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Runtime: 10:07
0:00 UAW Pushes for Strike Vote
1:27 CATL Develops Fast Charging LFP Battery
2:18 ONE LFP Battery Now Has Similar Energy Density to NMC
2:59 GM Invests in EV Battery Startup
4:07 Mitsubishi Axes the Mirage
5:00 Hyundai Buys GM India Plant
5:35 India Invests Billions in Electric Buses
6:24 New Cadillac EV Revealed in China
7:10 Ford to Debut Mid-Engine Mustang
7:41 Ranking Automakers by Operating Profit
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UAW PUSHES FOR STRIKE VOTE
UAW President Shawn Fain says that bargaining at the Detroit 3 is going too slow, so he’s now calling on local leaders across the country to issue a strike authorization vote ASAP. This is basically a way for a member to show their willingness or lack thereof to strike. There’s roughly 150,000 UAW workers at the Detroit 3 and UAW hopes to have the results of the vote by the end of the day on Thursday August 24th. Fain says this will be “a demonstration of our strength… It’s a sign of our unity… a statement about our resolve.” And that he “looks forward to getting into a fight with all of ya.” But Fain is going to need a much better response than the UAW got when he was elected president earlier this year. The UAW sent out over a million ballots, but only about 15% voted or a little more than 141,000 people. However, it would also be interesting to know how many of those 150,000 Detroit 3 UAW members were part of that UAW presidential vote. But strap in, there’s bound to be some fireworks.
CATL DEVELOPS FAST CHARGING LFP BATTERY
Battery makers are making progress on improving the efficiency of LFP or lithium iron phosphate batteries. While NMC or Nickel Manganese Cobalt offer more range and energy density. LFP batteries are considered more durable, safer and sustainable and they’re cheaper to make. So that’s why the industry is interested in them. Over in China, the number one EV battery maker in the world, CATL, says it developed a fast charging LFP battery that can run nearly 250 miles or 400 kilometers on a 10-minute charge. CATL will begin mass producing the battery by the end of the year and it will show up in vehicles starting in the first quarter of 2024 but it didn’t say which models.
ONE LFP BATTERY NOW HAS SIMILAR ENERGY DENSITY TO NMC
Meanwhile, back in the States, EV battery startup Our Next Energy, which is based in Novi, Michigan has developed what it describes as a “significant milestone” in LFP battery technology. It says its Aries II battery pack is now within 6% of NMC batteries in terms of range and mass. The battery can provide more than 350 miles of range and it’s 25% cheaper than an NMC pack. Our Next Energy will start producing the LFP battery at the end of next year and it will show up in vehicles starting in 2025.
GM INVESTS IN EV BATTERY STARTUP
And in other battery news, General Motors invested $60 million into a California based startup called Mitra Chem. The two companies will develop advanced iron-based cathode active materials for GM’s Ultium platform. Mitra Chem has created an AI-powered platform to test cathode designs that helps accelerate development and bring new battery cell formulas to the market faster. GM says the partnership will also support its U.S. based supply chain.
MITSUBISHI AXES THE MIRAGE
People say they want cheaper cars, but one of the most affordable vehicles on the market is going away because nobody bought it. Automotive News reports that Mitsubishi will stop selling the Mirage in the U.S. market once production ends in 2025 and there won’t be a replacement. And Mitsubishi plans to leave the sedan market altogether. The Mirage starts just over $17,000 including destination charges and Cox Automotive says it was the only model under $20,000 sold in the U.S. market in July. But it was already dropped from its lineup in Japan and last year in the U.S., just under 16,000 were sold, which was down 31% from the year before and sales are down another 44% in the first half of this year.
HYUNDAI BUYS GM INDIA PLANT
GM is finally getting out of the Indian market. It stopped selling cars there in 2017 and now Hyundai is buying its remaining manufacturing plant. Hyundai will upgrade the facility and plans to start building models, which will eventually include Hyundai and Kia EVs, by 2025. GM made as many as 130,000 vehicles a year at the plant, but Hyundai’s upgrades will increase that to roughly 200,000 vehicles, which will bring its total manufacturing footprint in India to a million units.
INDIA INVESTS BILLIONS IN ELECTRIC BUSES
Part of the Hyundai Group’s EV expansion also includes PBVs or Purpose Built Vehicles like trucks and buses. And India has approved a plan that will invest $7 billion to deploy more electric buses and build up a charging infrastructure. 10,000 electric buses will be put into operation in cities across India over the next 10 years with the possibility to bump that up to 50,000 buses. And we think Hyundai is eyeing a slice of this market with its PBVs. Despite a population of over 1.4 billion people, India’s new car market really isn’t that big. But that’s starting to change, which is why we’re seeing more automotive-related action in the country.
NEW CADILLAC EV REVEALED IN CHINA
The Cadillac Escalade IQ just made its debut, but we’re getting our first look at another Ultium-based Cadillac EV that I think is even more important to the company. This is the Optiq, or basically Cadillac’s version of the Blazer EV, which is a Mach-E- or Model Y-sized crossover. The Optiq is expected to go into production in China before the end of the year. It will be offered in both front- and all-wheel drive and will feature battery packs supplied by CATL and SAIC. The AWD version combines for 211 kW or 282 horsepower, but that’s about all the info we have for now.
FORD TO DEBUT MID-ENGINE MUSTANG
Ford is going to show off a brand-new mid-engine Mustang this Thursday. According to Ford Authority, it will not be built off the same platform as the new coupe and convertible, but instead be a Mustang-branded vehicle that’s made by Canadian company, Multimatic, which also makes the Ford GT. From Mach-E to all its new racing efforts, Ford is stretching the Mustang name further than it’s ever been before.
RANKING AUTOMAKERS BY OPERATING PROFIT
This week we’ve been showing you how the top automakers in the world stack up against each other based on their financial performance in the first half of the year. We already showed you how they rank in terms of who sells the most vehicles and by which automaker generates the most revenue per car sold. Now let’s look at profits. Net profit is an important measure, but it can be affected by financial charges and write-offs, that don’t really reveal the financial efficiencies of how well a company ran its operations. That’s why Wall Street analysts pay a lot more attention to the operating profit. And on that basis, Stellantis was Number One in the world with $15.5 billion. Toyota and VW were in second and third place. Then comes Mercedes, and it’s surprising to see that the Hyundai Group outperformed BMW, not by much but impressive nonetheless. GM was in 7th place, followed by Tesla in 8th, and Ford in 9th. And then Honda and Nissan are at the bottom of the list.
But that brings us to the end of today’s show. Thanks for joining us.
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Seamus and Sean McElroy cover the latest news in the automotive industry for Autoline Daily.