AD #2760 – BorgWarner Buys Delphi Technologies; EV Battery Cost Reduction Will Stall; Ford 3D Prints Wheel Locks

This is Autoline Daily and now on to the news.

BORGWARNER DROPS A BOMBSHELL
In an announcement that rocketed through the auto industry this morning, BorgWarner announced that it is taking over Delphi Technologies. The deal involves a stock swap and will create one of the largest propulsion and powertrain suppliers in the world. The combined company will have deep expertise in electric, hybrid and ICE propulsion systems. It will have a wide breadth of coverage for light vehicles and commercial vehicles for both original equipment and aftermarket applications. BorgWarner has built up expertise in electric motors and gear reduction units for EVs, while Delphi, which used to be part of General Motors, has expertise in power electronics. The combined companies will have sales of more than $15 billion a year.

EV BATTERY COST WILL STALL OUT
The cost of making batteries for electric cars has come down a lot, but there’s no such thing as Moore’s law for battery prices. A study last year from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology says battery costs will stall out around $124 per kilowatt hour. The U.S. Department of Energy says EV batteries now cost about $180 per kilowatt hour on the low end, about half of what they were a decade ago. Many EV proponents predict that battery costs for EVs will drop below $100 per kWh, which would match the price of internal combustion engines. But MIT says that misses one important point: the cost of the materials needed to make batteries. It points out that battery prices cannot drop below the cost of the materials needed to make them, which currently includes lithium, nickel, manganese, cobalt, aluminum and copper. MIT says battery costs will still be about $124 per kilowatt hour even by 2030, because no amount of improvements in manufacturing efficiency or scale can overcome the cost of current materials. For an electric car with a 60 kilowatt hour battery and 250 miles of range, the battery will cost about $7,500 even a decade from now. And that will pretty much relegate EVs to the luxury end of the market unless there’s a change in materials.

RENAULT READY TO HIRE NEW CEO
Renault is closing in on a new leader. Reuters reports that Luca de Meo will be approved by Renault’s board later today to take over the CEO position. De Meo, 52, was the former head of Spanish automaker SEAT, which is part of the Volkswagen Group. He resigned from that position a month ago. Renault’s Chief Finance Officer, Clotilde Delbos, has been running the company on an interim basis since October, after the company’s board ousted Thierry Bollore, an ally of former CEO Carlos Ghosn. De Meo, will not only have to come up with a plan to turn around sales at Renault, he’ll also have to help salvage the company’s partnership with Nissan.

HELLA LIGHTS UP BMW X6 GRILLE
Around 80% of the parts and components in a vehicle are created and made by suppliers. And here is another example. The illuminated grille on the BMW X6 was developed by lighting and electronics company, Hella. The kidney grille lights up when the doors are opened or closed and while the car is being driven. It features 14 LEDs in a plastic frame in the shape of the grille and the lights shine downwards to help create a waterfall effect. The optional grille, which costs $500 gives consumers another choice to customize and personalize their vehicle.

AUDI TO TEST V2I IN GERMANY
Audi is bringing its Vehicle-to-Infrastructure technology to the city of Dusseldorf in Germany. At the end of the month, Audi owners with the Traffic Light Information feature will be able to see information from around 150 traffic lights in the city. The technology helps optimize traffic flow by letting the driver know what speed to drive, in order to hit a green light. But if stopping at a red light is unavoidable, a display will countdown how long until the light turns green. A pilot project from Audi, showed the system helped reduce fuel consumption by 15%. Dusseldorf is the second city in Europe where Audi has made the technology available. The company debuted it in Las Vegas in 2016 and it’s in a number of other cities in the U.S., including New York and Washington DC.

FORD AGREES TO SETTLE DCT LAWSUIT
Ford has agreed to settle a lawsuit involving its problematic dual-clutch transmissions. The class-action suit involves nearly 2 million owners of the Fiesta and Focus. The company has proposed to pay at least $30 million to reimburse owners who have had multiple repairs for failed transmissions within five years of buying the vehicle or 60,000 miles. It’s also created an easier process for former owners and lessees to get compensated. But these proposals still need to be approved by the court, which Ford expects to happen at a hearing at the end of February.

The race is on in the auto industry to create Level 4 and 5 autonomous vehicles. But Level 2 is where the money is at. And that’s the topic on this week’s Autoline After Hours because our special guest is Aaron Jefferson, the VP of Electronics and ADAS at the supplier ZF, which has recently introduced its own Level 2 system. So, join John and Gary this Thursday at 3PM eastern time to learn all about it.

FORD 3D PRINTS WHEEL LOCKS
I’m sure many of you saw the picture last week of a brand new C8 Corvette with all its wheel stolen. Well, maybe crosstown rival Ford could have prevented it. The automaker has developed a way to make custom wheel locks using 3D printing. Engineers first record the driver’s voice then turn that soundwave into a physical, printable pattern. The wheel nut and key are printed as one piece using the pattern, which requires them to be separated and ground smooth before they’re ready for use. They can also make other patterns, like the Mustang logo, the driver’s initials or favorite race track. Ford says the unevenly spaced ribs inside the nut and indentations that widen the deeper they go makes it harder for a thief to make a copy. Here’s my Autoline Insight as a former technician. These wheel locks will stop your average thief, but so will any set of wheel locks. If someone really wants your wheels, they’ll get em. There’s plenty of ways to get off a locking wheel nut without a key. Also, it’s not uncommon for the wheel lock key to get lost or broken. And I wonder, how long it takes to get a replacement and what they cost? Now that being said, do I think people will want these? Hell yeah! If I had a vehicle with wheels that I thought were worth protecting, I’d love to have custom wheel locks with a logo to match my car.

KIA TEASES 3RD VEHICLE FOR INDIA
Kia only offers two vehicles in the Indian market, but it’s about to add another. It teased this compact SUV concept that will debut at the Delhi Auto Expo early next month. The hard lines of the front end seem to fade away to a more rounded rear that features LED taillight, which stretch its entire length.

OPEL’S FIRST PHEV GOES ON SALE
Opel’s first ever plug-in hybrid vehicle is now on sale. The Grandland X Hybrid4 combines a turbocharged 1.6L gas engine with two electric motors, which is good for a total output of 300 horsepower. The electric motors are mounted in the front and rear for AWD and are coupled with an 8-speed automatic transmission. They’re fed by a 13.2 kWh lithium-ion battery, which provides up to 59 kilometers of range on the WLTP test cycle. That converts to a little over 32.5 EPA miles. I’m sure many of you would rather see an all-electric vehicle, but as we also know, these vehicles are being made to meet future CO2 targets so automakers can avoid fines. And this is no cheap vehicle either. A highly equipped version in Germany sells for over 51,000 euro before incentives, while the base gas model starts at 27,500 euro.

But that’s it for today, thanks for watching and please join us again tomorrow.