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Runtime: 8:22
0:00 U.S. Car Inventory to Continue to Rise
0:44 BYD & SAIC Expand Shipping Fleets
1:49 Waymo Robotaxi Expected to Debut This Year
3:11 Stellantis Expands EU Recycling Business
4:12 Unique Autonomous Service Launched In Las Vegas
5:15 Ram Introduces New ProMaster EV
6:04 Stellantis Executive Change Correction
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This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.
U.S. CAR INVENTORY TO CONTINUE TO RISE
As we reported earlier this month, the U.S. auto industry is recovering from inventory shortages. Cox Automotive says inventory levels were back up and ended at a three-year high last year of 2.7 million vehicles. That trend is expected to continue this year. According to data analytics firm Cloud Theory, U.S. inventory levels will average 3 million vehicles a month this year. However, that number is still below pre-pandemic levels because the industry is still dealing with supply chain disruptions which is impacting production.
BYD & SAIC EXPAND SHIPPING FLEETS
China was the number one vehicle exporter last year and it will probably stay like that for a long time as Chinese automakers are now building out their own car shipping fleets. Last week, BYD got the first of two ships that it’s supposed to get this year, which can carry up to 7,000 vehicles each. And it’s reportedly aiming to eventually have 8 in its fleet. Meanwhile, SAIC wants to add another 14-car hauling ships to its portfolio over the next 3 years. It already owns a logistics company that operates 31 vessels, which also hauls cars for Dongfeng and Great Wall. By adding more ships to its fleet, SAIC expects to be able to increase its sales outside of China by roughly 150,000 units to 1.35 million vehicles this year. And the reason so many Chinese automakers are starting to branch out overseas is because too many new cars are coming into their home market every year and profits are lower as companies try to get ahead of their competition with price cuts.
WAYMO ROBOTAXI EXPECTED TO DEBUT THIS YEAR
Waymo could have its own purpose-built robotaxi in the U.S. before the end of the year. In 2021 Waymo and Chinese automaker Zeekr, which is owned by Geely, announced a collaboration to build the robotaxi on a modified version of Geely’s SEA platform that’s dedicated to autonomous mobility. This is the original concept that they showed at the time. And CarNewsChina reports that the production model will be based on the Zeekr M-Vision concept, which is not too different from the original design. The robotaxi will have Level 4 autonomous capability, which means it won’t necessarily require a driver and could have a similar interior layout to the M-Vision concept. However, based on spy shots obtained by CarNewsChina – which we can’t show here, but we’ll provide a link if you’d like to see – the front doors won’t slide forward. Rather they’ll open like conventional car doors. The production version of the Waymo robotaxi is expected to hit the market later this year.
STELLANTIS EXPANDS EU RECYCLING BUSINESS
Stellantis is expanding its service in Europe to collect end-of-life vehicles. It first started last year collecting old vehicles from business owners, but now it’s reaching out to private owners as well. Stellantis created the new joint venture with a recycling company and they call it VALORAUTO. Owners first fill out an information form, which is used to appraise the car. If the owner agrees to the amount they can take the car to one of 300 recycling centers or VALORAUTO will come pick it up for free. Right now, the service is available in France, Belgium and Luxembourg with plans to expand from there. The reason Stellantis is doing this is it wants to get access to some of the parts that are still good on the car. It’s setting up a circular economy where it could clean and sell the parts that are still good, use them to fix up another car or even help refurbish a car that it will sell as used. And it thinks it can generate a good bit of revenue doing this.
UNIQUE MOBILITY SERVICE LAUNCHED IN LAS VEGAS
A German mobility company called Vay is launching a unique autonomous ride-hailing service in Las Vegas. Users can rent a vehicle through an app and the vehicle is then remotely driven to the location which Vay calls “teledriving.” The renter then drives themselves to their destination and then the vehicle is handed back over to the “teledriver” who either drives it to the next user or parks it until its needed again. The teledrivers are professionally trained and they sit a station that includes a steering wheel, pedals and other vehicle controls. Video and audio from cameras and microphones equipped on the vehicle is transmitted to the teledriver, so they can see and hear what’s happening around the vehicle. Users are only charged for the time they use the car, which is currently 30 cents per minute when driving and 3 cents per minute for stopovers. Vay believes its service is more cost effective and it will be interesting to see if this approach is more appealing to users.
RAM INTRODUCES NEW PROMASTER EV
Ram introduced the electric version of its ProMaster van, the first pure EV in its lineup. It’s equipped with a 110-kWh battery that has a targeted range of 162 miles in the city. It also features a 200-kW electric motor that delivers 268-horsepower and 302-lb-ft of torque. The cargo version has a payload of just over 3,000 pounds, while the delivery version is about 1,000 pounds less. Eventually, it will be offered in five configurations, and will include two roof heights, two cargo lengths and two body styles. There’s no word on pricing yet but the delivery model can be ordered now and the cargo model will be available at a later date.
STELLANTIS EXECUTIVE CHANGE CORRECTION
Yesterday we reported that Stellantis fired its head of North America, COO Mark Stewart. But Autoline understands that Stewart will announce his new job at another company by the end of the week. We also reported that his leaving the company would mean no Americans were left in senior management positions at Stellantis. But Stellantis says Natalie Knight was appointed CFO last year, Doug Ostermann is the COO of Stellantis China and it says several brand CEOs, including Tim Kuniskis at Ram, Chris Feuell at Chrysler, and chief design officer for the Americas Ralph Gilles are Americans who report to Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares.
If you want to learn more about how EV startups are leaving legacy automakers in the dust, you’re not going to want to miss Autoline After Hours tomorrow. We’ve got Mathew Vachaparampil, the CEO of Caresoft, coming on the show. Caresoft does teardowns and competitive benchmarking of new cars and you’ll be stunned at their findings. We’re going to take a deep dive into the tech features, as well as their cost and weight, and the results are eye opening. Joe White from Reuters will also be on the show, so join John and Gary when the show goes live tomorrow at 3 pm eastern time.
But that’s it for today’s show, thanks for watching.
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You mentioned that new vehicle inventory is increasing. Do you have any numbers on used vehicle inventory?
Interesting that that inventories are up, but there’s not one Prius or Sienna to even sit in at my local dealer.
Used vehicle inventory is very difficult to measure because so many used vehicles are sold by their owners. I am not aware of any stats on used vehicle inventory at dealerships. I am sure many corner used car lots would not bother to provide inventory stats. The large used vehicle retailers like Carvana and CarMax may publish this type of information for financial reporting purposes, but it may not be easy to find.
Kit, I would guess that vehicle inventory overall is up but that it varies A LOT by model. The Big Three will be working for awhile yet to increase inventories of the models most affected by the UAW strikes. The all-new Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon had just been launched when the UAW decided that plant would be the first they would shut down. So they will be the hardest to come by for awhile. Other than parts shortages, I can’t think of a reason that Toyota models would be in short supply.
Is Toyota artificially limiting production of popular models, to help the dealers make more money with over-MSRP pricing? There are no Highlander hybrids either, at the dealer where I bought my last Toyota.
Funny how we went from no or low inventory excess inventory. What I’m seeing is dealers have vehicles that cost too much and people don’t want. EVs sitting now with over a year before they get moved on . Lots full of bland look alike CUVs and SUVs .The vehicles people would actually want are either out of stock or ridiculously priced. I think the days of people just settling for what is on the Lot are over.
I checked inventory of the local Chevy dealer, and their web site shows 52 Silverado 1500s and 1 Bolt. The Ford dealer has 57 F-150s. I didn’t check to see what they were, but maybe a lot of the trucks are expensive, high option ones.
XA351GT- I don’t know this to be fact but I wouldn’t be surprised if buyers today take more time to shop around and be picky to make sure they get what they want for a few reasons.
1) Because new cars cost so much, people will make sure it is exactly what they want as you pointed out.
2) Because vehicles last longer and people are keeping them longer also good reason to make sure it’s what they want. They’re going to live with it for a longer period of time.
3) Also, since cars last so much longer people are not put in a position where their current vehicle has quit or on its last leg and they need to get it replaced right away. (settling for what’s on the lot) They may have some issues but can continue to drive the car for a month or more if necessary until they find what they want. Short of having an accident.
4) I also believe lots of people are hesitant to make a quick decision on a vehicle right now simply because they are unsure about going electric or hybrid or staying with gas.
All good reasons to give more time and thought into buying a new vehicle.
Is the chip shortage over? Because I thought we were a year or years away from having US plants up and running. Things have been quiet, but I also haven’t heard that we are producing a bunch of US made chips. that too could still be affecting certain models.
People who want to get what they want, within the limited offerings with packages, etc., can get that with GM, Ford, Chrysler, Mini, Porsche, and I’m sure some others. From my experience, except for a C8 Corvette, it usually takes about 6 weeks with GM and Chrysler. It takes longer with Porsche and Mini, where a long boat ride is involved.
I seem to be one of few who still orders cars, except for Corvettes and a few other specialty cars. Do many people order pickup trucks? They have more option choices than the few remaining cars in the US market. Also, there are probably some option choices in Tahoe, Expedition, and similar.
I sort of ordered my 2015 Silverado. I had a list of must haves (black, double cab, V8, locking rear, 20” wheels, CD player) and must not haves (chrome, leather, 4×4) that the dealer found on another lot a few hundred miles away. I keep my vehicles for a long time so I want only what I want.
JoeS
Isn’t Ralph Gilles a Canadian, or am I just being a bit picky.
I am glad Mark Stewart was not fired. He was left with a mostly aged product line-up and unprepared for electrification, hence a huge gap before he had anything new and exciting to sell.
I’m not into pickup trucks, but I ordered the 1995 S-10 I had. Regular cab short bed, metallic red, 4.3, 5-speed manual, a/c, cruise control, 60-40 cloth seat. I don’t remember if it had CD or cassette, but had one of them.
RWD
Kit, I was curious about the much-lauded new Prius’ sales, and they’re low to the point that I’m querying my numbers: 31K for all of ’23. Source carfigures.
Re. the Ram ProMaster, its battery pack’s 110 kWh is quite substantial – fleets will at some later date no doubt include a variety of optimized sizes.
I ordered my truck only because my lease expired during the end of covid and start of the chip shortage. There wasn’t anything on the lot and the dealer said the only way to get what I wanted was to order it and we extended my lease a few months until the truck showed up. I also wanted to order this one because I plan to buy the truck at the end of the lease pending I don’t have any issues with it after three years.
Sean, I wonder if there are parts supply issues with the Prius. They sure aren’t piling up at dealers, at least in the two areas I am. GCBC says 35,816 for 2023, but that’s still very low. Prius sales were over 100K most years for gen 2-4, and over 200K some year. They only dipped below 100K in 2018, likely because the then-new generation Camry hybrid got nearly the same mpg as a Prius, and is a nicer car, if you don’t need the liftback utility of the Prius.
Lambo, how long did it take to get your ordered truck? It would normally take about 6 weeks, but I’m guessing longer for yours, with the parts shortages, etc.
Kit- It was about 6-8 weeks. I think I only had to extend my lease 2 months. I had no idea they could actually do that. Added like $25 to the payment but allowed me to keep it until the replacement showed up.