AD #2961 – PSA CEO Says No More ICEs; Jeep Wrangler Gets a V8; Tesla Getting Added to S&P 500

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

Speaking of global, let’s take a quick trip around the world.

VW GETTING READY TO SELL LAMBO & DUCATI
We start in Germany, where Volkswagen is getting ready to sell off Lamborghini and Ducati. The sports car and motorcycle makers will go into a separate legal structure that will make it easier to spin them off. VW says it has not decided to sell them yet, but it sure looks like that’s exactly what will happen. VW needs more cash in its quest to take on Tesla.

UK EXPECTED TO PULL FORWARD ICE BAN
OK, let’s cross the Channel to the UK where this week Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to announce a ban on internal combustion engines. The UK already issued an ICE ban for 2040, but in February Johnson moved that up to 2035 and now he’s expected to move it to 2030.

PSA CEO SAYS NO MORE ICEs
A trip through the Chunnel takes us to France, where Peugeot’s CEO Carlos Tavares says that’s it when it comes to internal combustion engines. He says they’re not going to spend one more euro developing ICEs.

BMW TO INCREASE STAKE IN CHINESE JV
Half a world away in China, BMW wants to increase its ownership in Chinese automaker Brilliance. BMW already owns 50% of its joint venture with Brilliance, but Reuters reports it wants to increase that another 25%, giving it full control. But there’s a fly in the ointment. Brilliance is part of a company called Huachen, and Huachen is teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. But it’s also a state owned company and the government is expected to bail it out.

And that’s our quick trip around the world, back in a moment with more news.

FORD APPLIES CUSTOMER-CENTRIC DESIGN TO MAX RECLINE SEATS
A little over a year ago on Autoline This Week we highlighted a new process Ford is using in its product development process, called customer-centric design. It all starts with identifying traits and features that customers might want. And rather than spend time and money on expensive prototypes, they use cheap ones to get quick customer feedback. Then they come up with another quick iteration and get more feedback. Now we’re starting to see the fruits of that process. The big vertical screen in the Mustang Mach-E started out as a piece of cardboard with some things taped on to simulate knobs and buttons. And the Max Recline Seat in the new F-150 that we highlighted yesterday went through the same process. They used hot glue, foam core and pins to build up components on a standard seat frame. And once engineers nailed the design they made a fully functional metal prototype. They refined that for comfort and motion and then made production parts. We talk all the time about how vehicles are so competitive these days, and with customer-centric design, For is not necessarily looking for a home run innovation, but a lot of little improvements that will set it apart from everyone else.

JEEP WRANGLER GETS A V8
Speaking of giving customers what they want, Jeep says its customers wanted a V8 Wrangler, so that’s what they’re getting. The Wrangler Rubicon 392 will snap a nearly 40 year drought of an 8-cylinder in the Wrangler lineup. As you can guess, this new V8 is a little more powerful than the last one. It makes both 470 horsepower and 470 lb-ft of torque. That’s enough to move this vehicle from 0-60 in 4.5 seconds and run the quarter mile in 13-flat. A number of changes were required to shoehorn a V8 into the Wrangler. The suspension geometry is different, the springs and dampers are improved, a bigger rear sway bar and cooling fan is needed, the engine mounts got beefed up and a cross member was added to the front. The V8 took up too much space to fit Dana 60 axles, so it features Dana 44’s with thicker axle tubes and a beefed up gear set. Other highlights include a 1-inch lift over a standard Rubicon, 33-inch tires on 17-inch beadlock wheels, functional hood scoop, tuned exhaust and wheel-mounted paddle shifters, a first for Wrangler. The V8 Wrangler will be available in the first quarter of next year.

MERCEDES EQC GETS NEW STANDARD ON-BOARD CHARGER
It takes a lot longer to charge an electric vehicle at home, so Mercedes will upgrade its EQC to slash the time it takes to charge with alternating current. The electric crossover now comes standard with a water-cooled on-board charger. With an output of 11 kW the 80 kWh battery can be charged from 10% to 100% in 7 and a half hours. While that still is a long time, it’s 3 and a half hours less than before.

TESLA BEING ADDED TO S&P 500
Tesla is by far and away the most valuable automaker in the world and it’s about to get an even bigger boost to its market capitalization. Yesterday, the S&P 500 announced it’s adding Tesla to its index starting on December 21st. That caused the company’s shares to spike in pre-market trading. Reuters reports that Tesla’s shares jumped 11% this morning, adding about $40 billion to its value. If that holds, Tesla will be worth around $440 billion. This is also boosting CEO Elon Musk’s bottom line. The stock price surge increased his net worth by $15 billion, pushing it to $117 billion, making him the third richest person in the world, passing Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg. This is great for Tesla but people who shorted its stock must be pulling their hair out over this.

NHTSA EXPANDS INVESTIGATION INTO TESLA SCREENS GOING BLANK
However, it’s not all good news for Tesla. NHTSA is expanding its investigation into the company’s touchscreens and still may force a recall. Some owners of Model S and Model Xs built before March of 2018, complained that the screen would go blank and they would lose control of certain functions. Last week, Tesla offered an extended warranty to repair or replace the touchscreen’s multimedia card free of charge for vehicles with less than 100,000 miles. But many owners didn’t think this went far enough and NHTSA seems to agree. The agency is viewing this as a safety issue since some important functions can only be accessed through the screen. In an update to the investigation, NHTSA says 10,000 owners have requested a replacement for the MCU in their vehicles and certain build months had a failure rate of 30%. Now NHTSA has expanded its investigation to include nearly 160,000 Model S and Xs and a recall is looking more and more likely.

HUMMER SUV GOES INTO PRODUCTION IN 2023
The new GMC Hummer pickup truck goes into production next September. We already knew that, but the SUV version is coming out later. Autoforecast Solutions says the Hummer SUV starts rolling down the line in January of 2023. Then 6 months later GM will start making long and short wheelbase versions of an electric pickup for Chevrolet.

As the automotive world transitions to electric vehicles, suppliers could be in a beautiful position. They can sell to traditional automakers and to startups. So join us on Autoline After Hours as we explore the future for automotive suppliers with Don Walker the CEO of Magna. Don is about to retire and can speak freely of where he sees things going. That’s this Thursday afternoon at 3 pm eastern time.

DOES MINI’S FUTURE HOLD A MINIVAN?
Could there be a MINI brand minivan or MINI minivan? When the automaker looks into its future it certainly sees a vehicle that would fit that description. MINI revealed the Vision Urbanaut, a space concept that can transform based on mood or environment. Designers started by taping the typical MINI footprint on the floor and then tried to maximize that space. So, basically it’s like a living room on wheels. The interior is very lounge-like and even features a moveable dashboard that can sink into the floor to create additional seating or raise up when manual driving is preferred over autonomy. Lighting on the outside, even elements in the wheels themselves, will change depending on the mood the passengers have selected. While this is clearly a way off concept, it is interesting to see MINI explore segments that it’s not ever associated with.

But that’s all for today. Thanks for watching.