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Runtime: 8:08
0:08 California Won’t Buy GM, Toyota or FCA Vehicles
1:11 European Car Sales Up in October
1:58 Sales in India Continue to Slide
2:47 More Ford Mustang Mach-E Details
4:38 Europe Trying to Grow Hydrogen Segment
5:42 Mitsubishi Reveals New Mirage & Attrage
6:15 New Airbag Keeps Passengers from Colliding
6:45 Breakdowns Cost the Economy Billions
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This is Autoline Daily reporting on all aspects of the global automotive industry.
CALIFORNIA WON’T BUY GM, TOYOTA OR FCA VEHICLES
The fight between the State of California and the Trump Administration is heating up, with California dealing the latest blows. On Friday, California along with 22 other states filed a lawsuit against the Administration for trying to revoke its ability to set its own emission regulations and require automakers to sell more zero emission vehicles. Now the state is saying it will no longer buy new vehicles for state-owned fleets from GM, Toyota, FCA or any other automaker that backs the Trump Administration’s fight against it. California instead will only buy vehicles from automakers that have come to its defense, like Ford, Honda, BMW and VW. Reuters reports that between 2016 and 2018, California purchased $58.6 million of GM’s vehicles, $55.8 million of FCAs and $10.6 million in Toyota vehicles.
EUROPEAN CAR SALES UP IN OCTOBER
Passenger car sales in Europe were up for the second straight month in October. According to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association, automakers sold 1.18 million vehicles, which is a gain of nearly 9% compared to a year ago. The big boost is mainly due to poor sales last October after the new WLTP emission test went into effect, which hurt sales. The United Kingdom was the only major market to post a loss in October. But while sales rebounded in October, through the first ten months of the year, car sales are down 0.7% in Europe, which means the region will likely see a full-year decline for 2019.
SALES IN INDIA CONTINUE TO SLIDE
But while the car market in Europe is a bit of a mixed bag, over in India, things aren’t looking good for automakers. According to Wards Intelligence, light vehicle sales hit 340,000 units in October, which is a drop of 1.2%. While that’s not good, it’s not as bad as year-to-date sales. Through the first ten months of the year, automakers have sold 2.9 million light vehicles, a drop of nearly 14%.
| India LV Sales, 2019 | ||
|---|---|---|
| October | 340,011 | -1.2% |
| YTD | 2,969,121 | -13.8% |
FORD MUSTANG MACH-E DETAILS
We’ve got more technical data on the Ford Mach-E. There are two battery sizes, with cells from LG, and they are liquid cooled and heated. A 75 kWh battery will deliver 220-230 miles of driving range. A 98-kWh battery will deliver over 300 miles of range. The base car will be rear wheel drive, with a 210-kW motor. Ford says it will be as fast as a Porsche Macan S. The all-wheel-drive version has an additional 50-kW motor mounted between the front wheels. The Mach-E GT will come with 459 horsepower and 612 pound-feet of torque and will go from 0 to 60 mph in about 3.5 seconds. Ford says it will will be as fast as a 911 GTS.
The Mach-E can use 150-kW fast chargers that will deliver 47 miles of range in 10 minutes. You can buy a 48-amp, 220-volt charger through Amazon, which will also arrange to have it installed in your home, though no price was announced. It will provide 32 miles of range for every hour of charging. And by using the Ford Pass app on your phone, you can use almost any charging service, instead of having to open different accounts with each one.
And don’t forget that on Autoline After Hours this coming Thursday we’ll have the head of engineering and the head of design of the Mach-E on the program. So if you want to learn a lot more about this car, be sure to tune in at our website, Autoline.tv or on our youtube channel.
EUROPE TRYING TO GROW HYDROGEN SEGMENT
Some people see Hydrogen as a better power source for vehicles than gasoline, diesel or electricity. But so far development has lagged behind the others. The European Union has set a goal to be climate-neutral by 2050 and it’s now encouraging the growth of the hydrogen segment. It has funded two research projects that aim to grow the number of hydrogen stations in the EU. The numbers are still small, but the goal is to add another 49 stations and 1,400 vehicles that can run on hydrogen power. It hopes the growth will inspire businesses and public bodies to invest in hydrogen mobility. The projects end in 2022 because that’s when the Commission can lay down the technical rules of operation for hydrogen vehicles in the EU.
MITSUBISHI REVEALS NEW MIRAGE & ATTRAGE
Here’s the fully revealed versions of the Mitsubishi Mirage, also known as the Space Star, and the Attrage, A.K.A. the Mirage G4 that we teased the other day. Both get the Dynamic Shield grille we’ve seen on other Mitsubishi models as well as front and rear LED lighting. The interior is basic, but uncluttered and features a large display screen in the center of the dash. The sedan and hatchback will first go on sale in Thailand with other markets to follow after it.
NEW AIRBAG KEEPS PASSENGERS FROM COLLIDING
Airbag supplier Autoliv, introduced a new airbag to prevent passengers from hitting each other in an accident. The bag is mounted in the space between the driver and front passenger, to protect them from colliding during a side impact crash. Autoliv says the new airbag helps reduce injuries caused by passengers colliding with each other by up to 80%. Called the Front Center Airbag, it will be equipped in 19 vehicles starting in 2020.
BREAKDOWNS COST THE ECONOMY BILLIONS
When your vehicle breaks down, it can be a big pain in the butt to get it fixed. But drivers aren’t the only ones inconvenienced. A new study from Agero, a company that provides driver assistance software and services, found that breakdowns cost the U.S. economy $41 billion per year. That’s mostly from lost productivity dealing with fixing the car. There are around 69 million breakdowns in the U.S. every year, that cause drivers to spend 260 million hours waiting for help and to get cars repaired. Another 150 million people each year get stuck in traffic caused by breakdowns, which costs $2 billion. And breakdowns can also be dangerous. In 2017, 980 towers were injured on the job and more than 700 drivers are killed every year while trying to take care of a breakdown.
But that’s it for today’s show, 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.
