Runtime: 9:05
0:32 Ford and Mahindra Team Up
1:07 Nissan Reveals EV Strategy Details
2:00 BMW EV Mass Production Not Viable Until 2020
3:07 Toyota Introduces Corolla Hatchback
4:11 MIT Develops System That Can See Through Fog
5:43 Auto Industry Talent Gap Causing Fights
Visit our sponsors to thank them for their support of Autoline Daily: Bridgestone , Dow Automotive Systems and Lear Corporation.
On today’s show…Ford teams with India’s Mahindra to develop SUVs and a small EV…one of Scion’s castaways gets new look and a new name…and automakers fight to protect their IPs and it has nothing to do with interiors. All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.
This is Autoline Daily the show for enthusiasts of the automotive industry.
FORD AND MAHINDRA TEAM UP
Ford is hoping to establish a greater foothold in India and other emerging markets. It just signed an agreement with Mahindra, India’s largest automaker, to develop SUVs and a small EV. One of the SUVs will be a mid-size vehicle, built on a Mahindra platform and sold independently by both companies as separate brands. The two will also develop a small SUV and electric vehicle, share powertrains and develop connected car solutions for customers. The plan is to work together for up to three years.
NISSAN REVEALS EV STRATEGY DETAILS
Nissan revealed details about its EV strategy. It’s aiming to sell 1 million electrified vehicles annually by 2022 and will develop 8 new pure electrics, including a global crossover based on the IMx Concept. And starting in 2021, Infiniti will add electrified vehicles to its lineup. Nissan expects that by 2025, half of its sales in Japan and Europe will be electrics, in the U.S. it will be 20 to 30% and China will reach as high as 40%. And Infiniti expects half it sales will be electrified vehicles by 2025. In addition to the EV news, Nissan said it plans to offer autonomous technology in 20 models in 20 markets. And it will add connectivity to all Nissan, Infiniti and Datsun models in key markets by 2022.
BMW EV MASS PRODUCTION NOT VIABLE UNTIL 2020
And in other EV news, BMW says it won’t start producing electrics in large numbers until 2020 because its current technology isn’t profitable enough to scale up for mass production. Reuters reports that the company is working on making the technology more modular and scalable so it can build them in large numbers. It’s also developed a new manufacturing technique that will allow it to build all of its models with a pure electric, a hybrid or an internal combustion engine powertrain. Sounds to us like a modular architecture. BMW plans to add 25 electrified vehicles, including 12 BEVs, to its lineup by 2025.
Still to come…Toyota introduces a hatchback version of the Corolla.
TOYOTA INTRODUCES COROLLA HATCHBACK
Remember not that long ago when Scion went away? The brand’s remaining vehicles were absorbed by Toyota, with one of them, the iM getting rebranded the Corolla iM. And now with an all-new model comes an all-new name, the Corolla Hatchback. It rides on Toyota’s New Global Architecture and is longer, wider and lower than the outgoing model. You’ll notice a similar look in the front and rear lighting with a sharp inward kickdown and the automaker’s signature hexagonal grille. The Corolla Hatchback comes standard with an 8-inch touchscreen, which features Toyota’s Entune 3.0 Audio system. Under the hood, a new 2.0L 4-cylinder engine replaces a 1.8L unit, but it’s actually smaller in size and lighter than the 1.8L. It gets mated to a 6-speed manual transmission or Toyota’s new CVT we talked about the other day, that has a launch gear. The new Corolla Hatchback will make its debut at the New York Auto Show and then go on sale this summer.
MIT DEVELOPS SYSTEM THAT CAN SEE THROUGH FOG
The fatal accident involving Uber’s self-driving car earlier this week, demonstrated that the technology still needs more refinement. And one area that needs improvement is driving in fog. Most imagining systems get confused because the light reflecting off water droplets in fog makes it impossible for the system to discern objects in the road. That’s why researchers at MIT have developed a new imaging system that can gauge the distance of objects in fog and see through fog that humans can’t. To test its system the researchers placed objects in an enclosed box and then gradually filled it with thick fog. Outside, pointing into the box, is a laser that fires pulses of light into the fog and a camera measures the time it takes for the reflection to return. As you can see in the video, the system is still able to recognize the objects in the box even after they’re not discernable to the human eye. And its technology like this that will help autonomous cars operate safely in future.
But there’s a shortage of engineers developing this new technology. And coming up next, we’ll tell you why this is causing a lot of fighting behind the scenes in the auto industry.
AUTO INDUSTRY TALENT GAP CAUSING FIGHTS
There’s a lot of fighting going on behind the scenes in the auto industry over the patents, the trade secrets and the intellectual property that backs up all the new technology being developed. But one of the reasons why this is happening, is there isn’t enough talent to go around. On Autoline This Week, our panel of experts discuss the need for more engineers.
(The ATW preview is only available in the video version of today’s show.)
For more about how automakers are protecting their patents and trade secrets you can watch that entire discussion right now on Autoline.tv or you can find it on our YouTube channel.
And also be sure to check out our coverage of the NADA Convention that’s going on right now in Las Vegas. We’ll be posting interviews from the annual car dealers show, starting this afternoon on our website and YouTube channel.
But that’s it for today, thanks for watching and please join us again tomorrow.
Thanks to our partner for embedding Autoline Daily on its website: WardsAuto.com
John McElroy is an influential thought leader in the automotive industry. He is a journalist, lecturer, commentator and entrepreneur. He created “Autoline Daily,” the first industry webcast of industry news and analysis.