AD #3586 – Chevy Bolt Likely Going to Ultium Platform; VW Teases Electric Beetle; Nio Is Running into Trouble

  

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

PENSION FUNDS WANT AKIO OUT OF TOYOTA
Big pension funds in the US and asset managers in the EU want Akio Toyoda thrown out as Chairman of Toyota. They’re angry that the company will not set a date to stop making vehicles with internal combustion engines and make only EVs instead. Toyota has a shareholders meeting on Wednesday and the pension funds, which own large chunks of Toyota stock, plan to vote to get rid of Akio, who has spoken out against completely getting rid of ICE vehicles right now, instead using hybrids as a bridge to BEVs. In any case, there’s not a snowball’s chance in hell that shareholders will vote to remove Akio. Last year he was re-nominated Chairman with a 96% approval.

NIO IS RUNNING INTO TROUBLE
Chinese automaker Nio has earned the respect of many legacy automakers for its design, technology and innovation. Some even say its electric cars are as good as anything from Mercedes-Benz. But Nio is running into problems in China. Its monthly sales are down almost 50% from their peak in February. It’s cutting the price of its cars by over $4,000 and will eliminate free battery swapping. It posted a net loss in the first quarter that was two and a half times worse than the year before, which will probably hurt profitability even more. And its stock price is down 20% this year. EV startups all over the world are struggling to gain traction but it sure is surprising to see Nio running into so many problems. 

     

TESLA DISPLAYS MANUFACTURING TO ATTRACT CUSTOMERS
If you’re an automaker, how do you break out of the clutter and get people to look at your cars and your company? Well, if you’re Tesla you create an immersive retail experience that highlights all your manufacturing technology. In Chengdu, China Tesla has a new store that displays cutaways of the body-in-white so people can see where the gigacastings are located. It also features industrial robots painted Tesla-red and display cases with components that look like trophy displays. Chinese car buyers are keenly interested in technology and we’re guessing it’s hoping to convince them that its cars are superior.

GM, FORD, VW ALL WANT TO CUT $3 BILLION
There’s something special about the number 3 billion. That’s how much Ford and GM have said they need to cut in costs. And now Reuters reports that Volkswagen’s supervisory board is meeting tomorrow to discuss cutting 3 billion euros across its brands. CEO Oliver Blume reportedly wants to curb duplicate development work and make better use of its German plants, particularly at VW and Audi. Automakers are seeing their profit margins stagnating and want to cut costs to get them higher.

HYUNDAI-KIA TO MERGE R&D OPS
Despite being part of the same group, there’s always been a clear delineation between the Hyundai and Kia brands and even a little healthy competition. But that competition is turning into collaboration. They’re creating a new independent business, called the Allianced Tech Organization, that will be in charge of all vehicle research and development, including EVs, software and technology. Vehicles from Hyundai, Kia and Genesis will now be grouped together into classes to help speed up development. The Hyundai Group’s current president, Yong Hwa Kim will be in charge of the Allianced Tech Organization.

CHEVY BOLT LIKELY GOING TO ULTIUM PLATFORM 
So maybe the Chevy Bolt isn’t dead. After saying she absolutely loves the Bolt EUV, Mary Barra was asked, then why is GM killing off the EV? The CEO’s response? “Because it’s our second-generation technology.” She then goes on to say how there’s a 40% reduction in battery costs between Ultium and the current Bolt platform, and how GM is leveraging vehicle names that are well understood, and how Bolt has built up a lot of loyalty. Barra continues with she can’t say more because she doesn’t talk about future vehicle programs, but then says it was primarily a move from the second generation to the third generation and calls the Bolt an important part of GM’s portfolio. That seems like a lot of hinting at a new Bolt to me. Last year Bolt sales topped 38,000 units, which is only a few thousand more than the Corvette, but with increased production GM expects to make about 70,000 Bolts in 2023.

VW TEASES ELECTRIC BEETLE
VW could be coming out with an electric Beetle. It’s sponsoring a kid’s superhero movie where the main characters will drive cars from VW’s ID family of EVs and one of those is an electric Beetle concept. It’s also fitting that the superhero’s name is Ladybug. But if I’m not mistaken, I think this is the first-time VW has shown an ID Beetle.

CHARIN DISSES TESLA’S NACS
Did you ever hear of an organization called CharIn? Neither did we, until Ford and General Motors announced their going to adopt Tesla’s NACS charging standard. That’s when CharIn, which established the CCS charging standard, protested that Tesla’s system is not really a standard. CharIn is a global association focused on all forms of electric transportation and has over 320 members. And it wants Tesla to submit its system to organizations that set standards like ISO, the SAE or IEEE (I triple E) to ensure that Tesla’s system offers reliability, safety, and adaptability. But maybe CharIn was not aware that Tesla was part of the SAE’s efforts to establish the J1772-2009 charging standard for North America. That was over a decade ago. And the way we heard it, no one on the SAE committee was interested in Tesla’s suggestions. So while they went off and developed the CCS plugs that are in wide use today, Tesla went off and developed its system. And now it looks like Tesla’s system is going to become the North American standard whether CharIn wants to call it a standard or not.   

TESLA TO EARN BILLIONS FROM NON-TESLA BRANDS
By the way, Tesla is going to earn billions by opening up its Supercharger network to other brands. According to Piper Sandler, the company will make $3 billion in charging revenue from non-Tesla brands by 2030 and $5.4 billion by 2032. GM and Ford recently announced plans to adopt Tesla’s North American Charging Standard and we think other automakers will do the same.

But that brings us to the end of today’s show. Thanks for tuning in.