AD #2838 – New CATL Battery Reduces Cost; Tesla Working on Million Mile Battery; Renault Axing Sedans & Minivans

This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.

NEW CATL BATTERY GREATLY REDUCES COST
Very important news in the world of electric cars today. Reuters reports that CATL, the giant Chinese battery maker, is coming out with battery packs that cost less than $80/kWh. The battery cell cost is below $60/kWh. The batteries use a lithium iron phosphate chemistry and no cobalt in the cathode. Automakers have said that pack costs at $80/kWh puts mid-market EVs at cost parity with traditional ICE powertrains. However, this battery chemistry is slightly less efficient, so the tradeoff for lower costs is lower driving range.

TESLA & CATL WORKING ON MILLION MILE BATTERY LIFE
And here’s where the story gets even more interesting. Tesla is working with CATL to develop an EV battery that will last 1 million miles. Elon Musk has talked about the million mile battery before, but never mentioned that it was being developed with CATL. Reuters says Tesla will launch the battery in China first, and will make the announcement later this month at its “Battery Day” presentation to investors and the public. It will be an NMC battery, or Nickel-Manganese-Copper chemistry with only 20% cobalt, and will start going into Chinese made Model 3s late this year or early next year. Eventually improved versions of that battery will make its way to other markets including the U.S. Reuters also reports that Tesla is going to unveil a new manufacturing process for batteries in massive Terafactories that are 30 times bigger than its Gigafactory in Reno, Nevada. These batteries will also be used for power storage for electric utilities and Reuters reports that Elon Musk is going to reposition Tesla as a power company that will compete against traditional electric utilities. Tesla stock jumped $36 a share after the story broke yesterday.

RENAULT AXING SEDANS & MINIVANS
Ford and FCA were criticized and even ridiculed for getting rid of most of their passenger cars in the North American market. But now the same thing is starting to happen in Europe. Renault is going to announce cost cutting plans that will see some well-known models get axed. Reuters reports that the automaker is targeting poor selling sedans and minivans so it can focus on CUVs and SUVs. The Espace, Scenic and Talisman reportedly will be the first to get axed. Renault will announce at the end of the month how it plans to cut 2 billion euros in cost over the next 3 years.

HEAD OF NISSAN NORTH AMERICA STEPS DOWN
We reported the other day that Renault’s alliance partner Nissan would announce similar plans soon and we may have seen the first casualty of that move. José Luis Valls, the head of Nissan North America announced he’s stepping down from that position, effective June 15th. Nissan hasn’t performed well in the American market and Valls was not likely to survive the restructuring. He is being replaced by Jeremie Papin, who will oversee the region as vice chairman.

INFINITI APPOINTS NEW CHAIRMAN
And Infiniti is appointing Peyman Kargar to senior vice-president and chairman of the company on June 1st. Kargar replaces Mike Colleran who will be head of sales and marketing for Nissan in the U.S.

GM PLANT GOING 100% SOLAR
Last month, GM announced that its facilities in southeast Michigan will be powered completely by wind or solar energy by 2023. And now it says that its plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee, its largest in North America, will be powered by 100% solar energy by 2022. It partnered with the Tennessee Valley Authority to supply up to 100 megawatts of solar energy per year. The plant builds the GMC Acadia and the Cadillac XT5 and XT6, as well as several engines. This green initiative is part of GM’s goal to have its U.S. operations powered by 100% renewable energy by 2030.

PRICE OF ESCALADE SUPER CRUISE FEATURE REVEALED
The price of GM’s updated Super Cruise system in the new Cadillac Escalade will depend on the trim level. The feature is listed for $2,500, but for the two trim levels above the base model, it also requires the Driver Assist and Technology Package, which adds another $3,650 to the price. That package is standard on higher trim levels. Super Cruise will not be offered on the base 2021 Escalade.

NEW CADILLAC ESCALADE W/ V8 LESS EFFICIENT
Speaking of the Escalade, the EPA put out estimates for the SUV with its 6.2L V8 and the numbers aren’t good. With RWD it’s estimated to get 15 MPG in the city, 20 on the highway and 17 combined. That’s a 1 MPG improvement in the city over the outgoing model with the same engine, but 3 MPG worse on the highway. AWD knocks all those numbers down by 1 MPG, which returns the same city number as the old Escalade but is 2 MPG thirstier on the highway. With poor results like these, I think it’s clear why the Escalade is getting a diesel engine.

GM’S CRUISE CUTTING JOBS
The auto industry isn’t as bullish on autonomous vehicles as it was a couple of years ago. And that was before the COVID pandemic. Now, automakers and suppliers are cutting spending on autonomous technology in order to save cash during the crisis. Reuters reports that GM’s self-driving unit Cruise will lay off about 8% of its workforce or about 140 jobs.

NVIDIA SHIFTS FOCUS FROM AV TO ADAS
And the chipmaker Nvidia, which was developing technology for autonomous vehicles, announced it will instead focus on driver assistance systems. It’s developed a new chip that can support every level of automation. That way automakers can save on engineering and use some self-driving technology to improve driver assistance systems. The system can be updated through OTA updates and Nvidia expects to see it in production vehicles in 2023.

STILL GET YOUR CLASSIC CAR FIX
Another sad day for classic car lovers. The Concours d’Elegance of America held in Plymouth, Michigan is being postponed until July of 2021. But it’s not all bad news. Mercedes has a way for you to get your classic car fix. A Mercedes-Benz Museum guide is hosting episodes on Instagram TV that takes people through some of the dream cars from its collection. Each video is 6 to 9 minutes long and takes you behind doors and under hoods. The best part is you’ll probably see features that you wouldn’t normally see if going through the museum on your own.

IIHS’ RECOMMENDATIONS TO IMPROVE ADAS
Driver assistance systems are meant to aid the driving process, but at times they feel like they’re holding the driver back. The IIHS recently released a set of recommendations for improving these systems and in an interview with David Harkey, President of the IIHS, he shares how a feature like Lane Centering could be improved upon.

David Harkey, President, IIHS
“You want the system to help and assist you, hence its name, in keeping you out of dangerous situations. So, if you start to encroach over an edge line and perhaps start to run off the edge of the roadway, you want that system to correct that situation and put you back in the lane. Or if you start to get too close to a lane line encroaching perhaps onto another vehicle in the adjacent lane, you want that system to recenter you. But one of the things that happens with some of these systems is they are a little too aggressive and they do not like to share control with you as the driver. And so if you’re passing a large truck, for example, and you’re more comfortable being, not in the center of the lane but away from the truck a little more, sometimes the systems will not allow you to get out of the center of that lane and it will actually kick you out of the system at times. And so that’s one of the things that we think is really important, is that the system allows you to share control, for you to be in control as the driver. Remember these are supposed to be systems that assist you, not take over for you. And so we want it to take over when you’re in those dangerous situations but otherwise we want you to drive in a way that you feel comfortable.”

To get all of the IIHS’ recommendations for improving Advanced Driver Assistance Systems you can watch that entire interview right now on our YouTube channel.

IIHS TO LIVESTREAM CRASH PROCEDEURES
And speaking of the IIHS, if you’re interested in how it crash tests vehicles, it’s going to hold a livestream on its Facebook and YouTube pages on Monday the 18th at 1PM eastern time, to discuss its procedures.

But that’s it for today, thanks for watching and we’ll see you back here again on Monday.