AD #4064 – Alpine Reveals First SUV; Stellantis Names Antonio Filosa New CEO; GM Invests $900M To Build More V8s

This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.

STELLANTIS NAMES ANTONIO FILOSA NEW CEO
Stellantis finally has a new CEO. Confirming reports from earlier this month, Antonio Filosa will now be in charge of leading the company, effectively taking over the role on June 23rd. He’s also in line to be elected to the Board as executive director, but that still requires a shareholder meeting and vote, which is said to happen in “the coming days.” Stellantis had been without a leader since Carlos Tavares left in December of last year, so it was roughly a six-month search to land on Filosa, who started his career at Fiat in 1999 and has been part of the company’s executive team since Stellantis was formed in 2021. We feel like he’s going to have to hit the ground running. His next step will be to announce a new leadership team, but beyond that Filosa needs to figure out what to do with Stellantis’ dozen or so brands, some of which aren’t performing very well. That’s led to falling sales and profits as well as $65-billion of lost market cap in the last year. 

STELLANTIS’ SOFTWARE DEAL WITH AMAZON FALLS APART
On top of that, it also looks like Filosa will need to lead a software revolution at the company. Reuters reports that Stellantis’ deal with Amazon to create a more competitive in-car user experience is coming to an end. Originally announced in 2022, the partnership was part of the automaker’s SmartCockpit project, which would feature a more advanced software system. But now Stellantis will have to find other solutions and it’s not clear what those are yet.

GM INVESTS $900 MILLION TO BUILD MORE V8 ENGINES
GM’s EV sales are increasing, but not enough to save a $300 million investment that was supposed to go into its propulsion plant in Buffalo, New York for EV drive units. Instead it’s investing nearly $900 million to make V8s for its full-size trucks and SUVs, which are GM’s main source of profits. It also invested $500 million two years ago to make the same engines in Michigan as well as about another $2 billion into the plants that make those vehicles and their components.

BYD CHARGED WITH VIOLATING LABOR RIGHTS IN BRAZIL
We’ve previously reported on BYD and contractors it used to hire Chinese workers to build a plant in Brazil, being accused of human trafficking and putting the workers through “slave-like conditions.” Well now labor prosecutors in Brazil have filed a lawsuit that’s seeking $45 million in damages, would force the companies to comply with labor rules and fine them about $8,800 for each violation multiplied by the number of affected workers, even though those workers have already returned to China. BYD says it’s been cooperating with prosecutors and will respond to the claims in court documents.

 

BYD PRICE CUTS COULD LEAD TO DEEPER PRICE WAR IN CHINA
The price war in China was already heated but now it’s expected to get worse. Shares of the largest automakers in China dropped yesterday after BYD slashed prices on more than a dozen models, triggering fears of a deeper price war. But as we’ve said in the past, there are too many brands, making too many vehicles, so some shake-out is expected. According to Jato Dynamics, there are 169 car companies in China and more than half of them have less than 0.1% market share. But it’s not just the automakers that have to be worried. The chairman of Great Wall Motor is warning that the price war is harming the supplier industry and some suppliers are at risk of failing because they’re under pressure from car companies to lower prices.

TOYOTA NOW LARGEST SHAREHOLDER IN eVTOL STARTUP
Toyota is serious about developing eVTOLs or vertical take-off and landing aircraft. And now it’s the largest shareholder in flying taxi startup Joby Aviation, which is based in California. The automaker first invested in Joby in 2020 and now owns 15% of the company. It just completed the first half of a $500 million investment that it announced last year, which will bring Toyota’s total investment in Joby to nearly $900 million. Joby is aiming to launch commercial services in Dubai next year and it’s still waiting for full flight certification in other countries including the U.S.

RIVIAN SHOWS OFF NEW R2 SUSPENSION
Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe continues to share more about the new R2. This time around he provided a look at the rear subframe and suspension, which features a 5-link setup with stamped steel arms that he says delivers incredible ride quality and handling. That forged aluminum knuckle, dubbed “starfish” by Scaringe, looks awfully expensive and we wonder if a casting might be cheaper overall than a welded steel subframe? But Scaringe also says the company achieved its optimized cost structure. So, while it’s a long way off, we’ll be fascinated to see if Rivian can turn a profit with the R2. What do you think?

ALPINE REVEALS FIRST SUV
As I promised in yesterday’s show, here’s the all-new Alpine A390, the brand’s 1st SUV, which is also all-electric. It’s based on the Renault Group’s AmpR Medium platform, the new name for its CMF-EV platform that it shares with Nissan, which will be used for the new Leaf and Aryia that are coming this year as well. Alpine claims the platform went through a “radical overhaul… to deliver first-class performance.” The A390 features a tri-motor setup; 1 motor at the front, 2 motors at the rear. In GT models, they combine for 400 horsepower and provide a 0-100 km/h time of 4.8 seconds. GTS models make 470 horsepower and can do 0-100 km/h in 3.9 seconds. Those rear motors are permanent magnet synchronous units that control each wheel independently, providing active torque vectoring, which contributes to the A390 feeling like a “sports car in a suit,” according to Alpine. The cells for the electric SUV, an NMC chemistry with an extra high nickel content, come from French battery maker Verkor and are specifically designed to be able to handle repeated hard accelerations, while still maintaining the same performance down to 30% battery charge. This was part of an entire redesign of Verkor’s 400-volt architecture, which also included an upgrade to the battery’s cooling system. Total pack capacity comes to 89 kWh. For models with 20-inch wheels it offers a range of up to 555 kilometers or 344 miles, while 21-inch wheels drop that down to 520 kilometers or 323 miles of range on the WLTP cycle. With an 11-kW on-board charger or optional 22 kW unit, the A390 can provide power to other electric devices or it also has bidirectional charging compatibility with the electrical grid. Now let’s shift our focus to the interior, which is highlighted by a couple of digital displays, but you may notice a blue and red button on the steering wheel as well, which are for the drive modes and an overboost function. We’d also like to point out the three round buttons on the center console. Those are for Reverse, Neutral and Drive. And speaking of drive, let’s drive this story home. The A390 is scheduled to come out in the fourth quarter of this year. Pricing for GT models starts at 65,000 euros, while GTS models start at 76,000 euros.

TESLA STORAGE LOT UPDATE
We’ve got a quick follow-up on a story we reported last week. We showed you this video taken by one of our viewers of a parking lot north of Detroit filled with Teslas. You all helped us figure out they’re probably storage for a nearby Tesla store. But Crain’s Business Detroit reports the landlord of that shopping center has been notified they’re in violation of the suburb’s code for storing vehicles in the lot. So, the Teslas will likely be forced out.

And that brings us to the end of today’s show. Thanks for making Autoline a part of your day.