AD #2499 – Lincoln Creates Continental with Suicide Doors, Porsche 911 Hybrid Details, JLR To Cut Thousands of Jobs

On today’s show…we’re getting more signs that the auto industry is slowing down…Lincoln brings back suicide doors…and a car dealer explains why Tesla should be forced to sell cars through franchised dealers. All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.

This is Autoline Daily the voice of the automotive industry.

JLR TO CUT THOUSANDS OF JOBS
We’re getting more signs that the global auto industry is slowing down. Back in October, Jaguar Land Rover announced it needed to cut costs by 2.5 billion pounds to help turn around the company. Now the Financial Times reports that JLR will cut as many as 5,000 jobs in January.

FCA IDLES PLANTS TO REDUCE INVENTORY
It’s not the only one. GM and Ford recently announced plans to close plants, cut shifts and cut headcount. And now FCA will idle four plants in January. Its Warren Truck, Brampton, Ontario, Jefferson North, Sterling Heights, and Toledo North plants will be down for several days or up to a week, to reduce inventory levels. Think about that. Two pickup truck plants, two Jeep plants, and the plant that makes the Challenger and Charger have to cut production. The good news is that these companies are showing gritty discipline and will not have to resort to heavy incentives.

MERCEDES TO UNVEIL NEW CLA AT CES
As if to add insult to injury, not only did Mercedes-Benz drop out of the Detroit auto show, it’s using CES in Las Vegas to unveil its new CLA sedan. CES runs only one week before the Detroit show. And this demonstrates how the event formerly called the Consumer Electronics Show has emerged as an auto show in its own right. Automakers are no longer using CES for technology announcements, they’re actually unveiling new cars there.

CALIFORNIA MANDATES ELECTRIC BUSES
California just took another step closer to mandating that all busses in the state be electric by 2040. But fleet operators are concerned about range, recharging time and power. They’re also worried that a neighborhood may not have enough power to service a yard with 200 busses. And then there’s the issue of cost. Reuters reports that a diesel bus costs under $500,000. A natural gas powered bus costs $525,000. An electric bus costs $800,000. And a fuel cell bus costs $1.3 million.  

HYUNDAI KONA EV PRICING REVEALED
Speaking of electrics, Hyundai just announced the price of the Kona EV. The base price is $37,495. It has a 64-kilowatt-hour battery and 258 miles of range under ideal conditions. For now, it will only be sold in California, but will be available in other ZEV states at a later date.

INFINITI TO REVEAL ELECTRIC SUV IN DETROIT
And Infiniti is going to unveil its first fully electric SUV at the Detroit auto show next month. Alfonso Albaisa, the head of global design for Nissan, says this car exhibits the new design language that will show up on other Infiniti’s, and that its electric powertrain provides more interior room.

We’ve got technical details on the hybrid system used in the new Porsche 911. That’s coming up next.

TESLA FACES ANOTHER ORGANIZING EFFORT
Tesla is facing another union organizing effort by its workers, this time at a solar panel factory in New York. Bloomberg reports that it would involve about 300 production and maintenance workers and is a partnership between the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the United Steelworkers. A Tesla spokesperson said the company pays employees an average of $16.20 an hour, plus benefits and an equity stake in the company.

PORSCHE 911 HYBRID DETAILS
Porsche will soon be adding another electrified vehicle to its lineup. WardsAuto reports that the new 911 will support both hybrid and plug-in hybrid models, with the ability to run solely on electric power for short distances. Porsche did not reveal exactly what will power the car, but the automaker’s head of sportscar development says it used the Panamera hybrid as a performance reference. Its electric motor produces 134 hp and 400 lb.-ft. of torque and when combined with the new 911’s updated turbocharged 6-cylinder boxer engine, the hybrid could develop nearly 580-horsepower and 690 lb-ft of torque. The electric motor will be housed in the rear section of an updated 8-speed dual clutch transmission engineered by ZF. And the battery is expected to be located in the front of the car, which would actually improve its weight distribution.

LINCOLN CREATES CONTINENTAL WITH SUICIDE DOORS
Lincoln is offering a new version of the Continental with rear suicide doors that will carry a price tag of over $100,000. The car will be built at Ford’s Flat Rock plant then shipped to Cabot Coach Builders in Boston to stretch the sedan’s wheelbase by 6-inches. Only 80 will be built next year and sold as the Continental 80th Anniversary Coach Door Edition. A door sill plate will feature its number in the run. But Lincoln will offer more in 2020.

Coming up next, a car dealer explains why Tesla should sell its EVs through franchised dealers.

WHY TESLA SHOULD SELL THROUGH FRANCHISED DEALERS
On last week’s Autoline After Hours we were joined by Ryan LaFontaine from the LaFontaine Automotive Group. And he discussed why Tesla should sell its vehicles through franchised dealers instead of its own stores.

(The AAH preview is only available in the video version of today’s show.)

You can watch that entire episode right now on our website, Autoline.tv or on our YouTube channel.

But that’s it for today, thanks for watching and please join us again tomorrow.