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Runtime: 10:23
*If you’re having issues watching today’s show, you can watch it here on our YouTube channel.*
0:00 UAW Launches Organizing Drive at Hyundai
1:22 Used Car Prices to Come Down
2:32 GM Still Committed to Autonomous Tech
3:23 Tesla Recall Is Over Font Size
3:55 Cybertruck Wheel Covers Causing Tire Problems
4:46 GM Has 100,000 EV Truck Reservations
5:46 U.S. January Sales a Mixed Report
6:46 Dealers Think EV Push Is Premature
7:35 Hybrid Sales Going Strong
8:31 BYD Building Charging Network in Brazil
8:55 Toyota Bullish on PHEV Pickups
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This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.
UAW LAUNCHES ORGANIZING DRIVE AT HYUNDAI
The UAW has turned its attention to workers at Hyundai’s assembly plant in Alabama. It says 30% of the 4,000 workers at the plant, or 1,200 people, signed cards saying they want a union. The same percentage have signed cards at the Mercedes-Benz assembly plant in Alabama, and Volkswagen’s plant in Tennessee. UAW President Shawn Fain has said he will personally hold a rally if any non-union plant reaches 50% enrollment and at 70% he will demand the company recognize the union or the UAW will hold a union vote with workers. Over the last 4 decades of trying to organize non-union car plants, the union has hit the 30% threshold, but has not been able to get more than 50% of workers to vote in favor of the union. The UAW has always blamed management interference for its failures, and could do the same this time if it cannot get enough workers to vote to unionize. But politicians and business groups are also fighting the union. Alabama’s governor, Republican Kay Ivey, and the Business Council of Alabama are actively taking stands against the UAW.
USED CAR PRICES TO COME DOWN
Used car prices in the U.S. skyrocketed during the pandemic but they’re starting to come back down. According to JD Power, used car prices fell 3.5% in 2023 and this year it expects prices to drop another 5.7%. However, prices are still significantly higher than before the pandemic. In 2019, the average used car cost $24,100, today it’s about $31,400, or about 20% higher. And while prices are coming down, affordable used cars are becoming harder to find. In 2019, 41% of used cars sold were below $20,000, now it’s only 20%. And not surprisingly, payments are also going up. The average used car buyer is now paying $515 a month on average, up from $414 in 2019. JD Power also says the used car supply will decline this year, which could impact prices but overall it expects a favorable market.
GM STILL COMMITTED TO AUTONOMOUS TECH
Despite all of its recent troubles, General Motors is still committed to developing autonomous vehicles. GM President Mark Reuss said he expects its Cruise robotaxis to be back on the road in the next one to two years. GM halted all of its AV operations in the U.S. after a Cruise vehicle dragged a pedestrian after they were struck by another car. The company is being investigated by the Department of Justice, the SEC and NHTSA over the incident. Cruise also fired nine executives; its CEO and co-founder resigned and it laid off a quarter of its workforce in the wake of the accident. And while Mark Reuss says GM is still committed to Cruise, during GM’s earnings call earlier this week, CEO Mary Barra said it plans to cut spending at its AV business by $1 billion this year.
TESLA RECALL IS OVER FONT SIZE
Is this an example of regulatory overload, or what? NHTSA is ordering a “recall” of nearly every vehicle Tesla ever ever sold in the U.S. because the font it used for warning lights on the dash is not the right size. NHTSA says it’s too small and could therefore increase the risk of a crash. Like many of the “recalls” Tesla has been issued, this will be fixed with an OTA update. But that’s a new one on us, font size.
CYBERTRUCK WHEEL COVERS CAUSING TIRE PROBLEMS
Speaking of Tesla, it looks like it has to go back to the drawing board for its aerodynamic wheel covers on the Cybertruck. Wheel covers can improve an EVs range by as much as 5-10% and the ones on the Cybertruck extend out and fit into grooves on the tires. There’s still a gap between the two, but it’s not big enough and with natural flexing the cover is wearing an even deeper groove into the tire. Reports say some Cybertrucks are being delivered without the covers now and that Tesla is working on a new design.
GM HAS 100,000 EV TRUCK RESERVATIONS
Many of the people that have a reservation for an electric pickup, either need the patience of a saint or are just going to buy something else. At one point Tesla had a reported 2 million plus pre-orders for the Cybertruck, but at today’s production rate it would be 10 plus years before everyone got their truck. And now CEO Mary Barra says that GM has 100,000 reservations for its electric pickups, including the Chevy Silverado EV and GMC Sierra and Hummer EVs. But GM is also struggling to ramp up production of its Ultium-based EVs. The Sierra EV is not even on sales yet, in two quarters of producing the Silverado electric it sold 461 examples and for all of last year it sold a little over 3,200 Hummer EVs. And some of those were the SUV version. So, it’s also on the 10-year-plus delivery plan at the moment.
U.S. JANUARY SALES A MIXED REPORT
So, how are new car sales going in the US market? It’s hard to say. Ever since GM, Ford and Stellantis decided to report sales on a quarterly basis, it’s become very difficult to figure out how the market is doing on a month to month basis. And other automakers seem to be dragging their feet in reporting their numbers. So far only 4 automakers have reported their January sales: Honda, Subaru, Mazda and the Hyundai Group, which includes Hyundai, Kia and Genesis. Overall, their sales were up 4.2%. But it’s a mixed bag. Mazda’s sales shot up nearly 32%, Honda posted a 10% gain, while Subaru was flat. But Hyundai’s sales fell over 8% and Kia’s were down nearly 2%. But Hyundai’s EV sales shot up 42% and Kia’s were up 57%, while Subaru’s Solterra EV saw sales fall by 42%.
DEALERS THINK EV PUSH IS PREMATURE
Most U.S. dealers think the market should be driving sales of EVs, not the federal government. Almost 83% of the 208 dealer and dealer managers Automotive News spoke to in its 2024 Dealer Outlook Survey said that the Biden Administration is pushing too hard with EV adoption. They say EVs aren’t generating as much interest from customers, that prices are too high and strict eligibility rules for EV purchase incentives are a few of the challenges. It also doesn’t help that you continue to hear stories about sales people that aren’t knowledgeable about electric vehicles. Dealers in the survey think the focus should be on offering more affordable hybrids and plug-in hybrids.
HYBRID SALES GOING STRONG
Toyota has received a lot of criticism for its slow transition to EVs and wanting to stick with hybrids. But with EV demand slowing, it looks like that strategy could pay off. Reuters reports that more car buyers in the U.S. are opting for hybrids instead of EVs because they’re more affordable and there’s less range anxiety issues. In the first 11 months of 2023, hybrids accounted for 9.3% of new vehicle registrations and a third of those were Toyotas. And globally last year, hybrids accounted for a third of Toyota’s sales. One Toyota dealer in Minnesota says it’s aiming for hybrids to account for 40-50% of its total sales. And in some cases, hybrid demand is so strong that buyers are waiting for up to a year for delivery and paying full MSRP.
BYD BUILDING CHARGING NETWORK IN BRAZIL
Despite what the legacy automakers say, BYD continues to push its EVs into emerging markets, like Brazil. The Chinese automaker is partnering with a company controlled by Shell to install charging stations in 8 cities in Brazil over the next three years. They plan to roll out 600 stations under Shell’s charging network, called Shell Recharge.
TOYOTA BULLISH ON PHEV PICKUPS
Toyota is skeptical that EVs are going to catch on in a big way anytime soon. And that’s especially true in the pickup truck segment. But plug-in hybrids are a different story. This is what Sheldon Brown, the chief engineer on the Toyota Tacoma, had to say about PHEVs on Autoline After Hours.
“The real next question is how do we see proliferation of electrification? And I think the real debate is going to come between, do we want to go battery electric in the body on frame pickups and off-road vehicles, or do we want to go plug-in? And right now, I’ll say from a general trending, I don’t think the PHEVs have been getting or frankly speaking, really the credit that they deserve, because it’s a really interesting solution in the truck market.”
Sheldon Brown shared a lot of his insights into the mid-size truck segment and you can listen to what he had to say on our website or YouTube channel.
But that brings us to the end of today’s show. Thanks for making Autoline a part of your day and I hope you have a great weekend.
Thanks to our partner for embedding Autoline Daily on its website: WardsAuto.com
Could there be regulations for font size on displays, and Tesla intentionally, or inadvertently violated the rules?
https://www.section508.gov/develop/fonts-typography/
The font issue and the wheel cover cutting tires issue are just typical of Tesla rushing products out the door without enough testing and without enough due diligence. It takes awhile for the government to catch up to the automakers but they eventually will. It would certainly cost less to simply comply with the regulation on font size from the get go. As it is a safety issue, being able to easily read warning messages, I don’t think it is a petty issue. You just never heard of it before because the established OEMs get these details right from the beginning by doing their homework. Tesla, not so much.
FYI
I was presented with this warning when trying to play today’s video. Went to the tube and it played fine, no warning. I am using an iPad Pro with Safari, IOS 17, and I don’t block pop ups. No other extensions. Not a big deal as I can watch elsewhere and comment here.
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We need your consent to load the Youtube service!
This content is not permitted to load due to trackers that are not disclosed to the visitor. The website owner needs to setup the site with their CMP to add this content to the list of technologies used.
powered by Usercentrics Consent Management Platform
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As we all know in a supposed to be free market economy, dictating what you can buy is antithetical to the process. If oil and gas are the issue, raise the tax on them and let people make their own decisions.
GM Veteran: You say “It would certainly cost less to simply comply with the regulation on font size from the get go.” That brings up the question of the cost of an OTA update. Seems to me it would be pretty minimal.
same @Albemarle; I can’t view the videos anymore. For some reason when I click on the video it says, This content is not permitted to load due to trackers that are not disclosed to the visitor. The website owner needs to setup the site with their CMP to add this content to the list of technologies used.
Albemarle, I only noticed the fingerprint to begin with, since I usually just read the transcript rather than playing the video. I just tried playing the video, and got the same message you did, with various devices and browsers, including win 11/chrome, android phone/opera, and ipad 10/ safari. As you found, the video plays fine if going directly to youtube.
Autoline staff, can you fix things so we can again play the video from this page?
I also got the same error message when trying to view the video
We’ve been working with our website developer to set up a privacy policy, which seems to have caused this consent issue. They are trying to get it fixed and hopefully we should be back to normal soon. If you’re having trouble viewing the show you could try another browser (i.e. Chrome, Firefox, Edge…) or watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoBaFUmLRgc_-d-rkBCFyfQ We apologize for any inconvenience.
Same here, I cannot watch the video. I am on a PC at work, and just like others I see the blue fingerprint and same consent/cookie messages. No matter what I do (approve/disapprove) I cannot see your content. I will continue checking with AD, but I hope this is not the end of an era. I’ve been following John since the ’90s through PBS, the internet, and the AD website. All was good until this new format, and there have been issues ever since. It will be a shame if they end it all, now, over technical issues due to no one being able to see what you are presenting. Please fix so we can continue to enjoy your show.
Ukendoit and others, just go to youtube.com, or the youtube app on android or ios. and search autoline daily. You can play it from there. Yes, that’s less convenient than clicking on it from this page. Hopefully, things will return to “normal” soon.
Maybe some work PCs have youtube blocked, though.
I as well! I can’t watch the video but I can leave a comment. Two different systems, tied to the same site. I’ll have to wait to watch the video later.
Once again, as Abermarle and I have said, you can watch it if you go to youtube. It’s not that difficult.
EV vs PHEV trucks – no question PHEVs are a better choice for road trippers and EVs for your local handyman who doesn’t go far. That said both are heavier than ice so for those who need highly capable trucks or make noise and cause black puff ruckus will likely hold on to their pistons.
An E-Transit would work for a guy doing some bathroom remodeling for me. Even its limited ~100 mile range would work for what he does, with overnight charging. He now has a Nissan NV-something, I think 2500 which he bought used. It may last as long as he will be working, though. I think he plans to retire in the next few years.
It looks like things are fixed, and you can now play the show easily, and the fingerprint is gone.
Thanks for fixing it!
I can’t help but wonder how close we are to the future of transportation and how much is stock manipulation or just overly optimistic CEO’s. We have heard for years that AV technology was closer to reality than not. Even the interest in EVs seem to be more hype or curiosity than actual purchasing intent.
I still believe AV is a fad and has as much chance of success as flying cars. Yes, they exist and will work under the right circumstances, but we are so far away from cars driving themselves on all roads in all conditions. It just seemed that last couple of years has been nothing but EV and AV news with the needle not moving nearly as fast as predicted. I’m not sure if CEO’s and boards thought it would something achievable if just enough money was thrown at the problem or if this was an opportunity to reinvent themselves and try and manipulate their stock to appear more techy like the success Tesla was seeing. Even the EV push from the traditional automakers has come off as a half-hearted effort to be viewed differently. I really question their devotion to developing an affordable EV from the ground up. Or maybe they know the public interest isn’t as bullish as the environmentalists would like everyone to believe.
It will be interesting to see if it takes GM a year or two years to bring back Cruise. Or will they realize there isn’t really much of a business case to continue to develop self-driving taxies. IMO I think they will find a much better use for this technology and maybe driving humans around isn’t the end result. As I mentioned before people can accept human error but will not be very forgiving when an automated system fails, even if it is statistically safer. Getting AV to work 100% while interacting with humans walking and driving is a recipe for failure. We are too unpredictable to prepare every scenario into the programming.
Not saying it’s not worth pursuing but I see it being allot more viable in a fully autonomous geo-fenced area. Getting the human factor taken out where AVs deal with AVs. As long as we try and combine the tech with humans I think we will be many years away from it working flawlessly.
Yeah, full autonomy still seems a long way off.
As far as EV sales, it is sure looking like not many pickup truck buyers want EVs, given how demand for Lighting is turning out. Time will tell how Cybertruck does, when production ramps up. It might appeal more to cult of Tesla members, than to people now driving F-150s.
Light duty EV trucks make sense, and local EV work trucks that won’t have to haul or drive long distances would too, but for my travel trailer towing usage, EV is not there yet. If I could charge at home, and tow a 10K lb trailer 400 miles on one charge, I would get one in a heartbeat, but 400 miles is barely realistic now when unloaded, so I’m still waiting. Maybe the range extender RAM would be close, when it comes out. We plug the trailer in at the campgrounds wherever we stay, so I could plug in the truck too and be ready to drive home when done.
I would consider an EV for around town when we replace one of our smaller vehicles, but not for an only vehicle or for long haul towing.
I just checked for the latest stats. For me, Marietta, GA to Panama City Beach is around 312 miles. The RAMcharger (range extender RAM) is targeting 690 miles and a tow capacity of 14,000 lbs. The range when towing 10K lbs would probably drop in half to around 345 miles, so in ideal conditions I might consider it, or wait 5 or 6 years for a used one to be affordable.
I was at my local GM dealer yesterday and they had over a dozen EV Silverados on the lot. They all looked like fleet/WT trim so perhaps they are all going to the same fleet and they are just being stockpiled until they can be delivered.