AD #3600 – Porsche Says No to Tesla’s NACS; Ford’s Farley Shoots Back at UAW; GM Makes Military Version of Hummer EV

  

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

PORSCHE SAYS NO TO TESLA’S NACS
Ever since Ford announced it would go with Tesla’s North American Charging Standard, or NACS, just about everyone else has jumped on board. The SAE announced it’s going to standardize the NACS connector. And it seems like every day another automaker or public charging company announces it will adopt NACS. But not Porsche. Automotive News reports that Porsche will not make its cars compatible with Tesla’s Supercharger network, even though Porsche is trying to make as many chargers available to its customers as possible.

TESLA TO SET RECORD QUARTER FOR DELIVERIES
As we reported the other day, Tesla’s strategy of cutting prices is paying off in China with record deliveries. But really, it’s paying off globally. Analysts estimate that Tesla delivered about 445,000 vehicles from April to June, which would be an increase of about 5% compared to last quarter. So, even though it’s losing market share to new EVs coming out, Tesla has still been able to boost sales, mainly thanks to the price cuts and other incentives.  

MODEL 3 TO USE CATL’S M3P CELLS
That’s never a viable long-term strategy, but Tesla should be able to spark fresh demand with the Cybertruck and an upcoming refresh to the Model Y and 3. And I’ve been reading a number of reports that the updated version of the base, rear-drive made-in-China Model 3 will come with a new battery pack. It’s said to feature CATL’s new M3P cell, which is believed to be more energy dense, cheaper to make and will boost total energy from 60 kWh to 66 kWh. However, there’s still no definitive reveal date for the refreshed 3 and Y.

FORD’S FARLEY SHOOTS BACK AT UAW ACCUSATIONS
UAW president Shawn Fain says automakers are run by greedy executives who try to screw their workers. He calls GM, Ford and Stellantis “the enemy” and told his members to prepare to go to war this fall when their labor contract expires. But now we’re also getting chatter from the other side of the fence. Ford’s CEO Jim Farley says the company actually treats its workers like family and compensates them well. He points out that Ford’s average UAW worker earns $112,000 a year including wages and benefits. We would add that skilled trades workers earn another $50,000 a year on top of that. They also earned $42,000 in profit sharing and bonuses over the last 4 years. With their health care coverage UAW workers pay zero premiums and most of them don’t pay any deductible. Only 1% of American workers get such a generous health care plan. Farley also points out they also earned $1,500 a year in inflation bonuses, which is more than they would have received with a COLA, or cost of living allowance. Farley says the upcoming contract negotiations “should be about collaboration, not concessions (and) creative ideas, not confrontation.” 

TOYOTA & HYUNDAI EV ADs BANNED IN THE UK
A UK watchdog banned EV ads from Toyota and Hyundai because it said they exaggerated charging speeds and were misleading about the availability of fast-charging spots. In a bZ4x ad, Toyota claimed that the EV could be charged to 80% in 30 minutes using a 150-kW fast charger. And Hyundai said the Ioniq 5 can charge from 10% to 80% in 18 minutes using a 350-kW charger. The UK’s Advertising Standards Authority received complaints about those claims and the companies admitted that those numbers were achieved in perfect factory conditions. The ads also claimed that owners would be able to easily find fast chargers at public locations in the UK but that was deemed misleading because most of the sites are in England with relatively few in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. This is the first time the watchdog has banned ads involving electric vehicles.

NEW FORD MUSTANG PRICING REVEALED
Ford opened the full build and price website for the new Mustang, which means we know how much it costs now. A base EcoBoost version starts at just under $31,000 not including destination charges. To go to a V8 GT it costs $42,500. A convertible for the EcoBoost adds $9-grand to the price and $10-grand for a GT. And lastly, the new 500 horsepower Dark Horse Mustang starts at just under $60,000. Ford says of all the people that have already configured a new Mustang, 50% more people are ordering the High Performance Package on the EcoBoost version, which it thinks is due to the addition of its electronic drift brake, and that 27% of GT and Dark Horse buyers are ordering a manual transmission. 

COMMERCIAL EV CHARGING HUB LAUNCHED IN MICHIGAN
There’s a lot of focus on growing the EV charging infrastructure for passenger vehicles but there’s also going to be a need for sites to charge electric commercial vehicles. That’s why the State of Michigan has partnered with Daimler Truck North America and DTE Energy to launch a prototype program to test charging for commercial EVs. Called the Mobility Charging Hub it will allow companies to test new technologies, digital services, and business models. DTE will operate the hub’s infrastructure, including EV charging solutions, solar canopies and battery energy storage systems. And the site will be located at a Daimler Truck facility just outside of Detroit. The goal is to help speed the deployment of commercial EVs and create the “truck stop of the future.”

GM DEFENSE CREATES MILITARY VERSION OF HUMMER EV
The Hummer could once again be a military vehicle. GM Defense took a Hummer EV, stripped off anything it didn’t need, then upgraded it with FOX shocks, 37-inch tires and heavy-duty brakes. It also improved the approach and departure angles, added a roll cage and mounting and attaching points for things like guns. It even features an on-board 12 kW diesel generator that can recharge the battery pack. GM Defense says an EV offers the added benefit of being quieter and having a lower heat signature. 

VW GROUP USING AI TO CHECK SPOT WELDS
The Volkswagen Group is rolling out technology at its plants that uses artificial intelligence to perform quality control checks of spot welds. The system was first tested at one of Audi’s plants and now the VW Group is installing it at three more in Europe. Currently, the company uses ultrasound to manually check welds randomly. But by using AI it makes the process more efficient. Audi said it was able to analyze 1.5 million spot welds on 300 vehicles each shift using the tech. And the data generated can also be used to improve other production processes.

HONDA OFFERS CPO JETS
You’ve heard of CPO cars, right? Certified Pre-Owned. Those are used cars that go through a thorough inspection and get re-sold with a factory warranty. Well, now Honda’s doing that with its corporate jet. A new one costs around $5 million, not including taxes or destination charges, while a used one is about $2 million cheaper. Honda believes CPO jets will open up the market to more customers who can’t afford a new one, and they also get all kinds of factory support for training and maintenance. The jets are made in Greensboro, North Carolina and Honda has sold 230 of them since they went on sale in 2006.   

A programming note here. The Autoline crew will be off next week for our summer break so there will not be any Autoline Dailies or Autoline After Hours. But we’ll be right back on July 10.