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Runtime: 12:38
0:00 Mexico Develops Own EV
0:54 China Car Sales Grow in September
2:13 Baidu Robotaxi Beats Tesla Cybercab To Market
3:12 Fisker Gets Server Deal, Can Pay Creditors
4:15 Toyota To Support Haas F1
5:02 Kia Recycles Ocean Plastic
6:10 Renault 4 EV Debuts at Paris Auto Show
6:41 Alpine Unveils Electric Lineup
7:41 Skoda Enyaq EV Gets Rally-Car Treatment
8:09 Lynk & Co Shows Off Its Version of Volvo EX30
8:41 Citroen Ami Gets Off-Road Face Lift
9:20 BMW Partners with Toyota For FCEV in 2028
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MEXICO DEVELOPS OWN EV
All that investment in electric vehicles isn’t paying off. There are probably only three EV makers in the world that are profitable right now. And yet, Mexico is developing its own EV. The President of the country, Claudia Sheinbaum, says Mexico has prototypes for a compact electric car that can be produced domestically. She didn’t say which companies could make it but she said Mexican manufacturers will work with researchers on developing multiple models. The goal of the project is to become less reliant on imports and strengthen Mexico’s own supply chain. The vehicles would be alternatives to Chinese-made mopeds and Indian mini-cars that have become popular in parts of the country.
CHINA CAR SALES GROW IN SEPTEMBER
And Mexico better move fast, because China has a huge head start and it’s only picking up speed. We finally got car sales for last month in China, and while it took a while for the numbers to get reported it was a pretty good month. Automakers sold almost 2.3 million vehicles. That was actually down 6% from last year, but it was up 5.4% from the month before, showing that the car market is recovering. Most impressively, New Energy Vehicles, or NEVs, accounted for nearly 1.3 million of those total sales, up a whopping 42.3%. EVs accounted for 775,000 units, up almost 24% compared to last year. But the real segment to keep an eye on is with plug-in hybrids, which includes extended range EVs. Consumers bought over half of million PHEVs, up a staggering 84% compared to last year. And exports shot up more than 21% to 539,000 vehicles. At that rate, China is on track to export nearly as many vehicles as GM, Ford and Stellantis will build in North America.
BAIDU ROBOTAXI BEATS TESLA CYBERCAB TO MARKET
Let’s stick with China for a moment. While Tesla’s Cybercab got all the headlines last week, Baidu showed off its robotaxi and it offers compelling competition to Tesla. The Yichi 06, which is actually manufactured by JMC, is priced around $29,000. It’s a 4-seat minivan that can carry more people and cargo than the 2-seat Tesla Cybercab, and has a LFP swappable battery pack. But the autonomous tech inside all comes from Baidu, which is kind of the Google of China. The system features 40 sensors, including 5 lidars, and the complete hardware and software stack. And while the Cybercab will not be available until 2026 at the earliest, Baidu’s robotaxi is available right now, and it even plans to offer robotaxi rides outside of China before the Cybercab is out.
FISKER GETS SERVER DEAL, CAN PAY CREDITORS
Last week we reported that anyone who bought a Fisker could be stranded, but a last-minute deal looks like it’s going to solve the situation. Here’s the background. Fisker did a $46 million deal to sell some of its remaining fleet of 3,000 Ocean SUVs to a company called American Lease. But that deal hit a speed bump when American Lease realized Fisker wouldn’t be able to transfer data and support services to new servers. That meant the vehicles would no longer receive OTA software updates and remote access and diagnostics wouldn’t be available. But the two sides came to an agreement. American Lease will pay an additional $2.5 million over five years for future tech support services, which will also apply to Ocean’s purchased by private owners. And now that Fisker has resolved that issue, a U.S. bankruptcy judge has approved its bankruptcy plan, allowing the company to use the money to pay off creditors.
TOYOTA TO SUPPORT HAAS F1
Toyota is getting back into Formula One in a limited way. It’s going to provide design, manufacturing and technical services to the Haas Formula One Team. This does not include engines as Haas has a partnership with Ferrari that lasts until 2028. Toyota also wants to groom Japanese drivers to compete in F1, though Haas currently has other drivers under contract for the next several years. Haas is one of the smallest teams in the sport, but this year it’s been punching above its weight, with a lot of credit going to the team principal, Ayao Komatsu, who is Japanese. With Toyota lending a hand, we expect to see more progress at Haas.
KIA RECYCLES OCEAN PLASTIC
You know all that yucky, disgusting plastic floating around in the ocean? Well Kia is helping to do something about it. It developed a trunk liner made from recycled plastic from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. The limited-edition liner is available in the EV3 in select markets. Kia says the liner, which contains 40% ocean plastic, is just as durable and protective as a conventional liner. It partnered with a group called the Ocean Cleanup, to help it sort, recycle and process the plastic. Kia says it’s aiming for its vehicles to contain more than 20% recycled plastic by 2030. And it’s not the only automotive company involved. The supplier Magna developed seat covers that use recycled plastic that was fished out of the ocean.
RENAULT 4 EV DEBUTS AT PARIS AUTO SHOW
The Paris auto show has started to kick off and we think there’s a number of interesting reveals. Plus, a few that weren’t even at the show. Renault moved from giving us teasers of the Renault 4 a few weeks back, to pulling the wraps off of the all-new model, which is based on the same platform as the Renault 5. No word when it will be out yet, but the 4 will be available with an all-electric powertrain that provides up to 400 kilometers or roughly 250 miles of range.
ALPINE UNVEILS ELECTRIC LINEUP
Now over to Renault’s performance brand Alpine. Its transition to electric started with A290, which is also based on the Renault 5, but Alpine’s next EV will be a low-slung SUV and it showed a concept version, called the A390_β. It says you’ll see some styling elements of the beta make it over to the production model, but again no word when that version will launch. However, it is supposed to come out before the electric version of the A110, which we think would be based on a different platform from the current car. But until then an even more extreme version of the A110 is going on sale for 265,000 euros and it showed off a 740-horsepower hydrogen-powered 3.5L V6 in the Alpenglow concept, which first debuted 2 years ago.
SKODA ENYAQ EV GETS RALLY-CAR TREATMENT
Sticking to the sporty theme, Skoda, which is part of VW, wanted to see what would happen if it gave the rally treatment to the Enyaq EV and this is what it came up with. The reworked model is lower, wider and clearly has a number of aerodynamic parts added on, but composite parts and other weight-saving measures trimmed 316 kilograms or nearly 700 pounds of mass.
LYNK & CO SHOWS OFF ITS VERSION OF VOLVO EX30
Speaking of platform-sharing EVs, Lynk & Co, which is part of Geely, revealed a new small electric crossover that is like its own version of the Volvo EX30. It’s called the 02 in Europe and the Z20 in China and will offer up to 440 kilometers or 273 miles of range. Starting price in Europe will be roughly 35,500 euros, which is almost exactly the same as the EX30.
CITROEN AMI GETS OFF-ROAD FACE LIFT
Let’s move down a couple rungs on the EV ladder to the Citroen Ami. The model is getting a slight refresh and designers showed off a new Buggy concept with fat tires, flared wheel arches, tube doors and a two-tone roof. Citroen also pulled the wraps off a refreshed C4 and C4 X, which get new front and rear styling. And then you kind of see an evolution of that front-end styling in the all-new C5 Aircross concept. It’s based on the STLA Medium platform and will inspire a production model that is supposed to come out sometime next year.
BMW PARTNERS WITH TOYOTA FOR FCEV IN 2028
And we’ll end with BMW. For the first time, it displayed two electric MINI John Cooper Works models at the same time. Both the John Cooper Works Electric and JCW Aceman feature the same 54 kWh battery pack and nearly 260 horsepower drive system. But it doesn’t say if they’re front-, rear- or all-wheel drive. The 3-door will do 0-100 km/h in 5.9 seconds, while the JCW Aceman does it in 6.4 seconds. With more size and weight the Aceman also has less range at 355 kilometers vs. 371 kilometers for the John Cooper Works Electric. On top of these models, BMW revealed some of its hydrogen plans for passenger cars as well. It will come out with the iX5 Hydrogen in 2028, which will likely use a fuel cell system from Toyota. The two formed a partnership in 2013, then showed the iX5 hydrogen in 2019, then prototypes came in 2021 and finally a test fleet hit the road last year. So, it’s been a slow roll out.
But that brings us to the end of today’s show. Thanks for tuning in.
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So, Mexico wants to get into the OE auto manufacturing business. I’m actually surprised it has taken this long. Auto plants have been there for years. Sounds like they just are working on a design and plan to partner with an established OE to make it. The EV industry has taken many investors down. This seems like a risky venture either way, but I think it’s time Mexico has its own manufacturer.
Cool that Kia is finding a way to use the plastic in our oceans. A better solution would be stopping the plastic from entering our oceans.
Mexico should just form a joint venture with BYD if they want to make EVs. If they try to do it on their own, it will take 30-35 years like it took China to become competitive.
…or, Mexico is going to get help from a Chinese EV maker to produce a version of a Chinese model, but perhaps without the software that the US government distrusts so much. Maybe Canada should get an OE manufacturer as well. Sorry, I forgot. They had dozens of them but they all sold out to US companies or went under due to competition from US companies.
Was Bricklin a Canadian company, or were they just built in Canada by a foreign company, like Pacifica?
Regarding “Alpine’s next EV will be a low-slung SUV”, do we have a new oxymoron to add to the list of giant shrimp and military intelligence with “low-slung SUV”? Or does the term SUV mean nothing anymore and can be attached to whatever the OEM wants it attached to, no matter how low-slung it is?
Low-slung SUV is another term for hatchback, at least if the chassis is near car-height and not lifted.
Bricklin was indeed a canadian company. Looks like most of the canadian auto companies died out with the rest of the cycle car manufacturers, including those in the USA, in the early 1900s. I don’t think it was any great conspiracy, just the market didn’t want converted wagons anymore as the model T was better in every way including cost. Bricklin was the most serious of manufacturers since that time period. Bricklin died due to having a terrible home made kit car feeling inside and out. They were rather crude, even for their time period, but they were priced high.
Looks like today there is a robust bus and off highway small commercial vehicle industry. Including what some consider the best bus company in the world: Prevost.
Kit,
I thought the same thing when I looked at the photo. It is a hatchback and not an SUV. I guess you have to call it an SUV to generate sales as calling it a hatchback would probably kill sales.
I did see an new cadillac optiq today. Only from the direct rear view of the car as I was behind it. It was white and looked like a visual mess. Maybe it will be better in different colors/angles/lighting. I was sure happy to see it go as I headed off on my exit.
Thank you, Kia, for helping to clean up the oceans. As for Cybertaxi, I’ll walk, thank you.
Magna & Multimatic, both successful Canadian companies that manufacture cars under license. Either one can get in the business of OE manufacturing without too much of a stretch.
Magna assembles Z4 and Supra. They’re going to lose some business as Jaguar shuts down. E-pace and I-pace are built by Magna, with production ending soon.
Kevin A, did Canada have dozens of car companies in the 19-teens and 20s? There were dozens of car companies in the US at that time. Most purchased engines from Continental or Lycoming, starters and generators from Delco Remy, etc. Most of the companies folded, but a few were absorbed by the “biggies.” Oakland, for example, was bought by GM and became Pontiac. Maxwell became Chrysler.
Two, very early cars companies, Haynes and Apperson started in my home town of Kokomo, IN, and lasted to the mid 1920’s. The great depression did in some of the more famous “old” Indiana car companies, Duesenberg, Auburn, and Cord, along with those dozens of obscure, small companies that built cars using off-the-shelf mechanical and electrical parts.
China now seems to be kind of where the US and Canada were 100 years ago, with dozens of car companies, most of which will be gone in a few years.
While I can’t say much about Baidu and their Robotax, but here is what I don’t understand and Tesla and theirs. Tesla at their “We, Robot” day, said that they will sell the Cybertaxi or Cybercab for $30K and create an app like, I would imagine, similar to Lift and Uber. So,…would Tesla be in the ride hailing businesslike Uber, or selling vehicles to use IN the ride hailing service? If they are/will build cabs to be used in that service, why are they building an app when hail the vehicles? If they are getting into that business, why are the selling their vehicles to potential rivals for $30K? As has already been said that between the cost of the battery, Autopilot and FSD, that promise of $30K seems optimistic at best, but how would the rest of that work? Would you have to buy their Cybertaxi and then use Tesla’s app to run them, maybe by subscription? So you buy 30 cabs as a part of your fleet, would you have to use the Tesla app to operate them? If there is ever an incident involving a collision with one of those autonomous cabs, who would be responsible? Would that be you since you own the vehicles, or Tesla since that run and are in control of the software that operates and runs the system?
Kit,
Also Cole Automotive was in Indiana. In fact, they are why things like SAE exists because Cole auto was interested in forming it where the Detroit three could care less. They were the inventors of the blue print concept to make parts exactly the same and why you can go to your local parts store and get a new water pump for your car that directly bolts one without modification. They are why Ford was able to make a successful assembly line because Ford matched up the assembly line from Oldsmobile with the blue print technology from Cole Auto which unlocked high volume auto production. They also had a flat head V8 well before Ford. The Ford Flat head V8 was a copy of the Cole design almost 20 years later as the cole V8s were popular in racing at the time due to their power and reliability…so Ford copied it. Cole also introduced balloon tire technology which formed the basis of current tire technology. Cole also introduced Disc Brakes before they became a thing on cars. Cole also introduced the concept of using chrome on cars. Can you imagine the auto world without chrome? The current auto business owes a lot to Cole Auto of Indiana and yet somehow they have been seemingly erased from history while Auburn/Cord seem to get all the press. Maybe because Cole was too hyper focused on developing automotive standards/technology and not the design sizzle like Auburn/Cord was doing.
Sadly JJ Cole was getting tired of the politics and fighting with GM for supply. GM at the time was using the same suppliers as Cole and was demanding that those suppliers starve Cole of parts. At the time Cole was selling their cars $100($3K in todays money) cheaper than the comparable Cadillac and Durant from GM could not compete. Cole was outselling Cadillac. So Durant deployed his strong arm tactics to try and force Cole out of business by starving them of parts from shared suppliers. Durant was a terrible human being and maybe that is why GM is honoring him in China with the Durant Collection. JJ Cole ended production never having lost a single dime on any of his cars. He was just sick of fighting everybody in the automotive industry, had millions of dollars, and decided to enjoy retirement without the stress of getting the fledging auto industry up to speed from a standards/technology perspective. I see a lot of similarities between Cole Auto and Tesla to be honest from a taking a chance on new tech and setting the standard for others to follow perspective.
I suspect Auburn and Cord are remembered because of the exceptional styling. Duesenberg is remembered for elegance, performance, and racing success. Yeah, I don’t hear about Cole, even living near Indianapolis. The ACDs were made about a decade longer than Cole.
Merkur- Cool history on Cole. Thanks!