Listen to “AD #2978 – Aston Reaffirms ICE Commitment; Manley Leads Ferrari CEO Candidates; FCA Minting Money Off Jeeps” on Spreaker.
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Runtime: 9:07
0:39 Mike Manley Leads Ferrari CEO Candidates
1:03 Penske & Roush Team Up to Test Electric Delivery Vans
1:42 Shell to Expand Hydrogen Stations in California
2:46 Aston Martin Reaffirms ICE Commitment
3:54 GM Committed to Developing NEVs With Wuling & SAIC
4:36 Lexus Introduces New E-Drive System for EVs
5:47 Tesla Temporarily Stops Model S and X Production
6:50 Tesla Offering Free Supercharging to Boost Deliveries
7:18 Vauxhall Incentivizes EV Sales
7:55 FCA Minting Money Off Jeeps
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MIKE MANLEY LEADS FERRARI CEO CANDIDATES
Rumors are running rampant about who the next CEO of Ferrari will be. Last week we reported that Louis Camilieri suddenly resigned for personal reasons. Now, an Italian newspaper, Il Messaggero, says that FCA CEO Mike Manley is at the top of the list. He’s the guy who more than doubled Jeep sales over the last decade, and took the brand upscale.
PENSKE & ROUSH TEAM UP TO TEST ELECTRIC DELIVERY VANS
Penske and Roush are teaming up together. But this has nothing to do with motor racing. The Detroit Free Press reports they’re collaborating to test out electric Ford F-650 delivery vans. Roush Clean Tech will convert a small number of F-650s to electric powertrains and Penske Truck Leasing will make them available in California. The trucks get a 138-kilowatt hour battery that will deliver 100 miles of range and carry 8,500 pounds of payload. California’s South Coast Air Quality Management District is paying for the pilot program.
SHELL TO EXPAND HYDROGEN STATIONS IN CALIFORNIA
Fuel Cells are getting a little pick-me-up in California. Shell was awarded over $7 million to expand hydrogen refueling in the state. There’s a total of 51 proposed stations as part of the multi-year program, but this round of funding will be enough for 8 new locations. That will also include opening hydrogen pumps at some of Shell’s current retail locations. So, you could see Hyundai Nexo’s filling up next to Hyundai Tucson’s or Toyota Mirai’s next to Corollas.
ASTON MARTIN REAFFIRMS ICE COMMITMENT
Most EVs can blow the doors off any comparable ICE vehicle, but no electric motor will ever replace the sound of a high-revving engine or the crackle let out of a free-flowing exhaust during a downshift. That’s why Aston Martin says there is “always going to be enthusiasts” who want powerful gasoline powered vehicles, so the historic luxury brand is sticking with ICEs for the next decade and beyond. Aston currently uses V8 and V12 engines to power its vehicles with a new V6 underdevelopment. The V8 is supplied by Mercedes-AMG, which it will continue to be, but it’s going to get tuned in-house. Of course, Aston can’t completely ignore the electrification trend. As you’ll remember, Daimler recently increased its stake in Aston, and its push into EVs will see components sourced from AMG too. An upcoming model will use AMG’s plug-in hybrid technology and then Aston’s first BEV will come sometime in the middle of the decade.
GM COMMITTED TO DEVELOPING NEVs WITH WULING & SAIC
Speaking of EVs, GM says it’s fully committed to continually developing New Energy Vehicles (NEVs) with Chinese joint venture partners SAIC and Wuling. The automakers have launched more than 10 NEVs in China so far and more than 40% of their new vehicle launches over the next 5 years will be electrified. Those models will come from all the brands GM offers in China and cover all major vehicle segments. It will also offer the Ultium EV platform in the country through its partnership with SAIC. The Cadillac Lyriq will be the first, followed by models from Buick and Chevrolet.
LEXUS INTRODUCES NEW E-DRIVE SYSTEM FOR EVs
Lexus introduced a new electric drive control system for its next-generation battery electric and hybrid vehicles. Called DIRECT4, it controls the delivery of drive torque from the front and rear electric motors and braking force to all four wheels. It automatically adjusts the balance of front and rear-wheel drive, to adapt the driving conditions to the driver’s intentions. The system uses a front and rear e-axle, which each feature an electric motor and transaxle. Lexus says it results in the driver feeling more connected with the vehicle. So, now that you’ve gotten used to the names of all-wheel drive systems, like 4MATIC, X-Drive and Quattro for ICE vehicles, we may end up having to learn new ones for EVs too.
TESLA TEMPORARILY STOPS MODEL S AND X PRODUCTION
Elon Musk sent an email to employees on Friday asking them to increase production because demand was outstripping supply. But in a separate email on Friday, Tesla told workers at its assembly plant in California that it would stop making the Model S and X for three weeks starting on Christmas Eve. Last month, Tesla’s sales really slowed down in the U.S. market. Sales of the Model S fell 42% compared to October. The Model X was down 63%, according to estimates from Wards Intelligence. Even the Model 3 and Y were down, 61% and 15%, respectively. But we have to be careful reading too much into this. Tesla always reports a huge sales surge at the end of every quarter. Meanwhile, sales of other luxury EVs did quite well. The Audi eTron and Porsche Taycan were up 18%, and the Jaguar I-Pace was up 27%.
| Tesla U.S. Sales November vs October, 2020 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Model S | 900 | -42% |
| Model X | 700 | -63% |
| Model 3 | 3,000 | -61% |
| Model Y | 7,000 | -15% |
| Audi eTron | 763 | +18% |
| Porsche Taycan | 630 | +18% |
| Jaguar I-Pace | 131 | +27% |
| Source: Wards Intelligence | ||
TESLA OFFERING FREE SUPERCHARGING TO BOOST DELIVERIES
To incentivize sales, Electrek reports that Tesla is offering one year of free unlimited Supercharging for undelivered Model 3 and Model Y vehicles that deliver by December 31st. Tesla is making a hard push to deliver half a million vehicles in 2020, which would be a record for the company. It needs to deliver more than 181,000 vehicles this quarter to hit the target.
VAUXHALL INCENTIVIZES EV SALES
Tesla is not the only one incentivizing EV sales. Vauxhall is offering Corsa-e customers in the UK a free home charger and 30,000 miles of free electricity over a three-year period. Customers also receive a free six-month subscription to the UK’s largest public charging network. The electric Corsa is powered by a 50kWh lithium-ion battery, which provides a range of 209 miles. If you’re interested you better hurry because the offer only lasts until January 11th.
FCA MINTING MONEY OFF JEEPS
We had a Jeep Gladiator in the Autoline Garage last week, and while we’ve reported on this vehicle before, it made us go back and look at how this Jeep is performing in the marketplace. Jeep probably knew that the Gladiator would steal sales from the Wrangler. And it did. Sales of the Wrangler are down 13% this year. But when you combine sales of the Wrangler and Gladiator, sales are up by 18,000 units, or more than 7%. We estimate those 18,000 units brought in at least $750 million more in revenue. While the base price of the Gladiator is about $34,000, we tested a Mojave model with a price tag of nearly $60,000. And we’ve got to believe that FCA is minting money off these Jeeps.
But that brings us to the end of today’s show. Thanks for watching and we’ll be right back here again tomorrow.
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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.
