Listen to “AD #3079 – Blame Used Car Prices for Inflation; Mitsubishi Reviving Ralliart Brand; Ford Details Its OTA Capabilities” on Spreaker.
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Runtime: 9:33
0:07 EV Stocks Take It On the Chin
0:41 Volvo Considers IPO
1:25 Used Car Prices to Blame for Inflation
2:13 Elon Musk Backtracks on Bitcoin Payments
4:19 Waymo & Cruise Want to Charge for AV Rides
4:49 VW Testing Level 4 AV Vans
5:11 Mitsubishi Reveals Its Future Plans
6:57 Ford Details Its OTA Capabilities
8:16 Barn Find From the Hills of Utah
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This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.
EV STOCKS TAKE IT ON THE CHIN
There was a broad sell-off on Wall Street yesterday, and the EV startups fared the worst of all. While the overall market was down about 2%, Lordstown, Workhorse, and Canoo fell anywhere from 6% to 7%. Tesla shares fell below $600 for the first time in a couple of months. But oddly enough, Nikola actually posted a strong 6% gain. That may have to do with Nikola announcing a Q1 loss last week that was a lot less than analysts expected.
| Close Price | $ Change | % Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lordstown | $7.21 | -$0.55 | -7.1% |
| Workhorse | $7.69 | -$0.55 | -6.7% |
| Canoo | $7.37 | -$0.55 | -6.9% |
| Tesla | $589.89 | -$27.31 | -4.4% |
| Nikola | $12.57 | $0.74 | +6.3% |
VOLVO CONSIDERS IPO
Despite yesterday’s downturn, we’ve seen EV stocks go crazy over the last year and it looks like Volvo wants to cash in on its transition to an all-electric brand. The Swedish automaker’s Board voted to evaluate a potential initial public offering on the Nasdaq Stockholm exchange later this year. But Volvo would still be part of Geely and the Chinese automaker would remain a major shareholder. It looks to us that Volvo wants to maintain some independence rather than merge completely with Geely. The last time Volvo went through a full merger was with Ford and that didn’t turn out too well.
USED CAR PRICES TO BLAME FOR INFLATION
Maybe you heard that the U.S. posted a big 4.2% increase in inflation last month. Well, you can blame used car prices for a big chunk of that. Bloomberg reports that one third of the increase came from the surge in used car prices. They were up 10% last month, the biggest increase since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began collecting that data in 1953. Auction prices were up 54%. You can blame pandemic shutdowns and the chip shortage. Inventory of new cars is so tight right now it’s pushing consumers into used cars. Even the daily rental companies are buying used cars, something they have never done before.
ELON MUSK BACKTRACKS ON BITCOIN PAYMENTS
Well, that didn’t last long. Elon Musk announced yesterday that Tesla will no longer accept Bitcoin as payment for its cars. Musk Tweeted out that Bitcoin mining uses too much energy, especially energy generated with coal. The cryptocurrency instantly dropped $5,000. What makes this a bit strange is that Tesla bought $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin in February. Musk says they’re not going to sell it but will use it for transactions once mining transitions to more sustainable energy. But it’s hard to believe that Elon Musk didn’t know about this before Tesla bought the Bitcoin. Tesla is all about creating a more sustainable society and it received a lot of criticism after making the purchase. It seems like Tesla is trying to make up for it. But what do you think?
We’ve got a great Autoline After Hours this afternoon all about the new models that are coming out this year. We’ll even be talking about ones that haven’t come out yet because we know what’s coming. Jennifer Newman, the editor-in-chief of Cars.com, and Gary Witzenburg, the president of the North American Car, Truck and Utility of the Year jury will also be on the show. So join John and Gary Vasilash for what promises to be a program devoted to gear heads.
WAYMO & CRUISE WANT TO CHARGE FOR AV RIDES IN CA
We’re seeing more and more progress with autonomous vehicles. Both Waymo and Cruise have applied for permits in California to begin charging customers for rides in self-driving cars. But the companies are taking different approaches. Waymo will have a safety rider on board, while Cruise won’t have a human behind the wheel. Both companies are still waiting for approval from the California DMV and neither revealed when they plan to launch the service.
VW TESTING LEVEL 4 AV VANS
Volkswagen will begin testing autonomous versions of its retro-inspired ID Buzz this summer in Germany. It will use Argo AI’s Level 4 technology for its self-driving vans. And in 2025, VW’s German mobility service subsidiary, MOIA, will add the autonomous ID Buzz’s to its fleet.
MITSUBISHI REVEALS ITS FUTURE PLANS
Mitsubishi revealed some of its future plans in its financial report for last year and here’s what we find interesting. First off, it’s going to jointly develop an EV kei-car for the Japanese market with Nissan and also has plans for a separate commercial EV for the kei-car segment. In our opinion, Mitsu’s tie up with Nissan won’t end there. Speaking about EVs and plug-in hybrids, it says “Gasoline engines can generate battery power without worrying about cruising range.” To us that sounds just like Nissan’s ePower technology. Lastly, it says it’s going to revive the Ralliart brand, which is Mitsubishi’s performance and motorsport division that has been pretty much dormant since 2010. And interesting to see that it’s being featured on the Triton pickup truck.
FORD DETAILS ITS OTA CAPABILITIES
Ford is detailing its OTA capabilities or what it calls Ford Power-Up. Thanks to a new, fully networked electrical architecture, Ford says it’s able to update the vast majority of computer modules in its vehicles, which could be more than 110 in its higher-end models. The updates can bring new features into the vehicle, including driver assistance technologies, like BlueCruise. One of the best parts is that it keeps the current software running until the new version is ready to go, which means the vehicle can still be driven while it’s updating. Although, some updates do require a reboot. But it already has two new updates ready to go. The first is bringing the Amazon Alexa hands-free experience into its vehicles, starting this fall with the Bronco, Edge, F-150, Mach-E and Super Duty. The second is for Mach-E customers in North America and Europe who will be able to unlock Sketch, which allows you to draw or play simple games on the center screen. Now for what everybody wants to know… price. Both the in-vehicle connectivity and Alexa functionality are free for the first three years. Ford did not say how much it will cost after that.
BARN FIND FROM THE HILLS OF UTAH
Here’s a first for Barn Finds. Viewer Teddy writes in to say “Here is a YouTuber I was watching, his channel name is “SUV RVing” and in this particular episode he was in the hills of Southern Utah and he came across this burnt out car… He is asking his viewers to identify this car but so far I haven’t seen anyone done so, hence I thought of you and was wondering if you could take on this challenge? You can check his video out and see what you think. The car is at around 4 minutes into the video. Thank you.” Teddy took a few screenshots for us and based on those I’m sure we’ll have no problem figuring this car out. Let us know what you think in the comments.
But that’s it for today, thanks for watching.
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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.
