AD #2702 – Tokyo Auto Show Reveals, How to Convert WLTP to EPA, Analysts Expect Tesla to Lose Money in Q3

This is Autoline Daily reporting on all aspects of the global automotive industry.

FINAL UAW CONTRACT RESULTS DUE FRIDAY
The strike at GM continues as UAW locals vote on whether or not to approve a new labor contract. Some locals are rejecting it, while others are approving it, but we will not have the final results until 4 pm on Friday.

UAW VP PLEADS GUILTY
Meanwhile, yet another UAW official pleaded guilty to accepting kickbacks and bribes. Jeff Pietrzyk was a top aide to former UAW Vice President Joe Ashton, and it sure looks like federal investigators will now go after Ashton. Pietrzyk is the 10th union official to be convicted in the scandal, and this investigation has no end in sight.

ANALYSTS EXPECT TESLA TO LOSE MONEY IN Q3
Tesla will report its third quarter earnings later this evening, and analysts are expecting the company to post record sales, but still lose money even though Elon Musk promised the company would break even. Analysts are concerned about falling sales of the Model X and S which bring in more revenue per vehicle than Model 3s. 

TRAFFIC DEATHS DOWN IN U.S.
Are people driving more carefully? Traffic fatalities in the U.S. dropped 2.4% last year, with 36,560 people killed, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. So far this year, they’re down another 3.4%. And it’s an across the board drop, with fatalities involving cars, light trucks, heavy trucks and motorcycles all down. No one really knows why they’re dropping. Safety advocates claim it’s because of better safety technology. Police departments claim it’s because of better enforcement. And we say these numbers always vary from year to year. It’s better to look at the trend lines, not one year’s results. And the trend lines all point to fewer fatalities.

FCA INVESTS MILLIONS TO ASSEMBLE BATTERY PACKS
Make or buy? That’s a big decision for car companies when it comes to batteries for electric cars. Most OEMs plan to buy packs from suppliers, but some are looking at making them in-house. And that includes FCA, which is investing 50 million euros to assemble battery packs using co-bots at its manufacturing complex in Torino, Italy. FCA is going to build a new electric-powered Fiat 500 at its Mirafiori plant there next year, with a goal of making 80,000 a year. And it’s going to make electric versions of the Maserati GranTurismo and GranCabrio at a nearby assembly plant. FCA doesn’t sell any BEVs in Europe right now, so this is part of its plan to catch up.     

HOW TO CONVERT WLTP TO EPA
We often cite the world harmonized light-duty vehicles test procedure or WLTP figures when reporting on the range of vehicles. It replaces the older, less accurate NEDC test, but the WLTP is still not as difficult as the EPA test. To clear up the confusion between the procedures here’s an easy conversion we like to use from InsideEVs. If you divide the WLTP number by 1.121, you’ll get a pretty good idea of what the EPA figure will be. For example, the Renault Master fuel cell we reported on yesterday has an estimated range of 350 kilometers. Divide that by 1.121 and you get 312.2 kilometers. Convert that to miles and you get about 194. So any time you hear someone quote WTLP, divide by 1.121 to get a better real world number.

HONDA DEBUTS NEW FIT
We have a lot of news from the Tokyo auto show. Honda showed off its all-new Fit and it’s hugely different from the outgoing model. Honda says it offers better driver and passenger comfort, with better visibility, better seats and ride comfort, and new tech. Honda is offering five different trim levels, like the standard run-of-the-mill BASIC model, to the CROSSTAR which has an adventurous look, good for city and off-road driving. Honda Sensing, which is what Honda calls its suite of safety technology, was updated with a front-facing camera which is now standard on all trim levels. The new Fit also has an optional hybrid model with two motors.  The new Fit is expected to go on sale in February.

MAZDA UNVEILS MX-30 EV
Mazda officially unveiled its MX-30 electric vehicle which, to our surprise, has suicide doors and no B-pillar. Instead, the structure is built into the doors, and that allows for a much bigger door opening. The new EV also gets unusual but modern materials, like soft airy seats made from polyethylene bottles, or tray made from cork that’s under the floating center console. Even though the MX-30 is a new EV concept, it still retains Mazda’s Skyactiv driving technology, but it’s now called e-Skyactiv. 

NISSAN SHOWS OFF ARIYA CONCEPT
OK, more news from Tokyo. Nissan is showing off a bit of the automaker’s future design direction with the Ariya concept. You’ll see it expands on several design elements from the IMx concept that was first shown in 2017. Some of the design language Nissan keys in on with the Ariya are the wide front fenders, thin LED headlights and the grille, which Nissan is calling a shield on its electric vehicle and has a subtle geometric pattern that reveals itself when light shines on it. As for the interior, Nissan said it was going for a pure, clean look. A large 12.3-inch display screen dominates the interior while the HVAC controls sit flush-mounted at the lower part of the dashboard. The Ariya also has twin electric motors for all-wheel drive, but Nissan does not talk about possible battery size or range.

SUBARU UNVEILS LEVORG WAGON “PROTOTYPE”
Subaru unveiled a new wagon called the Levorg Prototype. And while it’s called a prototype, this vehicle looks production ready to us. Powering the car is a new 1.8L horizontally opposed direct-injection turbo engine. The Levorg is equipped with the latest version of the company’s EyeSight advanced driver assistance system, which features hands-free driving in traffic jams. The production version of the Levorg goes on sale in Japan in the second half of 2020.

MITSUBISHI REVEALS TWO CONCEPTS
Mitsubishi showed off a couple of funky looking concepts. First up is the MI-TECH, which features dune buggy-like design. It’s a plug-in hybrid that comes with a gas turbine-engine, which can run on a number of different fuels including diesel, kerosene and alcohol. The powertrain also includes a four-motor electric 4WD system. The company also revealed a kei car called the SUPER-HEIGHT K-WAGON CONCEPT. It was designed for passenger space and the company claims it has the largest rear door opening and back seat legroom in its class. Mitsubishi will release a production version in Japan by the end of next March.

LEXUS UNVEILS LF-30 CONCEPT
And finally, here’s a vehicle you’re not going to see on sale, the Lexus LF-30 Electrified Concept. But like the Nissan Ariya Concept we are likely to see elements of the LF-30 in a future generation of electrified vehicles. The interior seems to split in two, with the driver and passenger having their own little area focused on them. Lexus also uses gesture control to command functions and augmented reality to provide information to the driver. Performance for the LF-30 would be quite impressive as well. It features 4 in-wheel electric motors, a 110-kWh battery pack that returns 500 kilometers of WLTP range or about 277 miles of EPA range and will move from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.8 seconds. 

You’re not going to want to miss this week’s Autoline After Hours. We’ve got author Ted West here to talk about his book Closing Speed, which is a fictionalized account of the 1970 World Manufacturers Championship. And the Autoextremist Peter DeLorenzo is also back in the house. The show goes live Thursday at 3PM eastern time on our website or YouTube channel.

And that brings us to the end of today’s report, thanks for making Autoline Daily a part of your day.