Listen to “AD #3196 – Passenger Cars Hit Historic Low; Jeep Creates a Graphics Studio; Bosch Fights In-Car Smoking” on Spreaker.
Follow us on social media:
Runtime: 10:01
0:08 U.S. Sales Down, SAAR Up
0:24 Some OEMs Post a Sales Increase
0:55 Passenger Cars Hit Historic Low
1:24 Tesla’s Sales Down, As Expected
1:49 Non-Tesla EVs Pick Up Market Share
2:51 Honda Civic Si Price
3:18 Jeep Creates a Graphics Studio
3:57 Ford Converts Classic Truck to BEV
4:57 Bosch Fights In-Car Smoking
6:34 Auto ISAC Fights Cyber Attacks
Visit our sponsors to thank them for their support of Autoline Daily: Bridgestone, Intrepid Control Systems, Magna and Schaeffler.
This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.
U.S. SALES DOWN, SAAR UP
Sales of new cars and trucks in the U.S. were down sharply in October compared to last year. In fact they were down compared to September. But there is a glimmer of hope. Wards Intelligence reports that the SAAR was slightly better in October than the month before.
| Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate | |
|---|---|
| October 2021 | September 2021 |
| 12.99 Million | 12.22 Million |
SOME OEMs POST SALES INCREASE
Even with tight inventory due to the chip shortage, automakers still managed to sell over 1 million new vehicles. Some automakers even managed to increase sales. Ford, Jaguar Land Rover, Nissan and Volkswagen were up from September. While GM only reports sales on a quarterly basis, a source tells us it also had a good month. We’re comparing month over month, instead of year over year, because it’s more indicative of what’s happening in the market right now.
| Oct. vs. Sept. 2021 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Ford | 166,600 | +4.8% |
| JLR | 7,000 | +6.7% |
| Nissan | 59,800 | +5.8% |
| VW | 29,600 | +16.9% |
PASS CARS HIT LOWEST MARKET SHARE IN HISTORY
Sales of passenger cars not only fell, they fell to what may be their lowest level of market share in the history of the U.S. industry. Sedans, coupes, hatchbacks and station wagons fell below 20% market share. Or, to put it another way, only one out of 5 vehicles sold was a passenger car, as customers continue to move into trucks, crossovers, vans and SUVs.
TESLA SALES DOWN, AS EXPECTED
Sales of electric cars were up, even though Tesla, which dominates the segment, saw its sales drop by double digits. But don’t read too much into that drop. Tesla always backloads its sales to the end of the quarter, and then they drop off the month after that. So they were up in September and down in October, and we probably will not see another increase until December.
| U.S. October, 2021 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Tesla | 26,000 | -12.3% |
NON-TESLA EVS MAKE SOME HEADWAY
With Tesla sales down, traditional automakers made a little bit of progress in the electric segment. The top 5 non-Tesla EVs were the Mustang Mach E, Volkswagen ID.4, Hyundai Kona EV, Nissan Leaf and Kia Niro EV. And we may as well throw in the Porsche Taycan because it was right on the heels of the Niro.
| Oct. vs. Sept. 2021 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Mach-E | 2,848 | +80% |
| ID.4 | 1,945 | +53% |
| Kona EV | 1,688 | +16% |
| LEAF | 968 | +78% |
| Niro EV | 682 | -41% |
| Taycan | 681 | +21% |
CIVIC SI ONLY HAS ONE OPTION
We don’t always make a news story out of pricing for individual models. But when they’re really popular and have a strong fan base, we do. So here’s the pricing on the new Honda Civic Si. A little over $28,000, including destination charges. And there’s only one option, a $200 set of summer tires. BTW, that’s $2-grand more than the previous Si.
JEEP CREATES GRAPHICS STUDIO
Jeep just created its first studio ever that will only work on graphics, especially for the aftermarket. The studio will make custom hood graphics and fender and shifter inserts. Prices range from $40 to $165 and carry a 5- or 7-year warranty. Aftermarket accessories like this can be very profitable. And graphic upgrades can keep products fresh in the eyes of the consumer. Back in the 1950s and 60’s automakers had the annual styling change. Who knows? Maybe we’ll see that turn into the annual graphics change.
FORD CONVERTS 1978 F-100 TO PURE BEV
Speaking of aftermarket parts, when Ford revealed that it’s coming out with an electric crate motor, called the Eluminator, we said it probably would appeal to a lot of classic car owners who want to convert their ride to electric. Well, we were right. Ford converted a classic 1978 F-100 pickup to electric with two crate motors that came right out of a Mach-E GT. Each motor retails for just under $4-grand and produces 281 horsepower. And you heard right. That truck was called the F-100. Here’s the history. The F-100 name was first used in 1953 on the second generation of the F-Series truck and ran all the way until 1983. The F-150 was introduced in 1975 as a more capable version of the F-100, which allowed Ford to skate around some emission regulations at the time.
SMOKE, SMOKE, SMOKE THAT CIGARETTE
Hey you, put out that cigarette, or Bosch is going to bust you! That’s right, Bosch developed a smoke detector for car sharing vehicles, especially autonomous ones. It’s a little black box that attaches to the windshield. So if a customer lights up in a car, the black box notifies the fleet manager so the car can be cleaned and aired out before someone else gets in it. Cigarette smell is a major complaint with ride sharing. The same sensor can also detect if a vehicle gets dings, dents or scratches. So that little black box helps fleet operators get their cars fixed fast and keeps their customers happy, or at least the ones that don’t smoke.
AUTO ISAC FIGHTS CYBER ATTACKS
Have you heard about the Auto ISAC? It’s all about fighting cyber attacks on the automotive industry. ISAC stands for information sharing and assessment center. And the Auto ISAC is all about automakers and suppliers in the U.S. banding together to share what kinds of attacks they have faced and how they combatted them. By sharing this info these companies learn from one another which makes them much more effective against the black hats. I was recently invited to moderate a panel at this year’s Auto ISAC conference and we recorded that for an Autoline This Week episode. Here’s a bit of a flavor of how that went.
I asked Al Adams from General Motors what kind of attacks they’re seeing.
“As it relates to the auto industry we’ve seen attacks and threat actors impact especially IT systems of companies. We’ve seen some activities in OT systems as well, in the manufacturing systems. We have not seen a lot in the product space, however, what we always prescribe to is a mindset of ‘not if, but when.’ So we are always on the lookout for that threat that may come into our space.”
Stephen McKnight is from Stellantis and I asked him what kind of steps they go through when they realise they’ve been hacked.
“Defcon 5 could happen. However, we’ve been fortunate to this point that, you know, the call comes in, we start the investigation. And we start the investigation with those same security engineers that were there during design. What does this vehicle look like? What controls do we have in place? And possibly, how could one of those controls have failed? Or, a new threat scenario has developed and, you know, we’ ve got to take that into consideration.
And I asked Bob Kaster from Bosch if automakers are going to need new technology to fight cyber criminals in the future.
“I would say that the car from 2030 will look very different than a car from 2021. So as we’re getting more connected and have more leverage in what the modules can do in a car, it is new technology that we’re developing to support it. And as Stephen said, it’s the basic tools we’re using that are understood, it’s the application of them. Instead of having a big computer you have a small microcontroller inside your airbag or your braking controller that you’re trying to put security into. Something that’s different than trying to put it into your PC.”
You can watch that show on our website or YouTube channel. And we invite you to join us for Autoline After Hours tomorrow afternoon when our guest will be Dan Cook, the CEO of Lyten, that company which could have game changing EV battery technology. Do they really? Well, you’ll have to tune in and judge for yourself.
And that wraps up today’s report, thanks for watching.
Thanks to our partner for embedding Autoline Daily on its website: WardsAuto.com
Seamus and Sean McElroy cover the latest news in the automotive industry for Autoline Daily.
