Listen to “AD #3133 – Ford Shows Strength Despite Weak Sales; Jeep Gets 1st BEV in 2023; GM Planning EV Replacement for Express Van” on Spreaker.
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Runtime: 9:35
0:07 U.S. to Reveal New EV Sales & Emission Targets
1:20 New York Auto Show Cancelled Again
1:43 Ford Shows Strength Despite Weak Sales
3:24 BMW Using Connected Machines to Improve Manufacturing
4:05 Stellantis Lays Out Its Electrification Road Map
5:07 Ford Teams on New Smart Parking Lab
6:37 GM Expanding Its Electric Commercial Portfolio
7:27 Mystery Car Comes from Down Under
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U.S. TO REVEAL NEW SALES AND EMISSION TARGETS
The Biden Administration will announce later today new fuel economy rules and a sales target for electric vehicles with automakers attending the event. The President will sign an executive order that says half of all new cars sales by 2030 must be electric, which also includes fuel cells and plug-in hybrids. The order isn’t legally binding but the Detroit automakers and several foreign brands have pledged to try and hit at least 40% EV sales by that time frame. At the same time, the Administration will also set stricter emission rules for the 2023 to 2026 timeframe. They are expected to be similar to California’s deal with several automakers, which calls for a 3.7% annual fuel economy improvement. While automakers are on board with the proposal, in order to meet the standards, they say they’ll need billions in government assistance. Including tax credits for purchasing EVs, building charging networks as well as investments in R&D and incentives to expand EV manufacturing and supply chains in the U.S.
NEW YORK AUTO SHOW CANCELLED AGAIN
Well, uh-oh, here we go again. The New York Auto Show has been cancelled once again due to COVID concerns. The event was supposed to take place later this month but with the spread of the Delta variant of the virus, organizers are once again cancelling the show. Its expected to return to its normal schedule in April of 2022.
FORD SHOWS STRENGTH DESPITE WEAK SALES
While Ford’s North American sales were down nearly 32% in July compared to last year, most likely due to lost production because of the chip shortage, there’s also some bright spots in the numbers. The average price of each vehicle it sold was almost $50,000, which is an increase of more than $8,000 thanks to more trucks and high-end SUVs. The Maverick could be a real hit. Ford says it has roughly 80,000 reservations for the small truck. And its EVs are in demand too. It has more than 120,000 reservations for the F-150 Lightning and the average Mustang Mach-E sits on the dealer lot for 12 days, which is nothing. So, even though Ford is trying to recover from the chip shortage, things still look bright for the automaker.
BMW USES CONNECTED MACHINES TO IMPROVE MANUFACTURING
Unexpected downtime at a manufacturing plant can be very costly for an automaker, which is why it’s an everyday struggle to keep things running as smoothly as possible. That’s why BMW is using machines that connect to the cloud. They’re fitted with sensors that provide data, sometimes once every second, which can then be analyzed to look for any issues. This allows issues to be found ahead of time in some cases and work on the machines can be scheduled more efficiently. BMW has been able to prove that these systems work and is expanding cloud-based predictive maintenance solutions across its global manufacturing network.
STELLANTIS LAYS OUT ROAD MAP TO ELECTRIFICATION
Stellantis says it’s going to invest $35 billion into electrification, which includes four flexible BEV platforms, three scalable electric drive units and solid-state battery development. And thanks to a product road map released to investors we now have a clearer picture of what its future could look like. European brands like Citroen and Peugeot have several plug-in and fully electric models coming over the next few years. Maserati will even have two battery electrics by 2023. The first BEV for the Jeep brand will come that same year, while Dodge gets its first PHEV next year. It is interesting to see that there’s no electrified models planned for either Chrysler or Ram over the next few years. Although, top management has said it’s taking a wait-and-see approach with an electric pickup and it looks like it’s not ready to pull the trigger yet.
FORD TEAMS UP FOR SMART PARKING LAB
Last year, Ford, Bosch and Bedrock, a company that runs parking garages, partnered to test automated valet parking in Detroit. They equipped Ford Escapes with Bosch’s AV technology, which allows the vehicle to drive and park itself inside a Bedrock parking garage. And now the companies are teaming up with the State of Michigan to open the Detroit Smart Parking Lab. It’s a real-world test site where companies or startups can test parking related mobility, logistics and EV related charging technologies. Rental company Enterprise will be the first to use the lab to test automated parking and EV charging in order to make car returns more seamless and efficient.
GM EXPANDING ELECTRIC COMMERCIAL PORTFOLIO
General Motors is expanding its commercial lineup. CEO Mary Barra announced it will add two vehicles to its portfolio. The first is a full-size battery electric cargo van for Chevrolet. Barra says the van “will exceed the expectations of small business owners, tradespeople and anyone else who has been well served by the Chevrolet Express.” The second is a medium-duty truck that will use both its Ultium battery and Hydrotec fuel cell technology. It will be used to power vehicles like school buses, bucket trucks, wreckers and more. Barra says the vehicles will complement its BrightDrop business it launched earlier this year. More details about the two new commercial vehicles will be revealed later.
MYSTERY CAR COMES FROM DOWN UNDER
Viewer Warwick Dundas, the guy who sent us yesterday’s ‘sort of’ Barn Find, was a bit shocked at how quickly someone got the right answer. And let me just note it wasn’t just one person. The comments section on YouTube is littered with the correct answer. The car is an Ilinga AF-2. Ilinga is an Australian car manufacturer that was only in business for one year, folding by the end of 1975. Only two examples of the AF-2 were ever built. As we said it featured an aluminum body over a steel chassis, which came from a Ford Cortina, and it was powered by a V8 engine sourced from Rover and tuned to 220 horsepower. Warwick thought he had a winner on his hands, but says he’ll have to try for an even more obscure vehicle next time. Something tells me you’ll be ready if he does.
And a programming note. There isn’t a new Autoline After Hours today, that’s because we’ll be broadcasting live from the Center for Automotive Research’s Management Briefing Seminars at 4PM eastern time. John will be talking with executives from LG Solutions, GM and Atlis Motors about the EV revolution. You can check that out on our website or YouTube channel and you can also find John’s interviews from the event there as well.
But that’s it for today, thanks for watching and have a great day.
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Seamus and Sean McElroy cover the latest news in the automotive industry for Autoline Daily.