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Runtime: 9:56
0:08 U.S. SAAR Drops to Only 12.6 Million
0:37 Jaguar Only Sells 791 Cars in May
1:13 U.S. BEV Segment Tops 5% Market Share
1:39 Musk Wants to Fire 10,000 Employees
2:59 USPS Tests E-Bikes
3:50 Stellantis To Get Lithium from California
4:43 Wuling Launches BEV for Global Markets
6:13 GM Cruise Can Now Charge for Driverless AV Rides
6:40 Mercedes-Benz Prices New EQB Electric
7:06 Porsche Offers New Performance Kit For 911 GT3
8:17 Toyota Toyopet Was Complete Flop in U.S.
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U.S. SAAR DROPS TO ONLY 12.6 MILLION
Sales of new cars and trucks in the American market sank even more last month. The SAAR, or seasonally adjusted annual rate, fell to only 12.6 million vehicles, well below what automakers were expecting. In April, the SAAR was 14.5 million and a year ago it was 16.9. Automakers sold 1.1 million vehicles in May, down nearly 24% on a daily selling rate basis.
| U.S. AUTO SALES May, 2022 | ||
|---|---|---|
| SAAR | 12.6 M | -25.4% |
| Sales | 1.1 M | -23.8% |
| Source: Wards Intelligence | ||
JAGUAR ONLY SELLS 791 CARS IN MAY
But for some automakers it was even worse. Mazda saw its sales plummet over 60%. Honda was down 54%, JLR dropped 48%. In fact, Jaguar only sold 791 cars last month which is scary bad. Audi and VW also saw major drops. Only two automakers were able to boost sales on a daily selling rate basis. Tesla was up a staggering 175% and Ford posted a 4.6% increase.
| U.S. AUTO SALES May, 2022 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Mazda | 15,312 | -60.7% |
| Honda | 75,491 | -53.7 |
| JLR | 4,700 | -48.5 |
| Audi | 11,700 | -43.4 |
| VW | 26,068 | -36.9 |
| Source: Wards Intelligence | ||
U.S. BEV SEGMENT TOPS 5% MARKET SHARE
The EV segment was one of the few bright spots, with sales up 94% over a year ago. And BEVs achieved a major milestone. Consumers bought 57,804 BEVs, which accounted for over 5% of all new car sales, which we believe is a record for market share for battery powered vehicles in the U.S. market.
MUSK WANTS TO FIRE 10,000 EMPLOYEES
Even though Tesla’s sales keep growing, it looks like Elon Musk thinks they’re going to start to fall. Reuters reports he wants to cut 10% of all employees at Tesla, which would come to about 10,000 people. Musk says he has, and I quote, a “super bad feeling” about the economy and thinks a recession is on the way. He also told employees they can no longer work from home and that if they don’t spend 40 hours a week at the office, Tesla will assume that they have resigned. But that prompted immediate push-back in Germany and the Netherlands where it is illegal to fire employees without negotiating with works councils to come up with severance packages.
USPS TESTS E-BIKES
The U.S. Postal Service has been heavily criticized for not buying enough electric delivery trucks. So it started what it calls a Network Improvement Plan, to expand the number of electric vehicles in its fleet. That includes the ugly Next Generation Delivery Vehicle, but it potentially includes e-bikes. They’re made by a company based in the U.S., called Coaster Cycles and are fitted with a large cargo box. Power is fed to the rear wheels by a Bosch electric motor that’s mated to a CVT. With a cargo capacity of 400 pounds, range will vary from the 500 Wh battery depending on the load. The USPS is still in the testing phase, but e-bikes will make a lot of sense over a big delivery vehicle wherever there’s a dense enough population.
STELLANTIS TO GET LITHIUM FROM CALIFORNIA
Automakers around the world are trying to line up raw materials for EV batteries that don’t come from China. So Stellantis is partnering with Controlled Thermal Resources or CTR for sustainably sourced lithium that will come from the Salton Sea in California. It’s part of CTR’s Hell’s Kitchen Project, where it recovers lithium from geothermal brines using renewable energy and steam to produce lithium in a closed-loop process. That means no water is wasted. CTR will supply Stellantis with 25,000 metric tons of lithium hydroxide per year over the ten-year deal, which will be used to produce EV batteries in North America. Last year, the automaker signed a similar deal for European EV production.
WULING LAUNCHES BEV FOR GLOBAL MARKETS
Wuling has torn up the Chinese sales charts with its cheap, little Hong Guang MINI EV and now it’s looking to do the same in other regions of the world. It just revealed the Air ev for global markets that looks a little like the MINI EV and built on the same platform. Power options are also the same as the MINI EV Gameboy Edition we showed the other day, either 30 or 50 kW of power and ranges of 200 or 300 kilometers, based on the Chinese test cycle. The Air ev will also be sold in China, but its first foreign market will be Indonesia.
GM CRUISE CAN NOW CHARGE FOR DRIVERLESS AV RIDES
General Motors’ autonomous unit Cruise just hit a big milestone becoming the first company to operate a commercial driverless ride-hailing service in the U.S. It received a permit from the California Public Utilities Commission to be able to charge for driverless rides. Cruise will gradually roll out the service in San Francisco to begin with but it did not say when it will be available in other markets.
MERCEDES-BENZ PRICES NEW EQB ELECTRIC
Mercedes revealed U.S. pricing for the EQB electric SUV. The 225 horsepower, 300 4MATIC trim starts at $55,550 and the 288 horsepower, 350 4MATIC version has a starting price of $59,100. The new EQB goes on sale this summer in the U.S.
PORSCHE OFFERS NEW PERFORMANCE KIT FOR 911 GT3
I think it takes a special breed of person for a Porsche 911 GT3 owner to go, ‘You know what? This car just isn’t fast enough.’ But that’s exactly what the new Manthey Performance Kit will do for current model owners. The massive rear wing is not going to be for everyone’s tastes but it serves a very useful purpose, to improve downforce. And there are a number of aerodynamic aids with this package. It includes a bigger spoiler lip and side air flaps at the front, underbody air guides, the rear diffuser is larger and made of carbon fiber reinforced plastic and so are the aerodisks that cover part of the rear wheels. There’s also a special 4-way coilover suspension system and lightweight wheels. In fact, there are no changes to the powertrain with the Manthey package. The only options are 21-inch wheels instead of 20-inch, special racing brake pads and Michelin race tires. But the car lapped the Nurburgring almost 4.2 seconds faster than a standard 911 GT3.
TOYOTA TOYOPET WAS COMPLETE FLOP IN U.S.
Here’s a story that not many people are aware of. The first car that Toyota tried to sell in the United States in 1957 was called the Toyopet. It was a frumpy looking small 4-door sedan with a weird name that was underpowered, prone to overheating and had severely undersized brakes. In fact, the Toyopet was so out of its element that no one wanted them. Toyota literally had to load them back on ships and send them back to Japan. But Toyota didn’t give up. It learned from its mistakes, designed an entirely new car that would appeal to Americans, and launched the Corolla in 1968. It was an instant success, and Toyota kept building on that success until, last year, it became the top selling car company in America.
But that brings us to the end of today’s show. Thanks for making Autoline a part of your day.
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Seamus and Sean McElroy cover the latest news in the automotive industry for Autoline Daily.
