Runtime: 6:01
0:30 Millennials Driving Growth in Car Sales
1:03 California Could Lose Power to Set Standards
2:05 Uber is Global Leader in Ride-Sharing
2:40 Mercedes A-Class Has Lowest Coefficient of Drag
3:45 Kia Sportage Gets a Refresh
4:17 New Chinese Startup to Debut in LA
Visit our sponsors to thank them for their support of Autoline Daily: Bridgestone , Dow Automotive Systems , Lear Corporation , and ExxonMobil.
On today’s show… Mercedes claims to have the most aerodynamic car made today… there’s another new Chinese electric vehicle brand about to launch… and here’s something you didn’t expect to hear: millennials are driving all the growth in car sales. All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.
This is Autoline Daily the show for enthusiasts of the automotive industry.
MILLENNIALS DRIVING CAR SALES
Common wisdom says that millennials have no interest in cars and don’t want to drive. But the data doesn’t bear that out. Experian, the consumer credit reporting agency, says that millennials are driving all the growth in car sales in the American market. They now account for almost 30% of all vehicles sold. Baby Boomers and Mature buyers are losing market share. Gen X-ers are flat lining. The takeaway from this data is that automakers and car dealers better not ignore millennial customers.
| U.S. Market Share by Generation | ||
|---|---|---|
| Millennials | 29.7% | +6.4% |
| Gen X | 27.2% | —– |
| Baby Boomers | 34.1% | -3.1% |
| Mature | 9.0% | -6.2% |
CALIFORNIA COULD LOSE POWER
The Trump Administration wants to yank away California’s power to set its own emission standards and mandate sales of electric vehicles. The Trump Administration also wants to cap fuel economy targets at the 2020 level of a 35 mile-per-gallon fleet average, instead of letting it rise to the Obama Administration’s 50 MPG target by 2025. California gets a waiver from the EPA to set its own standards and if that is revoked, analysts expect a long courtroom battle between the state and the federal government.
Mercedes claims it has the most aerodynamic car and we’ll explain how they did it, right after this.
UBER IS GLOBAL RIDE-SHARING LEADER
Uber is a company that a lot of people love to hate. But a study from the British research company ABI says Uber is the global leader in ride-sharing services, based on market share, innovation, strategy, and geographical reach. China’s Didi was a distant second in the study. Even though Didi has the most market share, that’s based on its dominance of the Chinese market, whereas Uber operates in 70 countries. Grab, which is based in Singapore, placed third in the study, while Lyft was fourth.
MERCEDES A-CLASS IS ONE SLICK CAR
You might think the lowest coefficient of drag of any production vehicle worldwide is some high-end supercar, but it’s actually a sedan. That’s the claim Mercedes is making with its all-new A-Class sedan, which has a Cd of 0.22. The overall shape of the vehicle is the base for achieving that number, but it also took a number of other measures to hit it, like sealing around the headlamps really well, optimizing the wheel designs and installing an underbody panel that covers the engine bay, floorpan, diffuser and parts of the rear axle. The new A-Class launches at the end of this year.
There’s a hot new chinese electric car which is about to make its debut in California. That’s coming up next.
KIA SPORTAGE REFRESHED
Kia just refreshed the Sportage. It gets a new look both inside and out. For Korea and Europe, the 1.7-liter diesel is replaced with a 1.6-liter diesel called “SmartStream,” which Kia claims is the cleanest diesel its ever made. For those wishing for more power, a 2.0-liter diesel is available with an 8-speed automatic and a mild hybrid system. This updated version of Kia’s best selling vehicle will be available in the third quarter of 2019.
NEW CHINESE EV STARTUP TO DEBUT IN LA
There’s another new Chinese electric vehicle brand about to launch. This one’s called Gyon. It’s backed financially by another Chinese EV brand, Sitech, which is part of Chinese automaker FAW. Gyon’s first vehicle, seen in this teaser, was designed by Gaffoglio Family Metalcrafters, which is based in California. With a range of 500- to 700-kilometers or 310- to 434-miles, it suggests it will have multiple battery sizes and the car will hit 60 MPH in under 4-seconds. It is also said to have “the highest-level autonomous driving system in the world,” which is supplied by Bosch. Gyon will make its debut in LA on August 8th.
We’ve got a great Autoline After Hours lined-up for you this week. Our special guest is Diane Flis-Schneider, the Executive Director of the Concours d’Elegance of America, who will be talking about the classic cars you can expect to see at this weekend’s event in Plymouth, Michigan. We’ll also be joined by John Warniak from SEMA, who will discuss how autonomous and electric vehicles will affect the performance aftermarket. So join John and Gary this Thursday afternoon, for some of the best insider discussions in the automotive industry.
But that’s it for today, thanks for watching and please join us again tomorrow.
Thanks to our partner for embedding Autoline Daily on its website: WardsAuto.com
John McElroy is an influential thought leader in the automotive industry. He is a journalist, lecturer, commentator and entrepreneur. He created “Autoline Daily,” the first industry webcast of industry news and analysis.
