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Runtime: 10:29
0:00 Tesla Cuts Production in China
0:49 U.S. March Car Sales Expected to Grow 12%
1:38 Ford Canadian Workers Want Answers About Delayed EV
2:38 Aston Martin Hires Bentley Chairman as New CEO
3:36 Spain’s Cupra To Enter U.S. Market
4:17 Zeekr Launches New Electric Minivan
5:07 Nikola Opens 1st Hydrogen Station
5:36 Ford Opens Driving School for Ranger Raptor Owners
6:53 Tesla Awards Hackers for Finding New Vulnerability
7:32 Vicor Has 48-Volt Solution for Legacy Automakers
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This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.
TESLA CUTS PRODUCTION IN CHINA
Tesla’s slowdown in sales in China could be turning serious. Tesla is cutting back production at its Shanghai assembly plant, by eliminating weekend shifts. Bloomberg reports that in the first two months of the year, only half of Tesla’s production in China was sold in China, the rest was exported. The fact that Tesla is not trying to export more cars to make up for the slowdown means it didn’t think there was that much export demand. Sales of New Energy Vehicles in China, which includes BEVs and PHEVs are expected to grow 25% this year, but so far Tesla’s sales in the country are down 6%.
U.S. MARCH CAR SALES EXPECTED TO GROW 12%
Meanwhile, new car sales in the U.S. for March are expected to come in at 1.5 million units, up more than 12% from last year. Fleet sales will account for 19.7% of the mix, while EVs will hit 9.1% market share, says J.D. Power. It forecasts that the SAAR will hit 16.4 million units and says consumers will spend $139 billion on new vehicles, an all-time record for the first quarter. Several things are powering sales. Inventory is growing, prices are coming down and automakers are offering more incentives. Another thing to keep in mind is that people who have filed their taxes early are starting to get refunds and that always helps car sales.
FORD CANADIAN WORKERS WANT ANSWERS ABOUT DELAYED EV
Earlier this week, it was reported that Ford is delaying plans to launch a 3-row electric SUV. And now, Canadian workers at the plant where it’s scheduled to be built want answers. Ford’s plant in Oakville, Ontario is scheduled to be re-tooled at the end of April to build the electric SUV. But the plant’s chair at the facility, says Unifor, the union that represents Canadian workers, hasn’t received “official” word from Ford about the upgrade since November 2023. So, it’s now pressing the company for answers about the delay and says it “is extremely disconcerting” they haven’t had clarification from the company. The model was scheduled to go on sale in 2025 but now reports say it’s been delayed to the end of 2026. Ford is remaining tight lipped for now. A spokesperson told Automotive News that it “does not comment on speculation.”
ASTON MARTIN HIRES BENTLEY CHAIRMAN AS NEW CEO
Aston Martin has a new CEO. The automaker announced it hired Bentley Chairman and CEO, Adrian Hallmark, as its new chief executive. Hallmark is replacing Amedeo Felisa, who will remain CEO at Aston until Hallmark takes over no later than October 1st. Hallmark has been the head of Bentley since 2018 and he’s also held positions at Volkswagen and Porsche. But he shouldn’t get too comfortable in his new position. Hallmark is the fourth CEO Aston chairman Lawrence Stroll has hired since he took over in 2020.
SPAIN’S CUPRA TO ENTER U.S. MARKET
Cupra, the performance brand of Spanish automaker SEAT, which itself is part of the Volkswagen Group, announced it’s going to enter the U.S. market. By the end of the decade it will launch two electric vehicles. One of those will be the BEV version of the Formentor, which is a small crossover it currently sells, but right now it’s only available with gas and hybrid powertrains. The other model is a bigger crossover that will be built in North America, including Mexico. Cupra says it will incorporate a new distribution model for sales, which sounds like they will initially kick off in states that have adopted the same or similar emission targets as California.
ZEEKR LAUNCHES NEW ELECTRIC MINIVAN
Chinese automaker Zeekr, which is part of Geely, is coming out with a new vehicle, called the Mix, that I think looks like a modern-day interpretation of the old dustbuster minivans. It’s an interesting shape with very short front and rear body overhangs. Reports say it will have up to a 310 kW or 415 horsepower electric motor and CATL batteries, but no size for the pack was given. It looks like the Mix will incorporate a number of sensors, including Lidar based on the positioning, for advanced driver assistance features. That would make a lot of sense because Waymo is likely going to get a version of this model for its robotaxi fleet, through a partnership it developed with Zeekr. And it’s said Waymo could launch that vehicle in the U.S. before the end of the year.
NIKOLA OPENS 1ST HYDROGEN STATION
Nikola is celebrating the opening of its first hydrogen refueling station for Class 8 trucks. Located in Southern California, in the city of Ontario, the station is being run by Nikola’s HYLA brand, which is responsible for producing, distributing and dispensing hydrogen for its fuel cell trucks. The station is capable of fueling up to 40 trucks a day. Nikola plans to have 14 stations operational by the end of the year.
FORD OPENS DRIVING SCHOOL FOR RANGER RAPTOR OWNERS
If you buy a Ranger Raptor, Ford wants you to go to school to learn how to drive it. But I mean really drive it, like flat out across the desert floor, clawing up steep rocky slopes and flying over big humps on the road. Ford built what it calls the Ranger Raptor Assault School, a 220-acre facility outside of Salt Lake City, Utah. The idea is to teach owners how to use the different driving modes and AWD settings to achieve maximum performance. And it has a range of off-road courses to hone your skills. There’s even different courses for the Ranger Raptor versus the F-150 Raptor. Ford equips students with helmets and Hans devices, and then takes them out with expert instructors to build up their skills step by step, starting out in Normal Mode with full stability and traction control, then moving to Sport Mode, which backs out some of that stability and traction control, and then going to Baja Mode which takes everything off. Here’s the best thing about it. It’s free. Well, OK, nothing in life is free. But the cost of the one-day school is included when you buy a Raptor. All you have to do is get yourself there.
TESLA AWARDS HACKERS FOR FINDING NEW VULNERABILITY
Tesla pretty famously started a bug bounty program where it pays hackers to find vulnerabilities in its vehicles. And because of one issue that was just found by a team of hackers, it paid out $200-grand and gave away a free Tesla Model 3. That seems like a pretty big sum to me, but they were able to get into a Tesla ECU or electronic control unit and its CAN BUS system, which probably means they could have taken over any part of the car. What’s more, this same hacker group got $100,000 back in January for finding a completely different vulnerability in a Tesla.
VICOR HAS 48-VOLT SOLUTION FOR LEGACY AUTOMAKERS
Tesla kicked off a 48-volt frenzy when it announced the Cybertruck uses a 48-volt electrical system. But not everything on the Cybertruck is 48 volts. Some of it is 12 volts. It steps down the voltage where needed with a transformer. This also means that legacy automakers whose suppliers can’t convert their components to 48 volts quickly, can still implement 48 volts as their suppliers make the transition. But transformers can be bulky and heavy so a company called Vicor uses what it calls sine application conversion that can do it with small silicon chips. And it says legacy automakers and suppliers are very interested in its technology.
“This makes it much easier for them because they don’t have to build their plan on having all of the loads in their door 48 volts, or all of the loads in the front-end module 48 volts. They can have a local 12 volt. And as I said, you can add these to step up power, but you can also subtract these as your power needs go down. So, as you take some of those 12 volt loads and convert them to 48 volts and you need less power, you can simply use one less module.”
If you want to hear more, it’s on the Autoline website or our YouTube channel and we’ll also provide the link.
But that brings us to the end of today’s show and this week. Thanks for making Autoline a part of your day and I hope that you have a great weekend.
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motorman says
if you use your ford like in the driving school, does it still honor the warranty ???
Kit Gerhart says
Is Tesla’s 48 volt stuff AC? It must be if they use transformers. That mean they use an oscillator to convert the DC from the battery to AC. How can all of this save money, or weight?
Kit Gerhart says
Ford would have a lot more takers for their school if they provided the trucks. Most owners wouldn’t want to do some of that stuff with their own vehicles, even though they are capable.
wmb says
motorman — I would imagine that if you did they would, hence the schooling, so that buyer won’t do something that not covered. Then, after the training and they exceed the limits of the vehicle, they’re on their own.
wmb says
I wonder if there is a lot of ‘over the shoulder ‘poking’ and micromanaging over at Aston Martin?! It seems that ever since Lawrence Stroll and his company became majority stakeholder in Aston Martin, not only have they had a lot of changes with the leadership of Aston, they have made some interesting decisions that he seems to always be in the middle of. It seems that he acknowledges that they need an experienced individual to run the company day-to-day, yet a lot of the publicized decisions seems to have some involvement from him?! Yet, the company hasn’t really, perceptionally, been able to establish secure footing since his involvement. I think Aston was closer to becoming a brand under the Mercedes before he came along. I wonder if that may have been a better fit for the company.
Albemarle says
Tesla use 48 volts dc. Since a transformer only works on AC, dc voltages are converted using a small dc to dc converter. There are many on the market and are popular with solar system designers and boaters. Another advantage to providing the higher voltage and down converting is that the power is cleaner with less noise caused by motors etc. because it’s filtered out by the converter.
Kit Gerhart says
OK, so the “transformers” are DC-DC converters. That makes more sense.
Ziggy says
At the Ranger Raptor school are they going to teach the owners how to drive to the mall using the left lane to tailgate other drivers? Because that is what most tweaked trucks around me are used for. It used to be Cadillac drivers that thought they owned the road, but they have been replaced by truck owners who think their vehicle’s size entitles them to harass other drivers (I’m sure they aren’t compensating for anything either, just ask them).
Kit Gerhart says
Ziggy, today I encountered a driver you describe, in a Ford Excursion, only going slow in the left lane, rather than tailgating.
Joe G says
Ford offers the Raptor school, Bronco / Bronco Sport ‘Off Rodeo’ experience, Mustang Shelby, Mach1 & Dark Horse performance ‘Track Attacks’ as well. Even Focus ST and RS had a track experience back in the day. All vehicles are provided at the facilities.
Kit Gerhart says
Joe G., thanks for the info. They should have a lot of takers, if the vehicles are provided. I wouldn’t mind doing the Mustang and Focus track stuff in my own car, but the truck stuff sounds rather abusive to your vehicle. Not that I’d buy one of those trucks.
Kit Gerhart says
AutoNews says Nissan are going to sell “e-power” series hybrids in North America. Maybe we will finally get to find out how good, or more likely bad the mpg will be in highway driving. It will be interesting.
Ukendoit says
Sean, that Zeekr Mix minivan reminds me more of the old 90s Toyota Previa van, more so than the old GM dustbuster vans.