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Runtime: 9:23
0:08 China Approves Made-In-China Model Y
0:51 NIO Passes GM in Market Value
1:35 EU Sales Down in October
2:12 Electrified Vehicles Outperforming the Overall Market
3:55 Bentley Commits To 100% BEV by 2030
4:30 Porsche Says No Way to Electric 911
5:07 GM Plans to Export Full-Size SUVs To China
6:24 Bosch Develops First Split Screen for Motorcycles
7:05 Lucid’s Battery Pack Advantage
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CHINA APPROVES MADE-IN-CHINA MODEL Y
Tesla is one step closer to selling made-in-China Model Ys in the country. Electrek reports that the Chinese government just registered the EV, which means it could start building it soon but Tesla still needs a production permit from the government. Tesla is aiming to begin delivering made-in-China Model Ys by early next year. Earlier in the year, the EV maker started expanding its plant in Shanghai to make room for the Model Y, which is now double in size. The electric crossover is expected to be a big hit in China. One analyst predicts the company could sell as many as 30,000 a month once less expensive versions are available, and that is about three times as many Model 3s it sells in a month in China.
NIO PASSES GM IN MARKET VALUE
And Tesla’s success is boosting other EV startups. Chinese EV maker NIO, just passed General Motors in market valuation. The company’s stock has increased nearly 30% this week alone and it’s now worth $53.4 billion, compared to GM’s market capitalization which is at $51.6 billion. Investors are betting on big growth in the Chinese EV market over the next five years and investors view EV startups more as tech companies rather than auto manufacturers, which helps explain NIO’s growth. But it has a long way to go to catch up to Tesla, which is now valued at over $410 billion.
EU SALES DOWN IN OCTOBER
Uh-oh, these numbers don’t look good. New car sales fell more than 6% in Europe in October. Everyone was hoping that the European auto industry was on the mend after sales did well in September. But that’s not happening. LMC Automotive reports that the SAAR last month was only 12.7 million units. And now with a second wave of the coronavirus sweeping through the continent, LMC expects sales to be significantly worse in November. But if Europe can avoid the kind of lockdowns it went through earlier this year, LMC expects sales to rebound next year.
ELECTRIFIED VEHICLES OUTPERFORMING THE OVERALL MARKET
And speaking of car sales, as we reported earlier in the week, sales in the U.S. were down nearly 3% in October. But there’s one segment that’s more than holding its own during the downturn…electrified vehicles. According to Wards Intelligence, sales of battery electrics, hybrids and plug-in hybrids, were up a whopping 25% last month. BEVs, which for the most part is just Tesla, posted an increase of 5.4%. Hybrids were up an impressive 46%, while plug-ins declined about 2%. And for the year, electrified vehicle sales are down over 5%, which normally is nothing to celebrate but with the overall market down 17% through October, it’s pretty impressive. And if you’re wondering why we didn’t include fuel cells, that’s because sales of those vehicles are miniscule, less than 100 were sold last month.
Electric Vehicle Sales October 2020 | ||
---|---|---|
BEV | 24,318 | +5.4% |
Hybrid | 47,382 | +46% |
Plug-In Hybrid | 6,272 | -1.8% |
TOTAL | 77,972 | +25.9% |
Electric Vehicle Sales Jan.-Oct. 2020 | ||
BEV | 178,596 | -12.3% |
Hybrid | 343,268 | +3.8% |
Plug-In Hybrid | 49,030 | -30.3% |
TOTAL | 570,894 | -5.6% |
Source: Wards Intelligence |
BENTLEY COMMITS TO 100% BEV BY 2030
Another luxury mark is jumping into electrification. Bentley says all of its models will be plug-in or full battery electric by 2026. By 2030, all of its models will be BEV. It won’t be long before we see some of these vehicles. Two PHEVs will come next year, while its first all-electric is scheduled to be launched in 2025. Bentley also plans to reduce the environmental impact of its operations. It wants a 75% reduction by 2025 and to be end-to-end carbon neutral by 2030.
PORSCHE SAYS NO WAY TO ELECTRIC 911
And the Volkswagen Group may just need those carbon credits generated by Bentley. Porsche CEO Oliver Blume says, “Let me be clear, our icon, the 911, will have a combustion engine for a long time to come.” Blume added that it would not be useful to combine electrification with the car because the 911 was designed for a combustion engine and that Porsche believes in purpose-built BEVs. But the 911 seems to be on an island in the Porsche lineup. Blume expects half of its sales to be plug-in or pure electric by 2025.
GM PLANS TO EXPORT FULL-SIZE SUVs TO CHINA
There’s a bit of an odd sight at a Chinese auto expo going on right now. Cadillac is showing off the long wheelbase version of the Escalade. The massive SUV would normally seem out of place but the head of GM in China says the automaker is going to start exporting its full-size SUVs, including the Chevy Tahoe and Suburban, GMC Yukon Denali and Cadillac Escalade, to China. It did not say when this would start happening. But it’s making the move because it sees an opportunity to attract growing Chinese families. GM currently produces all of the vehicles it sells in China in the country and this would also mark the first time it sells GMC vehicles in China. It builds in China because otherwise the vehicles would be slapped with a big import tariff. So, these full-size SUVs are not going to be cheap. But it’s not only thinking of sending vehicles to China, GM is considering exporting Chinese-made EVs around the world as well.
BOSCH DEVELOPS FIRST SPLIT SCREEN FOR MOTORCYCLES
The giant German supplier Bosch introduced what it says is the world’s first fully integrated split screen for motorcycles. It’s a 10.25-inch display, which shows information, like speed and warnings as well as app content from a smartphone. Riders decide what they want to see, which can be selected on the handlebar. The new screen debuts this year on BMW motorcycles. At the same time, Bosch is also introducing its mySPIN feature to the motorcycle segment for the first time, which integrates the smartphone with the display screen. Ducati and Kawasaki will introduce mySPIN to its bikes next year.
LUCID’S BATTERY PACK ADVANTAGE
Some experts say that charging time is the key to selling more EVs. If that’s the case, then Lucid Motors may have an advantage over everyone else. On Autoline After Hours, Peter Rawlinson, the CEO and CTO of Lucid, explained the advantage they have with their battery pack.
“We’ve gone from modular pack design its 924 ultra high voltage which makes the whole car much more efficient. It means that we can charge up to 20 miles in one minute, but at that at our optimum state of charge. You can’t suddenly say, ‘if I can do 20 miles in one minute, I can do 200 miles in 10 minutes.’ It doesn’t work like that. But we can get 300 miles in just 20 minutes and this is unprecedented. We very recently tested at over 300 kilowatts with an Electrify America outlet (inaudible). Oh it’s a Lucid Air and their technical director rang my VP of Hardware immediately to congratulate him just last week. So, we got a pack that charges faster than anything at else, we’ve got a pack which has truly got the race car DNA in it.”
When Peter talks about race car DNA he’s referring to the fact that Lucid makes all the battery packs for Formula E. And that helps explain why this company has so much EV expertise.
But that’s all 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.