AD #2663 – Millennials Pay More for Car Repair, Piech Passes Away, Next-Gen Toyota Tacoma On the Way

This is Autoline Daily reporting on the global automotive industry.

PIECH PASSES AWAY
The auto industry just lost one of its icons. Former Volkswagen Chairman Ferdinand Piech died unexpectedly on Sunday at the age of 82. He reportedly collapsed at a restaurant in Germany. Piech played a major role in developing VW into what it is today. VW acquired Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini and perhaps most importantly, Porsche, while he was in charge. His grandfather was Ferdinand Porsche, the founder of the sportscar maker and the father of the Beetle. Piech was named CEO of VW in 1993 and became chairman in 2002. He resigned from VW in 2015 just months before the company’s diesel emission scandal became public. And maybe that’s why VW removed almost all photos and references to Piech on its media website.

MILLENNIALS PAY MORE FOR CAR REPAIR
Are you a millennial? Then you’re probably paying more to service and repair you car than older people. That’s according to a survey by Ally, the company that offers financial services to car buyers and dealers. It found that millennials spent an average of more than $2,300 on car repairs over the last five years, while most people paid about $2,000. Baby Boomers spent about $1.600. Ally says many people would face financial hardships if they got hit with a big repair bill. That’s why it’s recommending a vehicle service contract that covers most repairs and fits more easily into household budgets.

CHINA TROTS OUT AUTO INCENTIVES
China is getting worried about the slowdown in car sales, which shows no signs of getting better. Bloomberg reports that the government is coming out with stimulus packages to try to get sales growing again. That includes loosening limits on car sales that some cities imposed, providing more incentives for new energy vehicles like EVs and building more gas stations in rural areas. Even so, analysts don’t expect this to make much of a difference in sales. They say the worst is probably over, but that the market is not going to recover anytime soon.

AFTERMARKET MODULE FOR TESLA MODEL S
You know you’ve made it as a car company when the aftermarket starts developing parts for your cars. And an Austrian company called Steinbauer just came out with a power module for the Tesla Model S 90D and P90D. Steinbauer primarily makes electronic products for diesel and gasoline engines, including agricultural ones. It claims you can install its power module the Teslas in 45 minutes and that it will boost the power on the 90D by 46 horsepower and the P90D by 67 horses. The power module costs about $3,000.

NEXT-GEN TOYOTA TACOMA ON THE WAY
Toyota dominates the mid-size pickup truck segment in the American market. Through the first half of the year it had 44% market share of the segment. And while the truck has been somewhat updated over the last few years, Autoforecast Solutions reports that the next generation Tacoma will go into production in November of 2020 at Toyota’s plant in Guanajuato, Mexico.

HYUNDAI’S FOLD UP EV SCOOTER
Hyundai revealed a new electric scooter prototype. It has a front suspension and front and rear running lights for using it at night. It has a top speed of about 12 MPH, a range of a little over 12 miles and it weighs about 17 pounds. It features a tri-fold design, since the company plans to make it fit into future Hyundai and Kia vehicles. The company says it’s working on adding regenerative braking to future models, which will boost its range by 7%. While it might seem strange to see automakers jump into this segment, a recent study from McKinsey and Company found that the “Last Mile Mobility” market in the U.S., Europe and China will reach nearly $500 billion by 2030. And the auto industry would like to get a slice of that pie.

And be sure to join us for Autoline After Hours later this week. The head of Mopar’s North American operations, Mark Bosanac will be joining us and bringing its latest creation to the studio. What vehicle is it? That’s a great question because even we don’t know. But we do know the name is going to be very controversial. So join Gary Vasilash and I this Thursday to find out what it is.

But that wraps up today’s show, thanks for watching.