AD #3236 – Tesla Secures U.S. Nickel Deal; Mitsubishi Reveals Electric Kei Car; Using Sound to Clean Sensors
January 11th, 2022 at 11:41am
Listen to “AD #3236 – Tesla Secures U.S. Nickel Deal; Mitsubishi Reveals Electric Kei Car; Using Sound to Clean Sensors” on Spreaker.
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Runtime: 8:07
0:07 Tesla Secures U.S. Nickel Deal
0:38 Tesla Has Record Month in China
1:09 VW Misses Chinese EV Sales Target
1:58 Tundra Gets New Top Model
2:44 Ford Teams to Make Motorhomes
3:09 Mitsubishi Reveals Tokyo Concepts
4:50 Using Sounds to Clean Sensors
5:29 3D Printed Antenna Improves ADAS
6:24 Solid State Lidar Prices Coming Down
7:12 Hand Held Battery Tester
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This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.
TESLA SECURES U.S. NICKEL DEAL
Tesla is shoring up the raw materials it needs to make batteries for its electric vehicles. The EV maker just signed a nickel supply deal with Talon Metals, Tesla’s first U.S. nickel deal. Tesla chose Talon because it’s developing a way to mine nickel more environmentally friendly. But Tesla still needs to find a way to refine it since the U.S. does not have a nickel refinery. With more and more EVs hitting the market in the coming years, the price of nickel is expected to grow significantly over the next decade.
TESLA HAS RECORD MONTH IN CHINA
And speaking of Tesla, it sold a record number of vehicles in China last month. According to the China Passenger Car Association, Tesla sold nearly 71,000 made-in-China cars in December, that’s three times higher than a year ago and up a third compared to November. Reuters estimates that Tesla sold close to 475,000 made-in-China vehicles in 2021, which is close to half of the 936,000 cars it sold globally.
VW MISSES CHINESE EV SALES TARGET
And while Tesla is booming in China, Volkswagen is struggling to sell its electrics in the country. The automaker sold just under 71,000 of its ID electrics in 2021, which was short of its goal of 80,000 to 100,000 sales. VW blames the chip shortage and regional COVID outbreaks for missing the target. However, VW expects things to rebound and says it plans to double sales of its ID electrics in China this year.
TOYOTA HAS NEW LUXURY TUNDRA
Toyota has a new top-of-the-line version of the Tundra and thy name is Capstone. It’s only offered in one body configuration; CrewMax 4-door with 5.5 foot bed. Unique styling elements include the grille design, chrome accents and 22-inch wheels, the largest ever featured on the Tundra. The interior is highlighted by premium materials, its own unique color combinations and the biggest displays Toyota offers. The Capstone also comes standard with Toyota’s driver assistance system, called Toyota Safety Sense and its Towing Technology Package. The new truck starts arriving at dealers this spring and while it didn’t reveal price, this is not going to be a cheap pickup.
FORD PARTNERS TO MAKE MOTORHOMES
More people want to trek out into the great outdoors and Ford is going to help them. In Germany it’s teaming up to provide customer-ready recreational vehicles and motorhomes. Ford will supply panel van and stripped down chassis cab versions of the Transit and Transit Custom, which will then be converted by Erwin Hymer Group. The deal between the two companies starts this year and ends in 2024.
MITSUBISHI REVEALS TOKYO CONCEPTS
Speaking of camper vans, check out this one from Mitsubishi, which is an electric kei car that’s decked out with a bunch of camping gear. The vehicle is being shown off at the Tokyo auto show along with a number of other concepts. That includes another electric kei car, called the K-EV concept cross style, which is pouring on the Mitsubishi design language really strong. This is likely a vehicle it’s jointly developing with Nissan, who will also get its own version and should have a price around $18,000. And as we’ve been reporting, Mitsubishi is bringing back the Ralliart brand and showed off how that sporty character could be applied to a number of vehicles, including a dedicated concept, called the Vision Ralliart. I’m sure we’ll be seeing more from the Tokyo auto show, which kicks off this Friday.
We hope you enjoyed our coverage at CES last week. You can find our reports on our website under Autoline On The Road or on our YouTube channel. And here are some more of the technologies that caught our eye.
USING SOUND WAVES TO CLEAN SENSORS
How do you keep ADAS and autonomous sensors clean? Air jets or water jets and wipers are one way to clean them off. But TTP, a tech engineering company in England, has a more elegant solution. It uses ultrasonics. A ring around the perimeter of the sensor emits ultrahigh sound waves which atomize any water or condensation or dirt on the lens. TTP is working with Texas Instruments to develop the system, which uses very little power and could be run continuously in bad weather. TTP is even exploring whether it could be used on windshields, or at least part of the windshield in front of the driver.
3D PRINTED ANTENNAS IMPROVE ADAS
Lunewave is a US company that’s bringing down the cost of radar for ADAS with an antenna design that is 3D printed. It only uses 10 grams of material. And Lunewave says one 3D printing machine can make 350,000 radar antennas a year. The radar antenna looks like a mini Death Star. And because it is ball-shaped it can see in all directions, whereas flat antennas can only see in one direction. That means automakers can use fewer radar units on a car. Lunewave says a typical L2 ADAS system may need up to 12 radar sensors, but with its design only 2 to 4 are needed. So not only is it cheaper to manufacture, you need fewer of them. Lunewave says an unnamed Tier 1 supplier will start making these radars in 2024 for a L2 valet parking system.
SOLID STATE LIDAR PRICES COMING DOWN
Opsys is an Israeli startup that is slashing the cost of making Lidar for autonomous vehicles. It uses solid state technology with no moving parts or liquid inside. Instead it uses an array of lasers that turn on and off 1,000 times a second. The lasers are on a chip. When the laser beams hit an object they reflect back and are captured by a detection array. The Lidar unit is about the size of a credit card and could be integrated into the headlamps of a car. Opsys says it brought the cost down to less than $200 per sensor. Two Tier 1 suppliers in China, one in Europe and the SL Corporation in South Korea will be making these units, which will be in production late this year or in early 2023.
HAND HELD BATTERY TESTER
And lastly, Intrepid Controls unveiled this battery cell measurement and network testing hardware for automakers that use a wireless battery management system. Intrepid worked with the chip company Analog Devices to develop the unit. It monitors cell voltage, cell current, ambient temperature, cell/unit voltage, impedance, and temperature, and is compatible with many types of battery chemistries.
But that wraps up today’s show, thanks for joining us.
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Comments (32)
January 11th, 2022 at 12:20 pm
So what is the difference between VS’s ID6–X and ID6 Crozz (8:07 on today’s segmet)? Googling them, it just appears to be a few trim changes. Why would VW market such similar models in the same market?
January 11th, 2022 at 12:29 pm
Look no further than GM-Wuling for the No. 1 selling EV in China this year. Considering Tesla has two models this is quite a feat!
While cell monitoring and status is used by many BEV manufacturers, the Android and Apple based MYGreenVolt app with a OBD-ll Bluetooth module taps that system in Volt, ELR, CT6 PHEV, and Bolt, for individual cell voltage monitoring. And the best part is it is basically free in your app store.
January 11th, 2022 at 12:38 pm
NACTOY winners are all ICE vehicles. I picked all electric vehicles, although I did suggest Bronco and Maverick would win based on hype. And so it came to pass.
NACTOY judges still wedded to old ICE technology. I hope they wake up to worldwide changes in time for next year.
January 11th, 2022 at 1:02 pm
#2 The GM/ Saic Wuling Mini JV is a $5,000 EV, id like to know the margins on that car, GMs share is 1/3 of the profits, Totally different class of car to any Tesla, I wonder what safety equipment comes with it , if any…. maybe you can elaborate.
January 11th, 2022 at 1:06 pm
I’m sure the Chinese EV buyers are finding their homegrown EVs are a better value than VWs EVs,whose infotainment are sorely inadequate for the upwardly mobile and geeky young Chinese buyers.
January 11th, 2022 at 1:30 pm
@4 safety equipment on the GM/ Saic Wuling Mini: the windshield, the side mirror, turn signals
January 11th, 2022 at 1:43 pm
The RV market is booming here in the US. I wonder if its becoming as popular in Germany too. Ford has always worked closely with RV manufacturers to provide chassis’s specifically for that market. I would suspect that the days of large trailers and motorhomes may soon see a reduction. As ICE vehicles continue to shrink in size and engine displacement so does towing capacity. Seems to be evolving to either large trailers to be towed with a full size truck or some mini pop-up/teardrop type camper. Same with motorhomes. These small vans with the high roofs have become pretty popular in the last few RV shows I’ve been to. Wonder if Ford will offer a similar RV here in the states.
January 11th, 2022 at 1:55 pm
TESLA never ceases to amaze me: just watched a YouTube video about the Giga Press (integrated aluminum casting press)and how it will enable TESLA to produce 2 million vehicles per plant in future:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFE0ys0W5IA
January 11th, 2022 at 2:06 pm
7 I’m not seeing any shrinkage of pickup trucks. Small ones don’t exist in the US market, and the big ones keep getting bigger. The “compact” Maverick is 200 inches long, and 78 inches wide, not very compact.
A friend “home built” a motor home from a high roof, long version Transit van. It gets lousy gas mileage, if driven very fast, but gets ~14 mpg at 65 mph. I see some commercially made motor homes built from Transit, Promaster, and Sprinter vans.
January 11th, 2022 at 2:10 pm
VM missed sales targets of the ID EV in China and yet Tesla sold record numbers there while also dealing with the same excuse VW used, Covid restrictions and Chip shortages.
Maybe there just isn’t interest there.
I just get tired of everyone that fails now just blames it on covid while others have continued to flourish in the same market while struggling with the same issues. They are obviously doing something better or have a better product. VW just stop blaming CV and look in the mirror.
January 11th, 2022 at 2:16 pm
1 Ron – Good observation. If memory serves, the chief differentiator between the two VW’s is simply that they’re made by different domestic joint-venture partners.
8 Wim – The IDRA Gigapress was developed by a small team of talented Italian engineers who were given a very challenging task. Tesla helped by grasping the potential and leveraging some of SpaceX’s materials science mojo.
January 11th, 2022 at 2:26 pm
9 No I wouldn’t expect to see any reduction in trucks. Not like you can go get a V8 powered station-wagon anymore, to tow your camper or boat. Most everything is a 4cyl or 6 and max out towing under 3500lbs. That alone automatically pushes people into the full size truck cause if you have a few kids and maybe a dog you cant obey the seatbelt laws without having a crew cab truck.
I remember piling 5 people into a regular cab, cant do that anymore. So it leaves people with that teardrop or popup or a few trailers under 15 ft that they can tow with todays SUV or they get a full size truck/SUV. No doubt that will change camping trailer offerings.
January 11th, 2022 at 3:00 pm
3 – The Ford Mustang Mach-E was picked as a winner last year. I guess the large panel of journalists that vote on these awards each year just found the ICE-powered candidates more compelling. Only one EV, the Rivian R1T, made it to the final voting round. Any other EVs considered in early rounds didn’t make the cut.
I don’t think the journalists are “wedded” to ICE technology, they just vote for the vehicles that they feel provide the best overall combination of driving experience, styling, features and value to consumers.
January 11th, 2022 at 3:03 pm
The Capstone doesn’t seem like much more than an appearance package. Not really a direct competitor to the top trim levels from Ram, Ford and GM. Maybe in the coming years Toyota will add more content and unique features. They have a habit of doing that when they are pushing into new market segments. Till then, I would expect the Capstone to be priced under those other competitors.
January 11th, 2022 at 3:56 pm
Early on, Tesla learned that suppliers can be unreliable. So they became one of the most vertically integrated companies. For example making their own seats.
Tesla getting into battery mining and manufacturing extends their commitment to making product without being victimized by suppliers.
January 11th, 2022 at 4:23 pm
13 Huh??? Three EVs made thr final cut, Lucid Air, Rivian, and Ioniq 5.
January 11th, 2022 at 4:27 pm
15 Tesla is the new Ford of vertical integration, but they don’t have steel mills like Ford once did. Tesla is doing the right thing, especially with batteries and materials to make them.
January 11th, 2022 at 4:52 pm
15,17 Maybe Tesla is doing the right thing with vertical integration. However one of the main reasons the OEs started outsourcing was the benefits that come with economies of scale. When the OE is making a seat historically they paid UAW wages and whatever equipment and assets were needed applied to all their cars. However a Supplier which typically had lower wages and were making seats for GM Ford and Chrysler could divide up the cost of tooling and assets to 3 or 4X the amount of seats. The OEs couldn’t make the seat in-house for the price they could buy it for.
Tesla may learn this as well as they are forced to lower their prices to compete and start to find ways to cut costs. Having the floor space and equipment to build everything in house can be a negative impact on some items.
So suppliers are not just there to victimize the OEs but often times deliver components at or below the cost of doing it inhouse.
January 11th, 2022 at 5:13 pm
18 Yeah, I don’t see the point of Tesla making seats. They aren’t paying UAW wages, even at former NUMMI, but still…
January 11th, 2022 at 10:00 pm
3) The civic was up against a $130k BEV. I guess they sided with working people instead of the ultra rich. Nothing to do with it being a BEV
The maverick was up against a BEV truck that starts, STARTS, at $75K. Again they sided with working people instead of wealthy people. Nothing to do with being a BEV.
The Bronco was up against the Hyundai ioniq 5. If the Hyundai was ICE powered it would be viewed as a snooze fest. The only thing remotely interesting about the Ioniq is that it is a BEV. They picked the vehicle that is just cool in any trim and price point.
I see no problem at all with the NACTOY winners.
January 12th, 2022 at 6:33 am
@20 I’m pretty much on board with your declarations. Maverick (and I’m not a Ford fan) is a home run; Ford over delivered. Wondering if anyone else will venture into that market (making maybe a smaller small pickup; I’m hoping).
January 12th, 2022 at 7:51 am
20,21 et al
Ford claims the Maverick hybrid has an EPA city rating of 42 mpg which, if true, is more than twice the rating of the the 4 cylinder competition. From my experience with Toyota hybrids, the real world city mileage should be at least 50% better than the non-hybrids. That makes the Maverick a big winner, to me. It’s too bad they make it only as a “crew cab,” making it less appealing to trades people who might drive mostly non-highway, but need more than a 4.5 foot bed, but it will save a lot of gas for the “lifestyle” crowd who buy most pickup trucks.
Does the Maverick hybrid exist yet? It is not shown on the EPA gas mileage site.
January 12th, 2022 at 8:16 am
20,21 I have no problem with the winners either. The Civic is a good value, and apparently an improvement over the outgoing one, but I’ve read reviews saying the new GTi is worse than the old one in some ways, mainly interior and/or controls. The Lucid costs too much.
Maverick’s base MSRP of $20K is far below the competition, if you can actually buy them that way, and don’t want cruise control which it doesn’t have.
Retro is still in, and the Bronco did a good job of retro, being a better Jeep Wrangler is some ways.
January 12th, 2022 at 8:17 am
22 I know your really against crew cabs but even those trade folks if they have a family and the person in the truck needs to occasionally pick the kids up from school or anything they need a back seat.
Seatbelt laws have basically killed the regular cab. The laws are crazy stupid now its not just a seatbelt ticket. Its child endangerment and can end up being a whole court thing. As for being able to haul a full sheet of plywood. They just install a roof rack and use the bed for tools. So for families that need a truck almost have to have the crew cab no matter mini truck or not.
January 12th, 2022 at 8:36 am
24 I guess we’ll see how many trades people buy Mavericks to use as work trucks. Maybe I’ll be surprised.
In my area, it seems that more trades people, like plumbers and A/C repair people, are using vans, for the same reason I like a van for my toys, to keep stuff locked up and out of the weather. A van/wagon version of the Maverick hybrid would be great. The 200 inch long Maverick has about the same footprint as a Chrysler Pacifica, wider and longer than a Transit Connect, so a van version could make a roomy, and efficient work vehicle.
January 12th, 2022 at 9:32 am
25 Yeah I always thought the vans made more sense as far as keeping your stuff secure and out of the weather. But having worked with my HVAC buddy who does use a van. The problem for them was just harder to reach stuff sometimes. They would load up with duct and sheet metal load the A/C units and furnace in last and then often times needed stuff that became hard to reach cause unlike a truck where the whole floor space is open stuff would be wedged against a wall and behind stuff.
I attribute a lot of that to them not being very organized so I still think a van would be better as stuff doesn’t blow out and so on. The only other downside for them was they often did apartment complexes so they may need to take 6 or more HVAC units to the job site and in a van your limited where the truck they could stack as high as they felt was safe and strap em down.
I’m with you that I believe there has to be a small market still for a very basic small truck. Like for me I have other vehicles to use if 4 or 5 people are going but my everyday go to work vehicle is a CTS coupe with a backseat that’s really only good for a small child. Mainly cause no one ever rides with me in that car. I could have a regular cab mini truck and would consider one.
Actually I really was hoping someone would take over the Elio company and bring that into production. I liked the looks of it and that would have been a perfect work car for me. Still surprised no one has taken over and converted it to an EV. The design was great.
January 12th, 2022 at 9:38 am
26 OMG I cant believe this.. Just after writing the post above I googled Elio just to see what ever happened to them and if they had any updates.. Sure enough they have gone electric. Base price about doubled to $14,900 which would be an affordable EV.
Hopefully they have better luck than they have had. I’m not about to throw a deposit but if they can make it happen I would buy one.
January 12th, 2022 at 11:12 am
26 Yeah, loading of a van with bulky items needs to be done in a more organized way than with an open truck. With 6 HVAC units, you might need more than a van with an ~8 foot floor, or a pickup with a 4 1/2 foot bed. A trailer, perhaps.
I’ve ridden for short trips in a sideways jump seat of an extended cab S-10 pickup. It wasn’t bad for a short trip, but maybe that arrangement isn’t legal any more.
Isn’t the back seat of your CTS coupe roomy, compared to the back seat of a Camaro or Mustang?
January 12th, 2022 at 1:28 pm
28 I mean an adult can sit back there but myself at 6′ tall I have to slouch a bit or my head hits. Id say its not much better than a Camaro.
January 21st, 2022 at 1:31 pm
Couple leftovers from yesterday, first:
1. I missed the idiotic idea of some German greenies to kill the no limit Autobahns. Said like the Consumer reports old lady, but not backed with statistics. In fact, there are MORE, not less, deaths and injuries per capita in the auto illiterate, irresponsible US, despite our restrictive speed limits, than in the no speed limit Germany. I said it is an idiotic idea ( and I am beinglenient here!) Not just because of the above, but also because, if implemented, it will KILL Tourism in Germany. Do these idiots have any idea how many millions (including myself) have visited Germany and rented cars for 3 day weekends and entire weeks, for the primary pleasure to drive all day long on the (Truck free on weekends, when I was there) Autobahns? Talk about terminally stupid, like most in the extreme left are (you are a bleeding heart leftie at 25 to show you have a heart, and conservative from 40 on, to show that you also have a brain!)
Leftover no 2. You may have noticed I post and don’t bother to correct anybody who replies to my posts. My time is valuable. But my eye caught, inadvertently, a couple of these:
a. A poster responding to the name of “Drew” recommended that I ‘switch to decaf”. Rest assured that I will never do so. It is a blatantly idiotic suggestion. If I ever switch (maybe at 105) from coffee to something decaf, it would be green tea, not that watery mud called “decaf coffee”. But don’t worry too much, “Drew”, I never drink any coffee after 11 AM or so, by which time I have finished my daily wakeup dose. The rest of the day, if I have the bad taste to drink any nutritionally empty soft drink, it is always a “no caffeine” version.
b. Another genius, “Kit” (is this a full first name? Sounds like part of a pet food), started his or her response by addressing me as “Larry”? Wait, genius, weren’t you and that other Brilliant mind, Cwolf, who pestered that poor devil “Rey”, who says he is a down on his luck Filipino immigrant in Canada, that he is also “Larry”? And he correctly informed you that there are ‘thousands and thousands” of “Larrys” on the sites he follows, meaning of course, people who appreciate the stellar success of Tesla as true EV pioneer and game changer, whether this makes you terminally sick, haters, or not. Musk did it his way, and is also laughing all the way to the bank.
For my part, I am very flattered that you think I am that brilliant poster, and could care less if you call me Larry, Barry, Harry, or the Czar of All Russias (no wait, that’s Vlad Putin). But seriously, “Kit” (whatever your proper forst name really is) and “Cwolf” (another beauty of a name, does it mean that this person is truly some guy called “C. Wolf”, or that it is a guy that can barely swim one hour in salt water, and calls himself “Seawolf”? I don’t claim to know. Keep up the good work, geniuses! But if you think that Rey was the same poster as Larry, it is like saying that my deaf uncle George (and he was very deaf, RIP) is the same as the great Ludwig van Beethoven!.
Seriously, “Kit” and “Cwolf” and any others I have missed that thought “Rey” = “Larry”, you should all refuse to participate in any jury Duty, for reasons of utter lack of judgement and severe incompetence. I will give you a letter certifying that, for free. Because I am a very nice guy.
January 21st, 2022 at 1:39 pm
OK, now to discuss today’s news:
“Tesla keeps breaking sales records in China”. I am not going to gloat over this, but I did remember the apples vs watermelons comparisons some other geniuses here (all incorrigible Tesla haters), whenever the news was that that utter joke of a tiny golf cart with an even tinier range and safety, that allegedly $4,800 a pop “Wuling” “EV”, surpassed Tesla in sales. I forget the names of the posters who were delirious with joy at the idiotic comparison, which is not “apples and oranges”, it is precisely as I wrote above, “apples and watermelons”. If you geniuses believe the comparison is valid (I am in stiches with laughter thinking of those who do), why leave it at that? Follow that line of “reasoning” and you can cheer all kinds of imaginary Triumphs for your pet brands. I know you are not very fast, so I will help you with specific examples:
Genesis has had a “great” 2021, if you use % rises instead of the pitiful absolute numbers. The reason, of course, is NOT that they are… superior, or even equal, to Mercs, Lexi or BMWs, but instead that the chip crisis and the COVID shutdowns have eliminated the Inventories of the Successful True Luxury, Refined vehicles in their segments, while the unpopular Genesis was left with a ton of unsold units. So due to DUMB LUCK and NOT MErit, those unwanted units were sold in 2021. So you characters, who always hate brilliance and excellence and root for the losers instead, will know that this was a one-time event, and your luck will be gone once the Covid and the chip shortage is gone.
January 21st, 2022 at 1:47 pm
Also comment worthy in today’s show: VW misses its EV China sales again.
For those who know, this is terrible and inexcusable news for VW. because until a few years ago, and still today, China is a HUGE market for VW, where it was established for many decades, and, to the misfortune of Western tourists, many taxis were butt-ugly, very tiny, very uncomfortable “Passat” sedans. Admittedly they were deliciously cheap, even well into the 2010s, you could do most rides around town for a worthless US dollar or two!
VW’s EVs have failed their very ambitious targets. From the start, they were not supposed to be performance EVs, and while their prices were not different than the Model 3, their performance was far inferior. Diess or sth, the troubled CEO of VW, is a big admirer AND friend of Musk, who got to test drive those lame VW EVs and noticed the above, which Diess freely admitted. But the consumer was not amused when he or she had to pay Model 3 prices for something far inferior (whether you admit it is or not). The saled numbers are the proof, and the above is correct. This applies also for the god-awful, way Overpriced, fugly CHevy Bolt, a mini-minivan also priced like a Model 3 and not like a Honda Fit (the Fit actually is far more cute than the Bolt), not to mention the horrendous Bolt reliability that finally convinced GM to give up on this Total Turkey (and yes, I told you so and you strongly disagreed, and you were wrong here as well!)