AD #3417 – Toyota Casts Doubt on Quick EV Adoption; Hertz Says EV Demand Is “Very Solid”; Geely Buys Aston Martin Stake

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

GEELY ACQUIRES STAKE IN ASTON MARTIN
Aston Martin has been in financial trouble for years now and that’s why it accepted an investment in July of this year from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund to take a nearly 17% stake in the company. But, despite its money problems, around the same time it also rejected a 1.3-billion-pound offer from an Italian company, called Investindustrial, and Chinese automaker Geely because Aston said it felt like a takeover in disguise and would have made them the largest shareholders. CEO, Lawrence Stroll is currently the largest shareholder with an over 18% stake in the company. But, despite being rejected the first time around, Geely was still interested in owning a piece of the iconic brand. So, it’s officially taking a 7.6% stake in Aston, only this time on its own. That puts it slightly behind Mercedes, who owns nearly 10% of Aston and is its 3rd largest shareholder. Of its acquisition, Geely’s CEO said, “… accumulation of technology in the fields of electric supercars and intelligent connected vehicles… will help Aston Martin achieve greater success in the future.”

HERTZ SAYS EV DEMAND IS “VERY SOLID”
Hertz’s CEO had some interesting things to say about its new electrified fleet. Despite only making up 5% of its vehicles, the executive says demand has been “very, very solid” for EVs. And not only are normal leisure travelers renting electrics, it’s providing vehicles for Uber and Lyft to use and it’s seeing corporations encourage their traveling employees to go electric because it can help reach some of their own zero-emission targets. Hertz is also benefiting from lower maintenance costs. The CEO says they’re 40-50% lower. Some of that money saved will likely go to building out its charging network. We just reported about its deal with BP to build chargers and Hertz says it wants more deals like it. That’s good news because it has a lot of bookings for EVs for the next few months and the holiday season looks strong as well.

ARRIVAL BUILDS 1ST VAN IN MICROFACTORY
A couple of EV startups have kicked off production. UK based Arrival announced it built its first commercial delivery van at its Microfactory. Instead of producing vehicles in large plants that cost hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars, Arrival is opening manufacturing sites in warehouses that take six months to set up at a cost of $40-$50 million. The vans produced at its first Microfactory won’t go to customers, instead they’ll be used for testing, validation and quality control. Arrival says this is the first step towards achieving at-scale production.

LORDSTOWN MOTORS PRODUCES 1ST ENDURANCE PICKUP
And Lordstown Motors announced it kicked off production of its Endurance pickup. The trucks are being built at a former GM plant in Ohio that was purchased by Foxconn from Lordstown. Foxconn is contract manufacturing the trucks for Lordstown. The EV maker plans to deliver 50 Endurance trucks this year to customers and by the middle of next year, it’s aiming to deliver another 450. Lordstown says it’s slowly ramping up production because of supply chain constraints. The Endurance has completed Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard crash testing and the company is now waiting on EPA and CARB certifications. The truck is also a finalist for North American Truck of the Year, competing against the Ford F-150 Lightning and Chevy Silverado ZR2.

WULING INTRODUCES NEW SMALL CROSSOVER IN CHINA
Wuling just introduced the all-new Xing Chi, a small crossover that it calls “the first vehicle for young people in China.” It’s powered by either a naturally aspirated or turbocharged 1.5L engine and features Wuling’s new operating system. Pricing for the Xing Chi ranges from about $8,000 up to $12,000.

TOYOTA SAYS EV ADOPTION WILL TAKE LONGER THAN EXPECTED
While a number of automakers have pledged to go all-electric, Toyota continues to be one of the hold-outs. And even though the automaker has received heavy criticism from environmentalists and shareholders, Toyota CEO, Akio Toyoda, is once again casting doubt on how quickly car buyers will embrace electric vehicles. The CEO says BEV adoption will “take longer than the media would like us to believe.” He also said it’s going to be very difficult to meet California’s ban of new ICE sales by 2035. Because of that he reiterated the company’s plan to continue to offer hybrids, fuel cell and regular gas-powered vehicles, at the same time it introduces new BEVs over the coming years.

NEW YORK ANNOUNCES 2035 ICE VEHICLE BAN
New York is going down a similar path as California. Its Governor announced that by 2035 all new passenger cars, pickup trucks and SUV sold in the state will be required to be zero emission, which we know covers a range of vehicle types, but is mostly considered to be BEVs. But there will be a ramp up to reach that goal. 35% of new vehicles need to be zero emission by 2026, 68% by 2030 and finally 100% by 2035. New York will chip in up to $2,000 for consumers who do decide to go electric. It’s also providing funds to municipalities to purchase zero emission vehicles and install EV chargers. And New York is getting $175 million from the federal government to build a charging network.

EPA DOUBLES FUNDING FOR ELECTRIC SCHOOL BUSES
EVs are not only gaining popularity with car buyers but school districts in the U.S. are also eager to switch to electric. The EPA announced it boosting funding for electric school buses to $965 million due to “overwhelming demand.” It originally set aside $500 million back in May for districts across the country. And another $1 billion will be provided when the new budget year starts tomorrow. The EPA says it has received 2,000 applications requesting close to $4 billion for more than 12,000 buses, mostly electric. It’s also received applications for propane and CNG powered buses. But the U.S. still has a way to go before the school bus fleet is electric, as of last year only 1% of the nation’s 480,000 buses were electric.

But that brings us to the end of today’s show. Thanks for tuning in and I hope you have a great weekend.