Runtime: 7:04
0:31 GM Sets Sales Record in China
0:50 Sales Up Slightly in China
1:12 Waymo Places Large Pacifica Order
1:46 Kia Teases SP Concept for India
2:41 More Details on Volvo’s 1st EV
3:05 Small Van Sales Continue to Nosedive
4:58 Tesla Model 3 Assembly Line Fixes
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On today’s show… Waymo buys thousands of Pacifica Hybrids for its upcoming autonomous ride-hailing service… Kia teases a new SUV for the Indian market… and we take a look at more of the engineering issues Munro and Associates discovered on the Tesla Model 3. All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.
This is Autoline Daily the voice of the automotive industry.
GM SETS SALES RECORD IN CHINA
General Motors sold a record 4.04 million vehicles in China last year, a gain of 4.4% from the year before. And to help keep the momentum going. The company, along with its joint venture partners, will introduce 15 new or updated models this year in the country.
SALES UP SLIGHTLY IN CHINA
And speaking of sales in China, according to WardsAuto data, automakers sold 27.4 million light vehicles in 2017, which is close to a two percent gain compared to the year before. Sales of passenger cars and light trucks were about evenly split but car sales outpaced the overall market while truck sales were down slightly for the year.
| 2017 China Light Vehicle Sales | ||
|---|---|---|
| Total | 27.4 Million | +1.8% |
| Cars | 13.8 Million | +4.5% |
| Trucks | 13.6 Million | -0.8% |
WAYMO PLACES LARGE PACIFICA ORDER
The mashup between Waymo and FCA is growing. In the middle of 2016 FCA delivered 100 Chrysler Pacifica minivans to Waymo so it could start testing its autonomous technology. In 2017 it delivered an additional 500 Pacificas and Waymo just sign a contract for thousands more. Waymo will use the minivans to help scale up its driverless ride-hailing service, which is set to kick off in Phoenix, Arizona this year and then roll out to more cities across the United States.
KIA TAPS GROWING INDIAN MARKET
As we reported, sales in India were up a strong 10% in 2017 and now Kia plans to tap into the growing market with an all-new SUV. The Korean automaker teased the vehicle, called the SP Concept ahead of its debut at the Indian Auto Expo. Kia says the small utility vehicle “takes its design language in a bold and sophisticated direction,” but didn’t reveal much else. We’ll just have to wait a week to learn more.
Still to come… compact van sales continue to tumble in the American market. And we’ll be back with more right after this.
MORE DETAILS ON VOLVO’S 1ST EV
We’re learning more details about Volvo’s first standalone electric vehicle. Autocar reports that it will be based on the 40.2 concept hatchback the company revealed in 2016. The concept had a range of 217 miles but Volvo is aiming for around 310 miles with the production version. The vehicle is expected to arrive next year.
SMALL VAN SALES CONTINUE TO NOSEDIVE
Compact vans took the American Market by storm, but late in 2016 sales started to take a nosedive and they haven’t been able to recover. Ford still dominates the segment, but sales of the Transit Connect were down over 20% in 2017. Next on the list is the Nissan NV200, the only small van to see growth but it was up less than half a percent. Then comes the Ram ProMaster City, followed by the Chevy City Express, which is just a rebadged NV200. In all automakers sold 74,371 compact vans in the U.S. last year, which is a drop of nearly 12%. As we know, the total market in the U.S. for 2017 was down less than 2%, so the compact van segment is shrinking far faster than the rest of the market.
| U.S. Small Van Sales, 2017 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Ford Transit Connect | 34,473 | -20.3% |
| Nissan NV200 | 18,602 | +0.4% |
| Ram ProMaster City | 15,584 | -2.4% |
| Chevy City Express | 5,712 | -14.3% |
| TOTAL | 74,371 | -11.9% |
And don’t forget to join John and Gary this Thursday for Autoline After Hours. We’ll have the new Hyundai Kona in the studio with us because our special guest is John Juriga, the Director of Powertrain at Hyundai/Kia’s Tech Center. So if you have any questions send them our way to viewermail@autoline.tv.
Coming up next, Munro and Associates discover some of the assembly line fixes on the Tesla Model 3.
TESLA MODEL 3 ASSEMBLY LINE FIXES
Sandy Munro is an expert at design, engineering and manufacturing who does a lot of competitive benchmarking for automakers and suppliers. Right now he’s doing a benchmarking report on the Tesla Model 3. And he’s found a number of engineering issues on the car including some of the assembly line fixes. Take a look.
(Clip from interview with Sandy Munro can only be viewed in the video version of today’s show.)
All week long we’ll be showing you more of what Munro & Associates have found as they dig into how the Tesla Model 3 was designed and engineered.
But that’s it for today, thanks for watching and please join us again tomorrow.
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John McElroy is an influential thought leader in the automotive industry. He is a journalist, lecturer, commentator and entrepreneur. He created “Autoline Daily,” the first industry webcast of industry news and analysis.
