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Runtime: 10:29
0:00 Eco Militants Attack Tesla Berlin
0:58 VW AG Blamed for EV Ship Fire
1:46 NIO Sells More Cars, Loses More Money
2:30 Cruise Origins Piling Up at GM Grand Blanc
3:49 Ford U.S. EV Sales Up 33% This Year
4:26 Ford E-Transit Gets Bigger Battery, Updates
5:15 Warranties Cost OEMs Billions/Year
6:15 Toyota Buys Out Battery Subsidiary from Panasonic
7:05 GM Helps Create Software Sales Platform
7:48 Dodge Charger Offers Choice of ICE or BEV
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This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.
GERMAN ECO MILITANTS ATTACK TESLA BERLIN
A militant environmental group in Germany launched an arson attack on a power station that brought Tesla’s Berlin assembly plant to a standstill. A letter allegedly left behind by militants calling themselves the Volcano Group said, and I quote, “Tesla consumes earth, resources, people, workers and in return spits out 6,000 SUVs, killer cars and monster trucks each week.” The letter, 2,500 words long, also attacked Elon Musk. Police say they are investigating. Tesla wants to expand the plant and double the capacity to 1 million cars a year, but environmentalists have protested against the company cutting down trees, and some of them are actually camping out in the forests around the plant.
VW AG BLAMED FOR EV SHIP FIRE
Remember that ship with a bunch of EVs on board that burned off the coast of the Netherlands two years ago? Well, Volkswagen is being blamed for it. It’s facing a pair of lawsuits in Germany which claim that the lithium-ion battery in a Porsche Taycan started the fire that caused the ship to sink with thousands of cars on board in 2022. VW is being sued by a half a dozen plaintiffs including the ship’s operator and one of the ship’s insurers. They say VW didn’t inform them about the danger and precautions needed to be taken to transport EVs. VW isn’t saying anything, but if it loses in court, it could raise the cost for everyone shipping EVs by sea.
NIO SELLS MORE CARS, LOSES MORE MONEY
Chinese EV maker Nio is feeling the heat from that price war in China. It lost nearly $3 billion last year, even though sales were up. And while its deliveries in the fourth quarter were up 25%, it delivered just over 160,000 vehicles in 2023, which was less than two-thirds of its original target. And things probably won’t get any better because it doesn’t have any new cars on the way this year. But it is expected to unveil a new mass-market EV brand sometime this year which could help turn things around. In the meantime Nio is laying off 10% of its workforce and could spin off some of its non-core businesses.
CRUISE ORIGINS PILING UP AT GM GRAND BLANC
We love it when you all send in pictures and information that we haven’t seen anywhere else. This tidbit came from viewer Nick Thomas who took these pictures of GM Cruise Origin robotaxis that are being stored at a GM facility in Grand Blanc, Michigan. Even though General Motors stopped Cruise’s operations in the U.S., GM is clearly continuing to build the Origin vehicles and store them until it starts things back up again. What surprised us is just how many of them it has. It’s hard to get an accurate count from these pictures, but there are clearly dozens, and dozens and dozens of them. That means Cruise will be ready to quickly expand operations once it gets the go-ahead from GM. Remember, GM wants Cruise to be generating $1 billion in revenue by the end of next year and $50 billion by the end of the decade. And a shout out to Nick Thomas for being our eyes and ears on this one.
FORD U.S. EV SALES UP 33% THIS YEAR
Ford’s U.S. sales are doing better this year than they were last year, especially its electrified vehicles. Last month it sold a little over 174,000 cars, trucks and SUVs, which was an increase of 10.5%. But sales of BEVs and hybrids did even better. They shot up more than 45% compared to last February to over 18,000 units, and even compared to January they were up a little over 16%. For the first two months of the year Ford sold over 34,000 electrics, a gain of more than 33%.
FORD E-TRANSIT GETS BIGGER BATTERY, UPDATES
Speaking of Ford EVs, the E-Transit van is getting several updates. And the biggest deal is a much bigger battery is available, which has 89 kWh of usable space compared to 68 kWh. It provides up to 159 miles of range, an increase of 26% in low-roof models. High-roof models see a range jump of 32%. Fast charging speed is up to 176 kW, which can cut charging time by nearly 50%. And Ford also added on-board power for tools and other power equipment. Pricing for the new E-Transit starts at just over $51,000 and it may qualify for the full $7,500 tax credit as well.
WARRANTIES COSTS OEMs BILLION$/YEAR
A company called WarrCloud, which processes warranty claims on cars, says the volume of warranty claims is up 17%, the cost is 28% higher as a percent of revenue, and it takes 47% longer to process those claims than it did in 2020. WarrCloud blames the increase on more technology going into cars, and says it takes longer to repair those problems. Warranty claims, which also include recalls, now account for one third of a car dealer’s service business. And it’s overwhelming them. 75% of the dealers that WarrCloud surveyed are outsourcing the claims process to streamline the paperwork. Warranty claims cost automakers a fortune. Last year Tesla spent $1.2 billion, General Motors spent $4 billion, Ford spent $4.8 billion and Stellantis spent $9.7 billion.
TOYOTA BUYS OUT BATTERY SUBSIDIARY FROM PANASONIC
Toyota is becoming more vertically integrated. It’s buying out the remaining roughly 20% share Panasonic owned in a joint battery subsidiary, called Primearth EV Energy, which makes batteries for its hybrid vehicles. Toyota will continue battery development with Panasonic and Primearth will also start making batteries for plug-in hybrids and BEVs. It says the move allows it to respond more flexibly to the market. But we wonder if this is a move the Detroit Three would be able to pull off because any wholly owned subsidiary would have to have UAW labor. They already have the highest labor costs in the industry and a move like this would push it even higher. So, it’s going to be a struggle to stay competitive, especially with EVs.
GM HELPS CREATE SOFTWARE SALES PLATFORM
General Motors, automotive supplier Magna and Wipro Limited, a technology services and consulting company, are launching a sales platform for buying and selling automotive software. Called SDVerse, it focuses on connecting software buyers and sellers through a digital platform instead of the traditional captive software development approach. Sellers can list their features and attributes while buyers can easily search for the available software. The platform already has several well known companies that will participate including Renault’s EV division Ampere, Forvia, NXP Semiconductors and Valeo.
DODGE CHARGER OFFERS CHOICE: BEV OR ICE
We’ve got the latest info on the electric Dodge Charger, and there’s a ton to talk about. First off, it’s not just going to be electric. The new Charger is built on the Stella Large platform, which can handle different powertrains. So the choice is yours: pure electric, or plenty of piston power. The ICE side of the house delivers a 550-horsepower high output version of the 3.0L Twin Turbo inline 6-cylinder Hurricane engine, as well as a 420-horsepower version. But the ICE engines are not available until early next year. The electric versions start production this summer. All of them come standard with all wheel drive, though the front axle can be disconnected when not needed for longer driving range. They feature a 400v architecture, a nickel-cobalt-aluminum 100.5 kWh battery pack with prismatic cells, and a peak 550 kW discharge rate. At the top of the line-up is the 670 horsepower Daytona version that will run 0-60 miles an hour in 3.3 seconds. Add a Scat Pack to it and it will do the quarter mile in 11.5 seconds. There’s a Daytona R/T version that comes with 496 horsepower, but Dodge didn’t release any pricing yet. Other details include massive 16-inch, 6-piston Brembo brakes up front, and 4-piston calipers in the rear. A staggered tire and wheel combo include Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar 3s, with 305’s up front and 325’s in the rear. Dodge promises the electric chargers will have Hellcat sound levels, thanks to what it calls the Fratzonic Chambered Exhaust. This is just a fraction of all the details on the car, and we’ll provide the link if you’d like to learn more.
But that brings us to the end of today’s show. Thanks for making Autoline a part of your day.
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The Charger EV will be interesting, and is arriving sooner than I realized. It might be nice, but it it sounds like it will be marketed mainly to people who drive 1/4 mile, or 1/8 mile at a time, and like to make noise. I hope the gas version is sold with RWD.
Wow these Eco Nazis are something else. Protest burning oil and then when a company builds an electric car plant protest the trees removed to make space it needs to make EVs. These folks wouldn’t be happy unless we all lived like cavemen. We would have to dress warm as they wouldn’t want to burn any trees.
Man, VW cant catch a break. About the time they get done paying for the Diesel-gate they can now deal with burning down a freighter.
Is Dodge stepping back from their original claims that the outgoing Charger was the last ICE Charger? I’m pretty sure they said something to that effect. Maybe it was just the last ones to get a HEMI/V8. Those are respectable HP numbers so glad to see it wont be just EV at least for a little while longer.
The environmentalists have a point in Germany, however, it can be said that many manufacturing facilities also meet their criteria and let’s not forget that their methods are illegal and irresponsible.
The Charger does sound interesting. Let’s hope disconnecting the front axle is by a switch in the car, in case you feel the need for a burn out.
I had read that the ship fire was caused by an ICE car on another deck. People are so focussed on blaming others currently that truth takes a back seat. Thanks Sean.
Sean- Those warranty costs would be interesting to see in the backdrop of annual vehicle sales. It says a lot about the quality of the product going out the door but is hidden by the volume of vehicles sold. As I’m pretty sure GM sells more vehicles than Ford, but Ford has had a larger warranty expense. Stellantis has twice that, but they sell a lot more outside of NA. Tell us warranty cost per vehicle and then we know who has the best and worse quality.
So let me guess the BEV Charger will cost twice as much and go half as far as the ICE version
Albemarle, I thought I’d heard that too about the car fire, unless I was thinking of a different ship. Anyway, I’d think there would be cameras all over those ships, so they could pinpoint exactly where the fire started.
Lambo, I don’t remember if they said the outgoing Charger was the last ICE one, or just the last V8. Either way, things can change. I remember Cadillac saying the 1976 Eldorado would be the last convertible, but it didn’t turn out that way.
Interesting engineering on the Charger, indeed! If the customer is planning on keeping one for decades as a collector item, better go with the ICE version, though.
XA351GT, the BEV Charger will cost twice as much as the base, V6 outgoing Charger, but it might cost less than the Charger versions that are almost as quick as the BEV. The hottest Hellcat Charger versions were over $80K.
XA351GT — I’m sure the First Editions are going to make our collective eyes water, of either possibly. Yet, with Stellantis having this modular platform that will producing both the coupe and sedan versions, along with cost of the architecture being eventually spread across several model lines, from Dodge, Jeep, Chrysler, Maserati and maybe even the Alfa Romero, this could bring the individual cost per model do considerably.
The look of the new Charger has not lost much, in it’s transition from concept to street vehicle! From the pictures in today’s report, it seems that the roof has gotten a little taller and the front light spoiler has become a little chunkier.
I don’t get why the freighter’s insurance company, would be one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit against Volkswagen for the cargo ship that sank?! They insured the freighter, encase it and all its contents were lost at sea, right? The ship sank! What if the ship was taken over by armies pirates, sank by terrorist in the Red Sea or was sent to a watery grave by, as they say, an ‘act of god’? Would the refuse to pay or sue the pirates, the terrorists, or the Almighty?! I understand that the insurance company was covering the vessel for the probability of loss and they are arguing that that possibility was greater with an EV. Originally, they were saying that something else started the fire and once the EVs caught fire, it was hard to put the fire out. Yet, how would that be any different if all the vehicles were ICE, which have gasoline in their fuel tanks? At the end of the day, they covered the vessel for the amount of the vehicles that the freighter was carrying, so what is their issue?!
I’m a little surprised that the ship owner didn’t self insure the ship, and VW and the other car owners self insure the cars, but I guess things don’t work that way.
So…I guess the elephant in the room about the new Charger is…is it a pony car? The new vehicle is replacing (it seems) both the four and the two door Mustang/Camaro challenging Challenger, right? So, would that make the two door a pony car? If so, does the electric version of the two door, pave the way for a future EV two door Mustang/Camaro competitor? On top of that, will this also get Ford to move of the often rumored four door Mustang, EV or ICE???
If Stellantis designed the new Charger properly, knowing it would be an ICE/EV platform from the ground up, then the compromises usually made to make an ICE into an EV should be minimized. It could be a really good vehicle with either powertrain. I would think the biggest struggle is packaging the driveshaft and exhaust in what is normally a skateboard belly pan. It will be interesting to see how they did it.
Shared platforms for BEV/ICE are usually compromises in packaging, if nothing else. I hope they overcome that with the new Charger.
The two door Charger will not be a “pony car.” It will be a Dukes of Hazzard car. If it were to be a pony car, they’d call it Challenger, or maybe Barracuda, not Charger.
Kit- you do realize Dukes of Hazzard ended in 1985 39 years ago. Although very popular adults in their 20s-30s weren’t even born when the show ended. Same folks likely couldn’t tell you if the General Lee was a Challenger or Charger. So as long as it’s a 2 door it could be a pony car.
The styling of the new 2 door Charger will, presumably, be more Charger than pony car. We’ll see when it arrives in the flesh.
Whether a pony car or not, I think Dodge/Stellantis is pretty comfortable calling it a muscle car! The last iteration of the Challenger, though it was marketed as a competitor to the Mustang and Camaro, was actually too big and heavy to truly be considered a pony car, I would imagine. The main thought in asking the question earlier was too see anyone thought that Ford would pull the trigger and build an EV Mustang more sooner then later, in response to the EV Charger? Plus, with it also coming later as a four door, Ford there be to of a serious four door Mustang. Though I doubt it, should the Charger exceed expectations, would Ford and Chevy/GM chan6course?
The recent Challenger was styled similarly to the 1970-1974 version, but yeah, it is big. I had one for a while, and while it looked good, it was too big and heavy to handle very well. Also, while quick enough with the 5.7 engine, its weight made it less quick than Mustangs and Camaros with similar power.
Is Ford considering another 4 door EV Mustang, to go along with the “mustang” Mach-E? Are they planning to make a 4 door version of the ICE Mustang?
Anyone think Ford should offer a two-door wagon Nomad-like Mustang?
About any car height wagon would be nice. Yeah, a two-door would be cool. There haven’t been any of those since the VW Fox.