AD #3437 – Tesla Model Y #1 In Europe & China; VW Says Parts Shortages the New Norm; Nissan Reveals SEMA Concepts

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

TESLA MODEL Y #1 IN EUROPE & CHINA
Tesla is really on a roll. Last month the Model Y was the best-selling vehicle in Europe and in China. That’s quite an accomplishment. This the first time the Model Y outsold every other vehicle in Europe. Customers bought over 29,000 of them, up 227% from last year. That should really worry automakers in Europe because the company’s assembly plant in Berlin is still not up to line speed, meaning sales could potentially go even higher. One thing to keep in mind is that Tesla always has a sales surge at the end of each quarter, so it’s probably not going to maintain that pace this month. Meanwhile in China, Tesla is doing even better. It sold over 46,000 Model Ys last month, making it the best-selling car in China, and by quite a wide margin.

VW SAYS PARTS SHORTAGES THE NEW NORM
Remember when Covid shutdowns triggered the chip shortage in 2020? Purchasing executives thought it would get straightened out in about 6 months. When that didn’t happen, they thought it would be solved by the end of 2021. Then that stretched into 2022, then 2023, and then 2024. Now Volkswagen says that supply chain disruptions are going to be the norm, not the exception. It’s sitting on 150,000 vehicles worldwide that can’t be delivered because they’re short of parts. Ford is sitting on 45,000 vehicles it can’t sell. And GM is working down its inventory of 90,000 vehicles that were missing parts. Toyota says it will not hit its production target this year because it can’t get enough chips. But it’s not just a chip shortage. Car companies are running into other shortages including wiring harnesses, plastics, and even car badges. And that’s not going to get resolved anytime soon. 

TESLA & BYD PROVE AUTOMAKERS CAN MAKE MONEY ON EVs
Some people say that automakers can’t make money on electric vehicles. But Tesla and BYD are proving them wrong. Last quarter Tesla posted a net profit of nearly $3.3 billion. That’s almost as much as General Motors made, even though GM sold 622,000 more vehicles than Tesla. Meanwhile, in China, BYD got rid of all its ICE-only vehicles this year, Now it only sells EVs and plug-in hybrids. That sure paid off. BYD saw its profit jump 350% in the third quarter. It made $788 million. And that shows that if automakers do it right, they can be very profitable selling electric vehicles.

VW PLANS TWO ENTRY LEVEL EVs
Are automakers trying to quench our fears of high prices for electric vehicles? Right now the average price for an EV in the U.S. is over $65,000, but recently we’ve seen a number of companies talk up lower-priced entry-level models. GM, Honda, Tesla have all done it and now we can add another, Volkswagen. The brand’s CEO says it’s introducing 10 new e-models by 2026 and one of those will be an entry-level vehicle that comes in two versions; one a small car and the other a sporty crossover. He adds that VW is also looking at creating a compact SUV based on the ID.3. The automaker is maintaining its goal to sell a version of the entry-level models that starts under 25,000 euros. 

HONDA CIVIC TYPE R STARTS AT $44,000
Speaking of vehicle prices, Honda revealed that the all-new Civic Type R will start just under $44,000, including destination charges. Based on the 11th generation of the Civic, the Type R generates 315 horsepower, its most ever, from its 2.0L turbocharged 4-cylinder engine. And it will start arriving at dealers in the U.S. today.

DODGE HELPS CUSTOMERS FIND CHARGERS & CHALLENGERS
With inventory tight pretty much everywhere, finding the vehicle you want to buy can be difficult. Dodge wants to help with that. With nearly all 2023 Charger and Challenger models already allocated to dealers, it’s launching what it calls the Dodge Horsepower Locator. By going to DodgeGarage.com customers will be able to search all dealerships by zip code, model and trim level for vehicle availability. But this is not based on inventory. It’s based on dealer allocation. So, it shows you the vehicles that are still available to order through a particular dealer. And this includes special-edition models. Did dealer A just sell its last allocation of the SRT Jailbreak that you wanted? Well, now you’ll be able to see that dealer B down the street still has three available orders left. With the gasoline burning versions of the Charger and Challenger going away to make room for the EV models Dodge hopes this will take some of the mystery out of finding the exact model the customer wanted.

EU REACHES DEAL TO BAN ICE VEHICLES BY 2035
The European Union reached a deal yesterday to pretty much ban sales of internal combustion engine cars by 2035. It also requires a 55% cut in emissions by the end of the decade. But there are some exceptions. Niche automakers that only make a small number of vehicles, like Lamborghini, get a one-year delay to meet the targets. There’s also a provision to allow vehicles that run on synthetic fuels or e-fuels after 2035 but that agreement is non-binding. So unless that becomes a binding agreement, sales of ICE vehicles in the EU will be banned by 2035.

GM PUSHES BACK EV PRODUCTION PLANS
General Motors is pushing back its EV production plans. Earlier this year, CEO Mary Barra told investors that it planned to build 400,000 EVs in North America through 2023. But now she’s telling investors that they’re pushing back that target by six months and that it will reach that amount in the first half of 2024. Barra blames the delay on a slower than expected launch of its battery cell and pack production because it took the company longer than expected to hire and train its workforce at its new battery plant in Ohio. GM also has a goal of producing 1 million EVs in North America by 2025 but it’s not clear yet if this delay will impact that target.

NISSAN REVEALS SEMA CONCEPTS
Nissan has a couple of really cool concepts it’s going to show off at SEMA. The first is a 1987 Sunny pickup truck that’s painted in classic Nissan racing livery. But what’s really interesting about this truck is that it’s been fitted with a Nissan Leaf powertrain. It features a 147-horsepower electric motor paired with a 40-kWh battery pack. While we all know that’s not a lot by today’s EV standards, the setup is twice as powerful and generates 3-times as much torque as the original 4-cylinder that came in the truck. The other we want to highlight is all about looks. It’s a version of the all-electric Ariya made to look like a woody surfing wagon. We especially like the segmented side paneling and the big, bright, turquoise steel wheels. Nissan will have several other vehicles on display at SEMA, which kicks off on November 1st.

But that brings us to the end of this week. Thanks for making Autoline a part of your day and I hope you have a great weekend.