Listen to “AD #3002 – U.S. Federal Fleet Going Electric; Lotus Announces New Sports Car Family; Odyssey Loses HondaVac for 2022” on Spreaker.
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Runtime: 9:08
0:07 Federal Fleet Being Replaced by U.S.-Made EVs
0:42 Shell Buying UK Charging Company Ubitricity
1:23 Automotive Stock Performances
3:36 Ford’s Design Leader, Moray Callum, Retiring
4:17 BMW Motorrad Drops Out of Major Trade Shows
5:13 Mitsubishi Teases All-New Outlander
5:49 Lotus Announces New Sports Car Family
6:47 Odyssey Loses HondaVac After Supplier Goes Under
7:23 JLR Lightweighting EVs for Bigger Batteries
8:09 Volvo Safety Sunday
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U.S. FEDERAL FLEET BEING REPLACED BY U.S.-MADE EVs
President Biden announced plans to replace the entire federal fleet of vehicles with EVs that are made in the U.S. There are more than 645,000 vehicles in the federal fleet, which includes civilian, military and post office vehicles. It’s an ambitious plan but Biden did not give any specifics like a time frame for replacing the vehicles, how much it will cost or the companies it plans to purchase from. But in the long run, converting the fleet to electrics will provide savings in fuel and maintenance costs.
SHELL BUYING UK CHARGING COMPANY UBITRICITY
And speaking of making the switch to EVs, Shell announced it’s acquiring Ubitricity, the largest public charging network in the UK. Financial details weren’t disclosed but the deal is expected to close later this year. Ubitricity integrates EV charging into existing street infrastructure, like lamp posts. Shell already has chargers installed at 430 of its stations in the UK and this acquisition helps it expand into on street parking. The UK plans to phase out ICE vehicles by 2030, so this move will help it prepare for that transition.
AUTOMOTIVE STOCK PERFORMANCES
It was a down day on Wall Street for automotive stocks yesterday. And it was an across the board drop including automakers, suppliers and retailers. But there was one segment that did well, the one for EV startups. Tesla had a solid day, closing at $880 a share, up 4%. Workhorse, the electric truck company in Cincinnati, Ohio, was up $1.20, or 5%. And Nikola, yes that Nikola, was up sixty two cents, or 3%. Amongst the Chinese companies, BYD was up 6% and Kandi was up 2%. But Li Auto, NIO, and XPeng all posted sharp drops. The biggest mover of all the automotive-related stocks was Luminar, the lidar startup in Orlando, Florida, which was up an impressive 10%. Interestingly, Orlando is home to the largest operations that the U.S. Defense Department has in lasers and photonics and Luminar is tapping into that ecosystem.
Company | Current Price | $ Change | % Change |
---|---|---|---|
Tesla | $880.80 | +$34.16 | +4.0% |
Workhorse | $24.71 | +$1.20 | +5.1% |
Nikola | $20.74 | +$0.62 | +3.1% |
Luminar | $37.45 | +$3.45 | +10.1% |
BYD | $35.26 | +$2.02 | +6.1% |
Kandi | $8.34 | +0.16 | +2.0% |
Li Auto | $31.99 | -$2.45 | -7.1% |
NIO | $59.99 | -$1.96 | -3.2% |
XPeng | $54.65 | -$1.74 | -3.1% |
FORD’S DESIGN LEADER, MORAY CALLUM, RETIRING
Ford’s long time head of design is retiring. Moray Callum, who is 62, is stepping down after 38 years in the auto industry. He definitely comes from an automotive design family. His brother, Ian, recently retired as the head of design at Jaguar Land Rover. Interestingly, Ford went outside of the company to find his replacement. Anthony Lo is the new head of design, and he brings a wealth of experience. Born in Hong Kong, his resume includes stints at Lotus, Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Saab, GM Europe and most recently he was the head of exterior styling at Renault.
BMW MOTORRAD DROPS OUT OF MAJOR TRADE SHOWS
Automakers have been pulling away from auto shows for years and now the phenomenon is making its way to motorcycles. BMW Motorrad announced it will no longer exhibit bikes at major trade shows and will instead hold its own in-person and digital events. The motorcycle maker said this format will allow it to time world premieres and product launches more flexibly. And it thinks it will have better interactions with current and potential customers. But don’t think it’s giving up on them all together. BMW Motorrad will still show off its lineup at select regional motorcycle shows. While trade shows, automotive, motorcycle or otherwise, will always be the best way to experience a lot of different models in one place, we think we’ll see more companies hold their own events, instead of big reveals at shows where only a limited number of people can watch.
MITSUBISHI TEASES ALL-NEW OUTLANDER
Mitsubishi is going to unveil the all-new Outlander on February 16th and is providing a few details as we lead up to its debut. It sits on a newly developed platform, which Mitsubishi says returns a bigger and bolder Outlander compared to the previous generation. The automaker is finishing up final testing on the SUV, which includes putting its latest Super All-Wheel Control system through its paces on the snow. Along with a new drive mode selector, the all-new Outlander is expected to deliver enhanced driving performance.
LOTUS ANNOUNCES NEW FAMILY OF SPORTS CARS
Lotus, the small sports car manufacturer, has been around for 73 years and has come out with some pretty amazing cars during that time, including the Elise, which was launched in 1995. But its run, along with the Exige and Evora are coming to an end. Those three models, which have combined sales of about 55,000 units, are entering their last year of production as Lotus revealed it’s going to come out with a new family of sports cars, starting with the Type 131. It says the new car will blend the learnings of the past with the innovations of today and tomorrow. To us that means more electrification.
HONDA ODYSSEY LOSES VACUUM AFTER SUPPLIER GOES UNDER
The Honda Odyssey is losing one of its coolest and most convenient features. Its integrated vacuum cleaner, called the HondaVac is no longer an option for the 2022 model year. It was supplied by Shop-Vac but the company went out of business last September because of the economic downturn related to the pandemic. Shop-Vac was talking to a potential buyer but the deal fell through and that’s why Honda had to drop the vacuum. But don’t worry, the automaker is looking for a new supplier, so it sounds like it will be available again at some point.
JLR TO LIGHTWEIGHT EVs FOR LARGER BATTERIES
Jaguar Land Rover is developing lightweight vehicle structures for electric vehicles using advanced composites like carbon fiber. It’s aiming to increase vehicle stiffness by 30% and cut weight by 35 kilograms or 77 pounds. By reducing weight, JLR says it can equip vehicles with larger batteries in order to get more range. By next year, the automaker will have a fleet of prototype vehicles to test and research. This is part of a project led by Jaguar Land Rover that includes academic and industry partners with the goal of preventing 4.5 million tons of CO2 emissions between 2023 and 2032.
VOLVO SAFETY SUNDAY
The NFL’s big game is on Sunday February 7th and it’s not just the Kansas City Chiefs or Tampa Bay Buccaneers who can win big, so can you. If a safety is scored during the game, Volvo is going to give away $2 million worth of vehicles. You can build a vehicle on Volvo’s configurator or have one recommended to you and if the safety happens, Volvo will pick winners at random. I don’t really care who wins, I’ll just be rooting for a good game and now also a safety so some people can get some free cars.
But that’s it for today, thanks for watching and we’ll see you 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.