AD #3322 – Ford Faces Big Decision on Rivian Stock; Harley Intros Another Electric Bike; Canoo Warns It May Not Survive

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

CANOO WARNS IT MAY NOT SURVIVE
Uh-oh, this is turning into a bloodbath. Just 6 months ago all the EV startups were the darlings of Wall Street. Today, it’s a different story. Canoo warned investors and I quote, “we are reporting that there is substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern.” The stock dropped on the news, of course. Since its peak at the end of last November the stock is down 72%.

LORDSTOWN MOTORS HAS UNTIL SATURDAY
Lordstown Motors is also in deep trouble. It has until Saturday to finalize a deal with Foxconn to make electric pickup trucks. If it cannot finalize the deal by then, Lordstown will have to reimburse Foxconn $200 million and it does not have the money to do so. Foxconn already gave Lordstown an extension to finalize the deal and investors are hoping it will extend it again. Lordstown Motors’ stock is down 87% from its high last June.

VINFAST COULD DELAY ITS IPO
With stock prices for EV startups cratering, Vinfast, the Vietnamese automaker, may postpone its IPO until next year. That could be a smart move, but it also poses dangers for the company. It’s burning through cash as it starts to build an assembly and battery plant in the US. And it’s going to need that IPO to raise money.

FORD FACES BIG DECISION ON RIVIAN STOCK
No doubt the Ford Motor Company wishes it could have sold its stock in Rivian 6 months ago. Reuters reports it sold 8 million shares at an average of $26.80 per share, which brought in $214 million. If it had been able to sell those shares last November, Ford could have made around a billion dollars in profit. But Ford had to wait 180 days until after Rivian went public before it could legally sell its shares. And now the stock is falling fast. Worse, Ford still has around 94 million shares left in Rivian. So what would you do if you were Ford? Dump all those shares as fast as you can, or hold on to them for now and hope that things get better?

CADILLAC ESCALADE V-SERIES IS A MONSTER
We’ve got all the major details on Cadillac’s first V-Series SUV, the Escalade V. The big news is the 6.2L supercharged V8 that lurks under the hood. It puts out over 680 horsepower and 650 lb-ft of torque. A unique V-button allows the driver to switch into V-mode which taps into all that power. Paired with a 10-speed automatic transmission and full-time AWD, the Escalade V will do 0-60 MPH in an estimated 4.4 seconds. The engine is actually very similar to the one used in the CT5-V Blackwing, but it features a bigger supercharger that’s better suited for the larger vehicle. Other standard equipment includes 6-piston Brembo front calipers, electronic limited slip differential, magnetic ride control suspension, active exhaust and a 38-inch infotainment screen. Super Cruise will be a likely $2,500 option. Cadillac even gave it spokier-wheels to help with heat venting of the brakes. Sales of the Escalade V start this summer and it will also be available on the long-wheelbase model. But it will be limited production and the most expensive Escalade ever. The performance SUV starts at just under $150,000, including destination charges.

TOYOTA HIGHLANDER GETS 4-CYLINDER TURBO
Speaking of piston power, the Toyota Highlander is getting an all-new 4-cylinder turbo engine for the 2023 model year. It replaces the SUVs 3.5L V6 as its standard powertrain and it’s better in practically every way. It has 265 horsepower, two more than the V6, and 17% more torque. It also gets the same fuel economy, 24 MPG combined, same towing capacity, 5,000 pounds, and sees a reduction in NOx and C02 emissions. There are several other upgrades for the Highlander for 2023, but the most notable are new, dual, larger 12.3 inch screens for the instrument cluster and infotainment. 

RANGE ROVER SPORT ADDED TO THE LINE-UP
I can’t remember the last time we had three ICE related stories in a row, but we’re doing it! Land Rover introduced the new Range Rover Sport. And it truly does look like a sport version of the Range Rover. They share similar cues like the character line that flows off the cut line of the hood and around the entire vehicle, the flush-mounted door handles and rounded rear end. But the lighting and grille of the Sport have been slimmed down and the venting on the front fascia is more aggressive. They also share similar interiors. Large digital screens for the instrument and infotainment, which now floats in the middle of the dash, and big, blocky controls for the knobs and shifter. Powering the new Range Rover Sport is a number of 6-cylinder gas and diesel engines, depending on the market, and a twin-turbo V8 that makes over 520 horsepower. They’re all mated to an 8-speed automatic and feature AWD. But with the shift to electrification there will also be PHEVs and a BEV. Two PHEVs will be available in Europe, but only one in the U.S. There’s two power outputs, but both feature a 3.0L 6-cylinder engine paired with a 105-kW electric motor. And two battery sizes, the larger is just over 38 kWh, which both deliver 100 km of range, or in the case of the U.S. version, 48 miles. The BEV gets introduced in 2024. 

BMW iX1 RANGE NUMBERS
BMW is getting ready to launch two next-gen vehicles that will be sold with both ICE and BEV powertrains. The first is the all-electric version of the X1, called the iX1, which is undergoing winter tests right now. It’s said to have 413 to 438 kilometers or 257 to 272 miles of range, based on the WLTP cycle. And CEO, Oliver Zipse, confirmed the electric version of the 5 Series, likely to be called the i5, will come out next year.

VW TO REVIVE SCOUT BRAND OF INTERNATIONAL HARVESTER FAME
Remember the International Harvester Scout? Well Volkswagen is on the verge of bringing it back. But this time it will be electric. The Wall Street Journal reports that VW’s board is expected to approve the plan today, which will bring Scout back, not just as a vehicle, but as an off-road EV brand. VW will initially invest $1 billion and will launch with an electric SUV and pickup truck. Production is expected to start in 2026 and VW hopes to eventually sell 250,000 a year. VW will likely open a new plant in North America to build the Scout vehicles because its current plants in North America can’t handle the extra capacity. The brand could even be spun-off in the future. The Scout was a Jeep-like SUV introduced in 1961 and built until 1980 by International Harvester. Navistar, which was formed after International Harvester went out of business in 1985, owned the rights to the Scout name but VW acquired the name in 2020 when it bought Navistar.

TESLA TO PUT CCS CONNECTORS ON U.S. CHARGERS
Tesla is going to expand its Supercharger network in the U.S. to people who don’t own Teslas. Elon Musk said it plans to add CCS connectors to its chargers, so that other brands can charge at its stations. Tesla already allows non-Tesla vehicles to charge at its stations in Europe. Tesla as you know has its own proprietary connectors for vehicles and chargers in North America but now that it is opening up to other brands, it will generate even more money for the company.

RUSSIAN AUTO INDUSTRY SINKS TO DEPRESSION LEVELS
The Russian auto industry is getting destroyed due to economic sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine. Sales of new vehicles took a nosedive in April. They were down 78.5% last month, which is the kind of drop you’d expect to see in an economic depression. Back in 2014, before Russia invaded Crimea and got hit with its first sanctions, its auto industry was healthy and thriving and automakers sold around 250,000 new cars a month. Last month they did not even sell 33,000 cars.  

HARLEY INTROS ANOTHER ELECTRIC BIKE
Harley-Davidson’s electric brand LiveWire, just introduced its second motorcycle called the Del Mar. It features an 80 horsepower or 60 kW electric motor, which is about 20% less than the LiveWire One that’s currently available. The Del Mar is also 25% lighter. It can move from 0 to 60 MPH in 3.5 seconds and has a range of 100 miles or 160 kilometers. The Launch Edition costs about $17,700 but only 100 will be sold. Electrek reports the company is targeting a price of $15,000 for the production version, which will be available in the second quarter of 2023.

But that wraps up today’s show, thanks for tuning in.