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Runtime: 9:10
0:06 Automakers Ask Trump to Back Off Emissions Proposal
0:59 Affordability Could Have Big Impact on Sales
1:35 ZF Shows Video of External Side Airbag in Action
2:31 Cadillac Expands Super Cruise
3:29 Kia K900 Impressions
5:21 Electric Vehicle Trend Chart
6:12 Toyota & Subaru Developing BEV Platform
6:48 Why Book by Cadillac Didn’t Work
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This is Autoline Daily reporting on the global automotive industry.
AUTOMAKERS ASK TRUMP TO BACK OFF
You’ve heard that old saying, be careful what you ask for. Automakers asked President Trump to roll back the Obama Administration’s fuel economy standards. But Trump proposed to roll them back more than anyone was expecting. So the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, the lobbying group for the auto industry, is asking Trump to find a mid-way point between his proposal and the Obama regs. It’s a huge risk for them to challenge Trump, but the bigger risk is to precipitate a legal battle with California and the ZEV states which could end up forcing automakers to deal with two different sets of regulations. We here at Autoline keep saying that an easy solution would be to keep the Obama regulations, but move the goalposts from 2025 to 2030. That would give the auto industry the breathing room it needs, while keeping the regulations in place.
AFFORDABILITY COULD HAVE BIG IMPACT ON SALES
One of the big worries in the auto industry right now is affordability. Merrill Lynch says the cost of owning a new car, including financing, taxes, fees, depreciation, gasoline, insurance, repairs and maintenance is $720 a month, on average. That’s the highest it’s been in 10 years. It says this is starting to affect car sales and predicts that U.S. sales could drop from around 17 million vehicles a year right now to only 13 to 14 million in 2022. If Merrill Lynch is right that means some tough times are right around the corner.
ZF SHOWS VIDEO OF EXTERNAL SIDE AIRBAG
You may remember a story a little while back that the supplier ZF had developed an external side airbag. Well, now we have video of it in action. As you can see the airbag fully deploys and inflates before it’s struck on the side by the test rig. The system uses connected cameras, radar and lidar to identify a potential impact. The software then decides if a crash is unavoidable and if airbag deployment is possible and beneficial. If so, it goes off. ZF says the hardest part was reliably recognizing an unavoidable collision and deploying the airbag before the collision takes place. The next step will likely be crashing two real cars together, which we can’t wait to see. But we hope it keeps progressing because the system can reduce the amount the vehicle intrudes into the other vehicle by 30% and can cut down on how bad the passengers are hurt by up to 40%.
CADILLAC EXPANDS SUPER CRUISE
Cadillac’s hands-free, self-driving Super Cruise feature can operate on more than 130,000 miles of limited-access freeways and now they’re adding another 70,000 miles in the U.S. and Canada. Owners of 2018 and 2019 CT6s will have to go to the dealer to get a “system enhancement.” After that’s done, the additional miles will be sent over-the-air. The new software includes performance improvements, like moving to the far side of a lane when passing a semi, so you don’t feel uncomfortably close to it.
KIA K900 IMPRESSIONS
We constantly get new cars to test drive in the Autoline Garage, and we decided to throw our summer intern into one of them to see what he might have to say about it. Here’s Jack’s take on the 2019 Kia K900.
(Kia K900 impressions can only be viewed in the video version of today’s show.)
The K900 is nailed to the showroom floor. Sales are abysmal. Kia only sold 29 of them last month in the U.S., so you should get one for a screaming good price. We found one listed at a local dealership for $60,000. So if you’re shopping for one, bargain hard.
ELECTRIC VEHICLE TREND CHART
Yesterday we reported how sales of electric cars are going in the U.S. market, but in the comment section, Lambo2015 was not impressed. Lambo said a trend chart would give a better idea of what’s going on, and it’s a good suggestion, so here goes. In 2014 automakers had 13 BEV models in the market and sold just over 65,000 of them, for 0.39% share of the market. Every year since then sales have gone up steadily, and then they exploded in 2018, which is when the Tesla Model 3 became available in big numbers. But now the rate of growth, while impressive, has slowed, mainly due to a drop in Tesla sales. Don’t look for other automakers to make up the difference. So far this year their sales are up 7%.
| # EV Models | Sales | % Growth | Market Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 13 | 65,347 | —– | 0.39% |
| 2015 | 12 | 70,823 | +8% | 0.40% |
| 2016 | 14 | 79,915 | +13% | 0.45% |
| 2017 | 16 | 102,380 | +28% | 0.59% |
| 2018 | 17 | 208,573 | +104% | 1.21% |
| 2019 YTD | 16 | 87,425 | +68% | 1.26% |
Source: WardsAuto
TOYOTA & SUBARU DEVELOPING BEV PLATFORM
Toyota and Subaru announced they will jointly develop a new platform dedicated to mid-size and large electric vehicles that will first spawn a C-segment SUV, which will be sold as both a Toyota and Subaru model. It will feature a number of Toyota’s electrification technologies as well as Subaru’s all-wheel drive know how.
WHY BOOK BY CADILLAC DIDN’T WORK
Subscription services was a big buzzword a year or two ago. Now you don’t hear a lot about it. There’s a reason for that–it isn’t working. That includes Cadillac which put its subscription service on hold last year. On Autoline This Week, Cadillac’s Chief Marketing Officer, Deborah Wahl explains why it didn’t work.
(Clip from ATW #2315 can only be viewed in the video version of today’s show.)
Sounds like Cadillac might make another run at this at some point. And you can watch that entire show right now on our website, Autoline.tv or you can find it on our YouTube channel.
But that brings us to the end of today’s report, thanks for watching and have a great weekend.
Thanks to our partner for embedding Autoline Daily on its website: WardsAuto.com
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.
