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Runtime: 10:40
0:00 Commercial EVs Cheaper to Operate Than ICE
1:15 EU Sales Drop in March, EVs Fall the Most
2:28 Fast EV Chargers Growing Fast in the U.S.
3:20 Google Maps Adds Charging Stations, Availability
4:32 Another Wild Van Debuts in China
5:13 DS Adds Geo-Fencing to PHEVs
6:09 New Toyota Camry Goes Hybrid Only
7:25 Mexico Facing U.S. Pressure Over Chinese EVs
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COMMERCIAL EVs CHEAPER TO OPERATE THAN ICE
Are EVs really cheaper to operate than ICE vehicles? You bet they are, especially for commercial operators. Bloomberg interviewed the fleet owner of a company called Elite Home Care which uses Ford E-Transits who says he saves $6,500 every year on fuel and maintenance compared to vans that run on gasoline. That’s one reason why sales of commercial EVs are going strong while the growth rate of retail electric sales has slowed. And Ford CEO Jim Farley says they can’t build E-Transits fast enough. First quarter sales hit nearly 3,000 vans, up 147%. Though Ford is not yet making a profit on those vans, Ford Pro, which is the company’s commercial vehicle business unit, will become the biggest profit center at Ford this year, generating a profit somewhere between $8 and $9 billion. A key reason for that is the subscription services it’s selling to fleet customers, which should account for 20% of Ford Pro’s profits by 2026.
EU SALES DROP IN MARCH, EVs FALL THE MOST
The European auto industry hit a bit of a rough patch last month as sales fell 2.8%. And if you exclude the U.K. and the Scandinavian countries, sales fell more than 5%. However, for the whole first quarter they’re up 4.4%. The U.K. was a bright spot where sales were up more than 10% in March. In fact, the U.K. market actually came in ahead of Germany, which was down more than 6%. And that made the U.K. Number One in the greater European car market. But it was a dismal month for battery electric vehicles. Sales fell 11% to 196,411 units. But for the full quarter they were up 3.5%. Plug-in hybrid sales were essentially flat in March at just under 100,000 units, but hybrid sales shot up 15.4% to nearly 424,000 units. As a result, market share for pure ICE vehicles fell below 48% for the first time ever, with diesels falling to only 12% market share.
FAST EV CHARGERS GROWING FAST IN U.S.
One of the biggest complaints about EVs is the lack of a public charging infrastructure but the U.S. is quickly expanding. According to Bloomberg, 600 fast charging stations opened in the first quarter, a 7.6% gain over the end of 2023. There are now 8,200 public fast charging stations across the country, or one for every 15 gas stations. Tesla accounts for a quarter of the stations. And the EV charging network will continue to grow thanks to the Biden Administration’s $5 billion National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program, which is providing states with funds to build even more EV chargers. And with more EVs out on the road, analysts say these charging stations are close to turning a profit.
GOOGLE MAPS ADDS CHARGING STATIONS, AVAILABILITY
And Google is adding new features to Google Maps to make it easier to find those chargers. In the coming months, it will start showing AI-generated summaries in Google Maps that give a detailed description on where a charger is located. The info is gathered from millions of reviews provided to Maps every day to help keep it accurate and up to date. Google is rolling out another feature that will show nearby chargers on the in-car map, display how many chargers are available and charging speed. Google will introduce that feature in the coming months globally, starting with vehicles with Google built-in. And if you’re planning a long road trip with multiple stops, Maps will suggest the best charging stops along the way based on the vehicle’s battery charge. This feature will also be rolled out globally in the coming months for vehicles with Google built-in.
ANOTHER WILD EV VAN DEBUTS IN CHINA
Check out this wild van that’s going to debut at the Beijing auto show next week. Called the E08, it was developed by EXEED, which is a brand under Chinese automaker Chery. It’s basically just one giant rectangle, but designers added a lot of character with a long, slicked-back look, a massive front grille and large front and rear lighting elements. We bet if it makes it to production, it won’t look that different from this because wild vans like the E08 are quite popular in China. But we also find it interesting that the E08 was styled by both EXEED’s Shanghai and European design teams.
DS ADDS GEO-FENCING TO PHEVs
Here’s one way to get plug-in hybrids to operate on battery-only power more of the time. Make the switch automatically. PHEV versions of the DS 4, 7 and 9 from DS Automobiles, which is part of Stellantis, will now get a warning before entering a low emission zone, which limits access of polluting vehicles to certain areas, and then will automatically switch to battery power once they enter the zone. DS says plug-ins represent nearly 40-90% of all sales for those models, so it seems like a service its customers will get some use out of. And dozens of countries in Europe have or will introduce more low emission zones. But DS is not the only automaker offering this service. BMW has had what it calls eDrive Zones since at least 2019 and then made it standard in 2020.
NEW TOYOTA CAMRY GOES HYBRID ONLY
The Toyota Camry is now hybrid only. It comes exclusively with the automaker’s 5th-gen hybrid system that includes a 2.5L 4-cylinder engine and combines for 225 horsepower in FWD models. The new AWD model ditches the old mechanical setup that linked the engine to the rear wheels, in favor of an electric motor generator on the rear axle. It delivers a total of 232 horsepower, which is 30 more than the outgoing model. Because Toyota went hybrid only, reduced motor weight and increased power from the lithium-ion battery, it estimates the new Camry will have a combined fuel economy rating of 51 MPG. If you’re wondering how that compares to the Prius, it’s rated at 57 MPG for front-drive models. But the AWD Camry at 50 miles to the gallon combined, is only 4 MPG off the AWD Prius. So, it will be interesting to see if Camry sales cut into Prius when it goes on sale this spring with a starting price of $29,500, including destination charges.
MEXICO FACING U.S. PRESSURE OVER CHINESE EVs
U.S. government officials are concerned about Chinese automakers gaining access to the U.S. market by setting up shop in Mexico and exporting cars from there to the U.S. to avoid tariffs. They say that could cause a flood of low-cost EVs entering the market that could hurt the U.S. auto industry. And now Reuters reports that the U.S. is pressuring the Mexican government to cut off incentives to Chinese automakers that want to open EV plants in the country. As a possible result, Mexican officials last met with a Chinese automaker, BYD, in January and have paused all future meetings with Chinese automakers. About 20 Chinese companies sell vehicles in Mexico but right now none of them have a plant.
AAH: WHY DO OEMS STRUGGLE SO MUCH WITH SOFTWARE?
All the legacy automakers seem to be struggling to write software for their cars. It’s causing production delays, stop-sale bulletins and customer headaches. So why so many problems with the software? That’s what we’re going to get into on Autoline After Hours today. We’ve got Scott Tobin from a company called Envorso coming on the show. It helps automakers figure out how to navigate the software minefield. Scott Tobin spent most of his career at Ford in a variety of product development roles, so he really understands why legacy automakers are struggling with software development. Keith Naughton from Bloomberg will also be on the show, so join John and Gary when the show goes live at 3PM EST today on the Autoline website or our YouTube channel.
But that brings us to the end of this show. Thanks for tuning in.
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Kit Gerhart says
I’ve had Priuses and a 2018 Camry LE hybrid. The gas mileage was so close, that the only real reason to buy a Prius over the Camry, is that the Prius is a liftback. The Camry was quieter, quicker, and generally more comfortable than the Prius. The new Prius has closed the gap in quickness, but I suspect the Camry will remain a “nicer” car, if you don’t need the extra utility of the Prius.
The configurator for the 2025 Camry is now up, and as before, the Camry LE will get ~13% better mpg than the other versions. The only difference that I’m aware of is tire size. The LE hybrid uses 205/65R16, and the others used 235/45R18 for 2024. One version will have 19 inch wheels for 2025. For a car like that, I’d rather have the 16s anyway, for better ride and less road noise. While today’s Camrys handle better that those of 20 years ago, they are not sports cars, and 45 series tires do not make sense for them, at least to me.
MERKUR DRIVER says
Kit,
I would make the same choice for the same reasons. I would not know why you would want to make the ride quality worse on an A to B family car like the Camry. These are not M edition BMWs where such a tire would make more sense. I am glad to see the Camry only offered in Hybrid form. It makes the most sense for that car.
Kit Gerhart says
As with other vehicles, I suspect the big wheels on most versions of the Camry are purely for the way they look. Also, the “sport” versions have black, or dark grey wheels, which I generally don’t like either. One exception is that I like the black wheels on a friend’s white Mini convertible with a black top. If I ever bought another Camry, I’d have a fix for the wheels if I got other than the LE. I have some aftermarket 16 inch wheels I got to replace the steelies on my 2018 Camry, and I kept them when I sold the car.
wmb says
That’s really interesting, the amount of money that Ford is making on their FordPro! I can really see why they and other OEMs are so dead set on introducing some type of payable service with passenger vehicles. Yet, at present, for the life of me, I can’t see why or if I would want pay for an service that I would use after I purchase, or once I leave the dealer with a lease? Outside of the regular service intervals, which would be less with an EV. OnStar has it’s uses, but even with that, why would I have that, when I can simply use my cell phone to do the same, like I do now? But that’s just me and may not, is not everyone else’s view or experiences. What I do think they may want to consider, is a “temporary service”. What I mean by that is, many take road trips once or twice a year. If they offer a service that you could connect to, to say, stream movies to portable devices, with each device able to view individual material, that might be a service that individual families may be interested in, when they travel long distances in their person vehicles with their families? You may say, “I can already do that on my phone”, but, if I’m not mistaken and depending on your service plan, you may burn up or use a lot of data in doing so! Yet, if an OEM had a service that you could connect to, for say (let’s keep it simple), round trip you will be gone for four days and the first and last days you will be driving, but you pay $30 to $50 and it covers those four days, that I might be willing to do for those riding with me! While that might not seem like a lot for the OEM, when you think about the millions that take advance of the travel season in the US at least, that could turn into a nice piece of change for them. Most spend more then that just getting fuel, during road trips during travel season! Just a thought.
Kit Gerhart says
wmb, the only car-related thing I’ve ever subscribed to is SiriusXM, but I may cancel when the price is scheduled to go up in about a month. I’ve had it two years, other than “trials” for some cars. The hassle of “negotiating” with them once a year is annoying, and I can get close enough to music or radio I’d want with the radio, or streaming.
Norm T says
Prius sales have generally declined over the past two decades. Beside my 2018 CT6 2.0E plug-in is well over 100 mpg for the four years I’ve owned it. The latest 2023 Camry Hybrid on Fuelly is barely over 40 mpg owner reported.
Kit Gerhart says
Norm, your PHEV CT-6 would be a nice car, since you probably have home charging. They may still be selling it in China.
I averaged about 47 mpg over ~40K miles with the 2018 Camry hybrid I had. I got near 50 most of the time in short trip and lower speed driving, and 43-44 on the interstate going around 80 most of the time. It was an LE hybrid, the one with the skinny tires.
Prius was the only game in town as a serious hybrid for years. The first Camry hybrid came along in about 2010, but was well short of the Prius in mpg at that time. In 2018, that changed with a new generation Camry hybrid in 2018, which tied the same year Prius in mpg, while being faster and “nicer” than a Prius, as long is you didn’t need the liftback body for hauling stuff.
https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/Find.do?action=sbs&id=26424&id=26425&id=38936&id=39752
I suspect those Camry hybrids took a lot of sales from Prius. Now, there is Accord hybrid, and some Hyundai and Kia hybrids that are also competition. Of course, there are multiple hybrid CUVs taking sales from all cars, including Prius. Still, it’s hard to know how the new, faster, nicer looking, but less roomy Prius would actually sell, because they are apparently far behind demand in production, at least where I am. There are none at dealers.
MERKUR DRIVER says
Kit,
I too used to pay for Sirius, but now I stream from my phone using apps like Pandora and Spotify for free. I didn’t like the programming on Sirius anyhow.
wmb,
Ford tapped into a necessary service with their Ford Pro app. That is the need to track vehicle use, speeds, service intervals, and employee habits all on a massive fleet scale. This is something that companies had to do with 3rd party systems and aftermarket equipment. So ford can capitalize on that because it was something fleet customers were already paying for and they don’t care if they pay Ford or some 3rd party. Paying Ford and using their software is likely easier and more integrated and thus less hassle.
When it comes to consumers though, it is a steep hill to climb to convince them that suddenly they need to pay monthly for features that should just be in the price of the car. If you never want heated seats, that car should be cheaper because the hardware is not there. With todays OEM thinking, they want the customer to pay for the hardware the features need, like heated seats, and then pay monthly to use those features. Consumers are having none of that.
Albemarle says
I agree with MERKUR. There’s real value for businesses with a company vehicles to have good management software. It’s a big cost running company vehicles, they are often remotely located, and it’s amazingly easy for money to slip through the cracks. There’s a reason t pay for management software. Personal use? Not much, IMHO.
Albemarle says
Interesting news item: the province of British Columbia has banned Level 3 and above autonomous driving.
The B.C. government says the ban will enhance the safety of vulnerable road users, including cyclists and pedestrians.
Kit Gerhart says
That ban in BC probably makes sense, given today’s state of autonomy, and it sometimes being “overpromised.”
It sounds like Ford’s subscription thing is largely to “keep track of” drivers.
wmb says
A couple comments from a few reports from the past few days:
Kit — You had responded to a commend I made about EVs with less then 200 miles of range. You mentioned that a vehicle with only a 100 miles of range would work for most with mainly local commuting and home charging. That’s true and I agree, however, the challenge for me would be: ‘I spending how much for a vehicle I can only drive around the City?!’ How many people would purchase or lease a family size vehicle today, that only had 100 miles of range, even if they had a fueling station on the corner from their home and they could conveniently fuel up in less then five minutes? At least here in the US, I do not believe there would be many takers. Think range was one of the main reasons why Mazda’s EV (with only ~100+ miles of range) didn’t survive in the US, even in EV friendly California, where it was primarily sold.
The other report was on BMW, of the legacy OEMs, doing so well in selling EVs, with most being built from retrofitted ICE vehicles. Handedly outselling Mercedes and most others who have purpose built EVs, on dedicated assembly lines. While that may be true, by comparison, those EVs from BMW in most cases, while powerful, fall well short of many of those purpose built EVs in range! Don’t get me wrong, I am a fan of BMW, yet I wonder if a lot of their success has more to do with their EVs styling then their EVs efficiency?! While the ‘face’ of a number of BMWs offers may leave much to be desired, Mercedes EQS series, to many, is not setting the world a fire! I seem that this is much of the reason why Mercedes is bringing the from a rear styling of the EQS and EQE, closer to that of their ICE stablemates. There will still be the issue with their wind tunnel designed and soap bar shape, as it has been called of their body, but that may be something they address during their more serious mid cycle fresh! With the Model S not having changed much since it burst onto the scene, along with questionable perceives quality (re real or imagined), those looking for something new or a more classic design, may be turning to BMW as a result? Please get after me to much on typing. I was in a bit of a rush and didn’t get a chance to proof read the post.
Kit Gerhart says
wmb, The old Mini EV, with barely over 100 mile range made up ~15% of the brands sales for 2023, and the new one will have substantially more range. As far as BMW brand, the i4 CR tested had an EPA range of 269 miles, and a very good 318 miles in their test for range at 70 mph on the highway. Yes, some EVs have better range, but that is good enough for the way most people use EVs. In spite of its nose, the i4 would be high on my shopping list if buying an EV. It’s main issue with sharing a platform with ICErs may be weight. It is substantially heavier than some other similar size EVs.
The Mercedes EVs are just overpriced. The EQE sedan base price is $22K more than the similar size I4, and the BMW has the advantage of being a liftback. They have similar range.
Even with the price cuts, the cheapest Model S is $22K more expensive than the base i4, and the BMW has a turn signal stalk. Yeah, the base S would be quicker and have 4WD, while the base i4 is RWD.
wmb says
I wouldn’t be surprised if most of range differences between current BMWs EV, came down to being heavier then those in vehicles in the class the compete with. Being ICE based, there is no doubt, as you mentioned, a lot of ‘scar tissue’. Yet, in there ‘Nue Klaus’ (I think that’s how it’s spelled) platforms, like Audi/VW with there grand sphere series of concept, along with Mercedes’ future A through C-Class EV models, they are designed as EVs first, with the ability to have an ICE power train as well. In an article in Car and Driver, BMW has said this approach will save weight and boost range by 30%. As pointed out here on ALD, their ability to build them on the same assembly line together, keeps them from having to add more production space, as well as allows them to adjust the production mix as needed. The future BMWs built around this new platform appear to have a much, much better styling design, then some of those that will be replaced, to my eye.