Runtime: 6:55
0:29 U.S. Sales Forecast to Drop in May
1:05 Price of Raw Materials Going Up
1:45 JLR’s Earnings Drop
2:53 Dana Develops E-Axle for Chinese Market
3:48 Daimler Highlights Factory of the Future
5:22 Workhorse Tests Drone Package Delivery
6:09 Toyota Puts Its History Online
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On today’s show… yet another company is starting to deliver packages by drone… Toyota puts its entire history online for you to look at… and Dana unveils a couple of electric axles for big trucks. All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.
This is Autoline Daily the show for enthusiasts of the automotive industry.
U.S. MARKET DROPPING
Looks like higher gas prices and rising interest rates are taking a toll on new car sales in the American market. Wards is forecasting that sales will drop nearly 7% in May on a daily selling rate basis. That would put the Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate, or the SAAR, at only 16.6 million vehicles. Up to now the SAAR had been running at over 17 million. Also, inventory levels for trucks and SUVs are higher than normal so we could start seeing more incentives to move the metal.
RAW MATERIALS RISING
Meanwhile, Merrill Lynch reports that raw material prices are rising, especially for metals and plastics. Back in 2011 all the raw materials needed to make a car in the U.S. cost about $4,500. But then prices started dropping, to only $2,000 per car by 2016. That’s when raw materials as a percentage of the MSRP represented only 6% of the cost of a car. But right now Merrill Lynch says they represent 10%. And it says we’re going to see this impact the bottom line of car companies and suppliers.
| Raw Material Costs | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | $4,500/car | |
| 2016 | $2,000/car | 6% of MSRP |
| Today | 10% of MSRP | |
JLR EARNINGS DROP
Along those lines, Jaguar Land Rover reported its latest financial earnings and it reported a big percentage drop. JLR sold over 154,000 vehicles worldwide in the last three months of 2017, up 3.5%. And it brought in £6.3 billion in revenue, up 4.3%. But on an EBIT basis, it’s earnings dropped 33%. And its pre-tax profit dropped almost 25%, due to higher structural costs and more incentives.
| Jaguar Land Rover Earnings | ||
|---|---|---|
| Sales | 154,500 | +3.5% |
| Revenue | £6.3 Billion | +4.3% |
| EBIT | £164 Million | -33% |
| Pre-Tax Profit | £192 Million | -24.7% |
Have you ever heard about Industry 4.0? Well if you haven’t you’re going to because that’s coming up next.
DANA E-AXLE FOR TRUCKS
China is pushing buyers into electric cars and that includes commercial trucks. That’s why Dana, along with its Chinese partner Dongfeng, are launching a pair of electric axles in China for class 3 to 6 commercial trucks. One axle weighs a little over 670-pounds and has a motor that produces 174-horsepower. The larger axle covers class 4-6 trucks and features a water-glycol-cooled electric motor with 318-horsepower and 221 lb-ft of torque. It weighs 816-pounds. By mounting the electric motor directly to the axle, Dana says it got rid of 100 kilos, or about 220 pounds, because it gets rid of the drive shaft and its couplings. The first application will be a Dongfeng battery-electric truck.
DAIMLER’S FACTORY OF THE FUTURE
Industry 4.0 is the term manufacturing people are using for bringing of the Internet of Things to the factory floor. It’s about connecting every piece of equipment in a factory to the cloud. And that can produce some amazing productivity improvements. Daimler calls its factory of the future “Factory 56.” AGVs, or automated guided vehicles, will deliver parts right to workers on the line. Radio frequency IDs, or RFID technology, allows parts and vehicles to be digitally tracked and linked together throughout the manufacturing process. By using artificial intelligence, Daimler will analyze data to predict when it has to do any machine maintenance, or detect any potential faults before they can spread. Factory 56 will open in 2020 and will build the newest S-class as well as the first electric vehicle for the EQ brand. You’re going to start hearing a lot more about Industry 4.0 and we’ll be devoting an entire Autoline This Week to it coming up this summer.
Coming up next, drones delivering packages to your house just took another step towards reality.
PACKAGE DELIVERY BY DRONE
Workhorse, a company that makes electric delivery trucks, is now testing out delivering packages with drones in Cincinnati, Ohio. Once an order is made through the company’s delivery app, which links with online retailers, a truck is sent out. The delivery drone, called Horsefly, is integrated into the top of an electric truck and gets loaded by a worker from inside the truck. The drone then autonomously launches and delivers the package to the drop off zone, which is determined by the customer tapping a spot on a map. The customer can even watch a video feed from the drone of the package being delivered. As of now the driver still has to be within the line of sight of the drone, but in the future it would just meet the truck at its next planned stop.
TOYOTA PUTS ITS HISTORY ONLINE
Toyota wants you to learn more about the company and is digging into its archives to upload a treasure trove of photos documenting its history. You’ll be able to find out about its founders, origins, classic cars, and more. And when it’s available, we’ll provide a link to the website where you can check it all out.
But that’s it for today. Thank you for making Autoline Daily a part of your day and we hope to see you 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.
