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Runtime: 10:17
0:00 BYD Makes More Per Car than Ford
1:27 BYD Working on Next-Gen Blade Battery
2:19 Tesla Settles Autopilot Lawsuit
3:12 Tesla Slashes Supercharger Install Time in Half
4:16 GM Ready to Restart Cruise
5:09 Ford Dropping Direct Sales in Europe
6:00 BMW Forms EV Partnership with Rimac
6:33 Porsche Expanding Use of Active Suspension Tech
7:52 Ford Taking Orders for Updated Mach-E
8:42 New Toyota 4Runner Debuts Today
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This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.
BYD MAKES MORE PER CAR THAN FORD
Last year BYD made more money per car than Ford. The Chinese automaker brought in a net profit of about $4.1 billion and sold just over 3 million vehicles, which means it would have made about $1,350 on every car it sold. But because BYD makes more than just cars, statistics company Late Finance puts its profit per vehicle closer to $1,250. Even so, that compares to Ford who brought in a net profit of $4.3 billion and sold about 4.4 million cars worldwide, which means it made just under $1,000 on every one it sold. And BYD is not too far behind the VW Group and GM, who made just under and just over $1,600 per car, respectively. However, they’re all way behind Tesla, who makes over $8,200 on every car it sells. But it also makes a lot of sense these other automakers would earn less because they sell less expensive models, like BYD’s Seagull, which is now under $10,000 in China. I’m sure it’s one of the reasons BYD introduced its upscale brand, YangWang. To sell higher priced models that earn more profit.
BYD WORKING ON NEXT-GEN BLADE BATTERY
BYD also hopes to increase profits by coming out with even cheaper battery technology. According to reports, the company’s Chairman said during a meeting that it’s working on the second generation of its Blade battery. He said it will be smaller, lighter and offer lower power consumption, while still providing the same range. If you like to nerd out on some numbers, the current Blade battery is capable of 150 Wh/kg, but the next-gen is expected to be around 190 Wh/kg. That would probably make it the most energy dense LFP or lithium iron phosphate battery cell and puts it closer to traditional batteries, which are more expensive. The new battery could come out as early as this year.
TESLA SETTLES AUTOPILOT LAWSUIT
Tesla settled a lawsuit over a fatal crash involving its Autopilot system a day before the trial was going to start. The terms of the settlement weren’t disclosed. But the case involved Walter Huang, a 38-year old Apple engineer, who was killed in 2018 when his Model X veered off a highway in California and struck a roadside barrier at 71 MPH. The vehicle was operating on Autopilot at the time of the crash but an investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board also found that the driver was probably distracted by a video game on his iPhone. Tesla won two previous trials in California involving Autopilot crashes but obviously it felt it was better off settling this case then going to trial, even though the driver was partially at fault.
TESLA CUTS SUPERCHARGER INSTALL TIME IN HALF
Speaking of Tesla, it slashed the time it takes to install a Supercharger station in half. Several years ago it started making its own pre-fabricated Superchargers and in 2022 said it could build a 12-stall station in 8 days. But now it says it’s down to 4 days. Tesla is now pouring its own concrete blocks into molds that have spots for the wires to go through and the charging units to be bolted down to. Cranes can then lift the concrete blocks with the charger units already installed and take them wherever they need to go. With so many automakers getting access to Tesla’s charging network, it’s probably a good thing that it figured out a way to install the chargers even faster.
GM READY TO RESTART CRUISE
General Motors is set to resume testing its Cruise robotaxis. Bloomberg reports the company could make an announcement as early as today, according to two people familiar with the plan. The tests will initially resume in Phoenix, Arizona with safety drivers on board. The company is also in talks with 20 cities it already operated or had started mapping, to begin tests once again. Last year, Cruise suspended all of its operations in the U.S. after one of its vehicles struck and dragged a pedestrian in San Francisco. That led to the resignation of its founder and CEO and nine other executives were fired. Getting Cruise back on track is very important for GM. CEO Mary Barra has said it could generate revenue of $50 billion a year by 2030.
FORD DROPPING DIRECT SALES IN EUROPE
Good news for Ford dealers in Europe. The automaker is dropping its plan to move to a direct sales model and instead will develop an “advanced franchise model.” Ford did a direct sales pilot in the Netherlands and then planned to roll it out to the rest of Europe. It previously delayed that plan until 2026 but now Ford is scrapping it all together. While this will give dealers some relief, it’s not all good news. Ford is also planning to downsize its dealer network in Europe in its transition to an electric only brand in the region. But Ford isn’t the only automaker moving away from the direct sales model. Stellantis, BMW, Audi and Jaguar Land Rover have all delayed or revised plans to do so in Europe.
BMW FORMS EV PARTNERSHIP WITH RIMAC
BMW announced that it is forming a partnership with Croatian supplier Rimac Technology to jointly develop electric drive technology and solutions for high-voltage batteries. Rimac Technology makes battery packs, e-axles as well as electronic and software components. The two companies didn’t reveal any other details but they say they’ll share more info at a later date. You may remember Rimac the car company also bought Bugatti in 2022.
PORSCHE EXPANDING USE OF ACTIVE SUSPENSION TECHNOLOGY
Porsche debuted its new Active Ride Suspension on the Panamera and will also launch a version on the new Taycan as well. But it’s forming a partnership with another active suspension company to expand its use of the technology. Porsche signed a deal with ClearMotion, who regular viewers of the show may remember we had on Autoline After Hours in November of 2022. ClearMotion bought its tech from Bose and it kind of acts like noise canceling headphones, creating exact opposite outputs of the inputs the system is getting from the road. It does this at extremely fast speed with an electric hydraulic pump that’s attached directly to the damper. Porsche is also working with ClearMotion on crowd-sourced road data that includes sensor info from inside the car to provide details like a pothole or traffic ahead or the need to slow down for a fast turn. We wonder if technology like this might also be applied to the race track? And when we had the CEO of ClearMotion on the show, he said the suspension could be used to improve the in-cabin experience. Just imagine, watching Jurassic Park and being able to feel the footsteps of the T-rex approaching.
FORD STARTS TAKING U.S ORDERS FOR UPDATED MACH-E
Ford revealed the updated 2024 Mustang Mach-E and is taking orders now in the U.S. It has more performance, more range and faster charging times than previous Mach-Es. With the new GT Performance upgrade, the car can go from 0-60 MPH in 3.3 seconds and run the quarter mile in 11.8 seconds at 114 MPH. DC fast charging from 10-80% is now 36 minutes, which is about 9 minutes faster than before. And all Mach-Es have 10 to 20 miles more range depending on the model. Ford also revealed the off-road focused Mach-E Rally will come to the U.S. as well. Pricing for the 2024 model starts just under $40,000.
NEW TOYOTA 4RUNNER DEBUTS TONIGHT
Here’s something for all our off-road enthusiasts. Toyota has been teasing the 4Runner for the last week or so, but the model will finally make its debut today at 10 PM Eastern, 7 PM Pacific time.
But that brings us to the end of today’s show. Thanks for making Autoline a part of your day.
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Lambo2015 says
Didn’t GM say after that the crash on October 2, 2023, when it struck the already hit pedestrian was going to likely set the AV program back 2 years? Then fired a bunch of executives as scapegoats to show they were taking this seriously. Here we are 6 months later, and they are starting back up with that problem solved, rest assured. Typical corporate PR stunt to appear like they slapped their own hand and now are prepared to move forward.
Similarly, I’m sure whatever the settlement was for Tesla, avoiding the negative press is probably worth whatever they paid. This won’t be the last of the AV lawsuits.
Kit Gerhart says
The WaPo had an article today about the Tesla settlement, and other suits regarding fatalities and other serious crashes blamed on “autopilot” and “full self driving.” Part of Tesla’s defense is that “autopilot” is intended to be used only on straight limited access roads, but people are using it on roads with intersections and curves. If that is the case, why do they allow it to be engaged, except on roads where they say to use it? These cars have GPS, and, presumably, Tesla has mapping information that would make it easy to restrict engagement to interstates, Florida 528, and other limited access roads.
Lambo2015 says
I actually found a few reports that ALD did on cruise. The crash happened on Oct 2 and was reported on here Oct 25th. Then GM was forced to recall 950 Cruise vehicles on Nov 8th. Then GM hired a safety director to oversee Cruise on Nov 15th. Then Kyle Vogt resigned on Nov 20th. Then GM fired 9 executives on Dec 13th and two days later on Dec 15th cut 950 Cruise related jobs. Jan 26th ALD covered that the DOJ, SEC and the NHTSA all had investigations going on into Cruise. I guess it was February 2nd Episode #3739 that Mark Reuss said Cruise would be back on the road in one to two years. Guess maybe he meant to say 1 to two months. GM has only lost a few billion with Cruise but I’m sure it’ll be a money maker any day now.
Wim van Acker says
@Lambo: we don’t know how much TESLA paid during the settlement. It could be a high amount, it could be a low amount if their lawyers have convinced the plaintiffs that they would likely receive nothing from the lawsuit.
Wim van Acker says
@BMW FORMS EV PARTNERSHIP WITH RIMAC: to me this seems to be one of several threats to the incumbent suppliers. First of all the vehicles get simpler so there is less content for the suppliers. Additionally components get simpler and can be manufactured by lower cost suppliers such (I am assuming here) as Croatia-based RIMAC
Lambo2015 says
Wim- Exactly why I said whatever the settlement was is likely money well spent when you consider the costs of lawyers and the bad publicity. Even though it sounds as though the man was distracted and was at fault. Jury’s can be very sympathetic to someone dying and it would be a lose lose for Tesla to take it to court.
MERKUR DRIVER says
Kit,
Tesla speaks in double speak all the time. Like Full Self Driving is not really full self driving. They even had their cohorts make fun of GM/Ford because their supercruise/bluecruise, which is superior to AP/FSD, was geo-fenced to use on select highways only. Only to have their legalese provide a get out of responsibility clause if someone uses the system on any location other than an approved limited access highway….just like supercruise/bluecruise. Anyone that puts their trust and life on the line in a Tesla is a fool. It is a company where you definitely want to read the fine print. Once you do, you are unlikely to buy a Tesla vehicle.
George Ricci says
My take on why GM fired Cruise founder and CEO and nine other executives is very different than Lambo2015’s. There were many instances where Cruise was not taking safety seriously leading up to firing. Numerous times over period of a year or more Cruise vehicles impeded or blocked ambulances and Fire Department vehicles from reaching their destination. When a major music festival was in town and cell phone service was at capacity, all the Cruise vehicles stop where they were and block traffic all over the city. The last incident was when a driver hit a pedestrian and threw the person into the path of a Cruise vehicle. The Cruise vehicle braked hard but unfortunately ran over the person and was on top of them. Then after 20 seconds the Cruise vehicle pulled over to the curb dragging the person under the car. When the SF police and California DMV asked for a tape of the accident, Cruise sent a different video each of them. One of the videos had the person dragged under the car and the other did not.
I am sure that Mary Barra had told the Cruise CEO and executives that they had to take safety seriously as it is a reflection on GM. When the problem kept happening, Marry Barra took action, which is what she should be doing in her position. She wasn’t going to have GM look like Tesla and its Auto Pilot.
joe says
People are really suckers for paying that that kind of money for Tesla cars that’s rated at the bottom of the JD Power quality list. I have always been amazed how people can flock like sheep. I’d much rather buy EV’s from GM who does not brag about their cars and are top rated.
https://www.jdpower.com/business/press-releases/2023-us-vehicle-dependability-studyvds