AD #2950 – Are Big Grilles on The Way Out?; Hyundai Rehires Luc Donckerwolke; Mercedes May Use Geely EV Skateboard

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

2-SPEED EV TRANSMISSION IMPROVES RANGE & ACCELERATION
One of the ways to track the growing interest in electric cars is to look at all the investment that’s going into making EV components. A Canadian company called Inmotive designed a 2-speed gearbox for EVs. Even though electric vehicles can operate with a 1-speed transmission, Inmotive says a second gear extends range by 7% to 15% and improves acceleration by 15%. That allows for a smaller battery, which cuts cost. The transmission itself only costs $150.

NIDEC PLANS EV MOTOR PLANT IN EUROPE
A Japanese company called Nidec just finished building a factory in China to make electric motors for EVs. And now it’s going to invest nearly $2 billion to build a factory in Serbia to make them too. It will open in 2023 with the capacity to make up to 300,000 motors a year.

FOXCONN REVEALS EV SKATEBOARD
You may have already heard that Foxconn, the Taiwanese company that makes most of Apple’s products, is coming out with its own EV skateboard, called MIH. It will have a solid-state battery and will be available in 2024. Foxconn says it is an open source hardware and software platform which lowers the barrier of entry for other developers to get involved in the EV industry. 

MERCEDES MAY USE GEELY EV SKATEBOARD
And could this skateboard be the one that Mercedes-Benz ends up using? Actually, this skateboard was developed by Chinese automaker Geely. Like the Foxconn skateboard, it’s an open source platform, and Geely wants to use it for all its brands like Lynk and Co., Volvo and Polestar. And maybe Mercedes-Benz. Geely owns almost 10% of Daimler, the parent company of Mercedes. Sharing this skateboard, which cost $2.6 billion to develop, across as many brands as possible would drive down costs significantly.

VOLVO BRINGS EV MOTOR DEVELOPMENT IN-HOUSE
Volvo has ambitious plans to boost EV sales. By 2025, it’s aiming for 50% of its sales to be fully electric, with the rest hybrids. And in order to reach that goal, the automaker is making investments to design and develop electric motors in-house. It just opened a new electric motor lab in Shanghai that will mainly focus on developing electric motors for vehicles based on its SPA 2 modular architecture. In addition to that, the company already has an e-motor lab in Gothenburg as well as battery labs in Sweden and China. By bringing electric motor development in-house, Volvo says it will allow engineers to fine tune them so they’re more energy efficient and improve their overall performance.

FORD EXPECTS 100K ACTIVE DRIVE ASSIST SALES IN FIRST YEAR
Ford is getting ready to roll out its hand-free driving system called Active Drive Assist. It will first be available in the 2021 F-150 and the new Mustang Mach-E. Customers can order the system now but it won’t be activated until the third-quarter of next year via an over-the-air update. Ford expects to sell more than 100,000 vehicles with Active Drive Assist in its first year. It comes standard on higher end models or it’s available as a $1,500 option, which means it will generate around $150 million in revenue in its first year. Active Drive Assist allows for hands-free driving on highways and major roads that have been mapped.

EXECS PROPOSE TRANSPORTATION POLICIES
It doesn’t seem like a day goes by without a headline for someone working on a new robo-taxi or passenger drone service, but currently there’s no rules or regulations in place to govern these mobility solutions. So, a number of companies and experts are banding together in an effort to change that. The Commission on the Future of Mobility was set up to modernize policy and regulation around the way we move people and goods. Companies like Qualcomm, FedEx, Goodyear Tire and Hyundai have already joined. Even former Ford CEO Jim Hackett will co-chair the commission. The group hopes to propose a new mobility framework in 2022.

HYUNDAI REHIRES LUC DONCKERWOLKE
The Hyundai Group must really like designer Luc Donckerwolke. He joined the company in 2016 and eventually worked his way up to Chief Design Officer, taking over for the legendary Peter Schreyer. But in March, Donckerwolke abruptly retired for health and personal reasons. Now the Hyundai Group has announced Luc is back and it even created a new position for him, Chief Creative Officer. In the new role, Donckerwolke will collaborate with the Group’s various design studios on their development and design communication for concept vehicles. Not only does that include Hyundai and Kia, but also Genesis and its dedicated BEV brand IONIQ. 

IS GIANT GRILLE FAD ON THE WAY OUT?
We’ve been saying that EVs with traditional-looking grilles will look dated faster than EVs without one. But one thing struck me while watching the reveal video for the new GMC Hummer EV, I think in the next 5 years or so, any vehicle with a grille is going to start looking out of place. EVs don’t have an engine and therefore don’t need a big opening at the front for increased airflow. That’s coming through in the design of many new EVs. And without the need for traditional ICE components, like an engine, transmission and exhaust system, we’re starting to see electric vehicles with much different form factors than we’re used to. The Jaguar I-Pace, Tesla Model X and Honda-e come to mind. And in the near future we’ll have the Lucid Air, Cadillac Lyriq and Nissan Ariya. Once all these vehicles are together on the road, everything else is going to look like that person that still dresses like it’s the 1980’s. We think this could actually help speed up the adoption of EVs. No one likes feeling left behind, especially when it comes to fashion. But that’s not all. For the same reasons, we also think this will kill the giant grille fad. If you don’t need one and it looks dated, why would you put a big grille on an EV? We bet you see more vehicles like the Infiniti QX Inspiration concept that uses lighting and design elements to create the effect of a grille. And there’s a lot of different ways to develop a brand identity going down that path.

INFICON DEVELOPS NEW BATTERY TESTING PROCESS
We know vehicles catch on fire, whether they’re powered by gas, diesel or electrons. But with EVs being the new hotness, they’re grabbing all the headlines, which is not going to help with adoption. One of the causes of the fires is leaks in the battery cells themselves and leak detection experts INFICON recently came up with a new way of testing battery cells even after they’re filled with electrolyte. Here’s how that process works. 

(INFICON soundbite is only available in the video version of today’s show.)

Check out that entire interview if you like to learn more about leak detection and leak testing of battery cells.

But that’s it for today’s show, thanks for watching.