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Runtime: 10:06
0:08 Musk Promises Full Autonomy This Year
0:35 Porsche Market Cap to Be Bigger Than GM
1:17 U.S. & China Work Out Audit Agreement
3:11 Toyota Intros bZ3 EV In China
3:58 Toyota Bullish On E-Fuels
4:53 Bentley Gets into Apartment Business
5:52 Cadillac, Opel Celebrate Their Birthdays
7:18 Honda & LG To Build U.S. Battery Plant
7:59 BYD Surges into Europe
8:41 Aussies Love Big American Pickups
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MUSK PROMISES FULL AUTONOMY THIS YEAR
Elon Musk tends to over promise and under deliver vehicle and product launches, but now he’s adamant he IS going to deliver fully autonomous FSD before the year is out. Musk says he is “trying to ideally get” it “in wide release” in the U.S. by the end of the year. And it goes beyond the US. He said Tesla will also release FSD in Europe, depending on regulatory approval.
PORSCHE MARKET CAP TO BE BIGGER THAN GM
Despite a lot of volatility in stock markets, Porsche is expected to officially announce its IPO next week. Bloomberg says Porsche could be valued at 60 to 85 billion euros. That would give it a market cap greater than General Motors. Some investors are complaining about Porsche’s corporate governance because IPO investors will be sold preferred shares that don’t carry voting rights. The voting rights all go to the Porsche and Piech families. Even so, the investment community is likely to buy as many shares as it can get its hands on.
U.S. & CHINA WORK OUT AUDIT AGREEMENT
Tensions between the United States and China are the highest they’ve been in years, but both countries managed to find common ground on how to deal with Chinese companies that are listed on U.S. stock exchanges. In the U.S., all publicly listed companies are legally required to let U.S. regulators audit their financial reports. But in China it’s illegal to let foreign regulators audit Chinese companies. That threatened to kick 200 Chinese companies off U.S. stock exchanges, including EV startups like BYD, XPeng, Geely, Great Wall, NIO and Li Auto. But now the U.S. and China have a working solution. American regulators will have free access to Chinese info, but they will have to conduct their audits in Hong Kong. Reuters reports that if U.S. regulators are satisfied they’re getting all the info they need, then they’ll rule that China is in compliance with U.S. law.
TOYOTA INTROS bZ3 EV IN CHINA
Toyota is betting that hybrids are the best solution for carbon reduction, but Chinese media reports that it missed the boat in China. While Toyota doubled down on hybrids, EVs are taking the Chinese market by storm. Toyota only has one EV in its lineup, the bZ4x crossover, but it’s following that up with the bZ3, an electric 4-door sedan that will be out later this year. It’s getting its batteries and electric drivetrain from BYD. There’s not a lot of info on the car. It’s rear-wheel-drive, and offers two power choices, 183 horsepower or 244. We should get information about the pricing sometime in November.
TOYOTA BULLISH ON E-FUELS
Speaking of Toyota, unlike most automakers, it’s quite bullish on e-fuels. Those are carbon-neutral liquid fuels that can be used in IC engines. Speaking to reporters at an event in Michigan last week, Gil Pratt, the chief scientist of Toyota says they’re doing a lot of R&D with e-fuels. He said the energy density is better than EV batteries and the infrastructure is already in place to move liquid fuels. But there are a couple of big hurdles to overcome. E-fuels still take more energy to make than they supply, and they’re significantly more expensive than gasoline. Toyota is not the only automaker looking at e-fuels. Porsche says it will produce an e-fuel later this year, but that will be used in race cars.
BENTLEY GETS INTO APARTMENT BUSINESS
Luxury automakers try and set themselves apart by creating unique experiences and Bentley is taking that to a new level. The Bentley Residences are a series of luxury apartments in Miami that “integrate Bentley design throughout each and every corner.” But you don’t just pull into a garage. No. Each resident gets their own three or four-car storage space right in their apartment and a specially designed elevator will carry the owner and car right to their floor. Their Bentley is fitted with RFID stickers that are automatically scanned upon arrival and then hydraulic arms lock the tires down before being moved to the shuttle system. And with Bentley’s shift to electric each garage has its own charger.
CADILLAC, OPEL CELEBRATE THEIR BIRTHDAYS
Speaking of luxury brands, Happy 120th anniversary to Cadillac, which was the first company to mass-produce a V8 engine and the first to offer a V-16-powered production car. And happy anniversary to Opel, which is turning 160 years old. Founded in 1862, it started out making sewing machines, then went on to become the world’s largest bicycle maker before getting into making cars.
HONDA & LG TO BUILD U.S. BATTERY PLANT
Another day, another EV battery factory announcement. This time it’s Honda partnering with LG Energy Solution to open a battery plant in the U.S. The companies will invest $4.4 billion in the plant to make up to 40GWh annually. They didn’t announce where the plant will go, but other reports say it will be in Ohio where Honda has the bulk of its U.S. manufacturing operations. It’s supposed to open in 2025. The decision to open a plant in the U.S. comes hot on the heels of the Inflation Reduction Act which gives tax credits to EVs with batteries made in the USA.
BYD SURGES INTO EUROPE
Chinese automaker BYD is serious about establishing the brand in Europe. It currently sells EVs in Norway and over the next few months it will expand into the Netherlands, Germany and Sweden. And now the assistant General Manager of BYD Europe tells Autocar that the company is “seriously thinking” about opening a manufacturing plant in Europe. He says there aren’t any concrete plans but if the brand does well it will consider building a factory in the region. BYD produces all of its vehicles at five factories in China and will export EVs from there to Europe.
AUSSIES LOVE BIG AMERICAN PICKUPS
Australians love their big American pickup trucks. Well, wealthy Australians do. Those trucks have to be imported and then converted to right hand steer and they sell for well over $100,000. Even so, Chevrolet, Ram and Ford sell thousands of their full-size pickups in Australia. And now Toyota is following suit. It signed an agreement with Australian company Walkinshaw to convert Tundra pickups to right hand steer. And we want to thank our Australian viewer Warwick Dundas for bringing this story to our attention. By the way, we get a lot of good suggestions from you, our viewers. So if you see something that you think we ought to take a look at, let us know.
But that brings us to the end of today’s show. Thanks for tuning in and we hope to see you again tomorrow.
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Seamus and Sean McElroy cover the latest news in the automotive industry for Autoline Daily.