AD #3642 – Toyota Develops Fuel Cell Truck; Chinese EV Makers Threaten Western OEMs; NHTSA Takes Step to Force Airbag Recall

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

CHINESE EV MAKERS THREATEN WESTERN AUTOMAKERS
Every automaker that doesn’t count China as their home country better be ready for a smaller slice of the global market. According to a UBS report, Western automakers sell 81% of all the vehicles in the world, but due to the rise of Chinese automakers and their affordable cars, that share of the market will fall to 58% by 2030. However, this doesn’t apply to Tesla. UBS forecasts its market share will go from 2% today up to 8% by the end of the decade. That would put Tesla’s sales in the 7-8 million range, which would make it the 3rd largest automaker in the world. The companies that really need to worry are European automakers. The report doesn’t include the U.S. because UBS doesn’t think Chinese automakers will have cracked the market in any significant way by then.  

CHINESE OEMs URGE MORE COOPERATION
So, why is the Volkswagen Group even partnering up with Chinese automakers for future EVs? VW started running into problems, especially with software, and was falling behind in the development process, so it needed something quick. Even so, VW Group CEO Oliver Blume says he’s not worried about Chinese automakers taking over the EU right now because they need to adapt vehicles to European regulations and build out sales networks, which is driving up prices. That may be why we’re seeing a number of Chinese companies and even a policy adviser urging more cooperation, which is a far cry from just last month. BYD’s CEO called on Chinese automakers to band together to “demolish the old legends.” That same CEO now says he sees more space to work with German counterparts to promote green transportation. By being able to tap into their sales and service networks Chinese automakers will be able to start bringing their prices down. This might have you wondering why any Western company would want to partner up with a Chinese automaker, but the UBS report says it’s an unstoppable force. 

CHINESE REVEALS AT MUNICH AUTO SHOW
And you can really see the start of China’s western invasion at the IAA auto show in Munich. Avatar, which is a joint venture between Changan, CATL and Huawei, has their sleek new hatchback sedan on display. Dongfeng showed off one of its wild-looking vans. Zeekr, which is part of Geely, announced that Germany would be the third European market it sells vehicles in. EV startup, Leapmotor, revealed a new electric SUV, called the C10. The largest EV maker in the world, BYD, says it’s kicking off European deliveries and pulled the wraps off a new electric SUV, called the Seal U. XPeng announced it will enter the UK, Germany and France next year. And lastly, CATL, the largest battery maker in the world, is going to make its new LFP or lithium iron phosphate battery that it first showed off last month in both Germany and Hungary.  

AWS & QUALCOMM TO HELP POWER BMW’S NEXT-GEN AUTOMATED DRIVING SYSTEM
BMW is turning to a couple of tech giants to help it power its next-gen automated driving system. The automaker announced that AWS or Amazon Web Services will be the cloud provider for the platform. BMW will develop its new advanced driver assistance system with AWS to create new features for its next-gen EVs called the Neue Klasse, which launches in 2025. BMW also announced that it will develop the next-gen systems using Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Ride Platform, which is also being used by others like GM and Renault. BMW says these partnerships will make the technology more efficient and help it bring it out faster.

TOYOTA DEVELOPS FUEL CELL PICKUP TRUCK
Toyota is showing off a prototype version of its Hilux pickup that’s powered by a hydrogen fuel cell powertrain. The model was developed at Toyota’s manufacturing plant in the UK along with several partners and funding from the UK government. The truck’s powertrain features components from the Mirai fuel cell sedan. It also includes three high-pressure tanks to store the hydrogen and a battery, which stores electricity produced by the fuel cell. The hydrogen Hilux has an estimated range of 600 kilometers or 373 miles. Toyota plans to build a total of 10 by the end of the year, which will be used to perform safety, durability and performance tests.

NHTSA TAKES STEP TO FORCE AIRBAG RECALL
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration or NHTSA is ratcheting up its dispute with airbag supplier ARC Automotive. As you may remember, back in May, the agency asked the company to recall tens of millions of airbags inflators because they can potentially explode and hurl shrapnel at occupants. But ARC Automotive refused to do the recall because it said its inflators weren’t defective. So yesterday, NHTSA announced that it determined those airbags are defective. NHTSA has scheduled a public hearing for October, which is required before it can force a court-ordered recall. ARC Automotive originally argued that NHTSA only had the legal authority to issue recalls for car companies, but not suppliers. NHTSA says the inflators are responsible for at least two deaths and several injuries in the U.S. and Canada since 2009.

CUMMINS, DAIMLER & PACCAR PARTNER TO MAKE BATTERY CELLS
Heavy-duty truck makers Cummins, Daimler Truck and PACCAR are forming a joint venture to produce battery cells in the U.S. Called Accelera, each company will own 30% of the joint venture, while the remaining 10% will be controlled by battery maker EVE Energy, which will provide its battery making know-how to the partnership. The companies will invest $2-3 billion into a 21-GWh plant that will initially produce LFP or lithium iron phosphate batteries for commercial electric trucks. But the companies didn’t reveal where the plant will be located or when it will start production.

That brings us to the end of today’s show. But before we go I promised you an update on tomorrow’s Autoline After Hours. We’ve got Dr. Royston Jones, the CTO of software company Altair, coming on the show to talk about how technology is helping us to make better cars. And we’ve also got Mike Austin and Bill Visnic joining us to help tackle the hottest news items. Thanks for making Autoline a part of your day.