AD #3422 – U.S. Opens Cobalt Mine; Tesla to Ship 1st Semis to Pepsi; Hyundai Hotel Powered by IONIQ 5s

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U.S. OPENS COBALT MINE
Well, it’s starting to happen. The U.S. is starting to develop domestic sources for the raw materials needed to make batteries for electric vehicles. We’ve already reported on lithium mines opening in California and North Carolina, and a manganese mine opening in Arizona. And now there’s a cobalt mine that’s going to open in Idaho. A mining company called Jervois Global Limited is starting to mine cobalt there starting today. It plans to mine 2,000 tons of cobalt a year. That’s a drop in the bucket compared to the 127,000 tons that will be mined globally, but it’s a start. The next step is for the U.S. to start refining and processing these materials domestically. Most of these materials are processed outside of the U.S., mainly in China.

DOD CHOOSES GM DEFENSE FOR EV BATTERY TESTS
Somewhat along those lines, the U.S. Department of Defense selected GM Defense to develop scalable battery packs for different types of tactical vehicles. The Defense Innovation Unit will analyze and test the battery packs with different chemistries and cell forms. GM Defense will use GM’s Ultium battery platform since one of the goals of the Defense Department is to use commercial, off-the-shelf technology for military applications.

TESLA TO SHIP FIRST SEMIS TO PEPSI
It may be a few years late, but Tesla’s Semi is finally getting to the market. Pepsi is going to take deliveries starting December 1st and will use them to deliver snack food and beverages. Elon Musk says the Semi has a 500 mile driving range. Reuters reports the Semi will cost $180,000 but it also qualifies for a $40,000 subsidy that is part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill.

NEW CAR PRICES STILL GOING UP
Here’s something that shouldn’t shock you at all. New car prices are still going up. According to Kelley Blue Book, the average transaction price or ATP in the U.S. in August was over $48,300. That’s a half a percent increase from July and nearly 11% higher than last August. We all know supply constraints, rising material cost and other market factors are playing a major role in the increases, but there’s other factors at play as well. Luxury buyers made up a bigger slice of the market, 17.5%, a near record. And more EVs are driving up prices with an ATP of $66,000. New car buyers have now paid an average of at least $1,000 over MSRP in every month this year.

HONDA SNEAK PEEKS THE PROLOGUE EV
Honda revealed the styling of the Prologue, an electric SUV it’s co-developing with General Motors and rides on GM’s Ultium platform. One thing that strikes us is that the Prologue’s design doesn’t scream “I’m an electric.” It has much more traditional styling. Honda says it’s about 8-inches longer and 5-inches wider than the all-new CR-V and will come with 21-inch wheels, which might be a first for the brand. The interior of the Prologue also looks like most modern vehicles. It features two floating display screens mounted high on the dash. The one for the driver is a 11-inch screen, while the one for infotainment is slightly larger at 11.3-inches. According to research by Honda, hybrid customers are some of the first to make the transition to a full battery electric vehicle. So, it’s going to increase the mix of CR-V Hybrids to 50% and offer customers in ZEV states a shorter, two-year lease as a way to make it easier to get into a Prologue when it goes on sale in 2024. After the Prologue, Honda plans to launch EVs, which will be built in North America and based on its own dedicated architecture, in 2026.

DAIMLER & TORC BULLISH ON L4 SEMIS
Daimler just celebrated its third year of working with Torc, a company that’s trying to commercialize Level 4 autonomous technology for big trucks. They’ve shown that their trucks can operate on highways, surface streets, ramps and even turns at controlled intersections. Now they’re shifting their focus to customer integration and have signed a deal with U.S. logistics provider, Schneider, which will provide loads for the trucks to carry. They’ll be using an updated set of sensors and computers and Torc hopes to have its system ready before 2030.

JOHAN DeNYSSCHEN RETIRES FROM VWOA
Volkswagen of America is losing one of its top executives, Johan De Nysschen, who will be retiring next week. VW has not named a replacement. De Nysschen, 62 years old, was chief operating officer for VWoA. Earlier in his career he ran the U.S. operations for Audi, Infiniti and Cadillac. The South African native tells Wards that he and his wife are going to settle down in Chattanooga, Tennessee, which is the same community where VW has its U.S. assembly plant.

GMC ADDS DENALI TO HD LINEUP
Even though General Motors plans to go all electric by 2035, that doesn’t include the company’s heavy duty trucks, at least not for now. GMC is adding the Denali trim to its HD trucks for the first time, and it’s playing by today’s popular playbook: make them big, make them brawny, load them up with upscale accessories, and give them gobs of torque for maximum towing. So it gets GM’s 6.6 liter Duramax diesel with 975 foot-pounds of torque. The 2500 version will tow 22,500 pounds which is 4,000 pounds more than before. The 3500 version can tow up to 36,000 pounds. They go on sale early next year, and that’s when we’ll learn what they cost.

HYUNDAI HOTEL POWERED BY IONIQ 5s
Here’s an interesting use of electric vehicles, and a great sales gimmick. In the countryside about an hour outside of London, Hyundai is opening a hotel that is completely powered by IONIQ 5s. Everything from luxury cabins to a bar and restaurant and even a cinema will be powered by the electric car. Members of the public can win a stay at the hotel, which will be open for two weeks from October 19th to November 5th.

That wraps up this week of Autoline Daily. We’re going to have a great weekend and we hope you do too. And if you haven’t already done so, we encourage you to subscribe to the Autoline Channel.