AD #4078 – Fewer Buyers Willing to Go Electric; Ferrari Delays 2nd EV Model; Honda Tests New Electric Hot Hatch

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

FEWER BUYERS WILLING TO GO ELECTRIC
Car buyers in the U.S. and Europe are less willing to make the switch to electric. According to a new survey from Shell, 31% of respondents from the U.S. would consider switching to an electric vehicle, down from 34% last year. And in Europe, the number fell from 48% to 41% this year. The main reason buyers are reluctant to make the switch is because of price. EVs are 30% more expensive on average than gas-powered cars right now. They’re also concerned about range but that percent is declining. Shell’s survey included more than 15,000 respondents in the U.S., Europe and China.

FERRARI DELAYS 2ND EV
Ferrari is delaying the launch of its second fully-electric model. It was supposed to go on sale next year but now it won’t come out until at least 2028. Sources tell Reuters that Ferrari is delaying the model because demand for high-performance EVs is “zero.” That’s exactly what Rimac’s CEO said just over a year ago, saying these customers want to be different from mainstream vehicles and have combustion engines with an analog feel. Even so, Ferrari is still moving forward with plans to reveal its first pure electric in October and start deliveries to customers next October.

NEXT GEN FORD LIGHTNING GOING TO BLUE OVAL
With sales of the electric Ford Lightning pickup falling far short of expectations, we wondered if Ford would continue the program. And with sales of EVs in the U.S. falling short as well, we wondered what Ford was going to do with that massive plant it’s building in Tennessee called Blue Oval City. Well, AutoForecast Solutions just shed some light on what’s going to happen. Ford is putting the next-gen Lightning in the Blue Oval plant, which is a big change from a January report from AutoForecast that said the model was going to be made in Dearborn and Kansas City. The next-gen Lightning is scheduled to go into production in 2028, which is about a year behind the original schedule. AFS says Ford is also going to move production of the Transit Connect to Mexico, which is currently made in Spain. And it’s going to move the electric Transit van production out of Kansas City to its Avon Lake plant in Ohio.

NIO FIGHTS BATTERY SWAPPING ABUSE
Chinese automaker Nio helped popularize battery swapping in China by offering customers free swaps. But now it thinks some owners are abusing the program using a practice that’s called “wool-gathering.” It says some owners use Nio vehicles with free swaps for ride-hailing services, others are using the vehicle’s discharge function to charge other electric cars, owners are also selling access to their free battery swaps online and in more extreme cases people are using their vehicles as mobile generators. Nio has tried to combat the misuse by capping the number of monthly swaps but now it’s launching a new app that allows owners to report suspicious activity at its stations.

 

NEW SPECS FOR NISSAN LEAF EV
After weeks of teasing it, Nissan officially unveiled the all-new Leaf. It will first be available with a 75-kWh lithium-ion battery pack that’s paired with a 214-horsepower electric motor. That setup provides a range of up to 303 miles. And starting next spring, Nissan will offer a 52-kWh battery with a 174-horsepower motor. The new Leaf can charge from 10-80% in as fast as 35 minutes. Moving to the interior, lower trims feature dual 12.3-inch screens, while higher trims come with dual 14.3 inch screens. And Nissan claims the new Leaf is the first vehicle in its segment to have an available dimmable panoramic roof, which can switch from transparent to near-totally opaque with the push of a button. The new Leaf goes on sale in the U.S. this fall.

KIA EV4 STARTS AT $30,000 IN SOUTH KOREA
Kia’s new electric sedan and hatchback, the EV4, just went on sale in Korea and it will continue to roll out to global markets throughout the second half of this year. The model is based on the Hyundai Group’s 400-volt E-GMP architecture and will be offered in three trim levels. All versions are powered by a single 150 kW or 200 horsepower electric motor that drives the front wheels. That’s enough output to move the EV4 from 0-100 km/h in as little as 7.4 seconds. Standard range models feature a roughly 58 kWh battery pack, which provides up to 430 kilometers or about 265 miles of range on the WLTP test cycle. Long range versions have just over 81 kWh packs that provide up to 630 kilometers or roughly 390 miles of range. Other highlights include bi-directional charging capability and the ability to charge from 10-80% in as little as 29 minutes.

CLARIOS TO MAKE SUPERCAPACITORS IN U.S.
Clarios, the world’s largest manufacturer of 12-volt lead acid batteries for cars, now plans to make supercapacitors. These will be low-voltage supercapacitors which Clarios says are ideal for systems like steer-by-wire and chassis stability. It says the supercapacitors can be combined with lead-acid batteries for better performance and reliability as well as supplying redundancy for critical power systems. And they’re not just for cars. Clarios says the supercapacitors can be used in AI data centers as well as in military equipment. Today, most supercapacitors are made in China, so Clarios is currently searching for U.S. manufacturing sites, and expects to announce that location later this year.

HONDA PLANS NEW A-SEGMENT HOT HATCH
Honda is going to have quite the display at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed. That includes F1 winning cars from the 1980’s, motorcycle concepts and even a brand-new A-segment hatchback that it’s teasing for the first time. This is the only picture it’s currently providing of the Super EV Concept, which is designed to be fun to drive and could be launched around the globe in the future. It almost looks like a next-gen version of the Honda-e, which was officially discontinued last year.

PONY.AI UNVEILS 7TH GEN AV STACK
Slowly but surely, Pony.ai keeps making progress with its autonomous technology in China. It just announced the 7th generation of its technology stack, which is fitted to a Toyota bZ4X or the bZ as it’s now known in the U.S. It uses 34 sensors, including 9 LiDAR units, 14 cameras, and 4 millimeter-wave radars, as well as four NVIDIA Orin-X chips. Pony.ai claims it has cut the cost by 70% compared to its first-gen stack, but it didn’t reveal the cost. The system is designed to last for 10 years or 600,000 kilometers, which is over 370,000 miles. Pony.ai already operates Level 4 robotaxis in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen and expects to have 1,000 of them on the road by the end of the year.

FORMER ROLLS DESIGNER STYLES MASS-MARKET CHINESE PHEV
Ever wonder how a designer of ultra-luxury cars would fare having to come up with a vehicle for the masses? Well, wait no more. Chinese automaker SAIC hired former head of design at Rolls-Royce, Josef Kabaň, who was tasked to style the M7 sedan for its more mass-produced Roewe (Ro-Way) brand. The model is highlighted by a big, in-your-face grille with long, vertical slats; a long, thin taillight that stretches the width of the car; a few pieces of brightwork to highlight key areas; and large spoked wheels. The M7 is a plug-in hybrid that’s expected to have 1,000 kilometers or about 620 miles of range and go on sale in China in the second half of this year.

But that’s a wrap for this show. Thanks for tuning in.