AD #3165 – Ford Reveals New Expedition; BMW & Daimler Sued Over Emissions; Honda Drastically Cuts Production in Japan

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

LG CHEM RESUMES CHEVY BOLT BATTERY PRODUCTION
General Motors and LG Chem have found a fix for the manufacturing defects in the batteries used in the Chevy Bolt, which can cause it to catch fire. As a result, GM said production has resumed at LG’s plants in Michigan producing the batteries and that it will start shipping the replacement batteries to dealers next month. While battery production has resumed, GM did not say when it will resume building the Chevy Bolt, which it idled due to the battery issues. GM told owners to park their cars outside and not charge them overnight. And last week it advised owners not to park them within 50 feet of another vehicle. The recall is expected to cost GM nearly $2 billion but it’s negotiating with LG Chem to pay for it.

BMW & DAIMLER SUED OVER EMISSIONS
Earlier this month, two environmental NGOs in Germany threatened to sue BMW and Daimler if they didn’t accelerate plans to stop producing cars with internal combustion engines. And now they’re following through on that threat. Germany’s Handelsblatt newspaper reports a lawsuit was filed against the automakers yesterday. The NGOs want BMW and Daimler to improve their emission targets and stop producing ICE vehicles by 2030, five years before the EU is planning to ban sales of new ICE cars. BMW and Daimler haven’t set a date to stop producing ICE vehicles and say they won’t accept the NGO’s demands.

HONDA DRASTICALLY CUTS PRODUCTION IN JAPAN
A few weeks back, Toyota announced its slashing its production forecast by 300,000 units due to the chip shortage and COVID disruptions. And the same issues are also crippling Honda’s production. The automaker revealed that its plants in Japan have been running at only 40% capacity in August and September. But the company will get a bit of relief next month and expects production to rebound to 70% of capacity.

NEW HONDA CIVIC HATCHBACK NOW ON SALE IN U.S.
The all-new Honda Civic Hatchback is on sale now in the U.S. and carries a starting price just under $24,000 including destination charges. The top Sport Touring trim costs $30,400. Powering the car is either a 2.0L 4-cylinder engine or a 1.5L turbocharged 4-cylinder. Both can be mated to a six-speed manual or a CVT. A new 9-inch touchscreen mounted on top of the dash is available and a 10.2-inch reconfigurable instrument display is standard. The Civic Hatchback also offers new driver assistance and safety technologies. And for the first time ever, Honda is building the Civic Hatchback in the U.S. at its plant in Greensburg, Indiana. The company invested more than $50 million to build the model at the plant which also assembles the CR-V, CR-V Hybrid and the Insight Hybrid.

REE AUTOMOTIVE DEVELOPS MODULAR EV PLATFORM
Do you remember REE Automotive? You may have heard us talk about them in the past. It’s an Israeli startup that’s developed a EV platform with the motors, steering, suspension and brakes all built into one unit and placed at the corners. As you can see in this video here, it looks like a pretty complicated assembly, but one of the main benefits is you can have a number of different body styles; everything from last mile delivery pods to large buses. And REE is going to need all of that flexibility. It has deals to make its platform with Magna and build vehicles for Mahindra, Hino, Toyota’s commercial vehicle subsidiary, and Navya, an AV startup. 

TWINNER OFFERS VEHICLE SCANS TO FIND ANY ISSUES
The visual inspection is one of the most important processes before buying a used vehicle, but if you don’t have the experience of what to look for or a recent repair was done, issues will be missed. But a new startup, called Twinner, has a way to remedy that. It developed what we would call inspection cells that a vehicle can drive right into and have its entire surface scanned inside and out for any possible problems. It can show you simple things like dents and scratches but also whether it previously had a vehicle wrap, indicating it could have been used in some service like a taxi, or if body panels were replaced or repainted. It looks like right now you have to travel to a Twinner Space to have a vehicle scanned, but the big picture plan is to have inspection sites all over the place, so anyone can take a used vehicle they’re thinking of buying, have it checked out and get a detailed report.

EV TIRES TO MAKE UP MOST OF BRIDGESTONE’S SALES BY 2030
With governments around the world announcing plans to ban sales of ICE vehicles in the next 10 to 15 years, automakers aren’t the only ones that have to make the shift to electrification. Nikkei Asia reports that Bridgestone is aiming for EV tires to account for 90% of sales by 2030. Its plants in Europe will be the first ones to make the transition to making EV tires but eventually the majority of its 50 global plants will be converted. It also plans to make tires for electric commercial trucks. At the same time, Bridgestone will exit the low-cost tire market due to falling profits caused by stiff competition from Chinese and South Korean brands.

FORD REVEALS NEW EXPEDITION
You may remember Lincoln recently revealed the updated Navigator. Well, now Ford is showing off the new Expedition. Let’s start with what all models get. LED headlamps are now standard, the taillamps have been updated and there’s new wheel choices as well. The interior also sees big changes. The refreshed instrument panel comes standard with a 12-inch display, but a large 15.5-inch display, which is mounted in a portrait layout like in the Mach-E, is available as well. The digital 12.4-inch instrument cluster shown in these images is also an option. But now let’s shift over to the two new trim lines available; Timberline and Stealth Edition. Like the Explorer Timberline, the Expedition version comes with unique exterior and interior design touches, including orange accents, an increased ride height and underbody skid plates, which actually come from the F-150 Raptor. It also gets a 2-speed transfer case, 33-inch tires and Trail Turn Assist, like on the Bronco, that can reduce the turning radius on tight off-road maneuvers. The Stealth Edition also has unique styling as well as a whole bunch of gloss-black accents on the exterior, black 22-inch wheels, which are contrasted by red brake calipers, and the interior is mostly black, too. Ford’s continuously controlled damping suspension system, which is available on the Limited series as well, is more firmly tuned for a sportier feel on the Stealth Edition. Other upgrades include a number of towing technologies and the ability to tow up to 9,300 pounds and Blue Cruise, Ford’s hands-free driving system for select highways. The Expedition is built at Ford’s plant in Kentucky and the new model goes on sale in the first quarter of next year.

But that’s it for today, thank you for watching.