AD #3059 – Audi Unveils Q4 e-tron; Nissan Creates Special Edition GT-R NISMO; GM & LG to Open 2nd Battery Plant

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

GM & LG PLAN TO OPEN 2ND BATTERY PLANT IN TENNESSEE
More details are coming in about General Motors plans to open a second battery plant in the U.S. with LG Chem. Reuters reports the $2.3 billion factory will be located in Spring Hill, Tennessee, near its current assembly plant. A formal announcement will be made tomorrow. The new plant will make batteries for the Cadillac Lyriq, and the batteries will use a different chemistry than the ones GM and LG will produce at their other battery plant in Ohio. Construction of the new plant will kick off next year but it’s unclear when it will open.

BOSCH & QINGLING MOTORS FORM FUEL CELL JOINT VENTURE
According to the China Society of Automotive Engineers, there could be more than 1 million fuel cell powered vehicles on Chinese roads by 2030. That’s why the supplier Bosch and Chinese commercial vehicle maker, Qingling Motors, are forming a joint venture to develop and build fuel cell systems for the Chinese market. It’s not just for commercial vehicles, it’s aimed at all Chinese automakers. Bosch is providing the fuel cell stack, air compressor, and control units for the system and small scale production kicks off this year. The two companies will also test a fleet of 70 Qingling trucks equipped with the system sometime this year. Bosch and Qingling are aiming to bring the fuel cell to market by 2022 or 2023.

POLESTAR RAISES OVER HALF A BILLION DOLLARS
Polestar, the spin-off from Volvo that’s owned by Geely, just raised over half a billion dollars from Chinese and South Korean investors. $550 million, to be precise. Polestar says the money will help accelerate product development. Currently it only has two models, the Polestar 1, a plug-in hybrid with a $155,000 price tag; and the Polestar 2, a BEV sedan that starts at $60,000. Next year it’s going to add the Polestar 3, an electric, fastback crossover. So far this year, Polestar sold only 585 cars in the U.S. market. But it only has 6 retail outlets in the U.S. right now. And the Polestar 2 is actually outselling the Volvo XC40 Recharge. Even though both vehicles are mechanically identical, the Polestar 2 is made in China, while the XC40 Recharge is made in Belgium. That’s a real handicap for Polestar. European vehicles only pay a 2.5% import tariff coming into the U.S., while Chinese made vehicles pay a 27.5% tariff.

PORSCHE DEVELOPS NEW TAYCAN MANUFACTURING PROCESS
Porsche implemented a new process for manufacturing the all-electric Taycan that not only saves money but takes stress off of employees. All Porsche bodies are dipped in an anticorrosive coating and feature specifically placed holes so the coating gets into every nook and cranny. Unless they’re plugged, those holes will start to rust over time. Previously, they were filled by hand with tightly fitted plastic pins, as much as 3,600 times per shift. But Porsche is now using a machine, which kind of looks like a big price gun that applies adhesive patches over the holes. Not only does it need one patch size to cover the four different hole types, but the machine is able to do it more than four minutes faster than a human. Porsche will adopt the process at another one of its paint shops in Germany this summer as well.

AUDI UNVEILS NEW Q4 E-TRON
But that’s not the only EV news in VW land. Audi pulled the camo off the new Q4 e-tron and Q4 Sportback e-tron. Let’s get right into the good stuff. Two battery sizes are offered. One has 52 kWh of usable space, while the other has 77 kWh of usable space. Only the larger will be offered in the U.S. and Audi estimates it will return 250 miles or 402 kilometers of range on the EPA cycle for single motor, rear-wheel drive versions. That motor is estimated to put out 125 kW of power, but there’s also AWD available, which adds a motor to the front axle and combines for 225 kW of power. Audi did not reveal range estimates for that setup. Size-wise, the Q4 e-tron is about the same size as the Q5, which will slot it right below the e-tron that’s currently out. But since it’s smaller and offers a single motor setup, it will be significantly less expensive than the e-tron. In the U.S., Audi plans a starting price of under $45,000 before destination or incentives vs. about $60K for the e-tron. Pricing in Germany starts at just under 42,000 euros for the small battery pack. We highlighted the interior back in early March and we’ll provide a link to that if you’d like to learn more, but as you can see, the focal points are large digital displays and a push-button gear selector. Both models go on sale in Europe this June, while they’re scheduled to arrive in the U.S. before the year is out. 

And this makes for an easy segue to our reminder to tune into this afternoon’s Autoline After Hours because our guest is Matthew Mostafaei, the project manager for e-tron vehicles. So join John, Gary and Stephanie Brinley from IHS Markit to learn more about Audi’s transition to a full electric lineup.

MAZDA MX-30 ARRIVES IN U.S. THIS FALL
One last bit of EV news. Mazda announced the MX-30 will first be available in California this fall. And for those wondering about the rotary range extended version, it arrives as a 2023 model year vehicle.

SEAT REFRESHES THE ARONA & IBIZA
Spanish automaker SEAT is spicing up its small models, the Arona and Ibiza. Since the vehicles are basically the same but with a different body, they share an interior. The center display screen now sits in a floating position higher on the dash, which required the middle air vents to move as well. SEAT really massaged the whole dashboard, which features new round air vents in the corners and a number of color accent panels. Both vehicles offer a range of gasoline engines, as well as a CNG option, which are all paired to either a manual or dual clutch transmission. In the styling department, the Arona has the biggest changes, highlighted by fog lamps that now flank either side of the grille. But the Ibiza gets a few minor tweaks as well. 

NISSAN CREATES SPECIAL EDITION GT-R NISMO
Godzilla just got a little meaner. Nissan is launching a new special edition version of the GT-R NISMO in Japan this October. It features unique 20-inch wheels with red accents to match other parts of the car as well as a clear coat carbon fiber hood, which is 100 grams lighter because it’s not painted. But in our opinion the biggest improvements are found inside the engine. It’s still powered by a twin turbo 3.8L V6 that makes about 600 horsepower, but the piston rings, connecting rods, crankshaft, flywheel, crank pulley and valve springs have been weight balanced and dialed in with tighter tolerances, which allows for faster revs and quicker turbo spooling. Nissan didn’t reveal price, but a standard GT-R NISMO costs nearly $211,000, so you know the special edition will top that.

DODGE EXTENDS DURANGO HELLCAT PRODUCTION
The Hellcat engine continues to prove to be a home run idea. Consumers just can’t get enough of them. And now Dodge says it’s extending production of the Durango SRT Hellcat. It only planned to build 2,000 of them for a single model year. It’s still sticking to that single model year, but it got more than 2,000 orders, so rather than turn those customers away, Dodge will fill all orders that were placed. It wouldn’t say how many that is, but as we said the other day, prices can go over $90-grand, so there was no way Dodge was going to leave that source untapped. 

And with that we wrap up today’s show, thanks for watching.