AD #3452 – GM Secures Supplies to Build 1 Million EVs; RS Model Returns to Impreza Lineup; EVs Dominate NACTOY Finalists

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GM SECURES SUPPLIES TO BUILD 1 MILLION EVs IN 2025
As we reported earlier in the week, GM says it expects its EV lineup will be profitable by 2025 and now it’s sharing how it will make it happen. The automaker is aiming to build 1 million EVs annually in North America by 2025 and perhaps most importantly, GM says it has secured all the battery raw materials it needs to reach that capacity. It will have five assembly plants in the U.S., Canada and Mexico producing all those EVs and it will have three battery plants in the U.S. in operation by the end of 2024, with a fourth cell plant planned. GM’s commercial EV subsidiary, BrightDrop, is on track to reach $1 billion in revenue next year and is projecting to build 50,000 vehicles annually by 2025. The company is also launching a new digital retail platform for EV customers that GM says will reduce costs for the company by $2,000 per vehicle. Sure sounds like online sales. And not surprisingly, that’s the exact same amount Ford CEO Jim Farley said its dealers need to remove from the cost of vehicle delivery to be competitive with Tesla. And by 2025, GM says revenue from EVs is expected to be more than $50 billion.

GM LOCKS UP NICKEL SUPPLIES WITH VALE
And speaking of GM, it signed a deal with mining company Vale, to supply the automaker with nickel. Vale is a Brazilian company with an operation in Canada, which is where this nickel will come from. Vale will provide GM with battery grade nickel sulfate that will be used in GM’s Ultium battery cathodes. The amount of nickel will be enough to supply around 350,000 EVs annually and Vale will begin to deliver the nickel starting in 2026. You may remember back in March it was revealed that Tesla had signed a multi-year deal with Vale, also to supply it with nickel from Canada.

 

U.S. AGREES TO ONLY SELL ZERO-EMISSION BIG TRUCKS BY 2040
There’s a lot of focus on reducing emissions in passenger cars but cutting emissions from commercial vehicles is also important. Commercial vehicles represent 10% of the total fleet but account for nearly 30% of on-road greenhouse gas emissions. To help tackle the issue, the U.S. agreed to only sell and produce zero-emission medium and heavy-duty trucks by 2040. By 2030, 30% of commercial vehicles must be zero-emission and then 100% by 2040. Sixteen other countries have signed the deal but it is non-binding, so that means U.S. agencies aren’t required to set new standards, targets or requirements yet. However, the EPA is expected to issue tougher emission regulations for medium and heavy duty trucks sometime next year.

RS MODEL RETURNS TO SUBARU IMPREZA LINEUP
The all-wheel drive king, Subaru revealed the all-new Impreza. The big news here is that it will only be available as a 5-door hatchback and is offered in three trim levels, including the comeback of the RS model. All Imprezas benefit from a 10% stiffer chassis and lower weight thanks to a full inner frame construction and the use of more structural adhesive. While the Sport and RS trims boast a sport-tuned suspension, bigger wheels and a sport driving mode. A 2.0L 4-cylinder engine that produces 152 horsepower makes it return, but the RS is available with a new-to-the-Impreza 2.5L unit that makes 182 horsepower. Both engines are mated to an 8-speed CVT. As for the interior, we’d say that it looks like most Subaru’s and is highlighted by an optional 11.6-inch display screen that’s mounted in portrait mode on the dash. The new Subaru Impreza will start arriving at U.S. dealers next spring. And remember, the Impreza is the base for the Crosstrek, so we’d expect to see similar upgrades.

HYUNDAI IONIQ 6 GETS EPA ESTIMATED 340 MILES OF RANGE
The Hyundai IONIQ 6 is rated at 381 miles of range on the WLTP test cycle. But now we have EPA estimates, which we know are a lot harder. Hyundai estimates the electric sedan will be able to go 340 miles on a charge. That’s for the RWD version with the bigger 77.4 kWh battery pack. The AWD IONIQ 6, which will do 0-60 in under 5 seconds, is estimated to have 310 miles of range. There’s also another RWD drive version with less power and a smaller battery, but Hyundai hasn’t revealed figures for that setup yet. But with a coefficient of drag of just 0.22, the EV is surprisingly efficient. That rear-drive version with the big battery gets an impressive nearly 4.4 miles per kWh, which we think is the best of any EV right now. 

VINFAST ADDS TWO ELECTRIC SUVs TO U.S. LINEUP
Should we be keeping a closer eye on VinFast? The Vietnamese EV maker has quietly built itself up in the American market. And it just announced that it’s adding two new electric SUVs to its lineup, the VF 6 and VF 7, which join the VF 8 and VF 9. The VF 6 will only come in FWD with two power outputs; 174 horsepower or 201 horsepower. The VF 7 is available in front- or all-wheel drive and features either 201 horsepower or 349 horsepower. The company did not reveal battery size or range at this time. But it did reveal that it got an increased order from Autonomy, a company that offers EV rentals. It was going to buy 400 VF 8 and 9s but it’s increasing that to more than 2,500. VinFast will start delivering the vehicles to Autonomy over the next year.

KIA REFRESHES THE SELTOS
​​Kia is refreshing its Seltos small crossover for the 2024 model year. The styling of the front and rear fascias has been updated. And for the first time the Seltos will be available with an X-Line trim, which features exclusive exterior features like a unique grille design, 18-inch wheels and X-Line badging. Its 1.6L turbo engine that’s mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission gets a power boost of 20 horsepower for a total of 195 horses. The model is also offered with a 2.0L four-cylinder engine that’s paired with a CVT. The Seltos is now available with a screen display that combines the 10.25-inch instrument cluster and the 10.25-inch center display. The new Seltos goes on sale in the first half of 2023 in the U.S. but now word on pricing yet.

EVs DOMINATE FINALISTS FOR CAR, TRUCK & UTILITY OF THE YEAR
The finalists for the North American Car, Truck and Utility of the Year were announced and EVs dominate the list. In the car category, the finalists are the Acura Integra, Genesis G80 EV and the Nissan Z. The truck finalists are the Chevy Silverado ZR2, Ford F-150 Lightning and the Lordstown Endurance. And in the utility category, the Cadillac Lyriq, Genesis GV60 and Kia EV6 are the finalists. The winners for each category will be announced at an event in Detroit in January. But in the meantime, let us know what you think will or should win.

 

MINI CREATES EV CHARGER TO LOOK LIKE RC CONTROLLER
Are giant objects at auto shows going to become a thing? Jeep had a giant rubber ducky at the Detroit show and now MINI has brought a huge remote controlled car controller to LA. It’s actually a 240-volt Level 2 charger that will be used during the show to charge up EVs. MINI went with the design because it says many people’s love for automobiles started with an RC car and it wanted to bring back that childhood element to EVs. We also know that Jeep got a ton of engagement with its big duck, so that probably didn’t hurt MINI’s decision. 

But that brings us to the end of today’s show. I hope that you have a great weekend and please like or subscribe if you think we’ve earned it.