AD #3267 – German Greens Sue To Block Tesla’s Giga Berlin; UAW Workers Earn $1.5 Billion; Cummins Buys Meritor

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

GERMAN GREENS SUE TO BLOCK GIGA BERLIN
Tesla just can’t seem to get its Gigafactory in Berlin up and running. Now it’s a water problem. The area around the plant is suffering from low groundwater levels and droughts. And critics say Giga Berlin will double the water usage in the area. Even government officials admit there won’t be enough water to go around once Tesla ramps up production. Environmentalists filed a lawsuit and if the court rules in their favor that means further delays, or it could even stop the project altogether. That Berlin plant is vital to Tesla’s expansion plans and any setback would be a huge blow.

STELLANTIS POSTS EYE-POPPING PROFITS
Stellantis posted its first full-year earnings after its merger, and it sure knows how to make money. It sold 6.5 million vehicles worldwide which brought in $172 billion in revenue. And more than $15 billion of that dropped to the bottom line. That’s a profit margin of 11.8%, which is quite impressive. And in North America the profit margin was even better, 16.3%. In fact the company’s North America operations, which really means the Chrysler Group, generated more profit than the rest of Stellantis put together. New model introductions really drove up those profit numbers. Last year Stellantis launched new models of the Jeep Grand Cherokee, the Jeep Grand Wagoneer and the Wrangler 4Xe. 

UAW WORKERS EARN $1.5 BILLION IN PROFIT SHARING
Stellantis made so much money in the U.S. market that its UAW workers are getting record profit sharing checks: $14,670. Last year they got $8,000. The profit sharing is based on a formula that gives UAW workers about $900 for every 1% of profit margin that the company earns in the United States. That used to be capped at $12,000. But that cap came off in the last contract negotiations in 2019. Retailers that are located near UAW plants love it when those profit sharing checks come in. While most workers sock some of that money away in their savings accounts, they also go on a spending binge. UAW workers at General Motors will get about $10,000 in profit sharing this year, and Ford workers will get about $7,400. Put it all together and UAW workers earned over $1.5 billion in profit sharing checks for the work they did last year.

LUCID HIT WITH NON-OTA RECALL
Here’s more proof that it’s really hard to launch a brand-new vehicle. Lucid says it’s recalling a little over 200 of its Air sedans, which is probably most or all of the vehicles that it’s made since production started in September, due to a safety issue. Unfortunately for Lucid this is not a software problem that can be fixed with an over-the-air update. It’s a hardware issue related to front dampers that could have been assembled improperly by its supplier. Lucid says it’s not aware of any failures, but the news sent its shares down 5% anyways. 

SEAT CUPRA’S COOL CONCEPT CARS
Cupra, the performance division of SEAT, which is part of the VW Group, announced that it’s expanding its electric vehicle lineup. A production version of the Tavascan concept will launch in 2024, followed by the UrbanRebel in 2025. And like VW’s other EVs they’re based on the MEB platform. But look at how much more expressive these designs are compared to the ID.3 or ID.4. They feature big, bold front ends with a lot of sculpting to the surface of the body and in the case of the UrbanRebel, a huge wing off the back. The Tavascan combines two electric motors at each axle for AWD and a total output of 225 kW or 300 horsepower. Like other MEB vehicles a battery pack with 77 kWh of usable space is available. The UrbanRebel on the other hand will feature AWD, 250 kW or 335 horsepower of continuous power or a peak output of 320 kW or 429 horsepower, and the ability to do 0-100 km/hr in 3.2 seconds. It’s said to be priced around 20,000 to 25,000 euros. Cupra is also launching Metahype, a new collaborative space in the Metaverse where people can create and share experiences. 

WULING’S LATEST ICE OFFERINGS
Wuling is probably best known outside of China for its small and affordable all-electric MINI EV that’s been tearing up the sales charts. But it’s offering two new ICE vehicles, the Victory and the Jia Chen. The Victory is a 3-row van-like vehicle that features a new roughly 170 horsepower 1.5L turbo engine and an upgraded operating system. The Jia Chen is a 7-seat MPV that is expected to launch later this year. Wuling also announced a new propulsion brand called Ling Power that it says will give customers more high-performance and intelligent powertrain solutions, but didn’t go into any more detail. We’ll keep an eye for if and when it does.

RECYCLING SEAT BELTS AND SEAT COVERS
Here’s a cool look at how automotive materials can be used for other purposes. Pingree Detroit is a company that makes handmade footwear, home goods and pet accessories from recycled leather and seatbelts from cars. But it kept getting requests from customers for dog leashes and Pingree couldn’t find enough material to make them. It even started looking in garbage dumps and scrap yards. That’s when an employee at Autoliv, which makes airbags and seatbelts, saw a news story about what Pingree was doing. So Autoliv reached out to help. The supplier is now donating scrap leather, nylon, webbing and airbag material to Pingree, so it can make dog leashes and other products.

BYD TO MAKE HD EV TRUCKS IN U.S.
Here’s an example of just how global the auto industry is. Swedish freight company Einride just purchased 200 Class 8 electric trucks from Chinese automaker BYD, which will be deployed in the United States. It’s BYD’s largest electric heavy-duty truck order outside of Asia. The trucks are equipped with 563-kWh iron phosphate battery packs which provide up to 200 miles of range. They also feature a number of ADAS features including automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning and blind-spot detection. The trucks will be assembled at BYD North America’s plant in California with deliveries starting this month.

APOLLO ADDS TENNECO TO LIST OF AUTO ACQUISITIONS
There’s some big news about acquisitions in the supplier industry. Tenneco is getting bought by an investment firm called Apollo for $7 billion in cash. And it’s taking Tenneco private. Right now Tenneco is barely profitable. It made a net profit last year of only $35 million on sales over $18 billion. We’ll have to keep an eye on what Apollo wants to do with its new investment. It recently bought a Japanese chemical company and a Canadian plastics company that supply the auto industry. It bought up a lot of car dealer real estate, And it’s one of the largest shareholders in Hertz, the rental car company. 

CUMMINS BUYS MERITOR TO FIGHT CLIMATE CHANGE
Meanwhile, Cummins, which is famous for its diesel engines, is buying Meritor for $3.7 billion. Interestingly, Cummins is buying Meritor for the axles and brakes it makes for hybrid and electric powertrains. Tom Linebarger, the CEO of Cummins, is a climate change evangelist. He says, and I quote, “Climate change is the existential crisis of our time. We can’t leave it to our kids.” He’s leading Cummins into electric and hydrogen powertrains and is even calling for stricter NOx and CO2 emission standards on diesel engines.

E-TRANSIT & FORD PRO ON AFTER HOURS
We’ve got a great show tomorrow on Autoline After Hours. It’s all about Ford’s E-Transit van and that new business unit at Ford called Ford Pro. Tim Baughman, the general manager of Ford Pro North America will be on the show. So will Chad Kirchner from EV Pulse. Can the electric Transit see the same kind of success as the Mustang Mach E and F-150 Lighting? Join John and Gary tomorrow to find out.

That may be it for today, but we’ll be right back here again tomorrow. And if you like our content, please give it a like, comment, we may use what you say in the show, or subscribe. It really does help us out.