AD #3325 – Our Take: New Nissan Z; Tesla Opens Order Books for Semi; Magna’s Booming Business in Battery Enclosures

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

TESLA OPENS ORDER BOOKS FOR SEMI
Well, it looks like it’s actually going to happen. Tesla’s semi-truck just took another step closer to reality. The company is now taking orders. Buyers need to plunk down a $5,000 reservation up front, which is fully refundable, but then they need to pay another $15,000 within 10 days to secure their order. The reservation page does not mention when the semi will be available. But at Tesla’s Cyber Rodeo earlier this year, CEO Elon Musk said it will be in production next year.

HYUNDAI, NISSAN TO BUILD NEW EV PLANTS IN U.S.
The auto industry keeps making massive investments in electric cars. Hyundai is going to announce plans this week to build a new EV plant in the US and Nissan is considering doing the same thing. Hyundai is expected to announce plans for a massive $7 billion plant that would employ 8,500 people. That suggests it will include a battery plant. It will be built near Savannah, Georgia. And Nissan is thinking of building a new plant that could be adjacent to one of its existing plants in Tennessee or Mississippi. The AP reports that Nissan’s COO Ashwani Gupta says local production is becoming more important for all automakers. EV tax credits, currency fluctuations, shipping costs, import tariffs and geopolitical concerns are driving the move to more localized production. 

  

 

FORD SELLS OFF MORE RIVIAN STOCK
It looks like Ford is in the process of selling off all the stock it owns in Rivian. A week ago, it sold 8 million shares, and on Friday it sold another 7 million. Even so, Ford still has nearly 87 million shares left over. But it doesn’t want to dump them all at once because that would send the price down quickly. Roughly 75 million Rivian shares trade hands every day so when Ford decides to sell, it apparently only sells enough to account for about 10% of the trades on that day.  When Rivian went public, its IPO price was $78 a share. Now it’s trading around $26 a share. But even at that low price, we estimate that Ford will make around a $1.5 billion profit on the $1.2 billion it originally invested in Rivian.

BMW XM IS A HIGH-PERFORMANCE PHEV
Hey, remember this face? It’s the BMW Concept XM and the comments section sure did light up when it was revealed last November. So, we’re eager to report that prototypes of the production model are in the final phases of development. And it should start rolling down the line at BMW’s plant in South Carolina before the end of the year. Aside from what you might think of the styling, this is a pretty unique vehicle. The XM will be sold exclusively as an M model, which we don’t think it has done since the M1, which went out of production in 1981. It’s also an AWD, plug-in hybrid SUV that pairs a V8 engine and an electric motor for a combined output of 480 kW or 650 horsepower. But it’s capable of 80 all-electric kilometers as well, according to the WLTP test or an estimated 30 EPA miles. There’s a lot more that’s unique to the development of XM, so we’ll provide a link if you’d like to learn more.

PORSCHE TESTS CAYMAN GT4 EV
Speaking of electrified concepts, Porsche is testing components from the Mission R all-electric race car concept in modified GT4 versions of the Cayman. They feature the entire motor and battery setup from the concept, which is capable of 735 kW or nearly 1,000 horsepower. But it would be dialed back so the vehicle would be capable of lasting a 30-minute race, maybe around 600 horsepower. In the future Porsche hopes to provide all-electric race cars for customer motorsports. 

DETROIT THREE REINSTATE MASK MANDATES
Geez, just when we hoped we put Covid behind us, General Motors, Ford and Stellantis reinstated mask mandates at certain factories in Michigan. Those plants are located in counties where the CDC has labeled them a high-risk for Covid infection. GM and Ford did not say how long the mandate will be in place, while Stellantis says it will be for two weeks. There are 16 counties in Michigan currently listed as high risk, including the Detroit area where most of their plants are located. Back in March, the Detroit automakers along with the UAW lifted mask mandates at plants as long as they’re in an area that isn’t a high risk of transmission.

MAGNA’S BOOMING BUSINESS IN BATTERY ENCLOSURES
While EV batteries get all the attention, Magna says battery enclosures are turning into a big business. Those enclosures will generate $600 million in revenue for the supplier in 2024 and only three years later that will ramp up to $1.5 billion, says CEO Swamy Kotagiri. Magna makes the enclosures for the Ford F-150 Lightning, as well as the Hummer EV. The one for the Hummer is 8 feet long, weighs 200 pounds, uses hundreds of stampings and fasteners, as well as tens of meters of welding and sealing. It sounds like Magna is getting more GM business, too. It says making enclosures this way provides far more flexibility for different models and different automakers. It says that molding them out of plastic would involve using expensive, separate tooling for every model.

AUTOMAKERS TURN AWAY FROM RUSSIAN PALLADIUM
The prices of raw materials keep going up, but nothing like palladium. As you probably know, catalytic converters use expensive materials including platinum, rhodium and palladium. And Russia accounts for 25 to 30% of the world’s supply of palladium. Thanks to sanctions slapped on Russia because of its invasion of Ukraine, the price of palladium is soaring. It’s $2,000 an ounce. So the auto industry is shifting to use more platinum instead, which is less than half the price of palladium.

DRIVING NISSAN’S NEW Z
The Nissan Z car is now in its 7-th generation and is brand new. It rides on a modified RWD drive platform that features a double-wishbone front suspension and a multi-link rear. Under the hood is a 3.0L twin-turbo V6 that makes 400 horsepower and 350 lb-ft of torque. It can be mated to either a 6-speed manual or 9-speed automatic and, interestingly, there’s no price difference between the two. More on that in a minute. But the Z car operates in a very unique space, especially in our market here in the U.S. It doesn’t have a lot of competition. Really, its only direct competitor is the Toyota Supra, but you could make arguments for the Mustang, Toyotaru Twins and maybe even Corvette. And we thought there was a lot to like about the new Z during a recent drive. As you would suspect with 400 horsepower, there’s plenty of get-up-and-go. The 6-speed manual shifted smoothly and while you rip through 1st gear pretty quick, there’s a nice long pull in 2nd. The suspension is stiff and holds turns pretty well, the true test would be a race track, but it’s not too stiff that you’re going to rattle your teeth out. I felt a little extra cushion in the seat, which I think helped with this. I’d also like to note that the pedals were spaced well enough for someone to heel-toe and at 6’4’’ I fit nicely inside the car without being cramped. Speaking of the inside, it’s got nice components and materials on all the main touchpoints. The steering wheel, door pockets and lower dash are all covered in a quality-looking leather and you get an 8- or optional 9-inch digital display for the infotainment. But the rest of the materials and switchgear looked a little on the cheap side. Especially since we had the nicer model that topped out at over $53,000, including destination charges. Base price is just over $41,000. We’ve been in the Supra, which is priced similarly, and thought it had a more premium interior. But the Z has the look and drive that’s going to appeal to anyone that’s ever wanted or had a Z car in the past.

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