AD #3162 – Genesis Could Make Car Keys Obsolete; XPeng P5 Turns Into a Movie Theater; Citroen Expands Into India

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

GM OFFERS NEW SAFETY RECOMMENDATIONS TO BOLT OWNERS
General Motors is now recommending Chevy Bolt owners to park at least 50 feet away from other vehicles in a parking garage and to park on the roof or an open floor due to its fire risk. Previously, GM advised owners to park their cars outside, away from structures and to not charge overnight. Last month, GM recalled more than 140,000 Bolt EVs and EUVs because a manufacturing defect in the battery could cause it to catch fire. GM is currently working with battery supplier LG Chem to fix the issue and its halted production of the EV until it’s satisfied with the fix. The recall is expected to cost $1.8 billion but GM is negotiating with LG to pay for it.

GM WILL MAKE HD SUBURBANS FOR THE GOVERNMENT
And speaking of GM, its Defense division was awarded $36.4 million by the Department of State to develop and build purpose-built Heavy Duty Chevy Suburbans. The vehicles will be used for the Department’s Diplomatic Security Service fleet. The HD Suburban will feature a new and unique body-on-frame chassis and suspension as well as have a higher payload and vehicle weight in order to meet government requirements. GM will build ten HD Suburban’s over the next two years and then make 200 per year for nine years.

CHIP SHORTAGE HURTS CAR SALES IN EUROPE
And moving over to Europe, the chip shortage is causing car sales to tumble. According to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, sales dropped 24% in July and fell another 18% in August, compared to a year ago. The region’s largest markets, Germany, France, the UK, Italy and Spain, all recorded double-digit drops for the last two months.

FORMER TESLA CO-FOUNDER EXPANDING BATTERY BUSINESS
Governments around the world have announced plans to ban the sales of ICE vehicles and a number of automakers have pledged to convert to a fully electric fleet over the next decade. But in order to be able to produce all those EVs, more battery materials are needed. That’s why former Tesla co-founder JB Straubel, is expanding Redwood Materials, a battery recycling company he created, to include producing battery materials, specifically cathodes. China currently dominates the market for battery materials and components, accounting for 80% of global production according to Bloomberg. But Straubel wants to bring more of that to the U.S. and plans to open a battery plant that will produce material for 100 gigawatt hours of batteries a year by the end of 2025. By 2030, it will increase to 500 gigawatt hours a year. As big as that sounds, Straubel says it won’t be enough to meet demand and there needs to be at least 4 more companies producing battery materials.

GENESIS TECH COULD MAKE CAR KEYS OBSOLETE
Genesis could be making car keys a thing of the past. It’s rolling out a technology, called Face Connect that uses an infra-red camera to recognize an owner’s face and either lock or unlock the doors. Then a Fingerprint Authentication System allows the car to be started. It also automatically adjusts things like HUD, side mirrors and infotainment setting to the particular user. As of right now, up to two users can be stored in the system and it first launches on the new GV60.

Hyundai may have the fastest product cadence in the business. It’s amazing to see how many new products it’s coming out with. So how does it do it? That’s why we invited Olabisi Boyle, the vice president of product planning for Hyundai Motor America, to join us on Autoline After Hours this afternoon at 3PM eastern time. If you’ve got a question you’d like us to ask her, tweet it to us, or send an email to viewermail@autoline.tv.

XPENG P5 TURNS INTO A MOVIE THEATER
We’ve got more information on the third model in XPeng’s lineup, the P5 sedan. Three batteries are available which provide ranges of 460, 550 and 600 kilometers, that’s 285, 340 and 372 miles. But those numbers are based on the NEDC test. It’s equipped with lidar, which is used for its Navigation Guided Pilot driver assistance system that now works on city roads in addition to the highway. The interior can also be reconfigured as a full-width movie theater with 8 speakers and a projection screen. It can also be transformed into a full-length private sleeping compartment. You may remember in July we reported that XPeng announced it would slash the price of this model, which is likely so it can compete more closely with Tesla. Pricing for the P5 ranges from $24,500 to $34,700. It’s available to order now in China and deliveries will start in October.

CITROEN REVEALS NEW C3 FOR INDIA & SOUTH AMERICA
Citroen says it wants to become stronger in the areas where it operates; South America, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, China and expand into new markets, like India. In order to do that it will design and develop models specifically for those regions and it plans to come out with three new models between now and 2024. The first is the New C3, a small crossover that’s made for India and South America. To appeal to those markets it differs from the European version by doing things like increasing the ground clearance to tackle unpaved roads and reducing the length to under 4 meters, which keeps it out of a higher tax bracket in India. But while it made changes like those, it still features modern Citroen styling, similar to the C4 and C5 X. Citroen also says the engine lineup will be modern and efficient, but didn’t reveal what will be under the hood.

FORD REFRESHES THE FIESTA
Ford has revealed the refreshed Fiesta. While there’s not a whole lot of difference at the back, the front fascia has been completely massaged and has slight variances amongst each grade. For example, note on the Active model, which is meant to be a little more rugged, the air vents are taller and skinnier to draw your eye up and add some more height to the vehicle. Now let’s shift to the inside for a quick moment where we can highlight a new, customizable 12.3 inch driver display screen. ST buyers will also get to test out the new in-house developed performance seats. Speaking of the ST, its turbocharged 1.5L engine still puts out nearly 200 horsepower, but it does get a mild 10% boost in peak torque. The other engine, a 1.0L EcoBoost unit, comes in three outputs from roughly 100 horsepower up to about 155 horsepower and the two higher versions also include 48-volt mild hybrid technology. Lastly we’ll highlight the new Fiesta Van. It’s based on the 3-door Fiesta passenger car, but features a flat rear floor, four tie down points and a divider between the front and the rear of the car. Deliveries are scheduled to kick off next year.

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