AD #2770 – Nikola Shows Badger EV Pickup; EVs Beat Out Manuals for 1st Time; Carlos Ghosn Hires Hollywood Agent

This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.

JEEP NEEDS SUPER BOWL SUCCESS TO TRANSLATE TO SALES
Jeep’s Super Bowl ad for the Gladiator featuring Bill Murray was a big hit. As of yesterday, it’s been viewed more than 104 million times on Jeep’s YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter channels. It has the most social views online than any other commercial that aired during the Big Game. It’s also won accolades from USA Today, YouTube and People Magazine. While this is good news for the company, it really needs that success to translate to sales because the Gladiator has been somewhat disappointing. Jeep sold more than 40,000 in 2019, which was ahead of the Honda Ridgeline and GMC Canyon but well behind the Toyota Tacoma, Chevy Colorado, Ford Ranger and even the Nissan Frontier. So to help kickstart sales, CarsDirect and Automotive News reports dealers are now offering incentives worth as much as $9,000 for the Gladiator. That’s a bit of a surprise for a truck that was expected to be a smash hit but perhaps its price tag, which is higher than its competitors, is scarring customers away.

NIKOLA JUMPS IN EV TRUCK GAME WITH THE BADGER
It seems like every time we turn around, there’s another electric pickup being introduced. As we know, GM, Ford, Tesla and Rivian, are all working on electric trucks. And now EV startup Nikola is jumping into the segment with an electric pickup called the Badger. It features both a 120-kW fuel cell and a 160-kWh lithium-ion battery, which provides a combined estimated range of 600 miles. It also cranks out 906 horsepower, 980 ft.-lbs. of torque, moves from 0 to 60 MPH in 2.9 seconds and has a towing capacity of more than 8,000 pounds. Nikola is partnering with another OEM to build the truck, it didn’t reveal what company but it will make that announcement soon. Nikola will debut the Badger at a company event this September in Phoenix, where it will have prototypes for select customers and the media to ride in.

EV SALES BEAT OUT MANUALS FOR 1ST TIME
And speaking of electric vehicles, the segment outsold cars with manual transmissions in the U.S. for the first time in 2019. According to Green Car Reports, EVs accounted for 1.6% of the overall car market while vehicles with manuals made up 1.1% of sales. Manuals still had a 0.1% lead over EVs in 2018. This isn’t a big surprise, since fewer and fewer automakers offer vehicles with manuals and fewer and fewer consumers are interested in one.

GHOSN HIRES HOLLYWOOD AGENT
Well the Oscars may be over, but Carlos Ghosn, the fugitive former CEO of Nissan, hired one of Hollywood’s best known agents to snag him a TV and movie deal. He hired Michael Ovitz, the former president of Disney and the founder of Creative Artists Agency. It could be a lucrative deal for Ghosn, who walked away from $14 million in bond money he posted in Japan. Bloomberg reports he may have spent $15 million engineering his escape from Japan. OK, which actor do you think should play Ghosn, and what should they title the movie?

CAMO-ED A3 HINTS AT NEW DESIGN
Audi is showing off a camo-ed version of the new A3 Sportback ahead of its debut at the Geneva auto show. We notice that the grille and lower vents are larger than the outgoing model and the taillights and rear fascia have also been reworked. Audi is touting an improved all-wheel drive system as well. It features an electro-hydraulic clutch that sits between the drive shaft and rear differential and is controlled by what it calls “precisely tuned all-wheel software.” The system can send 100% torque to the rear or nearly fully disconnect it. Other highlights include torque vectoring, an adaptive suspension and electronic steering. The Geneva auto show kicks off in March.

AUDI OFFERS FREE VIRTUAL PLANT TOURS
And speaking of Audi, it’s offering interactive online tours of its Ingolstadt plant in Germany. It allows you to learn about the company’s manufacturing process and even features tour guides that accompany you on the virtual tour, who will answer any of your questions during the live stream, which takes about 20 minutes. It’s also available in English, so you don’t have to worry about a language barrier. The virtual tour, which starts tomorrow, is free, you just have to pick your desired time slot on the AudiStream website to sign up.

HYUNDAI PROVIDES DoE WITH NEXO FC VEHICLES
Hyundai is expanding its partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy to explore the use of fuel cell technology. Hyundai will provide the agency with five NEXO fuel cell vehicles for use around the country. Data from the vehicles and infrastructure will be collected to help research the durability, performance and reliability of fuel cell vehicles. Hyundai will also contribute funding to build a small-scale hydrogen fueling station in the Washington DC area. While fuel cell technology is promising, at this point it seems like a better solution for commercial vehicles instead of passenger cars.

USING WRIGHT’S LAW TO PREDICT TESLA’S PERFORMANCE
You’ve heard of Moore’s Law, haven’t you? That’s the theorem that the number of transistors on a chip will double about every two years. But have you heard of Wright’s Law? Neither had we. But the investment firm Ark is using Wright’s law to predict that Tesla’s stock price could hit a low of $7,000 a share by 2024. Wright’s law says that as you increase production of any product there’s a learning curve that makes a company more efficient. For example, Theodore Wright found that as airplane manufacturers doubled production, they cut labor costs by 10-15%. So it expects Tesla to become a lot more efficient. Ark also believes that an autonomous network of Tesla robo-taxis will generate more money than Tesla gets selling cars. And it believes Tesla will launch that service next year. By the way, Ark has three scenarios. A bear case where Tesla stock “only” hits $1,500 a share, an expected case of $7,000 and a bull case of $15,000. Now we’ll have to see if they’re Wright.

BMW X5 AND X6 GET NEW DIESEL ENGINE
The BMW X5 and X6 are getting a newly developed diesel engine for the European market. The 3.0L in-line 6-cylinder engine features a two-stage turbocharging system and direct injection, which helps it reach its maximum output of 340 horsepower and 516 lb-ft of torque. It’s also now assisted by a 48-volt mild hybrid system that aids power delivery and ride comfort by being able to more quickly react to load changes. The engine comes standard with an 8-speed automatic and all-wheel drive in both vehicles, which are able to do 0 to 100 km/h in 5.5 seconds. And thanks to a revised exhaust gas aftertreatment system it also already meets the Euro 6d emission standard.

HISPANO SUISA TO SHOW PRODUCTION CARMEN EV
With so many EV startups, how do you establish a name for yourself without getting lost in the clutter? One way is to revive a glorious nameplate from the past. And that’s why the name Hispano Suisa is making a comeback. The Spanish and Swiss company traces its roots to an electric car made in Barcelona in 1898. During World War I it became famous for its aircraft engines and after the war it was renown for its luxury cars. But car production pretty much ended with World War II. Now the name is being revived for a luxury EV called the Carmen Boulogne, which has been shown as a concept, but the production version will debut at the Geneva auto show next month.

And be sure to join us for Autoline After Hours this week. Our special guest is Gary Bandurski from GM, who will be talking about the company’s new electronic architecture, which allows features like electric drive, Super Cruise and other safety systems to all run at the same time. Join us this Thursday afternoon to learn all about it.

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