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Runtime: 7:38
0:45 Mustang Mach-E Details Leak
1:13 GM to Build Electric Hummer, Sierra & Escalade
1:53 UAW Expected to Ratify Ford Deal
2:38 VW Invests Billions into EV Development
3:18 Canadian Exports to Europe Rise
4:06 Renault Creates New Renewable Material
4:43 Santa Cruz Won’t Be a True Small Pickup
5:20 Qiantu K50 EV Spotted in Washington, D.C.
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Before we kick off today’s show, we’d like to tell you about next week’s episode of Autoline After Hours. John will be talking to the team that helped develop the new Mustang Mach-E electric crossover. We’re shooting that show in LA and that means it won’t be live, so we’re taking your questions early. If there’s anything you’re wondering about the Mach-E, send it to us at viewermail@autoline.tv by Monday the 18th at 9AM West Coast time or 12PM Eastern. The show will still air at its normal 3PM Eastern time on Thursday the 21st.
MUSTANG MACH-E DETAILS LEAK
But if you can’t wait that long, someone at MachEForum.com was able to successfully guess the URL for the EV’s webpage, which has a ton of information about it. Autoblog has an article with the details and we’ll post a link for that in the transcript and the description box. While it looks legit, we can’t confirm if the info is correct, so take it with a grain of salt.
GM TO BUILD ELECTRIC HUMMER, SIERRA & ESCALADE
Last month, Reuters reported that GM is considering reviving Hummer as an all-electric brand and that the vehicles will be built at the company’s Detroit/Hamtramck plant. And now LMC Automotive is reporting that GM will build electric Hummer’s at the facility, along with electric versions of the GMC Sierra and Cadillac Escalade. GM will kick off production of an electric Hummer pickup and SUV in late 2021, while the electric Sierra and Escalade won’t start production until 2023. GM is investing $3 billion in the Detroit/Hamtramck plant which was part of the UAW deal.
UAW EXPECTED TO RATIFY FORD DEAL
And speaking of UAW contracts, union members are expected to ratify its new labor deal with Ford. Voting ends today and early indications point to workers accepting the four-year pact. If it does pass, that only leaves FCA left to bargain with. But those negotiations may not go as smoothly as they did with Ford, since FCA is at the heart of the union corruption scandal.
VW INVESTS BILLIONS INTO EV DEVELOPMENT
Volkswagen has big plans to expand the number of electric vehicles throughout its brands and it will spend heavily to bring those cars to market. The company announced it will invest 60 billion euros or about $66 billion over the next five years, to develop electric and hybrid cars as well as digital technology. Around 33 billion euros will go towards pure electric vehicles, while the rest will be spent on hybrids and digital tech. By 2029, the VW Group plans to introduce 75 all-electric cars and 60 hybrids to the market.
CANADIAN EXPORTS TO EUROPE RISE
With vehicle sales slowing, Canada is starting to turn to Europe to offset the decline. WardsAuto reports that while Canadian auto exports to Europe are small, car sales to the EU were up nearly 90% last year, compared to 2017 and generated a little more than $630 million. Canadian cars going to the EU were subject to a 10% tariff, but that’s started to drop and over the next 7 year will be completely phased out. So, exports should continue to increase. We’ve seen a lot of cuts and consolidation to adjust for falling sales and to pay for EVs and AVs, but we’re also going to see expansion into untapped markets.
RENAULT CREATES NEW RENEWABLE MATERIAL
There’s been a greater focus on renewable interior materials and Renault is the latest with a unique material. It’s made from seat belts, textile scraps and recycled plastic bottles and along with a new manufacturing process, reduces the carbon footprint by 60% compared to the standard process. The new material is used in the seat covers, dashboard, center console and door panels of the new Renault ZOE.
SANTA CRUZ WON’T BE A TRUE SMALL PICKUP
I saw a number of comments from people excited that a new small pickup truck was coming back to the market with the confirmation of the Hyundai Santa Cruz. I hope I’m not bursting too many bubbles here, but Hyundai has said previously that the Santa Cruz will fit into the mid-size truck segment. As we pointed out yesterday, it seems it will likely be a unit-body pickup, so it could be on the smaller size, like the Honda Ridgeline, but not a true small pickup. There’s been rumors that Ford will offer a small pickup truck, but so far it has not confirmed that.
QIANTU K50 EV SPOTTED IN WASHINGTON, D.C.
Here’s an interesting viewer submission. A friend of viewer Michael M spotted this car in downtown Washington, D.C. with California license plates. They’re curious what it could be. We recognized its shape right away. A quick search took us back to December of last year when we covered a vehicle called the Qiantu K50. China’s Qiantu Motors and California electric vehicle manufacturer Mullen Technologies are going to build and sell the K50 electric sports car in the U.S. They will import some components from China and use American sourced parts as well. It features an aluminum frame with carbon fiber body pieces laid over. Two electric motors produce just over 400-horsepower and the car can do 0 to 100 kilometers an hour in 4.6 seconds. A 78-kWh battery pack provides an estimated 236-miles of range. The K50 was scheduled to be launched in 2020 and the ‘on-street’ spotting could indicate they’re on track. The cars will be sold through Mullen’s distribution network.
Fleet sales used to be scorned by many automakers. It was unprofitable and not a sexy part of the business. Today it’s just the opposite. Fleet sales are profitable and are up strong, while retail sales are down. To learn how and why it changed, be sure to tune into Autoline This Week. You can watch it right now on our website, Autoline.tv or look for it on our YouTube channel.
But that’s it for today, thanks for watching and have a great weekend.
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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.