Follow us on social media:
Runtime: 8:21
0:07 Mary Barra to Meet with President Trump
0:41 U.S. Sales Stronger Than Expected
1:27 Tesla’s Sales Hit a Brick Wall
2:37 Wearable Robotics Industry Growing
3:20 More Details On the Honda e
4:13 Global Display Market to Double
4:56 Porsche Taycan Not a “Tesla Killer”
6:59 Japan is Going AV Crazy
Visit our sponsors to thank them for their support of Autoline Daily: Bridgestone and Kiekert.
This is Autoline Daily reporting on all aspects of the global automotive industry.
MARY BARRA TO MEET WITH PRESIDENT TRUMP
GM CEO Mary Barra is meeting with President Trump this afternoon. Barra will likely try to get Trump to stop lambasting the company on Twitter. Trump will likely try to get Barra to support his effort to freeze fuel economy standards and prevent the state of California from setting its own EV mandate. Mary Barra is a master diplomat who always manages to keep her cool and never says anything controversial. Trump, of course, is the polar opposite. And we’ll know tomorrow if anything substantive comes out of the meeting.
U.S. SALES STRONGER THAN EXPECTED
Once again, new car sales in the U.S. market came in stronger than analysts expected. They had forecasted an annualized rate of 16.7 million units, but Merrill Lynch says the SAAR was 17 million. Sales were up a strong 6.6% on a daily selling rate basis, the highest gain of the year. For the first 8 months, sales are up slightly from a year ago. Sales incentives were up 5% on average. Analysts say the strong jump in sales does not mean the market is recovering because this August includes the full Labor Day weekend in the tally, versus only Friday for last August. Even so, all the analysts knew that when they forecast that sales would be lower.
| U.S. Sales August, 2019 | |
|---|---|
| SAAR | 17 Million |
| Sales | +6.6% |
| Incentives | +5% |
TESLA KISSED BRICKS
Meanwhile Tesla seems to have run into a brick wall, sales wise. InsideEVs reports that Tesla’s sales plummeted 30% in the U.S. last month. Ward’s reports that they fell 13%. But either way that’s a big drop at a time when the rest of the market was racing forward. It’s possible that Tesla was diverting sales to Europe and China, but Tesla only reports global sales at the end of every quarter, so we’ll have to wait a month to see if this is truly a sales disaster or if there’s another explanation.
| Tesla U.S. Sales August, 2019 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Model 3 | 13,150 | -26% |
| Model S | 1,050 | -60% |
| Model X | 1,825 | -33% |
| Total | 16,025 | -31% |
WEARABLE ROBOTICS INDUSTRY GROWING
The wearable robotics industry is growing by 14% annually and we’re seeing more of it in the auto industry. But while other automakers partnered with robotics companies, the Hyundai Group will make its own. Its exoskeleton vest weighs roughly 20% – 40% less than competitors and costs are 30% lower. They usually cost about $5,000, but Hyundai is able to make its without batteries. Hyundai is also working on a chairless exoskeleton, which allows users to take weight off their legs, as well as what it calls a robotic “Electric Vehicle Charging Manipulator.” Could be interesting.
MORE DETAILS ON THE HONDA E
More details are coming out about Honda’s little electric city car, called the Honda e. Its 35.5 kWh battery returns up to 220 kilometers or about 137 miles of range. With fast charging it can be pumped up to 80% in 30 minutes. A single drive motor comes in two power outputs: 100kW and 113kW. The car will do 0 – 100km/h in 8-seconds. These figures are all based on Honda’s internal data. This is the production car, so those dual 12.3-inch display screen you see will make it down the manufacturing line. Some customers in Europe can make their reservations now and those that are on the fence can go check it out at the Frankfurt auto show next week.
GLOBAL DISPLAY MARKET TO DOUBLE
Digital displays play a key role in the interaction between driver and vehicle and it’s estimated the global vehicle display market will double to $30 billion by 2025. The supplier Bosch is showing off new 3D display products that use passive three-dimensional technology to generate realistic effects. What we find interesting is that Bosch says 3D displays allow passengers to understand information faster than on conventional screens.
PORSCHE TAYCAN IS NOT A “TESLA KILLER”
Porsche revealed the all-new, all-electric Taycan and the first thing that jumped out at us was, it’s not ugly like the development mule that Porsche showed publicly. It’s much closer to the Mission E concept. The second thing that jumped out is the odd naming of the trim lines. Turbo and Turbo S? It seems a little silly to us to name them that because they clearly don’t have turbos. But Porsche obviously cliniced those names to see if they would resonate with customers. Bloomberg reports there will be a base, rear drive version that will probably be priced around $100,000. And there will be a Grand Turismo version that will go on sale at the end of next year. Some people have called the Taycan a “Tesla Killer” and we can see why. It’s very similar in size and performance to the Model S. Both the Turbo and the Turbo S have a 93.4 kWh battery pack, all wheel drive and 617-horsepower. Based on the WLTP test, the Turbo has 280-miles of range and the Turbo S has 258-miles. Those figures will definitely be lower when it’s tested by the EPA. The Turbo will do 0-60 in 3 seconds, while the S will do it in 2.6 seconds. So other than range, the Taycan compares very well with Tesla. And with an 800-volt electrical system, the Porsche will be able charger faster with the proper charger. But the Taycan is not a “Tesla Killer.” They’re in two different leagues. The Turbo is priced at nearly $151,000 and the Turbo S at $185,000. The Detroit News reports that Porsche spent $6.6 billion developing the Taycan and that helps explain why it’s priced so high. That and the fact that Porsche wants to make excellent profit margins on the car.
JAPAN GOING AV CRAZY
Japan is going AV crazy at the Olympics next summer. Starting next month, dozens of companies are preparing to test AVs on public roads in Tokyo, which will run through 2022. That includes a full week next July, before the summer Olympics begin, where as many as 100 autonomous cars will provide rides for up to 7,000 passengers around the competition venues in Tokyo. In addition to that, over a dozen AVs from Toyota will provide rides for athletes in the Olympic village. And another Toyota self-driving vehicle called the Concept-i will accompany torch relay runners. Japan set a goal of selling fully autonomous vehicles in the country by 2025.
Be sure to join us for Autoline After Hours this afternoon. Our guest is Mike Tracy, and if you like Sandy Munro, you’ll like Mike. They’re kind of cut from the same cloth and even used to work together. Joe White from Reuters is also joining us.
And that wraps up today’s report, thanks for watching.
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.
