AD #3209 – Ferrari Launches Daytona SP3; Why Union EV Tax Credit Is Unlikely to Pass; Ford & Rivian Cancel Partnership

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

VW CEO HERBERT DIESS ON THE HOT SEAT
The transition to EVs could be a painful one for traditional car companies. And for VW CEO Herbert Diess it could cost him his job. To put it bluntly, the German unions don’t like him. Diess is trying to transform Volkswagen to make it more agile and competitive. He publicly warned that 30,000 jobs could be lost if the transition to EVs isn’t handled properly. Labor representatives, who make up half of the supervisory board, don’t like hearing that kind of talk. And they want him out. Reports out of Germany this morning say that Diess is being called before the executive committee of the board of supervisors who could decide his fate. That meeting is tomorrow, and the results of that meeting could be tomorrow’s headline.

FORD & RIVIAN CANCEL PARTNERSHIP
Two and a half years ago, when the Ford Motor Company was unsure which way the EV winds were blowing, it invested half a billion dollars in an EV startup. You know who we’re talking about: Rivian. The idea was that Ford would provide Rivian with engineering know-how and let it dig into Ford’s parts bin. Rivian was even going to develop an EV for Lincoln. Well, that was then. Today, EVs are the fastest growing segment in the market, Ford is making a $30 billion bet on them, and it no longer needs to hedge its bets with Rivian. Ford CEO Jim Farley told Automotive News that each company will go its separate ways. And as we’ve said before, we expect Ford to sell its stock in Rivian at some point, and use it to pay for that massive new manufacturing complex they call Blue Oval City.

GM SAYS MEXICO NEEDS MORE RENEWABLE ENERGY
General Motors is spending $1 billion to build electric vehicles in Mexico, but it won’t make investments like that again in the future if the country doesn’t make more renewable energy available. GM’s long term goal is to achieve zero emissions and the head of GM Mexico says the company is not going to invest in Mexico if the country doesn’t make renewable energy more available.

FERRARI LAUNCHES NEW DAYTONA SP3
Ferrari introduced a new model, called the Daytona SP3. This is part of its Icona series, which are specially designed, limited-edition cars that started with the SP1 and SP2 in 2018. The sleek body style with Targa roof was inspired by championship winning race cars of the 60’s and 70’s. The rear end is especially eye-catching. The stacked horizontal accent bars seem to grow out and away from the rear wheels before terminating at the rear taillight. Powering this sports car is a naturally aspirated V12 that makes over 830 horsepower and is mated to a 7-speed automatic. The Daytona SP3 will do 0-100 km/h in under 3-seconds. 

MERCEDES INTRODUCES NEW C-CLASS WAGON
But now we shift from eye-watering performance to family grocery-getters. Mercedes is building off the success of a more off-road focused version of the E-Class wagon, called the All-Terrain, by offering the thing on the C-Class wagon. The first thing you’ll probably notice with the C-Class Estate All-Terrain is the unique styling, which includes its own grille and bumper design as well as black cladding over the wheels. But beyond looks, it also comes standard with all-wheel drive, two off-road driving modes, larger wheels and roughly 40mm or an inch and a half more ground clearance. It’s on sale now in Europe and carries a starting price of just over 53,000 euros in Germany.

GENESIS REVEALS G70 SHOOTING BRAKE PRICING IN EUROPE
And speaking of station wagon prices, Genesis revealed that the G70 Shooting Brake will start at 35,250 pounds or over $47,000 in the U.K. For comparison, that’s about 2,000 pounds more than the sedan version. Pricing for a top G70 Shooting Brake Sport Line starts at roughly 42,000 pounds or about $56,500.

NEW CARS ACHIEVE RECORD HIGH FUEL ECONOMY
Sometimes, when you’re walking down a long road, you have to stop, turn around and look back at how far you’ve come. The same goes for the auto industry. It’s come a long way in improving fuel economy and reducing emissions. The EPA’s annual Automotive Trends Report shows that model year 2020 vehicles achieved the best fuel economy ever on record and set the record for the lowest emissions. Sales of hybrid and electric vehicles are also expected to more than double from 2020 to 2021. Since the 2004 model year, CO2 emissions dropped 24% while fuel economy improved by 32%. And while some will say that’s not enough, we think that’s pretty good progress.

KIA TEASES ALL-NEW NIRO
Kia is going to show off the all-new Niro at the Seoul auto show later this week. As you can see in these teaser shots it adopts new lighting signatures and Kia says it adopts design elements from the HabaNiro concept vehicle. And as you might expect, it’s going for a tech-y interior with a simple design and a large display screen. New powertrains would not be a surprise either. 

GM COMES OUT WITH BOLT EV SOFTWARE FIX
Good news for Chevy Bolt owners. General Motors has a software fix that means you can park them in your garage again. The update limits the state of charge to 80%, which allows owners to charge indoors overnight, park indoors after charging and use the car with less than 70 miles of range. The software update is currently limited to 2019 model year Bolts that haven’t had battery modules replaced. The remaining vehicles should get the update within the next 30 days. Owners will have to have the battery modules replaced before the EV can be charged 100% again.

WHY UNION EV TAX CREDIT IS UNLIKELY TO HAPPEN
Everyone is getting their knickers in a bunch about that extra $4,500 in credits for EVs made by UAW workers. Our advice is: sit back, chill out and don’t let it bother you because it’s not going to happen. Republicans are not going to vote for it simply because the Democrats proposed it. So that means Democrats have to enact it, and we don’t think that’s going to happen. Here’s why. There are 9 different foreign automakers who have built 26 manufacturing plants in 9 different states. And Toyota is going to build a battery plant in North Carolina, so make that 10 states. There are 3 Democrat Senators and 36 Democrat Representatives in those states. Do you think they are going to vote for a bill that is going to put workers in their state at a competitive disadvantage? Workers who may have voted for them? Especially with the midterm elections right around the corner? We don’t think so. We believe most of them will not vote for it. And while they will vote to make EV credits more generous, they’re not going to give extra money to UAW cars.

Anyway, that’s our Autoline Insight and that wraps up today’s report. Thanks for watching.