This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.
GASOLINE IS $6.76 IN CANADA
Americans are horrified that the average price of gasoline is over $5 a gallon. But Canadians have it worse. The average price in Canada is $6.76. You may have seen some reports that Canadians are paying $9 a gallon, but you have to remember that’s in Canadian dollars. If you want to pay in Loonies, the average price is $8.72. But no matter how you state it, that’s still a lot of pain at the pump.
GM PREPS FOR EV LAUNCH IN EU
General Motors pretty much dropped out of the European market when it sold off Opel and Vauxhall to what was then the Peugeot Group and what is now Stellantis. GM continued to sell some vehicles in low volume there, like Camaros, Corvettes and Escalades, but now it’s studying how to make a full return, and this time only with electric vehicles. It may even launch a robotaxi service with the Cruise Origin. And that’s got us thinking that GM may want to use a direct sales model so that it doesn’t have to rebuild a dealer network across Europe. After all, Ford’s CEO Jim Farley says a direct sales model can save anywhere from $2,000 to $3,000 per car. And that would offset a lot of the cost of any import duties.
CAR THIEVES STEAL RIGHT OFF THE ASSEMBLY LINE
Car thieves in Michigan are getting really bold. They’re stealing high performance vehicles right from assembly plants and marshaling yards. They’ve stolen Camaros from GM’s plant in Lansing, Mustang GT 350s from Ford’s Flat Rock assembly plant, Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawks from Stellantis’s plant in Detroit and Ford F-150 Raptors from Ford’s plant in Dearborn. And it isn’t that hard to do. When vehicles are driven off the assembly line and into the marshaling yards, the keys are left inside them. Somehow thieves are able to sneak into the yard and drive off, even if they have to smash through the gates on their way out. In many cases the vehicles are stuffed into shipping containers within hours of being stolen and sent to foreign markets.
FERRARI SAYS NO AVs, NOT NEVER
The late Sergio Marchionne, former CEO of FCA and Ferrari, once told us that Ferrari would never make an electric car. Well, that was then. Today, Ferrari is gung-ho on making electric cars. But now its new CEO, Benedetto Vigna, is making another NEVER statement. He says Ferrari will never have a self-driving vehicle. And by that he means Level 4 or 5 autonomy, though Ferrari will continue to develop ADAS safety features. But I believe what Vigna is saying. Bloomberg reports the company hosted some AI experts who wanted to pitch why Ferrari should adopt the technology, instead Vigna had them ride with a test driver in one of its cars. When they got back he claims they said “… OK Benedetto, our presentation is useless.”
RENAULT RE-THINKS SOUND INSIDE EVs…
With the EV revolution well under way, Renault says now is the time to rethink sound systems for vehicles, both inside and outside. On the inside, Renault is going for a less-is-more philosophy and will design audio systems using as few components as possible. It highlights its Scenic Vision concept, which only has a speaker in each door and ones in the headrests or what it calls ‘sound bubbles,’ where each passenger can hear audio that others in the car cannot. Renault’s future electric vehicles will also incorporate a new feature, called ‘sonic road.’ It takes data gathered by the vehicle, like location, the type of landscape, weather and even time of day, to recommend the ideal soundtrack for that drive. It’s all about making the experience more immersive for the passengers.
…AND HARDENS THEM FROM CYBER ATTACKS
But as vehicles become more connected, Renault is also focusing on cybersecurity. So, it developed an artificial intelligence and machine learning system that’s able to detect hacking attempts, analyze them and provide a response that protects the vehicle. This may sound like some way-off technology, but it will be incorporated in Renault vehicles starting in 2025.
PORSCHE NAILED FOR CHEATING ON EMISSIONS
Porsche went through some very special engineering to fool the EPA about the emissions and fuel economy its car’s get. It allegedly changed gear ratios and manipulated the software of test vehicles to boost fuel economy by 1 to 2 miles per gallon. Porsche owners got wind of the cheating and sued the company and won. Porsche is paying $80 million to settle the lawsuit, which involves half a million Porsches built between 2005 and 2020. And it sure is disheartening to see the length some car companies will go to cheat their way to victory.
NEW COMMERCIAL ELECTRIC VAN STARTUP
The electric commercial van segment is about to get more crowded. Here’s a new EV startup we ran across called FOUR8 Commercial that’s based in the UK. The vans feature a lightweight frame and composite structure to reduce weight and carbon emissions during manufacturing and operation. Compared to ICE vans, FOUR8 says its vehicles use 50% less energy over their lifecycle. The vans are modular and available in short, medium and long wheelbases and the body panels are mechanically fixed to the frame instead of being welded, which makes them easier to repair. The interior is also modularly designed and can easily be configured for right- or left-hand drive. In addition to a pure electric, there are ICE, hybrid, CNG and hydrogen powered versions. In the future FOUR8 plans to make other variants including a shuttle, bus, pickup or food service vans.
STUDY FINDS QUARTER OF EV CHARGERS DON’T WORK
A new study from the University of California Berkeley found that more than a quarter of public chargers in the Bay Area weren’t working properly. It tested 678 chargers at 181 stations and only 72.5% were functional. The others had unresponsive or unavailable screens, payment system failures, charge initiation failures, network failures or broken connecters. And there were even some that didn’t have long enough cables to reach the charging port on the vehicle. The study did not include Tesla Superchargers because it isn’t considered public but a previous study found that only 4% of Tesla owners reported an issue with charging.
But that brings us to the end of today’s show and this week. I hope you have a great weekend. And to all the dads out there, Happy Father’s Day!
Share
Permalink
Comments (22)
June 17th, 2022 at 12:41 pm
Sean, as I’m sure you know, gasoline costs the same almost everywhere, if you take out the taxes. The US charge low gas taxes so has low cost gas. Canada and most of Europe has high gas taxes on purpose so has high prices. I’m always amazed that Americans are surprised that California has the highest US gas prices, just because they have the highest taxes. (plus some restrictions on imports that prevent other states from shipping to Cali.) There is no mystery is gas pricing. People only have to pay attention.
June 17th, 2022 at 1:02 pm
@2 Well put, Kevin. Gasoline prices in the Netherlands and Norway are among the highest in the world.
1 The Netherlands has 17 million well off citizens living on a small area at the Atlantic coast. Rotterdam is one of the largest petroleum ports in the world, large scale oil refineries are next to the port and the distribution is relatively cheap because of the high population density. Gasoline cost at the pump should be low compared to other countries, but the fuel prices are among the highest in the world.
2 Norway has a huge oil reserve and production, and only 4 million citizens concentrated in the southern part of the country. The Norwegian Sovereign Wealth Fund indirectly owned by its 4 million citizens is the world’s largest, 10% larger than the Chinese Sovereign Wealth Fund for 1.2 billion people. The Norwegian Government could provide free fuel to all citizens and fuel has low cost per gallon. Still the fuel prices are very high. Because the Norwegian government wants, just like the Dutch government, to have the population conserve energy and move as much as possible to electric vehicle propulsion.
Please note that I am just describing the situation, so not providing any opinion on what I believe is right or wrong.
June 17th, 2022 at 1:07 pm
1 Gas is cheap in the US compared to much of the world because of low taxes, but prices vary within the US for reasons in addition to taxes, described here:
https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/gasoline/regional-price-differences.php#:~:text=Gasoline%20prices%20vary%20over%20time,retail%20competition%20and%20operating%20costs.
June 17th, 2022 at 1:12 pm
When we lived in Montreal many moons ago, the most expensive gas I would buy was right next to the refinery, and the cheapest was 300 miles away north of Quebec City in the Lac Saint-Jean area. Same taxes. Go figure.
June 17th, 2022 at 1:37 pm
1. Another contributing factor to why California has the highest gasoline prices, is we have a special Reformulated Gasoline that is only made in California. It is supposed to reduce emissions, but it requires changes to the refinery, is harder(costlier) to make, and reduces gas mileage/horsepower.
June 17th, 2022 at 2:12 pm
Maybe if the EPA standards were reasonable the manufacturers wouldn’t feel the need to cheat it. I get it to a point , but until the entire world has to abide by the same standard for emissions and safety I think it’s a problem waiting to happen.
June 17th, 2022 at 2:21 pm
I would love to see a breakdown of that $2,000 to $3,000 savings per vehicle the manufacturer would save by having a direct sales model. I think Mr. Farley has some bad information.
I was a factory sales rep for GM for ten years and contacted dealerships from the West coast to the East coast and I’m familiar with the financial advantages the dealership model provides to the manufacturer. There are some very good reasons that the dealership model was developed in the first place.
Think about how much money Tesla has tied up in showrooms, service centers, all of the equipment those need and the employees that staff them. Add in the inevitable carrying cost of inventory once the whole industry is producing EVs. Consumer demand will rise and fall as it always has and there will inevitably be lots filled with vehicles and incentives to help move them. The OEMs will not be as disciplined in their production as they think they will be. They have had discipline forced on them over the last several years because of the pandemic and the chip shortage. Without those restraints, the dealers would be full of inventory and incentives would be pervasive.
Again, I would love to hear where those savings will come from. I don’t see how that will happen.
June 17th, 2022 at 2:26 pm
6 It seems that only VW group is into cheating on such a large scale. The EPA and EU standards are reasonable, for their parts of the world, but it would not be reasonable to have the same standards in very poor countries, like Somalia and Haiti.
June 17th, 2022 at 2:27 pm
Wow, the new Four 8 commercial van company certainly is ambitious! I wonder who is behind them and what their source of funding is. Given the established players and several startups that may survive, the odds are long that this company is going to make it. Just my two cents as Elms filed for liquidation bankruptcy this week, Workhorse seems to be circling the drain and Lordstown would already be there if not for the last minute bailout from China. I will add this company to my watchlist.
June 17th, 2022 at 3:09 pm
9. It looks like Four8 may be nothing but a web site, looking for donations, or “investors.”
June 17th, 2022 at 3:31 pm
another great week of autoline,thanks
June 17th, 2022 at 3:43 pm
Kit @ 8 Why not ? don’t they breathe the air? Allowing “poor” nations to do as they please it a big reason why this problem exists in the 1st place. India and China were considered poor nations not that long ago and they are 2 of biggest polluters if they aren’t on the planet. If either of them had to abide by the same standards as we do they’d not be able to undercut us so bad . Well that and their use of damn close to slave labor.
June 17th, 2022 at 5:16 pm
The average price of regular 87 is $2.08 a litre in Canada
June 17th, 2022 at 5:18 pm
The average price of regular 87 is $2.08 a litre in Canada. Number of litres to a US gallon is 3.785. $2.08 x 3.785 = $7.87 a US gallon. Where I live the it’s $2.22 so that’s $8.40 USG.
June 17th, 2022 at 5:34 pm
12 Yes, things are not fair in a lot of ways, but in places where average wage is a few hundred dollars a year, people are not able to buy $50K vehicles with modern emission controls. Most can’t buy vehicles at all.
As far as China, they are “cleaning things up” a lot, but they still have a way to go. Yeah, India has a long way to go.
June 18th, 2022 at 3:07 am
15 Kit – About substitutes for Europe’s NatGas imports from Russia. That’s an excellent question.
All I know is that many shipments to Asia have been rerouted (so original buyers outbid), and the US is now directing a lot more to Europe too.
I don’t have the answers. One addendum: Russia can’t simply sell that gas elsewhere, equivalent pipelines don’t exist.
See also
U.S. liquefied natural gas exports to Europe increased during the first 4 months of 2022
http://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=52659
June 18th, 2022 at 8:08 am
16 Thanks for the info. I’d think LNG would be a very expensive substitute for gas from pipelines, but it looks like a lot of it is moving around the world, including from the US to Asia.
June 19th, 2022 at 9:57 am
17 LNG definitely costs more.
I’ve now heard Germany will also be using more coal, while trying to fill up the gas reserves for winter. If a miracle happens, they’ll keep the last two nuclear reactors running (so not).
I’m afraid our Russian sanctions regime – concerning gasoline at least – has been self-defeating.
Instead of listening to some sensible economists who recommend an increasing levy on fossil fuel imports from Russia, we’re attempting to completely cut them off asap.
The resulting price spike means that their inflow of hard currency has actually increased, while the world economy takes a hit. Can we have it all, all at once, or should we settle for the more attainable lesser evil?
Not that the American predilection for gas hogs is anything other than a personal choice and evident financial risk.
To be clear, I think that all other sanctions make perfect sense and need to be enforced.
June 19th, 2022 at 6:55 pm
Just a reminder gas was under $2 a gallon 3 years ago.
June 19th, 2022 at 6:55 pm
Just a reminder gas was under $2 a gallon 3 years ago.
June 19th, 2022 at 7:38 pm
19,20 Huh??? Gas was $2.87/gallon in June 2019 in Indiana, which does not have the highest gas prices in the US.
http://www.wbiw.com/2021/06/01/indiana-gas-prices-have-risen-5-6-cents-a-gallon-in-the-past-week/#:~:text=Historical%20gasoline%20prices%20in%20Indiana,U.S.%20Average%3A%20%242.81%2Fg)
June 20th, 2022 at 8:16 am
Maybe if goverment’s mandates on fuel economy for performance car manufacturers wasn’t so ridiculous , Porsche wouldn’t have to go to “such lengths” to fudge the economy ratings at all .