AD #3230 – Tesla Sets Sales Record; Waymo Partners with Geely; Canadian Parts Industry Creates EV Concept

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

Happy New Year and welcome to the first Autoline Daily of 2022. 

TESLA SETS SALES RECORD
Tesla ended 2021 with a bang. The EV maker revealed it set a record in the fourth quarter of last year, delivering 308,600 vehicles globally. That smashed analyst estimates, who forecasted deliveries of 263,000 vehicles. Overall, Tesla sold 936,000 EVs in 2021, up 87% compared to 2020. And that’s pretty impressive, considering the chip shortage which had a big impact on most other automakers. And 2022 should be another record year for Tesla with its plants in Austin and Berlin scheduled to start production.

TESLA RECALLS VEHICLES IN U.S. & CHINA
But it’s not all good news for the company. NHTSA announced that Tesla is recalling more than 356,000 Model 3s over rearview camera issues and nearly 120,000 Model Ss because of front hood problems. And it is recalling 200,000 Model 3s and Ss in China because the trunk lid can open suddenly while the car is in motion. Tesla also agreed to prevent drivers from playing video games on the infotainment while the car is being driven after NHTSA opened an investigation into the feature.

NYPD ADDS MUSTANG MACH-E & MODEL 3 TO FLEET
New York City is adding the Ford Mustang Mach-E to its fleet of government vehicles, including law enforcement. The city announced it’s purchasing 184 Mach-Es for $11.5 million, which works out to $62,500 per vehicle. The Mach-Es will start arriving by the end of June. The City is also planning on adding the Tesla Model 3 to its fleet as well. The Big Apple is aiming to convert its fleet to an all-electric lineup by 2035.

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CANADIAN PARTS INDUSTRY CREATES ELECTRIC CONCEPT VEHICLE
Electric vehicles look like they’re the future and it seems like everyone wants to develop one, including Canada’s entire parts supplier industry. The Canadian APMA or Automotive Parts Manufacturer’s Association announced Project Arrow at CES in 2020, an all-Canadian effort to design, engineer and build a zero-emission concept vehicle. Here’s a digital rendering of what that vehicle could look like. It’s a small electric crossover that looks like it could come from just about any manufacturer, but it also has some cool tech. It’s trying to make the body from eight large laser-welded stampings and, like Tesla, use large castings to form the front and rear frames. Level 3 autonomous capability is also being developed as is a battery pack from a joint venture between Giant Canadian supplier Martinrea and another company, called NanoXplore. NanoXplore is a graphene supplier working on a way to use that material in batteries. The next phase of Project Arrow is to make a real prototype and take it on tour, possibly starting with CES in 2023.

RIVIAN DELAYS MODELS WITH LARGER BATTERY PACK
Rivian has been flying high. It was initially valued over $100 billion after it debuted on the stock exchange in November. It grabbed tons of headlines for deliveries of its all-electric pickup and SUV. But just like everyone else, it’s running into problems securing battery modules and semiconductors chips as well as issues related to the pandemic and a tight labor market. So, Rivian announced it’s delaying versions of its vehicles with a larger battery pack until 2023. The current battery provides over 300 miles of range. The larger one pumps out 400 miles. But since only 20% of its pre-orders were for the larger battery, it’s prioritizing the smaller one. 

AUTOMAKERS INTERESTED IN FORD PLANT IN INDIA
Ford might not be interested in India, but others are. In September, Ford announced it would start to pull some of its manufacturing out of the country. And according to a state minister, it’s already seeing interest in one of Ford’s plants there. Tata, which owns Jaguar Land Rover has shown interest and early stage talks are going on with other firms. Ford ultimately gets to make the final decision but the Indian government is just trying to facilitate talks between the companies.

TUSIMPLE COMPLETES 1ST AUTONOMOUS TEST WITH NO HUMAN DRIVER
Autonomous vehicles continue to make progress. Self-driving startup TuSimple, says it recently successfully completed a fully-autonomous run in a semi-truck. The Class 8 truck didn’t have a human on board and didn’t require any human intervention on its 80-mile route. The trip, which happened at night, started at a railyard in Tucson, Arizona and ended at a distribution center in Phoenix.

WAYMO PARTNERS WITH GEELY
Waymo is currently developing its autonomous technology in Chrysler Pacifica minivans and Jaguar I-Pace’s. And now it’s collaborating with another OEM. Waymo announced it’s partnering with Chinese automaker Geely and will integrate its technology in a purpose built, ride-hailing vehicle from Geely’s electric mobility brand, Zeekr. It looks like a minivan and it features a flat floor with plenty of space for riders. And there’s no steering wheel or pedals. Waymo plans to launch these vehicles in the U.S. “in the years to come” but it didn’t announce a specific date.

But that brings us to the end of today’s show. Thanks for joining us and we’ll be right back here again tomorrow.