AD #3240 – Kia Shares More Niro Details; Local Motors Goes Out of Business; Tesla Signs Graphite Deal

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

GM MEXICO WORKERS TO VOTE ON NEW UNION
The USMCA, which is the new trade agreement between the U.S., Canada and Mexico, could have a profound effect on labor costs in Mexico. They’re starting to go up a lot. Mexican unions historically were toothless organizations that did whatever management wanted. Under the USMCA, Mexican workers can now freely choose the union they want to represent them. And General Motors workers in Silao will vote in two weeks for a new union. Silao makes Silverado and Sierra pickups. To avoid a 25% tariff, any vehicle exported from Mexico to the U.S. has to have 40% of its parts made with $16 an hour labor. And right now we’re seeing automakers in Mexico triple the wages of their workers to meet that requirement.

TESLA SIGNS GRAPHITE DEAL
Tesla continues to lock up its own supply chain for the raw materials it needs to make batteries. Last week it locked up a source for nickel. This week it’s graphite. Tesla signed a deal with Syrah Resources to get graphite, which is used in the negative pole of the battery, starting in 2025. While Syrah is an Australian company, it sources the graphite from Mozambique and it’s processed at a plant in Louisiana in the U.S. And that’s a big deal for Tesla. It wants to reduce its dependence on China. Right now China accounts for 70% of graphite production globally. It’s also a good move because, as we reported at the end of last year, the next shortage to hit the industry will probably be a graphite shortage. Producers can’t keep up with demand.

BP SAYS EV CHARGER PROFITABILITY CLOSE TO GAS STATIONS
Here’s a pretty big milestone. BP says its fast EV chargers are close to becoming more profitable than its traditional gas pumps. The fast charging division isn’t expected to become profitable until 2025 but on a margin basis, it’s nearly on par with filling up with gasoline. BP currently has 11,000 charging points and plans to grow it to 70,000 by 2030. But here’s our Autoline Insight. Gas stations don’t make much profit on selling gasoline. That’s the loss leader. They make their profit selling lottery tickets, cigarettes and beer. Electricity at public EV chargers is quite expensive. It can cost twice as much as residential rates and three times more than commercial rates.

KIA SHARES MORE NIRO DETAILS
Kia introduced the all-new Niro back in November but now it’s sharing more details. Its styling has been updated and it’s a bit larger than the outgoing model. Inside, it features a 10.25-inch display screen. Like before, it’s available as a hybrid, plug-in hybrid and battery electric vehicle. The hybrid is powered by a 1.6L four-cylinder gasoline engine that’s mated to a six-speed dual clutch transmission. Its fuel economy is 20.8 kilometers per liter or about 49 MPG but that’s based on the Korean standard. The hybrid goes on sale in Korea this month and will be available in global markets later in the year. The plug-in hybrid and BEV go on sale at a later date and Kia will reveal specs for those models closer to when they go on sale.

LOCAL MOTORS GOES OUT OF BUSINESS
Sad to say, the startup company called Local Motors went out of business. It’s best known for becoming the first company to 3D print a car back in 2014. It also introduced an autonomous shuttle called Olli that is partly manufactured using 3D printing. Local Motors was formed in 2007 and was based in Phoenix, Arizona. But it simply ran out of money. Critics tell Autoline that it tried to do too much, too fast.

ELECTRIC COOPER SE BEST SELLING VEHICLE IN MINI’S LINEUP
Some brands are doing a much better job of selling electric cars than others. Amazingly, the best-selling car in Mini’s lineup last year was the Cooper SE, which is a pure BEV. Mini sold nearly 35,000 of them, up 98%. But all those sales were in Europe and China. The Cooper SE is just going on sale in the U.S. now, which some have criticized as a compliance car because it only has a range of 114 miles. 

Ford is going to beat Chevrolet to the market with an electric pickup. That’s because Ford took its existing F-150 and jammed it full of batteries. That saved Ford a ton of time. But GM went with a totally clean sheet design, using zero carryover parts. And that took longer to develop. So Chevrolet is going to come out with a more efficient electric truck. Want to learn more about what GM did? Then join us on Autoline After Hours this Thursday when our special guest will be Nicole Kraatz, the chief engineer on the Chevrolet Silverado. We’ll take a deep dive into how GM engineered its all-new electric pickup, from road to roof and bumper to bumper.

CATL JUMPS INTO BATTERY SWAPPING BUSINESS
Battery swapping is becoming more popular in China. Even CATL, the biggest battery maker in the world is getting in on the action. It’s launching battery swapping stations under the brand name EVOGO. And CATL says it’s ready to work with any automaker that wants to do battery swapping. 

CHINESE STARTUP DEVELOPS AV TRUCK WITH SWAPPABLE BATTERIES
Along those lines, a Chinese startup called Westwell developed autonomous trucks that also use battery swapping. Westwell is operating 100 autonomous trucks at ports in China, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates. The company says it only takes 6 minutes to swap the batteries in its trucks, and it will open battery swapping stations in four countries this year. 

BUICK GL8 AVENIR NOW AVAILABLE WITH HANDS-FREE DRIVING
Buick customers in China will be able to get their hands-on GM’s newest version of SuperCruise. Although, it doesn’t call it SuperCruise. It calls it eCruise Pro. Available as an over-the-air update on GL8 Avenir models, the feature allows for hands-free driving on more than 200,000 kilometers of city streets, elevated roads, highways and freeways. It also includes an all-new Instructed Lane Changing function, which can change lanes automatically when the turn signal is hit. Buick doesn’t say what customers will be charged, if anything, for the OTA, but claims it takes just 5 minutes to download.

NIO OFFERS 1ST OTA UPDATE OUTSIDE OF CHINA
Speaking of OTAs, Chinese automaker NIO is offering its first over-the-air update outside of China. For users in Norway, the update improves the operating system to include manual battery warmup, extends cabin pre-conditioning and makes searching for charging easier.

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