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Runtime: 9:49
0:08 Russian Invasion Will Hurt Auto Industry
0:37 Which Automakers Get Hurt the Most by Russian Invasion
1:53 VW Confirms Porsche Spin-Off
3:15 Faraday Future Finally Ready to Sell Cars
4:29 How VW Squeezed Out More EV Range
5:36 Big Oil Is Going Electric
6:35 BYD & Baidu Shake Hands on AV Deal
7:06 VW ID. Buzz Is a Pricey Bugger
7:33 Rivian Sets 10% EV Market Share Goal
8:00 Nikola Finally Ready to Make Trucks
8:35 Back to The Future with Electric DeLorean
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RUSSIAN INVASION WILL HURT AUTO INDUSTRY
The Russian invasion of Ukraine is definitely going to have an impact on the global auto industry. And it’s not just from higher prices at the pump. Russia is a major source of palladium, which goes into catalytic converters. Ukraine is a source of neon gas to make semiconductors and a source of graphite which goes into EV batteries. That’s going to send the auto industry scrambling to find alternative sources and no doubt they’ll have to pay more to get it.
WHICH AUTOMAKERS GET HURT THE MOST BY RUSSIAN INVASION
Some automakers are going to feel the pain more than others. Hyundai, Nissan, Toyota and Ford all make vehicles in Russia and those operations will probably run out of parts real fast. The Russian car market is not gigantic but it’s not small either. Automakers sold 1.6 million passenger vehicles there last year. The Hyundai Group, including Kia and Genesis, lead the market, selling over 377,000 vehicles last year. Avtovaz, the Russian car maker, which owns the Lada brand, was next with sales of 350,000 vehicles. It’s mostly owned by Renault. Even if you don’t include Avtovaz, the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance is a significant player in the Russian market. and so is the Volkswagen Group. What we’re likely to see now is a surge in the sale of Chinese cars in Russia. Ten Chinese automakers sell cars in Russia. Last year they collectively sold 115,000 vehicles. Some, like Foton, barely sold any at all. Only 37 cars. But Chery and Great Wall have some decent volume, easily outselling well established companies like Ford, Stellantis and Mazda.
| RUSSIA 2021 AUTO SALES | |
|---|---|
| Hyundai Group | 377,000 |
| Avtovaz | 350,000 |
| R-N-M Alliance | 226,000 |
| VW Group | 204,000 |
| Source: Wards Intelligence | |
VW CONFIRMS PORSCHE SPIN-OFF
Earlier this week, rumors started swirling that Volkswagen is planning to spin-off Porsche. And now VW officially confirmed that it’s considering a potential IPO. No final decisions have been made, but here are some of the details of how it would work. VW would hold a majority stake in Porsche, Porsche would get 25% plus one share of the new company and the remainder would be sold on the open market. Shareholders would get a special dividend of 49% of total gross proceeds from the IPO and around 130,000 VW employees would get a 2,000-euro bonus. Volkswagen says the IPO money will pay for its conversion to electric vehicles.
FARADAY FUTURE FINALLY READY TO SELL CARS
Despite a lot of ups and downs, Faraday Future says it’s on track to start building its all-electric FF 91 in the third quarter of this year. It showed off the first production-intent model completed at its plant in Hanford, California. This is the first time we’re seeing how things like the lighting and Lidar package will appear on the production vehicle. These pre-production versions will be used for engineering validation and testing and eventually certification. While the FF 91 will only be made in limited numbers, Faraday also revealed that it’s already working on a second, more mass produced model, called the FF 81. It’s going to be contract manufactured in South Korea by Myoung Shin, a Korean company that mainly makes hot stamped parts for automakers, including Hyundai and Kia. This is what’s called an asset light strategy, where it outsources almost all of the development and manufacturing to avoid massive spending, similar to what Fisker is doing. The FF 81 is expected to start rolling down the production line in 2024. But Faraday still has a long road ahead of it. It says it doesn’t expect to start turning a profit until 2025.
HOW VW SQUEEZED OUT MORE EV RANGE
The Volkswagen Group is getting more range and faster charging out of its EVs thanks to new software. It provides updates to the function, control and design of the infotainment screen, instrument cluster and head-up display as well as changes to the battery’s thermal management system. Temperature control is now activated at lower temps and is continuously adjusted to get the battery into its ideal range faster. These changes also allowed VW to increase the fast-charging rate from 125 to 135 kW, which speeds up charging. The Skoda Enyaq iV and Enyaq Coupe iV as well as the U.S. version of the 2022 ID.4 are the first models getting the new software. The Skoda’s now get about 20 more kilometers of range, depending on the model, and the ID.4 is up by 20 miles. But Skoda says it will also offer the new software to current customers who don’t already have it, while Volkswagen makes no mention of it. But it’s not an OTA, owners will have to go into the dealer to get the update.
BIG OIL IS GOING ELECTRIC
Big Oil is starting to go electric. Shell and Hyundai signed an agreement to explore ways to reduce emissions from their operations. That includes building a combined EV network and services in the U.S., Europe and Asia as well as expanding the hydrogen infrastructure. Interestingly, they’re also looking into in-car services, like vehicle management and smart maintenance. And Shell will be the preferred charging provider for Genesis EVs in Europe. Shell currently has more than 80,000 charging points around the world, but with partnerships like this, it plans to grow that number to over half a million by 2025.
BYD & BAIDU SHAKE HANDS ON AV DEAL
Chinese tech company, Baidu, is at the forefront of autonomous technology in China. And now BYD chose Baidu as its AV supplier. Baidu will provide BYD with a modified version of its self-driving platform that it uses for its Apollo autonomous ride-hailing service along with the maps needed to make the system work. According to Gasgoo, the two companies are already working on integrating the technology into BYD’s cars and the first model will start production soon.
VW ID. BUZZ IS A PRICEY BUGGER
Volkswagen hasn’t released the price of its ID. Buzz in the U.S. That’s the electric successor to the iconic VW micro van. But we now know what it costs in Germany, and it’s a pricey little bugger. A bare bones commercial version is $51,000. A nicely equipped passenger version goes for $71,000. So look for U.S. prices to fall somewhere between 50 and 70 grand.
RIVIAN SETS 10% EV MARKET SHARE GOAL
Rivian is pretty bullish about how well it can do. CEO RJ Scaringe says the company is aiming to get 10% of the U.S. EV market by 2030. We wonder if that also includes the commercial market? Last year, Rivian only sold about 1,000 vehicles. But that market share goal suggests it expects to sell well over half a million a year by the end of the decade.
NIKOLA FINALLY READY TO MAKE TRUCKS
Good news for electric truck startup Nikola. The company’s shares jumped 10% after it said it expects to earn between $90 and $150 million in revenue this year. It starts building its Tre BEV truck towards the end of March and expects to deliver 300 to 500 of them in 2022. It started pilot tests of the fuel cell version of the Tre at the end of January with Anheuser-Busch in California. It’s also expanding its plant in Arizona. Once it’s up and running, it will have the capacity to build 20,000 trucks a year.
BACK TO THE FUTURE WITH ELECTRIC DELOREAN
Even though it only sold for a few years, one of the most-iconic cars in the world is making a comeback. DeLorean Motors Reimagined is going to show off its new-age version of the DMC-12 at this year’s Pebble Beach concours in August. As you can see from this teaser it will have a shapelier hood and a new lighting signature, but retain classic features like the gullwing doors. I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to see more.
But that brings us to the end of this week. Thanks for making Autoline a part of your day.
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Seamus and Sean McElroy cover the latest news in the automotive industry for Autoline Daily.
