Listen to “AD #3206 – Nissan Titan Could Get the Axe; Porsche Expands Taycan Lineup; Toyota bZ4X Debuts at LA Auto Show” on Spreaker.
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Runtime: 10:07
0:08 Hyundai Jumps into Home Energy Market
0:43 Volvo Unveils Concept Recharge
1:27 Porsche Adds GTS & Sport Turismo Models to Taycan Lineup
3:13 Volta Trucks Builds First Prototype
3:57 Nissan Ariya & BMW iX U.S. Pricing Announced
5:00 Nissan Titan May Not See Another Generation
6:46 Toyota bZ4X Debuts at LA Auto Show
9:05 Honda & SoftBank Test 5G And Cellular V2X
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HYUNDAI JUMPS INTO HOME ENERGY MARKET
Hyundai is jumping into the home energy market to allow customers to charge vehicles with clean energy. It just launched Hyundai Home which will sell solar panels, energy storage systems and EV chargers. Customers will receive help from a “concierge” to help them through the process and the service will allow customers to buy everything from one brand instead of a variety of brands. It will work with any plug-in hybrid or BEV, not just Hyundai’s. Hyundai Home will be available in select markets starting next year.
VOLVO UNVEILS CONCEPT RECHARGE
Volvo took the wraps off a new electric concept called the Concept Recharge. It not only showcases the company’s future design language, it also represents the automaker’s goal to reduce its carbon footprint. That’s because the vehicle’s interior is made from sustainable materials, the tires are made from recycled and renewable materials and the aerodynamics have been optimized to improve range. When combining those features with using clean energy throughout the supply chain, manufacturing and the lifetime of the car, Volvo believes it can reduce CO2 emissions 80% during the lifecycle of the vehicle compared to a 2018 XC60.
PORSCHE ADDS GTS & SPORT TURISMO MODELS TO TAYCAN LINEUP
Last week, we reported Porsche is planning to add a third body style for the Taycan. And now we know what it is. A more wagon-like version, called the Sport Turismo, which is basically the same as the Cross Turismo, but with a lower ride height and less black cladding. Porsche also revealed a new GTS model, which shares a lot of components with the other Taycan models but some differences include a modified front fascia, side skirts and window trims. While the suspension and performance parts are the same, GTS models get their own unique calibration and tuning. Electric motors are featured at the front and rear and produce 590 horsepower with launch control. The same 93.4 kWh battery pack is used but Porsche will reveal the range later. Orders are open now and deliveries in the U.S. start in the second quarter of 2022. Pricing for the Taycan GTS sedan starts just under $133,000 while the Taycan GTS Sport Turismo starts at $134,650.
VOLTA TRUCKS BUILDS FIRST PROTOTYPE
EV startup Volta Trucks announced it started producing the first prototype of its Zero commercial truck in the UK. The company plans to build 25 of them by January and afterwards will begin initial tests, including in hot and cold weather as well as crash tests. In the middle of next year, Volta will start producing prototypes at a new plant in Austria which will be given to select customers to test in the real world. And by the end of 2022, Volta plans to start building production models. The Volta Zero is the first purpose built 16-tonne electric commercial truck and has a range between 95 and 125 miles.
NISSAN ARIYA & BMW iX U.S. PRICING ANNOUNCED
Prices are coming in for a couple of EVs about to launch in the U.S. market. Let’s start with the Nissan Ariya, which carries a base price of a little over $47,000, including destination but before tax incentives. That gets you a 238-horsepower motor that drives the front wheels and an estimated 300 miles of range from an 87-kWh battery pack. The top Platinum+ with AWD and 389 horsepower starts at just over $60-grand. Nissan is taking $500 refundable deposits right now and deliveries are scheduled for the fall of next year. The BMW iX will also arrive in the U.S. next year and starts out at over $84,000, including destination but before incentives. That’s for a dual motor, AWD model with over 500 horsepower. If you tick all the boxes, the price comes a few ticks shy of $100-grand.
NISSAN TITAN MAY NOT SEE ANOTHER GENERATION
Speaking of Nissan, it recently updated the Titan pickup in 2020 and sales are up slightly this year in the U.S. market. But it’s still not a great performer with a little more than 24,000 sold through October. And it’s probably not going to live to see another generation. AutoForecast Solutions reports that Nissan is canceling production of the Titan in North America and there’s no plans to replace it. A Nissan spokesperson tells Autoline that the company has made no such announcement and that the Titan remains an important part of its truck lineup. But with fresh trucks still on dealer lots, it’s hard to see Nissan having any other response at the moment. It poured a ton of resources into the Frontier and by our own account is a really good truck. So, it will probably stay with the one model to satisfy the pickup market.
TOYOTA bZ4X DEBUTS AT LA AUTO SHOW
It’s been astonishing to see Toyota go from being the darling of the environmental community to becoming a pariah. There are several reasons for this. For example, Toyota sided with the Trump Administration in fighting California’s emission standards. But the main reason is that Toyota doesn’t believe that electric cars are the only answer to fighting climate change. And that doesn’t seem to sit well with many environmentalists. Toyota believes, for now at least, that hybrids are a better answer. Even so, next year Toyota is coming out with the bZ4X, a 5-seat all-electric crossover. Based on the company’s e-TNGA platform, it comes with a 150 kilowatt motor up front, or as an AWD version with two 80 kilowatt motors. The front drive version gets a 71.4 kilowatt-hour battery that will deliver an estimated 250 miles of range. For comparison, the bZ4X is rated at 500 kilometers or 310 miles on the WLTP test cycle. The all-wheel drive version taps into slightly more battery capacity, 72.8 kWh, but Toyota did not provide an estimated range for it. Toyota says the liquid-cooled battery can charge to 80% in an hour using a fast charger, and it will degrade only 10% over 10 years.
Some notable features include a heat pump for heating and cooling the cabin. But it also has heated seats and steering wheel, as well as a radiant foot and leg warmer for front seat passengers, which presumably uses less power, yet allows them to stay comfortable. The bZ4X offers over the air updates, but this seems to apply only to the safety and infotainment systems.
So, will the bZ4X be enough to convince environmentalists that Toyota is not a pariah? Probably not. But this is not the end of the story. By 2025, Toyota will have 15 BEVs on the market worldwide. And it expects to sell 2 million BEVs a year globally by 2030. Maybe that will convince the skeptics, and we welcome your views on whether this will work or not.
HONDA & SOFTBANK TEST 5G AND CELLULAR V2X
Here’s a safety test we can get behind. Honda and SoftBank have teamed up to test 5G and Cellular V2X technology to reduce collisions between people and cars. But the great part about this test is, it not only sends an alert to the vehicle and driver but also to a pedestrian’s phone. Part of the test also includes an alert even if an obstacle is in the way or there’s poor visibility. The two hope to wrap up the tests by March of next year.
But that brings us to the end of today’s show. Thanks for tuning in and we’ll be right back here again tomorrow.
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Seamus and Sean McElroy cover the latest news in the automotive industry for Autoline Daily.