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Runtime: 8:18
0:06 Indonesia to Offer EV Incentives
0:36 BP Partners w/ Didi on EV Chargers
1:01 GM’s Q2 Earnings
2:01 Details on Ford’s New Engine & Transmission
4:35 Dodge’s New Sales Gimmick
5:19 What Cars Thieves Like Most
7:24 Bentley’s Flying Bees
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This is Autoline Daily reporting on the global automotive industry.
INDONESIA TO OFFER EV INCENTIVES
Sales of electric cars can’t seem to get going without government subsidies and now Indonesia is the latest country to start offering them. The government not only wants incentives for consumers, it’s planning to give incentives to manufacturers to build EVs there. Reuters reports that Indonesia hopes companies will start EV production by 2022 and it wants EVs to make up 20% of its total car production by 2025.
BP PARTNERS WITH DIDI ON EV CHARGERS
Sales of electric cars are also hindered by a lack of charging stations. So BP is partnering with Didi, China’s largest ride-hailing company, to build a network of charging stations in China. The goal is to build 200 stations by the end of 2020. BP says it could eventually add thousands of stations throughout the country in the future.
GM’S SECOND QUARTER EARNINGS
General Motors posted its second quarter financial earnings and the numbers are kind of ho-hum. GM sold 1.1 million vehicles, down 6% from last year. It brought in $36 billion in revenue, down 2%. Yet it posted a slightly better net profit of $2.4 billion. China was a big problem for GM in the last quarter. Sales fell more than 22%, and income dropped 66%. The one bright spot is that GM is doing an impressive job of cutting costs. Thanks to that its operating profit was $2.5 billion, up 92%.
DETAILS ON FORD’S NEW ENGINE & TRANSMISSION
Ford introduced the all-new F-600 Super Duty back in March because it’s customers wanted something with the capability of a Class 6 truck in a Class 5 package. And helping to fill another gap is the engine that powers the F-600 and several other commercial vans and trucks, its all-new gasoline 7.3L V8. That’s 445 cubic inches. Again, customers were telling Ford they wanted an engine that’s more powerful than its older gasoline engines without having to step up to the diesel. At an event in Michigan the other day, we learned there will be two calibrations for this engine. The more powerful setting will make 430-HP and 475 lb-ft of torque and the standard version in the F-450 and up will have 350-HP and 468 lb-ft. One thing that stood out to us is the lengths Ford went to, to make sure this engine is durable, specifically in the area of lubrication. It flows nearly twice as much oil to the top of the engine than its competitors and even went as far as to machine these little channels in the top of the rocker arms that pour oil over the pushrods at low idle, which helps reduce wear. Another focus for durability was the water pump. If the distance between where the pump mounts to the engine and the front flange looks large, that’s because it is. Ford used the beefier bearing from the diesel. And to make sure customers get down the road more effortlessly and efficiently than before, the all-new 7.3L can be mated to an all-new 10-speed automatic. Ford took the formula from the 10-speed it developed with General Motors, which goes in the F-150, but GM has nothing to do with this transmission. Only 7% is common with the 10-speed in the F-150. As you can see, some of the internal parts are much larger. But what’s impressive is it’s the same length as the previous 6-speed unit, but only weighs 3.5 pounds more. A Power Takeoff or PTO with stationary torque of 300 lb-ft is also available for the 7.3L gas and 6.7L Power Stroke diesel. We’ll report on all the upgrades to the diesel tomorrow and next week we’ll have something that will probably pique your interest as well.
DODGE’S NEW SALES GIMMICK
We’ve heard of sales gimmicks before, but you’ve got to hear the latest one from Dodge. It will give you a cash allowance of $10 per horsepower. Get it? The more horsepower you buy, the bigger the discount. So if you want a Challenger Hellcat Redeye with 797 horsepower, they’ll knock $7,970 off the price. And the discount applies to any Challenger, Charger or Durango.
WHAT CARS THIEVES LIKE MOST
When you see lists of the most stolen vehicles, the best-selling models are usually at top. But the Highway Loss Data Institute put together a list of the vehicles with the highest claim frequencies. Topping the list is the Dodge Charger HEMI, followed by the Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and the Infiniti Q50. Those three models have claim rates for theft that are 5 times higher than the average model. And rounding out the top 5 are the Infiniti QX80 and the GMC Sierra 1500 crew cab. Nearly all of the 20 models on the list are luxury vehicles or pickups or have big engines. The vehicles with the lowest frequency include the BMW 3 Series, the Tesla Model S, the Tesla Model X, the Chevy Equinox and the Buick Encore. HLDI says Tesla has low theft rates because the vehicles are usually parked in garages or close to homes so they can charge. And EVs from any brand on average have lower theft claim rates than comparable cars. I guess the chop shops just don’t see any need to steal them.
The United States and Russia have never been warm and cozy with each other. So how did a Soviet-era Lada end up in the US? That will be one of the topics on today’s Autoline After Hours. One of our viewers, Julian Azariah, will bring his Soviet classic into the studio, a 1985 Lada 2101. Of course, we’ll also be diving into a bunch of other fun and controversial things going on in the industry so join me and Gary Vasilash for some of the best insights on what’s driving this industry. Also joining us is Jason Fogelson, from, Ridetech who will bring us up to speed on Harley Dadvidson’s new electric LiveWire motorcycle.
BENTLEY’S FLYING BEES
You may know that there is a global crisis with honey bees. For some reason their population is being decimated. So Bentley is stepping in to try and help. It installed bee hives that house 120,000 honey bees at its assembly plant in Crewe, England. It also planted a bunch of wild flowers that the bees like. Historically the hood ornament on Bentleys was nicknamed the flying B. So having a bunch of flying bees ties right in with the company’s heritage.
But that wraps up today’s report, 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.