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Runtime: 12:59
0:00 Stellantis Pays Dealers to Order New Cars
0:55 2024 Sales Incentives More Than Double
1:23 Lucid Drops 400 More Empolyees
1:42 Tesla Cuts Model Y Production in China 20%
2:29 Tesla Needs Styling Updates
3:57 What OEMs Are Spending on R&D
5:05 Volvo Truck Tests Diesel Engines Running on Hydrogen
6:14 BMW Uses 3D Printed Parts to Run Robots Faster
7:43 VW Clubsport is One Wicked Hot Hatch
8:23 J.D. Power Sees 1.6 Million U.S. EV Sales
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This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.
2024 LOOKING ROCKY FOR AUTOMAKERS
So far this year things in the auto industry are not going the way most automakers expected. Covid is behind us. The chip shortage is over. And so the industry thought it would be busy meeting pent-up demand after years of lower sales. But that’s not exactly happening.
STELLANTIS PAYS DEALERS TO ORDER NEW CARS
Stellantis is paying Ram and Jeep dealers a bonus to order more new cars and trucks, something that dealers are reluctant to do because they have so much inventory sitting on their lots. CEO Carlos Tavares is reluctant to cut prices, and the result is that Stellantis has lost 3.5 percentage points of market share since 2020 in the U.S. market, in an industry that fights over every tenth of a point of share.
2024 SALES INCENTIVES MORE THAN DOUBLE
And it’s not just Stellantis. J.D. Power says that sales incentives from automakers in the American market will average $3,200 per vehicle for the rest of this year. Last year the average was only $1,900. You can blame high interest rates and higher car insurance rates for that. Automakers are having to add incentives to off-set those higher costs for consumers.
LUCID DROPS 400 MORE EMPLOYEES
And all those EV startups that looked red-hot just two years ago now wonder what hit them. Lucid is going to fire another 400 employees, or about 6% of its workforce. Sales are well below where the company thought they would be, and it reported a bigger than expected loss in the first quarter.
TESLA CUTS MY PRODUCTION 20% IN CHINA
You can’t call Tesla a start-up anymore, but it’s suffering similar problems. Reuters reports that Tesla cut production of the Model Y at its plant in Shanghai by at least 20%, due to weakening demand in China for its cars. And based on new car registrations in the U.S., S&P Global estimates that Tesla’s sales fell 25% in February and 12% in March, though Tesla says it was supply constrained. Even so, it looks like Tesla has backed off its goal of building 20 million cars by the end of the decade. Its latest impact report, which was published yesterday, no longer makes any mention of that goal.
TESLA NEEDS STYLING UPDATES
We think that Tesla really needs to consider a significant styling refresh of the Model Y and 3. Though they’re very good cars, they’re starting to look stale compared to the new competitors in the market. Yes, we’re aware of the changes to the 3 called Highland, and the upcoming change to the Y called Juniper. But only Tesla fans will notice the difference. To most everybody else, the changes are almost invisible. The one very noticeable styling change that Tesla did make was when it changed the nose of the S and the X but that was 8 years ago. But take a look at the last three generations of the Hyundai Santa Fe. Each generation is a dramatic step forward from the one before, and that’s how you keep a model line fresh. When people buy a new car, they want everyone to know they’re driving a brand new car. History shows that the automotive industry is really a fashion industry. And the car companies with the newest, freshest designs, always rise to the top.
WHAT OEMS ARE SPENDING ON R&D
Automakers are spending boatloads of money on research and new models. Here’s how much they spent on R&D last year. VW spent the most, over $23 billion. It has a lot of brands to feed. BMW was second highest at $12.7 billion, which is probably paying for a lot of its Neue Klasse of electric cars that are getting developed. Mercedes is a couple of billion below that. GM spent nearly $10 billion, while Ford was at $8.2 billion. Surprisingly, Toyota is only 6th on the list. Maybe that’s because it’s not spending so much money developing electric vehicles. Honda and Stellantis came in around $6 billion, which is surprising for Stellantis because it also has a lot of brands to feed. BYD, at $5.4 billion, broke into the top ten, a first for a Chinese car company. And Tesla rounded out the list with just under $4 billion. Amazingly, Hyundai did not even make it into the top ten,
VOLVO TRUCK TESTS DIESEL ENGINES RUNNING ON HYDROGEN
More and more heavy truck makers are looking at running diesel engines on hydrogen. No, it’s not ideal, but it could be the fastest, easiest and cheapest way to convert the trucking industry to zero carbon tailpipe emissions. That’s especially true if they use green hydrogen. Piston engines actually run more efficiently with hydrogen, though not nearly as efficiently as fuel cells. Even so, it’s fairly easy to convert an IC engine to run on hydrogen. Bosch, Toyota and others are working on it, and Volvo Truck just joined the party. Volvo says it’s using High Pressure Direct Injectors from Westport Fuel Systems, where a small amount of ignition fuel is injected at high pressure to enable compression ignition before the hydrogen is added. Volvo says it will start testing the trucks on the road next year, and hopes to have them in production by the end of the decade. Many believe that developing a hydrogen infrastructure for IC trucks running on hydrogen could actually pave the way for faster adoption of fuel cells.
BMW USES 3D PARTS TO RUN ROBOTS FASTER
Here’s an interesting way BMW is cutting CO2 emissions from its manufacturing process. It’s using 3D printed parts on production robots that are lighter, which extends the service life of the robot and allows it to operate faster, which shortens cycle times. And just like a car, reducing weight has a trickle down effect. If you make a car lighter you can do things like use smaller shocks and brakes. Making the tools for a robot lighter allows you to use smaller robots, which is how you cut the CO2 emissions. But it’s not just from the manufacturing process, you also cut emissions when you’re making the part. And in other cases BMW has been able to cut out robots altogether. A newly designed 3D printer robot gripper, which is used to lift carbon fiber roofs and whole floor sections of a car, now weighs just under 100 kilograms or a little over 200 pounds. But that’s roughly 45% lighter than the original tool, which means one robot can lift an entire roof instead of three robots. Beyond gripper tools, BMW makes 3D printed parts for teaching and production aids for employees and even uses 3D printed parts in its cars. Last year BMW made about 400,000 3D printed parts across all of its manufacturing sites.
VW CLUBSPORT IS ONE WICKED HOT HATCH
Volkswagen is showing off an even sportier version of the Golf GTI. Called the Clubsport, it features unique styling elements including special wheels and a large rear spoiler. Under the hood is a 2.0L turbocharged engine that will run on a new bioethanol that was developed by Shell during an upcoming race. With that setup it will make roughly 345 horsepower, which is fed to the front wheels through a front differential lock. We think there could be a production version, but for now this GTI Clubsport is just a one-off.
J.D. POWER SEES 1.6 MILLION U.S. EV SALES
J.D. Power estimates that roughly 1.6 million EVs will be sold in the U.S. this year. That will be about 10% of the total market and growth over last year’s EV sales, which came to about 1.1 million. However, according to Elizabeth Krear, the head of J.D. Power’s EV Practices and our guest on yesterday’s Autoline After Hours, there’s going to be some segments of the EV market that get sliced much thinner than some automakers are planning for.
“If the industry is going to sell 16 million vehicles and 10% are EVs, that’s 1.6 million EVs this year. Let’s take one of the largest segments in the industry, the compact SUV mass-market segment. That makes up 17% of industry sales. If we take 17% of 1.6 million EVs that’s 270,000 compact EVs in the mass market that should sell. But guess how many players there are? Seven, and they’re big players, right? Toyota, Hyundai, Kia, Volkswagen, Ford, Nissan… So if you divide that 270 up, that’s only 38,000 units if you split it evenly. And obviously, not every brand has the same amount of interest, But we know that automakers capacitized for more than 38,000 units.And that’s where there’s going to be this transition as consumer demand catches up with capacity. There’s going to need to be incentives in this transition to attract them into these vehicles.”
Elizabeth Krear provides a lot of great insight into the EV market in that show. And if you’d like to watch more we’ll put a link in the transcript and description box.
A programming note here. We’re going to be off for the Memorial Day holiday on Monday. For those of you watching around the world, here in the United States, we always set that day aside to honor the people who have given their lives in service to their country. But we’ll be back here again on Tuesday to bring you the latest developments of what’s going on in the automotive industry. Thanks for watching.
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The VW bug went decades with the same profile. Tesla spends R&D for better guts. But is the unpainted Cybertruck not radical enough?
Stellantis canceled the Charger, Challenger and 300 and wonders why sales are down. Maybe the folks steering the ship aren’t so bright. I saw some clips indicating the next gen Charger may not be only BEV. They better hurry.
Tesla’s problem, to the extent they have a problem, is not styling. It’s that they won’t improve the operator interface, but make it even worse, by deleting the turn signal stalk. Also, Elon’s antics have turned off a lot of potential customers.
The new Charger, if done right, could be nice with the Hurricane six. When will it exist, though, either EV or gas?
New car ownership,one of life’s finer pleasures
Charger/Challenger: Stellantis has already confirmed that they will offer the Hurricane inline six in the new Charger, along with the EV powertrains. All of the EV platforms Stellantis has developed allow for ICE powertrain installations, just in case.
Stellantis sales are not down because they discontinued ICE Chargers and Challengers. That has only just happened. It has not had an effect yet. Their sales have been down for the last couple of years because Jeep has had a dramatic drop in sales. Every model except Grand Cherokee is down double digit percentages. Compass sales are way down. Renegade and Cherokee are being discontinued due to their huge dropoff in sales, and the Wrangler now sells half as many units as they did just a couple of years ago, starting at the same time as the Bronco hit the market. No, that is not a coincidence.
Tesla: despite their oddities like deleting turn signal stalks and shifters, Tesla’s biggest problem is lack of styling change. I have several friends that live in the land of Tesla, (California not Texas) and they have repeatedly told me that they see Teslas EVERYWHERE and they will happily buy something else just so they don’t drive the same thing everyone else does. The VW bug was a very unique car in our market during its reign as best-selling import. It really had no competition until the Chevy Corvair debuted. Contrary to popular opinion, the Corvair was a major success for its first five years on the market. The Ralph Nader PR machine finally caught up to it during its second generation and even though the issues had been addressed the negative press took its toll.
Have a great Memorial Day weekend everyone!
We’re past the first movers on the EV changeover and now into the early regular folk. What Tesla lovers want, even prefer, is not what the mainstream wants. This is not to criticize the technology or solutions that Tesla have provided, but it’s why so many others work hard to make an EV that is just like an ICE.
When one of the biggest reasons to buy a Tesla is their charging system, it does not mean that owners like or prefer no switches, turn stalks, or speedometer in front of driver. These are the perfectly normal kinds of things that the mainstream buyer is comfortable with. So in order to get the charging system, many people like myself would have to take a whole bunch of interface changes that I don’t want. I don’t care if they are spectacular. I am voting with my wallet. Now, in a year or so, I can have the charging system with a regular car.
We see even regular auto makers going back to physical switches and knobs because the market has spoken. I believe that even little things like Apple Carplay being dropped by Chevrolet will be a sales problem for their new Equinox. We were interested before but not now. It’s the first question my wife asks when we start talking about a new car. Does it have Carplay?
Jeep Cherokee and Renegade have already been discontinued. Cherokee production ended more than a year ago. Challenger/Charger production ended more recently, in December 2023, but still, dropping all of these vehicles would be part of why Stellantis sales are down. Yep, Bronco takes a lot of sales from Wrangler, and Bronco Sport takes sales from Compass.
While I have Android Auto in my Toyota, I rarely use it, but it’s handy to display nav info on the screen. My Mini and Porsche have CarPlay, but no Android Auto. Apparently German car companies are Apple fans, and/or don’t like Google for some reason. Do all VW Group and BMW group vehicles have CarPlay, but not Android Auto?
My cars have physical controls for HVAC temp, which I would not want to be without. Also, they have volume knobs.
I think I read somewhere that BMW used to offer Carplay as standard but Android Auto was an option. That’s unusual since iPhone is dominant in North America but Android is king in Europe..
Lucid has a display touring the main Swiss train stations as advertisement. Their electric motor really is extremely compact, and I liked seeing the car for real – it’s a very tastefully designed luxury vehicle. The raised station-wagon can’t come soon enough.
I have not yet seen a Lucid. They estimate production starting “late 2024” for the Gravity CUV, with price starting at $80K. We’ll see about both of the predictions. I wish them well. The closest “studio” is 170 miles away in Louisville, KY. I’d think it would help them to have more places to see the cars.
The CUV has a squashed steering wheel, and you look over it to see the displays. I’ve wanted to see what that is like with the new Prius, but I still haven’t been able to see one at a dealer.
Albemarle/Kit — I was reading Motor Trend on line the other day, about the new Silverado EV RTS. While they praised the vehicle, even saying that, with 440 miles of claimed range, ‘if that is not enough for you, then YOU might be the problem’. I’m sure that was meant as tough-and-cheek, but to each of your points about connected infotainment, and possible deal breakers, the article/writers had this to say:
“The one thing missing from the equipment list will be a deal-breaker for some shoppers. GM’s latest infotainment system doesn’t support Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. Instead, the 17.7-inch screen runs Google Maps, Google Assistant, and your favorite music streaming app natively. It all works well enough that we’d embrace the change if it didn’t mean you’ll eventually need to pay a second monthly payment on top of the monthly payment for the truck itself. After a three-year trial, you’ll need to a subscription (currently $15 a month) to stream music on downloaded apps like Spotify and after eight years basic Google services such as navigation and voice commands will stop working unless you pony up for an OnStar plan (the exact cost is unclear right now). Apparently the only thing built in to Chevy’s Google Built-In features is a method for processing credit card payments. As a workaround, you can stream music from your phone over Bluetooth like it’s 2009 again—or buy a different truck.”
While earlier in the article they said the vehicles Google infotainment worked flawlessly on this preproduction model they were in. It seemed that, for such a great vehicle, the thought of not having the customary choices for a vehicle costing $100K may/could be let down by this one thing and be considered a deal breaker. It would be a shame that such a potential success for GM’s EVs, may be held back by their infotainment exclusive operating system! Will they make a similar move for their ICE vehicles too?
GM’s dropping CarPlay and Android Auto, apparently to get money from subscriptions, is a big mistake. While it’s now 2009 for me in one of my cars, and I rarely use Android Auto in the other, it will be a deal breaker for a lot of people.
Having the 440 mile range will make the truck better for those with home charging who might tow a big boat on 100 mile round trips, but it still won’t be very good for road trips. The big battery which enables that range will take a long time to charge, even with DC fast charging.
Speaking of electric Chevys, I drove through the local dealer, and they have two EV Blazers, with MSRP of ~$60K. I’d probably rather have a Lyriq for about the same price.
Kit — I completely agree on the choice between the Lyriq and the Blazer EV, regarding the RS models and lower versions. The only model of the electric Blazer that moves the needle for me is the SS, for the front styling, IMHO, is so much better! I’d take the SS over the Lyriq, but the Caddy over the rest of the Blazer line up. One way or another, it’s just wishful thinking, for both models from either brand are out of my price range and the Equinox EV is not my cup of tea. Even if they Equinox were, because we’d probably finance it for 5 years, to use the radio, we would have to get the subscription service for the last two years and I wouldn’t be happy with that! The thing is, we have android phones, so when I have used the phone for directions and streamed at one time or another, it was through a Google app. So, having the Google operating system is just removing a step for those having android phones. Yet, the thought of loosing all or most of the infotainment, unless you get the subscription after three years, is off putting. As many have said here before, why would/should we have to pay extra for tech that’s already built into the vehicle and you have already paid for, especially if it’s everyday things that buyers expect to have in their vehicle purchase?! I guess GM is going to put that notion to the test and see if people will bit.
I would guess GM will quickly find out there are already a few manufacturers of plug n play systems to add Carplay to a vehicle that doesn’t have it. Directed at older models but certainly will work with anything with a screen. They use the existing touch screen and offer all the apps just as a new car does. So, anyone that really wants a GM EV truck could simply buy one of these systems and plug it in after the free trial is over. And GM will wonder why no one is subscribing. I believe they cost less than a year’s subscription too. Willing to bet GM will rethink this subscription crap within the first two years. Even though there is a work around why bother when you can just buy a Ford or Ram and get the conductivity as a standard feature?
wmb, the Blazer EV has a radio, even AM, according to the Chevy web site, so you wouldn’t lose that part of the infotainment system after 3 years. Also, you’d be able to stream from a phone without a subscription. I assume that is also the case with the EV trucks.
The only subscription I have for cars is SiriusXM. I like some of the music channels, and like that I can get the F1 races and qualifying, and some other sports events not on AM or FM radio. It’s a pain, though, to have to threaten to cancel once a year, and go through the “negotiating” to get a remotely decent price. I may, or may not renew next time. I have the radio service for one car, and stream it with my phone and bluetooth it to the others.
I have Android Auto in one car, but I rarely use it, and only for nav with google maps. It’s wired, rather than wireless, or I might use it more often. I normally just use the voice turn-by-turn for nav. I wouldn’t miss it much, but it sounds like a lot of people would, and would miss CarPlay.
Lucid had a stop in Atlanta for its “Nation wide tour” not long ago, and I test drove the Lucid Air. It was a really good looking vehicle in person and very luxurious, but with a sticker of $70K-$250K, its still way over what I’d be willing to pay. The Lucid reps would not even discuss the price, they said they were not allowed to talk price, they were just there to give out samples of the experience.