Listen to “AD #2884 – Lucid Motors Shares ADAS Details; GM Earnings Beat Analyst Expectations; Charge Your EV For Free” on Spreaker.
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Runtime: 9:34
0:08 GM Earnings Beat Analyst Expectations
1:07 Hertz to Drastically Cut Its Fleet
1:47 Levandowski Faces Prison Term
2:59 Continental Using Supercomputer to Develop AI
3:48 Lucid Motors Shares ADAS Details
4:32 Hyundai Veloster N Updates
5:27 GM Wants to Maintain Presence in Australia
6:02 Charge Your EV For Free
7:47 What Kind of Truck Is This?
8:17 Ford Updates NAV System for Off-Roading
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This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.
GM EARNINGS BEAT ANALYST EXPECTATIONS
General Motors reported its second quarter earnings, and while it lost money, Wall Street was pleasantly surprised by the numbers. GM sold 1.4 million vehicles worldwide, down nearly half a million units from a year ago. It earned $16.7 billion in revenue, down by almost half, and it posted a net loss of $780 million, compared to a profit of $2.4 billion last year. But here’s why the numbers actually look good. Wall Street expected GM to earn $16.9 billion in revenue, so it didn’t miss by much. Investors expected an EBIT loss of at least $2.6 billion, but GM only lost $536 million. And analysts expected GM to lose $1.76 per share, but it only lost 56 cents. The ‘Street likes what it’s seeing. In pre-market trading this morning, GM stock was up 3%.
| GM Q2, 2020 EARNINGS | ||
|---|---|---|
| Analysts’ Forecast | ||
| Sales | 1.46 million | |
| Revenue | $16.7 billion | $16.9 billion |
| EBIT | -$536 million | -$2.6 billion |
| Net Profit | -$780 million | |
| EPS | -$0.56 | -$1.76 |
| Source: General Motors | ||
HERTZ TO DRASTICALLY CUT ITS FLEET
Well here’s something that could really impact the used car market in the U.S. As part of its bankruptcy settlement, Hertz is going to drastically cut down on the number of cars in its fleet. So it’s about to sell off more than 182,000 cars from now to the end of the year. It hopes to sell anywhere from 9,000 to 48,000 vehicles a month and rake in $3.8 billion, as it tries to pay down over $10 billion in debt. The collapse in the daily rental car business really worries the auto industry. The rental companies buy nearly 2 million new vehicles a year in the U.S. alone.
LEVANDOWSKI FACES PRISON TERM
U.S. prosecutors are throwing the book at Anthony Levandowski, one of the pioneers in autonomous technology. He’s accused of taking documents from Google when he went to work for Uber. He already lost a case in which he was ordered to pay $179 million to Google, and which forced him to file for bankruptcy. Now federal prosecutors want to put him in jail for 27 months, they want three years of supervised release after that, and they want over $756,000 in restitution. All we can say is that the old saying is true, “crime does not pay.”
CONTINENTAL USING SUPERCOMPUTER TO DEVELOP AI
Development cycles are becoming shorter and shorter in the automotive industry. That’s why the German supplier Continental is now using a supercomputer to help accelerate development of artificial intelligence, deep learning and virtual simulation, which will be applied to develop ADAS and autonomous technology. The company is able to simulate real-world test drives, which reduces the time needed for programming. In fact, Continental says the supercomputer reduces development time from weeks to hours. The supercomputer consists of 50 networked NVIDIA DGX units, with each one worth as much as a luxury sports car. Continental’s supercomputer began operating earlier this year in a datacenter in Frankfurt, Germany.
LUCID MOTORS SHARES ADAS DETAILS
EV startup Lucid Motors is sharing more details about its Air sedan, which will debut in an online reveal in September. It will feature an advanced driver assistance system called DreamDrive. The technology suite consists of 19 safety, driving and parking assist features and will be the first to market with the combination of a driver monitoring system and 32 sensors that includes high-resolution LIDAR. Another eight features will be added later through over-the-air updates. DreamDrive is Level 2 capable but the company is also developing Level 3 autonomous capabilities for the system as well. Lucid will start delivering the Air to customers early next year.
HYUNDAI VELOSTER N UPDATES
Hyundai is updating the Veloster N for 2021. It’s now offered with an 8-speed wet dual-clutch-transmission, which was developed in-house by the company. The paddle shifters were moved to the steering wheel and it also comes with new sports seats, which provide extra side bolstering and are over 4 pounds lighter. Other features include a new 8-inch display screen and driver assistance features, both of which are now standard. The new Veloster N arrives at dealerships in October. We recently reviewed the current Veloster N and if you’d like to see our impressions, just click the link in the transcript or description box below.
GM WANTS TO MAINTAIN PRESENCE IN AUSTRALIA
Holden dealers in Australia are already angry with GM and this isn’t going to make them any happier. The automaker filed to trademark the name General Motors Specialty Vehicles or GMSV in Australia and website GM Authority says it will be a joint venture with a local Holden tuner that will sell GM vehicles in Australia. As you’ll remember, GM recently announced it was killing off its Holden division in the country and would exit the market. But now it appears as though it will offer right-hand drive versions of the Camaro, Corvette and Silverado.
CHARGE YOUR EV FOR FREE
Do EVs really need to be charged as fast as possible? Do charging stations have to be located on every street corner, or is there a different way to build up a charging infrastructure? Our West Coast correspondent Chase Drum had a fascinating interview with Andrew Cornelia from Volta Charging, a Silicon Valley startup that has very different ideas on where and how electric cars should be charged up. Even more interesting is that it’s business plan actually relies on charging EVs for free. Take a look.
Andrew Cornelia, Chief of Staff, Volta Charging
“One of our fundamental beliefs is that in the future where you go is where you will fuel. It’s not going to be this model that exists today, which is really the gas station model of going out of your way to fill up your car. So when we think about that and we think about this future of where you go is where you fuel, the need to always be fueling and recharging your vehicle at the fastest rate, at the most powerful rate, is not always applicable. So a lot of our competition, a lot of EV charging companies today, they are talking about higher power output, they’re talking about DC fast. But really when you’re charging your car, while you go see a movie or while you grocery shop, the charging speed, the charging offering, that service amenity really should match the activity or the location where the customer or the EV driver is going. So as we think about planning our network, we really think about a diversified product offering that matches our charging speed and charging offering with the site and with the experience of the EV driver.”
You can find that entire interview as well as all our Autoline Exclusives on our website or YouTube channel.
WHAT KIND OF TRUCK IS THIS?
It’s time for another Wisconsin Barn Find. I picked this picture today because, truth be told, I can’t think of a time we’ve ever featured a truck on Barn Finds. I know y’all will have the answer, but it looks like this particular model was used as a tow truck, at least that’s what the contraption off the back looks like. It also looks like it has dually wheels, which would suggest a beefier model. As always, you can leave your guesses in the comments section.
FORD UPDATES NAV SYSTEM FOR OFF-ROADING
Ford wants to make sure drivers who like to go off the beaten path won’t get lost. The automaker has partnered with Telenav to offer a navigation system that stores maps and continues routing, even if you’re outside network coverage. The system is part of SYNC 4 and it also offers specialized route suggestions for towing and off-roading. The technology is available in the new F-150 and Bronco.
And speaking of the Bronco, if you want to learn about how Ford decided to design the new SUV, join us for Autoline After Hours this Thursday. Our guest will be Paul Wraith, the head of design. We want to know how Ford used customer centric design as it developed the Bronco and Bronco Sport. And if you have questions for Paul, drop us a line at [email protected], or send a tweet to @Autoline. Then join John and Gary for some of the best insider views of what’s going on in the automotive industry.
But that’s it for today’s show, thanks for watching.
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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.
