Listen to “AD #3657 – Biden Supports 40 Percent UAW Raises; UAW Wants To Damage Detroit Three; Nissan Intros New $17,225 Versa” on Spreaker.
Follow us on social media:
Runtime: 9:22
0:00 Biden Supports 40% UAW Raises
0:53 Internal Leak: UAW Wants to Damage Detroit Three
1:51 U.S. EV Sales Up 80%
2:39 Slow Sales: VW Cuts EV Production In EU
3:22 Geely Embraces Swappable Batteries
4:00 BMW Adds More PHEVs To Lineup
5:25 Solar Subsidies in Germany Snapped Up in A Day
6:14 Nissan Intros New $17,225 Versa
7:05 Bosch Develops Fish-Eye Backup Camera
Visit our sponsors to thank them for their support of Autoline Daily: Bridgestone, Intrepid Control Systems, Schaeffler and Teijin.
This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.
BIDEN SUPPORTS 40% UAW RAISES
Day 13 of the UAW strike and it’s beginning to look like this thing could go on for months. Yesterday President Biden met with workers on the picket line at a GM parts depot in Ypsilanti, Michigan and the President did a lot more than lend his moral support. Not only did he tell strikers on the picket line that “you’ve earned a helluva lot more than what you’re getting paid now,” he told reporters that the UAW had a right to bargain for a 40% pay raise. No doubt GM, Ford and Stellantis were dismayed to hear the president interjecting himself into the bargaining process. So far they’ve only offered about 20% pay raises.
INTERNAL LEAK: UAW WANTS TO DAMAGE DETROIT THREE
And that’s going to give the union the confidence to dig in even harder in its bargaining position. A text message that was leaked last week from the UAW’s communications director Jonah Furman, said the union’s strategy was to inflict, and I quote, “recurring reputations damage and operational chaos” to the automakers, and “keep them wounded for months.” That sure doesn’t sound like this strike is going to end anytime soon. Instead, it sounds like the union is using the strike to fuel a broader labor movement that attacks economic inequality. Jonah Furman’s comments strongly suggest this strike could easily go into November. Today, former President Trump will be in the Detroit area talking to striking workers. And that’s only going to add more fuel to the fire.
That’s our strike update for today, let’s look at some other news.
U.S. EV SALES UP 80%
Yesterday, Cox Automotive reported that sales of electric vehicles in the US are up 80% above where they were a year ago. EVs account for 8% of the new car market and automakers are on track to sell more than a million of them this year. It says sales are rising thanks to more inventory, prices that are 19% lower than last year, and a lot more leasing. Even so, Reuters points out that Tesla dominates the EV segment and everyone else is just fighting over a small slice of the pie. Here’s the list of the top 10 automakers selling EVs in the US market and Tesla sells nearly ten times its closest competitors.
| 2023 YTD U.S. EV SALES | |
|---|---|
| Tesla | 326,291 |
| General Motors | 37,213 |
| Hyundai Group | 36,189 |
| VW Group | 29,137 |
| Ford | 26,849 |
| BMW | 17,512 |
| Mercedes-Benz | 16,287 |
| Volvo/Polestar | 12,815 |
| Nissan | 8,444 |
| Toyota | 6,039 |
| Source: S&P Global | |
SLOW SALES: VW CUTS EV PRODUCTION IN EU
But even though EV sales are rising all over the world, not every automaker is equally sharing in the success. Volkswagen is cutting back on production of its ID models in Europe because of sluggish sales. VW is shutting down its assembly plants in Zwickau and Dresden for a couple of weeks in October to bring production more in line with demand.
GEELY EMBRACES SWAPPABLE BATTERIES
Looks like more automakers are getting into battery swapping in China. Geely’s commercial brand, Farizon Auto, just introduced a new electric van called the SuperVan. It features swappable batteries, drive-by-wire technology and it’s available with a methanol range extender. However, the company didn’t provide any specs about the electric powertrain or range extender. While Farizon is showing off the camper version in these photos, it’s modular, which means it can be configured into different setups for multiple uses.
BMW ADDS MORE PHEVs TO LINEUP
A lot of people think that PHEVs are the perfect bridge technology to pure electrics, so BMW is adding more plug-in hybrids to its lineup. The new 5 Series Sedan is now available with two PHEV setups. The 530e is powered by a 2.0L inline four-cylinder gasoline engine and a 135kW or 184 horsepower electric motor that’s integrated with the 8-speed transmission. It has an all-electric range of 93-103 kilometers or 54-62 miles based on the WLTP cycle. And the 550e Sedan features a 3.0L inline 6-cylinder gasoline engine, that’s also combined with an integrated electric drive unit but it produces 145kW or 197 horsepower. The 550e has an electric range of 83-90 kilometers or 49-56 miles. Those are decent ranges for PHEVs, though PHEV proponents would like to see even greater range. The models are available now in Germany, the 530e starts at about $69,000 while the 550e starts at $81,500.
SOLAR SUBSIDIES IN GERMANY SNAPPED UP IN A DAY
Electric car owners in Germany like the idea of charging their EVs at home with solar power so much that they snapped up all the subsidies in 24 hours. A German state-owned bank, KfW, had to stop a program to provide solar subsidies after just one day. Germany’s transport ministry set aside 300 million euros for the program, which provided up to 10,200 euros for owners. But the bank received 33,000 applications within 24 hours, which burned through all the subsidies. And it’s easy to see why. It costs one third less to charge EVs with solar power at home in Germany than it is using the grid.
NISSAN INTROS NEW $17,225 VERSA
Here’s an option for car buyers worried about soaring new car prices in the U.S. The 2024 Nissan Versa has a starting price of $17,225 including destination charges, which makes it the lowest priced new vehicle in the U.S. That’s with a 5-speed manual transmission. The starting price jumps to just under $19,000 with a CVT. Standard safety features include automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, lane departure warning and rear automatic braking. With new cars becoming more and more expensive, so it’s nice to see there actually is an affordable car in the market.
BOSCH DEVELOPS FISH-EYE BACKUP CAMERA
Earlier this year we showed you how Ford put a backup camera on the top of the tailgate of its heavy duty pickups. So when you back up the truck with the tailgate down, you still get a rear camera view. But Bosch came up with a better idea. It developed a backup camera that uses a fisheye lens, so that you don’t need to add an extra camera and the wiring that goes with it. Even with the tailgate down, Bosch says one camera with a fisheye lens provides very good visibility all around the back of a truck.
A programming note here. There will not be an Autoline After Hours tomorrow. Gary is on vacation, and I’m headed to an automotive conference in Chicago. But we’ll be back again next week.
And that wraps up today’s report, thanks for watching.
Thanks to our partner for embedding Autoline Daily on its website: WardsAuto.com
Seamus and Sean McElroy cover the latest news in the automotive industry for Autoline Daily.
