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Runtime: 10:09
0:23 Hybrids Re-Classified in China
1:30 China Could Ease Off Green Car Points System
1:59 Toyota RAV4 Prime Beats Initial Estimates
3:08 Ford Launches New Focus Hybrid
4:00 Nissan Eyes Chinese Partner for E-REV Batteries
4:42 When Will Car Sales Recover?
6:18 Plante Moran’s Annual Supplier Survey
7:02 Ford Teases New F-150 Ahead of Debut
7:49 Ford Moves Bronco Reveal
8:22 Ford Survey Shows Dedication of Truck Owners
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This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.
We’ve got a ton of hybrid news in today’s show and we start out in China.
HYBRIDS NO LONGER IN SAME CLASS AS GAS & DIESEL IN CHINA
The Chinese government just re-classified hybrids as “low fuel consumption passenger vehicles.” The reason that’s significant is because China has a points system that is meant to boost the sales of EVs, and any vehicle whose wheels are driven by internal combustion engines has points taken away. Automakers will still lose points for making hybrids but it’s no longer as many as a gasoline-only or diesel-only vehicle. It also means automakers will have to spend less money producing more-costly EVs. This is really going to benefit automakers like Toyota and Honda, who lobbied the Chinese government to get the rule change. Sales of EVs in China are not meeting expectations and Toyota argued that hybrids would help the government achieve its goals to reduce pollution more quickly. The new policy only runs from 2021 until 2023.
CHINA COULD EASE OFF GREEN CAR POINTS SYSTEM
But China could do even more to help automakers. Reuters reports that the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is considering easing off its points system. It could allow automakers to use the points they generate next year to offset the negative points they earn this year. If it makes that move, some believe that new vehicle launches, which are more likely to be green vehicles, will be pushed back so automakers can take advantage of the change.
TOYOTA RAV4 PRIME BEATS INITIAL ESTIMATES
Even though Toyota unveiled the new RAV4 plug-in hybrid already, it made a number of improvements before it went into production. When it was unveiled at the LA auto show last year, Toyota claimed it would go about 39 miles in pure EV mode. Now that’s been bumped up to 42 miles. And it said the PHEV would deliver about 90 miles to the gallon equivalent. Now that’s at 94. And Toyota is clearly out to smash the perception that hybrids are pokey. The RAV4 Prime delivers 302 horsepower and will go from 0 to 60 in just 5.7 seconds, making it the fastest 4-door that Toyota sells. The price starts just a tick over $38,000 and a fully loaded one costs over $50,000. In the U.S. market it qualifies for a $7,500 federal tax rebate. And Toyota is looking into how people who lease the vehicle can get that writeoff directly. Usually, the rebate goes to the leasing company.
FORD LAUNCHES NEW FOCUS HYBRID
The new Ford Focus Hybrid is now available to order across Europe. That setup pairs a 1.0L turbocharged 3-cylinder engine with a 48-volt starter-generator and lithium-ion battery, which is mounted under the passenger seat. Two power levels of about 155 horsepower and 125 horsepower which are determined by the output of the starter-generator are offered. It also allowed Ford to lower the engine’s compression ratio and install a larger turbocharger. Along with cylinder deactivation, the new Focus Hybrid is 17% more efficient than the outgoing 1.5L gas-only engine with a 6-speed manual transmission. The Focus is offered as a 4-door, 5-door and station wagon and all can be ordered as a hybrid.
NISSAN EYES PARTNER FOR EXTENDED RANGE EV BATTERIES
And speaking of electrified vehicles, Nissan is studying developing batteries and a production system to make them with Chinese battery manufacturer, Sunwoda. The batteries would be used in Nissan’s e-POWER vehicles, which are extended-range electric vehicles where a gasoline engine charges the battery. Nissan says it will now extend its e-POWER technology into small B- and C-segment vehicles globally and hopes to sell more than a million electrified vehicles a year around the world by 2023.
WHEN WILL CAR SALES RECOVER?
Car sales are taking a beating this year due to COVID lockdowns. LMC Automotive predicts sales of new cars will be around 70 million globally, down 20 million from a year ago. So when will sales recover? Here’s what Jeff Schuster, an analyst from LMC Automotive, had to say on last week’s Autoline After Hours.
Jeff Schuster, Analyst, LMC Automotive
“I think when you look at the pattern, you really have to look at this in scenarios because frankly we don’t really know how this is going to play out. Obviously there is some indicators that are happening right now that are positive. And I think when you look at it overall, I’d call our base case, we’ll call it a modified V, so somewhere between a V and a U. But we are modeling V-shaped, U-shaped and L-shape. And a W is somewhere in the middle of all of that because it really is within probably in between the U and the L, that we get a kick-up and it comes back off with the second wave. So we’re kind of looking at all of that but right now our expectation would be a relatively decent return to demand over the course of the next few years. I guess that’s the good news. The bad news is, if you look at it collectively, over the next five years, we’re probably talking about cumulative volume loss in the 55 to 60-million-unit range globally.”
As always, you can watch that show on our website or YouTube channel right now.
PLANTE MORAN RELEASES ANNUAL SUPPLIER SURVEY
If you’re a supplier, which is the best automaker to do business with? According to the annual supplier survey conducted by Plante Moran, suppliers in North America overwhelmingly say that Toyota is the best. Then come Honda, GM, Ford, FCA and Nissan. Toyota and FCA were the only ones to improve their scores from last year, though FCA lags well behind Toyota. The survey involves purchasing people in a variety of areas, from body-in-white, to interior and powertrains including EVs. It measures OEMs on trust and communication, and how easy or hard they are to work with.
FORD TEASES NEW F-150 AHEAD OF DEBUT
Tomorrow Ford is going to show us in the media all the details of the all new F-150. But just to whet our appetites, it released this silhouetted picture of the front end. The one thing that comes through loud and clear is the C-clamp design of the headlamps. If you look carefully at pickup headlamps from Chevrolet, GMC and Ram, you’ll notice they incorporate C-clamps into their headlamps too. Designers like the look, which they feel makes these trucks look stronger, and subliminally convey the message that the truck is not just for getting around, it’s like another tool in your toolbox. By the way, Ford will reveal the new F-150 to the public on YouTube Thursday night.
FORD MOVES BRONCO REVEAL
Speaking of Ford it finally decided to move the reveal of the Bronco back a week to July 13th. Originally it was going to be on July 7th, but that is the birthday of OJ Simpson, who famously was involved in a long police chase while riding in a white Ford Bronco. And even though that happened 27 years ago, that episode is still controversial enough that Ford recognized the reveal would dredge up too much coverage of OJ instead of focusing on the new Bronco.
FORD SURVEY SHOWS TRUCK OWNERS’ DEDICATION
Pickup trucks are the bread and butter of the Ford Motor Company. And to get an idea of how much people love their trucks, the company commissioned a survey of 2,000 American truck owners, about 40% of which were Ford owners. When asked what they would give up for a year before their truck. 82% said a streaming service, 79% said drinking alcohol and 71% said coffee. One quarter have given their truck a name and 15% have a tattoo of their truck or related to the truck on their body. But owners are a bit split on electric trucks. Only 40% said they are excited about the idea of an electric pickup. 38% said they would switch to an electric truck if it didn’t compromise on power, capability and functionality. And 35% said they would switch if an electric pickup had lower maintenance costs.
OK all you gearheads. Be sure to join us for Autoline After Hours on Thursday when our guest will be Jim Owens, the marketing manager for Ford Performance. That’s the part of Ford that handles the GT, all the high performance Mustangs, the Raptor and the ST and RS models. No doubt you have questions you’d like us to ask him, so start thinking about them. And join Gary and me for some of the best gearhead talk in the industry.
And that wraps up this report, thanks for joining us.
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John McElroy is an influential thought leader in the automotive industry. He is a journalist, lecturer, commentator and entrepreneur. He created “Autoline Daily,” the first industry webcast of industry news and analysis.