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Runtime: 10:58
0:07 Daimler Denies EV Production Cut
0:38 EU Deadline for Advanced Safety Coming Up
1:30 GM Building New Performance Center in Charlotte
2:44 Supplier Industry Outlook
4:23 Waymo Expands Autonomous Testing
4:55 Tesla Now 2nd Most Valuable Automaker
5:33 WWII Bombs Found at Tesla’s German Site
6:24 All-New Cadillac Escalade Teased
6:41 Chevy Teams with Realtree For Limited Silverado
7:23 Mercedes Reveals the New E-Class
8:17 Diesel Sales Up in The U.S.
8:57 Ram 1500 Impressions
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This is Autoline Daily reporting on all aspects of the global automotive industry.
DAIMLER DENIES EV PRODUCTION CUT
Yesterday we reported that Daimler had to cut production targets of the all-electric EQC in half due to a battery cell shortage from supplier LG Chem. Today Daimler is denying it all. It says it has not changed its production plans and intends to build 50,000 EQCs this year. I guess we’ll have to wait and see, but last year Daimler said it would sell 25,000 EQC’s but only made 7,000.
EU DEADLINE FOR ADVANCED SAFETY COMING UP
There were more than 25,000 traffic-related deaths in the European Union in 2017. And now automakers are coming up on a deadline that will force them to install advanced safety systems on their vehicles before they can sell them. And this includes all vehicles, including vans and buses, starting from the middle of 2022. This includes intelligent speed control, driver monitoring systems and event data recorders. Cars and vans will need to have emergency braking and lane-keeping systems as well as enlarged head-impact protection zones. Trucks and buses must be designed to reduce blind spots and have pedestrian detection systems. This should reduce fatalities by 21,000 people between 2021 and 2037.
GM BUILDING NEW PERFORMANCE CENTER IN CHARLOTTE
General Motors is dead serious about its motor racing activities. It’s building an R&D center in Charlotte, North Carolina that is dedicated exclusively to motor racing. It’s a good size, 75,000 square feet, and will include driver-in-the-loop simulators, as well as equipment for vehicle simulation and aerodynamic development. The driver-in-the-loop simulator allows for virtually testing at any race track under a variety of simulated conditions. It can test vehicle software, electronic control units, as well as traditional hardware such as springs, dampers, stabilizer bars, chassis control systems, anti-lock brakes and stability control. Ford actually used one of these to develop the Mustang Mach-E and engineers there credit it with greatly accelerating the development of the Mach-E.
SUPPLIER INDUSTRY OUTLOOK
For years, we’ve talked about consolidation in the supplier industry, but a number of suppliers have spun off their high-tech operations recently and at CES I saw a bunch of companies that I have never even heard of. It almost seems like there’s more suppliers. So where is all this going? On Autoline This Week, Julie Fream, the President and CEO of the Original Equipment Suppliers Association, shares her insight as to where the supplier industry is heading.
Julie Fream, President and CEO, OESA
“What I see happening is, as these smaller, innovative companies come on the scene, they start to look at what it really takes to make 100,000 or 200,000 or half a million (units). And suddenly the reality of the production line and delivering that kind of volume to the industry hits home. And that’s when they look out and say “boy is there someone that can help us do this.” So it may be an acquisition where a larger company buys that technology and integrates it into their own. It can be unique partnerships. We are seeing different kinds of partnerships evolve, particularly as we look at some of the new technologies from battery electric vehicles or automated vehicles. It just a different world that we’ve talked about, it’s changing and so that dynamic is something that the suppliers are adjusting to.”
For more about the struggles and opportunities facing the supplier industry, you can watch that show right now on our website Autoline.tv or you can find it on our YouTube channel.
WAYMO EXPANDS AUTONOMOUS TESTING
Waymo is expanding its autonomous vehicle testing. Google’s self-driving unit will start testing its modified Chrysler Pacifica’s and long-haul trucks in Texas and New Mexico this week. The company already tests self-driving cars in Arizona, San Francisco and Atlanta. Earlier this month, Waymo revealed that its racked up 20 million miles driven on public roads since 2009 with its fleet of autonomous vehicles.
TESLA NOW 2ND MOST VALUABLE AUTOMAKER
No doubt you heard that Tesla’s market valuation passed $100 billion thanks to its stock more than doubling in the last three months. Now it’s the second most valuable automaker in the world, passing Volkswagen at $99 billion and only behind Toyota at about $233 billion. Elon Musk loves what’s going on. His board of directors gave him some pretty aggressive targets to hit, but with Tesla’s market cap over $100 billion he could be on track to get a pay package worth $350 million.
WWII BOMBS FOUND AT TESLA’S GERMAN SITE
Speaking of Tesla, seven unexploded U.S. bombs from World War II were found at the site where the company will build its plant in Germany. The bombs weigh about 110 pounds each and will be defused by experts. It’s not uncommon to find unexploded bombs from the war in Germany. Reuters reports that an 1,100 pound WWII bomb was found earlier this week in Cologne and a similar one was discovered in Berlin. It’s estimated the U.S. and UK dropped nearly 1.4 million tons of bombs on Germany defeating Hitler and the Third Reich.
ALL-NEW CADILLAC ESCALADE TEASED
We’re getting our first peak at the all-new Cadillac Escalade. It came attached to an announcement that Spike Lee will introduce the SUV in a short film that debuts on February 4th. Looks like the Escalade will be getting some styling inspiration from the XT6.
CHEVY TEAMS WITH REALTREE FOR LIMITED SILVERADO
Outdoors people love to buy aftermarket accessories for their vehicles, but now Chevy is bringing the aftermarket to them. It has teamed with “world’s leading camouflage brand” Realtree to make a limited-edition Silverado. The truck is slathered with Realtree camouflage graphics on the bed sides and door trim as well as featuring the Realtree logo in the standard bedliner. Other highlights include a 2-inch lift, 20-inch black wheels, unique tires, locking rear diff, skid plates, Hill Descent Control and a 2-speed transfer case. The Silverado Realtree Edition will go on sale this summer.
MERCEDES REVEALS THE NEW E-CLASS
Mercedes just revealed the new E-Class. It gets updated styling and the front-end no longer features the big Mercedes logo in the grille. It now kind of reminds us of the Ford Fusion. Customers can choose from seven plug-in hybrid variants, which will be offered in the U.S. for the first time, as well as a range of new in-line engines. It’s also available with a number of new or updated driver assistance technology. And the interior features a new steering wheel with touch controls and two, 10.25-inch display screens are standard. We’d like to show you a picture of the interior but unfortunately Mercedes didn’t provide one. The new E-Class will first be offered in Europe starting this summer with China following after that.
DIESEL SALES UP IN THE U.S.
You might think that diesel engines are dead in the water, but they’re doing quite well in the U.S. market, with sales up 2% last year. However, that includes Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Porsche, Jaguar and Land Rover, which pretty much backed out of selling diesels last year. If you look at only sales of diesel pickup trucks, commercial vans and SUVs, sales were up nearly 4%. But there were some notable flops. Sales of the diesel Chevrolet Colorado and Equinox, and GMC Canyon fell 50%, and the Nissan Titan diesel was down 37%.
RAM 1500 IMPRESSIONS
We get a lot of vehicles coming through the Autoline Garage and I just finished test driving a Ram 1500 Limited Crew Cab 4×4. It’s hard to believe this is actually a work truck. The interior looks more like a custom fitted pinstripe suit from Savile Row. And the sticker price reflects that kind of luxury: a whopping $75,850 which includes nearly $19,000 worth of options. $5,000 of that is for the diesel engine alone, which I found to be quite noisy and clattery while accelerating, but silky smooth and quiet when cruising at a steady speed. It also delivered 22 miles per gallon, which is 2 mpgs less than the EPA rating, but this was in cold winter conditions with the seat heater and heater fan on all the time. Funny, but I found that there was more lag in changing Sirius XM radio stations than there was turbo lag. I used to think that U-Connect was terrific, but on this truck it took multiple taps on the screen and a noticeable lag time when choosing any pre-set stations. If they can fix that, this is an impressive pickup.
But that wraps up today’s show, thanks for watching and have a great weekend.
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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.