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Runtime: 9:20
0:00 Toyota’s Hybrid Sales Bring Record Profits
0:53 Aston Martin Wants 4th CEO in 4 Years
1:55 GM’s Reuss Says Dealers Will Make Money on EVs
2:59 Stellantis to Sell Connected Car Data
4:07 Ford EV Owners Won’t Need Tesla App at Supercharger
4:47 Mercedes Launches All-New eSprinter
6:12 Hertz Pauses Plan to Buy 65,000 Polestar EVs
7:05 Continental’s Robot EV Charger
8:05 Audi’s $235,000 Station Wagon
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This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.
TOYOTA’S SOARING HYBRID SALES BRING RECORD PROFITS
Toyota is rolling into 2024 full of optimism. It blew through last quarter’s guidance and now expects to post a $33 billion profit when it closes the books at the end of its fiscal year on March 31st. One reason why it’s doing so well is that its hybrid sales shot up 46% last quarter. Toyota’s 14% operating profit margin is now well ahead of Tesla’s 9%. And another thing that’s helping the Japanese automaker is the falling value of the yen, which is down 25% versus the US dollar over the last 5 years. That has significantly lowered the cost of making cars and components in Japan.
ASTON MARTIN WANTS 4TH CEO IN 4 YEARS
If you work for Lawrence Stroll, the chairman of Aston Martin, you better show results fast. In the last 4 years, Stroll has gone through 3 CEOs. And now he’s looking for a fourth. The current CEO, Amedeo Felisa, came from Ferrari, but didn’t deliver the results that Stroll was looking for. Financial results through the 3rd quarter last year, which is the most recent available, show that sales were up 8% and revenue was up 21%. But the company is losing money, its stock is down 85% since 2020 and production of the new DB12 sports car, which Aston has a lot riding on, was delayed because of bugs in the infotainment software. Lawrence Stroll is reportedly contacting CEOs at other brands to see if they want to run Aston. And he’s probably looking for someone younger than Felisa who turns 78 this year.
GM’S REUSS SAYS DEALERS WILL MAKE MONEY ON EVs
Car dealers in the U.S. want the government to tap the brakes on EVs, saying the auto industry is trying to transition too fast to electric cars, and that there’s not a lot of customer interest for them. But GM president Mark Reuss says there’s money to be made. “We’re going to give dealers the opportunity to make money on EVs.” And he’s not just talking about selling EVs. Since electric vehicles require less maintenance, dealers are concerned they won’t make as much money on service. But Reuss says EVs still need brakes, tires, alignments and are not problem free and that “we will rely extensively on dealers to service those vehicles – and make money on it.” Even so, dealers think the government and auto industry should focus more on offering affordable hybrids and plug-in hybrids. And as we reported last week, GM announced part of its plan for North America is to bring PHEVs back to the market.
STELLANTIS TO SELL CONNECTED CAR DATA
Stellantis is looking to cash in on data collected from its connected vehicles. The head of Mobilisights, the automaker’s data and connected services unit that it created last year, told Reuters that it is looking to sell anonymized data packages to service providers. The company is currently in talks with customers to get their permission to sell vehicle data. The types of data it could sell includes info on how an EV’s battery status changes in different road and weather conditions or assessing road conditions to determine where repairs are needed. The company also says it’s open to making data available to researchers and government agencies. Traditional automakers are scrambling to find new ways to bring in more revenue and selling data has really caught their eye.
FORD EV OWNERS DON’T NEED TESLA APP AT SUPERCHARGER
Ford is getting its EV owners ready to use Tesla’s Supercharger network. Last week, CEO Jim Farley revealed the company will start giving out free Tesla adapters this spring. And now InsideEVs reports that Ford owners won’t have to use the Tesla App to charge their EVs. Owners just need to create an account with Ford’s BlueOval Charge Network which will allow them to make payments through the FordPass App, or the vehicle’s touchscreen. That also allows owners to find Superchargers through their vehicle’s infotainment screen. Ford says its payment system will work for V3 and later Superchargers.
MERCEDES LAUNCHES ALL-NEW eSPRINTER
Mercedes is launching the new all-electric eSprinter van in North America and Europe. It’s available with three battery sizes; 56 kWh, 81 kWh and 113 kWh. But in North America it will only be available with the largest pack, which provides up to 440 kilometers or about 273 miles of range on the WLTP cycle. North America will also be limited to the long panel van and high roof variant at first. But two body styles and lengths will be offered as well and Mercedes says it will be available at a later date as an open model for the first time, which we think would be a chassis cab version. Power comes from a rear axle electric motor that makes either 100 kW or about 134 horsepower or 150 kW or 201 horsepower. And when it comes to carrying stuff around, it has up to 488 cubic feet of cargo space and has a max payload rating of a little over 2,600 pounds or nearly 1,200 kilograms. Pricing for the less powerful version in the U.S. starts at just over $74,000, including destination, while the 150 kW version starts a little over $77,600.
HERTZ PAUSES PLAN TO BUY 65,000 POLESTAR EVs
The bad news keeps piling up for Volvo and Geely’s premium EV brand Polestar. Car rental company Hertz said it’s pausing plans to purchase tens of thousands of vehicles from the brand this year. In 2022, Hertz announced it would buy 65,000 Polestars over a five-year period. The deal was estimated to be worth $3 billion. So far, Polestar has delivered 13,000 models to Hertz. Hertz is pulling back on its EV plans because of a drop in resale values and higher than expected repair costs. Hertz is also selling off some Teslas in its fleet. The Financial Times reports that Polestar allowed Hertz to pause the deal this year, as long as it keeps its current Polestars for more than a year and doesn’t sell them too cheaply.
CONTINENTAL’S ROBOT EV CHARGER
How do you make charging EVs more convenient for owners? Well, one way is to automate the whole charging experience. That’s why Continental developed this garage robot to charge electric vehicles. In Conti’s vision of the near future, a driver arrives at home and gets out of the car, which autonomously drives into the garage and parks over the flat robot on the floor. Under the car, a small door slides open to reveal a charging port and the robot positions itself directly under the port. The robot then raises its connecting plug and begins charging the vehicle. While other similar ideas use inductive charging, Continental decided to use a physical connector to reduce charging losses. Conti doesn’t have a firm order for the charging robot but says several luxury car brands are interested in the concept. It developed the robot in conjunction with a startup from Austria called Volterio.
AUDI’S $235,000 STATION WAGON
Audi is coming out with an even more powerful, even more exclusive, even more expensive version of its RS 6 station wagon. This is the RS 6 Avant GT. Audi squeezed nearly 30 more horsepower out of the car’s 4.0L twin turbo V8. It now makes 463 kW or 620 horsepower and will do 0-100 km/h in 3.3 seconds. Other major highlights include a reworked differential, stiffer stabilizers and adjustable coilover suspension. It also features unique styling inspired by old Audi rally cars and it drops a few pounds thanks to a carbon fiber hood and front fenders. Deliveries start in the second quarter of this year and pricing starts at over 219,000 euros.
But that’s a wrap for today’s show. Thanks for making Autoline a part of your day.
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It’s interesting that Lawrence Stroll is going through all of these CEOs at Aston Martin in search of “results,” while he doesn’t seem to care much about results from his kid in F1, who was out-pointed by his team mate almost 3-1.
That Audi wagon is nice, but not the price, or the mpg. How about a front drive hybrid version of the A6 Avant? That would be nice.
GM announced part of its plan for North America is to bring PHEVs back to the market. How about non-plug-in hybrids? There are still tens of millions of us without home charging, and no plug-in makes sense for most of us.
I liked GM’s idea that was reported yesterday about monetizing our data. They give you Onstar for free and they sell your data, a win-win.
Top of my list of cars I would like to own but will probably never even drive is an Aston Martin. Gorgeous cars.
I like the video of Continental’s charger, can we show that with a realistic garage? Full of bicycles, lawn furniture, christmas decorations.. oh and salty muddy water this time of year, then does your little charger thingy work?
I find it interesting that EV makers and others keep looking for friction points needing to be solved to sell more vehicles. Gas cars have been fueled the same way for probably a century. For EVs we plug in a wire, lighter than a gas hose, that lets you walk away while filling unlike a gas hose. The problem isn’t the connection.
If you could recharge your EV exactly like you fill your gas tank, there would be no charging issues. We can but dream.
I think the Continental charger is a better idea than the robotic arm prototypes we have seen to date. But I have to agree with Buzzerd, I would need a lot of assurances that it would work in real life situations, like our current Michigan Winter slop. Looks like a great solution for warm weather states. It might need some tiny off-road tires and a little more ground clearance to work properly here.
I’ve always felt that a part of Laurence’s interest in Aston Martin was to give his son an F1 ride. May be unfair as he got into F1 before Aston Martin with Force India in 2018.
When I see garages like in the Continental piece I think of cable tv shows.
The Continental robotic charging scheme will need to be able the ice/slush undercarriages of vehicles in wintry locations. I have my doubts.
I’m sure Lawrence Stroll is looking for a younger CEO. Are there any good ones over the age of 78 available?
Buzzard- I was thinking the same thing. If Gm wants to give On-star for free and sell the data collected I’d be okay with that. And thought the same thing about the ice, snow and slop when I saw the robot charger. Hopefully the little trap door they spoke of is a strong belly pan preventing damage. Plus, it looked like you would need to park within a couple inches of the same spot for it to work. So, when the kids leave a toy or bike in your spot and you park another foot over, I hope it lets you know that you won’t get a charge.
Just seems like an elaborate and expensive way to plug your car in. Grabbing a cord and plugging in isn’t that difficult that I could justify spending what it will likely cost for a robot. Seems like a gadget for the wealthy.
Hertz is going to feel the hurt when those used Polestars can’t be sold for 1/3 what they paid for them.
RS6 Avant GT? I don’t know how many boy racers are out there with $200k+ burning a hole in their pocket. I love the RS6 Avant. Maybe I’m just too old.
Albemarle, according to the Wikipedia article for Lance Stroll, Daddy Lawrence donated $80M to Williams when Lance started driving F1 with them in 2017. Then, Lance went to Force India/Racing Point after Lawrence bought the team prior to the 2019 season.
I couldn’t find how many of the current, “cheap” ~$150K RS 6 Avants are sold, but at $235K, they probably don’t need to sell more than a few hundred RS 6 Avant GTs, globally, to make good money with them.
I suspect, for years to come, EVs will make sense mostly as commuter cars for those with home charging. Two things can make that change, the ability to get ~400 miles of charging in 5 minutes at a station, or installation of level 2 chargers at nearly every parking place at every store and restaurant. I don’t see either happening any time soon.
Wow, just how lazy are we becoming. Driving into a garage, stopping and pulling a plug off the wall charger and snapping it in place takes maybe 30 seconds.
Aston Martin, interesting history, not normally seen around here
GM saying dealers will make money on EVs reminds me of a saying my dad used to say. : Did you ever hear a fish salesman yell rotten fish ? Of course they say that , kind of hard for them to make money when they have put a stop to production on their EVs. The EV Blazer got roasted by CR as the worst they ever drove. The screens would flicker and shut off There were other issues as well. Pretty much they have stopped building those and the EV Silverado and Hummer for problems. That is going to be a heavy ball to push uphill to customers who don’t trust them anyway.
Probably the main reason anyone in the US has even heard of Aston Martin is the James Bond movies. People who follow F1 would now recognise the name, but most wouldn’t know anything about the road cars. I haven’t seen an Aston Martin in years, unless it was the SUV, which I might not recognise.
Hummer EV and Lyriq can now be found at your local Hertz rental place…at least out west.
XA351GT, I just read CRs initial report on the “in test” Blazer EV. Yeah, it was pretty bad, especially the displays and controls. About the only good thing they had to say, other than its appearing to meet range claims, was this:
“But GM got something really right here. (pedal feel) Even in tricky situations—stop-and-go traffic, or inching into a parking space—it was easy to modulate the Blazer EV’s brake and accelerator, to creep forward like a conventional car.”
I don’t know why things are going so wrong, but things are not going at all well with GM’s EVs, except for the soon-to-be-discontinued Bolt, which has been mostly ok, since the battery recall was completed. They’d better hope people keep buying gas pickup trucks, SUVs, and Corvettes, while they get things sorted out. There are still months long waits for ordered Corvettes from dealers that sell them at MSRP.
GM just can’t see itself as a regular car maker. They drop the existing inexpensive Bolt that the bugs have been worked out on and started producing wild and wonderful cars and trucks that are proven to be beyond their capabilities to design and manufacture.
So many are afraid of Chinese manufacturers but what the Chinese are best at is making normal vehicles for regular customers, reliably and economically. Want to keep them out of your market? Make economical regular cars powered by electricity.
Hyundai/KIA seem to be doing a good job with EVs, maybe not price competitive with the Chinese, but they have some good products.
That was my first thought as well, hearing about performance and Stroll; son Lance must be an ‘outlier’, Hah!
It’s all well and good that Mark Reuss is giving dealer’s a head up about maintenance but there are a couple of ‘buts’ in that statement. First GM has to get production up to snuff on EV’s and secondly it might be a double-edged sword stating that there is money to be made in maintenance as it implies GM’s vehicles (may need it enough that there will be revenue flow) as opposed to EV’s in general supposedly less maintenance intensive.
It also ‘grinds’ me a little that you need an app to charge your EV; tap or swipe your credit/debit card (like just about every gas station) for some reason isn’t good enough? It should at least be an option. And being ‘a broken record’; make EV’s as convenient (or more so than what’s currently available) and the struggle to conversion will be so much lessoned.
EVs have had a turbulent introduction. At first they were offered as econobox, eco friendly cars that were luxury priced and for that reason were a hard sell. Then Tesla released the Model S and everyone saw there was a market for EV’s that as long as your paying a premium price you should get a normal sized vehicle and with some options that were fairly new to the market like AV and the quickness. So then they all decided to make luxury EVs which already has a limited market but could fetch the money needed to make the vehicle profitable if they sold. But they didn’t. So what was the big money maker in the US market? Trucks. So everyone decided that people wanted an EV truck. Which no one ever asked for. It was just a platform that packaged batteries well and also demanded the pricing that would allow the EV to be profitable. But they are now realizing that no one really wanted an EV truck they thought if they built it they would come. Nope!
So now we are back to a normal family vehicle that just so happens to have an EV powertrain. However, the volume still hasn’t quite broken the price barrier to allow them to be on par with ICE’s. There still isn’t an abundant charging network and re-charge and range anxiety still exist. So, they are finally realizing that PHEV might still be a great option. I think the Chinese are a threat to the EV market in the US but the PHEV market is where the real opportunity is IMO. Making more hybrids could also help bring battery prices down with scaling up the demand. Smaller batteries with less range less weight and still provide a good portion of consumers driving on electric would help emissions while still providing a vehicle that meets all your needs. No range anxiety and can be used like an ICE for long trips while making trips to work or the store all done without gas.
They have already started to see the light and I expect PHEV’s to really fill the gap to allow more time until we can go fully electric. Main thing is they need to get the prices down and provide the public a normal vehicle. Personally, I would buy a PHEV that had 60 miles of range on battery and got at least 30mpg on the hwy. I don’t care about self-driving or a multitude of screens or all the other gadgets that have bugs glitches and failures.
Think Toyota in the 80’s. Simple reliable and affordable. Thats what people want and for some reason automakers think EV or PHEV must automatically include $2000 worth of sensors and cameras. I want a back-up camera and maybe heated seats and steering wheel. Phone conductivity and decent materials in a vehicle that looks nice. Doesn’t have to look like a spaceship (Cybertruck) or have features I’ll never use like crabwalk.
When they can do that and I know they can they will have finally figured out what customers want. IMO
Tires are the only routine maintenance an EV SHOULD need, other than maybe a change of the oil in the gear reduction box and whatever coolant they have every 200K miles. Mark Reuss needs to get dealers to sell tires, with good service and competitive prices. That could be a money maker for dealers, if the EVs they sell have decent reliability.
Brakes should last the life of an EV, unless they have corrosion problems or some problem with the ABS, etc. Brakes last a very long time, even on hybrids with minimal regen, but nearly all braking of an EV should be regen, with normal driving.
PHEVs make sense for the same people as BEVs, those having a house in the suburbs with a garage with power. Neither PHEV nor BEV makes sense for me, as things now exist. Yep, the companies seem to have way overestimated the market for EV pickup trucks. They would work well for most of the pickup truck people I know, but they just don’t want them. I don’t think many Harley riders are wanting electric motorcycles either, even though a lot of riders never go far from their home with an attached garage.
Kit- Harley really kind of screwed over the Harley dealerships as they required them to install chargers provide training and invest in this EV bike fiasco. Harely invested 294 million and Tiawan based Kymco with 100 million and no sooner did that happen and they decided to spin-off “Live wire group”. A reverse merger with Aquisition company (SPAC). But original investors in SPAC bailed and pulled out 368 million dollars forcing Harley to invest another 100 million. The Live wires bike original MSRP was over 30K they have since slashed the price 24% to $23,000. It’s been on sale since 2019 and over the last 5 years managed to sell 3000 bikes worldwide. (I’m guessing to collectors and museums). Meanwhile Harley sells 3800 gas bikes a week. That puts the failure into perspective. If the sales don’t paint the picture well enough the LiveWire stock is down 30%
So, almost 500 million dollars has been invested to sell 90million in bikes if they got 30K and that’s not profit just sales.
Pretty sure whoever decided Harley should make an EV bike was or should have been fired by now.
Lambo, thanks for the Livewire info. I didn’t know all that, just that the bikes weren’t selling very well.