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Runtime: 9:19
0:07 Tesla’s China Sales Slump in April
0:40 GM Partners with Li-Cycle to Recycle Batteries
1:34 Gordon Murray Expanding Into New Areas
3:10 Subaru Teases All-New EV SUV
3:38 Ford Picks Name for Electric F-150
4:04 Tesla Cybertruck Production Starts Next March
4:40 Harley Spins LiveWire Off Into Its Own Brand
6:10 Porsche Testing AI to Improve Navigation
6:51 Mercedes Developing Auto Fuel Pay in Big Trucks
7:31 America’s Top Selling Hybrid Will Surprise You
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TESLA’S APRIL CHINA SALES SLUMP
Uh-oh, looks like Tesla has more trouble in China. Sales plummeted 27% last month compared to March. China’s Passenger Car Association reported that Tesla sold 25,845 cars in April. Tesla has come under heavy criticism in China from government authorities, though it’s unclear if that led to the drop in sales. Meanwhile, Chinese automakers like XPeng and BYD reported record sales of battery electric cars.
GM TEAMS WITH LI-CYCLE TO RECYCLE BATTERIES
Recycling the batteries in electric cars is a big issue. If those batteries can’t be fully recycled in high volume they’re going to end up in landfills and that means BEVs wouldn’t really be all that good for the environment. So General Motors just announced an agreement with the Canadian company Li-Cycle to recycle 100% of the materials in its batteries. That includes cobalt, nickel, lithium, graphite, copper, manganese and aluminum. GM says 95% of those materials can go back into making new batteries. Ly-Cycle says its hydrometallurgical process emits 30% less greenhouse gasses than traditional recycling methods. If you would like to learn more about Li-Cycle check out the Autoline This Week television show #2428 we did with Ajay Kouchhar, the CEO and founder of the company.
GORDON MURRAY EXPANDING INTO NEW AREAS
The Gordon Murray Group, the company created by famed auto designer Gordon Murray, is expanding its business. It’s investing 300 million pounds or more than $424 million over the next five years in R&D to reduce weight and complexity in both vehicle architectures and manufacturing. It’s creating a new unit that will focus on developing electrified powertrains for global automakers and technology companies. And it’s currently working on a lightweight EV platform for urban passenger vehicles and delivery vans. But Gordon Murray says it’s not abandoning internal combustion engine vehicles and will continue to develop V12 powered vehicles “as long as the regulations allow.” One of those, the T.50 supercar, is scheduled to come out early next year, and Gordon Murray says its ethos will influence all of its future models.
SUBARU TEASES ALL-NEW EV SUV
Subaru announced its naming its upcoming all-electric SUV the Solterra. The name is a combination of the Latin words for “Sun” and “Earth.” It was jointly developed with Toyota and is built on Subaru’s new electric platform, which of course includes the automaker’s all-wheel-drive technology. The Solterra goes on sale next year in the U.S., Canada, China, Europe and Japan.
FORD NAMES ELECTRIC F-150 ‘LIGHTNING’
And in related news, Ford confirmed the name of the upcoming electric F-150 will be the F-150 Lightning. And I’m sure many of you remember the original F-150 Lightning. But the new truck goes into production next spring at the automaker’s new Rouge Electric Vehicle Center. That’s about all we know for now but we’ll learn more when Ford unveils it next week at its world headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan.
TESLA CYBERTRUCK GOES INTO PRODUCTION NEXT MARCH
Speaking of pickups, Autoforecast Solutions says Tesla’s Cybertruck will go into production in March, 2022. It will be built at Tesla’s new plant in Texas, called the Terafactory. Autoforecast also reports that the next generation Ram 1500 is not coming out until January of 2027. It will continue to be built at the Sterling Heights assembly plant north of Detroit. That plant is huge. Five million square feet, and 7,800 employees.
HARLEY SPINS LIVEWIRE OFF INTO ITS OWN BRAND
Two years ago, Harley-Davidson launched its all-electric motorcycle, the LiveWire. Now the company is spinning LiveWire off into a separate electric bike brand. It will work with participating dealers from Harley’s network as an independent brand. And LiveWire will operate dedicated EV showrooms in select locations, starting in California. The first LiveWire branded motorcycle will be unveiled in July. And just like an automaker or supplier this is all about separating itself from the old, polluting brand and unlocking more shareholder value.
PORSCHE DEVELOPING NAV THAT USES AI
Porsche is looking to improve its navigation system. It says using GPS data alone can determine the location of the vehicle within 2 to 10 meters or 6.5 to 32 feet. But that’s not precise enough if you wanted to, say, know the exact lane the vehicle is travelling in. So with the help of NVIDIA’s graphics processing units, Porsche created a new system that uses AI to get a more accurate location from GPS data. It says this would make it possible to do things like identify the ideal line to take on a race track. But no word yet on when we could see a system like this in action.
MERCEDES TESTING AUTO FUEL PAYMENT IN BIG TRUCKS
Not long ago we talked about how Mercedes was giving its customers the ability to pay for gas right from their car, well now it’s doing the same for its commercial truck division. It successfully completed tests that allowed specially equipped Actros trucks to automatically pay for fuel at Shell service stations in Germany. They feature a digital ID and fuel payment card that are embedded right into the truck, so the station knows the exact truck that’s filling up and can charge it accordingly. Mercedes says it will continue to develop the system and hopes to offer it in a range of connected services for its customers.
TOYOTA SIENNA IS AMERICA’S #1 HYBRID
Can you name the best-selling hybrid in the American market? I bet you can’t and it may shock you to learn which one it is. It’s not the Toyota Prius, or the Toyota RAV-4 or Highlander. And it’s not the Honda CRV or Ford Escape hybrid, either. Nope, it’s the Toyota Sienna minivan. A key reason is that starting with the 2021 model year the Sienna minivan only comes as a hybrid. It’s rated at 36 miles to the gallon, which is excellent, because even though we call them minivans, there’s nothing mini about it. I think a key reason why it’s the best-selling hybrid is that it doesn’t have styling or badges that scream out that it’s a hybrid. Toyota just sells it as a minivan that happens to get really good fuel economy. Seems to be working. So far this year it’s outselling all the other minivans.
| U.S. Market Minivan Sales | |
|---|---|
| Jan-April, 2021 | |
| Toyota Sienna | 38,370 |
| Chrysler Pacifica | 29,766 |
| Honda Odyssey | 29,088 |
| Kia Carnival | 4,137 |
| Source: Wards Intelligence | |
What are the most anticipated new cars, trucks, crossovers and SUVs for 2021? That’s going to be the topic on Autoline After Hours on Thursday. Even though not every new model has been introduced yet, we know what they are and we’ll let you know what’s on the way. So join John and Gary for a deep dive into a review of what’s new for 2021.
But that’s it for today, 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.
