AD #2314 – Toyota Reveals 1st Flex-Fuel Hybrid, VW Working on Compact CUV, Autonomous Car Kills Pedestrian

On today’s show…the first pedestrian fatality from an autonomous car sends social media into a frenzy…the ZEV states which are mandating electric cars need to put their money where their mouth is…and Toyota unveils a flex-fuel hybrid.  All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.

This is Autoline Daily the show for enthusiasts of the automotive industry.

AUTONOMOUS CAR KILLS PEDESTRIAN
Yesterday there were about 100 people killed in motor vehicle accidents in the United States. And about 6,000 people were hurt badly enough in car accidents to have to go to the hospital. But none of that was reported because the media was too busy reporting about an autonomous Uber car that struck and killed a pedestrian in Phoenix, Arizona. Social media lit up with people opposed to autonomous technology, clamoring for these vehicles to be banned. And yet no one has any details yet of what caused this accident. Also, largely overlooked was that there was a human test driver sitting in the driver’s seat monitoring the car when it hit the pedestrian. When the facts do come in, Autoline Daily will dutifully report them. By the way, those 100 fatalities, and 6,000 people going to the hospital? That happens every single day and has become so common that it never gets reported.    

BATTLE FOR GKN
There’s a fantastic battle waging in the automotive supplier industry. Two different companies are fighting over control of GKN, the British engineering company involved in the automotive and aerospace industries. The idea is to break GKN into two different companies, with one serving autos and the other in aerospace. A British investment firm, Melrose Industries, in a hostile takeover attempt, is offering 8 billion pounds in cash, while the American supplier Dana is offering $6 billion in cash. You’d think Melrose, by offering more cash, would be the better bid. But GKNs management actually prefers the offer by Dana. We’ll know pretty soon how this is going to turn out. Any deal has to be finalized by the end of the month.

Coming up next, Toyota unveils the world’s first flex-fuel hybrid.

VW TEASES FIVE-PASSENGER ATLAS
Every time you turn around yet another automaker is launching another SUV. Yesterday, Volkswagen teased the new Touareg and now it released this sketch of a five-passenger version of the Atlas.

VW WORKING ON COMPACT CUV
And Automotive News reports that VW will introduce a new compact crossover that’s positioned below the Tiguan. Internally, Volkswagen is calling it the “Volks-SUV” or People’s SUV. Even though it’s a global vehicle it won’t be sold in Europe because VW already sells the T-ROC there. The new one will be built in China, Mexico, Russia and Argentina in 2020. The U.S. will get models built in Mexico. And VW is aiming to sell 400,000 of them globally a year.

TOYOTA REVEALS 1ST FLEX-FUEL HYBRID
Toyota says it’s building the world’s first flex-fuel hybrid. The modified Prius can run on gasoline or alternative fuels like ethanol. It was developed for the Brazilian market which relies heavily on ethanol for fuel. Toyota says this is part of its effort to reduce vehicle CO2 emissions 90% by 2050.

Nine states are mandating how many electric cars automakers have to sell. And it’s time for those ZEV states to put their money where their mouth is. That’s coming up next.

PUT YOUR MONEY WHERE YOUR MOUTH IS
There are 9 states that are mandating sales of electric cars, and it sure would help if those state governments bought the very kind of cars that they’re mandating. Last year there were just under 100,000 electric cars sold in the American market. That is only 0.7% of all the cars that were sold. But nine states are mandating that electric cars must reach 15% of sales by 2025. That means automakers would have to be selling over a million electric cars a year in those states. But consumers just aren’t buying them that fast. So, sales will probably fall about 600,000 short. Some are suggesting that the states which are mandating electric cars ought to put their money where their mouth is, and only buy electric vehicles for their government agencies. Even that might not be enough to hit the mandate, but it sure would help.

And be sure to join us for Autoline After Hours tomorrow at Noon. We’re doing the show at a different time because the crew is travelling to the NADA convention. We’ll have the new Buick Regal TourX in the studio with us and if you have any questions about this station wagon send them to viewermail@autoline.tv. And then join Gary and me for some of the best insider discussion in the auto industry.

But that wraps up today’s show, thanks for watching and please join us again tomorrow.