AD #2883 – Average Vehicle Age Hits New High; Cadillac Trademarking More “IQ” Names; Battery Recycling More Important

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

MOST AUTOMAKERS EXPECT GRIM Q2 RESULTS
Automakers are reporting their second quarter earnings this week and the numbers are going to be grim. In Japan, Nissan announced it expects to lose $4.5 billion. Mitsubishi announced that it’s mostly abandoning the European market and will lose $1.3 billion this fiscal year. In the U.S., GM, Ford and FCA will probably announce losses that collectively top $10 billion. But in Europe, PSA just reported that it made a net profit of nearly $700 million for the first half of the year. Carlos Tavares, the CEO of PSA, says they’re seeing especially strong sales of the new Peugeot 208 and the Opel Corsa. Tavares is seen as an exceptional executive in the industry, and these results are going to make him look better still.

KOREAN HOUSEHOLDS HIT TWO VEHICLE AVERAGE
Now let’s jump over to South Korea, where car sales set a record in June, partly because taxes on cars were about to go up. But an analysis by LMC Automotive says Korea has entered an era of two-car households. And it says that’s because of the Coronavirus pandemic. Many Koreans are buying cars instead of using public transportation. LMC says Koreans actually see cars as a form of PPE. Unlike many other countries, South Koreans wholeheartedly embraced virus safety protocols. As a result its auto industry never shut down and is now recovering faster than anywhere else.

JLR HIRES FORMER RENAULT CEO AS NEW LEADER
Jaguar Land Rover has a new leader. It hired former Renault CEO Thierry Bollore as its new Chief Executive Officer. He will take over starting September 10th. Bollore replaces Ralf Speth, who earlier this year announced he was retiring from the company once his contract ran out in September.

AVERAGE VEHICLE AGE HIT NEW HIGH
Cars in the U.S. keep getting older. According to a new study from IHS Markit, the average age of light vehicles in operation in the U.S. is now 11.9 years, about one month older than in 2019. Several factors have contributed to the increase. Even though the number of vehicles being scrapped is up and would lead to a drop in age, sales of new vehicles have plateaued. So with new cars accounting for a smaller share of the overall vehicle population, it’s not causing the average age to decline. The pandemic is also causing owners to hang on to their vehicles. In the coming years, this could increase the average age of cars, by as much as six months. But even though vehicles keep getting older, the U.S. vehicle population this year is estimated to hit 280 million vehicles, up 1% from 2019. IHS says this scenario could represent a big opportunity for the aftermarket and vehicle service centers.

CADILLAC FILES TRADEMARK FOR NEW “IQ” NAMES
Cadillac filed a trademark for two more names that end in “iq,” which is pronounced “ick.” We’ve reported on the Lyriq SUV and Celestiq, a hand-built sedan, and now it’s going after the names Optiq and Symboliq. Here’s our Autoline Insight. Cadillac could have easily gone into the archives for names like Eldorado or Brougham, but clearly wants to go in a new direction. And it’s really hard to trademark a new name. About every natural land mass, mountain, lake and river in Europe has already been used as a car name. So, coming up with something that isn’t already taken is really hard.

U.S. DEALERS SAY MERCEDES IS SLASHING ITS LINEUP
According to Mercedes’ U.S. dealers, the automaker isn’t just taking an axe to its lineup, it’s packing it full of dynamite. They claim Mercedes will get rid of seven models, none of which have a next-generation model in the works. Those include the 2-door versions of the C-, E- and S-Class as well as the CLS and one GT model. Yes, we know. That’s only five. The others are not clear yet, but we wouldn’t be surprised to see a fastback SUV model or two go away. It’s not surprising to see the coupes on the chopping block. Passenger car sales are down, but 2-door models are even worse off. It’s better for Mercedes to take the money it would have spent developing the new models and pump it into areas like electrification and autonomy.

MERCEDES TEASES NEW SMALL VAN
Speaking of Mercedes, it teased a new small van, called the T-Class. This is the only picture, so we’ll keep this short. It will be offered with a number of propulsion systems, including full electric. Mercedes already sells the small Citan van, which will continue to be geared toward commercial customers, while the T-Class will focus families. The T-Class is expected to be out in the first half of 2022.

Are you interested in learning more about the new Ford Broncos? We have a terrific Autoline After Hours coming up Thursday afternoon when our guest will be Paul Wraith, the head of design for the Broncos. How and why did they choose the styling direction they took? Join John and Gary for a front row seat on how it all came together.

BATTERY RECYCLING BECOMING MORE IMPORTANT
Ward’s Intelligence cites a battery recycling company that predicts 2024 will be the tipping point when global demand for lithium, cobalt and nickel will outstrip the capacity to mine them. Li-cycle is a Canadian recycling company that says battery recycling will become critically important. It says there will be 15 million tons of waste lithium batteries by 2030. Li-cycle claims it can recycle almost 95% of the materials in a lithium battery, compared to 50% for current processes. Importantly, it does not have to discharge the batteries or manually disassemble them, which drastically cuts the cost of recycling. It also predicts few EV batteries will be repurposed because the price of new batteries will come down so much that people will want new ones instead of using old ones.

GM WALKS BACK ON SHIFT CUT
Two weeks ago, GM announced it was cutting the third shift at its Wentzville, Missouri plant, because of high absenteeism due to worker fears over catching COVID. But now the company is back tracking on that plan and will keep the third shift operating by transferring workers from other plants to fill vacancies. GM didn’t disclose how many workers it will transfer to Wentzville. Here’s our Autoline Insight. GM desperately needs that plant open. It makes the Chevy Express and GMC Savana vans but it also builds the Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon pickups. GM needs its pickup plants up and running because that’s where it makes money.

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THIS BUMPER “REPAIR”?
We’ve all seen a vehicle with a bumper that was “repaired” in a less-than-professional manner. Very un-MacGyver-like. But I saw this yesterday and thought it was super clever. It’s just like those folders that are held closed with a string. So, what do you think? And please share any similar fun stories that you might have. I’ll also add this one, just because I like it so much. This owner with a hole in their bumper stuffed it full of pretty flowers. Well, at least they were once pretty.

But that’s a wrap for this show. Thanks for joining us and we hope to see you again tomorrow.