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Runtime: 8:27
0:00 Ford Names New EV Truck Fathom
0:52 Value of OTA Market Will Quadruple
2:02 GM to Ship China-Made Buicks Overseas
2:41 U.S. Dealer Group Calls for China Ban
4:22 Honda Still Recovering from Earthquake
5:04 Honda Taps Tata for New Platform
5:49 Mercedes Removes Axial Motors for Cheaper Version
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This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.
FORD NAMES NEW TRUCK FATHOM
We now know the name and starting price for Ford’s upcoming electric truck and it’s not called the Ranchero. The Fathom will be the first vehicle based on its new Universal EV platform and Ford calls it a mid-size truck. It goes on sale early next-year with a starting price of $28,350 not including destination charges. The Fathom will seat five adults and has more passenger volume than a Toyota RAV4. It’s also available with bidirectional capabilities, BlueCruise, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. That’s about all we know for now. But what do you think of the name? Let us know in the comments.
VALUE OF OTA MARKET WILL QUADRUPLE
Over-the-air updates or OTAs are going to make automakers a lot more money over the next 8 years. According to Fortune Business Insights the market for automotive OTAs is valued at about $5.3 billion today, but predicts that will rise $22 billion by 2034. It says that growth will be fueled by more EVs on the road with Software Defined Vehicle architectures as well as fleet managers looking for ways to save money. And automakers are shifting the way they deploy their OTAs. Early on they worried about getting updates to customers as fast as possible, but now they’re focused on adding value and reliability through vehicle improvements. Researchers say this includes things like upgrades to cybersecurity, the battery management system and suspension calibration. OTAs can also save automakers money. 70% of software-related recalls can be fixed without needing to go to the dealer, which slashes labor and logistics costs by roughly 55%. And those percentages will grow as OTA capabilities continue to expand.
GM TO SHIP CHINA-MADE BUICKS OVERSEAS
GM is going to start shipping electrified China-made Buicks overseas. Along with the 20-year extension of its partnership with SAIC, GM’s senior VP of the region said “we see meaningful opportunities to compete in select international markets: the Middle East, Africa, South America, Mexico and Asia-Pacific.” Shipments start in October and the first model comes from Buick’s Electra sub-brand. The E7 is a 5-seat SUV that’s currently sold in China with a plug-in hybrid powertrain, but Electra will also offer EREV and pure-electric setups.
U.S. INTERNATIONAL DEALER GROUP CALLS FOR CHINA BAN
Despite representing foreign car brands in the U.S., the American International Automobile Dealers Association is calling for a ban of Chinese automakers from selling and manufacturing vehicles in the country. The chairman of the organization says Chinese brands are different because “they’re out to gain total market domination” and believes allowing them in would result in unfair competition and lost market share for the automakers the association currently represents. The dealer group is also concerned that Chinese companies aren’t interested in working with existing networks and want to sell directly to consumers.
HONDA STILL RECOVERING FROM EARTHQUAKE
We’ve got a quick update on the earthquake in Japan that forced several automakers to halt production. Toyota, Nissan and Mitsubishi all resumed making vehicles earlier this week. Only Honda is still impacted with two plants that will remain shut down through August 19 because one of its key suppliers is also down due to the quake. It’s estimated that the production stoppage will cost Japanese automakers 20,000 vehicles in lost output. But companies were able to get back on track relatively quick thanks to the countermeasures they put in place after the massive 2011 earthquake in Japan, which crippled production in the country for a good part of the year.
HONDA TAPS TATA FOR NEW PLATFORM
And circling back to Honda, it has outsourced development of a new vehicle program to Tata Technologies. It’s the first time the automaker has awarded an Indian company with building an end-to-end platform. The platform will support multiple models for both gas-powered and electrified vehicles. And over in China, the automaker is planning to use local suppliers and technology from its joint-venture partner GAC. It expects that to help cut costs and speed up development of EVs. As we reported yesterday, Honda is really struggling in Asia. Its global sales last quarter were down 53% because of falling sales in the region, everywhere else sales were up.
MERCEDES REMOVES AXIAL MOTORS FOR CHEAPER VERSION
Mercedes ripped the axial flux motors out of the AMG GT 4-Door Coupe, so it could give customers a cheaper option. Versions with the 3 axial flux motors start at nearly 155,000 euros and shoot up to almost 200,000 euros. But the new AMG GT 53 4-Door Coupe gets two synchronous electric motors instead, which results in a lower price tag of about 115,500 euros. However, it also results in a lower power output. With axial flux motors, the car makes 600 kW, which is 816 horsepower or 860 kW, which is 1,169 horsepower. With the synchronous motors it makes 400 kW or 544 horsepower. And one last thing I find interesting about this new version of the AMG GT 4-Door Coupe, instead of pumping out fake V8 sounds like the axial flux versions, it pumps out fake V6 noises.
Don’t forget to tune into Autoline After Hours today. We’ll be covering a number of topics from tariffs, to the USMCA and hybrid sales shooting up. Our guest is Collin Shaw, president of MEMA, the group that represents the supplier industry. Also joining us today are Paul Eisenstein from headlight.news and Chris Otts from the Wall Street Journal. So be sure to tune in today on our website or YouTube channel at 3PM EST.
And that’s a wrap for this show. Thanks for tuning in and I hope to see you later today.
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In addition to 6 feet of water depth, fathom means ability to understand something. I don’t fathom why Ford would name any vehicle Fathom, except that it starts with “F.”
I was surprised that the Ford Fathom would have/get bidirectional charging, with its 400 V architecture and low starting price! I’m sure bidirectional charging will, note out, come on the more expensive versions, but it’s interesting to see that it will be offer. I wouldn’t be surprised that, nicely equipped, both the Slate and the Fathom might be pretty close in price. Having bidirectional charging, though, may be an advantage the Fathom may have over the Slate.
It seems that about the only thing Slate will have going for it, is that it will be a regular cab with at least a little longer bed than the “lifestyle” Fathom four door. Four doors is where the market is, though.