AD #2371 – Kia Unveils Electric Niro, Nissan Kicks Driving Impressions, German Unions Worried EVs Will Kill Jobs

On today’s show…More American automakers are moving production to China…German unions are worried about losing jobs because of electric cars…and we’ll give you our first driving impressions of the Nissan Kicks. All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.

This is Autoline Daily the show for enthusiasts of the automotive industry.

LINCOLN NAUTILUS PRODUCTION MOVING TO CHINA
American automakers keep moving more production to China. Autoforecast Solutions reports that the next generation Lincoln Nautilus will be built in China starting in 2022. In the meantime, it we be built in Ford’s Canadian assembly plant in Oakville, Ontario.

FORD MANAGEMENT CHANGES IN CHINA
Ford is also making some management changes in China. Amy Marentic, who was president of Lincoln in China and the Asia Pacific region, will return to the U.S. to be Ford’s global autonomous vehicle director for marketing. Taking over the top Lincoln position in China is Mao Jingbo who Ford hired away from Mercedes-Benz China.

FORD MAY CLOSE TRANSMISSION PLANT IN FRANCE
Ford is also going to close its gigantic automatic transmission plant in Bordeaux, France if it can’t find someone to buy it. It makes transmissions for the Fiesta, Fusion and Mondeo, B-MAX, Focus, and C-Max. Most of those cars are on the chopping block in the U.S. market, so Ford doesn’t need as many automatics. Over 900 people work in that plant.

GM HAMTRAMCK PLANT DAYS COULD BE NUMBERED
And then you have to wonder what will happen to GM’s assembly plant in Hamtramck and Detroit which makes the Buick LaCrosse, the Cadillac CT6, the Chevrolet Impala and the Chevrolet Volt. Autoforecast Solutions reports that the Impala will go out of production in 2020, while the plant will stop building the LaCrosse and CT6 in 2021. We think the LaCrosse and CT6 will be sourced from China. Meanwhile sales of the Volt have plummeted 35% this year, so there’s not enough volume with it to keep the plant going. No word yet if GM plans to put other products in that plant.

German unions are worried that electric cars will eliminate jobs and that’s coming up next.

GERMAN UNIONS WORRIED EVs WILL KILL JOBS
The German auto industry employs about 840,000 people, and of that 210,000 work on powertrains. But because EVs have many fewer parts and require less time to assemble, one study says 75,000 of those 210,000 powertrain jobs could get eliminated. If the adoption of EVs picks up quickly, Germany’s trade union, IG Metall says 100,000 jobs are in jeopardy. Germany would be able to offset some of that by bringing more battery production into the country, but a battery factory only needs one fifth as many workers as an engine plant.

KIA UNVEILS ELECTRIC NIRO
Kia unveiled its new Niro EV yesterday at the Busan International Motor Show. The CUV gets a 236 mile, or 380 kilometer driving range from a 65-kilowatt hour lithium-polymer battery pack. Otherwise, buyers can purchase the Kia EV with a smaller 39.2 kilowatt hour pack with 149 miles of range. The Niro comes with all kinds of driver assistance systems like radar cruise control, forward collision warning and lane keeping. It will go on sale during the second half of 2018 in South Korea.

TOYOTA’S TOY STORY
How do you get a younger generation interested in cars? At this year’s Tokyo Toy Show, Toyota will use tablets to teach children where the accelerator and brake are located and have them drive through simulated “Camatte Land”, crossing bridges, snow covered terrain, cherry blossoms-lined roads, and beaches. The children will drive in a car called “Camatte Petta”, which is covered with stickers from the destinations they drove to. The Tokyo Toy Show started yesterday.

We just got a chance to drive the new Nissan Kicks and we’ll give our impressions right after this.

NISSAN KICKS DRIVING IMPRESSIONS
The Nissan Kicks was first introduced in Brazil two years ago but now the small crossover is making its way to the U.S. and we just got a chance to drive it. The CUV is built on the same platform as the Versa and is front-wheel drive and only comes with a CVT. It’s powered by a 1.6L four-cylinder engine which puts out 125 horsepower and 115 pound feet of torque. It’s not a very powerful engine and is a bit sluggish going uphill and in passing situations. But the trade-off is best-in-class fuel economy. It’s rated at 31 MPG city, 36 MPG highway and 33 MPG combined. The interior is nice but nothing special, but the NVH is impressive for an entry level vehicle. The small crossover segment is a growing fast and one of the things that helps the Kicks stand out from its competition is its paint. Five different two-tone color combinations are available which all look good out on the road. The Kicks starts just under $19,000 including destination charges and is on sale now but Nissan won’t ramp up marketing the vehicle until next month.

But that’s it for today, thanks for watching, have a great weekend and we’ll see you again on Monday.