AD #3560 – White House Praises Tesla & Toyota; Kia to Double EV Leasing; Waymo Expands Robotaxi Service
May 4th, 2023 at 11:58am
Listen to “AD #3560 – White House Praises Tesla and Toyota; Kia to Double EV Leasing; Waymo Expands Robotaxi Service” on Spreaker.
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Runtime:10:27
0:00 Volvo Joins the Job Cuts Club
0:51 Biden White House Praises Tesla & Toyota
1:40 EPA Allows e15 to Expand Gas Supplies
2:08 BMW EV Sales Booming
3:03 Freightliner Unveils Class 6 & 7 EV Trucks
3:52 Norwegian Green Hydrogen Coming to Michigan
4:35 Bosch Creates New Mobility Unit
5:20 Kia to Double EV Leasing
5:48 Kia EV9 Ships This Year
6:55 Waymo Expands Robotaxi Service
7:59 Citroen C4, Peugeot 2008 Share EV Updates
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VOLVO JOINS THE JOB CUTS CLUB
What the heck are the car companies worried about right now that has them getting rid of so many employees? The chip shortage is starting to ease, inventory levels are building back up, car sales are decent and so are profits. Yet, GM, Ford and Stellantis are getting rid of at least a combined 10,000 employees through voluntary buyouts. And now it’s Volvo’s turn. It’s going to cut 1,300 white collar jobs, or about 6% of its workforce in Sweden. And it won’t stop there. Volvo wants to cut more jobs in its global operations as well as get rid of most of its consultants.
BIDEN WHITE HOUSE PRAISES TESLA, TOYOTA
Here’s something that we didn’t expect to hear. The White House is praising Tesla and Toyota for their work on electric cars. Reuters reports that John Podesta, a senior advisor in the White House, recently met with Toyota and said that with the company under new leadership, it’s now firmly committed to EVs. Podesta and another White House advisor also met with Elon Musk in January, which is when Musk opened up Tesla’s Superchargers to other brands of EVs. They describe Tesla as very open and workable and called it a great partner. Toyota and Tesla are not unionized in the US, so it’s unusual to hear the Biden White House praise non-union companies.
EPA ALLOWS E15 TO EXPAND GAS SUPPLIES
Gasoline prices should ease somewhat this summer in the U.S. The EPA issued an emergency waiver that allows e15 gasoline to be sold across the country this summer. e15 is gasoline with 15% ethanol, whereas most gasoline is e10. The EPA says e15 will stretch out supplies that have been disrupted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
BMW EV SALES BOOMING
BMW’s net profit plummeted 58% in the first quarter, which the company blames on higher raw material prices, sharply higher R&D spending, and higher sales and administrative costs. It posted a net profit of €5.1 billion compared to €12.2 billion last year. But last year it also booked a one-time €7.7 billion gain by taking over BMW Brilliance, its joint venture partner in China. Take that out, and BMW would have posted about a 13% increase in profits. One place the company is booming is with electric cars. Sales shot up 82% after growing 86% last year. They now account for 11% of all BMWs sold.
FREIGHTLINER UNVEILS CLASS 6, 7 EVs
Freightliner is expanding its electric truck line-up in the American market. The company unveiled its eM2 truck, which goes into production this fall at Daimler Truck’s plant in Portland, Oregon. Offered in both Class 6 and 7 versions, the trucks are powered by an ePowertrain from Detroit Diesel, which is now simply called Detroit. The Class 6 truck features a single electric motor that produces 190 horsepower and a 194-kWh battery that provides up to 180 miles of range. The Class 7 version has a dual motor setup that combines for 255 horsepower, a 291-kWh battery and a 250-mile range.
NORWEGIAN GREEN HYDROGEN COMING TO MICHIGAN
More green hydrogen is on the way, Norwegian company Nel will build a $400 million plant in Michigan to produce up to 4GW of Alkaline and PEM electrolyzers. Nel plans to build the plant in phases to make sure supply meets demand. The company says it looked at several sites across the U.S. but it chose Michigan because of financial incentives, its highly skilled workforce and cooperation with universities and research partners. But also, because the plant will be located near General Motors, who it is collaborating with to bring down the cost of its electrolyzer technology.
BOSCH CREATES NEW MOBILITY UNIT
The biggest automotive supplier in the world, Bosch, is shaking up the structure of the company. It’s creating a new stand-alone division, called Bosch Mobility, that will focus on software and mobility. By establishing it as a stand-alone unit, with its own board, Bosch wants it to move at a faster pace. By 2029 Bosch Mobility should generate more than $84 billion a year.
KIA TO DOUBLE EV LEASING
The Biden Administration provided a massive loophole for foreign automakers who’s EV’s don’t qualify for the $7,500 tax credit. As long as that EV is leased, it can qualify for the credit. So, Kia is going to put the pedal to the metal on EV leasing. Its lease rate is expected to jump from 15% today to 30-40% in another year or so.
KIA EV9 SHIPS THIS YEAR
One of the vehicles that Kia will push leasing with is the EV9, which launches in global markets before the end of the year. It will first ship the EV9 to the U.S. but Kia is making updates to its plant in Georgia to build the electric SUV there next summer. It also says the EV9 will lead the company into the software defined vehicle era. It has a more centralized computing system with wireless communication. This gives the EV9 expanded in-vehicle OTA capabilities that not only update core components but allow for convenience features to be added as well. That includes things like its hands-free Level 3 system, called Highway Driving Pilot. As well as features that you can purchase when you need or want them, like Remote Smart Parking Assist or Lighting Pattern, which allows the user to pick from 5 different display modes for the pixelated light clusters on the front. Kia says the updates will expand to other areas like entertainment, gaming and sound.
WAYMO EXPANDS ROBOTAXI SERVICE
We could start to see robotaxis everywhere next year. GM’s Cruise expects to expand dramatically. Waymo, too. Waymo announced it’s greatly expanding its autonomous ride hailing service in Phoenix. It’s now operating in 180 square miles of the metro area, which Waymo claims is the largest fully autonomous service area in the world. Anyone there can hail a ride with its app. It’s also giving more access to its approved customers in San Francisco, which it calls “Trusted Testers.” It’s waiting for a permit from California to start charging for rides without a safety driver on board. Waymo is currently serving 10,000 trips per week to public riders in both cities and by next year it expects that to grow to 100,000 trips. And at some point Waymo plans to offer its service in Los Angeles but it hasn’t set a date yet.
CITROEN C4, PEUGEOT 2008 SHARE EV PLATFORM
The main benefit of platform sharing is getting bigger scale so you can drive down costs. And with so many brands, Stellantis can really take advantage of that. And now it’s showing off how it can spread EV updates across its brands thanks to platform sharing. Peugeot is coming out with a new 2008 and Citroen is coming out with a new C4 and C4 X that share the exact same upgrades to their all-electric powertrains. They get a new, more powerful and efficient electric motor that produces 115 kW or 156 horsepower as well as a new, more nickel-rich battery. That pack is 54 kWh, which is bigger than the old 50 kWh pack, but the range jump is still fairly significant, going from up to 360 kilometers to 420 or 223 to 260 miles. Look for the new Peugeot and Citroens to go on sale soon.
That brings us to the end of today’s show. Thanks for tuning in and don’t forget to check out Autoline After Hours this afternoon at 3PM EST. Now, May the 4th be with you!
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Comments (31)
May 4th, 2023 at 12:40 pm
E15 is not a solution. It is a problem. It’ll kill gas-powered yard tools, but perhaps that is what this administration wants.
May 4th, 2023 at 12:40 pm
An inquiring mind wants to know, does the foreign made car sold after lease pay the $7,500 TAX?
May 4th, 2023 at 12:50 pm
While maybe some cars will do okay on E15 older vehicles and lawn mowers won’t. Why don’t they suggest we drive our gas guzzlers and even hybrids less miles that would help save on oil and pollute the air less.
May 4th, 2023 at 12:59 pm
@1 +++++++++++++++++++++++
May 4th, 2023 at 1:02 pm
Praising Tesla is a good idea, just years late. But praising Toyota because they have had a verbal change of heart very recently is questionable at best.
I think they should have praised Rolls Royce who recognized the EV trend long before the Toys.
May 4th, 2023 at 1:06 pm
1,3 Won’t E15 be labeled as such on the pump, so people can avoid it for lawn tools and older cars? Also, even for vehicles that can use it safely, E15 should cost about 1% less than E10, because it has about 1% less energy.
May 4th, 2023 at 1:31 pm
Ethanol free gasoline has been available for small engines in Home Depot, Lowes & Lawn Mower repair shops for several years.
May 4th, 2023 at 1:32 pm
I have moved all my yard tools to battery-powered except my snowblower (big driveway) and riding mower (large lawn). I’m waiting for the bee lovers to tell me not to mow in May anyway.
May 4th, 2023 at 1:38 pm
#6 your right it should be posted on the gasoline pumps but some people won’t have any idea what E15 means , they probably don’t have a clue what yellow sticker that says 87,91 & 93 mean they have been told to use the 87 so they do that not knowing why.
May 4th, 2023 at 2:15 pm
#6 It won’t matter much if all the gas stations will supply is E15. Try finding E0 fuel. Not easy to do. The closest station to me that carries E0 is 21 miles away. When you do it costs 2 cents less than diesel and 14 cents more the equal octane of E10 as I found out this past weekend when I bought 5 gallons for my equipment. Even the newer stuff that says it can run on E10 recommends E0 to avoid long term issues with fuel.
May 4th, 2023 at 2:17 pm
#7 yeah at $27 a gallon. Tractor supply sells 1 gallon cans of E0 made by VP for that much. I don’t pay that much for race gas.
May 4th, 2023 at 2:31 pm
10 There are marinas near me that have E0, but also, a regular Chevron station. They see not to use it in modern cars, though. I guess it doesn’t have some of the normal additives, and might carbon up valves, etc.
May 4th, 2023 at 2:41 pm
@1 what is the fuel consumption of gasoline-powered yard tools compared to motor vehicles?
May 4th, 2023 at 2:47 pm
@9 ignorance of the public cannot be the argument to move into a certain direction. Better information and the public actually paying attention can take care of that problem.
Many people I know believe that their vehicle runs on “gas”, without understanding that their vehicle is gasoline-powered and that gasoline is a liquid and not a gas.
May 4th, 2023 at 2:47 pm
@1, 3, 4, 6, 10, 11 you are putting out strong arguments to move to electric vehicle propulsion.
I will always keep an ICE vehicle myself, albeit diesel-powered instead of gasoline-powered: many commercial vehicles will be running on Diesel fuel for many years to come and therefore my fuel supply will be secure.
May 4th, 2023 at 3:04 pm
15 Forced obsolescence Isn’t a strong argument it’s strong arming people to bend to one’s will. Electrics have their place not for every situation just like ICE isn’t . You wouldn’t want a gas powered fork truck filling your building with fumes. everything has it’s place and use. The governments problem is they are trying to put everything in one basket and that is doomed to fail.
May 4th, 2023 at 3:06 pm
@16 I fully agree with you on that
May 4th, 2023 at 3:11 pm
I’m a bit old fashioned and don’t see myself in a vehicle without a driver.
May 4th, 2023 at 3:14 pm
In answer to your very first query of the monologue, John, an economic downturn greater than that of 2008 is upon us. The big three know it. Banks know it. Fed chairman Jerome Powell knows it. And every savvy real estate insider/analyst who lived through the 2008 bubble and made note of the financial patterns surrounding it knows that current conditions spell very bad things in the coming months. Oh, and the devaluation of the USD is a major catalyst this time around.
May 4th, 2023 at 3:48 pm
Lew #2,
Yes, used PHEV/EV do qualify for a smaller tax credit. But not many talk about used, just new ones.
https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/used-clean-vehicle-credit
May 4th, 2023 at 4:09 pm
19 – I meant to cite you, Sean, not John.
May 4th, 2023 at 4:10 pm
@13 – Wim, the consumption amount is not the issue. The issue is near all small engine yard tools (edgers, chain saws, leaf blowers, mowers and snowblowers) have low cost fuel delivery hardware that fail after exposure to ethanol.
May 4th, 2023 at 4:16 pm
19 The economy is expanding and unemploymentis at near record lows. Yeah, maybe most of Dodd-Frank shouldn’t havebeen repealed, and those banks couldn’t have been so risky.
May 4th, 2023 at 4:29 pm
19,20 If the nihilists in the house decide to default on the debt, yeah, things could be bad.
May 4th, 2023 at 4:35 pm
24, That’s 19, 24
May 4th, 2023 at 6:13 pm
Take three similar bodied vehicle – 1 ICE powered, 1 gas/electric hybrid, 1 EV. All start same place on west coast and leave same time. What is the order of arrival in Washington DC? No funny business. Considering time to fill gas or recharge,normal drive days, etc. Invite usual government bureaucrats to ride along. Shouldn’t be too hard to figure order of finish.
May 4th, 2023 at 9:51 pm
24. Just remember (between the fall and end of year) you heard it from me first. It’s coming, and it won’t be pretty – especially for the commercial real estate sector. The banks are over leveraged with commercial mortgage backed securities that are about to be defaulted on just like we saw with residential properties back in ’08.
May 5th, 2023 at 8:00 am
Being union or not shouldnt have anything to do with admitting a company is easy to work with.
The robo taxies have a tough road ahead. Much like the airline industry we often times sensationalize the failures of the safest form of transportation. So we can accept a few hundred thousand deaths due to human error or negligent driving but let a robo-taxi fail and you watch the scrutiny it will get. These things need to operate at 100% to meet public expectation and I doubt they can. They may be 10X safer then a human driver but will need to have a 100X record than human driver to suceed.
May 5th, 2023 at 11:10 am
It will be years before we have any meaningful data on safety of robotaxies. Even the data on fatalities/million vehicle years by model has very wide confidence limits, even for cars sold in large volume.
https://www.iihs.org/ratings/driver-death-rates-by-make-and-model
You need millions, or at least hundreds of thousands of robotaxies to get any meaningful data. It’s kind of like safety of airplanes. For years, the Concorde had the best safety record of any active airliner. Then one day, it had by far the worst. One crash, with the small number of Concordes and few flights, moved it from zero, to worst in the industry.
May 5th, 2023 at 11:43 am
29 Yes but I dont think they can separate it by each and every model and manufacturer to start to get a idea of the safety level. They should track them individually as surly we want to know which one is best. But certainly they have the level of accidents per miles driven by all and can start to formulate a level of confidence based on that.
Like you pointed out as more and more hit the road I would expect the number to come down as you remove the unexpected human errors even more. A computer will likely operate quite well around other automated vehciles but introducing them while humans are still driving involves guessing the unexpected movements as each human is different. Either way I was just saying that just watch the publicity that one AV gets when someone is killed. It will be a serious failure even though we accept that daily with humans driving.
May 5th, 2023 at 11:53 am
30 Yep, all of them will need to be lumped together, to more quickly get the numbers high enough to provide meaningful data.