AD #3080 – Hummer EV Off-Road Tests; Fisker & Foxconn Finalize Partnership; Stellantis Gives Brands 10 Years to Survive

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

STELLANTIS GIVES BRANDS 10 YEARS TO SURVIVE
When PSA and FCA merged together, it brought a total of 14 different brands under one roof. That’s a lot and seems difficult to maintain, which immediately had people guessing what brands would go away. The answer to that question is none, at least for now. Group CEO Carlos Tavares said “We’re giving each a chance, giving each a time window of 10 years and giving funding for 10 years to do a core model strategy. The CEOs need to be clear in brand promise, customers, targets, and brand communications.” 10 years may seem like a lot but when the typical vehicle sticks around for 6 years before it gets a full-blown redo, it’s really not a whole lot of time in automotive terms. This could prove especially tough for a brand like Chrysler that only has two vehicles in its lineup. The pressure is going to be on.

CHIP SHORTAGE WORSE THAN THOUGHT
That chip shortage is turning out to be worse than we thought. In January, Alix Partners, a consulting firm, estimated automakers would lose $61 billion. Now its upped that estimate to $110 billion. And it says automakers will lose production of 3.9 million units. Why the change? A fire at a chip plant in Japan and the collapse of the Texas electric grid due to a winter storm, took a bad situation and made it worse.

FISKER & FOXCONN FINALIZE PARTNERSHIP
Electric car startup Fisker signed its deal with Foxconn, the giant contract manufacturer. Foxconn will build an assembly plant in the U.S. to make Fisker a new BEV. We don’t know the name yet but it’s being developed under a project called PEAR, which stands for Personal Electric Automotive Revolution and its price will start under $30,000. The plant will be capable of making 250,000 cars a year. Foxconn, the Taiwanese company whose official name is Hon Hai Technology Group, will handle all the engineering, purchasing and manufacturing. It also promises to source all the necessary chip sets and microprocessors. Foxconn, as you probably know, manufactures almost all of Apple’s products. Last year it also unveiled its own BEV platform called MIH and that’s the one Fisker is going to use. Foxconn plans to start making solid state BEV batteries in 2024 as well. By outsourcing everything but the styling and retailing of its cars, Fisker is following what’s called an “asset light” strategy. In other words, it lets its contract manufacturers Foxconn and Magna shoulder most of the capital costs.

WISCONSIN MAY HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY ABOUT NEW FOXCONN PLANT
Foxconn did not say where it would build its assembly plant, but the state of Wisconsin may have something to say about it. In 2017, Foxconn announced it would build a $10 billion plant and hire 13,000 employees there to make flat panel screens. Then-President Trump announced it would be the 8th wonder of the world and credited his America First strategy for landing it. And Wisconsin set aside nearly $3 billion in tax credits. But then not much happened and the size and scope of the project were drastically reduced. But over a year ago Foxconn’s chairman hinted they might build EVs there.

HYUNDAI GROUP INVESTS BILLIONS TO BUILD EVs IN THE U.S.
Speaking of building EVs in the U.S., Hyundai and Kia announced they’re investing $7.4 billion by 2025 to produce BEVs in the U.S. Part of that investment will also go towards developing a hydrogen infrastructure and mobility solutions, including passenger drones, autonomous vehicles and robotics. Hyundai will start building EVs in the U.S. next year.

GM SHOWS OFF HUMMER EV PICKUP’S OFF-ROAD CAPABILITY
GM is showing off the off-road capability of the GMC Hummer EV pickup and released this video of it tackling the rocky terrain in Moab, Utah. Some of its off-road features include Extract Mode, which uses the air suspension to raise the height of the truck by 6 inches to help get over obstacles or through deep water. And its Terrain Mode is offered with two braking calibrations, one for two-foot driving and the other a one-pedal control. GM’s other EVs have the one-pedal option but it’s been adapted for low-speed off-road driving. The first Hummer EV pickups will be available this fall.

CRUISE ORIGIN TO GO INTO PRODUCTION IN 2023
And speaking of GM, Dan Ammann, the CEO of its self-driving unit Cruise, revealed that the Origin shuttle will go into production in 2023. It will be built at GM’s Factory Zero plant in Detroit, along with the Hummer EV and electric Silverado. Cruise hasn’t revealed when it will launch its service in the U.S. but as we reported yesterday it recently applied for a permit in California to charge customers for self-driving rides. And last month, it signed a deal with Dubai to operate a fleet of robotaxis starting in 2023.

PORSCHE OFFERS MORE PERSONALIZATION OPTIONS
Companies like Bentley and Rolls-Royce make a ton of money customizing vehicles to their customer’s tastes. Now Porsche wants to get in on the action. It’s expanding the personalization options for individual components that go into its cars, including for new and old vehicles as well as right from the vehicle configurator. It’s a great way for customers to distinguish their Porsche from the one down the street, but in the future, it also plans to do true one-off cars. They’ll be co-created with the customer and then built by Porsche. We wonder if this is a benefit afforded by EV architectures that pretty much allows any body type to be put on the platform? 

EASY RIDER HARLEY UP FOR AUCTION
The movie Easy Rider was an overnight sensation when it came out in 1969. In it, Peter Fonda rides a chopped Harley nicknamed Captain America, who’s iconic design instantly made it the most famous motorcycle in the world. In the final scene, the bike crashes and burns. Fast forward to 2014 and that bike supposedly comes up for sale and sells for $1.4 million. But some thought that bike was a fake. Even Peter Fonda thought so. There were actually four choppers made for the movie, and three of them were stolen before Easy Rider was released and reportedly were sold for parts. Now, another bike claiming to be the real one is coming up for auction. Supposedly it was reassembled and restored from the original pieces of the one that crashed and burned. But is it true? No one knows for sure. The Cord and Kruse auction house, which is selling the new bike, expects it to go for $300,000 to $500,000. By the way, it was four African-American bike builders who built the original bikes but never got credit for it in the movie.

MYSTERY CAR REVEALED
Thanks to everyone that shared their knowledge of automotive history yesterday. We now know our shot-up mystery car is most likely a 1949 or 1950 DeSoto Custom or Deluxe. Both models were made from 1939 until 1952 and were powered by a 6-cylinder engine that made 109 horsepower. They were made in California and Detroit and since this car’s final resting place is in Utah we’re suspecting it came out of Cali. Viewer tiny b says they have the answer but need to see more. “’49 or ’50 DeSoto Custom. Have to see the rear view to see where the brake lights are to tell the difference. Brake lights were in the center of the trunk, right above the DeSoto emblem in ’49, moved them to the rear of the fenders in a combined housing with the taillights in ’50. Reverse lights were still mounted on the lower trunk lid.” I love learning so much about these classic cars and I just wish we could also get the story of how some of these vehicles ended up where they’re at. I think that story could be just as interesting.

But that’s a good place to wrap up this show. Thanks for watching and I hope you have a great weekend.