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Runtime: 11:18
0:07 Ford F-150 Lightning Launches Today
1:10 Ford to Build IC Engine for 20 Years
2:05 GM Mexican Workers Demand 19% Raise
3:15 GM’s Ultium Heat Pump
4:49 Corvette EV Uses Ultium, Could Be an SUV
6:10 GM Tells Suppliers to Sign Climate Contract
7:29 Volta Reveals New Heavy-Duty EV Trucks
8:10 Honda Launches New EVs in China
9:27 NIO Hits 200,000 Milestone
10:02 BMW Uses Digital Twins for Manufacturing
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FORD LIGHTNING LAUNCHES TODAY
This is a big day at Ford. Job One for the F-150 all-electric Lightning officially rolls off the assembly line this afternoon. Yesterday. General Motors and Stellantis tried to pre-empt Ford’s publicity barrage. GM confirmed the electric Corvette is on the way and Stellantis again teased the electric version of the RAM pickup. Even so, Ford has a decidedly first-mover advantage. The Chevy Silverado is a year away. So is Tesla’s Cyber Truck. The electric Ram is about two years away. And even though Rivian beat Ford to the market with an electric pickup, it’s struggling to get chips and production is running at a trickle. Meanwhile, Ford ramped up production goals for the Lightning. At first, it expected to make 40,000 a year. But when orders poured in far faster than expected, it raised that to 150,000 a year. And when orders kept pouring in, it just stopped taking orders.
FORD TO BUILD IC ENGINES FOR 20 YEARS
While publicly Ford is all-in on electrics, behind the scenes it’s laying the groundwork to keep IC engines in production for nearly another 20 years. The local Unifor president at Ford’s engine plant in Windsor, Ontario says Ford told him the plant will be making engines for the F-Series until 2040. The plant builds the 7.3L engine for the truck as well as the Mustang’s 5.0L engine and it will soon start producing a 6.8L engine for the F-Series. Ford needs those engines because that’s where it makes the profits it needs to invest in EVs. And here’s an interesting tidbit the Unifor president also revealed. The F-150 Lightning uses 1,700 chips which is eight times more than the current F-150.
GM MEXICAN WORKERS DEMAND 19% RAISE
Well that didn’t take long. GM’s workers in Mexico voted to go with a new independent union, and now they’re demanding a big raise, over 19%. Even so, Reuters reports that would raise wages to only $3.81 an hour, which is less than $8,000 a year. GM made a counter offer of 3.2%, so clearly the bargaining is just getting underway, and we expect that to go on for at least a month. The current contract expires on May 31st.
GM’S ULTIUM HEAT PUMP
We mentioned it when talking about the electric Corvette yesterday, but I’d like to go into a little more detail about GM’s energy recovery system or heat pump for the Ultium platform. It takes heat generated by EV components, like the batteries, inverters and motors, which is typically not harnessed or just wasted and uses that energy for something else. To do this a fluid is pumped through the system that can either remove or apply heat when it comes in contact with the component. The fluid can also be heated more to do even more work. GM says for every 1 kW of energy it takes in, it’s able to put out 4-5 kW. This is not a new idea, but obviously GM’s design and application is going to be a little bit different. For example, it can cool the motors and warm the batteries, which allows for maximum performance or what you may know as Watts to Freedom in the Hummer EV. There’s also talk that it could link up with the Navigation and if it knows the user is going to a station with DC fast charging capability, the system will pre-condition the battery so it charges more efficiently, which could also reduce time spent plugged in. Other benefits include faster heating of the cabin in the cold, more range and overall, less energy used by the battery. GM says all Ultium-based vehicles will come standard with the energy recovery system.
CORVETTE EV USES ULTIUM, LIKELY AN SUV
Now going back to that electric Corvette for a moment. It looks like you all think we missed a couple of things. AutoForecast Solutions reports that in 2025 the electric Corvette will be built at GM’s Grand River plant in Lansing, Michigan. Chuck Grenci points out that the all-electric, Ultium-based ‘Vette will be sold in addition to or alongside gas models, including an electrified version, which is most likely AWD and hybrid. It’s the camouflaged one seen testing in the snow and is coming out next year. And DB implies if we had been paying attention to the rumors we’d have known about the electric Corvette AKA the E-Ray since 2018, would know that it’s coming out in 2025 and could be an SUV. That makes sense. The Grand River plant is also going to build full-size all-electric Cadillac and Buick sedans and SUVs on the Ultium platform. Yesterday I said I was surprised the electric ‘Vette is based on the Ultium platform because I didn’t think it was capable of spawning something similar to the new mid-engine layout. But it’s certainly capable of a super fast SUV. So, what do you think of an electric Corvette SUV?
GM TELLS SUPPLIERS TO SIGN CLIMATE CONTRACT
General Motors is asking its suppliers to sign a Global Climate Action and Human Rights pledge. It wants them to achieve carbon neutrality for direct and indirect emissions based on their respective industry, anywhere between 2025 and 2038 depending on the business. And by 2025, GM wants suppliers to have a management system in place for labor and human rights, ethics and sustainable procurement practices, which will be based on a third-party assessment. GM says just over half of the suppliers that represent the $76 billion it spent on materials last year have already signed the pledge.
VOLTA LAUNCHES HEAVY DUTY EV TRUCKS
EV startup Volta Trucks, which launched the first purpose-built 16-metric-ton commercial truck, just introduced two smaller versions, a 7.5-ton and a 12-ton. Design wise, the new trucks are pretty much the same as the original and both feature the same large cab and central driving position for the driver. Volta didn’t reveal range for the new models but the 16-ton version is between 95 to 125 miles or 150 to 200 kilometers. Volta is aiming to start series production of the 7.5- and 12-ton models in 2025.
HONDA LAUNCHES NEW EVs IN CHINA
Honda is kicking off sales of electric vehicles in China under a new model family, called e:N with its joint venture partners. Dongfeng Honda started sales of the e:NS1 small crossover today, while GAC Honda gets another small crossover, but with different styling, called the e:NP1 that goes on sale in May. Both are built on the newly developed e:N Architecture F. While it’s vague on details it says it features an electric motor and a large-capacity battery that delivers 510 kilometers or about 317 miles on the Chinese test cycle. It also has “next-generation connected technology,” so we’d expect OTA capability and it comes with a 15.1 inch display screen. By 2024, both Dongfeng and GAC will have new plants dedicated to making EVs and e:N vehicles and by 2027 Honda will have introduced 10 e:N models. We also wonder if there’s any consideration to use the e:N Architecture for GM and Honda’s affordable EVs?
NIO HITS 200,000 MILESTONE
Chinese EV automaker NIO, which is already selling cars in Europe, continues to expand its production. Number 200,000 just rolled off the assembly line. It took the company almost four years to accomplish that. That’s an extremely slow ramp up, but NIO is getting a lot of accolades in the industry. It has a second manufacturing site that will start production in the third quarter and plans to introduce three new models this year on its second-generation platform, which has all its latest tech.
BMW USES DIGITAL TWINS FOR MANUFACTURING
For years BMW has been converting to a more digital, connected and automated manufacturing process, some of which we’ve covered here. Now it’s investing in one of the companies that’s aiding the switch. BMW acquired a stake in Kinexon, which helped the automaker develop a software platform that takes in data from all over the plant and transfers it into a digital twin. Then in the virtual world the software can monitor or even test and make changes based on the information coming in and that’s pumped back into the plant so the right parts and tools show up to the right station at the right time. It’s similar to how many autonomous driving systems are tested. BMW currently has the system in place at 10 plants around the world and plans to roll it out to more.
But that brings us to the end of today’s show. Thanks for tuning in.
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Seamus and Sean McElroy cover the latest news in the automotive industry for Autoline Daily.