AD #2698 – GM & UAW Reach Tentative Deal, NHTSA to Revamp 5-Star Rating, Tesla Gets China Approval

This is Autoline Daily reporting on all aspects of the global automotive industry.

GM & UAW REACH TENTATIVE AGREEMENT
The UAW and GM reached a tentative agreement on a new contract. Bloomberg reports, the deal includes a $9 billion investment in U.S. plants, 9,000 new or retained jobs and bonuses of more than $8,000. Workers will get a 3% boost in pay in some years of the deal and 4% lump sum payments in others. The new contract still needs to be ratified by members but it looks like the strike, which has lasted more than a month, is finally coming to an end.

NHTSA TO REVAMP 5-STAR RATING SYSTEM
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is revamping its crash test procedures. Without getting into specifics, the agency said the upgrades will include new technologies, new test procedures, updates to vehicle labeling and advancements in crash-test dummies. Also factoring into its 5-star rating program will be pedestrian protection technology. NHTSA will release its plans next year for public comments.

FCA FINED FOR MISSING FUEL ECONOMY TARGETS
And speaking of NHTSA, it fined FCA nearly $80 million for missing fuel economy targets for the 2017 model year. But it’s not alone, 13 of the 18 major automakers in the U.S. failed to comply with the standards. Automakers are having a harder time achieving the goals. In 2016, the vehicle fleet was half an MPG behind the 32.8 MPG standard. In 2017, that grew to 1.5 MPG behind the 33.8 target.

TOYOTA YARIS UPDATE
We have an update from yesterday’s show. Toyota’s Product Communications team reached out to us to clarify that the all-new Yaris will not be sold in the U.S., only Japan, Europe and Australia. North America will continue to offer the Yaris sedan and hatchback built in the Mazda plant in Mexico.

TOYOTA REVEALS TINY BEV
And Toyota has another vehicle it’s revealing ahead of the Tokyo auto show. The Ultra-Compact BEV is small in stature, it’s just under 2.5 meters long or a little over 8 feet, and has seating for two. Toyota says it will have a range of up to 100 kilometers or roughly 62 miles, a top speed of 60 km/h or about 37 MPH and a short turning radius. The automaker will show off the EV with a number of other electric concepts, but it says this one is scheduled to go on sale in Japan next year.

CONTINENTAL & 3M TEAM TO HELP AVs
We keep reporting on all the technology being developed for autonomous cars, but sometimes you have to consider low-tech solutions for a world of AVs. The suppliers Continental and 3M are joining forces to address infrastructure needs for self driving vehicles. One of the areas they’ll explore includes pavement markings, and film for signs and landmarks near roads. Developing cars that can drive themselves is a huge technological effort, but making sure that infrastructure is ready for AVs is just as important.

CHINA EV POLICY BACKFIRES
China set a goal of dominating the global market for electric cars, but its plan kind of backfired. Now it’s using more imported oil than ever before. The problem is that China gave automakers very generous credits for making electric cars. Automakers could use those credits to offset their sales of cars with internal combustion engines. Only thing is, the credits for electrics were too generous. LMC Automotive reports that automakers in China did not improve the fuel efficiency of their piston engines. They just used EV credits to offset that. As a result China now imports 70% of all the oil it uses. It’s a perfect example of the law of unintended consequences, and now Chinese regulators are scrambling to fix their policy.

VOLVO SHOWS ELECTRIC XC40
Here’s the all-electric version of the XC40 that Volvo has been talking so much about lately. Called the XC40 Recharge, it will have all-wheel drive, 400+ horsepower and 400-kilometers of range based on the WLTP test. That will likely come down to about 220-miles of EPA range. Volvo says Recharge is the name it will use for all of its plug-ins going forward and it hopes that EVs will account for 50% of its sales by 2025, with the rest being hybrids.

TESLA GETS APPROVAL TO MAKE CARS IN CHINA
Big news for Tesla. China added the EV maker to its list of approved automotive manufacturers, which means it can start production any time now. Tesla has set a goal to make 1,000 Model 3’s a week at its new factory in Shanghai.

FORD LAYS OUT CHARGING OPTIONS FOR EV OWNERS
In other EV news, Ford is working to make sure customers of its electric vehicles have access to charging anytime they need it. In North America, every EV it sells will come with a charger that can be plugged in to both a 120- and 240-volt outlet as well as 2 years of free charging in the FordPass Charging Network, which has a total of 12,000 charging stations, including all of Electrify America’s DC fast chargers. In Europe, Ford will offer a similar charging cable that can be used regardless of the power available at the home socket and access to a charging network that includes 125,000 locations in 21 countries. Both regions will also have access to an at-home charging station. All of this can be controlled, monitored and paid for through the FordPass app, which the automaker recently announced it will offer for free.

And be sure to join us for Autoline After Hours this afternoon, when Bob Lutz will be our guest. Never at a loss for words, and always ready with an opinion on anything automotive, this is going to be a show you will not want to miss. If you have any questions for Maximum Bob, send them our way to viewermail@autoline.tv or tweet one to us to @autoline. That’s today at 3PM eastern time on our website, Autoline.tv.

But that wraps up today’s show, thanks for watching and we’ll see you again tomorrow.