AD #3430 – Hyundai Reveals New Grandeur Sedan; Tesla #1 In BEV Sales in Germany; Car Inventory Piling Up in China

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

TESLA TOPS VW IN BEV SALES IN GERMANY
While Tesla lost the EV sales crown to BYD in China last month, the American EV maker is number one in BEV sales in Germany. According to Germany’s federal motor transport authority, nearly 38,500 Tesla’s have been registered in the first nine months of the year in the country, which is up 50% compared to a year ago. That’s ahead of the Volkswagen brand which registered 32,300 BEVs, down 40%. VW blames the drop on parts shortages along with rising inflation and energy costs. But even though VW slipped in Germany, last week the company said its BEV sales are up 25% so far this year globally.

SOUTH KOREA LOBBIES HARD AGAINST INFLATION REDUCTION ACT 
​​And speaking of EV sales, South Korea and Hyundai are stepping up lobbying efforts to ease restrictions for EV tax credits in the U.S. The recent Inflation Reduction Act requires vehicles and batteries to be made in the U.S. or a qualifying country to be eligible for EV tax incentives. Bloomberg reports that the South Koreans want to delay the manufacturing requirement, since their EV plant in Georgia isn’t scheduled to start producing vehicles until 2025. They also say the subsidies should be in line with the two countries free trade agreement which treats batteries, critical materials, and cars built or assembled in South Korea the same as those made in the U.S. So, Korea is increasing pressure on the Biden Administration to make those changes. It’s unclear what will happen at this time but with Europe also lobbying against the IRA provisions, we wouldn’t be surprised to see them change.

LINCOLN DEALERS MUST PAY STEEP PRICE TO SELL EVs
Back in September, Lincoln revealed that unlike Ford it would not offer dealers options on if, or how quickly, they want to transition to selling EVs. But they’re still going to have to pony up if they want that new electric Lincoln in their showroom. The price for a Lincoln dealer to go electric is roughly $900,000, which includes installing chargers as well as for sales and service training. For comparison, Cadillac told its dealers they’d need to invest $200,000-$500,000 for EVs. But many Lincoln dealers also sell Fords, which says dealers will need to spend up to $1.2 million to make the transition to electric. We wonder if some of that investment would transfer from one brand to the other? But even at the lower amount, Cadillac said it expects to lose about 40% of its dealerships, so we wonder how many Ford could lose?

HYUNDAI REVEALS NEW GRANDEUR SEDAN
Hyundai revealed the design for the all-new version of the Grandeur, which is sold in other markets as the Azera. And as the flagship sedan in the brand’s lineup it has very stately proportions, including a coach-like rear end that looks like it took inspiration from other ultra-luxury sedans. The front end is very upright with a diamond mesh grille, while thin horizontal lighting that stretches the width of the car highlights the front and rear. Overall, we think the design follows closer to Hyundai’s EVs, but it doesn’t say what kind of propulsion system the Grandeur will have. We would be a little surprised if it’s electric, since it doesn’t follow Hyundai’s IONIQ naming structure. As for the interior, it’s highlighted by large screens that are combined into one display on the dash with a second display for HVAC controls mounted lower. And note how the gear selector was moved to the steering column to free up space in the center console. No word yet on when the new Grandeur will launch.

CAR DEALER INVENTORY PILING UP IN CHINA
As you know, chip shortages and other supply chain issues have crippled car inventory in the U.S. over the last year, leading to a lot of empty dealer lots. But over in China, the exact opposite is happening. According to the brokerage firm China Merchants Bank International, automakers have delivered more than 1 million vehicles to dealers in China in the first nine months of the year, which is a record. The problem is the economy is starting to slow which is hurting sales. Deliveries to dealers were up 33% last month but retail sales only rose 9% leading to more inventory on dealer lots. So now analysts are concerned the market will face a slowdown in 2023.

RENAULT CEO SAYS EV COST PARITY WITH ICE VEHICLES WAY OFF
Earlier this month, Sylvain Filippi, the head of Formula E team Envision Racing, said he sees EVs reaching cost parity with ICEs by 2025 or 2026. But it sounds like Renault CEO, Luca de Meo doesn’t agree with that. And it all has to do with rising material costs. Eight years ago, he expected battery prices to fall by $100 per kWh over a five year period, but he says we still haven’t seen that reduction. De Meo says, “I can come up with better battery chemistry and better power electronics, but these gains would be erased when the price of cobalt doubles in just six months” and adds about EVs and ICEs, “I do not see this parity getting close.” However, the CEO does not give a timetable for when he expects that change over to happen.

CHINA MADE VEHICLES ROCKET UP AUSTRALIAN SALES CHARTS
There was a time when most of the vehicles sold in Australia came from British or American car companies. Not anymore. Today, most of the vehicles come from Japan, Thailand and China, and in that order. Sales of Chinese vehicles are rocketing up the charts. As recently as 2018, Chinese-made vehicles ranked only 12th in Australia. Today, MG, which is owned by SAIC and Great Wall, is leading the way, along with a company called LDV, which sells utes and vans. But the rise in Chinese made vehicles also comes from Tesla, which is shipping Chinese-made Model 3s and Ys to Australia. And we want to thank our viewer Warwick Dundas in Australia for bringing this story to our attention.

FISKER SHOWS OFF ROTATING INFOTAINMENT SCREEN
A little over a year ago we showed you rotating screen technology from the supplier Mitsubishi Electric and now it looks like it’s making its way into production. Henrik Fisker showed a video of the user interface for the new Fisker Ocean on Twitter, which shows the user can flip the screen from landscape to portrait mode. We’re not 100% sure if Fisker is using Mitsubishi Electric’s system, but the supplier has a patented application on the technology, so Fisker most likely is.

The Cadillac Escalade is probably the most profitable vehicle that General Motors sells. But did you know there was a big fight in the company over whether they should make it or not? A number of people in GM thought Cadillac customers would never buy a luxury SUV and they tried to prevent GM from building it. That’s what we’ll be talking about on Autoline After Hours tomorrow afternoon. John Smith, who ran Cadillac and fought hard to bring out the Escalade will be our guest. And we’ll also get his opinions on Cadillac’s goal to go all-electric by 2030.So join John and Gary for what will be an amazing look into the inner workings of a giant car company. 

But that’s the end of today’s show. Thanks for joining us and we’ll be right back here again tomorrow.