Listen to “AD #2965 – Ford Chassis Cab Ranger; Think Tank Predicts $1 A Gallon Gasoline; Human Rights Panel Sides with Ghosn” on Spreaker.
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Runtime: 7:03
0:24 Germany Steps Up to Help Auto Industry
1:04 Mini Countryman Production Moving from UK to Germany
1:36 Think Tank Predicts $1 A Gallon Gasoline
2:49 Hybrids May Lose “Green” Tag in Europe
4:00 Human Rights Panel Sides with Ghosn
5:21 Ford Launches Digital Platform for Used Car Sales
6:03 Ford Introduces Chassis Cab Ranger in Europe
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GERMANY STEPS UP TO HELP AUTO INDUSTRY
The auto industry is reeling from the pandemic at the same time it’s struggling with the high investment cost for electric cars. So the German government is stepping in to help its automotive industry. It allocated 5 billion euros in four specific areas. It’s going to extend subsidies for people who buy EVs until 2025. Consumers can get up to €9,000 for buying a BEV or €6,750 for a PHEV. It’s going to invest in more charging stations. It’s going to offer incentives to replace older trucks. And it will help automotive suppliers invest in new technology.
MINI COUNTRYMAN PRODUCTION MOVING FROM UK TO GERMANY
Along those lines, BMW is going to move production of the next gen Mini Countryman out of England and over to Germany. BMW says the Countryman will offer an optional electric powertrain and that justifies the move. But it’s really all about Brexit. As it stands right now, any vehicle made in the UK and exported to the EU will be subject to a 10% import tax. That’s a key reason why Honda and Nissan are talking about abandoning their assembly plants in England.
THINK TANK PREDICTS $1 A GALLON GASOLINE
How would you like to pay only a dollar a gallon for gasoline? Four years ago, Bloomberg New Energy Finance predicted oil prices would crash around 2023 or 2024. It predicted EVs would reduce oil demand by 2 million barrels a day. Now a financial think tank called Carbon Tracker predicts oil demand will fall by 70% by 2030. Most of the drop will come from China’s conversion to EVs. China is now the world’s largest importer of oil. And others say that kind of a drop could easily send gasoline prices to only $1 a gallon in the U.S. market.
HYBRIDS MAY LOSE “GREEN” TAG IN EUROPE
Automakers in Europe already face billions of dollars in fines for not being able to meet emission targets and it might not get any easier. The European Commission published a proposal last week to get public feedback on what can be marketed as “sustainable.” And for a vehicle to be able to get that label it would need to emit less than 50 grams of CO2 per kilometer. Automakers are already struggling to meet the upcoming goal of having a fleet average of 95 grams of CO2 per kilometer and as of right now, any vehicle that emits less than 50g CO2/kilometer earns a so-called super credit, which allows an automaker to count the sale of that vehicle twice. So, this new proposal would put even more pressure on automakers. What’s more, it also says that by 2026 any “sustainable” vehicle must be zero-emission, meaning hybrid vehicles would lose their “green” tag. It’s hard to imagine that much burden being put on the auto sector, but we’ll know soon enough. The finalized rules will kick in before the end of next year.
HUMAN RIGHTS PANEL SIDES WITH GHOSN
Carlos Ghosn has always maintained his innocence over his arrest by Japanese authorities in November 2018 for allegedly under reporting his income. He accused Nissan executives and Japanese prosecutors of conspiring to oust him from the company because they feared he was going to merge Nissan with Renault. And now Ghosn is getting support from a panel of human rights experts working with the United Nations, who say he was wrongly detained in Japan and that he deserves compensation and other reparations from the Japanese government. It says his arrest was arbitrary and the panel is calling on Japan to conduct a full and independent investigation of his detention. Ghosn claims that he was subjected to solitary confinement, long interrogations and denied access to court pleadings. Nearly a year ago, Ghosn fled Japan and escaped to Lebanon. Interpol has issued a wanted notice but it’s unlikely he’ll be extradited from the country.
FORD LAUNCHES DIGITAL PLATFORM FOR USED CAR SALES
Ford is taking on online used-vehicle retailers like Carvana and Vroom by launching its own digital platform for used-vehicle sales. Called Ford Blue Advantage, it allows the automaker’s dealers in the U.S. to list and sell used vehicles in a single digital marketplace. The Detroit News reports that the idea was developed with the company’s national dealer council and the company will share more details about the platform in the first quarter of 2021. Around 3 million used Ford vehicles are sold every year but Ford dealers only sell one out of every three of them. So it created the online platform to grab a bigger slice of the market.
FORD INTRODUCES CHASSIS CAB RANGER IN EUROPE
Ford of Europe is expanding its commercial vehicle offerings. For the first time a chassis cab version of the Ranger pickup will be sold. It only comes as a single-cab setup, but 4-wheel drive is standard and it’s powered by a roughly 170 horsepower, 2.0L diesel engine. The setup allows for a maximum towing capacity of 3,500 kilograms or about 7,700 pounds. The new Ranger chassis cab will be available to order in January and we wonder if it won’t be offered in other markets as well? There’s a number of North American companies that would have a use for this vehicle too.
But that’s a wrap for today. Thanks for watching and we hope to see you again tomorrow.
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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.