AD #2845 – Renault, Nissan & Mitsubishi Not Merging; BMW 5 Series Refreshed; Kia Looking Into Small Urban EV

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

FRANCE SPENDING €8 BILLION TO HELP AUTO INDUSTRY
Yesterday we reported that France was about to step up in a big way to help out its auto industry. Today we have a number. The French government is going to spend €8 billion to help automakers, suppliers and car buyers. Consumers will get €12,000 if they buy an electric car, with a goal of manufacturing 1 million BEVs in France by 2025.

RENAULT & NISSAN SKIP MERGER PLANS
Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi, revealed more details about their alliance strategy. The automakers no longer plan to merge, and will instead focus on working more closely on vehicle development. They will adopt a “follow the leader” approach for its products, where one company will lead for a particular type of vehicle and region and the others will follow. They hope to build half of their vehicles under this approach by 2025 and aim to cut investment per model by 40%. The range of vehicles they build is expected to be cut by one-fifth by 2025. But they did not say where the job cuts would be coming from due to producing fewer vehicles. The companies will also use more common parts and designs.

TESLA DISCOUNTS ITS MODELS IN NORTH AMERICA
If you’re thinking of buying a Tesla, now might be the time. The EV maker cut the price of its vehicles by as much as 6% in North America. The starting price of the Model S is now $75,000, down from about $80,000. The Model X now starts at $80,000, down from 85-grand. And the lowest priced Model 3 is $2,000 cheaper with a price of $38,000. While the price cut is nice, the company is no longer offering free charging at its Supercharger network for new Model S and X customers. Tesla also said it would cut prices in China for the Model S and X by about 4%.

AMAZON IN TALKS TO BUY AV STARTUP ZOOX
Is interest in autonomous vehicles waning? Apparently not. Amazon is about to buy another AV startup. The Wall Street Journal reports that it’s in advanced talks to buy Zoox, which is valued just under $3 billion. This acquisition would add to Amazon’s autonomous vehicle portfolio, last year it invested in the self-driving startup Aurora Innovation.

MERCEDES E-CLASS COUPE, CONVERTIBLE & AMG MODELS DEBUT
Mercedes revealed the updated E-Class sedan in January, now comes the coupe, convertible and AMG versions. On top of the body styling changes, the front headlights have gone full-LED and the taillights feature a new internal design. Four new paint colors are available as are aerodynamic wheels. With the AMG model, the grille is unique with vertical slots and the lower front air vents have additional flaring. Have you noticed how similar all of Mercedes’ new interiors are? The new E-Class follows right along with a layered dash, round air vents and two big display screens that seem to blend into one. The convertible also gets an electric wind-deflector and in-seat heating system that blows warm air on your neck. Unique touches on the interior of the AMG include a special design in the seat material, red stitching, the option for red seat belts, AMG badging, carbon fiber trim and a performance steering wheel. In the U.S. the new E-Class is powered by an in-line 6-cylinder engine mated to a 48-volt starter/generator and a 9-speed automatic. All-wheel drive is also available. The AMG has a similar setup, but the engine is boosted to 429 horsepower and AWD is standard. It will do 0 to 60 in 4.3 seconds.

BMW REVEALS REFRESHED 5 SERIES
Well you just knew BMW had to respond to what Mercedes did. So here’s the refreshed 5 Series. One thing we can be thankful for is that the twin kidney grilles haven’t ballooned to gargantuan proportions, though the lower front air vents are massive. You’ll notice there’s no rounded element in the front headlights anymore, it’s more of a hockey stick shape now. The taillight housing didn’t change over from the old model, but the internal design is new. The rear bumper is new as well and the exhaust tips are larger. The display screens are also bigger, 12.3 inches, up from 10.25. Under the hood, 6-cylinder models will now be paired with a 48-volt starter/generator. A plug-in hybrid, which combines a 2.0L engine, electric motor and 12 kWh battery, is still offered, but a new feature BMW calls XtraBoost adds 40 horsepower for up to 10 seconds. Pricing in the U.S. starts from just over $55,000 and goes to about $78,000.

KIA WANTS CITROEN AMI-LIKE SMALL EV
After the coronavirus clears up people will probably not use public transportation as much. A survey in China shows that the number of people going back to private vehicles has nearly doubled. So Kia is planning to build a small, affordable electric vehicle for urban areas, according to Auto Express. Kia is looking at something similar to the Citroen Ami, which can be purchased for $6,600 or rented for as little as $22 a day. Kia says the project will hinge on if it can offer the vehicle at a similar cost to public transportation. (Pictured: Kia Pop Concept from 2010)

WIRELESS CHARGING COULD BOOST EV ADOPTION
Electric vehicle sales are picking up but still represent a small portion of the overall market. Charging is still one of the roadblocks, but WiTricity thinks that wireless charging could actually boost the adoption of EVs. Here David Schatz, the company’s VP of Business Development and Sales, explains how.

David Schatz, VP of Business Development and Sales, WiTricity
“What we’re told by the OEMs is that the car buying public love they the electric cars that they buy. They’re quiet, they’re high performance, they’re very reliable, they’re green and they don’t cost much to operate. The one aspect of electric vehicle ownership that is the, let’s say, the least favorable is the charging experience. They used to talk about range anxiety, well that’s kind of going away as the battery packs get bigger and there’s more charging locations available. But the charging experience is one that you have to plan for. You have to remember to (it) do when you park the car and then you have to make sure to unplug it before you pull out of the garage. You have to be willing to handle a cord that might be sitting down on the ground getting dirty and in this particular time now that means if you’re going to use a public charger you’re going to have to handle this thing that’s been sitting out there that who knows touched it. So, the issue of health and safety, now we’re taking to calling it no-touch wireless charging. So, you don’t really have to grab a handle, you don’t have to a gas pump, you just park the car and you’re good to go.”

For more information about wireless charging you can watch that entire interview right now on our YouTube channel.

MORE E-RACING DRAMA
All this e-racing seems to bring out the worst of some drivers. Kyle Larson lost his sponsors and his ride for using the N-word during a virtual NASCAR race. Bubba Wallace, another NASCAR driver, lost one of his sponsors when he quit an e-race in a rage after Clint Bowyer seemed to deliberately crash into him. In IndyCar Simon Pagenaud deliberately crashed out F1 Driver Lando Norris in an e-race because he thought Norris had taken him out. Maybe the programmers can figure out how to have a virtual fist fight between the drivers after these incidents. And now Daniel Abt was fired from the Audi Formula E team after he secretly invited a professional 18-year old sim racer to take his place in a virtual Formula E race. That guy finished third. Daniel Abt said it was a joke and he was going to reveal everything after the race but maybe he didn’t do it fast enough. He was fired from the Audi team and fined 10,000 euros.

MOTHER WRENCH FEEDING HER HATCHLINGS
And before we go we wanted to share this very clever photo and caption that we saw posted on Facebook by a guy named Jon Lydell. The caption reads: “Rare photo of mother Wrench feeding her new hatchlings.”

And that wraps up today’s report, thanks for watching.