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Runtime: 7:03
0:06 China Sales Slipping
0:31 PHEV Sales Plummet
1:22 U.S. Inventory Levels Easing
3:00 FCA’s New Truck Diesel
3:48 Continental 3D Display
4:31 Mercedes Intros Yet Another CUV
5:59 David Woodhouse Resigns from Lincoln
6:27 Lincoln Corsair Redo For 2024
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This is Autoline Daily reporting on the global automotive industry.
CHINA SALES SLIPPING
Merrill Lynch is lowering its sales forecast for China. It expects passenger vehicle sales to fall 9% this year and for total sales to be down 7%. Last week China announced several stimulus packages to get sales going, but Merrill Lynch says it doesn’t think this is going to work. Meanwhile, it’s lowering its earnings forecast for Geely, GAC and Great Wall.
PHEV SALES PLUMMET
Sales of electric cars and hybrids continue to grow in the US market, but plug-in hybrids are dropping like a rock. So far this year sales of regular hybrids are up almost 16%, electrics are up 68%, but plug-in hybrid sales dropped 28%. Here’s our Autoline Insight. Environmental consumers are not impressed by the limited electric range of plug-in hybrids. Regular car buyers are leery about having to plug in a battery. And so neither group is much interested in plug-in hybrids. This should be a warning for automakers, especially the European automakers. They’re investing heavily in plug-in hybrids and customers are not very interested. In Europe, PHEV sales fell 4.5% in the first quarter.
| U.S. SALES JAN-MAY, 2019 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Hybrids | 151,000 | +15.8% |
| BEVs | 87,000 | +68% |
| PHEVs | 34,000 | -28% |
| Source: WardsAuto | ||
U.S. INVENTORY LEVELS EASING
Suppliers and auto analysts were worrying about rising levels of inventory parked on US car dealer’s lots. No wonder. There were more than 4 million vehicles in inventory. But automakers are showing admirable discipline. According to numbers from Wards, they cut inventory by 140,000 vehicles last month, without resorting to blow-out discounts. There is now a 64-day supply, down from 72 days in April. Subaru has the lowest inventory, only 31 days’ worth. Mitsubishi has the highest, with 95 days. In other words, it would take Mitsubishi’s dealers 3 months to sell off everything on their lots if they didn’t bring in any new ones.
From the company that revealed the secrets of the Tesla Model 3, Munro & Associates will host an Electric Vehicle Conference on Friday, June 21st at its headquarters in Auburn Hills. Munro will provide a deep dive into the Motors, Batteries, and Electronics of the Tesla Model 3, BMW i3, Chevy Bolt and Jaguar I-PACE. Purchase tickets on Eventbrite or at leandesign.com. Hurry, only 100 spots are available.
FCA’S NEW TRUCK DIESEL
Last week, GM revealed details about the all-new 3.0L inline 6-cylinder diesel going in the Chevy Silverado. And now FCA is sharing info about its new EcoDiesel going in the 2020 Ram 1500. The 3.0L V6 cranks out 280 horsepower and 480 lb.-ft. of torque. That’s 3 more horses and 20 more pound-feet than the Chevy. Fuel economy was not revealed but the company expects it to be number one in the segment. The EcoDiesel is available in all models and configurations, including the Ram Rebel for the first time. The engine is made in Italy. The new Ram 1500 EcoDiesel goes on sale in the fourth quarter of this year, pricing will be announced closer to its on-sale date.
CONTINENTAL 3D DISPLAY
Continental is taking the human-machine interface to a whole new level. It’s teamed up with Silicon Valley company Leia, to bring 3D displays into cars. Anyone one in the vehicle, both front and rear passengers, can see the 3D images. Best of all, you don’t have to wear special goggles to see the images and they’re still visible even in direct sunlight. It’s also customizable, so automakers can differentiate the system from their competitors. Interestingly, this isn’t some pie-in-the sky technology that’s decades away, Continental says it already has a customer and that this 3D system will go into production in 2022.
MERCEDES INTROS YET ANOTHER CUV
This industry is going crossover crazy! Mercedes-Benz is coming out with the GLB crossover, which obviously slots in between the GLA and GLC. Its powered by a four-cylinder gasoline engine that’s mated to an 8-speed DCT and also available with the company’s 4MATIC all-wheel drive system. It features some off-road design elements and it’s offered with an off-road package, which adapts the engine’s power and ABS while off-road. Inside, the GLB features a widescreen infotainment display and its available as a five or seven-seater. It will be on sale by the end of the year.
I-CAR ON AFTER HOURS
The structure of cars and trucks used to be made mostly from steel. Now we’re seeing a mix of all kinds of materials and that’s making it a lot more challenging to repair them. So on Autoline After Hours this Thursday we have Stacey Wesselink from I-CAR, the collision repair association, coming on the show. She’ll be talking about how I-CAR can help you make sure your car gets repaired the right way if you ever get in an accident.
DAVID WOODHOUSE RESIGNS FROM LINCOLN
We were stunned to see a posting on Facebook where the head of Lincoln design, David Woodhouse, announced he was immediately resigning. Woodhouse made a real splash at Lincoln and the designs coming out under his leadership were well received by the public. He didn’t say why he was leaving, but we fully expect him to pop up at another automaker, which probably is putting a lot more money in his pocket.
LINCOLN CORSAIR REDO FOR 2024
Speaking of Lincoln, the Corsair just hit the market, but we already know when it will get redesigned. Autoforecast Solutions reports the next generation goes into production in Louisville, Kentucky in September, 2024.
And that wraps up today’s show, 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.
