AD #3166 – Acura Updates the RDX; Lyten’s Potential Battery Breakthrough; Mercedes Reveals U.S. EQS Pricing

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

LYTEN’S POTENTIAL BATTERY BREAKTHROUGH
Could this be the battery breakthrough the auto industry has been waiting for? A Silicon Valley advanced materials company called Lyten has come up with a way to make lithium-Sulphur EV batteries that utilize 3D graphene. Lyten says it can make batteries that are lighter, cheaper and more powerful than anything on the market today and can even outperform solid-state batteries. You’ve probably never heard of Lyten before because it’s been operating in stealth mode since most of its work has been with the U.S. military. We came across Lyten at the Motor Bella show yesterday, and here’s what Dan Cook, the CEO of the company told us.

Dan Cook: “Our innovation is really three-dimensional graphene. It’s a very innovative, revolutionary material that we developed on-shore and we own the intellectual property. Three-dimensional graphene has some pretty phenomenal characteristics. We actually marry it with Sulphur and we can create a battery that has three times the energy density of today’s conventional lithium-ion.”

John McElroy: So these three batteries (that you’re holding in your hand) are what is coming out of China today. And you’ve got one lithium Sulphur here (in your other hand) which is the equivalent of the three batteries.”

Dan Cook: “That’s right. On a gravimetric energy basis, that is correct.”

John McElroy: “And it’s lighter than these other three batteries?”

Dan Cook: “Absolutely, you can feel it for yourself. (Hands over batteries.)

John McElroy: “It is lighter than the other three.” 

Dan Cook: “Yes it is.”

John McElroy: “This has got to be tremendous because you’re saying you can make these with all the materials coming from right here in the U.S., and do all the processing, because there’s no cobalt in these, no manganese.”

Dan Cook: “And no nickel. And you’re right, we can make this all domestically, using domestically produced materials. And we’re the only known, we think, the only known USMCA-compliant battery to help our on-shore as well as off-shore OEMs make the transition from ICEs to BEVs.”

Lyten says its batteries will cost under $80 per kilowatt hour, which is the magic number to make BEVs cheaper than ICEs. It plans to be in production around 2025. And here’s our Autoline Insight. China currently controls about 80% of the production and processing of raw materials for batteries, including cobalt, nickel and manganese. If Lyten can deliver what it’s talking about, this breakthrough would instantly obsolete all the investment China made in locking up that supply chain because its lithium sulfur battery doesn’t use any of those materials. You can watch that full interview on our website or YouTube channel, along with our other Motor Bell coverage, in our Autoline on the Road section.

GM SHARES EV MOTOR DETAILS FOR ULTIUM VEHICLES
In other EV news, GM detailed the three electric motors that will power its Ultium-based vehicles. Designed and calibrated in-house, the motors have a wide range of outputs. There’s a 62-kW unit used for all-wheel drive assist, a 180-kW unit that’s used to drive the front wheels and a 255-kW motor that’s used for both front and rear drive. The 180- and 255-kW units are permanent magnet motors, designed to reduce the need for heavy rare earth materials, while the 62-kW unit is an induction motor. The ultimate setup will see the use of three 255-kW motors in one vehicle, like on the new GMC Hummer EV. In order to help keep costs down, GM built the motors as a scalable family, so they share design principles and have similar tooling and manufacturing strategies.

  

MERCEDES PRICES EQS SIMILAR TO S-CLASS IN U.S.
Gas or electric? Mercedes is making that a harder choice for S-Class buyers in the U.S. It revealed the EQS EV will have a starting price in North America of a bit more than $103,000, including destination, but before incentives. That’s about $7,500 less than the base S-Class sold in the U.S. It’s important to note that the base EQS has quite a bit less power and is only rear-wheel drive, where the base S-Class is AWD, but when you start factoring in incentives, and we guess most EQS buyers will qualify for the full credit, we think it becomes even more compelling. AWD is available on the EQS and it’s a $17,000 option. To round out the EQS’s pricing, a top-of-the-line Pinnacle model with AWD will go for a bit more than $126,000.

ACURA UPDATES THE RDX
Acura updated one of the most important vehicles in its lineup, the RDX. Let’s start with the design changes, which are minor. The biggest difference we see is with the lower air vents. The significant upgrades were in the area of noise reduction. To bring down the decibels in the cabin, engineers added new front fender liners, thicker carpet, acoustic glass, insulation in the doors, dash, D-pillar, roof, cargo bins, rear hatch, under the hood and over the drivetrain tunnel. It even reduced the cold engine idle speed by 150 RPM. Other changes include a retuned Active Damper System, which is even more comfortable in Comfort mode and more responsive in Sport mode. It also gets new tech, an A-Spec model and a PMC Edition that come in exclusive blue paint. The new RDX goes on sale in November.

HONDA INTRODUCES NEW BR-V
Honda introduced the second-gen version of its BR-V small crossover. It gets a new design both inside and out and can seat up to seven people. It’s powered by a new 1.5L engine, which is mated to a CVT and meets Euro 4 emission standards. Safety technology, including lane keeping assist, collision mitigation, road departure mitigation and adaptive cruise control is also available. The BR-V, which was designed for Indonesia, its largest market, is based on Honda’s N7X Concept.

MIKE MANLEY LEAVES STELLANTIS TO BECOME AUTONATION CEO
Mike Manley, the Head of Americas at Stellantis, is stepping down from his position to become the new CEO of AutoNation, the largest dealer network in the country. Manley, 57, will take over that role on Nov. 1st, when current CEO Mike Jackson, 72, retires. Manley was CEO of FCA before it merged with PSA earlier in the year to become Stellantis, which is now run by former PSA CEO Carlos Tavares. It seems like Manley didn’t want to be #2.

MAY MOBILITY EXPANDS TO ANN ARBOR
May Mobility, the autonomous ride-hailing startup, is expanding to Ann Arbor, Michigan. The company currently operates shuttles in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Arlington, Texas, Indianapolis, Indiana and Hiroshima, Japan. In Ann Arbor, May Mobility will operate a fleet of five autonomous vehicles, four of which are Lexus RX 450h hybrids and the other, an electric shuttle that can also accommodate one wheelchair passenger. The service is free and will operate Monday through Friday from 8AM to 8PM in a 2.6 square-mile area of the city, starting on October 11th. All you need is the May Mobility app to set up a ride.

FORD TEASES RAPTOR VERSION OF THE BRONCO
Let’s end with something a little fun. Ford revealed it’s going to come out with a Raptor version of the new big Bronco. It’s going to be available next year, but that’s all we know so far.

And that brings us to the end of today’s show, thanks for watching.