AD #3632 – NHTSA Wants Front & Rear Seat Belt Warnings; China Embraces Baidu’s Robotaxis; VW Kicks Off ID.7 Production

  

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

NHTSA WANTS FRONT & REAR SEAT BELT WARNINGS
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is proposing to mandate seat belt warnings for both front and rear seat passengers. For front seats, it’s proposing audio and visual warnings that remain active until the passengers buckle their belts. And for rear seats, NHTSA wants a visual warning that lasts at least 60 seconds once a vehicle is started. And if a seat is unbuckled while the vehicle is operating, it wants a 30 second audio/visual “change of status” warning. The proposal would apply to most vehicles with a gross vehicle weight up to 10,000 pounds. NHTSA says the proposal will prevent 300 injuries and 100 deaths annually by getting more people to buckle up. But most people hate seat belt warnings so it will be interesting to see how this is received by the public.

HYUNDAI GROUP SLUMPING IN CHINA
A decade ago Hyundai was charging hard in the Chinese market. But not anymore. Reuters reports that it’s putting one of its large assembly plants in Chongqing up for sale. The plant was built in 2017 and it can make 300,000 cars a year but Hyundai is selling it for only $505 million, which is a bargain price. Hyundai had 5 plants in China. It already sold one of them and plans to operate only two, largely for export, so it sounds like there’s still another plant that will go up for sale. The Chinese government actively encouraged its citizens to avoid South Korean products in 2016 when South Korea agreed to deploy a US-based missile defense system. Hyundai and Kia sales took a hit from that and never seemed to recover. They were also slow to introduce electric cars in China at a time when Chinese consumers are eagerly embracing EVs. Most foreign brands are struggling in China right now with one exception: Tesla, which is still growing.

EXPERTS TORN OVER FORD’S PLAN B
Last week the Detroit Free Press broke the story that Ford is training some white collar employees to take over some blue collar jobs in case the UAW goes on strike next month. They would not make cars or trucks, but would run a parts depot to make sure that dealers continue to get service parts, especially parts for emergency vehicles like ambulances, fire trucks and police cars. One labor expert says this is a bad move, and that Ford should have negotiated this with the UAW to allow the parts to continue flowing. But another labor expert says it’s smart for Ford to have a Plan B. We are now 23 days away from the current labor contract expiring, and the atmosphere is only getting to be more contentious.

LI AUTO JOINS CHINA’S PRICE WAR
Chinese automaker Li Auto recently said it’s aiming to become the #1 premium brand in China next year and wants to outsell all the German luxury brands. But it’s already running into roadblocks. Li Auto is the latest automaker to fall victim to the country’s rapidly expanding car market and is being forced into China’s price war. CarNewsChina reports that it’s offering dealer discounts between $2,000-$3,400 due to vehicle orders slowing down. BMW, Mercedes and Audi monthly sales in China this year have ranged between 31,500 to 70,000 units, respectively. The last two months Li Auto has been running at a little more than 30,000 vehicles, so it’s right on their heels, but news of orders slowing is no good. However, Chinese consumers seem to flock to any new product with good specs, and Li Auto is coming out with its first BEV later this year, followed by four more models next year, including three EVs.

BAIDU GIVES MILLIONS OF ROBOTAXI RIDES
The AVs from GM’s autonomous division, Cruise, seem to have been in the news for all the wrong reasons since restrictions were lifted in San Francisco a little over a week ago. But it’s not bad news for all AVs. Gasgoo reports that Baidu’s Apollo Go robotaxi service provided 714,000 rides in the second quarter of this year, which is a gain of 149%. That kind of growth should be expected because it only launched a year ago, but as of June, Apollo Go had given 3.3 million rides to the public. So, consumers seem to be embracing the technology more than the U.S.

CHINA’S BYD OPENING 1ST JAPANESE SHOWROOM
We’ve got a couple of quick follow ups from previous reports. As we’ve been saying, Japanese automakers need to worry about Chinese OEMs swooping into their home market and stealing sales, especially EVs. And now we’re seeing reports that BYD is going to open its first showroom in Tokyo, Japan later this week. At first it will only offer one model, an all-electric crossover, called the Atto 3. But it will eventually be followed by the Seal sedan and Dolphin small SUV.

BMW LETS YOU PLAY WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE?
Our other follow up involves BMW and the ability to play video games on its infotainment screen. And it just announced that starting next year i5 owners will be able to play ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?’ Trivia questions pop up on the center display and users answer from an app on their phone. Other games available for the new 5 Series include sports, simulation, strategy, puzzles and even jump and run games.

VINFAST RELEASES U.S. SPECS FOR VF9
Vietnamese EV startup VinFast announced range and pricing in the U.S. for its VF9 three-row electric crossover. The Eco Trim version has an EPA rated 330 miles of range and starts at $83,000, while the Plus trim has 291 miles of range and starts at $91,000. Both models feature a dual-motor powertrain with 300-kW or 402 horsepower and 457 lb-ft of torque as well as a 123 kWh battery pack. VinFast plans to start North American deliveries of the VF9 in the fourth quarter of this year. As we reported yesterday, VinFast has lost over $50 billion in market cap since being listed on the NASDAQ last week. So, it really needs its models, like the new VF9, to catch on with customers.

VW KICKS OFF ID.7 PRODUCTION
Volkswagen kicked off production of its new ID.7 electric sedan at its Emden plant in Germany, which is also one of the places it makes the ID.4. The ID.7 will start being delivered to customers in the fall. It will initially be equipped with a 77-kWh battery that delivers 615 kilometers or 382 miles of range based on the European WLTP cycle. The ID.7 will go on sale in North America next year and it will also be sold in China.

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