AD #3270 – Toyota, Bridgestone Crippled by Cyber Attacks; Toyota Claims Stronger EV Battery; Jeep Teases Moab Concepts

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

TOYOTA, BRIDGESTONE CRIPPLED BY CYBER ATTACKS
Toyota was hit by a cyber attack that forced it to close down all its manufacturing operations in Japan. And Bridgestone was hit by what it calls a “security incident” that forced it to stop production at its retreading plants in North and South America. No one knows if this is related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but governments around the world have been warning that attacks like this could be coming. Japan imposed economic sanctions on Russia last Wednesday. Hino and Daihatsu, which are part of the Toyota Group, were also forced to stop all production in Japan when a key supplier, Kojima Industries, was shut down by a cyber attack. Kojima is part of the Toyota keiretsu and makes interior and exterior parts for cars. Its website was also knocked offline this morning.

RUSSIAN INVASION SENDS ALUMINUM PRICES SOARING
Another impact of the Russian invasion on the auto industry is that the price of aluminum is soaring. Russia is a major producer of aluminum. Prices were on the rise even before the invasion. They were up 42% last year and they’re up another 22% this year to a record $3,467 a ton.

WHY LUCID WILL BUILD ASSEMBLY PLANT IN SAUDI ARABIA
Saudi Arabia wants to be a major producer of aluminum, too. It now makes nearly one million metric tons a year, up from about 200,000 tons a decade ago. Making aluminum is energy intensive and Saudi Arabia has a lot of cheap natural gas. That’s one reason why Lucid Motors is going to build an assembly plant there. It just signed a $30 million lease. It would be Lucid’s second plant, the first one is in Arizona. Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund is a major investor in Lucid and owns 62% of the company, and that’s another good reason why Lucid decided to build a plant there.

PANASONIC STARTS MAKING 4680 BATTERIES
Panasonic announced that it’s expanding a production site in Japan to start making new 4680 battery cells. The numbers refer to the width and height of the cells, which will also be supplied to Tesla. These are about 5-times larger than the batteries it currently provides Tesla and they’re also more powerful. With less cells needed to fill a pack, they should lower production costs as well. Panasonic says the two new production lines at its Wakayama Factory will start mass producing the new cells by the end of March of 2024.

TOYOTA CLAIMS TO HAVE STRONGER BATTERY
In other Panasonic battery news, it teamed up with Toyota to make its batteries safer and longer lasting. Toyota put a focus on cruising range, battery degradation and charging speed. So, the two companies developed a special coolant that stays separate from the cells and does not conduct electricity well as a way to help prevent fires and keep the battery pack at optimal temperature. Toyota is also using redundant battery monitoring systems to make sure voltage, temperature and current are all within specified levels. These measures should allow the battery to maintain 90% of its capacity even after 10 years.

UBER GIVES DRIVERS PAY TRANSPARENCY
Uber is testing out a new payment program for drivers that it hopes will lure back the people it lost since the pandemic hit. Previously, drivers had to accept a trip before they could see how they’d earn and where they had to go. But that changes under the new pilot, which is being conducted in 24 U.S. cities, and also includes increased incentives to take shorter trips. Uber worried doing this could result in drivers cherry-picking trips and shying away from low-income areas, but it says that hasn’t been the case during the tests.

EV OWNERS BUY, NOT LEASE
When people ask us if they should lease or buy an electric car, we always tell them to lease. That’s because EV technology is progressing so fast that the electric car you buy today could be obsolete in just a couple of years. So if you just lease it, you can then step into a new EV at the end of your lease. But apparently, most people don’t do it that way. Experian, the credit scoring company, says 72.3% of all EVs in the US last year were bought, not leased. On average EV buyers are paying $774 a month for their loan. That’s about one hundred and thirty bucks a month more than people are paying for ICE cars. Not surprisingly, about 70% of all EV car loans are for Tesla’s. And thanks to over-the-air updates, Tesla buyers are probably not as worried about their car becoming obsolete.

NIO TO LIST ON HONG KONG, SINGAPORE EXCHANGES
Chinese EV startups raised a bunch of money on US stock exchanges. But the Chinese government now frowns on Chinese companies doing that. So Chinese EV maker NIO, which currently trades on the New York Stock Exchange is going to list its stock by introduction on the Hong Kong and Singapore stock exchanges. Stock by introduction means NIO will simply offer existing shares on the Hong Kong and Singapore exchanges. it will not raise any capital or issue any new shares, so that it doesn’t dilute existing shares and drive down the price.

NISSAN REVAMPS ALL OF ITS STYLING
Nissan is revamping the design of its entire lineup, from the new Z sports car to the electric Ariya. We thought it would be good to hear first hand how the company is changing its design, so we invited David Woodhouse to join us on Autoline After Hours this Thursday. He’s the vice president of design for Nissan in the Americas, and many of you will remember he previously was the head of design at Lincoln, where he transformed the look of the luxury brand. Eric Noble from CarLab will also be on the show, so join John and Gary as they give you access to the top people in the automotive industry.

JEEP TEASES MOAB CONCEPTS
The Easter Jeep Safari in Moab, Utah is still more than a month away, but Jeep is teasing a couple of the wild concepts it will have in tow to the event. One is clearly a 4xe version of the Grand Cherokee that it says “will certainly conquer even the most tumultuous terrain.” The other looks like the silhouette of a Gladiator made out of fragments of a QR code. But if you scan it, you get nothing. We’ll note that it’s accompanied by a Jeep Performance Parts logo, so it likely has something to do with that. But we’ll find out more soon.

And that brings us to the end of today’s show. Thanks for making us a part of your day.