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Runtime: 9:47
0:00 Qualcomm Partners with Google & Launches New Chips
1:29 Ram Sales Up Significantly in October
2:08 Stellantis JV Starts Battery Module Production
2:59 Tesla Improves Autopilot Safety
4:10 Rivian Racks Up Most Safety Violations
5:30 Zeekr Reveals Waymo Robotaxi Vehicle
6:27 Chevy Launches $35,000 Equinox EV
7:01 Volvo Posts Mixed Q3 Earnings
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QUALCOMM PARTNERS WITH GOOGLE & LAUNCHES NEW CHIPS
This could be big. Qualcomm and Alphabet are joining forces to combine chips and software to allow automakers to create their own unique in-car AI assistants that will work without relying on a person’s phone. Qualcomm also announced Android OS for automotive will now be able to run on its newest chips. We’re talking about the operating system for the car, not Android Auto, which interfaces a phone with the car’s infotainment screen. Its latest automotive chips are called Snapdragon Cockpit Elite and Snapdragon Drive Elite. Cockpit Elite is for IVI, or in-vehicle infotainment, while Drive Elite is for autonomous driving. Cockpit Elite offers three times the graphic processing power than before and can run 16 display screens with 4K resolution. It can also process input from 40 different sensors. While automakers can buy separate Drive Elite and Cockpit Elite chips, Qualcomm will also offer them on one chip for parts consolidation. Qualcomm will make the latest Snapdragon chips available to automakers next year and it says Mercedes-Benz and Li Auto have already signed up to use them.
RAM’S SALES UP SIGNIFICANTLY IN OCTOBER
Through the first nine months of the year, Ram’s sales are down 24% in the U.S. But they rebounded significantly in October after boosting incentives. According to Ram CEO, Chris Feuell, Ram sales are up 35-40% so far this month. Ram’s inventory levels in the U.S. were at least double the industry average in August according to Cox Automotive. So, it boosted incentives to help clear out inventory, which comes ahead of the launch of the all-electric Ram 1500 REV and the extended range Ramcharger at the end of the year.
STELLANTIS JV STARTS BATTERY MODULE PRODUCTION
NextStar Energy, the battery joint-venture formed by Stellantis and LG Energy Solution, just achieved a big milestone. The company announced it has started battery module production at its plant in Ontario, Canada. The site is also on track to produce battery cells starting in 2025. Once the plant is fully up and running, it will have the capacity to produce nearly 50-GWh a year, which Stellantis says is enough to power 450,000 vehicles a year.
TESLA IMPROVES AUTOPILOT SAFETY
Tesla’s Autopilot system is getting better in the U.S. According to the company’s Vehicle Safety Report there was just one accident for every 7.08 million miles driven on Autopilot in the third quarter. That’s up from 5.9 million miles in Q3 of last year and a slight jump over Q2. Although, it’s still trying to work back up to the first quarter of the year when there was a crash every 7.6 million miles on Autopilot. By comparison, it showed that Tesla vehicles not using Autopilot got in an accident every 1.3 million miles driven, which is better than the national average of one accident every 670,000 miles. But it’s important to note that Tesla’s numbers do not include FSD data or things like weather conditions, was the driver or tech at fault, how bad the crash was or were people hurt or killed? According to NHTSA and the National Safety Council there’s a fatal accident roughly every 100 million miles driven.
RIVIAN RACKS UP MOST SAFETY VIOLATIONS
Rivian has struggled to ramp up production at its plant in Normal, Illinois and according to a new report from Bloomberg, the EV startup is also struggling to keep its workers safe. The company has received 16 initial citations of serious violations since the beginning of 2023 from the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration or what you probably know as OSHA. That number is more than any other automaker even though Rivian only operates one plant and has significantly fewer employees than its competitors. Some of the injuries include a cracked skull, a broken foot, an amputated finger and a back laceration that required surgery. One woman said she even started vomiting a “Rivian Blue” after painting vehicles without a respirator. In a statement, Rivian said the health and safety of its workers is a “top priority” and that most of the violations were downgraded or dismissed as part of settlements with OSHA. However, former OSHA leaders interviewed by Bloomberg say those initial citations reveal more about workplace safety issues and one said the complaints, citations and injuries “are all red flags.”
ZEEKR REVEALS WAYMO ROBOTAXI VEHICLE
Looks like Waymo is going to get Robotaxis with a giant opening for passengers to get in and out. This is the Zeekr Mix. Waymo and Zeekr have a partnership to make robotaxis. And the Waymo/Zeekr robotaxi is based on the same platform as the Mix. As you can see the Mix has the option for both a sliding passenger front and rear door, which provides that big opening. It also comes with a swiveling front seat, which would make a lot of sense for a robotaxi as well. Some people thought the Waymo and Zeekr partnership might have fallen apart because Waymo just signed a deal to make robotaxis with Hyundai. But Waymo confirmed it’s still working with Zeekr and the Hyundai deal is likely in response to the U.S. banning Chinese EVs and tech and Jaguar announcing that it’s killing off the I-Pace, which Waymo also uses in its fleet.
CHEVY LAUNCHES $35,000 EQUINOX EV
The $35,000 version of the Equinox EV is finally here. LT FWD models have officially started arriving at dealers across the U.S. and they offer up to 319 miles of range from their 85-kWh battery pack. The model also qualifies for the fully $7,500 EV tax credit at purchase. So, we’re interested to see how sales do, because Chevy sold 15,000 Equinox EVs in Q3 without the more affordable version.
VOLVO POSTS MIXED Q3 EARNINGS
Volvo Cars reported its third quarter earnings with some very up and down results. It sold almost 173,000 cars globally, up 3% and with revenue up 1% to $8.7 billion, but its EBIT was down 7% to $537 million. Its net profit was up 35% to $414 million, while its free cash flow was down 9%, to almost $87 million. Volvo CEO Jim Rowan says the industry is facing an increasingly volatile environment and lowered the company’s sales growth for the rest of the year.
But that’s it for today’s show, thanks for watching and have a great day.
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MERKUR DRIVER says
I think Chevrolet may have a hit on their hands with the Equinox EV as it is the same size as an equinox and with tax payer subsidies it is the same cost. It also looks like a normal every day compact SUV. The only compromise is range/charge times and features that are lacking in the base trim. The price sadly ramps up substantially when you add popular options most consider must haves. For people who want to drive an EV on a budget; the base model would be a good option. I think it will work out well for GM.
Lambo2015 says
Ram learning what everyone was saying for months. They have always been a great seller due to the ability to undercut Ford and GM on price. Trying to compete at similar or higher prices isn’t going to fair well. Throw in some incentives and look, sales are back. Shockingly simple.
Tesla auto-pilot safety numbers are impressive, and I agree it would be good to see them classified into severity of crashes. However, if human controlled fatal crashes are 1 in every 100 million miles AV needs to be 10 times better. I don’t think the general public will accept the same level of fatalities from automation. We just expect much more. We know humans make mistakes and understand human error. Not so forgiving to a computer program. The expectation is it will get it right every time.
It will be very interesting to see how the Equinox EV does as the price seems reasonable. However, I just read this article with some brutal opinions on EVs which are more in touch with reality than most EV news.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/elite-democrats-tried-to-force-electric-cars-on-american-drivers-now-the-rebellion-is-growing/ar-AA1sKNVP?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=70a0600b67964b2c918cdd84c7515eb3&ei=104#comments
Danny Turnpaugh says
I don’t like government subsidies to purchase certain vehicles, lower income people that never can afford to buy a new car don’t get anyone giving them money to buy a car, but higher income people get money to buy a car, if you have to give incentives to buy something it’s wrong to me, when cars started being popular and gasoline stations popped up nobody gave incentives to build them, but we give money to build electric charging stations. Just my opinion, I know others will disagree and that’s their right
Drew says
Danny, I think you will find two truths… 1. Lower income people typically buy used vehicles; 2. Incentives on new vehicles typically cause used vehicles prices to decline. So, incentives on new vehicles have an indirect benefit to poorer people. Nevertheless, most economists will say “let the market determine winners and losers”, which I agree except when the government has sound long term objectives that justify skewing the market in the near term.
Wim van Acker says
@Danny Turnpaugh: the U.S. oil and gas industry receives $16 billion of government subsidies per year; based on conservative estimates. Plus $60 billion to prevent them from going bankrupt collectively such as in 2009 and 2020.
Not really an opinion, just facts.
Kit Gerhart says
Ram trucks have sold not necessarily because they are cheaper than Ford and Chevy, but because they ride better and driver better than the competition. Maybe sales were down because people thought they wanted the no-longer-available V8, but after they drive the new turbo six, they find that they like it.
Kit Gerhart says
Stephen Moore who wrote the opinion linked by Lambo is far from unbiased. He co-founded “Club for Growth,” an organization with the primary goal of making the rich richer.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Moore_(writer)
In March 2019, Trump announced that Moore would be nominated to serve as a governor of the Federal Reserve. On May 2, 2019, Moore withdrew his name from consideration amid bipartisan resistance in the Senate.
Sean Wagner says
Thank you Kit for providing vital context.
It would of course be helpful to have more data on Tesla’s “autopilot” accidents. Presently, it seems the system is roughly five times “better” than your average human Tesla driver. One thing computer brains have over us biological critters is the ability to monitor their entire surroundings (so 360 deg view) without getting distracted. Which is of course when many accidents happen.
I wonder if it’s possible to link AP (or whatever it’s presently called) to a ChatGPT-like interface, and quiz it.
Lambo2015 says
Kit- As I was reading Stephens article his bias is quite obvious. However, I believe there is some truth to what is happening and just maybe not for the reasons he mentioned. He appeared to make it more of a political thing and that consumers are like children pushing back on Biden’s directive to go green. I don’t see it that way as grown adults spend their money the best way they see fit. Sure, there are plenty of financially irresponsible people that are both rich and poor the lean right or left. Those folks may make bad decisions, but I doubt they do that with any concern for a certain governmental directive from either party.
With that said and the many conversations I have had with people about EVs the general take away I found is EV’s are not gaining ground as fast as the administration would like simply due to their own limitations. The culmination of range, charging, and cost are keeping people away and nothing to do with what one political party wants. Especially when it comes to spending 30-50k on the worse investment people make. We spend much more on homes, but they typically increase in value. Autos are the major purchase that is almost always a losing proposition. So regardless of what Joe Biden wants or what the EPA mandates consumers will buy or in this case not buy what they don’t want.
What I did agree with in the article is that these ICE bans will need to be revised to a more reasonable rate of phasing them out. Having an aggressive goal is fine but when you realize to maintain that goal is not only unachievable and may destroy an industry and bankrupt large companies in the process it’s time to get real. We can’t cut off our nose in spite of our face. Realize that EVs may be the future. Just that future isn’t 2035 and maybe 2050.
MERKUR DRIVER says
To me if a product is not inferior, it does not need to rely on tax payer incentives and bans to sell them. The fact that such things exist tells me the products are inferior. They should end the bans and tax payer throwing money across the hoods and let the tech stand on its own. The EV proponents claim that they are super awesome and the best thing since sliced bread. Thats great, lets prove it by eliminating the bans and tax payer subsidies. The equinox is a great deal when taking into account the tax payers throwing thousands on the hoods, but it is not a great deal if there are no tax payers funding it.
Wim,
Lets take those billions and compare it to the trillions from the inflation reduction act that did not reduce inflation but did heavily subsidize EVs. This year alone EVs are the most subsidized industry in the USA easily eclipsing oil/gas. If you look at just the federal buying incentive that is 9B of cash already let alone all the factories and everything else they have been subsidizing to the tune of 100s of billions. Not really an opinion, just facts.
Lambo2015 says
Kit I didn’t see anywhere in the link you provided where it stated Moore was interested in making the rich richer.
Seems he is after smaller government and less taxes. I suppose less taxes would impact the rich the most however Dems always claim the rich don’t pay taxes anyway. So I’m not sure what you point was other than maybe that the article pointed out the huge failure of the current admin and what certainly will continue with Harris.