AD #3516 – Tesla Redesigning Model 3 & Y; Prius Prime Gets 65 Mile EV Range; EU ICE Ban Could Collapse

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TESLA REDESIGNING MODEL 3 & Y
Elon Musk has always followed Henry Ford’s strategy with the Model T–just keep improving the car and don’t change the styling. But with BYD’s sales surpassing Tesla in China, and with Tesla losing market share globally, the time has come to change that strategy. Even Henry Ford came to realize that he needed new designs. Later today Musk will present the next steps in the company’s Master Plan, and that could include a look at the updated styling for the Model 3 and Model Y.  Reuters reports that the redesign of the Model 3 is codenamed Highland and it will start production in China this September. The codename for the Model Y is Juniper and it will go into production in October of 2024. These don’t seem to be mild facelifts. They require Tesla to retool its plant in China to make the new versions, which include changes to the exterior and interior. And while over the air updates keep making Teslas better all the time, we think a styling change will definitely be a big boost to sales. 

TESLA TO BUILD PLANT IN MEXICO
Mexico’s president Andres Obrador got a jump on Elon Musk and announced yesterday that Tesla will build a new plant in Monterrey, Mexico. Since the IRA provides generous subsidies of up to $45 per kilowatt hour for battery plants that are built in the US, we think what’s going into Mexico is a vehicle assembly plant, not a battery plant. And we think that it could build Tesla’s next-gen, low-cost car that Musk says will cost about $25,000. By the way, if you’d like to listen to Elon Musk’s Master Plan presentation, we’ve got a link in today’s transcript. It goes live at 4 pm Eastern time.

 

EU ICE BAN COULD COLLAPSE  
Last week the EU officially introduced legislation to ban IC engines after 2035. But now Germany and Italy are saying, “hold the horses.” Last month, Italy said it prefers a 90% reduction in CO2 emissions, not 100%. And now Germany is pushing back, too. The country’s transportation minister isn’t happy about going all EV. He wants exemptions for ICE cars that run on e-fuels. And he wants fuel cell cars as part of the equation. And they’re not the only ones. Poland and Hungary are also against the ICE ban, and if they don’t go along with it, the whole deal could fall apart.

MORE DETAILS ON RAM REV
Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares revealed a critical detail about the range extender going in the electric version of the Ram pickup. Rather than the engine providing any power to the wheels, Tavares says “By nature an extender is charging the battery… with your ICE engine revving at a constant speed.” It’s nice to start getting an understanding of how the system will work, but it could be a while before we’re able to fill in all the blanks. The Ram 1500 REV isn’t scheduled to launch until late next year. But Tavares also talked about making Ram a global brand. He said there’s big business in pickup trucks outside the U.S. for people that are buying the U.S. lifestyle and are paying a high price. And there’s only one place in the world that we think best fits that description and that’s China.

STELLANTIS INVESTS IN EV COMPONENTS
Speaking of Stellantis, it continues to make EV investments. Yesterday it announced it’s taking a stake in a copper mining company and now we can report it’s also pouring money into three plants in Indiana to make Electric Drive Modules. Stellantis is investing $155 million to make the modules, which combine the motor, power electronics and transmission into one unit. It will be used in both STLA Frame and STLA Large vehicles, like that Ram 1500 REV and the Peugeot Inception, and will provide up to 500 miles or 800 kilometers of driving range. The cover for the Electric Drive Modules will be made at a casting plant, then sent to a transmission plant for machining before going to another transmission plant for gear machining and final assembly. Production is expected to start in the third quarter of 2024.

INSIDE BUICK’S ELECTRA E5
Here’s the interior of Buick’s first all-electric SUV, the Electra E5, which recently went on sale in China. It’s about the same size as the Cadillac Lyriq and we see some basic similarities between the two. They both feature about the same amount of rear seat legroom. The E5 has just over 1,000 mm or roughly 40.5 inches of space. The armrest and center console area is also similar with a couple of cup holders and rotary control knob for the display. And as for the large screen, it’s more closely related to the one in the Lyriq than the EVs from Chevy and GMC. It’s a 30 inch 6K curved OLED display that runs off of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon platform, which also controls a 12.6 inch HUD. We’ve shown off the E5 in past shows as well as a slightly smaller E4 for the Chinese market, so we’re starting to wonder when Buick will announce its first EV for the U.S.?

PRIUS PRIME GETS 65 MILE EV RANGE 
The plug-in hybrid version of the all-new Prius will have a lot more EV range than Toyota initially reported. It said it expected a roughly 50% improvement from the current model, which would have put it somewhere in the high 30s to low 40s miles of range. But with 17 inch wheels the new Prius plug-in gets 105 kilometers or 65 miles of EV range, according to the WLTC test cycle. That represents a 75% improvement over the current model. The version with 19 inch wheels also sees a big jump in range. It’s rated at 87 kilometers or 54 miles. Toyota’s new PHEV system consists of a lithium-ion battery, a 2.0L 4-cylinder engine and an electric motor that combine for roughly 220 horsepower. However, we haven’t seen any specs on the motor or battery yet. The new Prius plug-in will go on sale in Japan on March 15th, so we’d expect other markets to follow soon.

USPS BUYS FORD E-TRANSITS
The U.S. Postal Service announced it’ll buy 9,250 Ford E-Transits for its fleet. And the first ones arrive in December. The USPS is also ordering 14,000 charging stations that will be installed in at least 75 Post Office locations within the next 12 months. The USPS didn’t reveal how much the contracts it awarded are for but it’s part of an overall $9.6 billion investment to update its fleet.

 

CHINESE EV OFFERS KARAOKE 
Some Chinese automakers are coming up with clever features in their cars. On Monday we showed you how the Wuling Bingo EV comes with an air mattress that fits in the back of the car with the rear seats down. Now take a look at the Yudo Yuntu which offers an optional karaoke machine. It includes two microphones, an extra subwoofer, and a game controller. Yudo says you can now sing impromptu anywhere, anytime. The little city electric has a range of 200 miles and starts at $12,400.

And that’s a wrap for today’s show. Thanks for tuning in. And let’s do this thing again tomorrow.