AD #3173 – Hyundai/Kia Sales Tanking in China; BMW’s New Overspray Free Paint Process; Ford Maverick Efficient Towing

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

FOXCONN BUYING LORDSTOWN’S PLANT IN OHIO
Lordstown Motors just dodged a big bullet. Foxconn is going to pay $230 million to buy its assembly plant in Ohio. Remember, Lordstown only paid about $20 million for that plant a few years ago. Bloomberg reports Foxconn will also buy $50 million worth of Lordstown’s stock. Foxconn will assemble Lordstown’s Endurance pickup with production kicking off next April. And while Foxconn gets control of the plant, Lordstown will keep its assembly lines for hub motors and its battery pack. Foxconn will also build the Fisker Pear at the plant starting in the first quarter of 2024. And it could build its open source EV platform as well that it launched earlier in the year.

CRUISE & WAYMO GET NEW AV PERMIT IN CALIFORNIA
While plenty of people are plenty skeptical about autonomous vehicles, they keep coming closer to reality. GM’s Cruise and Google’s Waymo just received permits from California to charge customers. But they won’t be transporting passengers by themselves just yet. Cruise’s permit allows the company to charge for driverless freight services in parts of San Francisco. The vehicles can operate between 10PM and 6AM at a top speed of 30 MPH and in light rain and fog. Waymo’s can operate self-driving vehicles with a safety driver on board in parts of San Francisco and San Mateo counties. Those vehicles can travel up to 65 MPH and drive in rain and light fog. Next step will be to get another permit to charge for rides without a safety driver on board.

HYUNDAI/KIA SALES TANKING IN CHINA
Car sales are tanking in China for Hyundai and Kia, and not because of the chip shortage. Very interesting insight from Michael Dunne of ZoZo Go. He is one of the foremost experts on the Chinese auto industry. He says one reason is rising nationalism. When South Korea bought an anti missile system from the U.S., millions of Chinese started boycotting Korean brands. China even restricted tourists from visiting South Korea. And it’s not just with cars. Samsung lost most of its cell phone business in China. Michael Dunne says another reason is that China’s homegrown car companies are making attractive, good quality cars, so China doesn’t need Hyundai or Kia. He quotes another China expert, Jim McGregor, who says, “There are two kinds of foreign companies in China. One is the kind that China needs. The other kind needs China.”

 

BMW’S NEW PAINT PROCESS DOESN’T REQUIRE MASKING
One of the hardest parts of vehicle assembly is the paint process. Not only do you have to make sure every nook and cranny is covered, but painting is terrible for the environment and paint shops require massive investments to help curb their damage. But BMW is launching a new paint process that will help reduce some of that impact. On a limited batch of M4s it’s using a new overspray-free paint machine to apply unique designs on the cars. Instead of using a high-speed rotation to atomize the paint it relies on a jet application, while a special opening allows for a sharp paint edge. The best parts are you don’t even have to mask off the special designs and multiple colors can be used at the same time. BMW says it’s possible to paint every exterior component, making customization limitless. The paint process also costs less to use, doesn’t require excess paint particles to be disposed of because it prevents overspray and needs less energy to operate. This small batch of cars will be used in BMW’s own company fleet but the process will be used in series production next year.

NEW TYPE OF WIRELESS CHARGER
Attention interior designers, here’s an interesting technology we came across from a startup called Aira. They make wireless chargers for devices in cars, but not like the ones that are used in today’s cars. Aira makes a charger branded FreePower that uses multiple coils instead of the single coil like most current chargers. With today’s chargers you have to have your phone perfectly placed over the coil or it will charge slowly or not at all. With the FreePower one, you just drop your phone on the pad, or your airpods, or tablet. It can charge multiple devices at once. Better still it does not have to be a rectangular shape, it can even be circular. And you can use almost almost any surface in a car, which gives interior designers more flexibility. FreePower’s firmware can also be updated, so it can stay up to date as new types of smart phones get introduced. Aira says one OEM has already signed up for it, though it won’t say who, and we’ll see them in cars next year.

FORD MAVERICK EFFICIENT WHILE TOWING
We got to test drive the Ford Maverick this week and while we can’t give you our full driving impressions until the embargo comes off, here’s some details that caught our eye. This is not a pretend pickup, it’s the real deal. Ford put it through 19 million test miles and it went through the same test procedures as an F-150. We drove the 2-liter turbo version towing a 3,600 pound trailer with two ATVs up some big grades, had no trouble keeping up with traffic, and got about 16 miles to the gallon. Then we drove the hybrid version with a 1,600 pound trailer and got almost 23 MPG. And then we drove the hybrid with 1,000 pounds of mulch in the back and got 38 miles to the gallon. As any of you who do any towing know, those are some pretty good numbers.

 

CADILLAC DESIGNERS GIVEN CARTE BLANCHE
When Cadillac made the decision to go all electric by 2030, it threw out all its existing parts and components and started from scratch. That’s extremely rare in the auto industry. Automakers always try to use as many existing components as they can to cut costs. But the designers of the Cadillac Lyriq were given carte blanche, and it really shows in some of the smallest details. For example, the switchgear. Every knob, switch, dial and button are brand new. And they carry a common design theme with knurled edges and insets. Knurling is that kind of diamond shaped ridging that you can see here on the sides of the shift knob, or on the thumb wheel that’s mounted forward of it. That knurling is used everywhere, including the cup holder rings, steering wheel buttons, and even on the back seat reading lamps. Another example of a carte blanche design is with the speaker grilles which are made of metal. Cadillac brought in GM’s best sheetmetal people to transform the designers’ vision into parts that could be manufactured. While Cadillac justifiably showcases the giant 33 inch display screen in the Lyriq, it’s these smaller design details that really caught our eye. It shows the kind of time and effort Cadillac is putting in to claw its way back to the top of the luxury segment.

TOYOTA LAUNCHING 3-WHEELED SCOOTER IN JAPAN
Scooters are all the rage right now and Toyota doesn’t want to miss the party. It’s launching the C Walk in Japan, a three-wheeled and electric scooter. The motor is located in the front wheel, which allows speed between 2 to 6 km/h or about 1 to 4 MPH. There’s also a setting for more experienced riders that allows it to go up to 10 km/h or just over 6 MPH. The C Walk is powered by a removable .27 kWh lithium ion battery pack and the estimated range is 14 km or about 8.5 miles. For a bit of safety, there’s sensors on the front to help avoid running into other people or things. The C Walk will be offered at Toyota dealers as well as for rental and leasing. Prices start a little over $3,000.

GAC REBADGING TRUMPCHI GS5 AS DODGE JOURNEY FOR MEXICO
Another Chinese-made vehicle is headed to North America, but this is a little different from the others. GAC Motor is going to start shipping the Trumpchi GS5 SUV to Mexico this week. But they will not be sold under the Trumpchi brand. Instead they’re being rebadged as Dodge Journeys. In case you’re wondering, Stellantis is GAC’s joint venture partner in China. The volume is kind of small however. There’s only 770 going over in the first shipment and it expects to export roughly 4,000 by the end of the year.

But that’s a wrap for this week. Thanks for joining us and I hope you’re able to enjoy your weekend.