AD #2851 – GM Partners w/ CATL in China; U.S. Sales by Propulsion System; Refreshed Hyundai Santa Fe Gets a Bold Grille
June 4th, 2020 at 11:43am
Listen to “AD #2851 – GM Partners w/ CATL in China; U.S. Sales by Propulsion System; Refreshed Hyundai Santa Fe Gets a Bold Grille” on Spreaker.
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Runtime: 10:18
0:08 Aston Laying Off One in Five Employees
0:48 Peugeot Debuts Next-Gen e-Traveller Van
1:15 GM Developing Electric Commercial Van
2:09 Ford Adds 10-Speed to Transit Diesel
2:28 GM Partners w/ CATL for Batteries in China
3:37 European CO2 Levels Up with Weak Diesel Sales
4:34 U.S. Sales by Propulsion System
5:24 Nissan Testing Electric All-Wheel Drive
6:14 Nikola Developing Hydrogen Refueling Network
7:31 FCA System Automatically Switches from PHEV to EV
8:34 Hyundai Santa Fe Gets Significant Refresh
9:31 BMW Kidney Grille Design Evolution
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This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.
ASTON MARTIN SLASHES JOBS TO CUT COSTS
We start out today’s show in the United Kingdom where Aston Martin is using an axe to cut its headcount. It’s laying off one out of every five employees in a desperate move to cut costs. It’s also slashing capital investment in new equipment. Aston is losing money and recently pushed out its veteran CEO Andy Palmer. The company is pinning all its hopes on its first SUV, the DBX, which is priced at nearly $190,000. It goes on sale this summer and Aston says it already has a lot of orders.
PEUGEOT DEBUTS NEXT-GEN E-TRAVELLER VAN
Sticking with Europe for a moment, Peugeot revealed the next-generation of its e-Traveller van. It comes with two battery sizes; 50 kWh and 75 kWh, which provide up to 300-kilometers or 205-miles of WLTP range. The new e-Traveller also comes in three different lengths and seating for up to 9 people.
GM DEVELOPING ELECTRIC COMMERCIAL VAN
GM is also developing electric vans for commercial use. According to Reuters, the van is codenamed BV1 and will start going into production late next year. We believe you get a glimpse of what the van could look like at the end of this short 13-second video GM released in March with the news of its new Ultium battery. The question for GM is, should it be sold as a Chevrolet and/or a GMC, or sold under a different brand? Let us know what you think in the comments. GM is not the only major automakers with plans for electric vans. Ford has an electric Transit van coming and it has close ties with Rivian, which is making vans for Amazon and UPS and the Hyundai Group are invested in Arrival.
FORD ADDS 10-SPEED TO DIESEL TRANSIT
But not all the news about vans today is electric. Ford is now installing 10-speed automatics in rear-drive Transit vans with diesel engines in Europe. The setup allows the van to tow up to 2,800-kilograms or roughly 6,200-pounds and it’s in production right now.
GM TEAMS WITH CATL FOR BATTERIES IN CHINA
General Motors is going to work closely with CATL, the Chinese company that is the world’s largest EV battery manufacturer. GM wants to source 100% of EV components in China for the electric vehicles it makes there. CATL already has deals to supply batteries to Volkswagen and Tesla in China. With local Chinese content, automakers’ cars can qualify for sales subsidies.
If you want to learn more about CATL we recently had the former Chief Technology Officer, Bob Galyen, on Autoline After Hours. There’s a lot of good information in that show of how CATL plans to cut the cost of batteries and the thinking behind its manufacturing strategy. Just click on the link in today’s show notes to go right to that program.
EUROPEAN CO2 LEVELS UP WITH WEAK DIESEL SALES
One reason why Europe historically incentivized sales of diesel engines is that they have roughly 25% better fuel efficiency than gasoline engines and emit lower levels of CO2. But with the Volkswagen diesel emissions cheating scandal, sales of diesels are down in Europe. And as a result, CO2 emissions are up. In 2018, which represents the latest available data, CO2 emissions went up 2 grams per kilometer, reaching 120.8 grams per kilometer. The EU is warning the auto industry it has to do better. Starting this year EU regulations mandate that automakers must have a fleet average of 95 grams. EVs, hybrids and plug-ins will reduce CO2 emissions, but so far their sales numbers are too small to lower the fleet-wide average.
U.S. SALES BY PROPULSION SYSTEM
In the U.S., EV sales are down, but not down nearly as much as the rest of the market. Last month, consumers bought over 14,000 EVs, down 21% from a year ago. But the overall market was down 30%, so EVs picked up some market share. Hybrids fell by 37% and plug-in hybrids dropped 45%. Meanwhile, diesels are holding their own better than any other propulsion system. They were only down 14%, while sales of gasoline engines were down the same as the overall market. But these numbers really show the sales disparity between all the different choices. Gasoline engines literally outsell EVs by a million to one.
| U.S. Sales by Propulsion System | ||
|---|---|---|
| PHEV | 4,339 | -45% |
| EV | 14,285 | -21% |
| Hybrid | 27,721 | -37% |
| Diesel | 41,185 | -14% |
| Gasoline | 1,034,638 | -30% |
NISSAN TESTING ELECTRIC ALL-WHEEL DRIVE
Nissan’s EVs all use a single electric motor, typically for front-wheel-drive. But in the future, it will offer all-wheel-drive using its upcoming e-4ORCE technology. The system, which uses dual electric motors, provides better acceleration, cornering performance and traction on slippery surfaces. It can transfer 100% of the power to the front or rear wheels, and a mix in-between, depending on the conditions. Nissan says it also helps improve comfort by managing the regenerative braking of the front and rear electric motors to reduce pitch and dive to keep the car level. The e-4ORCE technology is in the final stages of development but Nissan did not reveal when we’ll see it on a production vehicle.
NIKOLA WORKING ON HYDROGEN REFUELING NETWORK
Nikola Motors, which is developing fuel-cell powered heavy-duty electric trucks, is working on creating a network of hydrogen refueling stations throughout the United States. It just purchased $30 million worth of electrolysis equipment to create the hydrogen fuel. The 85-megawatt electrolyzers will be used at 5 sites initially and have the capacity to produce 8 tons of hydrogen a day. As long as we’re talking about Nikola we want to let you know that we’re going to have the CEO of the company, Trevor Milton, on Autoline After Hours next week. We’ll be learning a lot from him about hydrogen power and when Nikola expects to roll out its fuel cell semis. And later this afternoon on After Hours we’re going to have Ian Smith from the Southwest Research Institute bringing us up to speed with all the R&D they’re doing on electric vehicles. SwRI is an independent, non-profit R&D center based in Texas that has been on the bleeding edge of technology since 1947.
FCA TESTS SYSTEM THAT AUTOMATICALLY SWITCHES PHEV TO EV MODE
A number of European cities have announced they’ll eventually ban vehicles with internal combustion engines. Plug-in hybrid vehicles offer an opportunity to travel through these cities as long as they’re in electric mode only. So the city of Turin teamed up with FCA to test a system that automatically switches a PHEV to EV mode when it goes into the zones that ban ICEs. Here’s how it works. Anytime a vehicle is entering a restricted zone a message pops up in the display. The system checks that EV mode is ready and then switches over to electric power. If the driver switches back to any other mode while in the restricted zone, an alert is triggered and the system recommends switching back. If the driver doesn’t switch back, the city is notified. So, it sounds like the fines are automatic as well. Once the vehicle exits a restricted zone, the system turns back to the same setting before it entered the zone.
REFRESHED HYUNDAI SANTA FE GETS BOLD GRILLE
Once again we’re talking about big, bold grille designs, but this time from Hyundai. Take a look at the refreshed Santa Fe. The outer section of the grille is actually where the headlamps are housed. The thin lights above the grille are the Daytime Running Lights or DRLs, somewhat reminiscent of the 2014 Jeep Cherokee. The rear fascia also sees big changes with all-new taillamps and an overall more premium look. To make the new Santa Fe look a little more rugged and powerful, the width of the wheel arches was increased. For the first time the Santa Fe comes with a Terrain Mode selector, which has settings for sand, mud and snow. The interior was also redesigned with a new center console and new 10.25-inch touchscreen display, but Hyundai did not provide any pictures of the interior. I’m sure we’ll learn more soon.
Speaking of big, bold grilles we just had to share this post from Kevin Hisel who is one of the funniest guys on Facebook. He saw our comments about the gargantuan grille on the front of the new BMW 4-Series, and reimagined how BMW is going to grow that grille over the next several decades… all the way to the point that the 4-Series is just one big giant grille on four wheels.
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Comments (40)
June 4th, 2020 at 12:16 pm
I’m not sure I understand the draw of these humongous grills. It can’t be less air resistance.
Maybe BMW is taking cues from Toyota? This is just the trick if you have too many customers and want to tamp down interest and sales?
An attractive vehicle will sell even in the face of poor reliability – think mid 90s Audi 200s
An ugly vehicle will struggle for sales even if it provides good value. Pontiac Aztec anyone?
June 4th, 2020 at 12:19 pm
The Sorrento, bigger grill or not, looks pretty good. (and better than the outgoing model) Hyundai has certainly upped their styling game.
June 4th, 2020 at 12:19 pm
@John, “Gasoline engines literally outsell EVs by a million to one.” No, you are mistaken. Gasoline powered 1,034,638, EV 14,285, so 72 to 1, not 1,000,000 to one.
June 4th, 2020 at 12:33 pm
EV 14,285 and Gasoline 1,034,638
“Gasoline engines literally outsell EVs by a million to one.”
Maybe I’m missing something here. Can you explain the math on the 1M:1 ratio?
June 4th, 2020 at 12:34 pm
Looks like your analysis team misplaced a decimal point when they did your math. Gasoline sales vs EV sales in the sales data you showed would be roughly 100 to 1, not one million to one.
Can’t wait for the interview with Trevor Milton. Saw him on CNBC this morning. They have a LOT going on at that company!
June 4th, 2020 at 1:00 pm
Bigger grills means the design team is throwing in the towel. Essentially admitting that all cars and SUVs look about the same anymore and the only way to stand out is place a ridiculous grill on the front. You know who isn’t putting bigger grills on their vehicles. Ones that are already well designed and perfectly identifiable without one.
June 4th, 2020 at 1:01 pm
I like the front of the Santa Fe, but I wonder how well those headlights will work. The sure are purty but generally in life the prettier something is the less functional it is.
June 4th, 2020 at 1:02 pm
I really like that new Sante Fe grille. No kidding.
But I called it years back when Lexus first debuted their Spindle grille. I told everyone then that the rest (of the designers) would eventually follow suit. And they did…
Much like when Samsung started making phablet sized smart phones, while Apple sat back and for years was too proud to make their screens larger. But eventually the pressure got to them. Enough customers wanted larger screens, so they caved and did what everyone said they never would – make a phablet sized phone.
June 4th, 2020 at 1:08 pm
Is this huge grill craze intended to be an anti-Tesla thing, shouting to the world that the cars are not EVs? I bought my 2018 Camry in spite of, not because of the excessively large mouth. I really don’t “get” this styling trend.
June 4th, 2020 at 1:15 pm
8. I might have ended up with iPhones, had they offered larger screens years ago. My first smart phone was android, because larger screens were available, before I knew much about either iPhone or android. Now that I know more about both, I actually like android better for a few reasons, but if I’d had an iPhone first, I might still have one.
June 4th, 2020 at 1:25 pm
The GM electrical commercial van line needs to be badged as “GMC” to follow the commercial professional grade tag line.
June 4th, 2020 at 1:29 pm
@11. I suggest to split GM in two divisions: EM and FM, Electric Motors and Fossil Motors.
June 4th, 2020 at 1:45 pm
So here’s a question some might consider academic, others troubling. If gas engines still outsell EVs after all these years by a million to one, why are we (read: Autoline) talking about them so much?
June 4th, 2020 at 2:06 pm
13. Maybe John meant “figuratively,” not “literally” about gas cars outselling EVs by a million to one. As Wim van Acker said in #3, it’s actually ~72 to 1.
June 4th, 2020 at 2:09 pm
For the time and money it would cost to create a new brand what would be the benefit ?
June 4th, 2020 at 2:27 pm
Oops, I said Sorrento instead of Santa Fe (in post #2); oh am I embarrassed, okay maybe not so much but sorry I posted incorrectly. It must have been a ‘Freudkorean’ slip. Still like the look though.
June 4th, 2020 at 2:28 pm
#13 About EVs:
A) They pretty much captured the upscale car market which continues to tap a high profit margin market.
B) My low-end Model 3 beats everyone across the intersection and reaches the speed limit 200 yards ahead for lane choice.
C) Cheaper than a plug-in Prius per mile and Autopilot is standard.
D) Quiet and comfortable.
E) Leaves each morning with the optimum charge level.
F) Cross country, 15-20 minutes to charge for next Supercharger about 2 hrs away for $3.50/100 miles.
G) $38,000 to replace my Std Rng Plus Model 3.
H) Teenagers point to it and say, “Cool! A Tesla”
June 4th, 2020 at 2:34 pm
I found it odd that the santa fe had a single exhaust
June 4th, 2020 at 2:45 pm
18 I kind of like that single exhaust. I get a little tired of the fake dual exhausts on all of these four cylinder cars.
June 4th, 2020 at 2:51 pm
17
A)They are pursuing the upscale market only because they failed miserably with trying to offer an affordable EV. They lost money and realized they had to pursue the upscale vehicles to even try and turn a profit.
B)For now.
C)That’s specific to Tesla not all EVs
D)Many vehicles at the EV price range are quiet and comfortable.
E)As long as there isn’t a power outage during the evening or you forget to plug-in. Also assumes you installed a home charger.
F)Can travel 100 miles in a Camry for $5 and fill up at the nearest corner in 5 min not 15-20. (savings $1.50 & time 15 min)
G)Yes the Model 3 offers the best bang for the buck but not the case for all EVs.
H)Ahe if that matters to ya.
June 4th, 2020 at 2:59 pm
please bring your son back
June 4th, 2020 at 3:04 pm
How often do you have to replace rear tires or have to rotate them on a Tesla RWD
June 4th, 2020 at 3:06 pm
How often do you have to replace rear tires or rotate them on a single motor Tesla
June 4th, 2020 at 3:14 pm
@20:
1 no small automobile gets even close to teh size and comfort of my carriage drawn by 4 horses
2 Wheat and water are available everywhere, that new fuel gasoline only sporadically. Maybe they will stop making it soon.
3 Almost nobody has an automobile
Etc., I hope you are getting the picture here. The whole world is moving toward electric propulsion. Investments in ICE’s have been drastically reduced. Like it or not (I just ordered a diesel-powered vehicle to serve me for hopefully many years to come), but it is reality.
June 4th, 2020 at 3:36 pm
17. The Tesla web site shows autopilot as a $7000 option on the Model 3 standard range plus. Was it standard at one time, but not now?
My Camry hybrid costs about $4.00/100 miles at 60 mph, and $4.60/100 miles at 80 mph, at current gas prices in Indiana. Yeah, that will probably go up soon. The cool thing, to me, is that I can go a safe 550 miles at 80 mph per 5 minute fill up. As I’ve said before, though, I’d quite likely have an EV as one of my cars, if I could charge it at my condo in FL. If I had only one car, though, it would use liquid fuel, as things are now, even if I could charge an EV at home.
June 4th, 2020 at 3:42 pm
Does anyone have any insight on whether the Santa Fe will be getting the AWD Hybrid system that is coming in the Sorrento?
June 4th, 2020 at 3:53 pm
A slight correction. Based on the numbers in the article, ICEV-to-EV sales ratio is ~70:1, not a million to one
June 4th, 2020 at 4:24 pm
#17 – There has been a feature split between Autopilot and Full Self Driving (FSD). With FSD, I can summon the car in a parking lot; see renderings and auto-stop at STOP signs and lights, and; integration of self-steering with navigation. The gap will grow in the future. It is a subtle change in labeling that will remain confusing to most.
Full disclosure, last year I paid $3,000 for an early Autopilot inferior to the current. In October of last year, I paid $6,000 for FSD and it included upgrading to HW 3.0 which is 20 times more processing power. My car is becoming ‘urban’ aware that super cruise can not achieve because it is too slow and few cameras.
June 4th, 2020 at 4:38 pm
The big giant grill idea had to come from Lexus. I haven’t liked the face of Lexus since. But the rest of the vehicle is 2 thumbs up.
June 4th, 2020 at 4:48 pm
24 What? I assume the picture you were after was that EVs are the future, and the transformation from horse and buggy to gas mirrors the shift to gas to electric now. I’m not denying that. We will certainly get there someday. I was just stating that of the items that Bill point out as advantages of EVs, are really not advantages other than quick acceleration. The cost advantage isn’t there yet as no gas savings offsets the up front cost and they are certainly not more convenient.
I’m not against EVs and understand any new technology takes years to develop and adapt. People will develop a better battery and charging will become quicker and more convenient. Everything will improve, But we are not there yet and to try and pretend we are is just delusional. But it is new exciting technology and to answer the original question from Ron #13 they are talked about a lot because its changing quickly and likely the future of transportation.
June 4th, 2020 at 6:21 pm
27. Thanks for info. I looked at the web site again, and it looks like the cheapest Model 3 has a partial autopilot standard, that will keep the car in its lane, accelerate a brake, but the real system costs $7K.
The actual transition from horse to self propelled vehicles was mainly to steam and electric at first, with both outselling gas cars for a few years in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Electric cars were much easier to operate than gas cars, with crank start. They were also much quieter and less smelly than early gas cars. The advent of electric starters in 1912, the year the Titanic sank, quickly resulted in gas cars dominating the market. Early, 6-7 foot tall boxy electric cars with lead-acid batteries didn’t go very fast, or have much range.
June 5th, 2020 at 7:34 am
Teslas sell at luxury and entry luxury prices, but they are not luxury cars, they are high tech, really high performance cars. They are the i-phone of cars, and ICEs are the rotary dials. (or the horse and buggies are).
I could not believe the ‘literally a million to one’ nonsense, but several of you already pointed it out.
Re the BMW Grille, thought never crossed my mind it would be a deliberate design to pass as the “Anti-Tesla”. I seriously doubt it, they just continue the design blunders started by Bangle with the 2001-8 eminently forgettable Bungled-butt 7 Series. Many features on current BMWs still have the curse of Bangle (the damn flares on the sides. Hyundais have flares. No need for BMWs and Mercs to ape them.
June 5th, 2020 at 7:57 am
Comparing BEVs to ICEs reminded me of myself when I made a very similar comparison, between my Magnificent ICE at the time (the awesome 740iL), when I compared it to the royal carriages of Louis XIV, the so-called “Sun King” of France int he 17th century, and told a friend how I pitied the clown and his entourage, trying to imagine him driving from Paris to the French Riviera on the pitiful dirt roads of the time, in his Flintstone(with bling) carriage, and thought I have such a hugely better time doing it. My friend, (know him since he was 12) ho is a dyed in the wool commie, challenged the above by remarking that Louis had all those palaces, concubines, gold etc. WHich he did, but Transportation-wise, I kicked some major Louis Ass!
June 5th, 2020 at 8:35 am
Electric luxury of 1912:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baker_Motor_Vehicle#/media/File:Baker-electrics_1913-1019.jpg
June 5th, 2020 at 8:55 am
33, interesting link; wonder how they charged and how long they needed to charge. For sure, the early offering between electric, gasoline and steam were neck and neck in comparison (until I believe the introduction of the electric starter, ironic, that gasoline took hold).
June 5th, 2020 at 9:02 am
30 Yeah I bet there are only a few folks around that have hand cranked a car to get started. I’ve been to a few car shows and watched it first hand but never done it myself, at least on a car. One of my first jobs as a 15 year old was on a farm which had an old Allis Chalmers Tractor that had a hand crank. It was very easy to see how people broke wrists back in the day.
The first hotrod I build was a 1935 Chevy which still had the hole in the bottom of the grill for a crank even though the car came with a starter. Not really sure what year they finally stopped with the crank access. Guess its like motorcycles and how many offered the kick start in addition to the starter for a long time.
June 5th, 2020 at 9:07 am
34. Here’s a pretty good article about early electric cars. There is also a more comprehensive wikipedia article.
https://www.curbed.com/2017/9/22/16346892/electric-car-history-fritchle
It mentions people charging them at home, and at repair garages that offered overnight charging. I suspect overnight would be plenty of time for a full charge.
June 5th, 2020 at 9:18 am
35. The British kept the crank start backup for a long time, with the Lucas electrics and all. I crank started an MG at a car show a few years ago. It seems like it was an MGB, but it might have been older. The owner was letting anyone crank it that wanted to. The engine was warmed up, and “ready to go,” so it was very easy to crank start. The owner had us pull up on the crank, with fingers wrapped around the handle, so in the unlikely event the engine back fired, it would just slip the handle out of your fingers, with no damage to arms, etc.
June 5th, 2020 at 9:52 am
So the same challenges remain for today’s electrics, higher prices, cheap gasoline and range. They have certainly narrowed so we’ll see how long ultimate changeover occurs.
June 5th, 2020 at 11:41 am
39 Also, speed/performance in those early days. Of what I ran across, many, or most of those early EVs would go 15-20 mph, while a Model T would go about 40.