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Runtime: 10:06
0:00 U.S. Consumer Confidence Drops, Car Sales to Follow?
0:51 House Republicans Propose New EV Fees
1:46 EVs Slash Oil Demand 2M BBL/Day
2:48 Mexico EV Startup & $8,400 Car
3:58 Geely Soars on Record Sales
4:32 BYD Looks to Buy Foreign Automakers
5:22 BMW Unveils 560-Mile Electric i3 Sedan
6:49 Electric DS N°7 Packs 460-Mile Range
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This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.
U.S. CONSUMER CONFIDENCE DROPS, CAR SALES TO FOLLOW?
Americans are getting antsy about what lies ahead economically. The University of Michigan’s Index of Consumer Confidence fell nearly 2% in early March and that survey was conducted before the war in Iran started and gasoline prices shot upward. The survey found that “a broad swath of consumers across incomes, age, and political affiliation all reported declines in expectations for their personal finances, down 7.5% nationally.” And there’s a reason why we follow the results of U of M’s Consumer Survey, because over the decades it has shown itself to be a reliable indicator of future car sales.
HOUSE REPUBLICANS PROPOSE NEW EV FEES
Republicans in the House of Representatives are once again looking to collect fees from electric vehicles to pay for highway repairs. Last year, House Republicans proposed an annual $250 fee on EVs and a $100 fee on hybrids to pay for highway repairs. The current 5-year surface transportation law expires in September and Republicans want to add up to $550 million in funding for highways and bridges. Most revenue for federally funded road repairs is collected through diesel and gasoline taxes, which EVs do not pay, and hybrids pay less than ICE vehicles. But the Republican proposal is opposed by the EV advocacy group, Electrification Coalition, which argues it’s unfair because gas-powered vehicles only pay $88 on average in federal gas taxes.
EVs SLASH OIL DEMAND 2M BBL/DAY
While EV adoption has been slower than expected, sales continue to grow globally and they’re helping to significantly cut oil use. According to a study from Ember, a London based think tank, EVs helped cut global oil use by 1.7 million barrels per day last year. But a separate study from BloombergNEF, found that EVs helped avoid the use of 2.3 million barrels. Ember’s study is lower because of conservative estimates of how often plug-in hybrids run on fossil fuels. By the end of the decade, Bloomberg projects oil use will be cut by 5.25 million barrels per day. While passenger EVs supplied most of the savings, electric 2 & 3-wheelers were next, thanks to their growing popularity in developing countries. EVs now account for at least 10% of the overall market in 39 countries, which is up from just 4 countries in 2019.
MEXICO EV STARTUP & $8,400 CAR
Here’s an EV startup that caught our attention. Called Olinia, the startup is based in Mexico, which is kind of rare, and is backed by the Mexican government. The company is developing small, low-cost EVs and it plans to unveil its first two prototypes in June. One model is a passenger vehicle that can carry a driver and up to five others, while the other is a two-passenger cargo vehicle able to carry 600 kilograms or just over 1,320 pounds. It’s also developing a faster model that will be unveiled later. The first two vehicles will have a top-speed of 31MPH or 50-km/h and will be priced around $8,400. Olinia says its market in Mexico could potentially reach sales of 100,000 units a year.
GEELY SOARS ON RECORD SALES
Geely reported some of its financial results from last year. The Chinese automaker sold 3 million vehicles, up 39%. Revenue jumped 25% to just over $50 billion, and it posted a net profit of $2.4 billion, up 0.2% from the year before. It also raised its dividend from 4¢ a share to 6¢, or a 50% increase. Investors loved the news and the Autoline Stock Index shows that Geely’s stock was up more than 7%.
BYD LOOKS TO BUY FOREIGN AUTOMAKERS
BYD says it would like to buy a foreign automaker, and believes outright ownership would get it around any tariffs or protectionist measures in North America and Europe. The company’s executive vice president told Bloomberg that BYD is not interested in joint ventures, and wants to buy a company outright. That touched off a flurry of speculation as to who could be on the shopping list. Nissan is clearly in trouble. Stellantis has a handful of brands and assembly plants that are floundering. And Ford’s European passenger car business has been sinking for years. Geely already set the stage for a Chinese company buying foreign automakers. It counts Volvo, Lotus, Proton and smart as its brands and owns over 9% of Mercedes-Benz.
BMW UNVEILS 560-MILE ELECTRIC I3 SEDAN
BMW is stepping into a new era with its first ever electric 3 Series sedan. The all-new i3 is the second model to come off of the automaker’s Neue Klasse platform after the recent launch of the iX3 crossover. It’s an 800-volt architecture that features a more centralized computing system, which controls most vehicle functions through a computer BMW calls ‘Heart of Joy.’ The system offers 10-times faster processing speeds and enables things like expanded OTA updates, the newest generation of iDrive and hands-free driving functions. The first version of the i3 to launch will be a dual-motor all-wheel drive model that makes 345 kW or about 470 horsepower and will do 0-100 km/h in 4.5 seconds. Thanks to new cylindrical battery cells that have 20% more energy density than BMW’s previous prismatic cells, the i3 will have a WLTP range of up to 900 kilometers or roughly 560 miles. Due to its smaller size and sleeker body, the i3 has about 100 kilometers more range than the iX3 and it’s also a little faster too. BMW says production of the all-electric sedan will kick off in August and deliveries could start as soon as September.
ELECTRIC DS N°7 PACKS 460-MILE RANGE
For the first time since it was spun off into its own independent brand in 2014 a vehicle from DS Automobiles is getting a second-gen model. The new DS N°7 replaces the DS 7 crossover and will move to parent company’s STLA Medium platform. While the model fits into the compact crossover segment it actually has the option for a fairly large 97 kWh battery pack. When paired with front-wheel drive, it provides a WLTP range of up to 740 kilometers or about 460 miles. There’s also the option for all-wheel drive and a smaller nearly 74 kWh battery that returns up to 543 kilometers or roughly 335 miles of range. The DS N°7 has three powertrain choices that range from 230 horsepower up to 350 horsepower for AWD, which will move the crossover from 0-100 km/h in 5.4 seconds. Orders have already opened for the DS N°7 in France, but we were a little shocked to see that the starting price is a little over 64,000 euros.
And that’s a wrap for today’s show. Thanks for watching.
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Eliminate gasoline taxes. Annually tax all vehicles at the state level by weight vs miles driven. Now you get taxed directly for the destruction you are doing to the roads network.
Better yet, calculate the normalized lifetime impact of a vehcile and tax it at the state or federal level at the time of sale. Maybe it would get people to buy slightly smaller vehicles if they have to pay up front…
Charging a tax at a set amount on electric vehicles and Hybrids is not only unfair but not going to get roads fixed. If I drive my Hybrid 10,000 miles a year but pay $100 tax where someone using a Hybrid as a Uber/Taxi or DoorDash delivery vehicle putting maybe 20,000 miles or more a year they are using the roads more and the same with gasoline powered it goes by how many gallons you use so it’s more fair.
I already pay a surcharge on EV registration in my state (WI) that exceeds the tax I would pay via fuel tax. These measures could add up further beyond a remedy for the road tax gap. In my opinion that’s not the goal. The goal appears to be to disincentivize EV ownership.
In my Blue State EV’s pay zero in road use taxes. Also, we have a prevailing wage requirement on any public job bids, not just roads. Companies that repair our roads have to bid at the Union pay scale weather or not they are Union.
Seems like EVs should pay their fair share to keep up the roads they use with the rest of us, especially since they are heavier than their gas counterparts for the same size vehicle and put more stress on the road surface due to higher weight. The way that takes place is the nut, but if you annually charged them the same amount of what a similar sized gasoline vehicle uses then that would be one way of trying to make it fair. Just as an example, if a four door Honda Accord pays $100 on average in fuel tax for 10,000 miles of use per year then charge a Tesla sedan the same thing, or something along those lines. I’m sure AI could figure something out so that we are all doing our fair share.
Lucky for me, there is no hybrid surcharge in my “red” state, but there is in my original red state where I spend summers.
Most of the EV surcharges are “punative” to people who drive average miles. The surcharge is more, and in some cases a lot more than the gas tax for a similar size car driven average miles. Tax based on weight/miles driven would be good, if it could be done with minimal cheating.