AD #3623 – GM Makes Bidirectional Charging Standard; UAW’s Shawn Fain Trashes Stellantis Proposal; How To Avoid U.S. Import Tariff On China Cars

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

UAW’S SHAWN FAIN TRASHES STELLANTIS PROPOSAL
This was more than just a warning shot across the bow. UAW president Shawn Fain laid down the gauntlet with Stellantis. He says the company’s proposed labor contract spits in the face of UAW workers and he rejected it completely. Take a look at his video message.

“I tell you what brothers and sisters. When we get things like this from the company and they want to sit there and act like they’re not asking for concessions–everything they’re looking for in this document is about concessions. So I’ll tell you what I’m going to do with their proposal. I’m going to file it in its proper place, because that’s where it belongs: the trash. Because that’s what it is.”

Fain says Stellantis wants to cut medical benefits, and 401K retirement benefits, and reduce vacation time for new hires, and a whole list of other grievances. We’ll see what he does with GM’s and Ford’s proposals, but right now it looks like Stellantis could be the strike target next month for the UAW.

GM MAKES BIDIRECTIONAL CHARGING STANDARD
GM is going to make bidirectional charging standard equipment on its entire retail portfolio of Ultium EVs. Vehicle-to-home or V2H charging allows customers to send power from their EVs battery right into their home, which would be especially useful during a power outage. But owners need to buy a special charger that has a V2H functionality and a kit that can disconnect the house from the grid. The charger can provide up to 19.2 kW of charging speed, while the system is able to discharge the battery at a rate of 9.6 kW. Other automakers like Ford, Hyundai and Nissan are launching similar tech and surprisingly they’ll beat Tesla to the market with bidirectional charging, which it’s expected to offer by 2025. California-based utility provider PG&E who says bidirectional could save California’s electrical grid. Because once you start bundling a whole bunch of EVs together to feed energy back-in in times of high demand, you can eliminate blackouts and brownouts.

LI AUTO BRAGS IT WILL OUTSELL GERMAN LUXURY BRANDS
Chinese EV startup Li Auto brags that it is going to outsell all the German luxury brands in China next year. Li Auto delivered more than 173,000 vehicles through July this year, up 145% compared to a year ago. That’s about 24,750 units a month but thanks to a production ramp up, Li Auto says it could increase that to 40,000 units in the fourth quarter. By comparison, BMW, Mercedes and Audi monthly sales this year have ranged between 31,500 to 70,000 units, respectively. So Li Auto still has some catching up to do but later this year it’s launching its first pure BEV and next year it’s introducing four new models, including three EVs.

OPEL’S LATEST EV CONCEPT
Opel is showing off an electric crossover concept car that will debut at the Munich auto show in September. Called the Experimental, it’s a preview of design and technology that will make its way into future Opel vehicles. For example, it’s getting rid of chrome and using lighting and contrasting graphics to add some pop. Not many details about the powertrain were shared but it’s based on one of the STLA BEV platforms and equipped with all-wheel-drive. The aerodynamics have been optimized, including aero flaps at the front and rear and even a rear end diffuser that can extend or retract depending on the driving situation. Other highlights include a steering wheel that can fold away when it’s not needed, lightweight seats and a head-up display that uses augmented reality to display information.

STELLANTIS LAUNCHES NEW AFTERMARKET BRAND
Stellantis is expanding its aftermarket business in North America with the introduction of its bproauto parts brand, which already operates in Europe, South America and the Middle East. The big news here is that the parts are for nearly all brands and models, not just Stellantis vehicles. Mopar will remain the automaker’s global original-equipment parts brand and bproauto will offer low cost parts. The bproauto parts are backed by a two-year, unlimited mile warranty and 30 parts categories will be offered.

BMW i7 EV GETS ARMORED PLATED
BMW is introducing an armored version of the new 7 Series, including the all-electric i7. It says the models meet VR9 protection standards, which means they can stop armor piercing rounds. We’re most interested in the changes made to the electric and how it impacts performance. The powertrain setup sounds pretty similar; two electric motors that provide AWD and combine for 400 kW or about 545 horsepower, but it also comes with a number of drive components from the M version of the i7, which helps improve performance. The standard i7 with 400 kW of power will do 0-100 km/h in 4.9 seconds, but it takes 9 seconds for the i7 Protection to get there. All the added weight also impacts range. BMW estimates it will use at least 10 more kWh per 100 kilometers. But despite the armor-piercing protection, the models still feature many of the same creature comforts as the standard 7 Series, like reclining rear seats and multiple viewing screens.

HONDA REPORTS BIG JUMP IN EARNINGS
Honda reported its latest financial earnings and the results were far better than a year ago, which was something of a disaster for the company, especially in China. Honda sold 901,000 cars in the last three months, up 10.6%. That brought in over $32 billion in revenue, up 21%. It posted an operating profit of $2.7 billion, up a whopping 77%. And it put $2.7 billion on the bottom line which was up 134% from last year’s disaster. But Honda saw sales of power products, like lawn mowers and wave runners, plummet 36%. Its motorcycle sales were up a solid 5%, and it’s interesting to note that Honda has higher profit margins with its motorcycles than it does with its cars, trucks, crossovers and SUVs. Motorcycles have a 19% profit margin while the vehicles are only at 5.8%.

HOW TO AVOID US IMPORT TARIFF ON CHINA CARS 
High import tariffs are going to keep Chinese made cars out of the American market, right? Well not exactly. Automotive News has a fascinating story on a work-around that allows automakers to get back some of that tariff as long as they export cars out of the United States. It’s called the U.S. Duty Drawback program. Volvo is using the program to offset part of the 27.5% import duty on the Polestar 2 and the upcoming EX30 which are made in China. It offsets them with exports of the EX90 from its plant in Charleston, South Carolina. GM also uses the program to offset part of the tariff on the Buick Envision. And Ford will likely do it next year when it imports the Lincoln Nautilus from China. Even though the draw back program was updated in 2016, it traces its roots back to the Original Tariff Act of 1789.

HITACHI ASTEMO EMERGES AS STRONG SUPPLIER
All you Indycar fans have probably seen Hitachi’s sponsorship of Josef Newgarden’s Penske. But did you notice that Astemo sponsorship logo on the side plate of the front wings? Astemo is part of Hitachi. In fact it’s called Hitachi Astemo, and it’s actually the 2021 merger of three Japanese supplier companies that were devoted to serving Honda. Hitachi Astemo makes everything from brakes, to ICE powertrain components, to inverters for electric vehicles. It’s a pretty big company with over 90,000 employees worldwide and annual revenue of almost $14 billion. With a new capital restructuring that will happen next month, Honda and Hitachi will each own 40% of the company, while a private equity fund called JIC Capital will own 20%. Even though Honda owns a chunk of the company, it sells components to many different automakers, and you’ll probably start to notice the name Hitachi Astemo all over the place, now that we’ve made you aware of this.

Earlier in the show we showed Shawn Fain throwing the contract proposal from Stellantis in the garbage. Well, you’re not going to want to miss tomorrow’s Autoline After Hours because it’s going to be all about the show-down between the Detroit Three and the UAW. Kalea Hall from the Detroit News and Marick Masters from Wayne State University will join John and Gary, and they’ll take a deep dive into what is shaping up to be the most important labor negotiations in decades.

But that brings us to the end of today’s show. Thanks for tuning in.