AD #2791 – New York Auto Show Postponed; Tesla Will Make Cybertruck in Central USA; New Elantra Styling Breakdown

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

CURTAIN GOES DOWN ON NY SHOW
Slowly but surely the coronavirus is impacting the global auto industry. Now comes word that the organizers of the New York auto show postponed it until August. It was supposed to be in mid April. But automakers are likely to resort to online reveals for the models they were going to unveil in New York, just like they did for the Geneva show. And while the public will likely line up to go to the show in August assuming the coronavirus is over by then, the New York show will probably lose a lot of its media buzz.

MUSK WANTS CYBER TRUCK IN CENTRAL USA
Elon Musk is looking for a place to build the Cybertruck. The CEO of Tesla Tweeted out “Scouting locations for Cybertruck Gigafactory. Will be central USA.” and later added, “Model Y production for east coast too.” That leaves a pretty wide open area to choose from, but you’ll remember in February that Musk also simply Tweeted the question, “Giga Texas?” with a poll to vote ‘Hell yeah’ or ‘Nope.’ It sure would make a lot of sense to build vehicles in the same place it’s making the batteries that go into them. Plus, it seems like a move Elon Musk would make: build a truck you think is going to turn the pickup world on its head in a state dominated by sales of traditional pickups.

HYUNDAI SPIFFS UP THE ELANTRA
Hyundai sent us some teaser images of the new Elantra that it’s officially going to unveil next week. In profile the car has a noticeable wedge shape with a fastback rear. A pronounced bone line running below the beltline really emphases the wedge. No more soft flowing lines for this car, instead it gets hard, crisp lines delineating geometric shapes, like the forward leaning crease you see running through the doors below the bone line. Also note how the headlamps trail back into the fenders, which is a design trend we’re seeing on a lot of cars these days. Inside, a display screen is visually integrated with the instrument cluster. And we believe the screen is not fully integrated into the IP so it can be upgraded more easily and without tooling changes. The Elantra is an entry level car with a base price around $20,000. But these changes, at least as we look at this rendering, sure makes the car look a lot more sophisticated. By the way, the Elantra is badged as the Avante in the South Korean market.

MERCEDES VITO BEV GETS UPDATED
Mercedes updated the Vito van, and while it doesn’t look much different, there’s plenty of changes under its skin. One of the biggest is with the electric version. The eVito combines a 150 kW electric motor with a battery pack that has a usable capacity of 90 kWh. That provides up to 421 kilometers or over 261 miles of range. The battery is mounted in the van’s underbody, so it doesn’t impact load space and the electric version comes in a standard and extra-long length. A range of 2.0L diesel engines with varying outputs is also available. They can be mated with a 6-speed manual or a 9-speed automatic, which replaces a 7-speed unit as well as rear- or all-wheel drive. Other highlights include an air-ride suspension with multiple settings, more driver assistance features and a digital inside rearview mirror. Orders for the new Vito start in April with the electric version to follow shortly after.

HOW GM WILL CUT MANUFACTURING COSTS OF EVS
General Motors is working on various ways to cut the cost of manufacturing electric cars. We’ve already reported on how it expects to get under $100 per kilowatt hour for the cell cost of its next generation battery called Ultium. It’s also going to build all of its next generation EVs off one platform. That will give it tremendous manufacturing scale, which in turn will cut cost. And it will slash its powertrain build combinations nearly 30 fold. Today GM has 555 different build combinations for its ICE powertrains, but it will only have 19 combinations with its EV propulsion systems. That will translate into much lower build complexity. And finally GM will build its EVs in two assembly plants dedicated to making only electric vehicles. By dedicating a plant to EVs GM should be able to reduce the labor content by 20 to 25%. Tesla has a cost advantage over traditional automakers, but GM could easily catch Tesla when it gets its plants up to full line speed.

BMW DROPS i8 FROM LINEUP
They say that looks aren’t everything and that’s certainly true of the BMW i8. We think the car is one of the most beautiful sports cars in the market. But with a price tag of nearly $150,000 it turned out to be sales proof. Since it was introduced in 2014, it’s estimated that BMW only sold 10,000 of them. No doubt the company lost a boat load of money on the car and so it’s ending production. Here’s our Autoline Insight on why it failed. The low slung i8, with its high door sills and low seating position, was a difficult car to get in and out of. That limited its appeal to the kind of customers who could afford one: older people with money. It only had a pure electric range of 18 miles, which limited its appeal to EV enthusiasts. And it’s 3-cylinder engine would suddenly roar to life at the most unexpected times, which limited its appeal to almost anybody who drove one.

SEAT IS BIG PART OF SPAIN’S ECONOMY
SEAT, which is owned by the VW Group, is an important brand to its home country of Spain. It exported nearly 400,000 vehicles last year, a record in it’s 55 years of international sales. The value of those exports amount to almost 3% of Spain’s total economy. But due to the coronavirus, SEAT’s not likely to match those numbers again this year, which will be a blow to the economy. Reuters reports SEAT is considering temporarily sending staff home at its Barcelona plant because of parts shortages caused by the virus.

THE CONVOLUTED STORY OF MARELLI’S OWNERSHIP
Here’s a story to show you just how intertwined automotive companies can be. The supplier Marelli is opening a new headquarters in Michigan, a 200,00 square foot building that used to be owned by fellow Tier 1 supplier Federal Mogul. Marelli used to be Magneti Marelli and was the in-house supplier to FCA before it was spun off from the company. Japanese parts maker Calsonic Kansei merged with Marelli last year. Calsonic Kansei used to be partly owned by Nissan, nearly 42%. But Nissan sold off its stake to a U.S. private equity firm in 2017. But it maintained a position in Calsonic Kansei because Nissan just named a new Senior Vice President of Marelli. Got all that? We’ll have a test tomorrow.

Be sure to tune in to Autoline After Hours tomorrow. Gail May oversees production of the Acura NSX supercar. Rob May, her husband, is a vice president at Honda of America Mfg., developing the blueprint for Honda’s manufacturing electrification future. They’ll be on the show tomorrow and we’ll be learning more from them about Honda’s plans for future manufacturing. So join John and Gary for some of the best insights into the automotive industry.

And that brings us to the end of today’s report, thanks for watching.