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Runtime: 7:12
0:07 Hyundai And Aptiv Form AV Joint Venture
0:51 UAW Strike Continues into Second Week
1:42 Global Sales Beginning to Slow
2:54 Tata Motors Plans New EV
3:16 Arcimoto Gearing Up for EV Launch
3:52 Faraday Future Plans New Attack
4:59 Porsche & Holoride Test VR Technology
5:52 FCA Hiring Gamers for Design
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This is Autoline Daily reporting on all aspects of the global automotive industry.
HYUNDAI AND APTIV FORM AV JOINT VENTURE
All the major automakers in the world are investing heavily in autonomous vehicles and we wondered if Hyundai was ever going to get in on the action. Well, it is. The Hyundai Group and Aptiv, the technology company that was spun off from Delphi in 2017, are forming an autonomous driving joint venture, which is valued at $4 billion. They will start testing Level 4 and 5 driverless vehicles next year and by 2022 they plan to have a production-ready AV platform “available for robotaxi providers, fleet operators, and automotive manufacturers.” The new JV for AVs will be headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.
UAW STRIKE CONTINUES INTO SECOND WEEK
That UAW strike against GM keeps grinding on and we’re predicting it will go on for at least another week. One of the areas of contention is the use of temporary workers. GM says it needs temps for new model launches when it has to temporarily staff up, and to fill in when full time workers go on vacation. But the UAW wants to eliminate temps, or at least have them earn as much and get profit sharing like full time workers. About 7% of GM’s hourly workforce in the U.S. are temps and they make a lot less money than traditional UAW workers. But at the non-union transplant factories, about 20% of the workforce are temporary workers, which gives them a considerable labor cost advantage over General Motors.
GLOBAL SALES BEGINNING TO SLOW
Uh-oh. The global auto industry is really starting to slow down. We’ve seen sales slow in China, India and Europe and the news out of South America is looking pretty bleak as well. Wards reports that sales in South America were down more than 9% in August and they’re down more than 6% for the year. What’s astonishing is that 23 Chinese automakers now sell cars and heavy trucks in South America. While their sales numbers are small right now, you’ve just got to believe that they’re going to grow over time.
TATA MOTORS PLANS NEW EV
To reduce pollution and its dependence on fossil fuel, the Indian government is offering new incentives and tax cuts on EVs. That encouraged Tata Motors, the parent company of Jaguar Land Rover to develop a new electric vehicle with about 155 miles of range for the Indian market. The unnamed vehicle will be out next year.
ARCIMOTO GEARING UP FOR EV LAUNCH
And we imagine it could easily look like something like this, the Arcimoto three-wheeled, 2-seat electric. It has a range of roughly 100 miles and can travel up to 75 miles-per-hour. The company recently announced it’s starting production and will soon make deliveries to customers in California, Oregon and Washington. The launch edition is priced just under $20,000 before rebates. Other highlights include removable doors, Bluetooth speakers and lockable rear storage.
FARADAY FUTURE PLANS NEW ATTACK
Speaking of electrics, Faraday Future’s future is looking somewhat more promising. You may remember that Faraday was going to build a big, green-field assembly plant just outside of Las Vegas but it ran out of money to do that. So now Faraday will use an old Pirelli tire plant in California that will make about 10,000 cars a year. Up first is the FF 91, Faraday’s newest flagship model which boasts 1,050 hp and all-wheel-drive range of 378 miles, with a 0-60 time under 3 seconds and a price tag of $175,000. Faraday plans to have the FF 91 in production by September 2020, and its smaller Tesla-like FF 81 is expected to be produced in the beginning of 2022.
PORSCHE & HOLORIDE TEST VR TECHNOLOGY
At this year’s CES, Audi and startup company Holoride showed off virtual reality technology that links a VR headset with sensors and the vehicle so content can adapt to the vehicle’s movement in real time. It has to adapt to the car’s movement or a lot of people will start getting car sick and throw up. And now Porsche partnered with Holoride and media company Discovery, to show off the technology in its vehicles. Passengers can choose an underwater adventure through time or a drone flight moving through a futuristic city. The idea is to entertain passengers and the technology is ideally suited for autonomous vehicles. Holoride is an open source platform, so we could see other automakers use the technology if it becomes popular.
FCA HIRING GAMERS FOR DESIGN
And speaking of video games and vehicles, when Ralph Gilles, the head of design at FCA, was on Autoline After Hours he talked about hiring people out of the gaming industry.
(The AAH preview is only available in the video version of today’s show.)
Ralph explains that the platform inside the car is getting more powerful so they need people like gamers or from IT to help with the complexity of the systems. You can watch that show on our website or on our YouTube channel.
But that’s it for today, thanks for watching.
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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.