AD #3256 – Volvo Copies Tesla’s Castings; Alfa Romeo Tonale One Cute Ute; GM Delays Next-Gen Colorado & Canyon

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

VOLVO COPIES TESLA’S CASTINGS
Volvo is copying Tesla. It’s investing more than a billion dollars at a plant in Sweden to get ready to build its next-generation of fully electric vehicles. While some of the money will go towards a new battery assembly plant, paint shop and final assembly area, the big news is that Volvo is going to start using mega castings, where a large number of components are brought together into a single large casting. As it shows off in some images, it looks like the entire rear section of its next-gen BEV is made from one large aluminum casting. With the improvements, Volvo says its vehicles will have more range, faster charging and lower costs. The plant has the capacity to build up 300,000 vehicles a year. And we think that other Geely Group brands will adopt the process as well.

TESLA ON A HIRING SPREE IN CHINA
Tesla is going on a hiring spree in China, and it’s all about boosting its sales and deliveries of new cars in the world’s largest market. Tesla announced its job postings on WeChat and said it wants to hire more than 1,500 new employees. 662 of those people, or 43% of them, will be involved in sales, deliveries and service. The rest are for R&D, manufacturing and assembly, IT, supply chain and other functions. But Gasgoo reports that the list of job postings keeps growing. Last year Tesla’s production in China grew 235% and the company clearly wants to keep that kind of growth rolling along.

GM MID-SIZE PICKUPS DELAYED
GM is pushing back production of the next-generation Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon. According to AutoForecast Solutions the trucks were supposed to go into production in November but now they’re scheduled to roll down the line starting in January of 2023 at GM’s Wentzville, Missouri plant. As we reported last week, GM’s mid-size trucks are behind their competitors in the segment but if you add sales together, GM is number two. However, they’re still well behind the Toyota Tacoma, which outsells GM’s mid-size pickups by more than a two-to-one margin.

NISSAN TO DROP ICE, BUT WHEN?
As the transition to electric continues, we’re going to see more stories like this. The Nikkei reports that Nissan will stop building all combustion engines for major markets, except the U.S., but didn’t reveal when. The reason the U.S. will still have ICEs is because they’ll be used to power its trucks. Nissan also operates in emerging markets where it will continue to use ICEs as well.

SNEAK PEEK AT LUXUS BEV CONCEPT
Lexus showed off a new BEV concept, called the Electrified SUV. Not the greatest of names, but at least it’s not called ‘Vision.’ It’s still very much in concept form with flush-mounted door handles, pillar-less windows and digital side view mirrors. But it bears a lot of resemblance to the RZ 450e, which goes on sale later this year, and it gives you an idea of what a production version of the Electrified SUV could look like. It will likely be the second SUV in Lexus’ lineup and looks bigger than the RZ.

DS CONCEPT USES FORMULA E POWERTRAIN
And speaking of EV concepts, check out this car from DS Automobiles. It’s a high-performance BEV that has the same powertrain as its Formula E race car. It features a carbon monocoque and two electric motors that combine for 600 kW or 815 horsepower. They also generate a whopping 8,000 newton meters or over 5,900 lb-ft of torque at the wheels. DS says testing of the one-off prototype starts this month.

MAGNA MIRROR INCORPORATES DRIVER MONITORING
Last week, AAA released a study that found driver monitoring systems that use cameras for semi-autonomous driving are better at keeping the driver engaged than steering wheel systems. And now the supplier Magna has developed a solution for automakers that makes it easier to integrate monitoring systems into vehicles. It combines the camera, infrared emitters and electronic control unit into the rear-view mirror. The single camera is able to not only monitor the driver but also monitor other passengers. Magna will start making the unit for a German automaker in 2024 but it did not reveal which company.

POWERTRAIN DETAILS OF ALFA ROMEO TONALE
Alfa Romeo desperately needs more product in its lineup. Right now it only has two volume models, the Giulia and Stelvio. So, say hello to the Tonale, a compact SUV that Alfa hopes will bring more people into its showrooms around the world. Today we’ll concentrate on the powertrains, which offer something for just about everybody. Depending on what region of the world you live in, you get the choice of a gasoline engine, a diesel, a hybrid or plug-in hybrid. Let’s start with the gas engine, which is a 2-liter turbo with 256 horsepower. That will only be sold in North America and the Middle East. Now for the hybrid powertrain. It uses a 1.5 liter Miller-cycle engine mated to a 7-speed automatic that’s offered with two different power outputs, either 130 horsepower, or 160. It’s a 48 volt mild hybrid with a 15 kilowatt electric motor. The IC engine features a new cylinder head with internal ports that provide a more complete combustion. It has a 12.5:1 compression ratio with direct injection that delivers fuel at 350 bar, which is a staggering 5,000 psi. That kind of pressure helps atomise the fuel for complete combustion. And that in turn will lower emissions and improve fuel efficiency. OK, now to the plug-in hybrid. It uses a 1.3 liter turbo with 180 horsepower that powers the front wheels, and a 90 kilowatt electric motor that powers the rear. Put the two together and they crank out 275 horsepower, which runs through a 6-speed automatic. The PHEV comes with a 15.5 kilowatt battery that provides a combined 60 kilometers of pure electric range. That’s only 37 miles, but Alfa says in city driving you’ll get 80 kilometers, or about 50 miles. Sorry EV fans, there’s no battery electric version available. As for the diesel engine, well, we can’t tell you much because Alfa didn’t give us any info except to say it’s a 1.6 liter turbo with a 6-speed automatic. And it sounds like it will mainly be sold in developing markets. In the US the Tonale will only be offered with all wheel drive. As we already noted, the PHEV uses the electric motor on the rear axle to complement the front wheel drive gas engine, and blends the two together to power all four wheels. But the gasoline engine gets a mechanical AWD system. In tomorrow’s show we’ll have more info about the vehicle.

FORD E-TRANSIT ON SALE NOW
When Ford put its EV strategy together, it decided to launch its effort by electrifying its three most iconic products, the Mustang, the F-150 and the Transit. While the Mach-E and Lightning are getting all the headlines, the e-Transit is just as important to the company. And today is the day it officially goes on sale. With a price of about $43,300 Ford says over 300 customers have ordered over 10,000 of the vans. And it’s already trying to figure out how it can increase production. With a 68 kilowatt hour battery pack, the low-roof version should deliver 126 miles of range, which is plenty adequate for most commercial uses. Power comes from a 198 kilowatt motor that powers the rear wheels. That’s about 265 horsepower. One way Ford wants to lure fleets into buying more e-Transits is by pointing out it needs 40% less scheduled maintenance than a Transit with an IC engine.

But that brings us to the end of today’s show. If you like our content please like, comment or subscribe. And we’ll be right back here again tomorrow with your daily automotive news.