AD #4377 – F-150 Gets Hand-Free Towing; EU Truck Makers Demand CO2 Relief; Renault Upgraded By Moody’s

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

EU TRUCK MAKERS WANT CO2 RELIEF
European truck makers are pleading for more time to meet the region’s CO2 targets. They say manufacturers must reduce CO2 emissions by 43% by the end of the decade or face massive fines. Missing the target by just 3 percentage points would cost a company €2.2 billion. Heavy-duty truck makers need more efficient trucks, but currently just 2.4% of truck registrations in Europe are zero-emission. The companies say adoption of those trucks are being held back by a lack of a charging and hydrogen refueling network. So truck makers are calling for energy and carbon-pricing policies to support the transition and they want the 2030 targets delayed for three years.

 

MAHLE DEVELOPS HEAVY-DUTY EREV
Mahle thinks it has the solution for heavy EV trucks in Europe. It’s a 4-cylinder diesel range extender that drops-in to the mounts on the rear axle of the tractor. It generates a constant 110 kilowatts of power, with peak output of 130 kw. It allows ⅓ of the battery pack to be removed for a 600 kilogram weight saving, and will boost range by 30%. Mahle says you can easily drive 800 kilometers a day, or nearly 500 miles, even in cold weather. At the same time it eliminates 80% of CO2 emissions compared to a diesel truck. It also uses an electric motor that doesn’t have any rare earths.

CAB-LESS AV TRUCK GETS GERMAN PERMIT
Germany’s transport authority handed out its first permit for operating an autonomous truck without a driver’s cab on public roads to Einride. The technology company is partnering with fresh food retailer Lidl to transport goods from one of Lidl’s warehouses to one of its stores. While they don’t say how far the trip is, autonomous trucking offers a number of benefits, like the ability to operate all day and night. And it also addresses massive driver shortages. Those are big reasons why Einride is in talks with Lidl’s parent company about its other brands using autonomous trucks and why Einride already has operations in the U.S. and other parts of Europe.

RENAULT UPGRADED BY MOODY’S
The Renault Group really turned around its financial results in the first half of the year. And due to that success it’s been upgraded with a stable outlook by Moody’s. Renault credits the turnaround to improved Financial Services and its futuREady strategy, which transformed its engineering, allowing it to develop vehicles in two years.

    

FORD F-150 GETS HANDS-FREE TOWING
Ford showed off its updates for the 2027 F-150 and they’re rather mild. Each trim line gets its own grille and wheels. There’s also a new Carhart trim level. The base 2.7 V6 is replaced with a 3-liter variant. The 5-liter V8 is now available on the top-line King Ranch and Platinum models. Of course the 3.5 liter V6 Ecoboost is still available. By decontenting the Tremor and Raptor off-road models, Ford cut the price by $5,300 and $4,000, respectively. Probably the biggest news is that you can now tow up to 10,000 pounds while using Blue Cruise, which the Chevrolet Silverado has had since 2022.

BMW IMPROVES MAPS DISPLAY
BMW is rolling out a more Tesla-like display. At the start of October BMW Maps will combine navigation, the vehicle’s surroundings, and driver assistance information into a single 3D view. This will mainly be available on its Neue Klasse models, but any vehicle with Operating System X will get the update. It’s all about providing better information to the driver, especially when operating in hands-free driving mode, which expands to surface streets next year, first in Germany.

GM LAUNCHING NEW USER INTERFACE
Speaking of new displays, GM is introducing a new user interface in its pickup trucks. The automaker said it was going for something that was clean looking, intuitive to use and easy to read. The new interface is available on the 2027 Silverado and Sierra.

U.S. ARMY TAPS SMALL BUSINESSES FOR TECH
Here’s an opportunity for small automotive suppliers. The U.S. Army is looking for new or existing technology that could provide game-changing capabilities. Any kind of changes.You have to write a white paper on what your tech can do and submit it by October 19. If they select your paper, then you’ll do a virtual pitch to the Army. It’s offering $1 million cash prizes and up to $6 million contracts. They call it the FUZE x Tech program. That’s F-U-Z-E. And we’ve got the link to the website where you can enter.

On Friday we’re dropping Chapter 1 of our video series with Chris Theodore called Lessons From The Masters: What It Takes To Run A Car Company. Chapter 1 is all about targeting the customer and if you’re not familiar with the process that automakers go through, it will be a great learning lesson. All of our members on YouTube and Patreon get access to each chapter a week early, meaning they get Chapter 2 on Friday, which is all about automotive design. So you might want to consider becoming a member.

But with that we wrap up today’s report. Thanks for watching Autoline Daily.