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Runtime: 8:01
0:30 Nissan NP300 Pickup Earns Zero Stars
1:21 Wheels Falling Off at Maserati
2:20 Cost of an Electric Powertrain
3:39 All-New Toyota RAV4
4:52 BMW Improves Manufacturing with VR
6:04 Why Nissan’s Sticking with Passenger Cars
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On today’s show… we’ve got some inside numbers on the cost of manufacturing EV powertrains… Nissan earns a zero in its latest NCAP rating… and BMW is using VR to improve its manufacturing operations. All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.
This is Autoline Daily the voice of the automotive industry.
NISSAN NP300 PICKUP EARNS ZERO STARS
Automakers love to brag about the safety of their cars. But when they’re not forced to meet safety regulations they often cut corners to cut costs. Take a look at the Nissan NP300 pickup truck, which is sold in parts of Africa, where safety standards are weak. Global NCAP, the European agency which provides vehicle safety ratings, gave the pickup zero stars after the entire front half of the passenger compartment collapsed in a 40 mile-per-hour crash test. The front airbag was basically useless as the steering column was shoved straight into the dummy’s chest. Global NCAP is pushing to get safer cars in places like Africa and is calling for a stop-sale on any vehicle that receives zero stars, including the Nissan NP300.
WHEELS FALLING OFF MASERATI
Maserati was supposed to be one of the luxury brands that would propel FCA to lofty heights with hefty profit margins. But it’s not working out that way. In fact, you could say the wheels are coming off. So far this year Maserati’s global sales are down 25%. It’s only generating a 5% profit margin, which is about half of what a luxury brand should generate. And it’s getting worse. Last quarter the profit margin dropped to only 2.5%. Part of the problem is a lack of new product. The newest model in the lineup is the Levante and it came out two years ago. Even worse, Maserati overproduced and is now sitting on a pile of inventory. Mike Manley, the new CEO at FCA, has got his sights firmly fixed on Maserati. But he’s going to have his hands full trying to turn it around at a time when luxury sales are starting to soften.
COST OF AN ELECTRIC POWERTRAIN
What does it cost to make the powertrain for an electric car? Automakers treat that as a top secret. But a major Tier 1 supplier just shared those numbers with Autoline. The supplier told us that the cost of making an electric traction motor in mass production is about $700. And the transmission costs about $500. Keep in mind that a transmission for an EV is much simpler than one for an IC vehicle. The power electronics add about $600. Put it all together and it comes to about $1,700. That’s a little bit cheaper than a conventional powertrain. Of course, this does not include the price of the batteries, which adds many thousands of dollars. And we’re pleased that Autoline can provide you with inside information like this on what it costs to make an EV.
| EV Manufacturing Costs | |
|---|---|
| Traction Motor | $700 |
| Transmission | $500 |
| Power Electronics | $600 |
| TOTAL | $1,800 |
BMW is using virtual reality to manufacture cars and we’ll show you what that’s all about right after this.
NEW TOYOTA RAV4 GOING ON SALE SOON
The RAV4 isn’t just the best-selling model in Toyota’s lineup, it’s the top vehicle in its segment. So it’s a big deal when an all-new version is about to go on sale. As you can see, the 2019 RAV4 features more rugged styling compared to the outgoing model and the front-end even shares some design cues with the Tacoma. It’s powered by a 2.5L four-cylinder gasoline engine, which is mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission. A hybrid version is also available. It uses the same engine but it’s matched to an electronically controlled CVT instead. The combined fuel economy for front-wheel and all-wheel-drive gas models is 29 MPG, while the hybrid gets a combined 39 MPG. The RAV4 comes standard with the next-gen version of Toyota’s Entune infotainment system and its Safety Sense suite of driver assistance technology. Pricing for front-wheel-drive models start at about $26,500, AWD adds another $1,500 and the hybrid starts just below $29,000. The regular RAV4 models go on sale in December while the hybrid hits dealerships in March of 2019.
BMW IMPROVES MANUFACTURING WITH VR
BMW is using virtual reality to help improve its production process. Over the last several years the automaker began digitally mapping out its plants with 3D scanners. And before it made any changes to its plant in Munich, Germany for the new 3 Series, it was able to lay out all the individual work stations in the virtual world. That way it didn’t use up any physical space to try out different line configurations and could simulate how they’d perform. That saves a ton of time, money and resources. It also allows BMW to experiment with new procedures. And if any changes need to be made to its plants in the future it can easily add more data to its virtual library.
Sales of passenger cars are cratering in the American market, but Nissan believes pass cars still represent good business and that’s coming up next.
NISSAN STICKS TO ITS PASSENGER CAR GUNS
Even though passenger car sales are falling off a cliff, Nissan is sticking with them and just introduced an all-new Altima. On last week’s Autoline After Hours we were joined by Christian Spencer, the Senior Manager of Marketability at Nissan. And he explained why the company isn’t giving up on the segment.
(Clip from AAH #442 can only be viewed in the video version of today’s show.)
If you’d like to learn more about the all-new Altima you can watch that episode on our website or you can find it on our YouTube channel.
But that’s it for today, thanks for watching and please join us again tomorrow.
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John McElroy is an influential thought leader in the automotive industry. He is a journalist, lecturer, commentator and entrepreneur. He created “Autoline Daily,” the first industry webcast of industry news and analysis.
