AD #3246 – VW & Bosch Team on Software; MINI to Convert Classics to Electric; Tesla Has Most Productive U.S. Plant

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

TESLA TO REPORT RECORD EARNINGS
Tomorrow Tesla is going to report its earnings for last year and analysts are expecting some eye-popping numbers. While the rest of the auto industry struggled to maintain production due to the chip shortage, Tesla managed to boost sales by a staggering 87%. So we’re going to see a big jump in revenue and profits. Moody’s, the credit ratings agency, boosted Tesla’s debt rating and predicted that sales will grow another 50% this year. Analysts are also expecting Tesla to provide more information on when the Cybertruck will be available, and maybe even the Semi.

NO MAVERICK FOR YOU!
First it happened with the F-150 Lightning. And now it’s happening with the Ford Maverick. You can’t order one. Ford stopped taking orders for the Lightning because it got swamped by them. And it’s going to cut off orders for the Maverick on Thursday for the same reason. Even though both plants that make the trucks are running flat out, Ford can’t keep up with demand. In fact, company executives had to turn in their company car if it was a Maverick so those trucks could be shipped to customers. So why did Ford stop taking orders when so many people want these trucks? Because it knows they would face long delays. And that would make those customers frustrated. And the last thing it wants is a bunch of eager customers getting pissed off at the company and its dealers.

VW & BOSCH TEAM UP TO WRITE SOFTWARE
Volkswagen doesn’t just want to be the leader in EV sales, it also wants to be the leader in software. And Cariad is the massive software division that VW created to transform this old time automaker into a software behemoth. Now Bosch is joining forces with Cariad to accelerate the development of partial and highly automated driving systems for mass production. The two will build a standardized software platform that will be used in all brands in the VW Group. But it can also be adapted to other automakers’ vehicles. The first system will launch in 2023 with Level 2 hands-free driving. Bosch and Cariad are also developing a Level 3 system that takes over all driving on the freeway and they’re looking into a Level 4 system.

CORVETTE TURNS 70
2023 is a special year for Corvette. It celebrates its 70th anniversary. And to mark the occasion Chevy is coming out with a special 70th Anniversary Edition package. Available on both the Stingray and Z06, it comes in only two colors; white or black. The package comes standard with unique wheels, red brake calipers, two-tone seats with microfiber inserts, red stitching and seat belts, 70th anniversary badging as well as custom luggage. About the only option we see is for stripes that come in a complimenting color. The package will be available this summer and the 1st 70th Anniversary ‘Vette will be auctioned off at Barrett-Jackson.

FORD USES BRONCO TO HELP HOMELESS
Speaking of vehicles that are getting auctioned off, Ford is selling this custom Bronco to raise money for the Pope Francis Center in Detroit, which helps the homeless. Made to resemble a first-gen Bronco, it features white paint, custom wheels with a red stripe that’s picked up on the body side and hood corners as well as a number of lighting upgrades. It’s a cool truck for a good cause and also shows customers how they could trick out their Bronco. And who knows? Maybe someday you could get the Pope to bless it.

BRONCO RAPTOR MORE EXPENSIVE THAN F-150 RAPTOR
And sticking with Bronco for a moment, we’ve got a quick update on pricing for the Bronco Raptor that was revealed yesterday. It will start just under $70,000, including destination charges. That’s about $3-grand more than the bigger F-150 Raptor.

FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE, SORTA
You may have noticed that Russia is in the news these days. And we’ve got some info on Russia, but it’s got nothing to do with what’s happening in Ukraine. Autoforecast Solutions says the Aurus Komandant will go into production in October. Never heard of the Aurus Komendant before? Neither had we. It’s a luxury SUV that looks like a direct rip-off of the Rolls Royce Cullinan. And it’s the SUV version of the Aurus Senat sedan that serves as Vladimir Putin’s official state car, which is a rip off of the Rolls Royce Phantom. Both Aurus models sell for Rolls Royce prices, in the $300,000 range. I dunno. Seems to me that if I were the president of a big, important country and wanted to show off my country’s prowess at automotive technology, I wouldn’t be seen driving around in a copy-cat car.

MINI WILL CONVERT YOUR CLASSIC TO ELECTRIC
If you see a classic MINI cruising Oxford Street or Piccadilly Circus in London their owner had to pay an environmental tax to be there. But it doesn’t have to be that way going forward. MINI is offering a service where it converts classic MINIs from ICE to BEV. Carried out exclusively in the UK, the gas engine is replaced with a 90 kW electric motor, which provides acceleration from 0-100 km/h in 9-seconds, and a battery pack big enough to provide 160 kilometers or about 100 miles or range. All of the conversion is reversible and MINI will mark and store each engine so it can be set back to original if someone ever wanted to. There’s no word on what they’re going to charge for this, but we’ll reach out to MINI for an answer.

TESLA FREMONT MOST PRODUCTIVE ASSEMBLY PLANT
Bloomberg did an interesting comparison of assembly plant production and declared Tesla’s Fremont plant in California to be the most productive assembly plant in the U.S. It says the plant made an average of 8,850 cars a week. That’s more than Toyota’s assembly complex in Georgetown, Kentucky, than BMW’s facility in South Carolina, or Ford’s production at the Rouge plant in Michigan. And that certainly is impressive. But here’s our Autoline Insight. What we really need is an apples-to-apples comparison of labor hours per vehicle. That would tell the real story. After all, a company can throw all kinds of people on the line and boost production but suffer a drop in productivity. It can add more overtime, which can skew the numbers. And we also need a comparison that takes vertical integration into account. Tesla’s numbers may actually be even more impressive because it tends to be more vertically integrated than other automakers, meaning it’s doing more work onsite. Also, we know that a plant dedicated to making only EVs can achieve a 25-30% productivity over an ICE plant because there are fewer parts, fewer process steps and fewer stations on the assembly line. A comparison using labor hours per vehicle would tell the real story. The Harbour Report used to be a great source for comparisons of assembly plants. But I think Tesla never let the Harbour people into its plant.

BOLLINGER COMING ON AFTER HOURS
Automotive startups can lay out the best of plans. But the marketplace also gets to vote on those plans. And if the market doesn’t like those plans you better adapt. That’s what Bollinger is doing. Instead of making luxury off-road electric SUVs, it’s now going to concentrate on the commercial market instead. So why did it have to change? Let’s ask Robert Bollinger, who’s coming on Autoline After Hours this Thursday. Greg Migliore from Autoblog will also be on the show. So join John and Gary as they provide you with access to the top executives in the auto industry.

And that wraps up today’s report. Thanks for watching.