction time of the system to help limit the risk of an accident.
MERCEDES MUSEUM HELPS COLOR BLIND PEOPLE VIEW EXHIBITS
Here’s something kind of cool. Mercedes is helping color blind people to see the exhibits at its museum in Germany in more accurate color and contrast. It’s offering special color blind glasses for adults and children that have a filter which makes it possible to see an expanded spectrum. They’re free with admission and it sounds like a cool experience.
But that brings us to the end of today’s show. Thanks for tuning in.
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Comments (29)
September 18th, 2023 at 12:30 pm
Thanks Sean. And welcome back home to the office. Water damage is always a pain to deal with, inside or outside.
September 18th, 2023 at 12:33 pm
Thanks for the good show, mein host. Lots of different topics today.
GM sure has a lot of battery supply problems. Six month plant shutdowns are a sign of very poor management. Are they giving big contracts to suppliers that just aren’t up to the task?
I do wonder, however, how quickly they would scramble if the plant made pickups rather than EVs.
September 18th, 2023 at 12:40 pm
I have doubts about the accuracy of the “crowd sourced” reservation numbers. Its also curious that Tesla has not provided the actual number. In addition, if they ever get the truck into volume production, and announce actual pricing, it will be interesting to see how many reservation holders end up converting into buyers.
The stories I have read from engineers about how difficult it is to produce the type of body panels the truck design includes now make me think it will be quite a while yet before it goes into volume production and that the price will be higher than many anticipate as a result of the costs associated with producing those panels. OR, Tesla will change the design of the truck enough to make it easier and cheaper to produce. With their cost reduction efforts on other products, this seems likely.
September 18th, 2023 at 12:49 pm
I swear I heard you say “the advanced driver existence system” in the Geely segment. “Please renew your subscription NOW.”
September 18th, 2023 at 12:49 pm
*NIO, darnit.
September 18th, 2023 at 12:49 pm
The “arrives at dealerships this Fall” will undoubtedly be amended for the Equinox. It is slated to use the Ultium batteries that they can’t seem to produce in any volume. This is a very serious problem for GM. The Cadillac Lyriq uses these batteries and production is WAY behind schedule and currently still flowing at a trickle as the batteries for them are being assembled by hand. The same batteries are slated for use in the Blazer EV and Equinox EV. Even if they divert the supply from the Brightdrop commercial van plant to other consumer vehicle plants, the flow of new vehicles will be agonizingly slow. This is a problem GM needs to get solved yesterday. The only EV they can build in any volume now is the Bolt because it uses a different type of battery that is readily available. If they don’t get this issue fixed, the next vehicles you will see delayed or launched with miniscule production are the Silverado and Sierra EVs.
September 18th, 2023 at 12:50 pm
2 Million reservations according to a crowd sourced spreadsheet? Is Tesla no longer taking reservations? Sounds like more Elon hype than actual commitment.
From a Reuters article from July 25th;
“GM’s Hummer EV, Cadillac Lyriq SUV and BrightDrop vans has been hamstrung by ongoing issues at the Lordstown battery plant. That issue was stated as the automation equipment supplier is struggling with delivery issues. (whatever that means) GM in the meantime is building battery modules by hand on manual assembly lines, Barra said.
September 18th, 2023 at 1:14 pm
2M? Uh, huh…
September 18th, 2023 at 1:15 pm
By the time Cybertruck arrives, if it ever does, it may have regular painted body panels rather than stainless steel.
September 18th, 2023 at 1:17 pm
GM needs to abandon plans to be EV only in a few years, since they don’t seem to be able to make more than a few dozen EVs, except for soon-to-be-discontinued Bolt.
September 18th, 2023 at 1:42 pm
10, I think GM has already abandoned plans for a quick EV transition. Even, Cadillac, that was supposed to be GM’s leader is still very heavily ensconced in the continuation of ICE vehicles. 2024′s on the way, and there is already reported that the ’25 CT5 is coming (refresh mostly, but still fairly modified from the ’24). It appears that Chevrolet is leading the way; though even there the transition is slow (at least not as fast as earlier alluded).
Not going to say much about the strike, other than whatever has already been said, and that is, it surely looks like the workers are pretty well compensated for the job(s) that they do. GM’s and Ford’s proposals (haven’t seen from Stellantis) seems very generous.
September 18th, 2023 at 2:05 pm
How much do the car companies contribute to workers’ 401K’s, compared to what they contributed to the pension funds in the past? It must not be much, considering that the car companies, and companies in general, are doing away with defined pensions.
September 18th, 2023 at 2:28 pm
7) Seems Ultium as a battery technology may have been released a little too quickly. A great design, but if you can’t make it in volume, it is not useful. Hopefully the “supplier issue”, whatever that is, gets wrapped up soon and cars can start being produced in volume. I do like the Lyriq from Cadillac. That would be an EV I would actually buy.
As a side note, I was browsing Facebook marketplace and there was a Rivian R1T for sale. I had to laugh a little as it had 3000 miles on it and the seller stated that it does not work for the daily towing duty they needed to perform. I found it odd that the seller did not know that prior to purchase, but maybe they fell for the hype instead of reality. Either way, selling the Rivian for a loss based on the price and nobody wants it even at that price.
Used cars in general are taking a while to find a buyer right now and it has to be an exceptional deal. Buyers are pulling back in the used car market. Technically they are pulling back in the new market but at a slower rate than the used market. Used cars seemingly collapsed overnight.
September 18th, 2023 at 2:36 pm
The Ultium battery production problem is only in the one plant here in the US that is supposed to be nearing full production by now. Two more plants are under construction but won’t come on line for at least another 1-2 years.
Meanwhile, GM is building Ultium batteries in China with no issues. From what I have heard, the assembly line equipment is in place but the supplier is having a really difficult time tuning it so that it operates properly. No sense in building batteries incorrectly. I am sure they will get it fixed, but it is surprising how long it is taking.
From a recent article:
SAIC-GM operates two Ultium plants at production sites in Shanghai and Wuhan in central China. Since June 2022, the company has launched sales of three Ultium-based EVs – the Cadillac Lyriq crossover, the Buick Electra E5 crossover and the Buick Electra E4 Coupe. July 6, 2023
September 18th, 2023 at 3:34 pm
By the time the Ultium battery gets into serious production, it will be older generation technology. Many battery designs are being revised every year or two.
When you look at the mess most legacy and new manufacturers are living with, it would be a kindness to take half of them out behind the barn and put them out of their misery.
September 18th, 2023 at 4:22 pm
15. You are disparaging at least a couple of hundred thousand hard working people.
September 18th, 2023 at 4:49 pm
16 I apologize if I said anything to upset you. I meant that the current direction of the companies are not conducive to their survival. The very few people that provide direction for the company are the cause of the problems, not the white and blue collar women and men who implement managements demands.
It appears to me that historically well run automotive companies that thrived in previous conditions cannot seem to make the changes needed to thrive in these new conditions. I used to believe that having a successful ICE business would give you an advantage in this time of change. I now realize that the very systems that made the company a success are the cause of their present problems.
September 18th, 2023 at 5:32 pm
17. If your benchmark is Tesla and other EV newcomers, please understand that traditional OEMs have thousands of ambulance-chasing lawyers ready to pounce on every miscue. Yet, for some unknown reason, these lawyers and our government (until recently) have given the newcomers a free pass to sell unfinished prototypes to unsuspected “beta” testers.
September 18th, 2023 at 5:42 pm
11 I wish Cadillac would do better with their car powertrains. A CT5 is substantially slower, and thirstier than a BMW 3 series, while weighing only 200 pounds more. They both have 2 liter turbos. The Cadillac has a 10-speed transmission and the BMW 8-speed. Even the slightly smaller and lighter CT4 is slower and thirstier than the BMW. Why? Do the Cadillacs have poorly selected gear ratios? Do the engines have bad head design? I don’t know, but it’s disappointing. The Cadillacs are thirstier than the BMW, both in EPA ratings and CR’s tests.
What I’d like to see in the CT5 would be a good hybrid system, but that’s not going to happen.
September 18th, 2023 at 5:57 pm
17,18 The D3 seem to be counting on huge pickup trucks and SUVs to keep selling well forever, because those are the only products they take seriously enough to have best-in-class vehicles. If you count low volume specialty cars like Corvette, there is one that is the best ‘value’ of what it nominally competes with.
Chrysler group will soon be dropping all of their cars. Ford has dropped all except Mustang, and will soon be dropping one of their best sellers, Escape. The Malibu hangs on, along with the CT4 and CT5, but how much longer?
Yeah, the big trucks are where the money is, for now, but how much longer?
18 Yep, it seems that Tesla can get away with anything, from calling level 2.5 autonomy “full self driving,” to eliminating the turn signal lever, which will make an already bad problem even worse.
September 18th, 2023 at 6:23 pm
I think what Tesla has shown is that so much of the standard driver’s interface is not dictated anywhere with standards and has been adopted by convention. Next thing they’ll be using pushing and pulling on the steering wheel to replace the accelerator and brake.
September 18th, 2023 at 6:34 pm
21. Some changes to HMI reflect clever “fresh eyes” while others reflect technology for technology sake. One tech of tech sake item is the power-deployed door handle. Another is the power folding/collapsing trans shift handle on the F-150 (it sounds cheap and a rotary device can easily accomplish the same result (allowing a flat work surface) and is deployed on nearly every other Ford product.
September 18th, 2023 at 6:42 pm
22 Also, power glove box doors are another of the sillier technology for technology’s sake ideas.
September 18th, 2023 at 7:02 pm
#17.) To your point, but what has me scratching my head is that, after close to fifteen years, none of the legacy OEM’s have come close or even matched the Model S regarding its horse power AND driving range. They produced vehicles with big horse power, but they have nowhere near the range. The Mercedes EQS AMG comes close, but when you compare that with the Model S Plaid, the Tesla has more power and fare fairly long range numbers, too! The CLA Concept seems to moving in the right direction, but while it may be getting set for ~400 miles, it looks like it’s how’re power numbers will close to or below 300. Let me be clear, subjective, objective, exterior styling aside, what the EQS and EQE lack in power and range, they more then make up for in perceived quality and the reputation and pedigree of their manufacture. I’m not saying that all EVs should have big power and ranges numbers, but I would have thought that, by now, a few of them would have come closer to to either matching or exceeding Tesla, not another upstart startup like Lucid! And again, to your point, it seems that ‘historically will run automotive companies that thrive in previous, cannot seem to make the changes needed to thrive in these new conditions.’ And that “the very systems that made the company a success are the cause of their present problems.” I’m coming to feel the same way, too! On the one hand, how many times have we seen one legacy OEM or tier one supplier, hit the market with a new piece of kit and a year or two later and a cross town rival has got a new or better one, or some new spin on the one produced by their original?! On the other hand, when it come to these EVs, the legacy OEMs, with all the building, engineering and manufacturing experience, are STILL fighting second, third or fourth place, 10 plus years later!
September 18th, 2023 at 7:26 pm
24 One thing that helps Tesla with performance and range, is lightness. From CR’s charts, the Model S tested was 1200 pounds lighter than the EQS. There are compromises there, but lightness will always help acceleration and efficiency.
Tesla also has a lightness advantage with the Model 3 against the Hyundai Ioniq 6 and BMW i4, probably the 3′s closest competition. The Hyundai is 600 pounds heavier, and the BMW 1100 pounds heavier than the Tesla. The non-Teslas had enough power that they were actually quicker than the 3 Long Range in CR’s tests, but the 3 was much more efficient.
September 19th, 2023 at 4:02 am
25 Indeed – it was little noticed when the Model 3 was introduced, but its weight was just 10-15% above that of an ‘equivalent’ BMW.
Which is why the Cybertruck, and similar extremely heavy EVs, just seem like a very dubious proposition to me, at least presently.
For trucks, a battery pack the size of the longer-range Model Y, paired with a small, efficient (bio)diesel, may be the smarter, faster way to drive down emissions and fossil fuel use.
September 19th, 2023 at 10:54 am
19 Maybe BMW has better efficiency and power at the cost of durability. Sounds like the 2.0L turbo is a disposable engine. Or at least will require new heads after 70K miles.
https://cararac.com/blog/bmw-3-series-330i-2-liter-turbo-engine-problems-durability.html#Key%20Features%20of%20The%20BMW%203-Series%20Base%20Engine
September 19th, 2023 at 11:17 am
26 To me the whole EV truck thing is just a matter of circumstances. They are making them because they sell well and have good profit margins. They are not the best candidates for an EV platform. In fact they are probably one of the worse vehicles to make an EV. Small to midsized cars make the most sense for an EV platform and even the CUVs work well. But anything with expectations of towing or hauling just doesnt bode well and I believe the EV truck market is going to be a bust. Lots of people think they want them until they do. EVs have their wheel house and large trucks and SUVs are not it. Not to say as batteries improve they cant work well but I think they are a fad.
September 20th, 2023 at 8:20 pm
As we know Elon exaggerates all the time. That one way he manage to up the Tesla stocks up to unrealistic proportion. Two million reservations for that ugly ugly truck is not believable.