AD #3765 – GM Restarts Chevy Blazer EV Sales; Porsche Reveals Updated Taycan; VW Drops Plans to Expand ID.3 Production

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

TESLA MAY RESTART BERLIN PRODUCTION SOONER THAN EXPECTED
Good news for Tesla. It could restart production at its Berlin plant sooner than expected. Last week, environmental extremists carried out an arson attack on a power station that shutdown the plant. Tesla was expecting to resume production at the end of this week but now the power company fixing the outage says electricity could be turned back on as soon as today. However, Tesla won’t be able to resume production right away, because the plant’s systems need to be restarted step by step. The shutdown has cost Tesla 1,000 cars a day in production and the head of the plant says it will cost the company in the high triple digit millions of euros in damages.

EV INVESTMENT REMAINS STRONG DESPITE SALES SLOWDOWN
We’ve seen automakers from all over the world adjust their plans for electric vehicles with demand for EVs weakening, but it hasn’t been going on long enough for us to see a big change in EV investments. In fact, according to data from the Environmental Defense Fund, total global EV investments from 2021 until now came to roughly $529 billion. That’s up from $191 billion spent between 2016 and 2020. As you can see, most of the growth came from outside of China with EV investments in some regions going up by nearly 90%. It is amazing how much more is being invested into EVs, but with those adjusted EV plans I was just talking about, I’ll be dying to know how much this changes a year from now.

AUTOMAKERS CLASH OVER AUSTRALIAN FUEL STANDARDS
Automakers in Australia are clashing over new fuel standards. Last month, the country proposed to penalize automakers that import models with higher emissions and reward companies that bring in cleaner models as a way to help get more EVs on its roads. A lobbying group called the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, which represents automakers in Australia, criticized the plan and said it will raise prices and limit options and it wants the government to water down the proposal. Toyota, which sells a lot of pickups and SUVs in the country, backed the group. However, not all automakers agree with the group’s position. Last week, Tesla and Polestar quit the group’s policy making committee in protest and now Volkswagen is doing the same, saying it wants the stricter rules to remain in place. So, we’ll have to see how this battle plays out.

GM ENDS CHEVY BLAZER EV STOP SALE
The Blazer EV is finally going back on sale. For months’ models have been sitting around as engineers raced to fix software issues that in some cases bricked the entire car. GM’s new high-tech software team – that was brought on after the Blazer EV’s initial software system was developed, but before the model launched in September of last year – has come up with a fix that allows it to lift the stop-sale. They revamped the software development and validation process and the VP of product, software and services told InsideEVs that 40 Blazer EVs were driven up to 400 miles a day, and even more virtually, to develop a software package that works. And as a way to possibly entice buyers back into showrooms, the starting price was slashed to just over $50,000, which is over $6,500 less than before and Chevy also announced that the model qualifies for the full $7,500 tax credit again.

VW STARTS DELIVERING LUXURY MODELS HELD BY U.S. CUSTOMS
Thousands of Audis, Porsches and Bentleys have been held up by U.S. customs officials since mid-January because they’re allegedly equipped with an electronic component made with forced labor in China, which violates U.S. law. It’s not known which models and how many exactly have been held up. But now Automotive News reports that some of the models have been released and are being shipped to dealers. The VW Group, which those brands are a part of, says it expects to complete all vehicle deliveries by the end of the month. That’s good news because some dealers say the delay has started to impact their profits.

VW DROPS PLANS TO EXPAND ID.3 PRODUCTION
Volkswagen is canceling plans to build its ID.3 electric at its plant in Wolfsburg, Germany due to the slowdown in EV demand. The model will continue to be built at its Zwickau plant but VW has had to cut shifts there as well because of the slowdown in sales. The company had originally planned to add overflow production of the ID.3 to Wolfsburg at the end of last year but now it’s dropping that as part of a 10-billion-euro cost cutting plan over the next two years. VW says the Wolfsburg plant will instead focus on producing ICE and plug-in hybrid models.

PORSCHE REVEALS UPDATED TAYCAN
Porsche revealed the updated Taycan today. Specifically, it showed off the new Turbo GT model and a new performance package, called the Weissach package. Not much has changed styling wise, but it features a new rear axle motor and pulse inverter, which boosts power to 580 kW or 777 horsepower. With launch control that number jumps to 760 kW or 1019 horsepower for two seconds, which is just slightly less than the 2.3 seconds it takes for the Turbo GT to reach 100 km/h or the 2.2 seconds it takes with the Weissach package. That package includes even more aggressive aerodynamic parts like the front diffuser with side winglets and a much larger rear wing. But it also removes other equipment that’s not needed for its intended track-day use, like the rear seats, which results in a 70 kg or 154-pound weight reduction compared to the Turbo GT, which itself is up to 75 kg or 165 pounds lighter than before. The Turbo GT also sees improvements to the chassis, handling and aero and both versions have updates to the interior. Customers can expect to start taking deliveries this spring.

MACK TRUCKS SHOWS OFF MOBILE EV CHARGING SYSTEM
Mack Trucks created an interesting demo vehicle so customers and dealers can test what it’s like going electric. It made a mobile off-grid EV charging station by fitting a propane-powered generator and 140 kW charging unit onto the back of its MD Electric Truck. It says it specifically created this truck to charge other demo trucks at a site or dealer event that doesn’t have the needed infrastructure. And they could also experience what it’s like driving the MD Electric Truck, which has a 240-kWh battery pack and up to 230 miles of range. Mack says it has no plans of making the truck/charger combo available to customers but could help set it up through its suppliers. 

And that brings us to the end of today’s show. Thanks for tuning in.