AD #3199 – Cadillac Slashes U.S. Dealers; Advantages of Lithium-Sulfur Batteries; Honda Slams Union EV Tax Credit

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

HONDA WANTS EMPLOYEES TO OPPOSE UNION EV TAX CREDIT
It’s very rare to see foreign automakers, especially Japanese ones, get involved in U.S. politics. But Honda is encouraging its American employees to contact their Representatives and Senators. It wants them to oppose legislation that would give consumers an extra $4,500 in incentives to buy electric cars made by UAW labor. Honda, of course, does not have any UAW employees. In a letter it sent to its employees Honda asks, “Don’t Honda’s American autoworkers deserve the same treatment as every other U.S. autoworker?” And to make sure they take action, Honda is handing out a phone number for them to call their reps in DC.

Here’s our Autoline Insight. There’s a bit of irony here. Remember, the first EVs that Honda and Acura will sell in the American market will actually be made by UAW employees. That’s because those vehicles will be based on GM’s Ultium architecture and will be made at two of GM’s assembly plants. But Honda is looking at the long term. It says 100% of its vehicles will be electrified by 2040 and that it will build BEVs at its own plants in the U.S.

CADILLAC SLASHES AMOUNT OF DEALERS
When Cadillac told its dealers it’s going all electric by the end of the decade, it said it would buy out anyone that didn’t want to make the transition. Dealers had to make a $200,000 to $500,000 investment for EV equipment and training, and Cadillac expected about 20% of them to drop out. But the real number is much higher than that. In an interview with Reuters, Cadillac’s global chief says it expects to have 40% fewer dealers in the U.S. than it had in 2018. By the end of the year, the brand expects to have 560 dealers compared to 920 three years ago.

ELON MUSK POLLS TWITTER FOLLOWERS ABOUT SELLING TESLA STOCK
Elon Musk is once again stirring things up on Twitter. Over the weekend, he polled his followers on whether or not he should sell 10% of his stock in Tesla. More than 3.5 million people voted and 58% said “Yes.” Musk said he needs to sell the stock in order to raise cash to pay taxes. He has to exercise a number of stock options in the next three months, which will create a big tax bill. 10% of his shares is worth about $21 billion. The tweet caused Tesla’s stock to drop more than 5% in pre-market trading this morning but analysts don’t expect the dip to last long.

TESLA SELLS MORE THAN 54,000 CHINA-MADE MODELS LAST MONTH
One reason why the stock will probably bounce back is that the China Passenger Car Association says Tesla sold more than 54,000 China-made vehicles in October, including more than 40,000 for export. That’s a slight dip from September, when it sold more than 56,000. But that’s still a lot of EVs. 

RENAULT REPURPOSES TRANSMISSION PLANT
We know what a factory is, but what the heck is a refactory? That’s a new word that Renault dreamed up. It’s converting a factory in Spain to remanufacture used cars and batteries. The plant, which is located in Seville, will do work in four areas. The first is called Re-Start, which is for training and R&D. The next is called Re-Energy, which repairs batteries or develops 2nd life applications for them. The third is Re-Cycle, which recycles batteries and builds electronically controlled gearboxes. And the fourth is Re-Trofit, which refurbishes and reconditions used vehicles. That’s very interesting, I don’t know of another automaker that fixes up used vehicles at the factory and sells them back to customers. Renault hopes to have the Seville Refactory up and running between 2022 and 2024 and says by 2025 it will repair more than 10,000 used vehicles and refurbish 1,000 batteries per year.

Here’s our Autoline Insight. It looks like Renault is trying to save jobs at that plant, which currently makes transmissions for ICE vehicles. EVs don’t need those transmissions, and Renault seems to be searching for a way to keep that plant going. Closing factories in Europe is politically very difficult and very costly. So if it can repurpose that plant, Renault is going to avoid a major headache.

UK LOOKS TO REVIVE RARE EARTH MAGNET PRODUCTION
The largest mine for rare earth minerals is in California but 100% of its production goes to China to be processed. And that’s just one example. China dominates the market for rare earths, which are used in electric motors for EVs. That’s why the U.K. is looking into reviving domestic production of rare earth permanent magnets for electric motors. It says a plant to make 1 million EVs magnets a year could be built by 2024. So far this is just a study, but it would fall in line with the U.K.’s plans to achieve carbon neutrality and build a global supply chain for EVs. 

VW LAUNCHES NEW ICE MODELS IN INDIA & SOUTH AMERICA
Sales of EVs are running strong in China, Europe and the U.S. But developing countries are not there yet. That’s why the Volkswagen Group is coming out with new ICE models built on the MQB platform for India and South America. The Skoda brand is launching new vehicles like the KUSHAQ and SLAVIA in India. And the Volkswagen Polo Track will launch in 2023 in South America. VW is investing roughly a billion euros into South America, and will also invest in biofuels as a way to bridge the gap to EVs.

ADVANTAGES OF LITHIUM-SULFUR BATTERIES
What if an electric car could travel over 700 miles without charging? It would be a game changer, right? And what if it did that with a relatively small battery? It sounds far fetched, but that’s what a new battery company called Lyten is working on. On Autoline After Hours last week, Dan Cook, the CEO of Lyten, described the advantages of a lithium-sulfur battery that his company is developing. Take a look.

Dan Cook: “Sulfur, if you can use it in energy storage, actually has the ability to house a lot more lithium atoms around it, as I’m sure you’re well aware. Up to 5 times more. And so our construct, our architecture, will take us to a targeted 3x over a conventional lithium-ion specific energy density, if you will. That’s not the same multiple in the volumetric end, but certainly in the gravimetric end, up to 3x. So this is really where we’re headed. And everything has to do with how this graphene works with the sulfur.”

Dave Tuttle: “And so, with today’s 250 watt hours per kilogram, you’re three times that potentially?”

Dan Cook: “That’s right.” 

You can watch that entire show on our website or YouTube channel. And now let’s talk about another potential breakthrough. What if someone could make hydrogen on demand, anywhere they wanted? What if that hydrogen was cheap and clean? And what if it could be used in any internal combustion engine? We’re going to be talking about that this Thursday on Autoline After Hours. Our guests will be Ron Harbour and Dean Weston from a startup called Rite Angle, which developed a breakthrough process to make hydrogen from water cheaply and safely. Some of you may remember Ron Harbour from the Harbour Report, the industry benchmark for manufacturing productivity. He says, and I quote, “I’m staking my life’s work and reputation on the game-changing benefits it can have to industry, the environment and society.” That’s quite a statement, and if you’d like to learn more, be sure to tune in this Thursday afternoon.  

And that brings us to the end of today’s report, thanks for watching.