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Runtime: 11:32
0:08 Apple Talks with CATL & BYD Stall
0:44 Lamborghini Sets Sales Record
1:14 Renault Posts Big Drops in Q3
1:52 Electrified Vehicle Sales Soar in Europe
3:10 Toyota’s BEV Logic Flawed
4:07 Lexus Reveals First Plug-In Hybrid
5:10 Ford Shows Off Bronco SEMA Concepts
6:14 GMC Introduces New Sierra
8:10 SEAT Tests Delivery Drones in The Factory
8:44 How Cadillac Kept Production Lyriq Design Close to Concept
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APPLE TALKS WITH CATL & BYD STALL
Is Apple ever going to really come out with an electric car? Maybe. But it just hit another setback. Reuters reports that Apple wants CATL and BYD to open battery plants in the U.S. but the Chinese companies are refusing to do that. CATL is concerned over trade tensions between the U.S. and China. Apple also wants the battery companies to set up dedicated teams just for Apple. But CATL and BYD don’t want to do that either. So now Apple is reportedly looking to Japanese battery makers, especially Panasonic.
LAMBORGHINI SETS SALES RECORD
Somebody forgot to tell Lamborghini that there’s a chip shortage crippling the automotive industry. It set all-time record sales for the first 9 months of the year. Lambo sold 6,902 cars, up 23% from 2020, which in turn was up 6% from 2019. Lamborghini says it will have hybrid versions of all its models by 2024, and will have a BEV coming out sometime before the end of the decade.
RENAULT POSTS BIG DROPS IN Q3
Renault reported its preliminary sales and revenue for the 3rd quarter and the numbers are miserable. Or maybe I should say misérable. Revenue dropped more than 13% to just under €9 billion. Sales plummeted 22% to just under 600,000 units. That was led by a big drop in Europe. As you probably know, Renault doesn’t sell any cars in two of the biggest markets in the world: China and the U.S. And we were surprised to learn that, after France, Renault’s next biggest market is Russia.
ELECTRIFIED VEHICLE SALES SOAR IN EUROPE
BEVS and PHEVs are really starting to capture significant market share in Europe. According to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, they hit nearly 20% of sales in the third quarter. Hybrids accounted for another 20%. BEV sales in Q3 shot up 57% compared to a year ago with more than 212,000 sold. They now account for nearly 10% of the market, about triple what it is in the U.S. At the same time, ICE sales are plummeting in Europe. Sales of gasoline powered vehicles fell 35% and diesel sales dropped by more than half in the third quarter.
TOYOTA’S BEV LOGIC FLAWED
Toyota still doesn’t believe very strongly in BEVs. Toyota’s Gill Pratt, the head of its Research Institute, says not everyone should drive a BEV. He says other solutions should be used to reduce emissions. So here’s our Autoline insight. Toyota calculated wrong. It put almost all its chips on hybrids. And it’s investing heavily in fuel cells, too. It believes we need a variety of solutions, not just BEVs, and that governments should not be picking technologies. Conceptually, Toyota is right. But here’s the flaw in Toyota’s logic. Countries all over the world are banning the internal combustion engine. Whether this is the right thing to do doesn’t matter at this point. They’re banning them. And if a car company is not ready to deal with that reality….. well, like the old saying goes, you can’t fight city hall.
LEXUS REVEALS FIRST PLUG-IN HYBRID
And just look how long it’s taken Lexus to come out with its first plug-in hybrid. The 2022 NX 450h+ is the brand’s first ever PHEV. Its 2.5L 4-cylinder engine is paired with an electric motor, which combine for a total of 304 horsepower and while Lexus didn’t reveal the 0-60 MPH time, it says the plug-in is the fastest in the NX lineup. But this is the same setup as the RAV4 Prime, which does 0-60 MPH in 5.7 seconds. It also didn’t reveal the battery size, but again it’s the same setup as the RAV4 plug-in, which has a 18.1 kWh pack. Lexus says the NX 450h+ will be able to travel 37 all-electric miles. Pricing for the NX PHEV starts just north of $56,600, including destination charges but before incentives.
FORD SHOWS OFF BRONCO SEMA CONCEPTS
Ford is going right after Jeep with the new Bronco and Bronco Sport and it’s taking a page right out of Jeep’s book by showing off the aftermarket potential of its SUVs at SEMA. Ford will have a number of vehicles on display with parts lists that should sound pretty familiar, like Dana front and rear axles, Fox coilover suspension, bead-locking wheels and large off-road tires. We especially like this Fire Responder concept that looks like its been converted into a mini pickup as well as this one. I mean, how could quad snow tracks not be fun? You’ll be able to see even more wild rides at SEMA, which kicks off on November 2nd.
GMC INTRODUCES NEW SIERRA
GMC introduced the all-new Sierra. Each trim gets a refreshed front bumper, fascia, grille design and new LED headlamps. It also features an animated lighting sequence when approaching, starting or walking away from the truck. Moving to the interior, a new 13.4-inch infotainment screen and a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster are standard on SLE trims and above. There’s also new color and stitching designs to give the truck an even more premium feel. Two new trims are available, the Denali Ultimate and AT4X. The Denali Ultimate comes with a bunch of standard equipment including Super Cruise and a carbon fiber bed. The interior is wrapped in leather and it has its own unique trim and features. It’s standard with a 420 horsepower 6.2L V8 mated to a ten-speed automatic transmission. Pricing for the Denali Ultimate starts just over $80,000. The AT4X trim is a more off-road capable version of the Sierra. It features Multimatic DSSV spool-valve dampers, a two-speed transfer case, front and rear e-locking differentials as well as off-road chassis and suspension calibrations. The AT4X is equipped with the same V8 engine as the Denali Ultimate and has a starting price just under $75,000. Other powertrains offered in the Sierra include a 2.7L turbo with 20% more torque that’s mated to an 8-speed automatic. A 3.0L inline six-cylinder diesel mated to a ten-speed automatic. And lastly, a 5.3L V8 that’s also matched to the 10-speed. The new GMC Sierra will start arriving in dealer showrooms in the first quarter of 2022.
SEAT TESTS DELIVERY DRONES IN THE FACTORY
Forget fork-lift trucks or automated guided vehicles, SEAT is testing drones to deliver parts to the assembly line. It launched a pilot project at its Martorell plant with drones programmed to fly autonomously above the factory floor. The drones aren’t delivering parts yet, the first part of the test is making sure they can properly navigate around the plant. But the idea is to have them transport lightweight components directly to line workers to make manufacturing more efficient.
HOW CADILLAC KEPT PRODUCTION LYRIQ DESIGN CLOSE TO CONCEPT
Cadillac showed a cool looking concept car for the Lyriq several years ago. Usually when a car company shows a concept car, it never really makes it into production. Or it is heavily modified for engineering or manufacturing reasons. But the Cadillac Lyriq production car looks almost exactly like the concept car. On Autoline After Hours yesterday, Cadillac’s top two designers talked about how they used the concept car to drive the design of the production version.
“It wasn’t like some vague vision or a sketch on the wall. It was like, ‘No, here it is, this working thing.’ Internally, before it was even released to the public, our team was looking at it, leadership was looking at it. So it became very clear, it was THAT. It was to get everybody focused and aligned. And when you talk about working more efficiently, like Brian said, not everybody was happy about it, but it very clearly, at least from the design side, it lines it all up very quickly, like this is what we’re trying to do here. And it helped other parts of the company to see it too. So it helps get other people excited about it. So it’s no longer just a sketch on a wall or a clay mockup of the design. They’re actually engaging with it. People would say, ‘We have to do this, we gotta do this.’ Where as before, you can only sell so much with a sketch or an animation or whatever, compared to seeing it in person. I remember on the interior on the wood decor, we’re doing the laser-cut pattern with backlit lighting. That doesn’t exist in the industry. And that was one thing, like Brian was saying, originally we were going to have something that was going to be a little bit more simplified. It definitely didn’t have any lighting. And when we did it on the show car we really wanted to push it. And everybody loved it so much. I remember Mark Reuss came in and said, ‘We’re absolutely doing that. We’re not going to show that and then have someone else come out afterwards and steal our idea.’”
And if you’d like to catch more of the episode, you can watch it right now on our website or YouTube channel.
But that’s an end for today and this week. Thanks for joining us and I hope you have a great weekend.
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Seamus and Sean McElroy cover the latest news in the automotive industry for Autoline Daily.